Min Jun

I decided to give Juniper a few days to recoup. She had a long night, just to turn around and go to work the very next day. As much as I wanted to talk to her or see her, I decided to leave her be. She needed the rest and I wanted her to get as much as possible. I really didn’t feel like going out to the bar, as last night was enough for me, but I wanted to keep myself busy to avoid calling Juniper. I decided to head over to the dance studio. One of my school friends owned a dance studio, called Jump Station, and he said I could stop by anytime I felt the urge to get anything off my chest. I didn’t have anything to release off my chest, I just had a bit of anxiety I wanted to release to avoid me contacting Juniper.

When I walked in the door, he was there with a few other dancers, going through a routine. I watched as they danced fiercely to the music, hitting the beats in unison. They were in a groove and me along with the others in the studio were mesmerized by their dancing. Soon, I felt my body swaying a bit to the music as they were hitting their moves, I felt the passion they were giving in the routine. I hadn’t danced in a few months, due to being a bit busy at work. However, I try to come over to the studio when I get a free moment. I would have gone a few days ago, but I had run into Juniper which in hindsight, I didn’t mind it at all. Everyone clapped and cheered as they finished their routine because it was absolutely amazing.

Alex walked over to me after the routine and shook my hand. He was happy to see me, as I hadn’t visited in a while.

“Min Jun! Good to see you!” He said giving me a ‘bro’ hug.

“Hey Alex, good to see you too. I see you’re still going strong.”

“Yeah, I gotta keep it going, you already know how it is. You come here to join us?” He said motioning to the floor.

“Yeah, I wanted to get a nice workout going. You know, it’s still in me, it’s not going anywhere.” I said. I love to dance and even though I didn’t make it with the group, dancing is still in me.

“Nice, come join us.” He said walking back to the floor.

“Let me go change first.” I said walking to the locker rooms. I changed quickly from my work clothes and into something more comfy; a pair of basketball shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt. I hadn’t been here a while but it felt good to be back.

I walked back out to the floor and stretched a bit. I didn’t want to hurt anything but I really wanted to get everything out of my body. I kept thinking about Juniper, but I didn’t want to go too fast with her, she stayed on my mind. Alex smiled as I came to the floor and his girlfriend, Sara, came to give me a hug.

“Nice to see you.” She said, “You ready to throw down?”

“Yeah, I’m ready.” I responded. She smiled and then nodded towards Alex. Alex smiled and nodded.

I was confused, trying to figure what they had going on and then the music started. Armani White, Billie Eilish started playing and it was on. The music flowed through my body as I moved with the music. Each beat played within my bones as I moved flawlessly with the music. Then the music changed to Unholy with Sam Smith feat. Kim Petras. The next thing I knew I was right back in the studio with the other guys, just dancing my ass off for a space in the idol group. I danced so hard, I totally zoned out and paid no attention to the other dancers; I needed this.

The music would put me in a trance to which I would release myself. To The Moon came on and I closed my eyes and I was in another place. I was expressing my feelings, getting it all out. I wanted Juniper to see me dance, I knew she would love to see me dance. The more I thought about her, the harder I danced. I had the music move me to the point, the trance had me entirely. When the song finally finished, I was covered in sweat and everyone was clapping. I didn’t realize how hard I was dancing and didn’t know that Alex and Sara had left the floor. It was all me, alone on the floor expressing myself in a way I hadn’t in a while.

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“Dude!” Alex said coming over to me. “That was awesome! Damn man, you still got it.” He said, patting me on the back.

“Man, you should do something with your talent. You know Alex is looking for someone to help him with the studio.” Sara said with Alex nodding in agreement.

“Thanks guys. I haven’t felt like this in a while.” I said smiling. It felt great to hear the cheers and to be able to dance again.

“You should really think about becoming a choreographer.” Alex said. It made me think of Juniper. She had said the same thing. After being cut from the group, I really didn’t think it was something I could do for a living. Even though my passion was dancing, I felt that I needed to have a stable job and become just like everyone else.

“Yeah, someone told me that before.” I said smiling thinking of Juniper. I wish she had been there to see me dance. I’m sure she would have loved it.

“Think about it. I could always use some help.” Alex said. He and Sara walked away smiling. I went and sat down against the wall and watched the other dancers take the floor.

I pulled out my phone and was about to text Juniper, but I didn’t know if she was awake and I didn’t know what to send her. I looked at the time; it was 10:30 pm. I didn’t want to disturb her, but I wanted to send her something to let her know I was thinking about her. I sent her an emoji; a cute bear giving a heart a hug. I wrote, “Good night, sleep well.” That was enough. I waited to see if she would read it and respond, as the music blared from the speakers. I started watching the hip hop dancers perform their routine and got lost in the moment. It wasn’t until 30 minutes had passed before I realized I was waiting for a reply. I looked at my phone and the message was still unread, Juniper was probably asleep. I wanted her to respond, but I didn’t want to be selfish as she needed her sleep. She’ll see it in the morning, I thought. At least she would know I had thought about her.

Sara started playing a song that I felt a rush of emotion. It was song by Fujii Kaze, Shinunoga E-Wa. I got up and let the music fill my body. My body flowed with the music; light steps hitting every beat smoothly like butter. I closed my eyes and I was dancing with Juniper. She was standing in the middle of the dance floor, the lights were out with a lone light right above her. I was dancing around her, allowing my body to speak to hers. She started to bounce along with me to the beat; I took her hand and we glided across the floor as the tempo changed.

My heart filled as I spun around her dancing and bringing her close to me to the point I could feel her heartbeat against my chest. I was so caught up in the moment, I didn’t realize that everyone was drawn to me at that very moment. When the song ended, Juniper faded into thin air and the lights were no longer dimmed. I snapped back to reality and Alex and Sara came over to me smiling.

“Dude, you really need to come back. You have a natural talent. You just told a story with that dance.” Alex stated.

“Yes, you spoke to me, I felt that.” Sara said, holding her chest. She looked as if she was about to cry. She was really moved. “You were so far into the moment, it seemed as if you were dancing for someone’s heart.” I looked at her. I smile shyly because I felt as if I was. I was dancing for Juniper’s heart.

“Thank you. I really like that song. I’ve heard it before, but it never had the effect it did tonight.” I replied.

“Were you thinking of someone?” Sara asked. My eyes grew large, I tried not to let it be shown, but my reaction didn’t help me hide shit. I’ve heard of female intuition, but it was freaking crazy when it happened right in front of me. I tried to avoid eye contact with her but she already knew.

“How did you know?” I asked.

“When you moved, your eyes were closed. Your body expressed so much emotion. You were not on this floor alone, yet physically you were. But mentally, in your mind, that person was here with you. You danced in a manner that you and that person were the only ones in this room. You don’t even know what you left out here on this floor.” She said. She read me honestly.

“How did you know?” I asked.

“Because I do the same thing when I dance with Alex. Everyone else disappears and we are the only ones on the floor. It’s like stepping into a different dimension where it’s just us.” She knew exactly what I felt.

“You’re good.” I replied.

“Thanks.” She said smiling. “You should come back and teach. And bring her with you.” I smiled.

“Thanks. I appreciate that. I’ll think about it.” I thought about dancing full time; that would be so nice. It would definitely beat having to deal with numbers, balances and reports all day long.

“Well the offer is open. I would love to have you come and help me with the studio.” Alex added.

On my drive home, I was really excited at the thought of becoming a dance instructor. Maybe Juniper was right, I thought. I wasn’t supposed to join the group because I was supposed to do something else. I seriously thought the idea of dancing for a living would be out of reach, until now. I really wanted to show Juniper that I could dance. I figured she thinks that I’m just some washed up trainee that didn’t make it because I couldn’t catch on, which was totally the opposite. I could dance, but it’s the singing that I lacked at. I can honestly say I wasn’t the best, however I tried my hardest, it just wasn’t good enough.