In a Split Second || BTS

Chapter 30

--Flashback--

I skipped to Madame Beaumont's studio, a leotard and leggings tight against my form. Today was the day – my first day as an official dance student. For the first time in a long time, I was tremendously happy. It seemed impossible to wipe the smile from my face as I pulled open the door and stepped into the studio.

Inside, Madame Beaumont was speaking to a young boy who looked to be around my age. He had dark hair and wore rectangular glasses that accentuated his chubby cheeks. Upon seeing me, his lips curved up into a beautiful, heartfelt smile that overtook his whole face.

"Hello," he said. "Do you speak Korean?"

"A little," I said, using my limited knowledge of Korean to reply. Madame Beaumont had already taught me a bit to help me communicate with her multilingual family, but I hadn't fully grasped the language yet.

"That's okay." He grinned again. "We can speak in French."

It would have been easier to communicate in my native tongue, but I didn't want to tell him so. "Okay."

Madame Beaumont swooped to my side, gesturing to the boy with a flourish. "Mademoiselle Cherisse, this is the dance student you will be learning alongside: Monsieur Park."

"Jimin," the boy amended, extending his hand to shake mine. I accepted his hand tentatively and shook it once. He didn't hold my hand too hard, and the bounce was not too flimsy. His little confident mannerisms helped me feel more comfortable in the days to come.

"Cherisse," I introduced myself quietly, my shoulders automatically hunching inwards.

Madame Beaumont clapped her hands once, pleased with our interaction. "Very good. Now, let us begin the lesson. For today, I will be teaching you the basics of a simple grand jeté. Mademoiselle Cherisse, as we worked on this skill yesterday, would you care to demonstrate for Monsieur Park?"

I shyly stepped to the front, watching my reflection in the floor-length mirror spanning across the far wall. My round cheeks had thinned from years without eating properly, and I had become quite petite overall. I didn't have the muscle mass required to attain a perfect split in the air, but Madame Beaumont worked very hard to help me learn the technique. The mere feeling of positioning myself to begin made me feel like a ballerina straight out of a music box. There was a certain power I always felt while dancing – a power I felt nowhere else.

Using the music as a guide, I performed a grand jeté in the air, my legs brushing off the floor and suspending me in the air for a split second. Upon landing, bright applause sounded from the opposite side of the room.

"That was very good!" Jimin exclaimed. Although I knew my legs were not entirely straight and I had forgotten to point my back foot, his encouragement made me feel as though I had perfectly accomplished the skill.

"Would you like to try, Monsieur Park?" Madame Beaumont offered. "Focus on the brushing motion of your legs, and always point your feet. Do not worry about distance – the goal of a grand jeté is not to leap far but rather to leap high."

Jimin mimicked my starting position, allowing Madame Beaumont to move his arms and legs until he perfectly replicates it. His first leap was nothing extraordinary, but it was far better than my first attempt. I followed his landing with quiet applause. He grinned at me, and his beautiful smile was so contagious that I had to smile back.

In the days that followed, we became very close, spending every moment with each other and teaching each other new dance skills and languages. He would teach me ten new Korean words for every technique I corrected or taught him. Although my childhood came to an abrupt end when my parents died, his youthful antics were still very much alive.