He was different.
In all of Lee Jihoon's life, he had never experienced one ounce of happiness. To be honest, he didn't really care. After all, when you've never had this drug-like feeling, there was no way of becoming an addict. Having everything a person had ever wished for didn't make him greedy. He just felt empty. Some would argue that it was because he was short, but he quickly aired those people.
However, there were limits to set when it came to voicing his opinions. Recently though, there weren't any problems to get in his way. His life was planned out properly and why would he try to break routine so late in his life? Well, it all started when he was conversing with one of his childhood friends, Seungcheol.
"Wait, so you want me to come your studio? You know I don't dance anymore, Cheollie." An annoyed brunette sat in a chic chair, the colours being a creamy-white and coffee-brown. It was perfect for a café environment, as if the chairs were like the drinks sold there.
At the moment, he was giving a glare to his friend, a dancer who owns his own studio. They were young when the two took part in the activity and Jihoon gave up before he was too good at it. He raps in his spare time and he's helped Jihoon with his music during his entire life.
"I know it sounds like I'm dragging you back into dance, but I'm not. I know why you don't do it anymore, with the 'incident' and all." Seungcheol replied, shaking his head at his friend's judgemental eyes. He had grown too used to that stare to care.
"I want you to look after it while I go on holiday." Ah, Seungcheol was going on a big trip with his boyfriend and café owner, Jeonghan. He was motherly so Jihoon had no issues with him as he made Seungcheol happy.
"I could entrust it to my students, but I don't trust Minghao running the place. Jun is just a big no and no one would listen to Chan. Soonyoung could, but he's a tad too busy for that. Don't get me started on what would happen if Seungkan ran the place. Wonwoo would cause chaos and why would anyone even let them be by themselves? Please, Woozi?" It was those puppy-dog eyes that made Jihoon give in.
"Okay, fine. Just don't call me by that name again, Cheollie. We're adults now, how long are you going to use that for?" The male sighed, shaking his head at that nickname. He had been called that since he was young and Seungcheol used it more than he used his real birth name.
"That's good, Jihoonie." The brunette groaned. "Let's go now since you should introduce myself." The man smiled. That damned smile is what caused him to go meet the man that would probably change his life forever.
?
All Jihoon had wanted to do that day was to sit with one of his close friends and drink some coffee. Things at home hadn't been going so well and he was starting to become tired. It was all because he hadn't had a song idea in a long time and that was how he earned money. He was screwed until the day he's able to think of anything.
Well, he had enough money to last some solid years, but it was his goddamn fiancée who was ruining that plan. Always wanting to buy something, she constantly asks him for his credit card. It was no wonder why he needed to have an idea quickly with all her whining. He didn't even love her. Jisoo, another friend of his, had always told him to get rid of her, but the problem was he couldn't. It was his mother who picked her out after all. There was no way to disobey that woman.
As Jihoon entered a familiar building, him and Seungcheol made their way up to his studio as the brunette patiently waited for them to arrive in the elevator. The two shared a comfortable silence, something Jihoon was glad of as he wasn't in the mood to talk. The aura this place had brought memories back to the short man. It was all so different now, but there was a vague trace of the place Seungcheol literally raised from the ground.
Unlike Jihoon himself who already had money, his childhood friend had been middle-class and it was hard to get people to go to his studio. Despite everyone seeing Jihoon as a bad person, he had always offered to help support the place, but Seungcheol was hellbent on trying his best to get what he wants. To be honest, he's proud of having a friend like him. Well, Jihoon helped afterwards to get the news around that there was an amazing studio around.
So, everyone had asked why Jihoon had suddenly quit dance even though he was so talented. To him, the change was drastic. He loved the art so much and he had poured so much effort and time into perfecting his moves. However, it was a situation he never wanted to feel ever again. To this day, only few know what happened to him.
"Here we are. I'm just going to go find them and I'll come back. Feel free to dance to something." Seungcheol wiggled his eyebrows playfully, knowing fully well Jihoon would never dare to sway his body to the music. With a large grin plastered on his face, Jihoon was left alone in the snow and maroon-coloured room, his eyes reflecting back at him in the huge mirror that took up an entire wall.
Tapping on the floor for a while, Jihoon decided to get up and do something. Nostalgia was pouring into his heart, his body fluttering to the music controls. Wondering if listening to music was the best choice of action, he flicked a switch and a very emotional song started to play. Seungcheol had said he was doing more of a contemporary piece, rather than his hip hop style, and it was painful for him to listen to as that was Jihoon's speciality.
Walking away from the controls, his feet following the sharp sound of the piano and by the time he was in the centre, he was dancing again. He honestly didn't know how this happened, but it was as if all of the problems he faced suddenly disappeared. The request Seungcheol had tried to convince him to do had taken too long, but in a matter of seconds, he was just there, pouring his feelings out.
With each step, each arm movement and each beat called for a random memory in his life. In that moment, he didn't care about anything other than the stress being relieved through the movement of art. The squeaking of the floor was something he missed. Music was where he excelled, but dance is where he felt like he was closer to feeling happiness. It was such a shame that feeling had been ripped away from him.
As the song came to a halt, he feet stopped in its tracks and made a slow and graceful fall to the floor. Sitting down, he panted as he rubbed the sweat off his face. He was so glad no one was there to witness that. It might've been a good dance, but it was definitely not one to be worshipped. Back in the day, he would've made people cry with a performance, but now he could only make Seungcheol cry.
To Jihoon, the world ended as soon as he heard a clap coming from the studio's door. Turning his head to face the sound, a hardcore rap playing in the background from the auto play of Seungcheol's music player, his eyes widened to see that a boy walked into the room.
Thump.
With eyes gleaming with this energy, something Jihoon had never seen, that person walked in. Bowing slightly, he looked up at his younger acquaintance, he literally radiated sunshine as he smiled at him.
Thump.
Flushed with embarrassment, Jihoon turned away as the other person in the room put their bag down. God, he was panicking for no reason and he felt like some school kid. He hadn't felt this way since he had that small crush on Seungcheol, but he didn't talk about that much.
Thump.
"Hey there. I really liked your dancing." The boy's voice suddenly echoed around the empty room, Jihoon's head immediately snapping from the ground. It took him a while for a sentence to form.
Thump.
"I don't talk to someone who's name I don't know." He responded, wondering if he was being too cold. Well, that was how he always introduced himself as he found it bad manners for any other greeting. Maybe he came across as too mean. Seriously, why did he even care what he thought?
Thump.
"Oh, sorry. Hello, I'm Kwon Soonyoung. What's your name? Your dance was super good." The man bounced back with a charismatic smile. Ew, Jihoon hated people like this. He just found it disgusting how people could act so excitedly all the time.
Thump.
"I'm Lee Jihoon and I don't want to receive compliments from a person like you." With disgust dripping from his tongue, there was a slight hint of fondness behind all of that. Maybe it was by luck but the other was able to sense that and he didn't become offended.
Let's stop with the thumping.
Before Soonyoung could reply, Seungcheol suddenly opened the door and from behind came six others, who seemed pretty offended by the way Jihoon was acting. "Don't bother, I've been trying to make him like me for years." The man said as Jihoon groaned once again.
"You know this stuck-up midget?" A relatively tall person replied as Jihoon took a moment to glare at them. They would get hell as soon as Seungcheol left. Standing up, he straightened out his casual, but expensive, clothing.
Maybe Seungcheol could sense the tension before clearing his throat and speaking. "Don't say that, Eight." What kind of name was that? "We've known each other since we were kids. Guys, meet Lee Jihoon. He'll be your instructor while I'm gone."
"Hey, I thought I was only supervising. You didn't tell me I would be dancing." Jihoon quickly replied, giving him an angry glare.
"I don't see why it's a problem. You're an amazing dancer." Soonyoung decided to pitch in, but ended up making both Jihoon and Seungcheol surprised. They were for different reasons.
"Wait, he danced? I've never been so proud in my life. Also, Jihoonie, I made a mistake with my words. Glad to know that you actually don't mind dancing though." Seungcheol once again had that shit-eating grin that drove Jihoon crazy. In a terrible way, just to clarify.
"So, who's that Soonyoung kid, Seungcheol? After all, he just decided to reveal my worst secret." Jihoon asked with an aggravated tone. It wasn't that dancing was embarrassing, but he knew how much garbage he would get from Seungcheol later.
"From today on, he'll be your new student. By the way, he's older than you by a couple of months so watch that tongue."
That day, Lee Jihoon learnt the meaning of love at first sight, as well as true dread.