18

Hyukjae re-entered the dance room a while later after faxing some documents for the upcoming competition.

He immediately spotted Hyoyeon in her usual spot in the back corner, silently stretching to whatever music was playing on her ipod.

He was slightly surprised.

Normally, he was the first of the two to arrive back in the room – Hyoyeon tended to visit the convenience store with some of the other students before sneaking back in. Neither of them spoke about why they didn’t want the rest of the class to know about these private practice sessions between the two but that’s just how things had turned out.

Drawing closer, he noticed that Hyoyeon’s eyes were shut tight as if in deep concentration.

It made him curious.

She had been oddly quiet all through class as well.. ‘Is she having some personal problems at home? Or is she not feeling well?’ He continued to watch her for a while, not realizing what he was doing. There were vague half-formed thoughts floating around his mind but his eyes and his heart were following the tune of Hyoyeon’s mesmerising movements.

He could imagine the music she was listening to simply from the timing of each step – the musicality was built into her being – something he greatly admired about her.

Born to dance.

It was like her destiny.

The chiming of the grand clock in the hallway broke his trance and he straightened himself quickly, not wanting to be caught acting like such a creeper. He exhaled in relief upon realizing that her earphones were still firmly plugged into her ears.

With a tiny half-smile playing on his lips, he walked around Hyoyeon and thinking of how to least startle her, settled on tugging her earphones out.

“Hey,” he whispered in her ear just as they fell out sending Hyoyeon flying across the room - clutching her chest.

“You scared me!” she yelled, red-faced.

Hyukjae rubbed his hands together playfully in apology, “I was trying to think of how to not scare you but ended up scaring you anyway!”

“Don’t. Do. That!” The tiny but strong aura-ed girl emphasized every word. Her heart still hadn’t stopped racing and there was gooseflesh all along her neck – the part where Hyukjae’s breath had brushed against her ski--- “NO NO NO! Stop what you are thinking KIM HYOYEON!”

“Hey, are you okay? I didn’t know you get so scared by people sneaking up on you!” he looked sincerely sorry – taken aback by how strong her reaction was.

“Uh du—h .. doesn’t ev..everyone?” Hyoyeon managed to sputter out. She’d much rather he think that she was a scaredy-cat than some girl who was crushing hard on him.

Hyukjae rubbed the back of his neck, “Well.. I knew you are scared of sudden loud sounds and exploding stuff, and small yappy dogs… but… not this…” His voice trailed off in thought.

His spot on remarks took Hyoyeon by surprise. “How did you know all that? Did I tell you before? Wow, I must talk a lot huh, if I’m forgetting things we’ve talked about.”

“Not really!” he shrugged. “I just noticed you flinching a lot when we were driving by the Town Square the night they had fireworks.  And,” he gave her a gummy smile, “you practically hide behind me every time we see a tiny little dog.”

“Oh.. I do that?” she was blushing once more. “I’m so stupid.. I..I won’t do it again.”

“Yah that’s not what I meant! It’s cute, ok!”

1 second

2 seconds

3 seconds

“Ohhh” Hyoyeon yelled awkwardly, “Look at the time! We should practice.”

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Dancing, Hyoyeon quickly realized once again, was her perfect escape. Once she started practising the routine, all thoughts of awkwardness, crushes, uncomfortable skinship instantly disappeared as she immersed herself in learning and constantly improving her moves.

They were a focused and highly productive pair whose shared love of dance brought out the best in each other. Neither realized how quickly the time flew by once they were in their zone; so it was only when Hyukjae stopped for a drink of water that he caught the time.

“We’ve only got 15 minutes left, Hyo!” His eyebrows rose in question – “Are you over your fear of lifts now? Want to try a real one?”

Recalling the exhilarating feeling of overcoming her fear made her quickly nod in agreement.

“Alright then, wrap you right leg around my waist.”

Hyoyeon gingerly lifted her leg. “Yah, do it properly!” Hyukjae commanded, back in teacher mode. “Do you want to go flying into the wall when we turn?”

“O..k..” Hyoyeon moved closer, her face almost brushing against his collar, “Is this good?”

“Yes, now lean back .. and hold tight. Are you ready?”

“I guess… yahhhhh!!!” Her scream echoed through the room as the pair turned around and then somewhere mid-turn changed into giggles.

When they finally stopped, she was all smiles  and twinkling eyes. “That was fun!”

“Glad you enjoyed it,” Hyukjae chuckled. “That was step 1. Now we move on to the real thing.”

“Real thing?”

“You heard right, ma’m.” Hyukjae walked back a few paces. “Any dancer worth their money needs to know the Dirty Dancing lift.”

‘Dirty Dancing?’ Hyoyeon wondered in alarm when suddenly the lightbulb in her head , “OH! You mean from the movie, right?”

With a nod, Hyukjae motioned for her to move back to the opposite end. “We are pros Kim Hyoyeon, so we are going to get it right with one try, alright? All you have to do is come running towards me, trust me to lift you and when I do, extend your arms and stay stiff. Got it?”

“Not really,” the girl giggled, “but like you always say - don’t think, just do!”

He smiled to himself, feeling proud. ‘She has come a long way since the first time.’

Watching Hyoyeon on the other side of the room practising rising up on her toes and extending her arms like a ballerina, his palms started to get sweaty. Now, it all rested on him to not mess it up or the trust he’d earned would be lost.  But the truth was he wasn’t entirely sure if he would be able to pull if off. He’d never tried this particular move himself although he had always wanted to – just, the right partner had never come along.

And now she has.

‘That’s right. She’s the best. You’re the best. There’s no way this is going to fail! Let’s go!’

With those fighting words, he wiped his palms against his sweatpants and yelled out to Hyoyeon, “On the count of three. One.. two.. three….”

There was no calculation, no over-thinking. Their bodies magnetically moved towards each other as if everything was rehearsed and in one fluid motion, Hyoyeon was soaring over Hyukjae – arms perfectly extended.

“We did it! We did it Hyuk!” Hyoyeon squealed while Hyukjae hooted along in celebration. They could see their reflection in the full length mirrors and both had the same thought – ‘I wish we could always be partnered together.’

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After soaking in the moment,

“I’m bringing you down now… put your hands on my shoulders.”

Hyoyeon did as instructed, arms shaking uneasily, “Uh, Hyuk I think we should’ve practiced this part though.”

Hyukjae laughed. It was true. He hadn’t thought it through.

“It’ll be okay, just put your weight into your arms.” With this, he lifted Hyoyeon slightly in order to help her straighten herself and began lowering her slowly.

Everything was going well when suddenly, Hyoyeon’s left arm jerked, causing her to slip out of Hyukjae’s grasp.

In a panic, Hyukjae’s hand desperately moved to enclose her falling body.

He was able to catch her in nick of time.

Both breathed heavily as relief flooded through their systems. 

They were face to face, eyes locked together.

Gradually, a different feeling started to take over...

Hyukjae’s arms were still wrapped protectively around Hyoyeon, pressing their bodies as close as possible. And neither could nor wanted to lose their eye contact, even as Hyukjae softly set Hyoyeon back on the ground.

Finally, she smiled at him - a shy, grateful smile that ended up being his undoing. Hyukjae couldn’t hold back anymore.

'Don't think, just do!'

He smiled back and slowly dipped his head, sealing their lips in a kiss. 

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A/N it's an update. yes, an update. I doubt anyone still remembers this story. Heck, I'll be the first to admit I had to read back a couple of chapters in order to refresh my memory and start writing again so i don't blame you. to put it simply, i had this overwhelming urge to write some HyoHyuk fluff and this story was just calling for it (but the comments all want HyoHae? oops :/)

i think i've got my groove back, in the writing sense, so updates for this story will probably pick up. I apologize if my romantic scenes seem repetitive or cliched.. a girl can only imagine so many romantic situations.. so please make do with this until my romatic life picks up. teehee. or you can inspire me with yours XD