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"Watch it--"
"Ow! No, you watc--"
"Stop that!"
"Me?? I'm not doing anything wrong!"
"What do you mean you're not-- okay, you know what? Let's just stop this, right now. Besides the rest of my body already aching, I don't need you to increase the pain I already feel on my ass so can you just sto--"
"If you think I'm causing you pain, then you should count how many times I trip and fall because of how ignorant you are, making your own steps as you go. Honestly, I don't get why you're even here, you clearly--"
"Did you know that I had to put bandages around my foot because I knew you wouldn't have improved since our last meeting?"
"Excuse me, but do you even understand what the instructor says? Because you keep putting your feet in the wrong places!" They were already shouting now but the rest of the class continued to ignore them. Frankly, they were quite used to it already.
"I do not! And, for your information, you're the one who needs to listen and practice more because I've been looking at the others and you don't exactly seem to be doing the same thing they're doing, you clumsy little--"
"All right, that's ENOUGH!" Everybody stopped in their tracks to face one of their dance instructors who was heading towards the bickering pair. He stops right in front of them and looks both of them in the eye. "You two are disrupting the class. I understand that these pairings were random and you both could have picked other, better, partners but I'm the one who gets a say in this and I say you both should step out and resolve your problems before returning to this class."
One of them just stared. The other wanted to reason out. "But--"
"NOW. I will see you both next week. Out you go."
If it wasn't embarrassing enough for them to have gotten themselves thrown out of the class by the instructor, there was still the thought of the other students casting them looks, both of pity and annoyance. Oh how Seokjin very badly wanted the earth to swallow him up.
On the other hand, Namjoon had been quiet the entire time. When they had gotten out of the room, Seokjin half-expected another round of screaming at each other before they both went home but apparently, Namjoon wanted none of that. Or so Seokjin thought.
Namjoon broke the silence a few feet away from turning the block. "You really were wrong, you know."
Seokjin let out a huff of annoyance. "I'd scream at you, but I believe in always being graceful, so I won't."
"Then why don't you try being graceful when you need to be graceful, hm?"
Seokjin couldn't whip his head around fast enough. Namjoon was looking at him with a smug expression that made him want to start throwing insults and punches and everything he could think of just to get back at that dumbass Namjoon. "You think you're always right, don't you? Well then, let's practice on our own. Just the two of us. No practice room, no classmates, no instructors. Just a choreography video and a huge space."
"J-just the two of us?" Seokjin blinked. He thought he was hearing a wavering of Namjoon's confidence but the younger of the two recomposed himself in a second. "I'm game for that. Where do we do it?"
Seokjin took a small piece of paper -- what looked to be a receipt from his most recent compulsive grocery shopping trip the other day -- and a pen from his bag and started to write. "My place." He handed the paper to Namjoon. "Tomorrow, 9am sharp. Don't be late." He stuck his hand out, and immediately wondered why he did such a thing since he and the guy weren't even friends. They weren't even near acquaintances.
Thinking that it was to seal the deal, Namjoon took Seokjin's hand in a firm grip and shook it once, ignoring the jolt of electricity he felt when they touched. "Deal."
They parted without a single word to each other, Seokjin turning for the bus stop on the other side of the road and Namjoon turning on the corner to his apartment complex. Seokjin could still feel Namjoon's warm, bony hand in his but he shook the thought away as he boarded his bus, ignoring how hot it seemed to be getting. People looked and pointed as Namjoon, out of nowhere, started smiling and skipping the last few steps on his way home.
The sky was blue, clouds were nowhere to be seen, and the breeze was as cool as the sparkling water Seokjin had just taken out from the refrigerator. They were on the roof, already in the middle of their practice. Having convinced themselves that they were working as hard as they could on their choreography and their 'partnership', they made a unanimous decision to take a break. Only then did Namjoon voiced out his observations.
"So." Seokjin took a look at the man in black, baggy sweatpants and a black sweater who was sprawled out on the floor that he had just cleaned the night before, for anyone's information.
"So?"
"So. This yours?" Namjoon lifted his arm and twirled his hand in the air.
"Nope. My parents'." A thought passes in his mind. "But I guess, technically, yeah."
"Where are they?"
"Gone." Seokjin thought Namjoon wouldn't accept that as an answer and that he'd coax him into spilling his sob story but the latter just hummed in response. Seokjin let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. Stepping away from the fridge, he found himself a spot close to where Namjoon was. He sat down.
"Did you know," Namjoon started without looking at him, "that if you lie down, just look up towards the sky, past the concrete and metal of the ceiling, close your eyes and count to 10, it'll make you feel better?"
Seokjin snorted at the sincerity and utter innocence in the younger guy's voice. "I don't need to feel better. I am the embodiment of better. No, I am the standard for 'best'."
Namjoon turned his head and looked at his partner, trying to analyze his words. He turned back to the sky and sighed. "You'll never know what you have until you know what you don't." He closed his eyes. "Try it. It won't hurt you."
It took a while, but Seokjin finally gave in. He laid down beside Namjoon, not too close but not too far either, and just let his mind drift. Up towards the ceiling, through the concrete and metal barriers, at the beautiful blue, cloudless sky. He didn't have to see it, but it was breathtaking.
"You have to close your eyes too, you know."
He didn't even turn to look at the other boy. He closed his eyes, slowly, and counted to 10 in his mind. Before he could reach 3, he felt cool drops running down the sides of his eyes, almost getting into his ears, and before he could stop himself, he was full on crying. No sound, no sobs, just silent tears that have been freed after such a long time.
By the time he reached 10, he had calmed down. He knew his eyes would be puffy, but somehow, it didn't really matter. He opened them, saw right back through the ceiling and at the sky, but it didn't feel so far away anymore. He didn't feel like all his problems were solved, but he felt like he might just have the courage and strength he needed to get through them. He had never felt more alive in years.
Seokjin turned to catch Namjoon looking at him as if they were the only things that existed at that moment and Seokjin fought back all the things he felt -- the weird fluttering in his stomach, the unusually hard and fast beating of his heart, the heat crawling up his cheeks -- with a smile. Namjoon smiled back.
"Ready to let loose and let it all go? I know a great way how."
Turns out they were both doing the choreography wrong, according to the choreography video they used during their practices. But all that awkward air between them, the mistakes they blamed each other for, and the avoiding as much skin contact was now gone, replaced by knowing looks, fleeting touches, and understanding smiles during their regular dance class sessions. If their instructors or their classmates noticed anything, they didn't let it show.
The day they decided to officially date was the day of the recital. Everyone had worked hard for their performances and Namjoon and Seokjin felt like they could do anything after performing their stage. So when the certificates were awarded and pictures were taken, Namjoon surprised Seokjin by literally lifting him up and twirling him across the stage, not caring who he might bump into or what he might step on. He almost trips but thinks it's actually worth it since Seokjin was laughing and god was it heavenly. Namjoon couldn't help but laugh as well even as he was putting Seokjin down.
Their laughter only stopped as both of them, at the same time, leaned in, mashed their lips together, finally finding their own rhythm in each other's arms. Breathless after breaking apart a few moments later, they wordlessly walk towards the backstage, hand in hand, to get their coats and bags with smiles never leaving their faces. They headed out into the cool spring night silently thanking whatever brought them together in that dance class and that it was finally over.
"Dude, they looked so happy."
"I know."
"Do you think we should tell them?"
One of the dance instructors, Jimin, shook his head furiously. "Oh no. We don't need to burst that bubble for them."
Hoseok sighed as he spotted the couple on their way out the auditorium. "Well, I hope to never see them come back here. I don't know how that happened, but they were probably the worst pair I've ever taught yet."
"I know what you mean." Jimin rubbed his sore shoulder muscles. "Sure, they were bad when they started out, but after that day I kicked them out, they only got worse. They got in sync, hyung," he whined. "They were both bad, but then they became synchronized, and then they just became synchronized bad dancers. So, collectively, that means they became worse." He pouted in frustration. "I'm tired."
Hoseok chuckled at the sight and started gathering his things. "Then let's eat dinner. Let's toast to the end of a successful spring workshop!"
Jimin stood up and gathered his things as well. "And good riddance to the two gentlemen who I hope to never see again!"