Chapter 9

~*Jiyong’s POV*~

“Very well done.” YG said while clapping along with the others. Sohee lifts her head off my shoulder as we separate from our ending position. Both us are unable to say anything as we are too out of breath. Out of all the choreographies that I’ve learned, this had to be the most challenging and active. Since the choreography was made to showcase the ability of the dancers, jumps, lifts, and tricks were thrown all together. However, the hardest part of the whole thing is that there is no music. The purpose of this is to really make the dancers rely and follow each other. There is no music that the dancers can get cues from or follow a certain speed, it is all based on each other.

This choreography was first made for CL, when YG had her audition as my back up dancer. YG wanted to make it as difficult as possible, that way he would know he was getting the best. From then on, he used it for every female backup audition. This was the fourth time I was doing the routine and it was still difficult for me, so it makes it all the more impressive that Sohee was able to get through with it without any mistakes. Our timing and flow started off badly at first, which is expected to happen, but just after a few minutes Sohee was able to follow my lead and the speed that I’m used to. There is no doubt she is an extraordinary dancer.

Finally returning to even breaths, I turn and to bow, thanking Sohee for the honor of dancing with her. She did the same and smiled brightly, “As to be expected, G-Dragon is very talented!”

I blush a bit from her compliment and scratch the back of my head. “You are a very exceptional dancer as well” is all I can manage to say.

YG and the others begin heading for the door, “Jiyong, if you want you can rest for a few minutes before moving onto dance studio 2.”

My mind jumps to the thought of dancing with Sandara and my heart flutters in response. A small smile creeps onto my face, “Oh, no I think I’m ready to contin—“

“You should definitely rest for a bit. That was a very rigorous and intense routine, we wouldn’t want you to get injured or pass out.” Sohee suddenly said appearing in front of me with a concerned look.

Before I can object, YG adds, “That’s true. It’s fine, Jiyong rest for 5 minutes before continuing on. It’s been a long day for you as well.” And with that he and the rest exit, leaving Sohee and I alone.

Slightly upset I couldn’t see Sandara sooner, I slumped down on the ground sighing to myself. Why am I feeling so anxious? I ruffle my hair in frustration. Then I feel a soft hand rest on my arm. I move my hands and see Sohee looking at me worried.

“G-Dragon-ssi, are you alright? It’s a good thing you have time to rest.”

I smile kindly, appreciating the concern. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I guess it really has been a long day.”

Sohee sits down next to me and sighs, “It really has, hasn’t it. This morning I woke up as if it was just any other day, then the next moment, I find myself here!”

“I can’t even imagine how hard of a day it must have been for you. I just watched through phase one and two, while you’ve been dancing since 9 this morning.”

“And not to mention having to deal with really crazy and competitive girls.” Sohee adds, shaking her head.

I laugh until a thought pops into my head, “This might be a long shot, but by any chance do you know a Park Sandara?”

I sense Sohee stiffen for a second at the question, “Why?” The tone of her voice changes slightly.

Not sure what was it that I said, I try to play it off, “Oh just wondering, since she is one of the final three…” I don’t even know why I asked in the first place.

“Oh, no. I don’t know her. I’m sorry.” She says calmly but there is clearly tension.

“That’s fine! Nothing to be sorry about I was jus—“ I turned to smile and lighten the mood but it gets worse once I see a single tear slip down her cheek. Her eyes were unblinking as more tears streamed down; the tip of her nose was turning a bit red. This is probably horrible to think when someone’s crying in front of you, but she was a very beautiful crier.

Shocked from the suddenness of her tears, I didn't know what to say let alone what was wrong. Luckily, she’s the one to break the silence.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.” She starts as more tears trail down her cheek “I lied.”

Lied? Lied about what? As if answering my unspoken question, she continues. “I do know her… Park Sandara.”

Excitement takes over my body and my mouth. I can finally speak, “You do?” She nods. I wait expecting her to tell me more about the mystery girl, Park Sandara.

“She is… my older cousin.” She says. Oh! Well, that is an interesting bit of information. Although it wasn’t much, it made me a little bit happier knowing something more about Sandara. But wait, why would she lie?

I asked nicely with a hint of curiosity in my voice, “If you knew her, how come you said you didn’t?”

She closed her eyes and more teardrops fell from her eyes. There was nothing but silence and the faint sound of tears falling on the wooden floor.

“I promised…  I promised unnie that I wouldn’t say anything about this…” She kept her eyes closed, her hands in a tight fist. “But… after meeting you and getting to know you… and seeing how talented you really are… how nice you are… I just feel horrible for lying to you… and betraying you.”

I furrow my brows in confusion. Instinctively, I place my hand on top of hers and squeeze it reassuringly. She opens her eyes and turns to look at me.

“Sohee, what is it? How are you betraying me?” I ask calmly, but deep down I felt like something bad was going to happen.

Sohee turns her head to look back down at her lap. “Sandara unnie is a huge fan of yours.” She begins. This information doesn’t really surprise me since she said something along those lines during phase one. But why was it relevant. “Ever since you debuted, she would talk about you non-stop. I’ve never been that familiar with your work, but I’ve always had to respect it for unnie’s sake… She is really… obsessed with you.”

I am unsure how to process all of this information. Although it shouldn’t come to much surprise, since I’ve noticed the way she would act around me and how she would look at me. But it still hits me like a ton of bricks.

“For her… landing this audition… is like a shortcut to being together with you.” Her voice trembles as more tears come, “I’m sorry for saying all these things to you. I’m sure it’s hard to swallow. But… after learning what has happened to you and the others because of a similar situation… I didn’t want you to suffer again.”

I feel cold. My mind is racing of images of Sandara that is mixing with imaginary scenes of a Sandara I don’t recognize, but are apparently the real ones. I don’t know what to say or what to believe. But what else am I supposed to believe? Then another question pops into my mind.

“Sohee, you said that you weren’t a fan of me before, then why did you come here to audition?”

She covers her face as I hear her cry more, her shoulders moving up and down. I feel guilty, I didn’t mean to sound skeptical, but to be honest, I am. Something was not right. This couldn’t be right… Could it?

Finally, she responded, “I’m sorry, my intentions of coming here initially were not the right ones as well… but after this whole day, I want nothing more than to work in this company and work behind you as your back up dancer.”

“Why did you come here today, Sohee?” This time I tried better to hide my anxiousness to figure this whole thing out.

She moved away her hands from her face and took a deep breath before turning to look at me. Her eyes were red and beginning to puff from all the crying, but she still managed to look good. Then suddenly a small smile appeared, but it wasn’t her usual happy smile. It was a smile full of sadness and pity… for herself.

“She forced me to audition with her.”

Then she said the one sentence that cracked the perfect images of Park Sandara in my mind and turned them into dust.

“So that no matter what, everyone would see that she was the better dancer.”

*BlueNote*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jjang! Chapter 9!
I'm curious on how everyone will feel after this chapter? What do you think is going to happen?
Let me know in the comments! ^-^

And I know you are all waiting for Dara and GD's phase three, but please be patient! It will come up soon!
For now, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and not want to murder anything/anyone!

Thank you as always to the subscribers, commenters, and viewers!
Iloveyou. And Happy Valentine's Day! <3
 

*If you are confused about layout/weird details that seem wrong+right at the same time, please read the story description!*