Melonie

     *Beep…Beep…Beep* Jerking from my sleep I awoke from my alarm on my phone going off. Picking it up I looked to see seven a.m. on the screen in big bold white font. Squinting away from the bright screen, I turned off the loud alarm. Sighing loudly I covered my eyes with my right arm to take in a couple of more deep breaths. It always took five extra minutes in the morning to get out of bed, but today it took a lot longer for some reason. I couldn't really understand my grogginess considering that I should be excited for today. It was finally my turn to shut Jun up for once and for all. He'd been constantly harassing me about how hard and complicated his life was. Don't get me wrong his life is complicated enough with all the paparazzi, scheduling, photo shoots, press conferences, and drama shooting going on, but it's nothing compared to what I had in stored for him today. Today he'd understand the true definition of hard work…

     After taking a nice hot shower I dressed in loose dark green cargo pants that slightly hung off my hips, with a black halter top, and my favorite white converses so that it would be easier for my students to see my foot work. Once I was dressed I walked into the kitchen to make me some breakfast. As I was making some rice, with a fried egg I couldn't but think back towards the events that happened last night at the studio. I remembered yelling at Jun about having more passion in his music, and I started to feel guilty about how blunt I had been to him. "Gah…I'm such an idiot! I knew I should've kept that to myself… Why did I have to tell him I was fan! Ugh!" I thought embarrassed by the fact that Jun now knew that about me. Even after saying all that last night I almost said something else dumb, but I left before I could say anymore. "Whew so  many close calls yesterday." I said thinking to myself. If it wasn't for Hari's phone call yesterday, I would've been found out by Jun. I called her back last night after she grilled me out about not getting in touch with her. Honestly I was surprised to receive a phone call from after I left Korea the way I did back in high school… I agreed to meet up with her sometime this week to catch up, and grab a bite to eat. Apparently she became a elementary school teacher in Seoul, and wasn't that far away from where I was working now. I didn't exactly tell her who I was working for, only that I was teaching dance in the city, which wasn't totally off…

     After I finished my breakfast I grabbed a couple of bottles of water and placed them in my dance bag with my face towels, wraps, wallet, cell phone, and most importantly mp3 player. Locking my door I looked down the hallway wondering if Jun was ready, or of he even came home last night. Deciding not to ponder on the subject any longer, I started to walk down the stairs to wait in Manager Jung-Hwa and Hyuk-Shik. Putting on my sunglasses I decided to do some pre-stretching while I waited, knowing that I was pretty stiff from the morning. As I was bending down on my left leg to reach for my right leg, a deep voice came from behind me saying, "What are you doing?" Looking over my shoulder I saw Jun looking terribly bored while leaning against the wall. "Obviously stretching, which you should be doing too." I said while switching to the other leg. "People are staring…" Jun said lowly. "Listen the day I start caring about what people think of me, will be the day I die. I don't have time nor the energy to care." Looking behind me I noticed Jun had on plan clothing consisting of blue jeans and a t-shirt, with checkered vans. To make himself even more inconspicuous he completed the look with a Doosan Seoul Bears baseball cap and sunglasses. I snickered a little at his appearance. "Maybe I should stop stretching, I don't wanna bring any more attention to how basic you look today." I said trying to contain my laughter at how Jun was trying to make himself look normal. Which failed miserably considering at how  his tall height and chiseled features gave him away. "Can it. This is as normal as I'm going to get today. I don't want any unwanted attention today." He said while pulling his cap lower on his face. "Tch, that's saying something coming from you." I said turning back around.

     We didn't say anything else to one another, even when the van pulled up for us to get in. When I got in I was welcomed with warm greetings. I smiled while taking my seat. "Hello. Did you guys get a good night's sleep last night?" I asked. Hyuk-Shik answered first, "I had a restful night Ms. Melonie, thank you for asking." He said brightly. I flinched from his formalness towards me. "Hyuk-Shik, remember what I said about calling me Ms… you know I don't care for that." I said while cringing form the sound of the word. "Yes, Yes, I know, but…" He started, but glanced at Jun while he spoke. "…I should be more respectful towards you while we're in public. Besides it make me feel more comfortable this way." He said becoming quite. I glared at Jun knowing that it was his fault why Hyuk-Shik was acting this way. "What?" Jun said while looking into my glare. "Nothing." I said while adverting my attention towards manager Jung-Hwa. "How about yours Manager Jung-Hwa?" I asked curiously. He looked over his shoulder. "I actually had a long night. After I dropped you two off at the company building, I stayed up doing paper work and answering emails about interviews and such and such." he said with a yawn. "Then not too long after that I got a drunk phone call from_" All of a sudden Jun kicks the back of Jun-Hwa's seat hard. Clearing his throat Jun said, "So many questions, why can't we all be quite and enjoy the ride?" He said irritated. I looked between the two of them trying to figure out what the heck was going on, but eventually sat back and stared out the window without saying another word. "Man Jun sure was crabby today…more than usual." I thought while pondering over my thoughts. 

     It didn't take long to drive to the dance studio that I was supposed to be working at this morning. I didn't tell Jun that this was supposed to be a charity event, where I was giving free lessons the children and adults who didn't have enough money to pay for dance classes on their own. I loved doing events like these, it made me feel like I was not only giving back, but starting from my roots where I too struggled to make my way in dance because of money. I also liked the fact that students at these events were always so humble, and were never afraid to put their own personality into my choreography. Heart is what I was looking for today in my students, I just hoped that everything would run just as smoothly as I thought it could.

     Pulling up to the dance studio, I was amazed by the architecture on the outside of the building. It was grand with the large intricate beams holding up the front of it, and glass windows all around the studio. “Wow this is…amazing!” I said in awe, as Hyuk-Shik, Jun, and I entered the building while Jung-Hwa was parking the van. “It is quite the sight.” Hyuk-Shik said just as impressed. “Now where are we supposed to go exactly…” I said aloud while looking back and forth. From the corner of my eye I see a good looking young man walking over to greet us. Bowing slightly he said, “Hello, you must be the great Ms. Carter! It’s so nice to finally meet you. My name is Jason Kim, and I’m one of the choreographers at the Lunar Dance Academy.” I blushed slightly while bowing in return. “Thank you Mr. Kim_” “Please call me Jason…” He said with a cute smile, but then it quickly faded when he looked behind me. “…Excuse me for asking this, but a-are you perhaps t-the famous singer Min-Jun?!” The guy asked shocked. Looking behind me Jun wore a neutral look upon his face. I couldn’t see his eyes because they were still covered by his sunglasses. “So much for not drawing attention.” I said snickering. Jun looked over glaring. Well I could tell that he was glaring based on the tension in his jaws. Looking back towards Jason, Jun nodded slightly before saying, “You caught me. I guess my disguise wasn’t as good as I thought.” He said completely changing his attitude into an easy going smile. “Oh please forgive me. I didn’t mean to…” Jason said somewhat nervously. “No need to apologize. I’m here to volunteer with Ms. Melonie today.” Jun said while finally taking off his sunglasses. “Volunteer?! Oh, but sir we couldn’t impose that on you.” Jason said surprised. “Nonsense. I’m here because I was invited by Ms. Melonie, and besides I feel like I could learn a thing or two today from the students.” Jun said while putting on his million dollar smile. My heart suddenly thumped. Quickly looking away I turned to Jason and asked, “Ok Jason. Where exactly will I be teaching my lovely students today?” Gently shaking his head from being star struck at the moment, he quickly got back onto the topic at hand. “Pardon my manners, right this way Ms. Melonie.” He said while walking towards the back. When we walked around the corner I was shocked to see two big elevators on either side of the hallway. My eyes grew wide, while my palms started to become sweaty. “We just need to go to the third floor. Everyone is going to be so excited to learn from you today, they’re already there waiting…” As Jason was saying this I started to tune out everything else he was saying because all I could think about at that moment was my stupid fear! “Excuse me for a moment.” I rushed out before quickly walking back towards the front of the building. “Ms. Melonie wait!” Hyuk-Shik called after me, but I was already gone. 

        I had no idea what was wrong with me, I could usually handle my phobia a lot better than that, but for some reason I couldn’t fathom getting on today. “It’s because of him…” The thought suddenly passed through my mind. “No… It couldn’t be. I’ve already established that it had nothing to do with him.” I thought, but then again I didn’t have someone constantly trying to figure me out on a daily basis. I looked over my shoulder to see Jun and the others coming to follow after me. “Are you ok Ms. Melonie? You seem kind of pale all of a sudden.” Jason asked concerned. “I’m ok, it’s just…do you mind if I use the stairs instead. It helps me calm my nerves before every class.” I admitted shyly. “Tch.” I heard Jun say under his breath. I glared over at him trying not to let him get to me even more. “O-of course. The stairs are to your right.” He said thankfully understanding. I bowed before quickly walking towards the stairs. I didn’t realize that Hyuk-Shik was following me until he rushed in front of me to hold the door open. “You didn’t have to follow me.” I said slightly embarrassed. “Nonsense, I’d rather walk up the stairs with you than take that stuffy elevator. He said with a bright smile. I could fill the tension inside slowly going away. “Thank you.” I said softly. We walked up the stairs quietly together until about the second floor. “Hyuk-Shik you don’t have to call me Ms. Melonie anymore. I know Jun’s making you call me that, and quite frankly I don’t like it.” I said looking over at him. He nodded. “I know…I know, it's just honestly I feel somewhat torn in between you two." He said. I paused not realizing what position I was putting Huyk-Shik in this entire time while Jun and I were fighting. "I'm sorry man, it seems like I've been wrapped up around myself I wasn't thinking about how this all made you feel." I said while gently patting him on the shoulder. "Don't worry too much about me Melonie, you already have you hands full with Min-Jun hyung." He said as we continued up the stairs.

     When we finally reached the third floor Jun and Jason were already waiting for us by the studio doors. "Finally." Jun said under his breath as we were walking up. I rolled my eyes making sure he could see them. "They're ready for you when you are…" Jason said while holding the door open for me. I paused looking over at Jun. "Stay here for a second." I said firmly, wanting him to actually listen to me. If we went in there together right now, everyone would flip out. I wanted Jun to be here, but I also wanted order in class. When Jun didn't move it let me know he understood.

     As I walked into the classroom I was welcomed by applause from everyone inside. I smiled big while waving to everybody, before stepping towards the front of the room. As expected there was a lot of people gather today, just to take my class. There's was always this sense of pride and joy at the beginning of each session. Looking back to where I started from, I never would've thought I'd be here at this moment. Looking around the room everyone started to gather. Some were taking pictures, while others were ready to listen quietly. "Hello everyone!" I said excitedly in Korean. "Hello!" everyone said back ecstatic. "Wow so many people today that's awesome. It's a great honor to be back home to be able to teach you guys today. Some of you might have heard of me, some you might not, but today isn't going to be about me. No, today I have two dances that I want to teach you guys, but before I do that I have a surprise for you… Today we have a special guest who will be joining us today. I'm sure most of you know this individual…" I said. Everyone started murmuring, and looking back and forth at one another. "I just need you guys to promise me something ok?"  "DEA!" Everyone shouted at once. "First I need you guys to hold all pictures and recordings till the end of practice today. I know you guys might get super excited in the next minute or so, but I need you guys to keep it together ok? Especially you ladies." I said with a wink. There was some owing in the audience, but I continued. "Ok, so the promise I want you guys to keep is to treat this individual like the rest of us. This person is a human being like all of us, so let's try to respect him like we'd respect one another." "DEA!" Taking a deep breath I nodded towards the doors…