Dance Connection (Eunhyuk x Reader)

Chapter 9

"Hey, Seoyeonaa!" Renee called out to Seoyeon, who was resting by the poolside. Renee took the seat next to her. Seoyeon noticed that Renee was delighted. "Someone's happy," Seoyeon said, grinning. "Yeah, I totally am. I had so much fun. We did everything, you know. We started with archery. I, obviously, suck at it. But Donghae was too good. He didn't get all perfect, but he got them all in the inner three circles." "Ahaan," Seoyeon watched her friend with amusement, "and then we went zorbing. Oh man, I couldn't stop screaming, and he couldn't stop laughing at me," Renee said with a pouting face. Seoyeon chuckled. "Finally, we went for the terrain mapping. It was sooooo hard. I was petrified by the plank bridge, though it was just 10 feet up. Donghae was so sweet; he held my hand all the way as I walked. He is a gentleman. Aaaaaand, he is a very gentle man, " Renee thought of something and giggled. Seoyeon grew suspicious of her friend and gave her a look.

Suddenly, they heard chuckles coming toward them. They turned their heads and saw D&E make their way to the pool. They were both wearing t-shirts and pool shorts. "Phew, thank God for t-shirts," Renee whispered to Seoyeon, "else I would have fainted at the sight!" Seoyeon tried to shush Renee, but she could barely hold her giggles.

A loud splash, and the boys were in the pool. The t-shirts were now clinging to their body, leaving the girls gawking in their minds and praying for mental fortitude. Donghae and Eunhyuk were enjoying a peaceful time in the pool when Donghae said something to Eunhyuk and flipped in the water. A few seconds later, he came out of the water right before them."Hello ladies!" Donghae said quite charmingly. "Want to join us?" Before Seoyeon could get a word out, Renee jumped. "Of course, we would, but neither of us knows how to swim." "Oh, no worries, Renee, I can teach you and Eunhyuk could teach Seoyeon." Donghae sensed some apprehension on Seoyeon's face, so he continued to explain. "I know for a fact that most of the team members are in the games room, and they don't have any plans of coming to the pool for some time. We asked them before coming by ourselves. So, you shouldn't be uncomfortable either. Is that cool?" Renee squeezed Seoyeon's hand, forcing her to smile and nod in affirmation. "Perfect. Come on then." And Donghae flipped again and went off swimming to the stairs. As Seoyeon and Renee walked in their swimsuits to the stairs to the pool, Seoyeon whispered, "Tell me, how is a perfectly good swimmer supposed to fake NOT knowing how to swim?" Renee giggled, "Hey, I would love to help, but... errrr... " Renee grinned, and Seoyeon rolled her eyes. "In any case," Renee continued, "you're welcome." Seoyeon wanted to hit her friend, but she controlled herself because the boys could see them.

Renee had got in first and was escorted by Donghae, who held her hand. Seoyeon meekly stepped into the pool and was met by Eunhyuk. He offered his hand for support, and Seoyeon took it. 'Oh God, what did I sign up for? It is so hard to pretend!' Of course, Seoyeon tried her best to falter. "So, have you tried learning before?" Eunhyuk asked. "Oh, we had swimming classes in school," Seoyeon answered sweetly. "Really? I thought it would have been decades ago!" Eunhyuk said cheekily. "Technically, the school was decades ago..." Seoyeon got lost in her thoughts, "hey! stop making me sound like an old lady!" Eunhyuk laughed hard at Seoyeon, seeing her sudden epiphanic moment. Seoyeon wanted revenge, so she splashed some water on Eunhyuk's face. Eunhyuk fell silent, and now Seoyeon was laughing. Renee and Donghae also joined the water wars, and in a few seconds, the pool area was filled with sounds of water splashes and laughter.

After some time, they all were in the shallow side of the pool, resting. "Okay, enough fun. Let's learn how to swim. Come on, Renee, come to this side," Donghae said, pointing to the opposite ledge, "Eunhyuk, you guys can carry on here." Eunhyuk said, "cool." 'Oh God, I thought I had escaped that.' Seoyeon's soul was now praying, 'God, please help me!' "Should we start?" Eunhyuk interrupted her thoughts. " Umhmm!" "Okay, let's learn how to breathe first. You take the air in from the mouth and blow it out forcefully, but not too much, from your nose. So, head above water, breathe in and head underwater, breathe out. Watch me," and Eunhyuk started showing Seoyeon. Seoyeon was paying attention, not to the demonstration but his chest. His chest was slowly rising and falling, and time slowed down for her for a few seconds. The clinging t-shirt to his chest and the rhythmic rise and fall of that chest showcased the movement of his lean muscles. "Oh, don't be anxious; I am here!" "Huh?" Seoyeon's few seconds of heaven were over. "I am fine. What made you think that?" "Oh, it seemed like you had started growing anxious, and I didn't notice because I was stupidly busy showing the technique." 'Oh shit.' Seoyeon gasped at her lack of realisation of her actions. "Are you fine now? " "Yes, yes, let me try to do it," Seoyeon quickly shifted Eunhyuk's attention to her breathing technique.

"Okay, fantastic," Eunhyuk said after being satisfied with her breathing. "Next, let's check your body balance. Why don't you hold the ledge with your palms, and I will lift you underwater." He could see an apprehensive look on her face. "Don't worry; it just sounds scary. I am here, so I won't let anything happen to you." Seoyeon froze at his words. She knew that the context was different, and there was nothing to those words, no hidden meaning. But still, they hit differently.

Eunhyuk realised the gravity of his words a second later. He cleared his throat in an attempt to ignore, and moved closer to Seoyeon's legs and asked, "are you ready? Just hold on tightly to the ledge, okay?" Seoyeon nodded, and Eunhyuk went underwater. He looked at Seoyeon's body, clasped tightly by her black and pink frock swimsuit. He slid one hand under her knees and used the other to hold her waist. In a second, he came up, lifting her body in a horizontal position with him. "I am holding you, don't worry. Just try to stretch out straight. Yes, that's good." Eunhyuk could see and feel Seoyeon's body align with the water surface, but he was still holding onto her. Her soft skin of the legs, softened more in water, was in his arm. Her waist, kept in shape by the tight swimsuit, fit in the gap of his arm perfectly. His heart was thumping out of his chest. His mind saw her, not upside down but facing him, with her arms around his neck, looking at him lovingly.

He jerked those thoughts away; "Okay, I am going to leave you now, so let's see how you float!" Eunhyuk was surprised to see her perfect posture for floating. "Wow, fantastic. Let's get you standing again." He helped Seoyeon, who was having a tough time faking, to get on her feet. She asked, fake innocently, "how did I do?" "Very well, I must say." Eunhyuk and Seoyeon smiled at each other.

Just then, Ryeowook appeared. "Guys, snacks are ready! Come and grab them before they finish." "Sure, Ryeowook, we will be right there. Thanks!" Ryeowook left and the 'couples' made their way out of the pool to the changing rooms.