Midnight dancing | JHS

THREE

Areum's heart beat erratically. In just a few minutes Hoseok would arrive. They had decided to go out to a park. Areum was sitting down by the small lake in the center. The moon shined brightly along with a few stars. The sky was pitch black as well as the lake. A cool breeze hit her bare arms. Areum checked the time on her phone. It was almost half-past eleven. She sighed. She was going to be so tired the next morning. Thank god she had a day off.

"Hey Areum!" a man sat down beside her. He took off his mask and bucket hat, Areum instantly recognized him as Hoseok.

"Oh, hi Hoseok! How was your day?" she asked him and smiled.

"It was fine, we had dance practice," he answered. Areum felt a bit guilty that he was with her and not at home resting. "How was yours?"

"Same as usual, I was at the cafe all day."

They fell into a comfortable silence. Areum could feel her heartbeat speeding up whenever she was with him or thought about him. She smiled and looked at the moon reflecting on the lake.

"I had no idea you were a dancer," Hoseok made eye contact with her.

"I've been dancing for as long as I can remember."

"Same," he said. "By the way, who were you walking with yesterday?"

"They're my friends," she laid down on the soft grass. "Lee Youngjae, Cho Hyeri, and Kim Jiwoo. All of them are extremely chaotic, so beware when you meet them."

"How long have you known them?"

"I met Youngjae and Hyeri in elementary school," she explained. "We've been best friends for as long as I remember. They're like siblings to me. Hyeri's a hairdresser. She met Jiwoo when she got her hair cut. Hyeri and Jiwoo started dating shortly after and have been a couple ever since."

"So they're lesbian?"

"Hyeri's lesbian and Jiwoo's bisexual," Areum looked over at Hoseok who had decided to lie down as well. "Tell me about your friends."

"Well, I consider my members my best friends," Hoseok took Areum's hand in his. She felt her whole body heating up. "We spend almost every day together. We almost know each other too well"

"Do you spend a lot of time with your family?"

"Not as much as I'd like to," he sighed. "What about you?"

"Well I'm sort of close with my siblings, Gowon and Arin," she said. "My parents and I aren't as close as we could be. They keep on pressuring me into changing my career goals."

"What are your goals then?"

"Well, I've always wanted to own a dance studio and be able to teach dance," she smiled just thinking about it. "But my parents want me to be a doctor or something like that. Arin is a teacher and Gowon is a lawyer. I've spent years trying to make them accept my dreams, but they just won't listen."

"In the beginning, my parents were against me being an idol as well," Hoseok rubbed small circles on her hand. "They just kinda started to accept it after a while."

"I'll just have to wait and see."

Time flew by fast. All they could focus on were each other. Areum wanted to stay with him all day and night. But he unfortunately had to go home because of a schedule the next. It was around 4 a.m when she went to bed, her dreams filled with Jung Hoseok.

- -

The next day Areum woke up in a great mood. All her thoughts were clouded by a specific Hoseok as she went about her day. Her apartment was getting too dirty for her liking. She brought out the vacuum cleaner and started vacuuming. It was weirdly relaxing. She'd always been a fan of cleaning and neat spaces. Everything in her apartment was neat and organized. Her closet was sorted by color. Unlike her friends who were all slightly messy, she was frustrated by a tiny speck of dust. She put away the vacuum and made her bed. Just as she finished her phone started ringing. It was her mom.

"Hi, mom."

"Hi Areum," her mom greeted her. "Have you changed your mind about becoming a doctor yet?"

"No mom, and I'm not changing my mind any time soon."

"It'll be good for you honey, you'll be happy."

"You know I have no interest in medicine, mom."

"You'll change your mind soon enough," her mother said and hung up.

It was always like this. She knew they just wanted her best, but it was so frustrating that they wouldn't accept her dreams and ambitions. Just because her siblings entered academic careers doesn't mean she has or wants to.

Harsh knocks on her front door brought her out of her thoughts. She had completely forgotten that Youngjae, Jiwoo, and Hyeri were coming over. She opened the door for them and the four of them sat down on the couch.

"So, how did it go?" Youngjae asked, his devilish smirk plastered on his lips. He was the dirty-minded one of the group. Scratch that, all of them were dirty-minded, he was just more dirty-minded than the others.

"It went well," Areum felt herself blushing. Damn you Jung Hoseok.

"Give us the details," Hyeri ushered her. She had always been the most nosy, always needing to know every single detail.

"Fine, we talked a bit about family and my dream of owning a dance studio."

"Was he supportive?" Jiwoo asked and put an arm around Hyeri's shoulders. She was like the mother of the group. She was always concerned or worried about the whole friend group.

"Yeah, of course, he was," she answered.

Areum's phone dinged, signaling a new text. She grabbed her phone and smiled at the message.

Hoseok: I had a good time last night😊

Areum: Me too! Just a shame we can't go out together during the day

Hoseok: Yeah, it's a shame. Would you like to go on a second date???

- -

(Hoseok's POV)

He put his phone away, waiting for a reply. Why was he so nervous? She had agreed on going the first time. The second time shouldn't be any different, right? His phone made a noise. She had responded.

Areum: I'd love to🤗

Hoseok: Great, I have to get back to practice but I'll text you later

Areum: Okay, I'll see you

A smile made its way onto his lips, his whole body felt warm and fuzzy. He probably looked so stupid right now. But he didn't care what his members thought right now.

"What's got you smiling like an idiot?" Jimin teased him.

"None of your business."

"It's probably something about Areum," Namjoon saw right through him.

"Yeah, he wouldn't stop talking about the date when he got back last night," Jungkook chuckled.

Hoseok rolled his eyes. They could read right through him. This is what he meant when he said they knew each other too well. It was impossible to lie. But, still, his members were his family. He loved all of their flaws and imperfections.
__________________________
A/N
Chapter three is out! I literally finished the whole thing in one sitting, it was so fun to write. I'll release the next chapter on Sunday.
Bye~