C h a p t e r  F i f t e e n

A theater hall, Naeun decided, was not intimidating at all. It was big (enough to fit over a hundred audience) and dark. But once she stood on the stage, she saw nothing but her partner and the props. She won’t be seeing the audiences let alone hearing them. It was only her, shining as bright as the light flashed upon her. And somehow, that thought calmed her down everytime she had an on stage practice.

Her partner, she concluded, was a gentleman. Living for nineteen years, Naeun had met a lot of boys or men. She didn’t exactly associate with any of them but from what she heard, none of them were that reliable. While Hyungsik was everything she’d only ever seen in movies. He opened the doors for her, he brought her food sometimes, he helped her practiced her lines and he sent her a goodnight text everyday.

For someone like Naeun, who hadn’t have a boyfriend, it was overwhelming. And scary.

There were the two of them in the practice room, sprawled on the wooden floor, bottles and papers spread everywhere. Naeun sat, leaning against the wall with Hyungsik beside her, reciting his lines from the wrinkled script, “And now we dance.”

Sighing, Naeun rested her head, “Show me how you dance.”

Hyungsik chuckled, “Are you tired? Should we take a break?”

“No.” She shook her head, “I’m – I don’t know.”

“Okay.” Hyungsik said, pulling the papers out of her hand and turned her to face him, smiling, “Tell me a secret.”

Naeun raised her eyebrows, “What are you doing?”

“Tell me a secret.”

“Why should I?”

“For someone who seems quiet, you sure are difficult, Naeun.”

At that, Naeun smiled, “Okay. Fine. I’ll tell you one. I’ve never dance with a guy.”

Hyungsik’s smile grew wider, “So, I’ll be the first guy you ever dance with?”

“Maybe.” Naeun shrugged, a teasing look in her eyes, “We haven’t even start the dance routine.”

These two weeks, Naeun and Hyungsik had been practicing lines and song lyrics but no dance moves. It was quite exasperating, she hadn’t even make one move because the director wanted them to memorize their lines perfectly before starting on the choreography.

“But.. ” Hyungsik pointed out, “We’ll start practicing it next week.”

“Well, Johnny.” Naeun looked to her front, “Let’s just hope nobody snatch me by then.”

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“One, two, three, go!”

The room was filled with mutters and music and stomping legs. Small groups were seen either lounged on the floor or in front of the mirrors. Naeun was seated comfortably as she watched Bomi moved as graceful as a swan. The speaker next to her was blaring a soft music, matching Bomi’s steps. As the last step was executed flawlessly, Naeun clapped her hands, “That was amazing!”

Bomi did a little curtsy and plopped next to Naeun, “I still need to practice a lot.”

“But you’re well prepared.” Naeun pointed out.

“And how’s your routine going?”

Naeun sighed, a little too dramatic, “Not good.”

“Why? Are you too caught up in your play?”

“No.” She shook her head, “I can manage. I had divided my time between works, my rehearsal and the routine perfectly. It’s just that it doesn’t feel special. It’s like it isn’t me that moving, only a puppet moved by strings and threads.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Bomi reassured her, “You just worry too much. Maybe from memorizing too much lines, lyrics and actions that you are this one big bowl with all emotions mashed inside.”

“That’s a terrible analogy.” Naeun scrunched her nose before rubbing her stomach, “And it makes me hungry.”

“Show me your routine and I’ll buy you pizzas.” Bomi challenged, giving her a smile.

While pizzas were tempting and all delicious, Naeun wasn’t prepared to show anyone her routine. Not just yet. It was incomplete and it felt like an unfinished building. She shook her head, shooting the suggestion down, “No thanks. I would rather buy my own cheesy pizzas than show you my routine.”

Bomi frowned, “Fine, Miss Grumpy. At least my 20 dollars are safe.”

Naeun laughed, “I don’t want your 20 dollars.”

“Well.” Bomi looked down on her dancing shoes before saying, “What you need is a break. Come on, there’s a party downtown. I think the guy from my English class hosts it. You should come.”

“And why should I?” Naeun sighed, “I have tons of other things to do, Bomi.”

“You-know-who will be there.” Bomi raised her eyebrows, beaming.

“Voldermort?”

“No.” Bomi rolled her eyes and smacked her friend on her arm, “Your knight in shining armor.”

Naeun giggled, imagining L in a silver armor suit with a sword dangling from his waist, riding a white horse and felt her cheeks warmed. She pushed away the fantasy and said, “Fine, I’ll go.”

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The music blared from the stereos and a DJ was standing next to them, bobbing his head to the beat. The house was packed, dozens of cars parked in the yard and everywhere Naeun looked, people were either dancing or sipping their beers. She arrived a few minutes ago with Bomi and her partner was stolen when Dongwoo dragged her to the dance floor. Eunji was supposed to be there too but she pulled out last minute because her mother finally called her.

And that left Naeun alone, in her red dress that hugged her tightly around her chest and flowed loosely at the bottom, holding a red cup she won’t even drink from. She sighed, putting the cup down on a table and made her way through the crowd to the kitchen. Her heart leaped as she saw Sunggyu and Woohyun sitting on the kitchen counter, a bag of chips lying next to them. They saw her coming and waved.

Sunggyu scooted as Naeun sat next to him, “Thank god you guys are here. I almost passed out from being too lonely.”

Woohyun smiled cheekily, “A lot of sing