Disclaimer: Pffft, I wish I owned Hetalia.
A/N: As promised, chapter 3 of Catalyst. There is more HKTaiwan in it. FINALLY! :D Ahem…thanks for reading :)
Other Notes: Emil is Iceland.
The uneventful weekend ended quickly and Mei actually found herself looking forward to Monday, which brought many promises. That morning, Mei was more than eager to wake up early to go to Taiyo. She had already changed into her dance gear and was skipping to the dance studio where the company would meet for the first time this season. Mei entered the room and her feet literally glided across the floor as she made her way to sit with her fellow dancers. They were elegant, talented, and beautiful people. People she could actually compete with. Peers and rivals. All of this was so surreal to her.
Kiku Honda, the founder of Taiyo, was already present at the studio. Mei somewhat expected him to be late, being the boss and all, but he was pretty down to earth. Kiku socialized with the dancers in his company and he even acknowledged Mei that morning, giving her a smile and friendly nod.
"Good morning, everyone!" Kiku greeted. The room fell silent as all of the dancers gave him their full attention. "I hope you all had a great weekend. I would like to start off the day by welcoming our new members. Mei and Natalia." Kiku gestured at the two as he said their names and the others cheered.
Mei involuntarily grinned and she glanced over to where Kiku had just pointed out Natalia. She was looking just as cold and calculating but every bit as pretty.
"We expect wonderful things from you two," Kiku continued, and he smiled fondly at the girls. "Well let's get to business shall we? With the beginning of the new season I would like to announce that we will be performing Giselle!"
The dancers clapped, even Mei, who was now glowing with enthusiasm. Giselle was one of her favorite ballets. Graceful, elegant, romantic; she loved every part of that ballet. As a young girl, she performed with her middle school in the ballet. She didn't make the lead role but was instead a minor dancer. This was her time to be the lead. Her time to shine.
"During the next two weeks, those who are interested in auditioning will learn the choreography for their respective parts. I hope to see you all at the auditions. Until then, ja nee," Kiku smiled politely and bowed.
Everyone in the room began to stir and Mei assumed that the company meeting was over. She stood up, stretching, and made a mental note on what she was going to do for the remainder of the day: practice dancing, talk to Xiang, and mingle with other dancers at the company. Simple enough.
"The Company will be performing Giselle," Roderich announced. He shuffled through a stack of sheet music, handing them to section leaders and the section leaders handed them to the other instrumentalists.
"The first show won't be for quite a while but we need to be prepared for auditions and rehearsals, of course," he went on. "The music for this ballet is lovely. Composed by Adolphe Adam."
Xiang took the sheet music for cello and glanced through it, and made his way back to his seat. The teen handed the music to his stand partner and best friend, Emil Steilsson, a boy around the same age as Xiang with icy white hair and pale eyes.
"Hm? Oh thanks, dude." Emil said, taking the music. Xiang always wondered why his friend talked like that but he just nodded and smiled slightly.
"I'm really excited for this season, Emil."
"Why? It's the same old boring stuff." The white haired boy murmured quietly as he flipped through the pages of music, uninterested.
"New dancers," Xiang replied simply.
"Hm…" Emil finished skimming through the paper and stared at his friend, who looked somewhat startled in response. "Do you like one?"
A flush of pink appeared on Xiang's cheeks. What the hell kind of question was that? Mei was a good girl and kinda cute but he had just met her and considered her just a friend. And as for Natalia, he and she haven't shared more than two words.
Xiang just shook his head. "No. That's preposterous."
Keeping the same expression, Emil nodded. "Ah, I get it." He turned back around and gave Roderich his attention.
Xiang did the same, sighing in the process. That was strange of Emil, to ask a question like that. Never mind, Xiang couldn't read that boy's thoughts nor could he predict what was going to come out of his mouth next. Emil was almost as strange as… Xiang shuddered mentally… Im Yong Soo.
When Mei danced, she was in her own world; blind to her surroundings. It was just her, the music, the dance floor, and…
"Noona!" someone screamed and attacked, er, hugged Mei from behind.
"Wh-what is this?" Mei yelled out, her face red from both embarrassment and anger. Her attacker let go and she turned around to see a very tall Asian boy with a sweet face and goofy hair.
Mei calmed down a bit yet irritation still emanated from her voice. "Yes?"
"Annyong! My name is Yong Soo!" he smiled at her.
"Hello…I'm Mei," she glared at him. Who was this guy?
"I saw you dancing and you are sooooo good~"
"Ah, thanks, I guess." Mei smiled slightly, appreciating the complement.
"Yes, yes, you should audition for Giselle. I'm sure you'll get the lead." Yong Soo grinned brightly, causing Mei's smile to grow too. Smiles are contagious. Yong Soo looked at Mei for a brief second before screaming out, "Ahhh! Noona you're so pretty~~~~~" He hugged her once more, "accidentally" grabbing her chest. Mei's face turned scarlet as she tried to pry herself from his grip. Unfortunately, her attempts were in vain.
Meanwhile, Xiang was walking around aimlessly after the orchestra meeting had let out. Xiang's older brother wouldn't come to pick him up for another half an hour so the teen decided to visit the dancers for a quick minute. He opened up the door to the dance studio only to find Mei being attacked by the one and only Yong Soo.
Something blazed in Xiang's eyes when he saw this. Anger, annoyance, perhaps a hint of jealousy. Whatever that feeling was, Xiang's protective instinct activated and he went into action.
Dropping everything on his person, Xiang was already halfway across the room in a blink of an eye. His legs lifted off of the ground and he soared through the air in a stance similar to one in a kung fu film. Xiang's graceful flight came to an abrupt end when his foot hit Yong Soo's face, causing the young Korean to fall on the ground.
Resuming his normal upright position, Xiang held Mei to keep her from falling with Yong Soo.
"Th-thanks." Mei said, somewhat startled and impressed at Xiang's skills.
"It's no problem. If he does anything like this again, tell me." Mei nodded and looked at the boy on the ground. "Is…is he okay?"
Xiang bent over to help the disoriented Yong Soo off of the ground. "Yeah," Xiang mumbled. "He'll be okay."
"Hyung! What was that for?" Yong Soo exclaimed, folding his arms and pouting.
"I told you to stop groping everyone."
"Tsk, I was just saying hello~"
"It didn't look like it. Touch her again and I'll make sure your face isn't the only thing I'll kick."
Yong Soo lifted his nose high in the air, seemingly unfazed by this threat. "You think you're so tough. Toughness originated in Korea~"
Xiang rolled his eyes and turned to Mei, whom he was still holding. He let go of her and she smiled, with a slight flush of her cheeks. "That was…different," she uttered.
"Yeah. Pay no mind to him."
"Hey! I'm still here!" Yong Soo yelled out at the two, waving his arms around frantically. Mei glanced at the energetic boy for a brief second before bringing her gaze back to Xiang. "Right," she replied with a nod. "So, um… I missed you last week. Sorry I left so early!"
"It's okay. I left afterwards, too," Xiang replied, giving her a slight embarrassed look.
"That makes me feel soooo much better," Mei laughed. "We should celebrate today then! My brother won't be here to pick me up for some time."
"Sounds like a plan. Ice cream?"
Mei nodded. "Most definitely!" The two then walked side by side, heading outside so they can go to get ice cream.
Yong Soo followed behind the duo and announced, "I'm coming, too~"
Translation
Noona- Korean. Used by younger males to refer to older female relatives or friends. "Noona You're So Pretty" is a line in a Korean pop song called Replay by SHINee. I'm a HUGE kpop fan & I felt the intense urge to put that in there. Lol.
Hyung- Korean. Used by younger males to refer to older male relatives or friends.
Annyong- Korean. Short for annyonghaseyo, meaning "Hello".