in which a latina dancer lands an opportunity to choreograph for jung hoseok himself. is their instant attraction a coincidence or a sign of fate?
*book six in the 'eternally yours' series!
~
valentina hernandez is a mexican woman to whom dancing is...
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"Okay, so what if on beat three we did something like this?" Valentina steps back with her right foot and holds her arms out with her fists facing each other. "And then you can roll your hips back for those two beats."
"That's good, that's good." Luis nods thoughtfully. "I like that."
Just the next day after J-Hope paid them a visit, Valentina and Luis are creating another choreography for a different class. Life is back to normal, it seems.
"Alright, let's see what we have so far." Luis jogs over to the stereo system to turn on the music.
They start the choreo from the beginning, pleased that they remembered all of it but disappointed at how short it is. After all that work, they only have about half a minute's worth.
"Ay, carajo." Valentina groans, putting her head in her hands.
"We've been working on this for a while, maybe we should throw the towel in for the night." Luis suggests, sensing her frustration and feeling a bit of it himself. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be meeting with Gisele?"
Valentina freezes at the mention of her sister. "Shit. What time is it?"
"Uh..6:30-ish." He mumbles, checking his watch.
She winces. "I'm supposed to meet her at 7. Sorry Lu, I gotta go."
"It's okay, go ahead. I'll lock up." He waves her off.
"Thanks, I'll see you at home!"
Valentina goes back to their apartment and takes a quick shower, seeing as she is already almost late. Then she picks out an outfit. After tossing on a tank top, loose ripped jeans and some sneakers, she's ready to go.
When she arrives at the restaurant, she instantly spots Gisele already sitting at a table.
"Hey, how have you been?" She gives her a quick hug before sitting down across from her.
Gisele is tall, dainty and more girly in the stereotypical sense. Everything that Valentina herself is not. She is also studying to be a psychologist. But despite their stark differences, the two of them are super close.
They drifted apart a bit when Valentina moved out, but they put in the effort to call and see each other pretty often.
"How's school?"
"Hard." Gisele answers bluntly, making Valentina laugh. "I'm telling you, those professors are brutal."
"I'm glad I decided not to go down that route." The older sister snorts.
Sure, her parents were mad about her not going to college, but she doesn't regret it. Not one bit.
"And you? How's work? I heard you got to meet J-Hope!" The twenty-year-old grins widely.
"I did, yeah." Valentina nods, smiling as she recalls the events of yesterday. "He's super nice, an amazing dancer too."
The girls get distracted momentarily when the waitress arrives to take their order.
Gisele decides to fill the lull in the conversation. "You know, you should come home."
Valentina's expression instantly changes and she gives her sister an annoyed look. "And why would I do that?"
"Mami and Papi miss you."
"If they miss me so much, why don't they call?" She shoots back.
Gisele shrugs helplessly. "I guess they're still mad at you for leaving like that. You know, they wake up one day and you're just gone. But they miss you, I know they do."
Valentina sighs. "Don't tell me they put you up to this."
Her younger sister stays quiet.
"Well, you can tell them that when they respect the fact that I'm a grown woman who can make her own career decisions, maybe I'll visit." She snaps.
"Val, I didn't mean to upset you." Gisele frowns.
"Yeah, I know." She mumbles, looking down at the cracks in the wooden table. "I know."
Yes, Valentina is still bitter about her parents' words. It was hard to hear them praise her siblings for pursuing what they called 'valuable careers' while they simultaneously tore her down for wanting to dance professionally.
The worst part was probably when her older brother, now a lawyer at a big firm, took their side. Her and Emilio were never really that close in the first place, but now they rarely speak at all.
"Are you okay? You seem like you have a lot on your mind." Gisele speaks up again, making her look up. "And you look tired. Have you been sleeping well?"
Valentina narrows her eyes at her. "Are you trying to therapize me, hermanita?"
It takes Gisele a few seconds to realize she is joking. Then she starts to giggle. "Is therapize even a word?"
"Oh, yes it is. Look it up." Valentina insists, making her sister laugh more.
The mood at the table lightens after that, allowing the two sisters to enjoy their food comfortably when it arrives. They're in the midst of a conversation about some drama with Gisele's friends when Valentina's phone rings.
It's an unknown number which, normally, she would decline and go about her day. But her gut is telling her to answer it, so she does. "Hello?" Valentina puts her fork down, pressing the phone to her ear.
"Hi, I'm looking for Valentina Hernandez?"
"Speaking. Who is this?"
"Hey Valentina, this is J-Hope! Luis gave me your number."
"J-Hope?" She gasps, making Gisele look at her with wide eyes from across the table. "Hi, I wasn't expecting a call from you."
"No, I know. This is all really sudden." He chuckles a little bit. "But there's something I really want to discuss with you. Would you be interested in helping me put together some choreography for one of my songs? I'm performing it for the first time in a couple weeks."
"Oh my god, yes! Yeah, I would love to choreograph something for you." She quickly agrees.
"Great! Do you think you could stop by HYBE tomorrow at some point? So we can talk about it more in person?"
"Of course, I'll be there. How about six? Does that work for you?" That should leave her enough time to make it there from the studio.
"Six is perfect, I'll see you then."
"Okay, cool. Bye!"
When she hangs up, the sisters let out a simultaneous scream that makes the other guests in the restaurant give them a look. But they couldn't care less.
Gisele grabs her sister's hand from across the table, eyes sparkling. "Val, this is huge!"
Valentina's heart is nearly beating out of her chest. She knew J-Hope said he was going to call, that he would 'be in touch'. But she didn't expect him to keep his word, especially not so soon. She can't believe this is happening.
The dancer knows one thing for sure, though. Her life is about change. Definitely and completely.
