Dance Connection (Eunhyuk x Reader)

Chapter 5

A few weeks later...

It was too early in the morning to be at the office. The entire floor was eerily quiet and vacant. At her desk, Seoyeon was sipping on her coffee, trying to read a book. A loud stomp of her hands on the table echoed on the floor, and she was on her feet. 'I can't read here; it feels so wrong! It's better to go to the recreation area,' and she picked up her book and coffee mug, stuffed her phone and earbuds in her pocket, and made her way to the recreation area.

She picked a table next to the practice rooms, in hopes that no one would be able to spot her and disturb her. 'Ah, finally, peace and comfort,' She kept her things on the table with satisfaction and sat down. She was about to sip her coffee when she heard a faint sound. 

" 1,2,3,4,5... 5,4,3,2,1... " the words were reaching her ears. She looked around - nothing. She got up and searched around, but when nothing showed up, she returned to her seat. She was about to sit, when she noticed the door of a practice room at the far end slightly open. 'Weird,' filled with curiosity, she silently stepped towards the room. The closer she stepped, streams of music grew stronger. As she reached the door, it fell silent. She silently grabbed the door handle and opened the door a little more to peek inside. 

Eunhyuk was standing in black tracks, an open red checked shirt with a black vest underneath. His slightly long hair were sticking to the back of his neck, creasing a little as he tilted his head to drink water. He took a few gulps from the bottle. The water was dripping and making its way into his mouth much less. Water was flowing down his smooth neck and vanishing in the fabric of his vest and shirt. He kept the water bottle down and cracked his neck - just like that day... as she had remembered. That day, his face had boldness and passion; today, Seoyeon was sensing something else.

He switched on the music and stepped into his position. He faced the wall, and at the far end of the room near the door, Seoyeon was now standing leaning on the wall, eyes fixed on him. After a few seconds, the guitar started playing from the speakers. Eunhyuk's arm lifted, his fingers began playing with the notes in the air. His body started slowly opening, and his arm extended to his side. Suddenly, it twirled, and Seoyeon could feel the emptiness of a figurine in his arms. The music became more emotional, and Eunhyuk danced all around 'her'. Suddenly, his arms fell to his sides - the figurine vanished in the air it came from.

Once again, the music blared in the room, and Eunhyuk started dancing. Every kick, wave and circling arm was tearing the air around him, and Seoyeon felt his soul ripping open along with it. She felt pangs with every word of the song and every movement Eunhyuk made. There was pain and despair - and a wish for them to leave his soul.

"1,2,3,4,5..." each number dragged his body closer and closer to the ground. He was on his knees, on the ground. Seoyeon saw his face in the mirror - he was looking at the ground with lifeless eyes. Seoyeon choked. "5,4,3,2,1..." he slowly picked himself up, but the lifelessness on his face remained. Again, the song tore open, and Eunhyuk started dancing with all his might. 

As the music faded, Eunhyuk fell to his knees once again, but this time - he looked up above. He closed his eyes, and a tear rolled down his cheek. It was dead silent now. The sound of AC was the only thing that could be heard. He bent his head down, still with eyes closed, put his palms on his knees and willed some strength. He opened his eyes, got up, and wiped his face and neck with his palms. As he turned around, he stopped in his tracks. 

Seoyeon was standing against a wall next to the door. Something was odd, though - she was just staring in his direction. He started stepping closer, and a few steps revealed her tears rolling down her cheeks. As if she came out of a trance, she jerked as their eyes met. She hurriedly turned her face away and wiped her tears. Silence filled the room again. Eunhyuk decided to take the initiative; "Umm, hi." "Hey." Another few seconds of awkward silence. This time, Seoyeon spoke. "Would you like to grab some coffee?" "Sure. Let me pack up here." "Take your time. I will get you a cappuccino. You wind up here. I will be at one of the tables right outside." And she hurriedly left. She didn't know what to say, so she decided to run and come back after.

After about 15 minutes, both of them were seated at the table Seoyeon had previously intended to use. They were both sipping coffee. "So, how are you so early in the office today?" Eunhyuk asked. "Oh," Seoyeon awkwardly answered, "no reason. Just decided to come early today." "Um hmm." Silence. "Do you come in early every day?" Seoyeon spoke. "Yes, I practice dancing in the morning and then work. Unless something comes up, I try to practice every day." "That's really nice." Silence dropped again for a few seconds. The struggle and questions were evident to both.

"It is a very nice song." Eunhyuk said abruptly, "reflects the emotions very well." Seoyeon looked at his face. It had some pain in it. "Dance is not merely about techniques and athleticism. For me, dance is about expression. Raw and untainted. Music, lyrics and dance together form the true connection of one's emotions with the outside world. What you saw today was my expression of the pain left in me." "I could feel it," Seoyeon said. Eunhyuk's surprised eyes fixated on her face. "I could feel your pain..." Seoyeon said with her head down and staring into her coffee. "That's why I cried. I really wish you don't feel this way." Eunhyuk smiled a little, "well, it's like what the song said - memories and love all will fade away with time. So, they will. Till then, one can just spare a few moments in the daily hustle and bustle just to feel - grieve and move on. That's what I have been doing - what you saw. I know I will be fine someday. But today, I will let myself breathe." Seoyeon looked at Eunhyuk, and they met each other with a small but warm smile. Eunhyuk gulped his coffee and said, "Okay then, let's go from here. It is almost logging in time." Seoyeon warmly smiled, " Sure, let's go."

Seoyeon was picking up her things, as Eunhyuk walked a few steps ahead. He turned to look at her. "Seoyeon," "Yeah?" she looked up at Eunhyuk. "Thank you..."