Choi Yuna loved being on stage.

There was something freeing about throwing herself heart and soul into a performance, having that silent conversation with the audience with every move and glance. Even if they didn't read it, she knew, and that was enough for her.

It was all she had left since she stopped singing. A familiar lump rose in , but Yuna shoved it away with ease born of practice, retreating behind the mask of her painted face. The cheers of her audience lent her a confidence she didn't actually feel, but she let it all fall away as her world upended, suspended in midair for one magical moment of weightlessness.

It was impossible to miss the one oddity in the crowd, even with her view turned upside down. Whoever wasn't already riveted by her performance was either drunk or partying while high on drugs. Yuna had enough confidence in that, at least.

The girl was staring, but who wasn't? However, in that split second their eyes met, Yuna sensed something different about that gaze. Where the others were a mix of admiration and lust, that girl seemed detached, as if she were studying her every move. There was a brief spark when their eyes met, one dancer to another, and Yuna thought she saw someone who knew what she was trying to say with her dance.

The rest of the routine went by in a whirl. When Yuna took her bow before leaving the stage, her eyes flit over to where the mysterious girl had been standing earlier. She hadn't moved still, a thoughtful expression that looked good on her well chiseled features. Yuna's lips quirked into a half grin, and it drew more catcalls from her audience. Interesting.

It didn't take long to get changed to more casual clothes, and Yuna shed most of her stage disguise, going from haughty vixen to innocent college student in the space of less than fifteen minutes. Ironic, since she hadn't been in college for a couple of years already, but was she going to complain?

Slipping through the crowd was surprisingly easy despite the fact that all eyes had been on her earlier. Yuna wasn't surprised though. The face she wore on stage was carefully calculated to match the performance, and now in her 'civilian' getup, she was just another party girl out for a good time. Nothing to be worked up over, though she was blissfully oblivious to how she was turning heads just by passing through. Without her best friend around to point these things out, Yuna just didn't really notice this sort of attention. She was, as always, in her own little world.

The bartender on duty was a friendly sort, and Yuna settled in for her usual post-performance drink. She didn't use her real name around here, just to add a buffer between her identity by day and her stage persona here. Friendly as the staff were, she wasn't here to make friends. If she hadn't needed the money, she wouldn't even be here at all.

Not that she actually needed to pay rent, but Yuna didn't want to live off the charity of her best friend. Ever since leaving home, her financial situation had been...precarious. If Eunha hadn't taken her in after all that, Yuna didn't want to think what would have happened. It had taken her a while to walk out of the shadows of what happened, and Eunha had been there for her the whole time. Yuna was grateful, but she didn't want to be useless.

Putting together the pieces of her life was a struggle, but she had managed it somehow. If Eunha hadn't taken one look at her being practically a shut-in outside of work and told her she needed a hobby, Yuna didn't think she would pick up pole dancing at all. It was one thing she could still do with music that actually involved being outside interacting with people.

She hadn't realized how much she missed performing until she stood on stage again. Granted, this was a very different kind of performing, but the core of it remained the same. Yuna tried to tell herself she wasn't bitter, but she was, just a little.

But she really shouldn't be thinking about that. Sulking did her no favors, and Yuna didn't want to keep living in the past. Glancing to the side, she spotted a familiar figure a couple of seats down. Interesting.

Out of sheer curiosity, Yuna moved to close the distance, sliding into the adjacent seat to take a better look. The other girl didn't notice, absorbed in her own thoughts. Up close, the defined features of her silent watcher earlier were even more exquisite, all sharp angles with a hint of softness. Interest piqued, Yuna only paused to catch her drink before returning to her silent study of the mysterious stranger.

A short sleeve band tee revealed toned upper arms, and a simple silver bracelet enclosed one wrist. Yuna's eyes wandered downwards to take in the dark jeans and boots, as well as the denim jacket tied loosely around the waist. Casual and rebellious seemed to be the theme. Dark eyes crashed into hers with a wary defensiveness, and Yuna smiled disarmingly, not at all thrown off by being caught at checking someone out.

"Hey, you don't mind me sitting here right?"

An eyebrow twitched on the other girl as she gruffly coughed out a no, turning coolly away right after. Yuna couldn't say she wasn't slightly disappointed by that reaction, but she took it in her stride. The bartender continued his attempts to try and fish more information out of her, but Yuna deflected the questions with practiced ease. It wasn't like she didn't know there was a running bet among the staff to see who could actually get her real name out of her. No one thought to ask the manager, who did know, and wasn't going to sell out someone who brought in return customers. There was no denying the increased traffic whenever Yuna was on stage, so why mess with a good thing?

Eventually it got to be a little much, and Yuna excused herself to the bathroom. She glanced at the mystery girl, who seemed entirely focused on drinking alone. Curiosity long unfelt tickled at the edge of her awareness, and Yuna bit her lip, changing course to a quiet corner where she pulled out her phone to dial her best friend.

"Eunha? Are you busy? Oh...out with your mystery girlfriend again? When are you going to introduce her to me?"

Yuna found herself relaxing as she tiny roommate. Somehow they had never seemed to click romantically, but there was a comfortable solidarity they shared. They always had each other's backs, and it was good to know that there was one person out there who would always be ready to sit with you when everything came crashing down.

"Shy huh, by the way is that Mendelssohn's violin E minor in the background? Classy, I'm happy for you. No Eunha, I'm not hooking up with anyone but there was this girl I saw earlier..."

Yuna listened with amusement as Eunha immediately went into full gossipy best friend mode, and even managed to pick up an amused laugh in the background of Eunha's side of the line. Clearly, Eunha's date found it cute too. Good, Eunha deserved someone who appreciated her.

"I'm not going to hit on someone I don't know Eunha...really, I shouldn't be interrupting your date. Bye Eunha, yes I'll try getting out more. Have fun on your date bye!" Yuna hung up before Eunha could continue. The tall girl heaved out a sigh. She hadn't really talked to anyone other than Eunha that wasn't just polite small talk, and she was a little nervous about doing it again. But Eunha was right, she needed to connect again. Wallowing wasn't a solution, she needed action, and by God she would do something about it.

That didn't mean her palms weren't clammy when she finally got back to her seat, and she took to doodling on the counter with the condensation from her glass just to keep her hands busy. She didn't bother hiding her frank gaze when the mystery girl hung up her own phone call and turned to look at her. Yuna had noticed the girl checking her out when they were next to each other earlier -- she wasn't that oblivious when she actually wanted to pay attention. She beamed, her grin widening at the wary look on the girl's face. It was a dead ringer for one of the stray kittens at the animal rescue she worked at, and that made her considerably less nervous about opening .

"I saw you watching just now."

Did that sound too forward? Yuna was about to start second guessing herself, but her mystery girl didn't seem shy about admitting that she had been watching at least. Yuna watched with a hint of concern as the girl downed yet another shot of alcohol like it was nothing. Surely that couldn't be healthy. It was a minor surprise when the mystery girl suddenly opened to comment on her dancing, but Yuna brightened. She knewshe hadn't been wrong earlier about how this girl knew exactly what to look for.

"I haven't been doing it for very long, so I'm still really working on it..." Yuna knew she was babbling a little, but she couldn't help herself. The other girl was at least watching her attentively with no sign of being bored, so that was encouraging. Emboldened, Yuna moved a little closer, placing a hand over the other girl's. She felt the muscles tense beneath her touch, and it made her grin a bit impishly.

I'm not flirting, really. Oh who was she kidding? The other girl was flushed, from the alcohol or for other reasons, Yuna couldn't be sure, but did it matter? Eunha did tell her to get out more. Her best friend would be so proud right now.

"Wanna show me a few moves on the dance floor?"

That took a lot more courage than it seemed. Yuna held her breath unconsciously, hoping that her hands didn't start sweating again. She didn't have to wait long. The mystery girl smirked back at her, smoothly shifting the passive hold Yuna had on her hand into an active grip and guiding her to her feet. 

"Yeah why not?"

The cocky grin was a challenge, and Yuna rose up to it.

"My name's Choi Yuna, how about you?" Cutie, she didn't add. She had to lean close to hear the response over the suddenly loud music of the DJ was playing, and the low burr of mystery girl's voice sent excited flutters through her skin. 

I know another Eunbi, but she's nothing like you. Yuna smiled, deliberately bending in to breath into Hwang Eunbi's ear, which was already a nice shade of coral. Adorable. 

"Dance with me then, Ms. Hwang."

They had all night long to get to know each other, and Choi Yuna couldn't wait.

"Show me what you've got."