Staring at the vast open expanse above me, I sighed. I sighed because I knew it was somewhere I could never be. Birds had light frames and weighed close to nothing. Their lack of dense bones allowed them to fly. I, on the other hand, was human. And on top of that, I was overweight. Ever since I was a child I had been told that I would never become a dancer due to my being large. And at some point, I started believing them.

It was the end of the year and the December wind rushed by, nipping harshly at my face. I pulled my hood up on top of my hat as further protection from the snowy weather but I could still feel the chill. Ducking into the dance room I was greeted by an empty silence. It was to be expected during Christmas break at midnight.

Shrugging off my jacket I plugged my MP3 into the stereo and clicked play. My body moved with the rhythm and I felt the beat in my pulse. I lost myself in the music until a voice said, “You call that dancing?” and just barely caught myself before I fell.

“You should just quit trying, you’ll never get in.”

I recovered from my stumble and faced him. Lee Donghae. He stood dressed in casual clothes, his bag slung over his shoulder. Brown hair stood in light curls and his handsome features were illuminated by the dim practice room’s lights.

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t say anything.

“Even if you were a good dancer, all that fat wouldn’t let you pass the front doors,” he sneered.

I bit back the reply that never actually formed in my mind and instead asked the most obvious thing, “What are you doing here?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“I’m practicing.”

The corner of his lips pulled into an unpleasant smirk and the glint in his eyes mirrored the evilness. “So was I, but really now, you shouldn’t even bother trying. You have to dance well and look good doing it. Neither of which you can accomplish. You’re not as good as me,” and with that, he departed, leaving me with the music still blaring and yet I couldn’t hear it. The sound of self-pity was it far too loud.

My dream had been crushed by the constant negative whispers behind my back. The continuous desire to bring me down got to me. It seemed inhumane to want to put others down but in reality, wasn’t that what people were like?

*

         It was Monday again. My stomach churned at the thought but I hauled myself to school. Even before I entered the front doors people started whispering. He had spread the rumors already.

I knew this would happen.

Hanging my head, I dashed up the stairs to the top floor. I shoved the door open to the old music room that no one used anymore. It was far too small for all the instruments the school had accumulated over the years so they switched rooms. Although it was dusty and hardly used, it always had the best view, especially during spring.

I let out a sigh of frustration and refrained from screaming. Curling into a ball on the floor, I tried to block out the voices that mocked me, haunted me.

“Chubby thinks he can dance.”

“Fat kid wants to join SM.”

“What are you doing here?”

Head snapping up so fast that I almost got dizzy, my eyes widened when I saw a caramel-haired man whose lean figure was clad in the school uniform. The question wasn’t harsh and the look in his eyes said he was concerned more than anything.

“I’m moping,” I said bluntly, without any shame. The impression he not at all hostile, if anything it was comforting. “Leave me alone.”

He scanned the room quickly then made his way to the piano and sat down. Tentatively, he let his fingers brush against the grimy keys and a soft melody drifted lightly around the room. I felt myself relax at the sound until a sudden obnoxious ringing cut through the song.

He stopped playing and turned to me, “I’ll be going to class. Are you staying here?”

I nodded.

“I’ll come back at lunch even if you’re not here,” he smiled and departed, shutting the door behind him.

*

         And, as promised, he came.

“This is disgusting,” he growled, the look on his face was hard. “They have no right to say anything!”

So he heard, I thought to myself and sighed as he slammed the door with a loud bang. Stomping to the piano bench he threw his bag on the ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air.

“Just leave it,” I muttered, closing the notebook I had been studying from. “There’s no point.”

“They don’t know if you’re a good dancer. It’s not as if they’ve ever seen you dance!” he argued, irritation evident in his voice.

“You don’t know if I’m a bad dancer. It’s not as if you’ve ever seen me dance,” I muttered back, warping his words.

“You still have the right to be a dancer just as any!” he protested. An exasperated sigh escaped his lips. “I’m willing to give you a chance. Isn’t that better than judging based on the way you look?”

That, I couldn’t argue with.

He didn’t give up as easily as I thought. I was glad.

It was odd, though. He was angry for my sake. Having a person do something for my sake was unfamiliar. Having someone be considerate enough was unfamiliar. My classmates, parents and sister were all the same. They thought it was useless for someone like me to keep trying. He huffed in anger while the corners of my lips tugged upward. I smiled honestly for the first time in a few weeks. He noticed and stared at me.

“What’s to smile about?”

“You,” I replied.

He tilted his head like a curious bird and I chuckled. He looked so caring despite his livid expression.

He calmed down significantly within the next few seconds and retrieved his bag from where he threw it. “Are you hungry?” he asked, choosing to ignore my weird behaviour.

I pulled out my lunch from my backpack as a form of answer. We ate in silence and only when lunch break ended did he speak up once more.

“We’re all different. We’re all unique. We all have something we’re good at and we all have the right to love it.” He packed all his things and got up.

I considered the words, my mind trying to come up with a reason as to why a mere stranger would bother to encourage me.

He was different. He was thoughtful and kind. He was empathetic, opposing everything I believed the world to be. He was…

“Leeteuk,” I blurted out as he opened the door to leave.

“Huh?” Confused, he glanced back with his eyebrows raised.

I grinned at the nickname I had given him. “Special. That’s what you are.”

Hello, my little turtles~ So this is the first chapter of Have A Little Faith obviously which I discovered as an acronym is HALF! I hope you like it and thank you for reading! <3

~Koe