A Light in the Dark (Kim Jongin)

Chapter One

  Aera stood up and made her way to the center of the dance floor, counting under her breath as she did so. Having made this trip a million times, she knew that it took her exactly 10 steps to get to the middle. 

  The slightly creaky wooden floor was cool and well worn under her feet as she came to a stop at number 10. Turning to her right, Aera held up her hands gracefully above her head and closed her eyes as the music started to play.

  Ever since the accident, her entire world had been enveloped by darkness. She still remembered that day- the terror of opening her eyes to a never ending sea of blackness. It had been hard. Extremely hard. And she had almost given up. Then her father had asked her to start dancing again, and slowly, step by step, note by note, she had started picking up the pieces. Dancing had become her salvation.

  She let the music flow over her as she danced across the room, light as a feather swirling in the summer breeze, and for a few minutes, her world was full of colour again. As the music rose up in a final crescendo and faded away to a tinkling ending, she came to a stop, chin raised, arms outstretched. The silence that followed was pierced by the sharp sound of two hands coming together in a peal of applause. 

  "I see you have been working hard," a voice said and Aera immediately recognized the crisp accent as that of her head instructor's. "You have improved a lot since I last saw you."

  "Miss El," Aera dropped her arms and bowed towards the voice with a smile. Miss Park Elizabeth, or Miss El for short, made her way across the room, the heels of her stilettos meeting the wooden floor with cutting clacks. She stopped in front of her student and put a slender hand on her shoulder.

  "I'm proud of you," she told Aera "Keep it up."

  Aera smiled. At 36 and unmarried, Miss El was a woman of few words. Any compliment coming from her was sincere, as were any criticism. A strict but fair teacher, her life long goal was to help aspiring young dancers reach their full potential. It was Miss El, along with her father, who had convinced Aera to not give up.

  "Well, we need to close up," Miss El stated, patting Aera on the shoulder. She nodded. Judging from the silence that emancipated from the hallways outside the practice room, the last classes for the day had concluded. As Miss El's sharp footfalls receded, Aera bent her footsteps towards the corner where her things were.

  10 minutes later, she was feeling her way down the main hall. Aera did not need her white cane here. The interior of The Elizabeth School of Performing Arts was as familiar to her as her own home. Letting her hand trail along the smooth wall to her right, she continued on her way till her fingertips came across a small chip in the plaster. Aera knew then that she had come halfway down the hall, the chip having been caused by the new piano that had been lugged into the music room two weeks ago. From here, the hall ran a little over 4 meters in an unobstructed straight line before opening into the reception area. But Aera had not taken more than a few steps in that direction when she stopped again, forehead creasing.

  Having lost her sight at the age of 10, Aera had learned to rely heavily on her other senses to get her bearings. What most saw through their eyes, she saw through her ears, nose and skin. And when one's world was as dark as Aera's, one learned to depend just as heavily on instincts.

  This was precisely what caused Aera to falter now. Although she knew the hall ahead of her was free of obstacles, her instincts said otherwise. Something or someone was in her way.

  Hesitantly, Aera reached out, her fingers extending to meet nothing but the cool air, until finally, they connected with something hard and warm. Frowning uncertainly, she pressed her fingertips to the rough material and all at once, through the lattice of threadwork, she felt the rhythmic beating of a single, earnest heart.

~

  Kim Jongin looked down at the slender fingers pressed against his heart in surprise. The person the fingers belonged to, was a slim, lithe girl with long dark hair that fell past her delicate shoulders. She was about a head shorter than him, and though she was looking right at him, Jongin had the strangest notion that she wasn't. The girl's rich coffee eyes were fixed somewhere near his left ear, making him feel slightly unsettled.

  Unsure what else to do, Jongin cleared his throat. The girl blinked and dropped her hand, a slight rosy tinge creeping into her round cheeks.

  "I'm sorry," she said with a bow "I didn't see you there. This hallway is usually empty at this time you see."

  "Ah... I see," Jongin said hesitantly, eyes involuntarily travelling through the brightly lit corridor. 

   The girl tilted her head to one side like a bird, carob eyes now anchored on his. Again, Jongin was hit by the sensation of not being seen, like he was an apparition she could look right through to the empty hallway behind him. 

  "I see that you're confused," the strange girl said with a ghost of a smile "When I told you I didn't see you there, I meant it quite literally. I'm blind." 

  Jongin's eyes widened in surprise. For a second he wondered if she was lying, but her tone was quite matter-of-fact, business-like almost, like she was daring him to go ahead and disbelieve her. He did not disbelieve her, but he could not help bending down and waving his hand in front of her eyes.

  "You're waving your hand in front of me," the girl stated and Jongin dropped his his hand in embarrassment, realizing that his action was probably, if not surely, extremely rude.

  "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

  "It's ok," the girl interrupted "I get it all the time. I'm Choi Aera, by the way. Nice to meet you."

  "I'm Kim Jongin," he replied, "Nice to meet you too."

  "You must be new. I don't recall having met you before."

  "Yeah. I just signed up for the ballet and contemporary classes," Jongin said.

  "Oh!" a smile broke her face and Jongin observed the deep dimples that dented her rosy cheeks. "I do ballet too. What class are you in?"

  "Advanced."

  "Oh," her smile diminished a little. "I'm in intermediate. Though I would be in advanced by now if it wasn't for... you know..." she splayed her fingers in front of her eyes.

  "Oh," Jongin said uncomfortably "Um, look, I still feel bad about before. Maybe I could treat you to a drink to make up for it?" 

  "Right now?" Aera asked tilting her head once more, her pretty blind eyes serious. "I'm afraid my father doesn't like me staying out after class, as blind and defenceless as I am. Specially not with strangers. For all I know, you might kidnap me and demand a ransom of a million dollars."

  Jongin blinked, unsure what to say. Aera broke into a smile and said, "I'm just kidding. A drink sounds nice. Not today though. How about tomorrow?"

  "Tomorrow is fine," Jongin nodded, feeling oddly relieved. There was something about the girl that intrigued him, made him want to know more. Jongin was not one to walk up to a girl a strike up a conversation, but this girl, she was different. Her almond shaped, coffee coloured eyes were unassuming, seeing a world different from his. There was a lighthearted grace about her that reminded Jongin of a hummingbird, thrumming with vital energy.

  "Great. Well then, I will get going," she smiled, bowing politely. Jongin returned the bow and stepped aside to let her pass. Aera drifted past him in her pastel dress, fingers trailing along the macaroon cream walls, feet making no sound as they brushed the hardwood floor, reminding Jongin of a sylph from Greek mythology- floating, transcendental.

  As her featherweight figure disappeared into the distance, Jongin gazed after her, wondering how, chained as she was by her affliction, she seemed so free, when he, free from any such tribulation, felt so chained.

.  .  .

(A/N) Lmao this is so weird and I have no idea where this is going but whatever. Thanks for reading <3