I received a text from Woohyun the next day.

Woohyun [10:32am]

There were three words ringing in a sick man's mind before he had to undergo his surgery.

What is love?

I furrowed my eyebrows, my brain processing on any possible answer it could get. I couldn't focus on Mrs. Kim's lectures and spent her entire session on thinking about his answer.

I searched it on the web, and it said: Love is a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes that ranges from interpersonal affection to pleasure. It can refer to an emotion of a strong attraction and personal attachment.

I frowned, finding those statements too normative to be compared to my own. It was a simple question, really, 'What is love?', yet it made me see how clueless I was in terms of love. If the answer was affection, then it would be too easy and predictable, unlike Woohyun.

I sighed and thought of the only witty answer I could think of before typing them in and pressing the 'send' button.

Sent [12:24pm]

Perhaps the most suitable answer for his sickness is love itself, for love is a prescription often given, too rarely taken.

By the way, shouldn't you be in class?

I put down my phone and met up with Jang Eunbyul, my dance instructor to discuss the latest competition I'm nominated for.

"For this upcoming summer dance competition, you are assigned to do The Nutcracker," Eunbyul said as she flipped the documents, her eyes scanning quickly throughout the pages.

I nodded before slipping into my ballet flats. "So, when am I going to practice in private?"

"Free period's after lunch, am I right?"

I nodded.

"Good, then you may start warming up first and I'll teach you the choreo I've been thinking about after I deliver these to the principal." Eunbyul smiled as she wiggled the papers in her hands at the end of her sentence.

After she left the room, I sighed and reached for my phone, pressing on Woohyun's reply.

Woohyun [01:43pm]

You took the last line from the web, didn't you?

No, it's lunch and free period follows right after.

Sent [02:14pm]

Yes, I did haha ^^

What are you doing at free period?

Woohyun's reply came shortly after mine.

Woohyun [02:17pm]

Hanging out in the music room, you?

Sent [02:19pm]

Well, have fun in the music room, I'm in my private ballet lessons.

See you soon.

When there was no reply, I slipped my phone in my bag and stood up, my hands reaching as high as it could as I stretched myself. I walked to the railings before steadying my right foot on top as my hand reached to hold my toes.

After repeating those steps with my left foot and ended it with a split, I walked to the corner of the room and pressed the 'play' button on the stereo.

It was then when I heard a soft melody ringing throughout the mirrored room.

The melody was unknown to my ears as Eunbyul never played it before, but I tried to match my dance moves with it, my body gracefully swaying with the soft, melancholic music.

Both my hands were hung high as my body swayed to the left, my body lifted off slightly as I jumped with the tip of my toes. I stood on one foot as my other foot was lifted up to the back, right on the side of my waist. I brought it back and let the tip of its toes touch my other knee. Then I placed my right arm on top of my left as I did a pirouette.

I raised my right leg up and twisted it back and forth as I reached out my arms, twirling my body around for five times, or as they call it, pump turns.

I couldn't help but wonder why a simple song could bring a slight pang to my heart. Like somehow there was something behind the melody, a story, something worse than sadness. I just knew it.

My thoughts as well as my movements came into an abrupt stop as the melody stopped playing in the middle. I frowned and walked towards the stereo, checking the CD.

My eyes widened slowly as I saw that there was none.

It couldn't be possible, how could there be music echoing around the room when there was no CDs whatsoever in the stereo? I'm too sane to be hallucinating in bright daylight.

Then Woohyun's words rang in my ear, "Hanging out in the music room, you?"

I turned my head to the right, looking right through the dance room's windows and saw a tall figure leaving the music room that was just beside this room.

Perhaps the source of the music wasn't from the stereo, perhaps it was an uncompleted live performance.

"Why are you so close yet so untouchable.."

"Nam Woohyun," I whispered.