Beastly Beauty ✓

13. The Masked Dancer

"Jangmi, may I speak with you?"

"Sure," I replied, out of breath due to both my dive away from the sketchbook and the commanding undertone in Hoseok's voice.

I got up and walked over to the two of them, meeting Jungkook's curious gaze before surrendering to the masked man's golden eyes. Hoseok turned around and exited the room.

"Don't look so nervous," Jungkook smiled as he reached up and pat my head. I scowled at his actions.

"Don't pat me," I muttered, taking his wrist and bringing his arm down before moving out to the hall and closing the door behind me.

Hoseok stood a few feet away, leaning his back against the wall across from me. I matched his stance, resting against the door. His shoulders and chest swelled from the deep breath he took, then his gaze zeroed in on mine.

"What are you doing?"

I felt my brows pull together. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you alone in a boy's dorm room this late at night?" he asked in a controlled voice. The faint vexation that iced over his pupils did not go unnoticed, however.

I didn't stand a chance at hiding my emotions. His words were entirely unexpected and a rush of confusion and disbelief went over my features before I could even think of stopping them.

"First of all, it's not really any of your business," I replied brusquely. "Second, Jimin was with me too, he just went somewhere for a few minutes."

He snickered, crossing his arms. "Right, because being alone with two guys is so much better than one."

My eyes narrowed. "Why do you even care? We barely know each other."

My senses grew more alert, breaths more rapid as he suddenly pushed off from the wall, taking steps forward until he was close enough for me to pick up on his woodsy scent.

"You're right, it's none of my business. I suppose I'm just at a loss for why you seem to be far more comfortable around others than you are with me."

The beating of my heart slowed as I heard the way his voice lowered, almost somberly. The frost in his eyes seemed to melt, granting me a glimpse beyond that frozen exterior. In that millisecond I was not staring at the cold, intimidating masked choreographer but a lonely soul who ached for something - someone.

"Do you really not know why I'm nervous around you?" I asked gently, "You wear this off-putting mask, you never praise any students in class but you always manage to find everything they do wrong, you're incredibly gifted at what you do yet you only seem to let one person perform your dances, and you don't exactly go out of your way to talk to anyone. You're really intimidating."

He took half a step nearer, his larger frame filling my vision. "I went out of my way to talk to you, Jangmi," he softly said.

My head was spinning from how out of character this was of him. The manner in which he spoke seemed so surprisingly genuine and I felt myself slipping into the belief that he may have actually cared about me somehow. There was no way of knowing if my fall would land me in a lair of deception or a stronghold of sincerity.