Yiyoung focused on her body, lifting both arms in the air as she moved her hips.
She’d tried her best to move, but her classmates had still stared at her, making her feel like a monkey trapped in a circus. She had sworn then, “I’m going to practice really hard and shock everyone.”
She was determined to master the hip movement before the end of the year. Yiyoung thought of the dancing girl she’d seen in Istanbul; her flashy moves had seemed to seduce everyone watching her.
It was at that moment, when she discovered Muyeol leaning against the door to his study. ‘He finally came out.’
She’d only been practicing for her class till now, but now it was time for her to wield the ax. Yiyoung turned toward him and slowly turned her hips, the only move she could do successfully.
If people only focused on her gaze, then Yiyoung was already the best dancer. She seduced Muyeol as if she was a fatally attractive girl trying to tempt an unassailable man.
Perhaps others would have said that the dance move was easy, and that it was not a big deal, but it was the most difficult thing to learn for Yiyoung. Her back was stiffer than a stick. Her performance only got better after the endless attempts to learn the move.
Yiyoung was extremely focused, sweat dripping from her forehead, and her gaze became more passionate.
There was a saying, ‘Little strokes fell great oaks’. This was Yiyoung’s 69th attempt, but it still didn’t seem to work. She wondered how many times she would have to show her feelings to Muyeol for him to finally accept them.
She continued to passionately move her hips until the music stopped playing. Yet, Muyeol’s face did not betray any emotion. He’d at least tried to hold in his laughter in the beginning, but there was no expression on his face now.
‘Darn it, is his heart made out of stone or something? I feel like I can’t live without him, but is it that he’ll actually be fine without me?’ Yiyoung thought.
Then, Muyeol calmly said, “I regret watching you dance.”
Yiyoung lost all strength in her legs and collapsed. Muyeol was shocked to see her fall to the floor.
“I told you I’d live with you and take care of you…” Yiyoung said.
Muyeol gently lifted her. Yiyoung wrapped her arm around his neck and whispered into his ear, “I love you.”
That was the 70th, 71st, 72nd, 73rd… and the 80th attempt.
Yiyoung quickly got upset. “You idiot.”
“I’m going alone to Singapore for my business trip next week.”
Yiyoung gave him a big smile. “Oh no! What’s wrong, big brother?”
Muyeol looked at her in confusion. He observed that she was acting all charmingly while calling him ‘big brother’, even though he was the same age as her.
“I learned it from my classmates at the culture center,” Yiyoung explained, “They told me guys like it when girls call them big brothers.”
‘What a productive lesson… Isn’t she embarrassed?’ thought Muyeol.
“I love you,” Yiyoung repeated.
Her whisper sunk right into his heart.
“I don’t think I can live without you. Do you feel the same way?” she asked.
Muyeol stepped away, not saying anything in return.
Suddenly, he thought about what would have happened to Yiyoung if she was raised in a normal family. How amazing would she have been? He probably wouldn’t have been able to even look at her. He knew he wouldn’t have been able to be deskmates with her.
Muyeol felt lucky to be able to live with her now. Yiyoung probably wouldn’t have looked at him at all. Back then, he’d wished to live with her just for a while, and he was actually living with her.
‘You idiot,’ Muyeol scolded himself, ‘Don’t be scared about being abandoned, and don’t let her go if you really want to live.’