Chapter 5
The Man of Her Dreams
So Young ran home to get ready, debating her choices and finally deciding on a pair of shorts and a pretty top. She didn't usually go out, and so the process felt new to her. She got dressed quickly and brushed her hair down, rushing back out to a patiently waiting Lay.
"Okay. Ready," she gasped, catching her breath.
"No need to hurry," he grinned, "there's lots of time."
"I do need to hurry. Because somehow, I always end up being late for everything. So..." She gave a shrug, slinging her bag over her shoulder.
"Well, the competition's pretty laid back. I plan on competing later on, so we can go grab something to eat first. If you want." he gave her a glance as they left her apartment.
"Mmm, sure. Where are we going?"
"What do you want to eat?"
"Uh. Spaghetti?" she suggested.
"Ok, then spaghetti it is."
They headed towards the Italian restaurant, chatting and joking like old friends. So Young's tinkling laugh could be heard echoing through the night air, and the city lights glowed colorfully in the dark sky, a cool breeze whispering past their cheeks.
As they walked into the warm restaurant, a young man slipped past So Young.
"See ya, Baekhyun!" A smiley guy with curly hair called out to him from the table and the man gave a backwards wave, opening the door to leave.
"Baekhyun? Where have I seen that name?" So Young muttered to herself. She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to remember, and turned to catch sight of the back of the guy who was already out the door.
"Hmm," she was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she tripped over the carpet and nearly fell flat on her face. Luckily, Lay was there and caught her just before she hit the floor.
"Woah there. What's wrong?" he asked, pulling her back upright.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." So Young smiled and followed the waiter to their corner table.
"Okay..." Lay was not really convinced, but let the matter drop.
They ordered their food (which arrived rather quickly) and ate hungrily, So Young giggling occasionally at the odd way Lay ate his pasta.
"You have to roll it up with your fork, like this, and and each string of spaghetti individually," he explained seriously. "Otherwise there's no fun in eating spaghetti. See?"
"Mm, I see," So Young raised her eyebrows.
As soon as they had finished their meal, Lay placed his fork down, glancing at his phone.
"Hey, we should get going," he wiped his mouth.
"Okay, let's go!" So Young cheered.
When they arrived at the club, it was dark. The florescent lights lit up the street, giving the entrance a neon glow. So Young could feel the beat of music thumping from inside. She gazed around, wide-eyed, at her surroundings.
Lay chuckled. "Amazed already? You act as if you've never been anywhere like this."
"Well, not really. I don't go out much, usually," she answered absentmindedly.
"This is your chance, then. I bet you'll like the inside even more." Lay told her, entering the club after showing their IDs.
He was right. When she entered the room, So Young was entranced. Lights glowed and shone, beacons in the dark room. She could feel the pounding beat of the music through her body, shaking the floor. And the people- people were everywhere, moving, dancing, chatting, and cheering loudly.
But the thing that caught her eye most was the stage. Not the stage itself, which was slightly raised and lit up under spotlights. No, it was the dancer on stage that had her captivated.
She had her eyes glued to him as he danced. To say he simply danced was an understatement- his fluid movements reminded So Young of a panther or tiger in predator mode, precise and perfect. He moved with a simple grace and strong energy, arms and legs in complete control, his body moving with the beat of the thumping music. Raw emotion flowed through his dance; passion was poured out through the movements that were completely in sync with the music.
As he ended the dance and the music stopped, the crowd went wild. The dancer lifted his head, pushing his dark hair out of his face, and smiled, sweat glistening as the spotlights beamed down on him. So Young's eyes widened when she saw his face.
He was identical to Youngmin, the guy who was running from all those fangirls the other day. Other than the hair colour, the two were perfectly similar.
"He must be the twin Youngmin was talking about," she thought to herself. "What are the chances of seeing him here?" She shook her head, amazed.
Lay caught her watching. "What do you think? He's pretty good, right?" Lay nodded towards the stage. "That guy is a legend- one of the best dancers around here. He's a total favourite among the crowd, especially the girls. Thankfully he doesn't let it get to him." Lay grinned at the subject of his conversation, who was leaving the stage.
"Wait. How do you now that?" So Young asked.
"He's a good friend, of course. Hey, let's go say hi." Lay beckoned her to follow him into the crowd. She hesitated at first, but shrugged and let Lay lead her towards the stage stairs.
"Hey! What's up? Saw you dance just now, you were great up there," Lay grinned at his buddy, who had just hopped off the stage and was chugging down water from a bottle.
"Thanks. Messed up a bit on the ending, but it was okay," the twin gave a modest shrug, wiping his sweat and glancing at So Young curiously. "Who's this?"
"Hi, I'm So Young. Lay's co-worker," So Young explained.
He nodded, staring at her for a moment, then gave her a cute, wide smile, his eyes curving into crescents.
"I'm Kwangmin. Nice to meet you!" Kwangmin said before gulping down the rest of his water.
"He's so different from Youngmin," So Young thought to herself.
When she first caught of glimpse of him, Kwangmin seemed identical to his brother. But now So Young could see the oh-so-slight differences: the sharper curve of his jaw, which gave him a more masculine look; the way his lips and eyes were unalike Youngmin's; and their contrasting personalities (at least from what she'd seen).
So Young was pulled from her thoughts by a voice calling her. She shook herself out of her daze, glancing around her to find that she was in the middle of the crowd, both boys nowhere to be seen.
"So Young!" Kwangmin appeared beside her."So Young, right? What are you doing here? I thought Lay was with you?"
"Huh? What? Where's Lay?" So Young looked around, but Lay was nowhere to be seen.
"Hmm? He's getting on stage, didn't he tell you? You were with him after I left to get more water."
"Oh..." Now that he mentioned it, she did remember him telling her something about dancing, but she was too absorbed in her observations about the twins to notice.
"Your head's in the clouds, huh?" he observed, raising his eyebrows. "It's okay. Come on, let's go!" He grabbed her hand excitedly and dragged her with him into to the crowd once again.
They found a spot near the front, and watched the stage eagerly as the music started. So Young watched, equally enraptured by Lay's performance. His moves were slick and precise, and somehow the dance reflected his easygoing personality. She smiled happily, cheering him on along with Kwangmin. When the dance finished an the music came to an end, the two cheered the loudest, dissolving into laughter.
"We make a good team!" Kwangmin gave her another grin.
"Mm hmm, Lay is lucky to have such an awesome personal cheering squad," So Young joked, then jumped when her phone rang abruptly.
"Oh my gosh, that scared me," she said, eyes wide.
"Go ahead, answer it," Kwangmin told her.
She pulled out her phone and answered the call only to hear a familiar panicked voice yelling in her ear.
"Yah! So Young come here right now! Please? Aishh I need your help, come home! Hurry, hurry!"
So Young stuffed her phone back into her bag and glanced around wildly for an exit.
"Can you tell Lay that I left?" she told Kwangmin. "Emergency at home, I've got to go! Sorry, bye!" She gave him a wave and disappeared into the crowd, rushing to get home.
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