Daniel returned from the locker room a few minutes later, dressed down in a soft white T-shirt and loose track pants, hair slightly damp from washing his face. He dropped his phone onto his bag and began his stretches beside Ben without a word. The quiet pressed in around them, thick and almost sticky, made heavier by everything left unsaid from the day before.
Ben focused on his hamstring stretch, pretending the quiet didn't press on his ribcage. Daniel lasted a whole thirty seconds before his patience snapped.
With the theatrical flair of a man rising from the dead, Daniel shot to his feet. "Ben-ah," he declared, hands on his hips as if giving a speech on national TV, "can we please be done with this silence?"
Ben blinked up at him, startled. "Hyung?"
Daniel exhaled dramatically. "We can talk about your… feelings"—his ears pinked, but he powered through—"after the fourth round ends. Right now, my brain is melting from all this awkwardness, and we need to focus on the dance."
Ben stared for a beat before letting out a long sigh. "Fine. That works." He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. "So, have you thought about the concept?"
In an instant, Daniel's discomfort evaporated. His eyes lit up like someone had offered him front-row seats to his own concert.
"Not really," he chirped. "I told eomma to send me videos of sensual choreography. I was browsing through–"
"You asked eomeonim?" Ben cut in, eyes widening.
Daniel blinked, genuinely puzzled. "Yeah. She's a choreographer. She has, like, folders of routines."
Ben stared at him. "Did she not question why you needed sensual choreography?!"
Daniel tilted his head, entirely unbothered. "Why would she? Didn't I tell you that Judge Kim Soojin-nim knows eomma? They've been gossiping about the rounds for weeks."
Ben blinked. That's not wrong. Still, that's not the point.
He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Okay. Did you at least think about the styles?"
Daniel perked up again, bursting with chaotic certainty. "Listen, we were wrong from the beginning."
Ben frowned. "Wrong? About what?"
Daniel grinned, bright as stage lights. "We assumed it had to be a duet because of the theme, Desire. But this round is a duo dance, not a duet. That means we don't have to use a duet style. We can dance in individual styles but still together, like in group choreography."
Ben nodded slowly. That actually made sense. The rules never said it had to be a duet dance style. They'd just assumed.
"So, you're planning individual styles?" he asked. "But we still have to express–"
"Desire," Daniel finished, eyes gleaming. "Exactly. And that's the trick. If we choose the right concept, then I don't need to know what desire feels like to express it."
Ben's stomach twisted the moment he saw the growing grin on Daniel's face.
This was, without a doubt, not good news.
He narrowed his eyes. "What are you planning?"
Daniel struck a pose like a Broadway actor mid-soliloquy, one hand on his heart, the other reaching toward an imaginary spotlight.
"Bennie," he announced with operatic flourish, "I spent all night pondering the great mystery that is desire. And like a divine epiphany, I realised something truly profound…"
In that moment, watching Daniel slip effortlessly back into his over-dramatic, playful self, a strange relief spread through Ben. Ben had spent the entire night worrying that his reckless impulse had jeopardised their friendship; he'd replayed the moment over and over until regret settled like a stone in his stomach.
He wondered whether Daniel would simply ignore it, the way he always did with anything too deep or emotional, or whether it would affect him at all. And though he was relieved that Daniel clearly didn't want to make things awkward and was acting as if nothing had happened, there was a shameful part of him that had hoped that Daniel wouldn't be able to brush it off so easily.
Truly, what a mess.
Daniel's voice yanked him back to the present. "...and that's when I understood the secret." He beamed, practically vibrating with pride. "We're supposed to portray desire, but who said both of us need to express it?"
Ben blinked. "…What?"
Daniel turned toward him slowly, grinning like the Cheshire Cat after a semester abroad at villain school.
"Think about it, Bennie. If you show desire and I don't, that difference becomes the spark. It tightens the air, stirs the drama, brings out the fire." He swept his arms wide, as if unveiling a masterpiece. "They'll feel it instantly, because you'll be radiating want, and I'll be just… out of reach."
Ben stared at him hard.
Daniel's grin widened, mischief sparking in his eyes. "Our real-life dynamic is perfect. I burn for the stage and the spotlight. And you…" He paused as their eyes met, the playful tilt of his mouth faltering. A faint pink crept up his cheeks, softening his bravado. When he spoke again, the words came out quieter, almost shy. "Well… you burn for me."
Ben's lips parted slowly in pure horror. "Oh my god." He dragged a hand down his face. "You just want an excuse to avoid looking like you feel desire, don't you?"
Daniel's grin turned shameless. "…Maybe."
Ben exhaled a long, suffering sigh. He did not have the energy for this level of Daniel today.
"Fine," he muttered. "Let's at least check if your idea makes sense before I regret every decision that led me here."
Daniel punched the air. "Yes! That's the spirit, partner! Let's go!"
Ben rolled his eyes and trudged toward the centre of the studio, fully bracing himself for whatever fresh chaos this "concept" was about to unleash.