You got up from the floor and walked to the center of the studio as your mind swarmed with disbelief. You did remembered Sandy's text, but what were the chances of actually seeing Hoseok in your dance class?! You could barely believe your ears when the teacher called his name, and when you stared at each other you swore you saw a flash of recognition on his face. You felt a sudden pang of panic in your stomach for no reason and found yourself touching the pendant on your necklace, something you did when you were either thinking or nervous.

The students quickly arranged themselves so they were sitting along one wall with the teacher and facing you and Lina on their left and right. You walked up to the left side, a natural habit when you found yourself in any dance studio. You faced Lina.

You had to admit, she was really pretty: long, natural brow hair, doe-like eyes, straight brows, slender waist, and long straight legs. She wore a tight tank top and tight shorts that hugged her curves. She smiled shyly to the audience, something that was appealing to Korean guys apparently, as you had observed.

You had no idea what to expect as the teacher spun an empty water bottle between you and Lina. You willed yourself to calm your thudding heart and to think about all the dance battles that you had done back in the States. They spun bottles too, you tried to convince yourself. See, there's something familiar. However, your stomach still did a somersault as the bottle slowed and pointed in your direction.

"Well, let's go newbie. You get one round," the teacher picked up the bottle, settled back into his chair, and pressed play on the speaker. Suddenly an oh-so-familiar beat filled the room, and it only took a split second for you to recognize it.

It was one of your favorite popping songs that you used in your studio in the States, and you felt yourself relaxed immediately at the sound of it. You almost chuckled. How in the world did I get so lucky today? You shook out your limps and breathed in the music, letting it flow through your vein. You started to feel the rhythm and soon felt a switch being flipped on in your brain as you thought of a trick you did all the time when you battled. You walked right up to Lina with a bounce in your step and stared straight into her eyes. You raised your hand and, with a smirk on your face, made a cut throat motion right in sync with the sound effect.

The dancer in you had awoke.

You rode the rhythm with amazing accuracy and complimented every sound effect with your movements. Interchanging between pops, waves, and rolls, you felt the flow of the music passing through your fingers as it guided your every move. At some point you felt yourself being submerged into the music and tapped into the pure pleasure that only dancing brought you. You covered the space around you freely, gliding near the line of students and spinning up right to Lina until you were almost face to face. You let yourself loose as you imagined yourself physically battling her, just like you had while dancing against your opponents in your old studio.

By the time you stopped and broke eye contact with Lina, you were panting and felt sweat running down on your forehead. It was only then that you noticed the mix of shock and anger on her and every other person's face in the room. You felt the sudden panic again and a shiver ran up your spine. Did I do something wrong? You scanned around the audience, desperate for any sign of recognition and acknowledgement.

And then you found it.

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Hoseok had to work hard to keep his jaw from falling open. He wasn't sure what he was expecting from you, but he was definitely not expecting this.

The last time he saw someone danced like you did was back when he was still studying at Gwangju Dance Academy and was invited to a famous street style dance competition in the States. The dance battles he witnessed there were so intense and captivating beyond what he previously thought was possible, and he even got to meet the original creators of street style dances like Buddha Stretch and famous dancers in the hip hop realm like Mr. Wiggles and Popping Rhad. That trip opened his eyes to a new form of energy and a wide range of new ways to dance. It was one of the most precious memories that he possessed to this day.

Now, seeing you dance with such power and confidence, Hoseok was in a mix of shock and awe. Your popping skills were on point, and he had to restrain himself from cheering every time you hit a sound effect perfectly. The energy you possessed when you danced against Lina was almost the perfect definition of a dance battle. Damn, I can watch her dance all day, he thought as you finished your round.

However, as he glanced around the room, all he saw were grimaces and disapprovals, and he suddenly realized why.

Throughout the three years he studies in the dance class at SOPA, there wasn't a single person that danced with such forced and acted as if they were actually fighting. What he thought was powerful and intense was rough and rude to his classmates. Of course they would frown upon your dance style.

Hoseok saw panic on your face and completely understood why you were getting nervous as you scanned around the studio. As your glance landed on him, he gave you an encouraging smile and immediately saw you led out a breath. He made a mental note of catching up with you after class.

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You felt a wave of relief wash over you as you saw an approving smile on Hoseok's face. Somehow, you felt a sense of accomplishment too. You turned back to Lina, who was about to start her round.

If you were being nice, you would say she was just dancing with her own style and was generally on beat with the music. But to be honest you were trying hard not to frown as Lina did nothing but poses over a span of 32 counts. When she did tried to dance, the most she did was shifting her weight from one leg to the other in a slightly-fancy manner. The only other thing that she did besides those was walking around while swiveling her hips. None of the thing she did even fit with the style and mood of the music at all.

As you glanced around the students, though, almost all you saw were admiration and approval. You couldn't understand why, other than the fact that she was stunningly pretty. In general, you were just in a state of confusion.

The battle, or so it was called, finished when Lina held her last pose and bowed cutely to the audience. "Round of applause, everyone," the teacher commanded. "And now vote."

You didn't even bother to look at the students, because you knew all the votes would be going to Lina, and seeing that would just make you upset. So you stared at the ground as you sat down along the wall with the other students.

Even though you didn't see them, you could hear the students shifting and moving away from you. You bit your lip slightly and rolled your pendant around your fingers for the rest of the class.