Kim Yoon Hee stared out from behind the curtain at the masked dancer. She knew who he was despite the mask he chose to wear, but she kept his secret because it was no business of hers why he danced in the night club. A tap on her shoulder had her turning around to face the club owner. He held up his hand and indicated that she had five minutes to show time and although she hated the thought of what she was fixing to do she really had no other choice at the moment but to comply with the wishes of the owner and dance to the excitement and erseness of the patrons.

As the dancer finished his danced Yoon Hee watched as bare torso glistened with sweat, the colored rays of light lightening up his skin in jewels of sparkling color as is gyrated his hips to the wildly screaming females who she knew came to see him specifically. For a moment she let her eyes watch him as his leather clad legs moved and wrapped around the pole positioned in the center of the stage. Yoon Hee thought he was a born dancer, whether it was dancing here or dancing in front of a completely different crowd.

The club owner cued the next song and motioned at her to move forward. Yoon Hee came out from behind the curtain at the same time as the male dancer was disappearing behind. For a moment their bodies brushed together and skin met skin. Electric sparks radiated throughout her body at the point of contact, but Yoon Hee was smart enough to ignore the newly ignited fire the man’s touch had struck in her belly.

Clad in scandalous attire that she would had scoffed at any other time she made her way to center stage as the music became a pumping rhythm and the males in the club pushed closer to the stage. Although she was far enough back Yoon Hee still felt her skin crawl as if they had touched her. However, she pasted on a smile and began moving her body to the music, the excited yells and whistles of the males dimming to silence as she lost herself to the music, letting it fill her and guide her body.

From behind the curtain dark eyes watched her as she moved. He had watched her like this on more than one occasion and every time he admitted that she moved as if she were made of fluid. Her body flowed and shifted with the music as if each song were made especially for her. Lee Joon felt something tighten in his belly as fire raced like wildfire through his veins. He remembered the spark of fire that had curled its fist so tightly in his stomach only moments before when they had brushed against each other and it had surprised him as much as his reaction to her now did.

She was unlike any other woman he had ever met. She was beautiful, her large brown eyes dominate in her face, her skin looked soft and he wondered if it was really as soft as it looked and for a moment he had the urge to want to touch it. He studied her now and the low burning fire in his belly turned into a raging inferno as she twisted her full lips into a smile and her body gyrated to the music, her long legs wrapping around the pole as she danced around it as if it were a lover.

Joon wondered what her story was. He knew most of the dancers here were poor, drug addicted young adults who danced simply for the money to find their next fix, but there was something different about her. He saw not a single trace of drug use in her face nor was her body marred with the evidence of needles. The only thing he knew about her was that her name was Kim Yoon Hee and her eyes held behind them a sadness that Joon couldn’t place. Even though she lost herself to the music every time he could tell that she didn’t really want to be dancing for an audience of old men whose only thought was what lay beyond the skimpy costume she wore.

Yoon Hee was the newest dancer to the club, but she had quickly climbed her way to the top and become a favorite among the audience and even to the other dancers in the club although, Joon knew, that many of those dancers were extremely unhappy with her appearance as they had lost money due to her quick climb to the top as the clubs best dancer alongside him. However, he, unlike the other dancer, was not angered or bothered by the fact that she had quickly became a top dancer. He didn’t need the extra money, not when he was a successful idol and still had plenty of money left over from his role in the movie Ninja Assassin. He didn’t begrudge her for a single reason, but he was curious as to why such a beautiful woman danced in a club such as this.

He felt his curiosity burn as her song ended and she stepped off stage while the club bouncers collected the money numerous men had tossed on stage during her set. She passed by him as she came behind the curtain, but she didn’t acknowledge his presence as she hurried past him and disappeared into the shadowed hallway that led to the changing rooms. Not deterred for a second Joon followed her.

She heard his footsteps behind her, but she continued on to the room that was given to her when she reached top status as a dancer. She ignored him as she pushed into the room, but she was forced to stop her retreat when he pushed on the door she tried to close behind her. Yoon Hee whirled around and glared at the masked intruder.

He didn’t back away under her heated glance so instead she turned her back and proceeded to sit down at the vanity and begin removing her make up as he came up behind her. He remained silent while she removed the last traces of stage makeup from her face and reached for a robe to cover her nearly body. Standing she slipped into the robe and belted it around her waist. Finally she locked eyes with his.

“Do you mind? I’d really like to get dressed and go home.”

Joon eyed her and thought she was even more beautiful without the makeup marring her face. She had a natural beauty that a lot of women strived for, but could never achieve and he found himself wondering again what reason could have possibly brought such a pretty young woman into the world of exotic dance because he could tell by the tension that always entered her body before she stepped on stage that she didn’t like being here.

Instead of asking her about her reasons for dancing, he smiled at her, his eyes twinkling behind the mask he wore to hide his true identity. “I’m…”

“I know who you are and I don’t care.”

Joon was taken aback at the venom in her voice. Never before had he come up against someone who knew who he was, but cared not at all. He could tell she was still at an age where idol groups where a ruling factor in the world of girls. It was a little disheartening to say the least if he was honest with himself.

“Well…uh…right. I was only trying to be friendly since it seems you have no friends here.”

Yoon Hee narrowed her eyes and stared at Joon. Even knowing who he was, what he meant to the female population of Korea and even outside the country, she couldn’t have cared less. Even though she found him attractive, even though his dancing was like some kind of magic she had never seen before she had her own problems to deal with without adding a man to the mix.

She could feel her heart melting, softening at the smile that he still had plastered all over his face even in the face of her rude rejection. It wasn’t as if he had propositioned her. He had merely wanted to introduce himself and become her friend, but Yoon Hee had no need for friends, had no time for them, not when she barely had time for herself.

Not letting her glare waver she crossed her arms across her chest and stared harder at him willing him to back away. He didn’t much to her displeasure. “Look I have no need of friends. I come here for one reason and one reason only and that’s to dance so that I can make money. I don’t need to entangle myself with friends or even a man.”

With that said Yoon Hee turned and stalked out of the room grabbing her clothes as she went. If he wasn’t going to leave so she could change then she would simply find someplace else to change her clothes so that she could head home.

Joon watched her leave. He was speechless. How could she be so cold as to not want or need friends? What was going on with her that she wouldn’t even allow herself that simply pleasure? He was even more curious now and he was more determined now than he had been before in figuring why she danced.

Yoon Hee sighed as she closed the door of her tiny apartment, locking it as footsteps of her neighbor faded as she retreated back to her own apartment. She was grateful to know her elderly neighbor. Lee Eun Mi was a godsend and Yoon Hee couldn’t have found a nicer lady to watch her precious daughter while she went out night after night to dance so she could support her little Soo Jin.

The child in question was curled on the futon they shared, her tiny hands were tucked under her chin, open in a sleepy pout as she slept on. Yoon Hee quietly changed into her pajamas and carefully lowered herself to lie down beside her daughter. She ran a gentle hand over her daughters soft hair and tucked a lose strand behind her little ear. She cuddled close to her daughter and held her against her.

Thoughts of Joon entered her mind and she forced herself to push the man out of head. She couldn’t allow herself to trust another man even one as handsome as the MBLAQ idol. He was friendly enough, but past experience proved to her that even the nicest men could turn into the world’s biggest jerks. Soo Jin’s father had been proof enough of that and because of him Yoon Hee’s trust in men had become nonexistent.

Settling her body closer to her daughter, she let Soo Jin’s heat seep into her weary body as she closed her eyes. Sleep came quickly, but her dreams were plagued with the sensual dancing of a masked man.