Sweat dripped down the side of Lee Know's forehead. The sticky perspiration poured out of him like water. His gray shirt stuck to his body. He ran a hand through his damp hair and stared at his reflection in the mirror. The beat for the song started playing again.
"Five, six, seven, eight!" He threw his hands up to repeat the same steps for a choreography he had been working on for the past two hours.
Hand, hand, hip, swing, left arm, right arm, jump, and pump. The moves came to him naturally. He didn't dare remove his eyes from the reflection wanting to make sure he hit every beat. He ignored the sweat dripping into his eyes and twisted his ankles together to spin around. He missed a step and down he went.
He slammed into the wooden floor with a thud. He sat on his ass with a slight daze. Long legs sprawled out in front of him. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook himself out of the small shock. Forcing himself up with a grunt, he headed back over to the laptop to restart the song. Chan had sent him the audio file and all he had been doing was creating a dance.
"That looked like it hurt," you commented from the back of the room. You had walked in earlier and had been waiting for him to notice you for a while.
"Oh my fucking god!" He threw a hand to his chest. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to watch you fall on your ass," you shrugged. In your hand, there was a small brown bag with the top folded down. "The guys said you've been in here for hours working your ass off, so I brought you dinner."
"Thanks, just put it down, I'll eat it in a while." He ignored the frown that appeared on your face and went back over to the laptop. He turned the volume up and turned back around to face the mirror.
Again the music started up. He nodded his head and began again. Hand, hand, hip. He glanced back in the mirror and caught you looking at him. It was long enough that it threw him off his groove. Suddenly, he forgot what was next. Right hand? Jump? Left hand? You short circuited his brain without meaning to.
"Can you just go away?" Lee Know spun around. His arms crossed over his chest. "I can't focus while you're here."
"Did you even eat lunch?" You asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No," he started.
You narrowed your eyes at him.
"But I had breakfast," he continued. "I'll eat when I'm done. I need to get this right. I have to teach it to everyone tomorrow and I-"
"It is nine o'clock at night," you butted in. "Chan said you've been in here, at least, since four. You've been working your ass off for hours!"
"It's nine?" His eyes widened immediately. "Fuck, I forgot to feed the cats!"
"Don't worry, I already fed them earlier." You moved over to the laptop and hit the pause button to stop the music. "Please take a break and eat your food. I went to your favorite restaurant and got your favorite meal."
His shoulders dropped and he finally came over to you. "I didn't realize it was so late. I thought it was only around six. I guess that explains why I feel so tired. I was so caught up, I wasn't even looking at the time."
You handed him his bag of food. "I know you don't like being interrupted when you're dancing, but someone has to make sure you're taking care of yourself."
Half of his lips turned up into the beginning of a smile. "Thank you for caring about me. I'm sorry I got upset, I just want to get it right. I keep thinking I have it and then I screw it up."
"How about you eat and then you can teach it to me? I know I'm not the best dancer, but it might help if you can teach it to someone. We can stay here all night if we need to."
He leaned over and placed a quick peck on your cheek, "you're the best."