~ the next day ~

the five boys were in the practice room, preparing for the upcoming evaluation. a knock on the door interrupts them, making shownu stop the music. changkyun, being the closest to the door, opens it.

hyungwon and y/n were present. changkyun blushes once seeing her.

"hello!" hyungwon said, as he and his daughter entered the room. the boys politely say their hellos and bow, as well as y/n who did it back.

"y/n and i are dropping in to see how all of you are doing. i can see you are working hard because i see you all sweating. how are you boys doing?"

"we aren't done yet, but we learned more than half of the dance so far," shownu answered.

"i'm just dropping y/n over here while i do some important business. y/n sweetie, will you be okay?"

"yes, dad."

"then i'll be back in a few, bye!"

"bye!"

after hyungwon left the room, the five boys awkwardly looked at her. she didn't seem to notice because she was looking all around the practice room.

"honestly, i've never been here before. it's huge!" y/n spoke, breaking the awkward silence.

"it is." changkyun agreed, his eyes following every step she took.

"since you chose our song, why don't you see what we can do to improve?" shownu asked. "we didn't complete the whole dance, but we know the gist of it."

"sure!" she walked and sat in front of the mirror to watch the boys. minhyuk walked towards the speakers to play the song. the speakers around the room started to boom from the bass of the tune. the boys performed for her, making her very impressed by the work they did so far in such little time. she looked at one in particular while watching them perform; kihyun.

once they finished dancing, she started to applaud. "good job, that was awesome!"

"is there anything we can improve on?" shownu asked.

"because you guys didn't finish the whole dance, i can't pinpoint where there needs to be an improvement." she started to explain. "but can i compliment that kihyun caught my eye while he was performing?"

kihyun blushed; he never got a compliment like that as a dancer before.

"thank you so much!" he replied while bowing, covering his red face.

"kihyun made eye contact with the audience, which was me. that is maybe something all of you can work on."

"changkyun and shownu, both of your expressions were priceless! your facial expressions fit the concept of the dance, which was also very interesting to watch."

"minhyuk and jooheon, your voice was very stable while dancing, and that's a great trait an idol should have. keep up the good work!"

the boys all smiled at the compliments she gave them.

"thank you!" they thanked while bowing. she grinned back.

"don't tell the other group, but you all are my favorite, which is why i wanted to come here and watch you all practice," she whispered, making them laugh.

"you are very nice, just like your father y/n." jooheon said. "i guess kindness runs in the family."

"you're too nice!" she blushed.

"do you mind if we take a selca with you?" changkyun requested.

"not at all, let's take it on my phone!" she pulled her phone out of her pocket and got the camera ready, walking towards them and putting her phone in front of their faces. "one, two, three!"

everyone smiled and made peace signs. they all viewed the picture and smiled.

"i can send it to you if you wanna give me your numbers?" she asked. the boys nodded in agreement, giving their numbers to her one by one.

"and, it sent!" she exclaimed. they all made a group chat with her included, and everyone got the picture.

"thank you, y/n!" changkyun exclaimed.

she smiled back. "we should get to know each other more, being honest. should i use honorifics?"

"you can drop them. it will be a little weird if you did," shownu replied.

"aren't you the same age as us? changkyun is the youngest, and he's fifteen. shownu's the oldest, and he's eighteen." minhyuk asked her.

"i'm only fourteen, and i go to an all-girls school right now. but in high school, i'll be going to a regular public high school."

"are you going to jinjoo high school?" changkyun questioned. "it's the one down the street from our dorms."

"i think so, that name sounds familiar," she replied.

"can't wait to see you next year then, because i go to the same high school!"

"correction, all of us go there." kihyun corrected. changkyun scowled at him, a bit embarrassed.

"haha, alright. i'll see you all there then!" y/n exclaimed, feeling a rush of relief go through her body. she was finally excited to see familiar people at her new school and was now very happy to transfer.