Jun

Taking one last breath, I put my camera ready face on before walking through the studio doors.  Several young and mature faces stared at me curiously not knowing who I was yet because of my attire. When I raised my arms to take off my hat and sunglasses, those curious faces soon morphed into shock and pure admiration.  The room soon filled with squeals and gasps of joy as they began to quickly recognize who I was. “Omo! I-it’s Lee Min-Jun!!” One of the young female dancers said. Shortly I’m rushed by a group of people asking for autographs and pictures. Not fazed by this reaction one bit, I easily smiled and waved to the crowd of people now in front of me. I was fully prepared to act out fan service, when all of a sudden I hear loud clapping coming from the back of the studio.

Everyone pauses for a quick second to pear behind them. Looking over the crowd I see an annoyed Melonie glaring at the class. “Excuse me! I don’t remember asking my class to bum rush my friend like that. Please put your phones, pens, and paper away until the END of class.” She said sternly. Everyone proceeded to grown with disappointment, while I tried not to laugh. “Now Min-Jun, if you would kindly meet up here in front of the class please.” She said formally.  I flinched. I wasn’t used to her talking to me so politely, but then again we had to keep the pretense that everything was fine between the two of us.

The crowd parted down the middle to let me through, as I walked towards Melonie I noticed that she looked kind of tense, as she refused to look me in the eyes. I turned to face the class while bowing down halfway to greet them. “Hello, nice to meet you all. I’m Lee Min-Jun. Please welcome me into your class today.” I said politely. “Oppa saranghaeyo!” A girl yelled from the back. I smirked while winking at the crowd. Several people gasped while others tried to hold in their excitement. I looked over just as Melonie was rolling her eyes at me. “Okay guys listen up, I’ve asked Min-Jun to join us today for class, but here’s the thing…no autographs and pictures till after practice today. In order for this to work I need everyone to pay attention because I have some brand new choreography, and a limited amount of time to teach it.” Everyone nodded respectfully. “Also I need everyone to treat Lee Min-Jun with respect. He’s here to help out and learn like the rest of you. So as of right now consider this man not as a celebrity, but as a regular human being.” She said with such conviction, that I almost did a double take. No one has ever really said that about me to anyone else, and it felt kind of…nice. “So let’s get started!” Melonie said excitedly breaking my thoughts.

Several people proceeded to clap while others started to put their things away to start to get ready for the class. While everyone was getting ready for practice, Melonie gently grabbed my arm. It felt like an electrical current just flew straight through my arm, and right to my chest. She quickly pulled her arm away while clearing . “Ahem…you think you’ll be able to keep up, or do you need to stand in the back today?” she said smugly. I scoffed at her preposterous statement. Walking right in front of her I looked her dead in the eyes. “Watch me…” With that I walked over to find a safe place to but my belongings. Usually I’d give it to my manager, but seeing how he was still absent I was left without options_. “I can hold your things for you hyung.” I turned to see Melonie’s assistant Hyuk-Shik offering. “…thanks.” I said while handing over my keys, sunglasses, phone, and baseball cap. I heard several girls squeal with excitement as I brushed my hair with my fingers to get rid of the hat hair.

Looking around the room I noticed that people were starting to gather in the middle of the room. From the corner of my eye I noticed Melonie reach in her bag for something. When she pulled out whatever she was looking for, she walked over to the sound equipment. Soon fast paced American music came pouring through the speakers. “This is my favorite song to stretch to before we start getting into the real fun.” She said while playfully winking to the whole class. Everyone soon started to file into rows behind her, while waiting for what to do next…

“Ok everyone spread out; we’re going to start by getting loose.” She said while barely jumping up and down, while shaking her body loose. Then she began to jumping three times in the middle, before leaning over her right side with her arm above head to stretch out her muscles. “Alright now let’s do the same on the other side. We’re going to do this four times, and we’ll hold it for ten seconds each.” She explained while she continues to stretch. Everyone proceed to follow along with ease. I made my way to the middle of the rows to an open spot. I noticed some of the girls shy, while whispering to their friends next to them, while some of the guys shook their heads in annoyance. These reactions were normal from the men, which is why the majority of my fan base mostly consisted of woman rather than men. Smirking I joined easily along with the class doing the simple warm-up.

When we were done with all the warm-up exercises, I noticed how fast I was breathing. Looking around the dance room I noticed how everyone seemed to be at ease, while on the other hand I was the only one slightly out of breath. “I thought this was a warm-up? Why do I feel like I just got done working out?” I thought puzzled. I was in pretty good shape because of the image I had to uphold, but jumping around and stretching has never been my strong suit.  

“Ok guys step around I’m going to show you groundwork for the first routine. Watch carefully, and I can assure you that you’ll be rocking these dance moves in no time.” Melonie said while stepping in the middle of the newly formed circle. I stepped in to get a better look, but because of my height I didn’t need to move up far…

Melonie nodded towards the guy named Jason who was standing next to the stereo system to press play. The song started out smooth, with a gentleman in the background singing in a seductive voice. Melonie started out snapping while doing a cool side step while spinning around with her hand on top of her head as if she was looking for someone. She then started stepping forward with three big steps to the beat of the music before dropping down on her heels to tick her body back up. People in the crowd started to cheer loving the way she was moving. I would have looked at their faces, but I was too engrossed with the way Melonie was moving her body. She had such control with every move, even with the complicated footwork in the choreo. She brushed her shoulders following along with the lyrics of the song perfectly. She put so much emotion into her dance moves, which made it so original that I doubt anyone else could copy her even if they tried. Before I knew what was going on Melonie suddenly dropped down on the ground while standing on her hands and feet, while moving side to side while ily gyrating her hips. The crowd went wide after that! She stood back up to roll her hips to the left while swinging her right arm behind her in a sassy manner. Turning so that her back was facing us, she crossed both of her arms in front of her while rolling her body backwards before turning quickly to put a little whip to finish off her dance.

When it was over most of her students started throwing shoes and hats at her feet. Melonie held a wide smile on her face showing that she was thrilled with the reactions of her class. Confused for a second I reach out and grabbed the wrist of a young man about to throw his shoe, when he looked at me curiously. “Why are you guys throwing your shoes at Ms. Cater like that?” I asked baffled by what was going on. He smiled while nodding forward. “We’re not trying to hurt her; it’s just a sign of respect letting her know that we loved her dance.” He said before pulling his arm away to throw his shoe towards her like the others.

Shaking my head I sighed contemplating what I should do when I caught Melonie’s eyes locked on me. A strange tingling fluttered in my chest as she stared at me through the crowd. Trying not to look like a dumb in front of everyone I gave a slight nod in her direction. Giving me a small smile she looked back towards the rest of her class. “Alright guys I want ya’ll to do that, but better…” She said jokingly. Everyone started to laugh while giving her a couple of high fives. Melonie moved back towards the front of the room before turning to face everyone. “Ok get to where you can see because I don’t want anyone missing out.” She said before beginning…

Two hours went by, and every part of my body was burning from the ache of my muscles. It almost felt like I just ran a damn marathon! I could feel the sweat dripping down my face, back, and arms as I tried to keep up with Melonie’s instructions. Everyone else in the class seemed to be soaked in sweat also, which slightly made me feel better knowing I wasn’t the only affected by the difficulty of this choreography. “We’ll go over the routine one more time, just to see if everyone has it down, and then we’ll take a well needed one hour break.” I heard Melonie say breathlessly over the crowded classroom. Looking up at the clock I didn’t even realize that three hours passed by already, no wonder why I was so tired. Everyone sighed with relief, as Melonie cued for the music one last time.

When we all finally finished the routine, some of the students collapsed on the floor to try to take a breather. I on the other hand was breathing heavily on my hands and knees. “Who knew that dancing could be so strenuous?” I thought, but would never allow myself to admit that to Melonie, or anyone else for that matter.  Suddenly Melonie clapped to get everyone’s attention. “Listen up! I want everyone to take a rest, but I also want you guys to keep in mind how you’re going to put your own style into this choreography because when we come back we’ll be splitting up into groups to show everyone what you got! Remember…it’s not about perfection; it’s about taking something you’ve learned, while making it one hundred percent you. This is not about how well you can impress me, but rather how you can show me why you love dancing in the first place…” She said with a huge grin on her face. I’ve never seen Melonie smile so much in one day before, but then again she wasn’t scowling, or getting onto to me at the moment. Although there was something almost tantalizing about the way her eyes lit up when she was teaching her class, or the way her body moved so fluidly to the music… I shook my head out of my daze while trying to remember what the real Melonie Carter was like.      

“Enjoy your break!” She said before dismissing everyone. She then turned to look for something, presumably her bag, while most of the people in the class proceeded to walk towards me pens, notepads, and pretty much anything that they could get their hands on for me to sign for them. Sighing inwardly I knew that this would take up most of my hour to get through and sign all of these autographs, and take all the pictures/selfies.

After signing about five or six autographs I noticed Melonie on her phone talking privately in the corner of the room. She seemed to be smiling widely, as she played with a loose string on her shirt. She quietly nodded her head before hanging up her phone. She then rushed to get her wallet and sunglasses, before walking out the door. Something about her leaving didn’t sit right with me, so I signaled over my manager. After getting his attention he expertly made his way through the crowd of students standing around me. “Yes Jun?” He asked when he was close enough to me. “Where does Melonie think she’s going, I thought she promised to keep her students off me until the end of class?” I whispered in his ear annoyed. Jung-Hwa looked towards the door in the direction Melonie left before saying, “I’m not sure, but I’m pretty sure she was talking to sajangnim before she left.” He whispered back to me. “Why in the world would he want to talk to her, she’s just a simple choreographer?!” I said under my breath angrily. “Heh…now Jun you should be careful what you say about her, these are her students.” He replied just as quietly. “Relax, who do you think they’re more interested in, me or her?” I whispered in his ear arrogantly, while still smiling, and signing autographs in front of me. “Clear them away from me would ya, I need a break.” I ordered softly. Jung-Hwa rolled his eyes, but proceeded to go about telling the crowd to give me a quick rest. Most of them sighed while others happily walked away with a signed autograph or selfie. “I’ll take as many pictures as you all would like after class is over, but I know most of you might need some food or water, so go enjoy your free time while you still can. I’ll be right here, I’m not going anywhere…” I said with charming dimpled smile, which always seemed to get the ladies to comply. The crowd split down the middle letting me walk through. When I was finally out of the classroom, I headed down the hallway towards the elevators. “Where are you going hyung?” Hyuk-Shik asked me while handing me my hat, sunglasses, and phone. “No need to worry, I’m just checking up on something.” I replied disinterested. “Something or someone…” Manager Jung-Hwa implied behind me. “Why are you guys so interested in my whereabouts all of a sudden?” I asked getting annoyed. “It’s our job to keep you safe, and on schedule_” “No, It’s YOUR job to make sure hyung. Hyuk-Shik is just Melonie glorified secretary. Did she even tell you where she was going before she left?” I pried only to prove a point. “She did actually…she said that she was going to have coffee with sajangnim, and that I didn’t need to follow.” Hyuk-Shik said unfazed. My eye twitched by his blatant honesty. The kid had tenacity I give him that, but I was getting real tired of how he looked like a damn puppy every time Melonie around, and how he listened to her so obediently. Hell she had both Hyuk-shik and Jung-Hwa wrapped around little finger already.

Stepping into the elevator I balled my fists inside my pants pockets. “Who knew what they were talking about over coffee…It could be about anything, but why did I feel like it had everything to do about me.” I thought. The elevator dinged again rushing me out of my thoughts, to see Melonie just walking out the front doors. I was never one to stalk, but something inside told me to follow her. Deciding I started to walk towards the doors leading outside, when Jung-Hwa grabbed my shoulder. “Where are you going, you know you can’t walk outside without someone recognizing you!” he said nervously.  Shrugging away I said, “Don’t worry I’m not going far, I’m just getting a little bit of fresh air.” I lied knowing exactly where I was headed. “At least let us go with you…” Jung-Hwa said. “Absolutely not, you two would make anyone stick out like a sore thumb.” I said making my way towards the doors again. Hyung tried to interject again, but I was already out the door before he could say anything else.

Pulling my cap down and putting on my dark tinted glasses over my eyes, I looked right and left searching to see which direction she could have gone in. In the distance I could see her at a crosswalk getting ready to cross the street. Making sure to keep my distance so she wouldn’t notice I was following, I began to walk behind her. People didn’t seem to notice, or even bother to look at me which was good. This disguise might work after all… One thing was for sure, I wasn’t used to getting bumped into as much as it was happening right now. It felt kind of nice not having anyone recognize me for a change; it was almost like I was a normal person, rather than a celebrity.

Suddenly Melonie made an abrupt left to walk towards a nice modern café not even five minutes away from the dance studio. Pulling my hat down lower I stopped when she entered the building. Stepping up closer to get a better look through the glass window, I saw her slightly bow, and sit down in front of sajangnim. He seemed to have an easy going smile on his face, while he wore his expensive three-piece suit. The two of them looked completely out of sorts sitting together, but it seemed as if they fit right in all the same. This scene gave me a weird feeling within me. The worst part wasn’t the fact that they could quite possibly be talking about me, but the fact that Melonie seemed like a completely different person now compared to the person she was several minutes ago where she was a focused, lecturing, and commanding. No, right now she was almost acting like a woman…