“You must be joking.” I muttered as I looked at the text my mother had sent me. “No way.” I muttered as I furiously typed back my reply, explicitly stating that I would not be attending her stupid formal dance, dinner, whatever the hell it was. Seconds after I sent my reply, my phone rang. I didn’t even need to look at the screen to know it was her. It was always the same routine with her.

 

“I said no.” I said in way of greeting. I could practically hear my mother count to ten before forcing that practised smile onto her face. “Sweetie.” I cringed at the nickname. I'd always hated it when she called me that. “You know that even though you have moved out that you are still a part of this family and that means that you have certain responsibilities to fulfil.” I bit back my retort, instead taking a deep breath before answering.

 

“Mother, I do not have the time to attending this gathering of yours. I'm in the final stages of  my residency and I need to focus.” I said eyeing the huge pile of paperwork that had built up on my desk. I turned away from it before I lost the will to live. “Don’t forget who is paying for you to indulge in this ludicrous hobby, Park JiHee.” I grit my teeth at her words, my hands balled into fists at my medical residency being called a ‘hobby’. “Fine.” I growled. “Perfect.” I could hear the smugness in her voice and it made me want to throw my phone out the window.

 

“Your formal invitation is already on its way. Remember to bring it with you on the day. Oh, and one more thing!” I rolled my eyes, wondering what fresh hell she was going to unleash upon me now. “I've arranged for you to take dance classes in the lead up to the event.” My jaw dropped. “Dance classes? Why the Fu-“

 

“Language!” I closed my eyes, a headache slowly starting to form as it often did when I had to deal with my mother. “Why would you organise dance lessons for me?” my mother chuckled, “Because you refused to participate in dance lessons when you were a child and this is a formal event. You are an adult now and its long past time that you found a husband and settled down. I won't have you embarrassing this family by being unable to dance if another family’s son asks you to dance with him.”

 

I scoffed. “Oh, trust me, no one is gonna ask to dance with me.” I said with confidence. I had garnered a bit of a reputation as a black sheep amongst the other well-to-do families in the country. All of my mother’s friends warned their sons to stay away from me, much to my mother’s embarrassment. They all wanted good little daughter in laws who would be happy prancing themselves around at parties as long as they could get their hands on daddy’s assets. I, however, felt that there was more to life than being a trophy wife. I want to make a difference in people’s lives.

 

I was too outspoken, too opinionated, too independent. The fact that I wanted to become a doctor instead of some rich man’s husband was still my mother’s biggest shame to date. “This is non-negotiable JiHee. You will attend dance classes until the event, and you will not bring any more shame to this family.” She warned, all traces of her fake, caring mother role gone. “If you cannot fulfil such simple requests, perhaps it’s time I gave Doctor Huang a phone call.” The words filled the space around me. The threat was clear, as it always was. Do as I’m told, or have my chances of becoming a doctor ripped away from me. “Fine.” I agreed, shame ripping through me that she won over me again. “I’ll attend the lessons.” The words tasted like poison on my tongue as they always did when she bent me to her will.

 

I could hear her satisfied smile through the phone. “I will text you with the details.” Was her final words as she ended the call. I dropped my phone onto my desk with a sigh as I dropped into the chair. “This is going to be a nightmare…”

 

 

When my mother texted me the details of the school she wished for me to attend, I hadn’t bothered to look up anything other than the directions to the studio. As if by knowing as little as possible, it would make the whole experience less painful. I entered the studio, a smiling young boy greeting me from behind the counter. I told him my name and he led me through to one of the studios, telling me that my instructor would be with me soon.

 

I looked around the room. State of the art music equipment was located in one corner and one of the walls was made up completely of mirrors just like what I had seen in movies. I ran my fingers over the bar that was attached to the wall as a figure appeared at the door behind me. I gave the newcomer a puzzled look, feeling certain that he had entered the wrong room. He was taller than me, with dark, messy hair and warm eyes, he looked as though he could only be about twenty years old.

 

“Are you JiHee?” he asked. I nodded and a grin spread over his face as he approached me. “Nice to meet you. My name is Jungkook and I’m your dance teacher.” He said as he extended his hand for mine. “Wait, you're my dance teacher?” I asked, surprised that someone so young looking and handsome would be my instructor. “Yeah, is that a problem?” he asked, his hand dropping slightly in concern. I quickly shook my head, “No, no! That’s not what I meant. It’s just that you're not quite what I was expecting.” I admitted. “Dare I ask what you were expecting?” he asked, a glint of humour in his eyes. “Probably best not to.” I replied as I finally shook his hand.

 

He chuckled. “Ready to start?” he asked as he released my hand and headed over towards the music equipment. “No.” I answered honestly. “I need to be honest here. I have zero coordination and zero dancing ability. The best I’m hoping for is not injuring either one of us.” Jungkook laughed as he turned to face me, his warm eyes catching mine and making my heart skip a beat. “Don’t worry. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be the belle of the ball.”

 

 

I apologised for what felt like the hundredth time that day. I was already on my third lesson with Jungkook and things were not going well. On our first lesson I had managed to step on him no less than twelve times, I had nearly knocked him out when he tried to spin me and I had fallen on my on three separate occasions. Thankfully today was marginally better.

 

I followed the beat that Jungkook counted out for me, my eyes trained on my feet, my movements closely resembling a puppet in the hands of an inexperienced puppeteer. “That’s it, you're getting it.” Jungkook praised, my smile lasted for half a second before I stepped the wrong way, once again stepping on his foot. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” I shouted as I jumped away from him, afraid of hurting him again.

 

He didn’t so much as flinch, instead flashing me a smile. “Don’t worry about it. It was my fault for distracting you.” He said as he ran his hand through his hair, the move completely destroying any rational thoughts that I may have had. How can he look so good after just being stood on and after having to deal with someone as untalented as me.

 

He gave me a sympathetic look, as if he could sense my frustration. “Hey, how about we take a break?” he offered. I nodded and made my way to the mirrored wall, dropping myself to the floor and grabbing my water. “Why is this so hard?” I mumbled as Jungkook sat beside me. “It’s just because you're not used to it. You’ve practically got the steps down, you just need to relax more and go with the flow of the music. Once you get more familiar with moving without counting out the beats and instead feeling the beat of the music, your movements will be much more fluid. But you’ve already made a lot of progress.” He said encouragingly.

 

I smiled. “Thanks for lying.” I chuckled. “No lies.” He shot back. “I mean you’ve only stepped on me twice today. If that isn’t progress then I don’t know what is.” He teased. I elbowed him with a curse. “Shut up, we can’t all be dance gods.” I muttered. Jungkook chuckled, “You think I’m a god?” I rolled my eyes and resisted the urge to elbow him again. “Shut up.” I repeated, his low chuckle washing over me.

 

Despite the fact that my learning progress had been slow, my relationship with Jungkook had progressed much more easily. He was incredibly patient, never once getting annoyed with me, regardless of how much I messed up or how many times I stood on him. He took the time to guide me through each step, teaching me little tips and tricks to remember the steps. Thanks to him, my lessons were actually fun.

 

“So, why the sudden need to learn how to dance?” he asked, his warm brown eyes filled with curiosity. I let out a long suffering sigh at the thought of my mother. Up until now, I hadn't told him why I was taking lessons. “My mother sees it as a personal insult that I’m not a perfect lady.” I admitted as I fidgeted with the label on my water bottle. “She wanted a daughter that would want to wear pretty dresses and attend dances without complaint, all to find a rich husband to get married to.” I let out a laugh that was devoid of humour. “But unluckily for her, she ended up with me: an overly outspoken daughter who dreams of being a doctor.”

 

Jungkook mulled over my words for a moment. “I see. So why are you going along with what she wants?” he asked curiously. I sighed again, suddenly unable to keep my mouth shut. “If I don’t, my mother will have me thrown out of my residency. While she's not from an overly influential family, my father’s side of the family have a lot of connections and my mother won't hesitate to use them. If I don’t do what she says, all she has to do is make one phone call and I’m out.” My water bottle crumpled under the pressure of my hand.

 

Jungkook frowned at my words. “That must be really hard.” He said sympathetically. “It’s so frustrating!” I half yelled, my feelings getting the better of me. “She's trying to run my entire life. She's always been like this! Even from kindergarten she decided who I could play with depending on who the kid’s parents were. She was determined to make me into a cookie cutter daughter that was just like her. Do you know that she was actually ashamed of me for wanting to be a doctor? Most parents would be proud of their kids for having a goal and be willing to work towards it, but my mother only wanted me to follow her around to parties and marry some guy from a wealthy family so that she can have more money to spend.”

 

Jungkook stared at me sympathetically as I ranted. Whenever I stopped I glanced at him, embarrassment quickly overcoming me. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say all that.” I mumbled, my gaze fixed on my feet. Jungkook shook his head, “Don’t apologise. You obviously needed to get it off your chest. Besides, passion like that is good for dancing.” He said with an easy grin. He stood up and offered me his hand. “Let’s see if we can put that passion of yours to good use.” I took his hand and let him lead me to the centre of the room. “Ready?” he asked. I nodded and took a deep breath as the music started.

 

Jungkook effortlessly guided me through the dance, and I managed to get to the end of the song without stepping on him once. “Oh my god…” I whispered to myself once the song ended. A huge grin broke out over my face as I grabbed Jungkook’s hands. “I did it! And I didn’t step on you!” I cheered making Jungkook laugh at my exuberance. “See? I told you could do it.” He gloated as he squeezed my hands. I glanced down at our entwined hands and mentally cursed as I pulled my hands out of his. “Sorry… I got a little too overexcited.” He waved off my apology, “No worries. Shall we call it a day?”

 

I nodded and grabbed my stuff. “So, how much longer until this grand party?” he asked as I grabbed my stuff. “Two weeks.” I replied. Jungkook nodded, “So that means that we’ll have two more lessons together?” he asked. I could have just been imagining it, but he sounded almost… hopeful? “Yeah. We’ve got two more weeks together then I need to go to this stupid party.” I said as I slung my backpack onto my shoulder. Jungkook chuckled, “Your enthusiasm is overwhelming.” He replied with a grin.

 

“I’ll consider it practice. I’m gonna have to pretend to be enjoying this at least a little or my mother will flip her with me. I wouldn’t mind so much if there was someone going that I actually liked. But it’s all my mother’s friends and their stuck up kids. All they do is compare how expensive their outfits are and crap like that.” I shook my head at the thought.

 

“Isn’t there anyone going that you can talk with? Anyone who is kinda similar to you?” he asked as we made our way out of the studio. I shook my head. “Not any more. I have a friend who usually makes these things bearable, but he's studying in the states just now and he was always my plus one.” A small frown appeared on Jungkook's face at that. “Ah, so your boyfriend is in the states.” He said. My eyebrows shot up into my hairline. “Boyfriend? No way.” I said with a laugh. “Just a friend. Strictly platonic. Especially since his boyfriend wouldn’t take too kindly to me stealing him away from him!” I added and Jungkook's face brightened. “Ah, sorry. My mistake.”

 

A crazy idea ran through my brain as I looked at Jungkook. “Hey, could I ask you something crazy?” we had stopped at the entrance to the studio, the cute receptionist nowhere to be seen. “Do you think you'd maybe like to come with me?” I asked, shocked by my own boldness. “I mean it’s just that you're so easy to talk to and I feel kinda at peace around you and you're actually so down to earth unlike everyone else that’s gonna be there and I just think that it would actually maybe be kinda fun? But I totally get it if you don’t want to go I mean, all I've done for the past three weeks is complain about how much I don’t want to go to this stupid thing so it’s probably the last thing you want to do and-“

 

“I'd love to.” Jungkook said, interrupting my embarrassing monologue. I stared at him in shock. “You would?” I asked dumbly, not believing what I had just heard. He smiled at me, my heart skipping a beat at the sight. “Yeah, I mean I’m actually interested to see just how bad this whole thing is and it really sounds like you need some support. Plus this way I can make sure that you actually dance and don’t just pretend to me that you did.”

 

I couldn’t fight the smile that crept onto my face. “Great!” I said as Jungkook smiled back at me. “Great, so I’ll see you next week for our lesson?” he asked. “Yeah, definitely. I’ll text you the details of the party.” Jungkook grinned. “It’s a date.”

 

Date.

 

Date.

 

Date.

 

The word had been bouncing around my head like a pinball controlled by the top scorer. I know Jungkook hadn’t meant anything by it, at least not what my over-active imagination wanted it to mean. But knowing that didn’t stop my heart from trying to pound its way out of my chest as I waited for him to arrive to pick me up to go to my mother’s stupid party. I don’t even know when I had developed feelings for him. I had thought about it over and over since he had agreed to go to the party with me. Our last lesson had been a disaster as my mind was over analysing every single action and word like my life depended on it.

 

Despite the horrible lesson, Jungkook had remained positive, telling me that the bad lesson meant that I was going to do well at the party. I could only pray that he hadn't been lying to make me feel better.

 

My heart skipped a beat as a car stopped in front of me, Jungkook’s familiar, smiling face beaming at me through the window. He killed the engine and quickly jogged around the car to stop in front of me. He took a moment to look over my outfit. I resisted the urge to pull down the short dress. Jungkook looked up at me with what looked like a slight hint of pink on his cheeks? “JiHee.” my name left his lips in an almost breathless whisper which made a blush stain my cheeks. “I know I look ridi-”

 

“Beautiful.” that one word caught me off guard. “You look amazing.” he confirmed, an easy smile on his face. “T-Thanks.” I muttered, too taken aback to form coherent sentences. Jungkook opened the door for me, gesturing for me to get in. “We better not be late.” I nodded and got into the car as gracefully as I could while still maintaining my dignity in the unfamiliar clothes and shoes.

 

Jungkook drove us to the location of the party, my embarrassment over his compliment fading quickly. He just had this aura around him which just put me at ease. It was just like when he was teaching me to dance. No matter how ridiculous I felt at the start, he quickly made me forget all about it until I was actually enjoying learning how to dance. I ignored the small part of my brain that insisted that I was only feeling this way because of Jungkook and my new found feelings for him.

 

We arrived at the venue and Jungkook handed over his keys to the valet. He extended his arm out for me with an easy smile. “Shall we?” I took a deep, steadying breath as I looped my arm through his. We ascended the staircase where my mother was waiting, her ‘party smile’ as I called it painted onto her face. I never understood how people couldn’t see that her smile was as fake as the rest of her. Her smile didn’t even falter as she finished greeting the guests in front of us before her eyes landed on the two of us. Her eyes flickered down to our intertwined arms before she set her gaze on me, her eyes demanding to know who I was with.

 

“Mother, this is Jungkook. Jungkook, my mother.” the name obviously registered with her as she turned to face Jungkook. “How nice of you to give up your time to attend this party with my daughter, I’m sure you're quite a busy man.” the fake sweetness in her voice filled me with anger, my hand instinctively fisted in the material of Jungkook’s sleeve. Jungkook’s hand raised to cover my own as he flashed a charming smile towards my mother. “It’s an honour.” he said as he reached out for her hand, bringing it to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss onto her knuckles.

 

My jaw almost dropped as my mother’s cheeks flushed red. “Oh my, you're very charming indeed. I wonder what you see in a girl like my daughter.” she said with a laugh. “Oh, your daughter has many fine qualities. Too many for me to count and have figured out.” he replied, his voice colder and lower than I had ever heard him speak. Even when I had messed up so royally during our dance lessons, he had never let even the tiniest amount of frustration enter his voice, but with my mother, he sounded almost… angry.

 

My mother cleared as Jungkook released her hand. “We should be getting inside, you still have many more people to greet.” he said as he inclined his head before leading me into the main banquet hall. “Oh my god.” I breathed when we were out of my mother’s earshot. “What is it? Did I go too overboard back there?” he asked, his voice tainted with worry as he glanced back to the doorway where my mother was once again greeting her long line of guests. “No, the complete opposite actually. I've never seen my mother caught so completely off-guard like that!” a grin spread over my face. “You’ve officially made my night.” Jungkook smiled warmly at me, “Don’t say that, we haven't even danced together yet.”

 

My heart raced at his words. “Shall we get something to drink?” he asked. I nodded feeling like my brain was a step behind as he led me to the bar, ordering the two of us drinks. We found an empty table and sat down, my heart refusing to calm down in Jungkook’s presence. My hands were slicked with sweat from nerves as I gripped onto my glass as tightly as possible, making sure it didn’t slip from my grasp.

 

He must have noticed as he covered my hand with his own. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, concern lacing his voice as he held me hypnotized in his gaze. I nodded, letting myself smile, perfectly happy to lose myself in him. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I smiled. For once, actually okay with being at one of these stupid parties. He stared at me for a moment longer, as if searching for a lie, but when he seemed convinced, he looked away taking a sip from his glass, but the hand on top of mine stayed where it was. I resisted the urge to turn my hand and intertwine our fingers. I didn’t want to overstep any boundaries.

 

He’s only here because he was being kind. There’s no hidden meaning to any of this. He’s just a nice guy who is doing me a favour. Nothing more. I started at the sound of him snorting. “Do these people always dress like this?” he whispered to me, pointing to a woman in the corner I recognised as one of my mother’s closest friends. I had always found her fashion choices… odd. And she had not disappointed with the humongous pink monstrosity she was sporting tonight. I suppressed a chuckle. “Oh, that’s not even her best one.” I said as I pulled out my phone and pulled up her Instagram page. Jungkook burst out laughing as we scrolled through the photographs of her elaborate and insane outfits. “Oh my god, this is too much. She looks like those rich people from the Hunger Games or something.” he laughed. Both of us not caring that we were attracting attention for being so loud.

 

Our joy was brought to an abrupt halt when my mother approached our table. “If you’re quite finished giggling like a hyena, the party is about to officially begin.” she snipped before smiling sweetly at Jungkook whose face had turned stony. “I suggest you get ready as I’ve volunteered you for the first dance.” She warned before turning on her heel and disappearing into the crown before I could argue and cause a scene.

 

I balled my hands, my frustration ready to overflow. “Hey, its gonna be alright. Let’s get out there and show her exactly what we’ve been practising.” Jungkook said, his warm voice calming my anger slightly. “I just hate that she dictates everything.” I muttered, my head hanging. “Hey, listen to me.” he said, his voice serious. “You said you’re almost done with your residency and that you’ve already been guaranteed a job afterwards. You’ll only need to deal with her for a little while longer and then you’ll be a fully-fledged doctor, and no one, connections or not, can take that away from you. You’ll be able to distance yourself from her and this cage that she’s locked you into and you can finally be free. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t stick it to her in the meantime.” he extended his hand for mine as the music started up, “So let’s go out there and have a blast, nothing will annoy her more than seeing you do well and having a damn good time while you’re at it.”

 

I smiled at him, amazed and how he was able to cool my anger with only a few words. “How did you get to be so smart?” I asked. He chuckled, “Oh I don’t know. Must just be the perfect man or something. I mean I can dance, I’m smart, pretty handsome to boot. Pretty perfect, wouldn't you say?” he replied teasingly. I took his offered hand, all thoughts of my over controlling mother completely gone from my head. “Yeah, practically perfect in every way, Mary Poppins.” he chuckled at my joke and led me to the middle of the dance floor. All of my mother’s friends circling the two of us.

 

“Ready?” he asked. I took a deep breath and nodded. He smiled back and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I felt my heart thunder in my chest from his proximity. “Deep breaths, just feel the music.” he whispered into my ear as we started moving. The steps came as naturally as breathing. I forgot we were dancing as I gazed into his warm eyes, pride shining in them as we glided across the floor.

 

It felt like only seconds later when clapping erupted around us, other couples spilling into the circle to join us as another song started. “I did it.” I whispered, my voice full of awe. “I didn’t make a single mistake!” Jungkook chuckled, his arm still wrapped around me. “You were fantastic.” he breathed as he gazed down at me. The world seemed to freeze, everything else evaporating around me, leaving only Jungkook and I.

 

I subconsciously leant forward, my euphoria and adrenaline acting in place of my brain. I was mere inches away from kissing Jungkook when my mother once again appeared at our sides. “Well at least you didn’t disgrace me for a change.” she whispered, her voice low enough that the dancing couples around us wouldn't hear. I pulled away from Jungkook but took his hand instead. I put a smile on my face as I stared at my mother. Confidence that I’d never felt in front of her swam through me.

 

“Only one of us could be called a disgrace, mother.” I replied, mimicking her sickly sweet tone that she always used when she was insulting me in public and didn’t want people to know. “And I can guarantee you that it’s not the daughter who is striving to make a difference and do good in the world. It’s the mother who is so unsatisfied with her own empty life that she has to try and micro manage everything and everyone around her to the point where she pushes everyone away.”

 

My mother spluttered at my words. Never in my life had I ever spoken to her like this. Jungkook’s hand tightened around mine, giving me strength. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve put in my appearance to your stupid party and I’ve got other places I’d rather be.” I said as I walked off the dance floor with Jungkook, leaving my mother behind.

 

I knew that she’d probably give me hell for it later, but I couldn’t find it in me to care as I walked hand in hand out of the fancy hall with Jungkook.

 

 

Jungkook didn’t say anything until we were in his car and I had kicked off my ridiculous shoes. “That was quite something.” he said, sounding impressed. I breathed a long sigh of relief as I slumped in the seat. “I’ve never said anything like that to her… ever.” I admitted. “And? How did it feel?” he asked. I couldn’t fight the smile that broke out on my face. “Exhilarating.” I admitted with a laugh. Jungkook smiled at me. “This sounds like an excuse to celebrate. Where are we going?” he asked. I thought for a minute before answering, “You know the old drive in movie theatre near the river?” Jungkook smiled. “I’ve never been to a drive in movie before, sounds fun.” he said as he changed lane, taking us towards the river.

 

 

We parked at the back of the drive in, only a few other cars were there. Jungkook helped me up onto the bonnet of the car before climbing up next to me. “It’s a shame we missed the start.” I said as he settled next to me. “It’s fine, we can just make sure we’re on time for the next one.” he said. His words hung in the air between us. He looked confident but I could see that he was nervous from the way his eyes couldn’t focus on one place. It was the first time I had ever seen him flustered.

 

“I mean only if you want to.” he added, my pause obviously making him lose his confidence. I decided to throw all caution to the wind as I reached out and took his hand in mine. “How does next Saturday sound?” I asked, my heart thundering in my chest for what felt like the millionth time since I had met him. A huge smile broke out on his face. “It sounds like a date.” he replied.

 

I smiled back, unable to hide my happiness. In just a few short weeks, I had gone from fearing the phone ringing in case it was my mother demanding more from me to finally standing up for myself and actually being proud of myself. And all of that had stemmed from something as simple as a dance class. Who would have thought that that meeting would lead to me meeting someone who taught me more than just how to dance?

 

Although my mother had brought so much misery into my life, at least I could thank her for one thing. If it hadn't been for her, I would never have met Jungkook. That thought warmed my heart as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close against his side as we turned to face the screen in front of us. Sometimes it just takes someone to see how much we’re capable of before we are able to see it ourselves. I smiled up at Jungkook, thankful that he had seen the parts of me that I had hidden away and helped me realise that I shouldn't be afraid to step into the light and show the world, and my mother, exactly what I’m capable of.