Chapter 10

DANCE WITH ME

“May I come in?” Byul didn’t wait for my reply but ducked through the window frame and entered my personal domain.

 

I in a breath and stumbled backward. The bed stopped me, catching my fall.

 

“Nice room.” Hands braced on the edge, Byul sat on the sill. “You look miserable.”

 

“Gee, thanks for the news update.”

 

She lifted her ball cap and raked a hand through her hair, her lips tightening. “Listen, I totally at this whole want-to-talk-about-it crap.”

 

“Then why are you here?”

 

She shrugged. “Perhaps because I’m good at having fun and taking your mind off certain things. So what do you say? Want to come party a little?”

 

Another party with Byul? Images of lying in her bed, my leg wrapped around hers, flashed up in my memory. “I think I’ll stay home and listen to some music instead.”

 

She grimaced. “Don’t do this to yourself. No girl is worth it.” Then she did something I least expected. She walked toward me, took both my hands, and gently pulled me off my bed.

 

“Come on, Yong.”

 

My name without honorific from Byul. That was a first. And it sounded incredibly nice. Plus it’s a new nickname. No one ever called me that.

 

“I really don’t know…”

 

“I do. And now stop arguing.” She gave me a few seconds in which I could stare in her deep brown eyes and make up my mind.

 

I released a long breath. “Can I shower first?”

 

“Oh please, do that.” She dropped onto my bed and found the photo books that still sat there.

 

I grabbed them before she could and shot her a warning glare. “Don’t touch anything.”

 

She quirked her brows, lifting her palms in surrender. “Nothing,” she promised. Then she added, “Apart from your diary and maybe your lacy underwear.”

 

God, I prayed I didn’t hear right.

 

It took me twenty minutes to get ready to leave my room with Byul, through the window.

 

This time she gripped my wrists in a tight lock and lowered me from the roof. She let me drop the remaining three feet, but that was okay. While she climbed down the tree, I adjusted my snug-fit tee with the deep neckline and a dark blue jeans.

 

“Is your ankle really okay?”

 

“Well, now you asked?” I shoved pass her.

 

The truth is her massaging earlier really help. By the time I got home I just need an ice cube and I’m good.

 

Byul led me to a dark metallic grey Audi-something parked on the curb. I didn’t know much about cars, but enough to understand that hers was modified. There was a lot less space between the low-slung car and the street. When I looked at its front with the strange headlights, only one word would come up to describe the appearance. Furious.

 

Damn, that car looked hot enough to melt ice.

 

“Nice car,” I offered.

 

“Thanks. You have your license?”

 

“Yeah, got it last summer.”

 

“Want to try her out?”

 

“Why?” I laughed.

 

“Fun. And distraction.” She shrugged, leaning an arm on the open door. “Unless you’re chicken.”

 

Grinning, I got into the driver’s seat. “How fast does she go?”

 

A smirk tugged on . “I promise you’ll never find out.” The keys jingled as she tossed them into my lap.

 

I first had to adjust the seat to my much smaller stature.

 

Byul climbed in at the other side. “Think you can handle manual?”

 

My dad was driving a stick-shift, so that wasn’t a problem for me. I grinned, started the engine, and reversed out of the parking spot. The steering wheel was smaller than ours and took a few moments to get used to. But then we were off, and I raced the baby down to the beach in record time.

 

“Is that all you can do?” Byul teased with a look at the speedometer.

 

I considered telling her that I got a ticket for speeding not long ago. But then I decided, why should my first bit of fun be cut short after such a horrid day?

Since she assured me the car would stick to the asphalt, no matter how fast I went, I pushed down on the accelerator. It was amazing. The power, the speed, the purr of the engine.

 

I laughed as I took a curve on a speed that would have carried my parents’ car off the road.

 

Byul’s Audi didn’t budge an inch.

 

“Have you ever been to a night club?”

 

I cut her the briefest sideways glance, concentrating on that small part of the road that was brightened by the headlights at this killer speed. “Of course not.”

 

“Ah, right.”

 

That she sounded surprised made me a little uncomfortable.

 

She smirked at me then pulled her ball cap lower down her forehead and scooted deeper into the seat. “Follow that road for another ten miles.”

 

I snorted, feeling the rush of adrenaline streaming through my system. Everything was so dangerous about her. And I happened to just enjoy that. Especially tonight.

 

A few minutes later, she gave me directions which road to take and where to park the car.

 

I climbed out to stand face to face with a bald bouncer who blocked the entrance to a square building painted dark red. ‘P Nation’ spelled in huge beaming letters across the third floor level.

 

“You need to wait till you turn twenty-one to get in, sweetness,” the burly man said. I backed off instantly. I forgot for a moment that I was actually twenty-two.

 

Byul came around the car, caught me, and with her arm draped around my shoulders she moved me forward again. “Hey man. She’s with me. Is Hyuna in tonight?”

 

“Oh hey, Byul. Didn’t know you were coming. Hyuna won’t be in until later, but Hyo Jong’s here.”

 

“Cool.” She gave the bouncer a knuckle-pound then led me through the heavy, grey metal door the bouncer held open for us.

 

“Is Hyuna your sister?” I whispered.

 

“Yeah. Hyo Jong is her husband. He’s cool. You will like him.”

 

Thumps of a stomping beat drifted to us, growing louder with each step we walked down the narrow aisle. I became hesitant, pulling on Byul’s arm to stop her. “I don’t think I should be here. On second thought, you shouldn’t be here either. People might recognized you.”

 

“You worry too much. I’m here almost every weekend. No one recognizes me, I had my mask on.” she added as she dragged me with her.

 

Another door opened at her push. We entered a huge place tainted in blue light, b with people and smelling of dry smoke coming out of a smoke machine. Strobe-light on the dance floor created a robotic atmosphere as people jumped to the music and bodies ground against each other.

 

Byul rolled up the sleeves of her white shirt, then took my hand, and pulled me toward the bumping mass. “C’mon, let’s dance.”

 

Heck, a dance? Here? Protest was useless, because she wouldn’t hear me shout in this club unless I plastered myself against her and yelled in her ear. I followed. She didn’t stop until we stood in the middle of the dancing crowd.

My hand was captured in hers, maybe because she knew I would have fled otherwise. Byul moved closer, her free hand planted in the small of my back.

 

“Loosen up, Yongsun-shi. You’re supposed to have fun.” She pressed her lips to my ear to speak. “Or at least look like you do.”

 

She gave me a soft push and made me twirl under her arm. Byul did things so nonchalantly. The lightness of her demeanour, her unconcern, rubbed off on me at this moment. She’s a dancer after all and she’s the best at it.

 

I laughed as she caught me again in an easy hug and swayed with me to the music. The dry smoke troubled my breathing a little, but this close to Byul, all I smelled was her. And she smelled fantastic. Just like the other morning when I woke up next to her.

 

I didn’t know what brought her to my house tonight. Could be she just felt pity for me for what had happened with Wheein, and as her friend, she made it her duty to cheer me up. Or she simply liked me. Whichever, I was thankful she didn’t give up when I told her no in the text message. Because she was a wonderful lift for my mood. She made me forget. She made me smile.

 

And right now she made me a little nervous.

 

I felt this tingle in my stomach every time I was close to her. Especially as she twirled me around and caught my back against her chest. Her hand splayed on my belly, she pushed me against her, performing a body wave with me.

I laughed out loud, maybe to cover my shyness. “What are you doing?” I shouted over my shoulder and found her face very close to mine.

 

“Distracting you.” She rolled again. “Does it work?”

 

Unbelievably so. I didn’t reply but let Byul move me. With all the dancing, my tee got a mess, and the hem travelled a few inches up. Half of Byul’s hand lay on my stomach. It sent a shiver down my spine. One of the good ones.

As the song ended, she released me and shouted next to my ear, “Hyo Jong has just come in. Let’s say hello.”

 

I smoothed my clothes out on the way to the oblong bar. The music wasn’t as loud back there. Leaning over the metal top, she removed her face mask and shoved it into her pockets. Byul introduced me to a man with messy blonde hair and black muscle shirt. A glimpsed of tattoo on his left chest showing. Hyo Jong set two cans of Coke in front of us.

 

After the hot dance with Byul, this was more than welcome.

 

Perched on a bar stool, I listened while the two talked about Byul’s collage life and the dance team. Hyo Jong asked me if I liked it.

 

“Yeah, it’s great. Love the dance practice.”

 

The slanted look from Byul promised she didn’t buy one word of it.

 

“What?” I mouthed at her with a half-smile. I wasn’t lying, it was really fun practicing the dance with Byul. But I’m not going to tell her that.

 

She leaned in closer and brushed my hair behind my ear. “I still have the text where you say you’re done with dancing, Yong.”

 

The taunt in her voice as she said my name like that prickled my skin. I leaned back an inch so I could gaze at her face. “Did you really have to call me like that?”

 

She laughed and shrugged one shoulder. “Okay, okay. Honorific. I get it.”

 

From the way she averted her eyes for a second, and the sly grin that remained on her lips, I wasn’t sure if I should let her slide.

 

“You’re such an , you know.” I shoved her shoulder, grinning at her.

 

The roguish gleam in her eyes captured me. “I’ve been told girls go for that.” She winked then drank from her Coke, but her gaze held mine all that time.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, because, hands down, she was right. It was all too easy to fall for her. Not only because she looked illegally good in a white shirt, or because of her amazing smell. It was the attention she gave me that made me feel good around her. Special. Desired, even.

 

And for the weirdest moment, I wanted her to desire me.

 

Letting my gaze slide to a few kids who’d started singing karaoke on a small stage across the room, I hoped I could flush that idea with a long drink from my soda, deeming it a side effect of the pain Wheein caused me today. I wanted to stay faithful to my love for her, even if she made it clear that she’d rather kiss that Hyejin than me.

 

But with Byul standing between my legs, her hand placed casually just above my right knee, it was no use denying the attraction. Her charm had worked on me for days now, and it was different to anything I had experienced so far. Fresh, exciting, dangerous. Nothing compared to good old safe Wheein.

I wouldn’t want them to switch places right now. And that was the scariest thought of all.

 

A dark-haired beauty came up behind Byul and dragged me out of my musing. She wrapped one arm around her neck and kissed her on the cheek.

 

“Hi, little sis.”

 

“Hey.” She let her come around and introduced us.

 

As she called me Yongsun-shi and the friend of a friend, my heart sank. I reached out to shake Hyuna’s hand. “My name is Kim Yongsun.”

 

“Did she trouble you?” The pretty girl shoved her sister playfully. “If she does let me know.”

 

“And that supposed to make my knees shaking?” she and popped another soda then clinked cans with Hyo Jong.

 

“So, the friend of a friend, huh?” Hyuna’s tone was light but curious. “Where is that friend?”

 

“Not here.” Byul grinned at her. It was hard to miss the certain glint of mischief in her eyes. The glint that didn’t fail to make me nervous again as her gaze met mine.

 

Hyuna sighed with a roll of her eyes. “Just when will you grow up?

 

“She’s young, baby.” Hyo Jong leaned over the counter to kiss his wife. “She has time.”

 

“I know.” She pulled away and snorted as she cast her sister a grin. “I’m just waiting for the day that a girl sees through you…and decides to like you anyway.”

 

Byul laughed. “Yep, me too.”

 

After hiding from her mom in her parents’ beach house yesterday, it was odd to see her banter with her family like that. Free, uncomplicated. Funny.

 

“That calls for a drink.” Hyo Jong fetched two small glasses from behind the bar, placed one in front of himself and the other in front of Byul, and started filling them with Tequila.

 

“You can have your drink with unnie. I’ll skip tonight.” Byul shoved the glass toward her sister, her lips suddenly getting a little too tight.

 

“You pass? With that beautiful drinking partner?” Hyo Jong’s beam my way confused me. I didn’t intend to drink a teeny tiny drop of that , but he hadn’t given me a glass anyway, so what did he mean?

 

“I’m not having this drink with her.”

 

Okay, now Byul’s implications hurt. She would drink with other girls, but not with me?

 

“Why? Is she shy?” Hyo Jong demanded.

 

“She’s too nice.”

 

“Ah, she’s a prude then.”

 

What bull was that? “I’m not a prude! And I’m standing right beside you, so I would appreciate it if you told me what the hell you’re talking about.”

 

Byul turned a sheepish grin on me. She brushed her knuckle across my cheek. “She’s decent,” she told Hyo Jong.

 

“Yeah, and decent is a word for prude,” I muttered. “So why don’t you want to do with me whatever you are used to doing with others when you come here?” Somehow I felt that my hurt pride would land me in trouble. Still, I couldn’t let them get away with calling me a prude. After all I slipped out of my room twice for this girl while being grounded.

 

“You don’t know what you’re asking for, Yongsun-shi.”

 

“Well, it won’t kill me to find out, right?” God, I should bite off my tongue.

 

“Okay,” Byul drawled. “Remember, I gave you fair warning.”

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Comments

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Skye1234 #1
Chapter 14: Thank you for the story. Good job, well written.
MamamooIloveU
#2
Chapter 14: wow. it's really beautiful *-*
RubiaAO #3
Chapter 14: Obrigada!
Moon-dancer #4
Chapter 14: Wow. it's really well written
Nope1900
#5
Chapter 14: Such a great story and ending.thanks author-nim
Bylkng #6
Chapter 14: Certainly, didn’t expect that hot ending. This is a great story. I really like it.
haleyhayoungsarang
#7
Love this! Thank you so much for all your hard work author-nim! :)
Radish94 #8
Chapter 14: Can you give us bonus chapter please? ?
Shinichi5710 #9
Chapter 14: This story got me feeling all tingly inside, I love the way you described how yong felt, especially during the kiss before wheein walked in on them. THANK YOU FOR WRITING
Saluhmander #10
Was thinking about this story last week because I missed it so much. Saddened that the story had to come to an end, but it did so beautifully.

Enjoyed a ton the way you mentioned details throughout the story that hinted at Byul’s longtime interest in Yongsun, but Yongsun remained clueless. The power of first person POV! It heightened the drama of the story. Thinking of going back and re-reading it all. Thank you so much for this story!