Phoenix in the Fire

Gold Adana lives his life just like his name: Gold.

With his luxurious lifestyle, loving fans, and perfect 'it' boy personality, everyone can definitely say that he is indeed living a golden life. Not to mention his nickname in the music industry: Golden Boy.

Breaking news: Golden Boy of the boyband Singularity turns out to be gay, shocking fans.

"You have ten seconds to explain this to me, Gold!" The high-pitched scream of Harry, their band's manager, echoes through the whole room—causing Gold to rub his temples.

He doesn't know what makes his head hurt the most, is it Harry's scream? The after effects of drinking three bottles of soju last night? Or the bright screen of the phone that tells him he's fucked up?

"Don't know," Gold groans, shoving the phone away from his face. He can't bear to stare at the news headline anymore.

"You don't know!?" Harry slams the phone on the table, his eyes dilate in frustration. "How about you tell me who this person is!?"

The manager slides the phone back in front of Gold. Wincing, the latter glances at it halfheartedly. However, his expression instantly changes when he sees a photo of him kissing a man.

It's taken meters away from where he's standing. It's dark but he is certain that the people who know him, including his diehard fans, know that it's him.

Luckily, the face of the person he's with is not seen in the photo.

"Speak up, Gold. Tell me his name!" Harry roars once more.

The Golden boy sighs; the searing pain in his head screams the name of the guy he was kissing.

"Nikolai." He says to himself.

The guy's name is Nikolai Park. The guy who made him feel so small. The guy who made him question his sexuality. The guy he met seven years ago...

"Come on, Gold!" The instructor hisses. "You've been practicing the same move! Do you really deserve the center position!?"

Gold stumbles on the ground. The harsh comment of his dance teacher made his stomach twitch.

"I'm sorry," he stands up, bowing his head because of embarrassment.

Falling short, according to Gold, is such a painful thing. Actually, ever since he was young, he has this belief that it's better to be dead instead of not being able to meet his goals in life.

Falling short is such a painful thing, and right now, Gold is being tortured.

Just....why can't he do this simple move smoothly?

"I don't need your apology. I need you to execute this move perfectly!" The teacher shouts while doing the exact move Gold has been failing to do since the beginning of today's practice.

"I'll do better, Mr. Song..." The golden boy smiles faintly, he can feel the apologetic stares of his classmates and it makes him want to puke. He didn't need their sympathy.

He only needs compliments.

Gold grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth. With just the snap of his fingers, people will line up to cater what he wants and this is all thanks to his doctor of a father and celebrity mother.

Perhaps the reason why he hates losing is because of his status in life. He loves compliments. People call him the 'it' boy, and honestly, who wouldn't? Gold's life is like a dream.

Admittedly, his social status in life boosts his ego. As stated, Gold loves hearing compliments from anyone—he loves it when people tell him that his life is like a dream. He loves it when they say he's a pretty boy. He loves it when they say that he has such wonderful and hardworking parents. He loves it. He loves everything that boosts his ego, and maybe, that is the very reason why he hates falling short.

The expectation of the people to him is beyond limit. Who can blame them? Gold is the top student in Morello University of Arts, the most prestigious school in their country. He has also won several awards after competing in different countries. For the past eight years, Gold ranked as the best contemporary dancer in Asia. It is a big achievement considering that he is just seventeen years old.

Gold never experienced failing since he is damn good at anything, but right now, he feels like everything is falling apart.

"Now, repeat! 5! 4! 3!" Mr. Song starts the music again.

"Two! On—" Before the instructor can finish counting, one of his students rises on his feet to go in front and stand beside Gold.

"Who are you?" Mr. Song asks.

This male student stands still. He is wearing the proper school uniform of the university, but this is the first time Mr. Song and the whole class saw him.

He's definitely a new face. A boy who looks like him is not someone who stays out of the spotlight. People will surely recognize his pretty face the moment they see him.

Just look at him. He's not that tall, but his piercing intense eyes are enough to intimidate anyone—wait, scratch that. He isn't at all intimidating; his plump red lips change that because it makes him appear like he's seducing people to give into what he wants.

This man is impossibly gorgeous for he is both manly and feminine. 

Instead of answering the teacher, he just turns to look at Gold; a smile is plastered on his lips.

"You have to turn after the second beat, hold your weight and then slowly raise your right hand and tiptoe." He executes the move Gold finds so hard to perform. Actually, this student is dancing it so well that most of their jaws drop on the floor.

"Well done!" Mr. Song claps his hands and the rest of the students cheer for him.

Gold just blinks, though. He's staring at the student blankly that it made the latter bite his lower lip. Gold is staring at him like he just committed a grave sin.

"Why did I only see you now?" The teacher shakes his head in disappointment. This student is the perfect center for this performance.

He's incredibly talented. Mr. Song is certain that this kid is not here yesterday, meaning, this is his first time seeing this complicated move. Despite this, he still managed to execute it gracefully.

He's a star. Perhaps even better than Gold.

"I'm a transferee, Sir." The student bows his head.

"Right!" Mr. Song's eyes twinkle. He's so engross in today's practice that he forgot all about the transferee. Principal Munoz told him about this a week ago! "Introduce yourself to the class, then."

The transferee smiles.

"Hello, classmates! I am Nikolai Park, but you can just call me Kolya. I hope we can get along well."  A soft blush stains his high cheekbones.

Damn he's really a pretty boy.

"Welcome to Morello University, Kolya!"

Another wave of applause erupts. Everyone is clearly happy to meet him.

Well, except for one.

Gold is not happy. It's obvious because instead of clapping his hands, he's clenching his jaw and wondering how on earth a transferee managed to steal his spotlight.

"By the way, Nikolai," Mr. Song calls.

Kolya politely raises his brow.

"I also want to welcome you as the new center for this performance. Gold..." Mr. Song switches his gaze at the golden boy. "You're just going to be the lead dancer now."

The whole class cheers. No one even bothered to ask if Gold is okay with this decision. Granted that this week is just the preliminary period, meaning, Mr. Song has the power to change the role of the students based on their daily performance, but Gold has always been the center.

Actually, there are four roles:

Back up dancers: Students who got a score of 65-80 mark in their solo dance performance belong in this group. (Usually composed of 15 members)

Main dancers: This group is for the students who got 81-90 mark in their solo dance performance. (Usually composed of 10 members)

Lead dancers: This is composed of 5 members; their grades should range from 91-99 percent.

Center position: Only one student can claim this spot. The requirement to attain this position is to have a perfect score or 100 percent grade.

It's unfair! Nikolai Park just got here. He hasn't even performed a solo performance yet. How can Mr. Song choose him that easily!?

Gold feels like lashing out. Mr. Song called for a short break so the class turns to talk to Kolya.

Kolya. Kolya. Kolya.

He's getting all the attention! No one looks at Gold—making it easy for him to storm out of the room.

"Argh!" He kicks the pebble he sees. He's so angry that he can't even think straight. There's only one thing inside his mind:

"Nikolai Park..." Gold inhales sharply. "You're going to regret this!"