The Heat of the Waltz
That summer. When I visited my grandfather's house in Korea several years ago after permanently returning to the country, I had no trouble communicating with my relatives. My grandfather, pleased by this, gifted me a one-bedroom apartment with a view of the Han River every time he came to Korea, urging me to stay whenever he visited. In the end, it was worth all the hard studying I'd done.
Anyway.
The sight of the two of them huddled together, whispering like they were plotting some mischief, twisted something deep inside me in a way I couldn't quite explain.
'What, are they actually into each other? Thinking about dating? Why is it so hot here?'
My nose flared at the unpleasant warmth of my breath.
Hunter tugged slightly at the knot of his tie, which was strangling his neck. The constant fidgeting beside him had him on edge, and the old man's boring ramblings from the podium went completely unnoticed.
If I could, I'd rip off the damn tie and blazer, sprint out of here, and disappear. But this goddamn class came with a courtside ticket to the US Open finals—something that cost a small fortune.
He took a long breath.
Ignore it.
Or not. Whatever.
Woof woof woof.
[Ha, shit...]
The sound of the two of them whispering in each other's ear was more annoying than the buzzing in Hunter's ears late at night. Hunter glared at them, and just as he opened his mouth to snap at them, the kids all stood up in unison with a loud noise.
It was the signal for the dance class to begin. He had been daydreaming, and the etiquette class must have already ended.
With a grand piano and a string quartet live, Walter and Megan stepped out into the middle of the floor and showed off basic waltz steps.
While they took turns practicing their steps, Walter walked the hall, pairing up the kids one by one. He finally stopped in front of the three of them and drew an oval around their heads with an imaginary rope.
[One lady and two gentlemen make a team.]
He positioned Jiyu and Lex facing each other and placed Hunter behind Lex.
[Mr. de Lafayette, extend your right hand and lightly support the lady's back with your left. Good, good. Now the lady extends her left hand lightly over Mr. de Lafayette's hand and rests her right on his shoulder. Elbows gracefully raised!]
Walter adjusted their posture himself and lifted both hands onto Lex's shoulders.
[Mr. Hamilton will follow the same steps right behind Mr. de Lafayette. When the song ends, switch positions with the two of you.]
Hunter bit his back teeth and brushed the hair that had fallen across his forehead back up. He was supposed to trail behind Lex like a ridiculous dog tail.
Damn etiquette class.
His patience was running out.
He thought about the courtside ticket for the US Open finals. He could see the players muttering curses and the sweat on their foreheads. Courtside was worth up to twenty thousand dollars per ticket.
If he left now, he'd have to forfeit it.
[Hook.]
Hunter took a short breath.
Hold it. Hold on.
Just then the music that had stopped resumed.
He stood with both hands on Lex's shoulders, face blank, and started stepping the waltz.
Who would reach the US Open finals?
His mind spun with the players' rankings and assigned seeds, all tangled together. He hoped Federer and Nadal would meet in the final.
He tried hard to push the thought away, but Lex suddenly lowered his head and whispered something in Jiyu's ear. Jiyu's face, which had been barely visible behind Lex's shoulder, was suddenly fully in view. Her mouth was open in a perfect O, her expression pure shock.
Why did Lex say something to make that idiot face appear?
Suddenly his stomach twisted. His gastric juices were boiling like lava.
Did I eat dinner too fast?
Just then Jiyu looked up at Lex and asked.
[No way. Really?]
Hunter rolled his eyes and smirked.
'Most of the crazy things that come out of Alexander de Lafayette's mouth are lies. You still don't get that?'
He couldn't understand why she kept falling for Lex. Was she stupid?
[Yeah, I heard from my seventh-grade brother that the last song is always a line dance to country music. Even though I still used my old stereo and CD, I sneaked a look and found there was actually a country music CD in it. So I replaced it with the gangster hip-hop CD I brought.]
Lex's head tilted to the side to hold back his laughter. Jiyu's gaze landed on his clenched shoulders as he trembled, and then she burst out laughing, her eyes crinkling into thin slits and a dimple appearing in her otherwise hollow cheeks.
Hunter stopped dead in his tracks.
Those damn dimples again.
Seriously, on my honor, I had zero interest in any detail of Jiyu Parker's face. I'd never really studied that face before. But now that the missing thing had returned, my eyes kept sticking to it.
Something felt off. An irrational mix of unease and weird anxiety churned inside him. He couldn't figure out why it was happening, and that made it even worse. If he could, he'd tell her to stop grinning like that right now because his stomach was turning.
Just then Lex suddenly stopped. The music had actually stopped too. Walter then instructed through the mic to switch partners with the person next to you. Hunter shoved Lex's shoulder, still chuckling, without mercy.
[Go away, de Lafayette.]
[Shit. Ease up, Hunter.]
Ignoring Lex's mumbled complaints as he staggered, Hunter strode straight up to Jiyu. The moment their eyes met, the smile vanished from her face like a soap bubble. Eventually she looked away and lowered her eyes shyly.
Hunter's mood had sunk even lower than before.
'Why does she make that face when she's looking at me? What did I do?'
He placed his hand on her back and pulled her close.
This. The strength control failed.
Jiyu, pulled along off balance, lifted her head in surprise.
Her lips pressed tight, eyes full of accusation as she glared at him.
'Why are you looking at me like that? It's fine to waltz with that guy but not with me?'
An immature child's question bubbled up in his throat, but he swallowed it down hard.
[Hand.]
Hunter lifted his right hand and demanded gruffly.
Jiyu let out a small sigh and slowly raised her left hand in a timid motion. It was strangely sensual. Then she hesitated just out of reach of his hand and curled her fingers.
Hunter couldn't hold back anymore and grabbed her hand. It burned like fire in his chest.
'Why does it keep getting so hot? Was her hand always this small? Or did my hands get bigger?'
He looked down at her with puzzled eyes. She looked completely unfamiliar, like a girl he'd never seen before, unlike the daily sight of Jiyu Parker. She took a small breath and placed her right hand on his shoulder.
'Is Jiyu Parker in pain? Why is your hand so hot?'
Her left shoulder felt warm, like she'd placed a hot iron on it instead of her hand. He looked down at the round crown of her head, where her ashy brown hair was loosely braided on both sides, and sweat was trickling down the back of her neck. The damn air conditioner must have broken.
[Now move.]
His voice cracked slightly.
[Yeah.]
They started moving to the waltz music. Jiyu's steps tangled and she stepped on his shoes twice.
[S-sorry!]
[Damn it. Focus.]
Hunter stepped the waltz fiercely to Johann Strauss's elegant piece, 'Beautiful Blue Danube'. He was good at anything physical. This simple, repetitive step was easy to learn after just a couple of tries. Once it was in his muscle memory, his steps never tangled.
But Jiyu kept stepping off like she had two left feet. He frowned.
'Why is this happening? She wasn't like this when she danced with Lex.'
When Jiyu stepped on his foot for the third time, she bit her lip hard and glanced up with her eyes. Then when their eyes met, she quickly looked down again. She looked terrified, as if everyone could tell.
Why like that? I just stepped on your foot a little—do I have to get eaten alive?
[...Sorry, Hunter.]
Hunter just smirked and didn't answer. He already knew Jiyu's physical ability was terrible. Stepping on her tiny feet wasn't going to make her hurt.
He fell into deep thought. There was something he'd been curious about since earlier.