“Wow,” I breathed. Kai’s body danced to the rhythm perfectly, gliding and popping as he moved with the music. “It’s one thing seeing your dancing online, but it’s a whole new experience seeing it in person.”

 

Kai smugly swiveled to face me. “I hear that often,” he replied with a smirk.

 

“So does Chen,” added Baekhyun. Sehun burst into laughter, smacking his hands together.

 

“Chen-sing machine!” Chanyeol hooted, falling to his side.  

 

After watching the trio roll around in amusement, I turned back to Kai. “I want to learn something from you.” I said, serious.

 

Kai raised his eyebrows. “What would you like to learn?”

 

“How about...hip hop?” I was inspired. “Teach me a dance similar to what you just showed me.”

 

Half an hour later, I was collapsed on the floor of the dance studio, panting heavily. “I’m not sure if hip hop’s really my thing,” I admitted, somewhat embarrassed. Kai’s choreography was too perplexing for me to follow.

 

I hoped Chanyeol wasn’t judging me too hard.

 

“Oh, you were great,” Sehun said encouragingly as he passed me a bottle of water. He had helped guide me while learning some of the moves. I thanked him, shooting him a grateful smile. “Kai’s been dancing since childhood. It’s not easy to adapt his skills within such a short period of time.”

 

“Besides, there’s always Chen,” Baekhyun joked good-naturedly. I laughed, feeling uplifted.

 

“Let’s try teaching you something else,” suggested Kai.

 

Chanyeol jumped to his feet, and my eyes swiftly turned to stare at him. “I know!” He exclaimed, looking back at me. Sliding over to where I sat, he pulled me to my feet. “Ballroom dancing.” Without warning, he swept me to the middle of the dance studio.

 

I was taken off guard, but pleasantly surprised. “I really haven’t ever done this,” I said shyly, glancing at the other boys. Baekhyun, Sehun and Kai were all watching attentively, entertained.

 

“Exactly,” Chanyeol replied. “You freestyle, right? Here’s your chance.” He motioned to Baekhyun. One of EXO’s songs, ‘Moonlight,’ softly streamed from the speakers.

 

Chanyeol’s hand slipped through mine.

 

“Ready?” Chanyeol grinned. He began to step forwards, then backwards. My feet shuffled awkwardly as I tried to follow his movements. “Slowly,” he said soothingly.

 

“Slowly.” I parroted. As my body started to mirror his, I began to relax. The music flowed smoothly, and I began to fall into the rhythm. While we danced, Baekhyun began to spew occasional jokes from where he sat, making the atmosphere even lighter.

 

I felt like I was falling into a dream.

 

When the song finished, Chanyeol gave me a twirl. “Ta-da!” He cheered happily, and the boys gave a loud applause in return. I hugged him, flushed and ecstatic.

 

“Since when could Chanyeol dance with a girl?” Sehun called out.

 

“Must be her charm,” teased Baekhyun.

 

“That was beautiful!”

 

I spun around. Jessica and Xiumin beamed at me from across the room. “Jessica!” I said delightedly, lifting my hands to cup my burning cheeks. “You’re an hour late,” I added.

 

Grinning, she bounced over to join me. “I want to learn too!” she said brightly. “Kai, teach Natasha and me. I’d love some personal ballroom lessons.”

 

“Sure, why not,” replied Kai pleasantly. “This should be fun. Who do you want to dance with?” he added.

 

Jessica turned to Xiumin.

 

“I’ll dance with you,” Xiumin burst out as Jessica laid eyes on him. I stared at him, surprised, as his voice resonated from where he stood.

 

“Minseok!” Jessica said excitedly. “I was just about to choose you.” She ran to Xiumin and playfully pulled him to the middle of the dance studio. Their hands stayed held together.

 

Wait. Wasn’t Jessica interested in Kyungsoo? She definitely had admired him about 2 weeks ago, when we first met the band.

 

“I’ll dance with Natasha, obviously,” Chanyeol added, interrupting my thoughts. I smiled at my feet, elated.

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have just witnessed the pairing of two couples matched in heaven,” teased Baekhyun from behind me.

 

Jessica was quick to reply. “Oh, but Kai--you don’t have a dance partner, do you,” she said, eyeing Baekhyun.

 

“Oh, no.” Baekhyun stopped laughing, and his eyes widened as he sensed her motive. “No, no, no.”

 

But it was too late. Leaving Xiumin’s hand, Jessica rushed to drag Baekhyun over to Kai. “There you go,” she said, joining their hands together. Everyone burst out in laughter except for the awkwardly placed dance partners, who now refused to meet each others’ eyes.

 

“I’ll be the musical assistant, then,” Sehun choked through his guffaws. Scrolling through Kai’s playlist, he set a mellow tune that smoothed out our surrounding atmosphere. I sighed contentedly.

 

Turning back to Chanyeol, I looked up at him. He took my hand again, and I smiled self-assuredly.

 

This was going to be one of my favorite memories ever.