Dance to This [kth]

s e v e n

"I'm not bringing my camera," I say.

"Why not?"

I frown at his optimism. "Because I'm not good at taking photos."

My fingers grasp at the contraption on my desk and I take it out of its sleeve. Just like every other time I have used it, the buttons seem overwhelming to me. I turn it on and point it at my subject, Jimin, who is now chugging the wine like it's water. I snap a photo, only to check on it and see no potential. The lighting is bad, he isn't center frame, and I can barely see the emotion in his face.

"You can't use that," Jungkook scolds me lightly. He is quick to grab the camera from me, "How old are you, Jimin?"

Jimin is nodding his head to the upbeat music. It's Hana's playlist. "Nineteen," he replies.

"Yeah," Jungkook nods. "He can't be drinking the alcohol in your portfolio pictures."

"Teach me," I whine.

Hana interjects herself physically as she walks over to Jimin in order to take the wine back. I pull my top lip in by my teeth, somewhat cautious of my words around her. She finishes the last of the bottle and throws it carelessly into the trash can next to her bed. Jungkook pays no attention to her; he grabs the camera from me and points it at Jimin.

"What is your theme again?" Jungkook asks me.

"I don't know," I admit with a pathetic laugh. "I like dance pictures."

Jungkook nods at me, but his attention is on Jimin. With the camera close to his face, he stands up straight. It's so natural the way I hear the camera shutter; pictures are being taken and yet Jimin isn't doing much. I am completely lost because I have absolutely no idea what theme I could make out of just dance photos.

"You seem troubled," Jungkook's eyes peer over the camera and at Jimin.

Jimin shrugs. "Stressed, maybe."

"Does dance life cause stress?" Jungkook questions.

Jimin and I share an obvious expression with a slight scoff at the question. To say that dance is stressful is an understatement that even I cannot explain.

My early teens were filled with practice after practice, rehearsals and shows. I had absolutely no life outside of the dance studio. My only friends were just those who I danced with, and even those friendships were never real. It didn't matter to me. The exhilaration and passion I have for the medium could transcend any feeling of friendship or freedom I could ever have. The stress is what motivated me to keep going. There is insanity in the calm, and sanity in the chaos.

"Yeah," Jimin summarizes the journey in a single word.

"Maybe your theme could be emotion," Jungkook suggests.

I purse my lips. "Is he that expressive?"

Jungkook offers the camera for me to look at. My eyes widen at how beautiful he was able to capture a mere photo of Jimin looking at the lens. The twinkly lights from Hana's side of the room give an eerie taste to the photo, and Jimin's earring and necklace are slightly distorted in color. I can tell Jungkook played around with some button on here to fix the lighting. Given this was taken with my camera, I am motivated to take one just like it.