Maddy’s POV

I’m standing in front of my apartment with my suitcase in hand. My company was generous enough to provide me with an apartment. A sudden buzz in the back pocket of my jeans jolted me out of my daze. It was a text from Ms. Claire¹, my ballet mistress.

To: Madison

Welcome to Korea! How are you adjusting? Anyways, the company wants you to do a variety show this evening at 7:30. Just as a heads up, you’ll be with an idol group. I think their name has something to do with kisses? I’m not sure, but have a great night. I’ll guarantee you’ll be laughing a lot.

–Ms. Claire

At seven? Well thanks for the heads up. It’s already four-thirty. I’d better go prepare. But right now, I would need to climb eight flights of stairs. I mean, elevators were invented for a reason, right?

***

            I stepped through the door of my apartment, and just stood there, shocked. It was more of a penthouse to be honest. The modern furniture matched the structure of the “apartment” perfectly, and the entire suite radiated a sense of vintage and elegance in a perfect balance. Well, before I go and get ready for the variety show, I decided to text back Ms. Claire.

            To: Ms. Claire

            Korea has already trapped me with its culture and modern architecture. Seoul is one of my top want-to-go city. I’m doing great, and right now, I’m getting ready for that variety show tonight. Wish me luck!

            –Madison (Call me Maddy)

            Now if I can get that curling iron to work...

***

            When I arrived at the set, people turned around at stared at me, slack-jawed. I suddenly felt very self conscious and walked past them with my head down. I don’t know why, but I absolutely despise it when people stare at you like you’re from a different planet.

            The makeup artists came over, and dusted my face with fifty different types of foundation, twenty shades of eye shadow, blended into this fusion of browns and neutrals, and they decided to try fifteen different hues of lip gloss on me, ranging from coral to plum. The amount of makeup they put on me was even heavier than the stage makeup I usually wear, and that’s to say something.

***

            The show started airing at exactly seven-thirty sharp. Not a second too soon. Wow, these people stick to their schedules really tightly.

            The MCs came on, blabbering about the latest drama and how addicting it was. Then, they decided to gossip about the latest romance; so and so was found cheating on so and so, and then so and so’s ex got jealous, etc.

            “Now, we present you with U-Kiss, performing their break-through track, Man Man Ha Ni!” The MC boomed through the microphone.

            The lights dimmed and U-Kiss took their positions on stage. As the first note rang out, the members did this swag thing which I cannot verbally describe.

Naega geureoke-reoke manmanhani
Sarangi geureoke neon manmanhani
Nawaui chueogi neon manmanhani
Geureoke modeunge da manmanhani²

            Wait, isn’t U-Kiss the group of boys that girls were screaming “Marry me” to? Interesting...

            Throughout their performance, being the dancer that I am, I analyzed their every move, nodding in satisfaction when they executed an action perfectly, and squinting when they had a slight error. I grudgingly admitted to myself, “They’re pretty good, especially that blonde guy.” Someone told me that was to be on stage in two minutes, so I took one last look at myself— dark brown waves that complimented my sharp features, striking sea green eyes, a flowing white sundress with a small jacket, a green accent sash at the waist, and a pair of ballet flats (what did you expect, I am a dancer).

            “Thank you U-Kiss for your spectacular performance,” the MC begins and the group bowed slightly from everyone’s applause. “Today, we have invited a guest that is in the opposite category of entertainment from the U-Kiss boys. Please welcome Ms. Madison Sokolovskii!”

           That was my cue. I walked onstage, waving and bowing at everyone. The MC, obviously surprised, started with, “Would you care to introduce yourself?” I don’t think that’s necessary because you already stated my name. I had no choice but to comply.

            “Annyeong haseyo, Madison-imida!” I stated, bowing for the billionth time. I seriously have to do my back stretches at the studio tomorrow.

            “So Madison³, I have mentioned to the U-Kiss boys that you were in the opposite category of entertainment from K-Pop. Can you tell us what is your profession?”

            “I’m a prima ballerina for several companies. I have danced with the Royal Ballet of London and the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow. I’m in Korea right now because I have received an invitation from the Seoul Ballet Theatre to perform with them as a guest dancer.”

            The MC, U-Kiss, and the audience oohed because it was virtually impossible to dance with the Seoul Ballet— only the best among the best have the honor to dance with the company.

 “Anyways, let’s introduce you to the members of U-Kiss.” The MC stated.

            “Annyeong haseyo, Xander-imida”

            “Soohyun-imida”

            “Kibum-imida”

            “Kiseop-imida”

            “Eli-imida”

            “Dongho-imida”

            “Hey, Dongho, you were supposed to go last since you’re the maknae. Anyways, annyeong haseyo Kevin-imida.” So that was the guy who can dance like a pro.

“Since you have lived in several countries, how many languages are you able to speak?” The MC asked curiously.

            “I can speak English, Korean, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, French, Russian although I grew up speaking only English, Korean, and Russian.”

            “Madison beat your record of seven languages, Xander.” The guy with the bleached blonde hair, most likely Eli, commented to Xander.

            “Well excuse me if I haven’t lived in eight different countries” Xander shot back.

            “Ms. Madison, with your multilingual skills, can you greet the U-Kiss members different languages?”

            “Sure. Annyeong hashimnikka⁴,” Korean, easy enough.

            “Good evening everyone⁵,” Obviously, English.

            “Ciao a tutti⁶,” I saw Kiseop with a confused face.

            “Buenas noches⁷,” Xander raised his eyebrows in surprise.

            “Boa noite⁸,” Portuguese, ridiculously similar to Spanish. Why do people consider it as a     separate language?

            “Konnnichiwa, minna-san⁹,” I don’t have to explain which language konnichiwa is from,   right?

            “Da jia wan shang hao¹⁰,” Chinese, with its distinct syllable pronunciations.

            “Bonjour, tout le monde¹¹,” The bonjour kind of gave it away, didn’t it?

            “Kak eto vse segodnya?¹²” This has to be Russian, with its ridiculous amount of v’s   and k’s.

            “Okay, thank you for your greetings. Now on to the next stage of the show: Academic Acceleration! Everyone knows that idols or performers in general have a spotty education. Well, we’re here to change that. We pick a random subject for the idols to compete in. Today’s subject is...... ancient Roman history!”

            Do I look like an idol?

            An audible groan was heard from the seven boys as they widened their eyes in disbelief.

            “Roman history? Psh... I only know one emperor, and that’s Caesar!” Kibum blurted while pronouncing Caesar in broken English.

            First of all, Caesar was not an emperor; he was a general that was part of the First Triumvirate, consisting of Crassus and Pompey. His nephew, Augustus, was the first emperor of Rome. He rose to the throne in 27 B.C. I’m so glad I took Latin and AP World History in high school.

            “That’s exactly why we designed this game for you,” the MC stated. “The first round will be done individually on white boards.” “The answers from the second round will be solved as a team. We will decide the teams after the first round.”

            “Question number one. What is the traditional founding date of Rome?”

            April 21^st, 753 B.C. The piece of information clicked through my head as I scribbled down the answer on the white board. I saw Eli and Soohyun staring off into space, hoping that the answer will be somewhere in the room. Dongho just scratched his head and placed his head down on the desk. Kevin looked really satisfied with his answer while Kiseop had the word “undecided” etched on to his face and was erasing his board twenty times.

            “Okay, time’s up! Flip over your boards.”

Here were the results:

            Me: April 21^st, 753 B.C. So kids, not everything that you learn in school will be useless in   life.

            Xander: 597 B.C. Not a bad guess...

            Soohyun: April 21^st, 753 B.C. Well someone has been paying attention in class.

            Kibum: 5000 A.D. Really?

            Kiseop: April 21^st, 751 B.C. Ouch.

            Eli: :) What the heck?

            Kevin: Nov. 25, 991 B.C. A bit egotistic much?

            Dongho: Feed me.

            Kiseop fell to the floor in utter rejection as his answer was off by two years. I kind of felt bad for him, so I whispered, “There’s always next time.”

            “Madison and Soohyun have the correct answers. The rest of you, start paying attention in class!” The MC announced.  

And so the round continued.

***

            “Round two. The two players with the most points are the team captains, and they will choose their team members. The captains are... Madison and Xander! Remember to choose wisely.”

            I personally would take Soohyun and Kiseop since they know more Roman history compared to the other members. Who would the third person be? It’s definitely not Eli nor Dongho, since they just zone out on the questions. Perhaps Kibum? Or Kevin? I’ll just wait and see.

            “I choose Kiseop.” I nervously stated.

            “Kibum.” Xander asserted with confidence. Okay, then Kevin it is.

            “Soohyun.” He’s actually pretty good. Relatively.

            “Dongho, I want you to be on hyung’s team.” Why would you want a player who writes “Feed me” on every single question? I guess that’s why they’re called variety shows.

            Now it was that awkward moment that happens when two people are left to be picked.

            “Um... Kevin” I started.

            “Yay! Thank you so much.” Kevin practically bounced to my side. “I won’t let you down, I promise!” Yeah, we’ll see about that.

            “I guess I’ll have to take Eli,” Xander sighed dejectedly.

            “Thanks for having so much confidence in me, hyung.” Eli retorted with a truckload of sarcasm.

            “For this round, you may confer with your teammates on the question. When time is called, your team captain is to report the final answer. You have thirty-five seconds to come up with an answer. Any questions? No? Okay. Question number one list the five good emperors in chronological order and provide their ruling dates.”

            Everyone had that “What did you just say face?” Well, everyone except for me.

            “Okay, the five good emperors are Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. I’m pretty sure that Nerva ruled from 96-98 A.D. Trajan ruled from 98-117. Hadrian ruled from 117-138. I think Antonius Pius ruled from138-159. No wait, it’s 138-161 because that’s when the Parthian Wars started. And Marcus Aurelius ruled from 161-180. Did anybody catch any mistakes?” I asked. To be honest, I was pretty surprised that I can remember these things because Latin class was my nap class.

            “Er... no. How about you just do all of the questions? Because I’m pretty sure that you know this stuff,” Kevin was the first to reply, while the others were still ogling at me.

            Riiiiing. Time’s up.

            “Miss Madison, please give your answer.”

            “Okay. Nerva: 96-98. Trajan: 98-117. Hadrian: 117-138. Antonius Pius: 138-161. And Marcus Aurelius: 161-180.” I answered quickly.

            “Xander, please give your response.”

            “Uh... no answer.”

            “Alright, Miss Madison is correct! After the first 11 Roman emperors, which consisted of the Julio-Claudian and Flavian Dynasties, between which was a chaotic year with 4 emperors, came a time when Rome was ruled by 5 good, non-dynastic emperors in a row.”

            No duh. I wonder why they were called good.

            “So that ends our game. Since you are a ballet dancer, would you care to dance for us a variation?”

            “Sure. I’ll dance a variation from Grand Pas Classique.”

           I hurried off to the backstage to change into a tutu. It was one of my favorite costumes; it had a defined corset, with purple flowers covering the corded edges. The classical tutu that sprouted underneath was neatly plaited with white and purple sash. And the colored shoulder straps create the illusion that the costume was sleeveless. And not to mention the dance. It was challenging with the strenuous attitude turns and the extensions, but if it was danced well, the dancer appears ethereal and graceful. Immersing myself in my memories, I recalled that this was the variations that I danced for my first audition when I was eight. Ah... good memories.

            The lights were darkened, and I could feel everyone holding their breaths in anticipation. Breathe in. Breathe out. You can do this. The lights illuminated as I strode on to the stage, smiling. I placed my arms at a slightly angled second position, and my foot automatically went into seventh position, with my right foot at the back, en pointe. The first note of the piece sounded. Here I go.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D43FyrGizNA]¹³

I ended the variation in an open fourth position, still smiling like an idiot. Good, I didn’t fail that thing. If I did, it would have been embarrassing beyond compare.

            “Bravo! Give a round of applause to Miss Madison! And that concludes our show. See you next time.”

            Finally, I can go home, and check Facebook. There’s probably a million status updates on my page.

***

Backstage

            I was frantic, searching for my pointe shoes. If I didn’t have them, I would die tomorrow at the studio. I must have them!  As you can see, I was having a little crisis here.

            “Excuse me,” a voice disturbed me from my mental meltdown, “Are these by any chance yours?”  Kevin was dangling my pointe shoes in front of me.

            “Y-yes. Thank you.” I replied. Smooth Maddy, smooth.

            “Here you go. Oh, and can I have your number, just in case I find something else that belongs to you?” he asked jokingly.

           “Sure. Here you go, and call me Maddy.”

            “Alright Maddy. See you later.”

            “Bye”

***

Kevin’s POV

            I walked into the changing room, exhausted. Something shiny caught my eye. It was a pair of weirdly shaped shoes covered with pearl white satin. These must be Madison’s.

            Finding her near the exit, she looked a bit distressed, I must say.

Then a revelation came. She was the same girl from the airport who walked away when she saw us. Their body frames were identical, and she had that demeanor about her.

I approached her and asked, “Are these by any chance yours?”

She turned around and nodded in confirmation. Then, I made a bold move by asking her for her number. She was obviously surprised, but didn’t give it a second thought. She even added, “Call me Maddy.” I could feel myself melt when she said that.

Why does she have this effect on me?

***

Maddy’s POV

            Ugh... I feel like an idiot. Sure, I acted casual and cool on the outside when Kevin was talking to me. But on the inside, I was acting like a dimwit. I know this may sound cheesy, but of the eighteen years that I have been alive, his smile is the prettiest thing that I have ever seen. I know, I should go write a romance novel.

            What’s this fluttery feeling in my heart?

Foot Notes

I promised that I would update this yesterday, but the chapter was longer than originally intended (it’s 11 pages in Word with 2784 words according to word count ), so I had to take an extra day to revise some stuff, and I had to study for my finals. But I made a reference of Certamen in this chapter (it’s a Latin fact-recalling game). I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

¹ I decided to use French names because I cannot come up with Korean names. Also, ballet is a French court dance, so I thought it was fitting.

² Lyrics of U-Kiss’s breakthrough track, Man Man Ha Ni

³ I don’t like to use suffixes like –ssi and –ah. It’s not necessary, in my opinion.

⁴ Korean for good evening. [안녕하십니까]

⁵ English. The language that you’re reading this story in.

⁶ Italian for hello everyone

⁷ Spanish for good evening. (My Spanish classes actually paid off)

⁸ Portuguese for good evening

⁹ Japanese for hello everyone. [皆さんこんにちは]

¹⁰ Chinese for good evening everyone. [大家晚上好]

¹¹ French for hello everyone

¹² Russian for how is everyone today [как это все сегодня]

¹³ I found Juliet Doherty’s variation for the Grand Pas Classique exceptional so I wanted to share it with you. Her technique and expression is phenomenal. I’m looking forward to see more of her talent in the future.