As the music plays in the background, she studies her form in the mirror. Her eyes are drawn to the swing of her limbs, the turn of her torso, and the flick of her hips. But she also notices the slight clumsy movement of her neck and the overall stiffness of her body. It’s a frustrating thing, being able to see what’s wrong but still lacking the ability to fix it. If Hoseok were here at the studio, he would immediately be able to help her but it’s a Thursday night, the one day he takes off, and she’s there alone.  

Lisa tries a new position, changes the angle of her neck, but its still unbearably awkward. Her reflection in the mirror frowns. She tries again. And again.

By the end, she wants to smash the mirror to bits. See it shatter into small fragments of glass, littering the floor like snowflakes. It’s frustrating, so, so, frustrating. Is she not good enough? Not gifted enough? Not working hard enough? With anger, she stomps over to the table where the stereo remote sits, picks it up, and turns the music off. It cuts off suddenly, plunging the large studio into silence save for her slight heavy breaths. The blonde grabs the water bottle that sits next to the stereo, twisting it open hastily and taking large gulps. Lisa looks up at the white ceiling, its smooth but she can see faint marks on the paint. Her eyes travel down the wall, to the mirror where she’s being reflected seated on the table, long legs hanging over the edge.

As she’s drinking, she finds herself staring her reflecting down with irrational hatred.

The dancer is interrupted by the vibration of her phone by her hand, its familiar buzz stirring her from her vague, trancelike state. It’s a message notification, from someone she’s only met a few times before, and only befriended online yesterday.

Jeon Jungkook hey

She chuckles a little, puts down her water bottle and quickly unlocks her phone.

Lalisa Manoban hi, whats up?

Jeon Jungkook not much, just finished class

Lalisa Manoban oh? Its pretty late

Jeon Jungkook it’s the one class I have today so I don’t mind

Jeon Jungkook is it weird if I ask u what ure doing rn?

A real giggle escapes her lips and her eyes crinkle ever so slightly. Perhaps it’s because she hasn’t been in this stage of a new friendship in such a long time that she finds his awkwardness endearing.

Lalisa Manoban its fine haha

Lalisa Manoban im at the studio, just practicing by myself

Jeon Jungkook wait really? i was about to head over anyway, im about ten minutes away

Jeon Jungkook see u in a bit?

Lalisa Manoban yeah cool!

She locks her phone, and returns her gaze to the mirror. There’s a silly grin on her face that she drops immediately. Presentable enough, her black top is good at obscuring hints of sweat and her leggings are the ones without holes in them. Thin fingers go to her hair, releasing it from the confines of the hairband, letting it fall over her shoulders in soft gentle rivulets. Then, as if suddenly faced with the realization that that is indeed what she is doing, she stops herself from fussing over her appearance. There’s no need to, it’s Jungkook, it’s nothing like that.

There’s a dark flush on her cheeks now, and its not from dance. She shakes her head furiously, no.

No.

He’s going to come, and they’re going to talk about the studio, Hoseok, dancing. Maybe he’ll dance for her, show her something she’s never seen before –

Her nails dig into her arms.

She’s frustrated, that’s it. She hasn’t dated in ages and it’s the pile of homework that sits on her desk and due dates hanging over her desk that’s taking its toll. It’s all the time she spends studying and dancing instead of hanging with her friends and in the library instead of watching shows on Netflix.

Yeah, it’s that. It’s definitely all that and not at all stupid Jeon Jungkook and his cute face and big eyes and strong back and thick thighs –

Lisa groans, places her head in her palms and slumps over. A feeling of shame washes over her, she’s not allowed to feel this way. It’s dangerous.

She can’t do this to Jungkook and Jisoo. Doesn’t have the right to.

So she jumps off the table, brushes away all traitorous thoughts and busies herself with the stereo. As she’s moving through songs at an almost breakneck pace, the sound of the door behind the girl creaking open disturbs her.

“Lisa?”

She turns to see Jungkook, dressed in a short sleeved white shirt that strains against his chest ever so slightly and loose jeans. His backpack is slung lazily over one of his shoulders and in his hands are two plastic cups with green straws peeking out of them. Lisa smiles, giving him a small wave as she begins to walk towards him.

“Thank you - but you didn’t have to do that,” she chastises, though she takes the drink he offers anyway.

Jungkook grins, she notes the small bead of sweat that drips down the side of his forehead, “don’t worry about it, it was on the way.”

“Let me grab my wallet.” The man visibly frowns at this, causing her to look at him in confusion.

“It’s just a drink, Lisa.”

Lisa shakes her head, “no, I couldn’t.” They barely know each other, if it were Jisoo or any of the others, even Taehyung, she wouldn’t have batted an eyelid. She goes to her bag, rummaging around for the familiar shape of her wallet but promptly stops when she feels a hand on her shoulder. It’s gentle, but strong and Jungkook retracts it quickly. Lisa can’t help but silently mourn the loss of his hand.

“Really, it’s fine,” he says. “If it bothers you that much, maybe you could show me some of the things you’ve been doing with hyung in return?”

She narrows her eyes at that. It sounds way too prepared. Crossing her arms over her chest she turns and raises an eyebrow.

“Was that your goal all along?”

Beneath strands of soft brown hair, dark eyes widen in response. Jungkook waves his hands in front of him while denying her accusation vehemently.

“No - no way, I just walked past Starbucks, and thought you would be thirsty after dancing – “

She interrupts him with an amused giggle as she picks up the stereo remote. The man’s cheeks are flushed in embarrassment and his expression quickly develops into one of exasperation. “Relax, I’m just teasing you.”

“Cheeky,” Jungkook leans back as she passes him, the song playing through the stereo having increased in volume.

Lisa grins.

His eyes are on her when she takes the first step. Follows her arm as they outstretch. They’re not erse in intent, instead it seems almost as if he’s studying her. She does everything the way Hoseok had taught her, the perfect amount of rest between movements, the right angle of her neck, as always, she doesn’t relent. The song’s melody coils itself around her hip like a vine, tightening slowly. Even though she doesn’t have to, there’s no pressure to, she puts her all into her dance. It doesn’t seem right to do anything but the best.

The song trails off and so does she.

Jungkook is still leaning by the stereo, Starbucks cup in hand but nowhere near his lips. His dark eyes, framed by thick lashes, are watching her intently still. When she looks at him expectantly, he turns away. Her face falls.

“…was it that bad?” A small, pitiful sound almost escapes her.

He shakes his head, his earnest eyes betray nothing, “no! No it was great!”

The man puts down his drink on the table. He looks at her with an indiscernible expression that reminds her of a lot of things she’d rather not recall.

“Just...mind doing it one more time?”

She eyes him curiously, but doesn’t exactly see anything wrong with his request. The song starts back up and she resumes her starting position. This time, Jungkook stands up from his spot near the stereo to approach her.

“Your back is a little too relaxed for this move,” he says, moving his hands to mimic the curve of her spine. “I think that’s why the transition to the next move is a little painful.”

Her eyes narrow slightly. “How do you know it hurts?”

“You were grimacing.” Was she? She hadn’t noticed at all.

Lisa tightens her shoulders, feeling her back straighten ever so slightly in return.

“No, like – “ his hands have moved towards her but he hesitates, pauses. She can see him try to think about how to put it into words, but actions speak louder than words and she doesn’t mind.

“Can you show me?”   

His dark eyes shift to the side, “are you sure I’m not being too intrusive? I’m not Hoseok-hyung, I could be showing you the wrong thing…”

Lisa shakes her head, a little touched, “it’s fine.”

Jungkook mirrors her pose, almost exactly, even getting the slight turn of her neck right. Then, he straightens his back, reducing the curve in his spine until he’s as rigid as a wall but also as pliant as a young tree. It seems unreal, how effortless he makes it look even though its anything but. He tilts his head, turning it slightly behind as his left arm goes to the side of his face and she’s left almost breathless.

“I had this same problem a few months ago,” he says in the midst of the act. “But I couldn’t quite understand the way hyung did it, it was a bit too advanced, so,” Jungkook sheepishly smiles. “I cheated a little.”

She tilts her head, “cheated?”

“You’re supposed to tighten your back completely, but its incredibly hard to do unless you’ve been dancing for a while. But if I tighten and relax, I found it much easier.”

Lisa tries to follow him, find an equilibrium between the two opposites, relaxing her shoulders but tightening her lower back. She can feel the tension run up and down her spine, coiled in areas they shouldn’t be, but they seem to fade away when she feels a foreign pressure on her back. Lisa stiffens unintentionally but Jungkook’s large hand encourages her to soften through the material of her shirt. She breathes slowly, senses his hand apply just a tiny amount of pressure to the base of her spine and clenches in response. Softly, so lightly that she can barely register the movement, he runs his hand down the curve of her back. He breaks away almost immediately, not looking at her as he does so.

“You’ve got it,” Jungkook murmurs quietly and she finds herself nodding. There’s a strange, palpable tension in the room that she doesn’t quite understand, doesn’t want to.

“Thank you,” the words fall from her lips as she averts her eyes from his face, unable to bring herself to look at him. Afraid of what she would see if she did.