It was a chilly evening outside, quite the opposite compared to the humid, smoky air that floated throughout ‘The Phoenix’, Manhattan’s hottest club. It was packed, as usual, and the many topic-less conversations were drowned out by the pulsating music that could be felt beating through your own body. Strobing neon green, pink, purple and blue lights pierced the, otherwise, darkness of the club, causing the numerous cocktails that sat untouched on counters, to light up with an array of different colours.

 Somehow, screams of joy and the loud clacking of heels could still be heard over the incredibly loud music as people flooded the dance floor, waiting momentarily, for the next song to start up again. I watched at a young man with platinum blonde hair made his way into the centre of the dance floor. It wasn’t his hair that made him stand out though; it was his features – the sharp nose and jaw, the thick lips and the lanky body that seemed too uncoordinated to belong in a dance club. But strangely enough, the crowds started to part slightly as he pushed his way forward. I could see who I thought were his friends, cheering him on, sitting at a table with beers in hand a little way away. I thought I had it all figured out. He was drunk and decided he’d make a fool of himself.

 But that couldn’t be right. Most people on the floor had grins on their faces as if waiting for him to dance. Some were obviously annoyed at the respect this guy had and just wanted to dance, but others really looked as if they were enjoying this. They couldn’t all be wanting to make fun of him.  

 The DJ spoke, “Hey hey hey ! Looks like Eunhyuk’s decided to join us again! Let’s see what moves he pulls of tonight. Anyone up for a dance-off?”

 What the…Without thinking I raised my arm, not that anyone would see me, but I did. And someone saw me…

 “Hey Masa! This kid here thinks he’s worth it!” someone behind me yelled out.

 I felt the heat of a spotlight shinning down on me as the DJ spoke again. “Lookie here everybody! We have a contestant! Must be a new kid.”

  People laughed and I lowered my arm slowly, frowning and the oddity of the situation. I’ll admit I’m new to this club, but how good was this Eunhyuk person?

 “Come on down kid. And tell us your name!”

 The light shone in my eyes as it followed me. “Donghae” I said, loudly enough for the DJ to hear, as I climbed down the glass stairs. The looked quite beautiful with the lights flashing and reflecting off them in strange ways, but I had other things to ‘worry’ about.

 As I walked to the centre of the stage I heard people start to repeat my name. Surprised, I looked around seeing everyone with their fists in the air repeatedly reciting my name like it was some sort of chant. Finally coming face-to-face with Eunhyuk, I looked at the DJ who gave me a thumbs up before placing his hands on the sound mixer ready to blast a track or two.  

 I finally looked Eunhyuk in the face. He was quite handsome and his calm face made him seem kind and definitely not what he turned into within the next few seconds. As the music turned started to play, his small smile contorted into a more serious, straight face and his eyes lost their clarity, making them look fiercer. It was as if he was gearing up to fight. Which, if you thought about it, was kind of true. 

 He started us off, dancing with simple moves to the music the DJ had chosen. It wasn’t a song with very strong beats, nor was it fast, but those who had stayed assembled around us started to cheer along. Of course, many of the other clubbers had begun to dance again as the music , but it seemed that this Eunhyuk had some intense fans.

 His little show ended with him blowing a kiss to his adoring fans all around him and pointing to me with an expectant look, as if telling me to start.

 So I did.

 I came forward from where I was standing a little way away to give him space, and I danced. And I heard the crowd go quiet for a few moments. I suppose they hadn’t expected me to actually be able to dance.  Smirking, I pulled a few quick moves to finish off before bowing to crowd surrounding us who had once again burst into cheers. I was ecstatic! Hearing all these cheers for me made me a huge grin appear on my face as I turned to face Eunhyuk who was watching me from near the DJ’s table.

 His face broke into a grin as well and I could see his pinkish gums. My grandfather had always told me that people with gummy smiles were wonderful friends, but I’d only ever met one, a long time ago. He said something to the DJ, probably requesting a song before walking toward me again and meeting in the middle of the circle that had formed.

 “Try this.” He said with a sly smile before gently pushing me on the shoulder, motioning for me to move back again to give him room.

 The music started again, yet this time the song had a much slower, sensual beat. I must admit, he was a fantastic dancer. His moves matched the beats exactly and his attention to detail was impeccable, even paying attention to what his fingers were doing. His expression changed frequently as if he was one with the music and it was mesmerising to watch his performance. I almost felt like melting back into the crown and cheering for an encore just to watch him dance some more.

 As he danced past the growing crowds, he grabbed the hand of a young lady and kissed it before winking at her and moving away. Her face lit up with timidness and a light blush spread across her cheeks as she turned to stumble off toward her friends where they started to squeal and fan themselves.

 I couldn’t help but smile at them and secretly long for him to kiss me too. Yes, I was biual, but I didn’t go around flaunting it.

 Being somewhat attracted to men caused a lot of problems. Once revealed, people found it hard to relate to me anymore and if I got too close to someone without telling them, and they found out, they’d storm off saying that I’d lied to them. It had happened more than once and it was a terrible feeling. I tried to act as ‘normal’ as possible and went to straight clubs with beautiful women…and men, but I could never end up making many friends.

 Growing up without my parents and living in  boarding schools for most of life was probably what caused all this. I didn’t believe that one could be born biual, but more, that it was upon them with time. Living with boys from when I was 7 was what I thought made me like them. I still liked girls and I’d had numerous girlfriends, but I liked boys too. Unrequited love is horrible; just saying.

 The song continued, as did his dance around the circle and he inched closer toward me with every beat. The hardest part of liking a guy was knowing they were most likely not biual and disgusted by the mere topic. It made me hate myself so much. It was as if I was a clown, hidden in a costume that I couldn’t get out of and there were those people that hated me and were scared of me just because of who I am.

 Still dancing, Eunhyuk came to rest in front of me. He grabbed my hand which sent a pleasurable tingle down my spine, and pulled me to the floor to dance with him. It was awkward at first, because I really did not want to touch him. Every time I did, I’d get momentarily dazed and my dancing would go out of time, causing me much embarrassment. But, as the song changed once again to a much more upbeat one, and the whole crowd joined in again, we were like best friends. There was something about him that told me I’d met him before, or at least seen him, but in the heat of the moment, neither of us cared. The dance-off had died out, and the club was back into its usual atmosphere of never-ending energy and loud music and we danced like there was no tomorrow.

Time passed, I don’t really know how much, but soon we were exhausted and decided it was time to hit the bar. We got our drinks as the music slowed down and the whooping quietened down.

“So, my name’s Eunhyuk.” Eunhyuk said, holding out his hand for me to shake.

I took it and shook it slowly, not wanting to let go. “Donghae.” I smiled.

“Like, East Sea?”

“Yeah. You do not know how many times I’ve heard that!” My name, Donghae, means East Sea in Korean and I’d met so many people who, somehow, knew, that it was getting annoying. It really was the first thing people said to me after hearing my name.

“Oh right, Sorry. Well it’s a pretty name. Do your parents like the ocean?”

My parents. Why do people always bring up my parents? I bit my lip as the memories that I try to keep locked up flooded back into my mind.

“Um yeah,” I whispered uncomfortably, looking down into my now empty glass, “Yeah, we used to live on the coast. They loved the sea.”

He noticed my discomfort and cleared his throat. “Um so you want another drink? It’s on me!” he smiled and held up his wallet, waving it in the air.

I nodded and a small smile appeared on my face as well. He really was a kind hearted man. As Eunhyuk left to get our drinks I started to wonder what it would be like if we really could be together. It would be…special. I smiled at the thought.