CHAPTER 3

"Yoojung ah! Do you want to grab some coffee with us?" my students ask enthusiastically. It had been a fun and upbeat class, so everyone was in a brilliant mood.

Except me, of course, because I'm drenched with nervousness. "No, it's fine. You guys go ahead! I'll catch up with you another day."

As they shuffle out, I quickly yank my bag from the locker and walk stiffly towards the classroom at the end of the hall. I check my watch. 7.32pm. Jay said he wanted me there at 7.30pm, sharp. Whoops. I quicken my steps. I place a hand on my chest, trying to comfort myself. Please don't get hiccups, my inner Yoojung begs. I get hiccups when I'm intensely anxious. Especially in situations like these.

Taking a deep breath, I take a peek inside. "Jay? I'm here."

He's sitting on a chair, his long frame sprawled over it gracefully. Only Jay could make sitting on a chair look like an art. He gets up from his chair, unfolding his extremely long legs. "Come in and shut the door."

I do as he says. He crosses his arms and glances at me expectantly. My stomach is in knots, and I can feel a hiccup rising in my throat.

"Do you know why I called you here tonight?"

"Uh…" I croak feebly. "Because I was clumsy and spilt coffee on you?"

Without warning, a shadow of a smile crosses his lips. I almost swoon at how terribly attractive he looks. My inner Yoojung struggles to breathe.

"No," he smirks. "I want you… to dance for me, Yoojung."

His statement knocks the wind out of me. YOOJUNG! my inner Yoojung yells. You're a greeeaaaat dancer and you know it yourself. You shouldn't be sweating about this one! But again, my mind is buzzing with more questions. Why on earth does he want me to dance for him? Why me? And what should I dance?

"Oh." I try to sound as calm and unruffled as possible. "Sure thing. Is there any song in particular that you would like me to dance to?"

"Anything," Jay shrugs. "Preferably something more emotional. You can choose whichever song you want. I'll put it on for you."

I think long and hard. Jay waits for me patiently, leaning against the mirror and closing his eyes.

"Can I do 'Hello'? By Adele?"

His eyes snap open. "Why did you think of that song?"

I shrug. "I don't know. It's soulful, it's emotional. It's your type of song," I chuckle. "You know, profound, sad, utterly heart-wrenching…"

He rolls his eyes, and I giggle, lightening the mood. It feels strangely pleasant being around him, I realise. And strangely disturbing, too.

He claps his hands. "I'll play the music. Then you proceed."

I silently pray that I won't do anything stupid or clumsy or embarrassing. Okay, my inner Yoojung contemplates seriously, if you DO manage to do something dumb, just barrel out of this room immediately. If he attempts to block your way, bulldoze your way through him. Inner Yoojung is not the best person to go to for logical advice, I realise.

The music starts playing.

I'd made my own choreography for this song before, but I'd never shared it with anyone. It just came to me one afternoon, when I was listening to the song.

"Hello? It's me… I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet, to go over, everything…"

My body whirls gracefully to the music. It's almost like the music makes my body ten times lighter. My heart is pounding fast and so is my head, but I feel delirious with joy. I wonder why.

"Hello from the other side…" I whip my head around, stretching out my arm towards Jay, who's sitting right in front of me, staring me dead in the eyes. I almost flinch.

"At least you can say that I've tried…" I feel the pull on my muscles as I tense my body.

"To tell you, I'm sorry, for breaking your heart, but it don't matter, it clearly, doesn't tear you apart, anymore…"

I exhale sharply as I end my dance, a strand of hair landing across my face lightly. I try to blow it away unsuccessfully. My heart is still hammering wildly against my chest, and I desperately hope that Jay doesn't hear it.

He gets up from his chair, smiling lightly. "That was very pleasant, Yoojung. Very good choreography. Is it yours?"

My cheeks flush crimson. "Yeah. Thanks Jay," I mutter shyly.

"It was very emotional, too," he observes, cocking his head to one side. "I assume that you've gone through some heartbreak before?"

I blush even more. "No! No, oh my goodness, of course not!" I brush the strand of hair behind my ear. "It's just that this song is very… soulful. I'm pretty used to dancing to such songs."

He chuckles to himself. "I see. Well, I wouldn't be surprised if you did have a boyfriend."

"What do you mean by that?" I ask defensively.

He smiles, but doesn't answer my question.

"You know, for the chorus…" He walks to the middle of the room, looking at the mirror. "You could have done something like this."

He leaps into the air, his long arms and legs outstretched, looking amazingly, awe-inspiringly graceful as he lands back on the ground. I watch him with bated breath, and I wonder how he manages to do all this and land on the ground in one piece. He's pretty famous for doing all sorts of gravity-defying dance moves – not surprising, since most of his body is made of muscle. Part of me wants to see more.

"Jay!" I burst into laughter. "You know I can't do that! Stop showing off, for goodness sake!"

He does that little smirk again, the one that makes my world go round. "Why don't you try? Maybe you'd be good at it."

"Uh, no thanks. I'd probably break a few bones here and there. And I'm not as… well-built as you are." I gesture to his long, lean frame.

"Have you been observing me often?"

I'm beginning to think he enjoys embarrassing me. Before I can respond, he cuts me off. "Okay. The real reason why I dragged you here tonight… is because I want you to dance with me."

I stare at him so hard that my eyes almost pop out of their sockets. "Oh, you mean, learn your choreography? Sure, I can –"

"No," he stares me dead in the eyes. "I mean, dance with me. Together with me. You know, a couple dance."

He lets that sentence hang in the air for a while as I remain silent. My inner Yoojung is probably in a coma by now, since I can't hear her spewing any irrelevant nonsense. Actually, I would really appreciate some advice from her right now, however dumb it sounds.

"Jay… I'm really honoured." I try my best not to sound flustered, like I'm about to pass out on the spot. "But… why me, though?"

He raises an eyebrow questioningly. "Why, you don't want to dance with me?"

I shake my head vigorously. "No! Nothing of that sort. I'd really, really love to dance with you. I was just wondering why you chose me, of all people."

"Firstly," he explains patiently, "You're a girl. I'll be dancing to a pretty emotional love song so it'd be fairly weird if I looked Bongyoung or Eunho in the eyes and embraced them."

I suppress a laugh as I imagine that.

"Secondly, your style of dancing suits mine the most. I saw you dance today, and I've seen you dance before. You move much more gracefully – and emotionally – than the others when it comes to slower and more emotionally heavy songs."

I lower my head shyly so that he can't see me smiling.

"And lastly... You're fairly likeable. So I don't mind having you as my partner dancer."

Fairly likeable? I glower at him. "Fairly likeable? Really, Jay? I'd say you're fairly annoying, to be honest!"

He gazes at me unflinchingly as he flashes his mysterious smile again. "Well, we don't know each other very well yet, do we? We'll have lots of opportunities to do so in the future, I hope." He pauses. "So I take that as a yes, Yoojung?"

I hesitate before nodding. "Yes, of course. By the way, what song will we be dancing to, Jay? You haven't told me yet."

He picks up his bag. "Coincidentally, I wanted to dance to the exact same song." He smiles deviously at me, and I shudder, partly in fear, partly in excitement. "Except, we'll do it my way this time."

I remain silent as he gently brushes past me, switching off the lights. "I'll update you on when I'll teach you the choreography. In the meantime, rest well. Your face has been red since this afternoon when I spoke to you. Hope you're not having a fever."

I can sense that his words are laced with humorous sarcasm.

"Thanks, Jay," I sigh. He doesn't respond, because he's already walked out of the room.

Slowly, I gather my belongings and wonder to myself what I'd gotten myself into.