The competition was two weeks away and Hoseok was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

When Jimin had heard that his friend had registered, he had been beyond overjoyed. He had insisted that Hoseok perform with him and then have a solo performance. Although this would reduce his stage time, Jimin knew that Hoseok deserved this much more than he did. He had been to countless competitions before and had won many of them, but this would be this first time the world would see Hoseok's talent. He wanted them to know what greatness they had missed so far.

If only he could convince Hoseok of the same.

Right now, he crouched before his friend as Yoongi and Jungkook tried their luck at consoling him. He had seen the symptoms of the oncoming breakdown that morning. As the two of them had practised, he had watched as Hoseok took more frequent water breaks, got breathless more often, and became cranky at every small mistake he made. Jimin had discretely sent Yoongi a message-

"Hoseok's in a bad shape. Please come over when you are free, and maybe bring Jungkook, or his sister."

It had taken the brothers ten minutes to get to the dance studio. Yoongi had called Hoseok's sister, but since she hadn't picked up, he assumed she was busy, and left her a message.

"Hobi, what's wrong? Please talk to me."

Hoseok had his face in his hands and he was shaking slightly. He couldn't understand what had got over him. He felt the tears welling up in his eyes and the constant fear that gnawed at his insides. He kept thinking of what a bad idea participating in the competition was. If he failed, he would fall so low, both for his parents as well as for himself. The only people whose approval he wanted would see that supporting him was not worth it. He was afraid of realising that he was not good enough and that his dream of becoming a professional dancer was just a childish fantasy. He wasn't talented after all. He should have just stuck to what his parents had been pushing him towards in college.

These words flowed out with his tears, unknown to him. He was sobbing uncontrollably. It was a constant descending spiral of his failure and his parents' disappointment in him.

Yoongi, Jimin, and Jungkook gaped at him in horror. Why was he so insecure? Then again, why wouldn't he be? He hadn't received any recognition for his talent before, and now, participating in Dance World was a very sudden and gigantic step.

Yoongi gathered his weeping, shaking boyfriend in his arms, and Jimin looked on with sad eyes. He knew exactly how Hoseok was feeling, and he wanted to help comfort him. Suddenly, it hit him.

He smiled, "Hoseokie hyung, you know what you need? You need a break."

Hoseok immediately wiped his tears and tried to push himself to his feet. He failed miserably because Yoongi held on too him for dear life. He could easily have lifted the older man as he stood up, but he was rather taken aback at the koala like grip he had been trapped in.

"No! I can't afford breaks! I need to be perfect!"

Jimin sighed, "Hyung, you were already perfect when you were teaching me. You are perfect. What you need right now is a break. You have been overworking yourself recently. Please listen to us. Let's go home early today and spend time roaming around somewhere. We can even go eat dinner someplace nice."

There was a slight silence. Hoseok stared at his shoes, thinking it through. Then he sighed and nodded slightly, looking defeated. Yoongi hugged him, and he hugged back. He had never been so grateful for his friends and boyfriend.

***

It was a 'calm down Hoseok' party.

Jungkook called Taehyung and Yoongi called Namjoon, who requested permission to invite Jin. Hoseok's sister joined them too. The eight of them gelled so well, it seemed like they were spiritually connected. Hoseok's sister was awed by Jin's beauty and very soon had him immersed in a lengthy discussion about fashion. Jin, on his part, was in awe of her fabulous sense of colour and coordination. He even suggested to model for her. She was elated for an entire week after that.

Meanwhile, Hoseok, Namjoon, and Jungkook argued over who the best rapper in the world was. Namjoon was convinced it was him, Jungkook favoured his brother, and Hoseok insisted he could beat them both.

Jimin, Taehyung, and Yoongi were having a quiet conversation about the football world championship.

Suddenly, Tae started singing, "You're my end and my beginning, even when I lose, I'm winning."

Jungkook smacked his head lightly, "You've been singing that for ages now. Please stop."

"Ah I can't seem to help it! It's stuck in my head!"

"Well then, sing something else!"

Taehyung pursed his lips and looked like he was thinking deeply. Suddenly, Jin began to beatbox. Hoseok joined him, and the rhythm was too perfect to resist. Jungkook began to sing the Cup Song.

Within a couple of minutes, Taehyung joined, with his baritone, while Jimin harmonised. During the break between verses, Yoongi and Namjoon joined in with a rap they had been working on, that seemed to fit in perfectly.

Hoseok's sister had a look of utter joy on her face. Never before had she heard such a perfect harmony of voices, of song and rap, of beatboxing and harmonising. She managed to record the whole thing. Her heart was thumping wildly and she was on maximum fangirl mode.

Once the impromptu performance was over, the boys whooped at their coordination and talent. Each of them knew that he had found a group of friends with a bond so special, it was one of it's kind.