Friday Fix

♚ | ten

THE music was loud as the girl grinded herself against the pole. She arched her back, tongue flicking out between teeth, and someone in the audience let out a wolf-whistle.

Sitting at the bar, fingers trailing lightly against the outside of his shot glass, Jungkook barely noticed. He seemed almost mesmerized by the droplets of condensation, letting one bead at his fingertip before going downward.

There was breathless chuckling as two boys crashed heavily into seats on both sides of him. Jungkook eyed the one on his right.

The blonde-haired boy gestured at the dance floor. “Not getting out there, Kook?”

He gave a light shake of his head. The black curls at the front of his forehead bounced. “You know I only do girls on Friday, Siwoo.”

The other boy on his left snorted. “Why though? s*x is still sex.”

“Because nothing feels better than getting what you want after a long time of waiting.”

The incredulity was audible. “You do a girl a week – how is that a ‘long time of waiting’ ?”

Siwoo smirked. “It is to him. In high school it used to be a girl every few days, if not every day. Think you went through most of the female population there, didn’t you, Kook?”

A lazy smile spread. “And more than one teacher as well.”

Jay slammed a fist into the bar top then raised it high. The light caught the rings on his fingers. Jay Kim was obsessed with rings, and he wore one on every alternate finger. It probably helped that they had gotten him out of many fights alive. A strong punch coupled with etched metal could do a lot more damage than a broken nose.

“Here’s to our residential stud!” he hollered. Siwoo laughed.

Jungkook downed his shot glass and said mildly, “Shut up before you get us kicked out.”

The bartender, thinking Jay’s hand was a sign for order, walked over. Siwoo ordered a French 75 while Jay opted for nothing. Jungkook had a refill.

“Then one day our dear Kook advanced on a wrong teacher,” Siwoo said, continuing after the bartender had left. “And she exposed you to both the school and your parents, and – boom.”

“Oh, fuck.” Jay whistled. “What happened then?”

“My parents flipped, of course. They had me on complete lock-down.” Emitting a groan, Jungkook held his head in his hands like he had a headache. “Oh – for three whole months I went without a f**k! The pain! The agony! ‘Twas unbearable!”

Siwoo cuffed him around the head. “Stop being dramatic. You’re in dance school, not acting school.”

Jay snapped his fingers. “Is that why they sent you to an all-boys school? To curb your s*x addiction?”

Jungkook raised a finger. “First of all, addiction sounds like something I have no control over, which is not true.” He gave a casual rolling motion of his shoulders. “I just like f*****g. And to answer your first question – yeah, pretty much. That’s why it’s a girl a week. If I go out more, I’m bound to be spotted by So-and-so who knows my dad and then it’s hell all over again.”

“Seems smart. Your dad has a lot of connections, doesn’t he? I mean, he works for Griffin Communications. The tallest office building in Seoul.”

A trace of bitterness crept into Jungkook’s voice. “That’s right. A place so big he finds it more comfortable than his own home.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the trio. Siwoo was shooting Jay a glare, and Jay looked equal parts awkward and flustered as he realized he’d said something wrong.

Why did you do that? Siwoo mouthed over Jungkook’s bowed head.

I didn’t know!

He doesn’t like his dad, Siwoo reproached. Only Jay didn’t quite get it and looked completely bewildered as he repeated what he thought Siwoo had said – he mustn’t bite his bat?

Jungkook sighed. “You know, I’m right in the middle of you two. I can tell what you’re saying.”

The French 75 arrived and Siwoo took a long, satisfying pull. “Speaking of dance school, how’s things up yonder?”

Jungkook’s eyes darkened immediately at the question and his lip curled. “I got a f*****g roommate.”

Jay took out a cigarette, even though the Heptagon didn’t allow smoking. He lit one with the practiced ease of a long-time smoker and took a good, long pull.

“So? Just kick his ass out like you’ve always done.”

“This one’s slightly . . . tenacious.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning whenever I try to do something to f**k him up, he retaliates.”

Siwoo frowned. “Retaliate how?”

Jungkook paused for a bit too long. “I think he’s gay.”

A second ticked by, and then both Siwoo and Jay roared in laughter. Reaching across, they high-fived right in front of Jungkook.

“You mean,” Siwoo tried to hide his grin and failed, “every time you do something he flirts?”

Jungkook let out a strangled sound. “s****l advances are more like it. I don’t understand how he can be so – so suggestive without actually saying anything.”

“It’s called being smooth, Kook. A classy flirt, eh? I could do with someone like that.”

He winked at Jay. “Still loyal to you though, babe.”

Jay blew smoke rings into the sky and flipped his boyfriend a finger.

♚

“Today class, we’re going to learn something different. Now who here has learned ballroom dance before?”

I raised up my hand, and so did a few others. I noticed Jungkook didn’t bother.

“Good. After Tae’s demonstration last week, I trust you all have seen the importance of fluidity, yes? Well today we shall learn a few basics of ballroom dance, namely the footwork. Just to test how quickly you can move on your feet, and yet still maintain grace.”

So for half an hour we worked on footwork. It started off a simple one-two-two, but then it progressed into more complicated sequences. Although Jungkook hadn’t raised his hand when asked, the way he breezed through most of the steps gave him away, and the teacher called him on out it.

As usual, he only shrugged.

After about an hour the teacher clapped her hands. “Right! Well most of you did fine, but to wrap things up I’d like two people to come up here and demonstrate for me all the steps as a pair. Any takers?” A pause. “No? Very well then, I’ll pick.”

She pointed at Jungkook. “You.”

I tried to hide a snicker. This is what you get for brushing off the teacher –

“And you, Haneul.”

– whaaaa’?

Jungkook who had been halfway through getting up now snapped rigid. “I’m not dancing with him.”

I folded my arms. “Right back at you, partner.”

“I’m not your goddamn partner – ”

“Quit it, boys!” the teacher cut in sharply. “It’s just a short demo. Get up and get over here.”

We walked over like two stiff marionettes, and even when the teacher made us face each other we refused to look one another in the eye.

“Now hold hands. Jungkook will lead.”

I could sense more than one person trying to hide his laughter at the first sentence. My face grew hot, and opposite me Jungkook seethed. The teacher tapped her shoe on the floor, impatient.

“Well?” she asked, a tone of warning in her voice.

“Oh for God’s sake,” I muttered. Grabbing Jungkook’s hand, I placed it on my hip and took his other with my right. A familiar feeling of warmth trilled through my spine, and I ignored it. “The sooner we get it started, the sooner it’s over.”

Jungkook’s jaw clenched in visible dislike and his grip on my fingers were too loose, as if they refused to hold my hand properly.

“Do it right,” I snapped, trying to mask how flustered I was with irritation. “And don’t step on me toes, please.”

The barb at least managed to incite some reaction from him. “I know how to dance this, alright? Worry about your goddamn self.”

“One,” the teacher counted, “two, three – and go!”

We were off.

There was no music. There was no atmosphere. There were no fancy techniques and tricky steps, no dramatic gestures and emotions. There was only a series of repetitive steps from one end of the room to the other, and yet as we moved, I could feel the way his fingers began to curl around mine as if they belonged there, feel the way his hand slowly settled into the most comfortable position on my hip, feel the way our feet worked in tandem with no hesitation just like how we had done in that dark alley on that dark Friday night.

I looked him in the eye and just like that, the classroom vanished. His eyes locked onto mine like how mine locked onto his, black pupils against black pupils. Up close his eyelashes were beautiful, soft and fine, and unbidden a thought slipped into my head – why does he have to look so perfect?

We forgot to count the steps. We forgot to pay attention. My back banged straight into the dance’s room mirror, forcing us to a halt. We both didn’t move for long seconds.

Staring. Just staring.

My palms sweated. My stomach fluttered. And my heart slammed on the accelerator, charging ahead at full speed.

The teacher’s voice was like a firecracker and I jumped. Jungkook’s eyes blinked like they had just snapped out of a daze. He took an unsteady step backward.

“Excellently done! No mistakes so far as I can see, only remember to watch where you’re going . . .”

Hurriedly I scrambled away from Jungkook, taking my seat at the back of the class. A few boys were sniggering openly, throwing me and Jungkook looks. Part of their conversation floated over.

“That was so gay . . . “

I pulled my legs close to my chest and felt the thud-thud-thud of my heart banging against my knees. I was not affected. I was not affected. I couldn’t be affected, no matter how attractive he was, it was all just an external façade – his personality sucked, he was a world-class jerk, a terrible roommate.

I looked at Jungkook. Hair messy, body sweaty, sitting down with one leg up and other extended out.

Sometimes, it was really hard to remember that.

♚

Jungkook was troubled. In his mind there presented only one solution, one answer to his quandary. But the solution was improbable. Ludicrous. Fit to be laughed at.

But not exactly impossible, he reminded himself.

He bit his lip, absent-mindedly fingering the necklace at his neck. He’d gotten used to the steel kiss of it against his collarbones, and wasn’t quite sure he was ready to give it up to its owner now.

Especially if the owner was who he thought it might be.

Lifting it up to the light, he inspected it, thoughts running in his mind in lost, wild circles. He turned the ring, over and over, until finally he stopped, sharp and abrupt, at a certain angle.

It was faint, very faint, but it was there. Just two words, in Hangul.

하늘.

Haneul.

❈

Is this it? Is the secret finally out? And most importantly if it is, is this the end of Haneul? We know how much he dislikes her, and how willing is he to kick her out . . .

Tune it tomorrow and find out? ;)

Yours in seduction,

Lady Godiva.