north star (knj)

chapter eight

We stood
Steady as the stars in the woods
So happy-hearted
And the warmth rang true inside these bones

Old Pine - Ben Howard

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One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

The rhythm of the dance came naturally as Jimin whirled me around the dance studio. One of my hands was in his, while the other rested on his shoulder. His grip on his waist tightened as we spun around, and I couldn't keep a smile from my face as I caught our reflection in the mirror. It was as if he could read my mind, he matched my moves so well.

His English wasn't perfect, and my Korean could use some work, but we both spoke the same language: dance.

"Ready?" Jimin asked as the end of the song neared.

I nodded and on beat, Jimin's hand left my waist as I swirled outwards. I spun, anchored to him by only his grasp on my hand. I broke into laughter as Jimin pushed me away and I twirled towards the edge of the studio.

The song ended, and we broke into applause. I ducked under Jimin's outstretched arms and instead teasingly hit him in his side, a bit dizzy from all the spinning.

Dazed, I thought, It feels good to truly dance again.

Namjoon sat on the floor against the studio's mirror with a dumbstruck look on his face.

"What?" I asked as I collapsed next to him.

"You...that...what you just did." Namjoon motioned towards the now-open dancefloor. "You always amaze me when you dance."

I mumbled an embarrassed 'thank you' before taking a long drink of water. Somehow, I felt more out of breath sitting next to Namjoon than I did dancing with Jimin.

"Lyra!" Jimin shouted from across the room. He was standing near my bag, and my pale pink sweatshirt was in his hands. "Can I have this?"

I eyed the color-blocked windbreaker Jimin had on. "If you give me yours!"

Jimin nodded and shrugged out of his jacket. With a brilliant smile, he pulled my sweatshirt over his head. I hated to admit it, but it looked better on him than it did on me.

Namjoon cleared his throat. "So...what's up between you two?"

"What?"

"You and Jimin. He's usually shy when speaking English, but around you, he never shuts up. And he's rarely a morning person, but he got up this morning for a dance lesson he didn't need to come to." Namjoon's expression was oddly flat as looked at Jimin. "And you smile so much around him."

I raised an eyebrow. "Jealousy doesn't look good on you."

Even as I said it, I knew I was lying. The pit of my stomach tightened at how he clenched his jaw and flexed his fingers at his side. If I didn't know any better, I would say jealousy somehow made Kim Namjoon more attractive.

"Jealous?" His voice spiked. "No, no. Why would you say that?"

"Jimin and I are friends," I said. "Just friends. We just both love to dance."

"Friends," Namjoon repeated.

"Yes, friends. You know, people who hang out because they enjoy each other's company?" I grinned. "It's not a good sign that I'm giving a lesson on how to socialize."

Namjoon smiled, but it seemed a bit forced. A crease appeared between his eyebrows, and I wanted to smooth it out with the pad of my thumb.

His eyes met mine. "If I could dance like Jimin does, would you dance with me?"