Earn it

Dancing & Everything in Between

Chapter 18

Ryujin

I can hear Yeji's heartbeat from where we're standing. The stadium is full of shouts, and cheers but I'm solely focused on her, gripping my right hand.

I took it out of reflex when I saw her overthinking while we were lined up to walk out from the backstage but she didn't let go until now. The other must've noticed too, but they didn't call it out as they were all focused on keeping their calm.

I absentmindedly fiddled with her fingers while the host was announcing the mechanism of the dance off. Her grip tightened and there's nothing in the world that I wanted to do than to kiss her knuckles to calm her down.

I didn't. But I took a mental note to do that later.

Everyone assembled in the middle of the stadium just outside the designated dance floor. There were so many people that I couldn't really distinguish who is from Seoul University and who is from the other schools.

Cameras are everywhere, too. Miss Momo wasn't kidding when she said that it's a big deal as I received a message from Umma before we left backstage - it's a photo of Yun Jin grinning while waiting for me to appear on the screen.

Yeji also received a call from her parents - which doesn't happen very often. And I'm glad they did call her, it eased her up a little.

Everyone went to their respective places the moment we knew that the freestyle round needed two duos from each group. We have Soobin and Lee Know as our core duo but we did pick out a couple of back ups depending on the type of song that will be played.

Upon the first note, the representative duo of all the teams should step on the dance floor and dance for 1 minute. First ones to step in first, they'll be followed by the succeeding teams until everyone has performed.

We were all anxiously waiting, but when I looked over to Soobin & Lee Know vibing, I already knew we got this.

Love shot by EXO started playing and that earned a grin among everyone in the crew. Soobin got this in the bag. If there's anyone who can groove to this song, it's him. Lee Know is a very versatile dancer, too.

As our first duo took over the stage, everyone from the other teams seemed to grow wary of their own performances.

Soobin and Lee Know moved like they have been dancing together for years. Lee Know's movements are big but calculated while Soobin, on the other hand, is a natural eye catcher. When he danced to the chorus, almost everyone from the crowd cheered and hooted.

Everyone felt confident after that round and both myself and Jihyo were preparing for the next performance when an unfamiliar song played. I recognized the intro but I couldn't point out where I heard it. Jihyo seems to be lost, too.

The first duo entered the dance floor. Panicking, Jihyo exclaimed "I don't know this song".

Before I could even reply, Yeji snatched me from the group.

"It's the song from the library. The one we jived to while waiting for our borrowed books. Remember? We said it'll be a good song for synchronized choreography".

Immediately, a lightbulb seemed to ding on top of my head and the song sounded clearer now. I immediately pulled Yeji and went in the line of the succeeding dancers.

"What are you-"

"Just follow my lead, yeah? When my body's pointing to the left, you go right. You're amazing in bends and slides so when I grab your hand, just follow my direction and do your best." We didn't have time to plan an extensive routine so I just told Yeji to trust her body and follow my lead.