Chapter 6
Once again, it’s time for dance practice. Yeji and her teammates are all gathered in the studio, warming up their muscles before starting to rehearse the latest choreography. When extending her leg to stretch her inner thigh muscles the dance teacher enters the room.
“Good afternoon.” She says and smiles brightly, always happy to see her faithful students. “Today we will have a visit from another dance group. It’s the dance club from a local high school. They will give us a performance and in exchange we will show them one of ours.”
The team members start chatting with each other in a low voice. Yeji can hear them speculate about the group’s skill and dance styles. In the corner of her eye she notices Chaeryeong looking at her, seemingly wanting her attention. She turns her head to the right and raises her eyebrows.
“What school do you think it is?” Chaeryeong almost whispers, making it hard for Yeji to hear. As an answer Yeji only shrugs. To her it doesn’t really matter because she believes they can learn from just any group.
They finish their warmup as the teacher explains what dance they are going to perform. Yeji quickly goes over the dance in her head. Right, they had just finished working on that last week. It could probably use some finer adjustments, but they will absolutely have something good to show off. When they stand up Chaeryeong hums the song’s melody and makes a few moves. As usual when Chaeryeong is dancing it looks so incredibly graceful. Her steps are light as a feather and her arms swing around her body with precise movements. Yeji cannot stop herself from smiling, it’s to impressive to do anything else.
“Alright!” The dance teacher says after having been on the phone for a while. “The other group should be here any minute now. I will go and let them into the building. Prepare yourselves to dazzle the boys.”
Yeji can hear someone behind her gasp quietly and whisper. “The boys? Will the other group be consisting of boys?”
“I guess so.” The other person answers. “Why would she have mentioned boys otherwise?”
The whispers turn into loud conversations as soon as the teacher leaves the room. The voices are high pitched and the words are delivered quickly. It’s like being in a henhouse filled with cackling hens. Yeji would have nothing against being a part of it, if she could understand what the buzz is all about. Well, she kind of does, but not totally. They all seem so excited for the boys’ arrival, overly excited, just because they are boys.
“Chaeryeong.” Yeji leans closer to her friend to get her attention.
Chaeryeong jumps a little in her spot before turning to her friend. She looks at her with a surprised face. She must have had her thoughts up in the clouds.
“Are there some special boys that are coming here or why is everyone so excited?” Yeji asks.
Chaeryeong smiles softly and tilts her head to the side. The gesture gives Yeji a feeling close to déjà vu, as if she has already received the very same look but in a different situation and from a different person.
“I don’t know if they are any special,” Chaeryeong starts and locks Yejis gaze with hers. “But they are boys and that is always a bit special, I guess.”
“How?”
Chaeryeong stares silently at Yeji for a few seconds, as if she tries to figure out how to respond. “They are boys.” She finally decides on as an answer and shrugs again.
“But how does that make the group more special than a group of girls, or a mixed one?” Yeji sighs. “I mean, I am aware that most teenage girls and teenage boys tend to have a thing for each other, but that cannot be it, can it?”
“That depends on how deep you want to make this conversation.”
Yeji raises her eyebrows at her friend as a sign of confusion and Chaeryeong nuances her answer.
“I think you know exactly what this is about. Girls get excited over boys because they might find a potential boyfriend, lover or a sex partner in them. At least that is how I have interpreted it.”
Yeji bites her lip and furrows her eyebrows. “You must be right, but why are you and I not as excited as them?” She sweeps with her hand over the other teammates.
Chaeryeong shrugs once again. “You speak only for yourself. I am excited, I am just not the type to go into falsetto or jump around because of it.” She smiles and when Yeji looks into her eyes she can tell that Chaeryeong’s words are true and honest. Then how come Yeji does not feel the same? Is it something wrong with her?
As the thoughts arise in her mind the door into the studio opens. In come the dance teacher and a group of High school boys. To her big surprise she recognizes every single one of them.
“Really?” She mumbles for herself while raising her eyebrows in misbelief.
“Isn’t that your brother?” Chaeryeong asks and point discreetly at a slender young man.
Yeji sighs as a troubled wrinkle spreads over her forehead. “That’s right.”
Chaeryeong looks at Yeji with a worried face. “Is something wrong? Did you have a fight?”
“No, it’s nothing like that.” Yeji bites her bottom lip. It’s nothing wrong with her brother, he is as wonderful as ever. Rather it’s one specific teammate of his that is troubling Yeji. Not in a major way but she wishes he would not have been here, at her sacred dance class, and pollute it with his bad energy and eyes filled of darkness.
The girls lower their voices to make the words harder to catch up on. However, their faces and body language still make their opinions very obvious. Some of them are giggling and others smiling almost seductively. Yeji herself feels like a bitter citrus fruit rather than the sweet peaches the other appear as. She does not get any sweeter when the mood-breaker himself gets to present the dance for their audience. He runs a hand through his short hair and Yeji notices how some of her teammates stare captivatingly at him. She dodges his gaze when it flies over her team and pretends to tie her shoes instead. It’s first when the dance performance starts that she takes a good look at the group members. They are very skilled and gives of a cool vibe when dancing. Yeji takes a closer look at her brother’s movements. His long and slender limbs move swiftly in the air and over his body. He is a good dancer, that is for sure. Not as good as Chaeryeong though, but that level is hard for a 17-year-old to reach, at least in Yeji’s eyes.
When the dance ends it’s time for Yeji’s team to show off their work. As she gets up from the floor she receives a playful wink from her brother and a look from his friend Felix. She will show them what a good dance team she is part of, show them that is was no mistake to not join the same club as her brother. They all get into position. Yeji takes a deep breath and tries to enter the dance mood already before the start of the song. When the music starts playing she is already a part of it, trapped in its strings which effortlessly moves her around. When Yeji knows her choreography well she has the ability to completely let her thoughts go. Of course she is well aware of what she is doing and what step that is to follow, but all that is pushed into the back of her mind. Chaeryeong possesses the same skill and they have bonded over it several times. Sometimes they have stayed late at the studio to practice only the two of them. Yeji’s parents are not too fond of her being late but she usually manages to talk them into peace. After all they are well aware of Yeji’s passion for dancing. Yeji is sure they can relate, they too must have had a passion fore something once in their life.
When they finish the performance, applauses are raining over them. The boys seem just as impressed as the girls was before. Everyone is applauding eagerly except for one guy who looks only mildly impressed. Yeji is not surprised to see who it is. Shin Hanguk. How long are they to stay here? Hopefully not the whole lesson, because Yeji does not want him around for much longer, at least not if he is spreading this kind of energy. Perhaps he needs some help to overcome this emotional lowpoint he seems to be in. Because he has not always been as negative as now. Yeji remembers a time when he used to laugh the loudest of all kids and shout the most eagerly. It must be because of the breakup. Yeji cannot find any other legitimate reason. Hopefully, time will heal him and leave only a small scar, if any at all. Everyone deserves to be happy.