Josephine Swan never imagined that her stay in South Korea would lead her into K-Pop's glittering and challenging world. Each day, she encounters new hurdles and adventures that fate has in store for her and her four team members. Between gruelling...
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I leaned back against the headboard of my bed and alternately followed the dance movements of our group on the screen of my laptop and compared them with my and Lisa's notes to the song "Lean On", which lay open and partly loose at my side. From the speakers of the laptop, the music played from the video shown.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could make out my roommate moving back and forth between our shared wardrobe and the dresser. The white loose towel on her head fluttered around her body, swinging against her back.
"What are you doing?" she asked curiously, her sock-wrapped feet sliding across the brown smooth parquet to her bed lying next to me.
With a small sigh, I turned the screen and slid it over my leg closer to her direction. Her brown eyes blinked and she slid her body closer to the edge of the bed as her upper body bent towards me. The tips of her dyed blonde hair dripped and formed a sodden line that reached across her chest.
"You're still unhappy?" she asked with a furrowed brow, after another glance at our written notes, which took up a large portion of my right side and seemed to be piled up on the white wall beside me. Wordlessly, I turned to the screen while Lisa carefully rubbed the ends of her hair together with the help of her towel.
"I'm not exactly dissatisfied with our choreography..." I said softly and met the Thai woman's round eyes.
I rewound the video with the mouse pointer.
Once again the electric sounds rang out and I fixed my eyes on the action as at the same time the five girls who had been standing still began to move again. In rhythm with the music, Lisa, Ji-soo, Choi and I stepped sideways out of the row, while Jennie and Rosè remained in their initial formation, drawing the focus of the camera. Our hands slid along our right thighs in sync, turning our bodies to face the camera and the imagined audience. Our arms and hips swayed in circular movements, underlining the softness and lightness of the beginning melody.
Do you recall, not long ago
We would walk on the sidewalk?
Rosè moved elegantly with the start of the first verse, using the space we created for her short solo as we squatted in a circle to allow her the attention of the camera and the audience. I could see her lips moving in sync with what the original singer, MØ, was singing as she finally exited our circle and we rose again with a simple flowing movement.
Innocent, remember?
All we did was care for each other
With our microphones ready in our hands and Rosé's last lines, we ended up stepping back into a staggered line. Ji-soo stood at the beginning of the formation and joined in for the second part of the first verse.
But the night was warm
We were bold and young
All around, the wind blows
We would only hold on to let go
My grey eyes ran over my own body, which, like Jennie and Lisa, turned away from the audience, swinging its hips in circles. Our bodies tilted sideways and mirrored each other as our hands began to catch the vibrations of the rest of our bodies.
I sighed softly and shook my head again.
"...she matches the rhythm with her movements and embodies the ease shown in the music video," I said softly to Lisa as my grey eyes continued to follow the dance.
Lisa nodded in agreement.
"But...still, certain parts of the choreography seem almost...inadequate..." I murmured in addition and Yang Hyun-suk's motionless expression appeared before my inner eyes before a small goose bump wetted my skin.
♛
Blow a kiss, fire a gun
We need someone to lean on
Blow a kiss, fire a gun
A-A-All we need is somebody to lean on
Sweat began to gather on the back of my neck and my forehead as I finally approached the drop of the song and started my pre-choreographed dance backwards towards the mirror of the dance hall. My arms splayed out on either side of my torso, buckling in, while my hands made circular motions and eventually folded in front of my chest.
I could feel my body tense slightly as the rhythm began to change with the start of the drop and loosened the muscles of my shoulders.
My upper body and right arm followed my curled splayed leg moving sideways across the parquet floor, shifting my body balance. With quick movements, I began to rotate my ankle and my thighs automatically tilted towards it. My bent arms swinging in waves supported the flowing transitions alternating to the left side.
Jerkily I turned my head as my right arm swung in circles at head height to either side. My tied-up long hair fell over my shoulder with the abrupt turn and followed the momentum of the arm, as did my hips and legs. My left hand passed over my hip, causing it to gyrate momentarily before my right leg once again spread away from my body with a large step. My head bowed, and my shoulders and upper body followed the undulating sequence to the side and faced the audience.
By now I was face to face with my reflection, cheeks flushed from excitement. Grey sparkling eyes filled with deep concentration on the newly rehearsed steps completed the performing image.
I felt the strained burn of my thighs as my knees bent and I made my hips twerk, gyrate, vibrate and swing. My hands rested on my thighs for a few seconds and finally brought my left knee to the floor. The right leg turned in a semi-circle at its side, the momentum causing my torso to rotate, before the left leg stretched out again away from the rest of my body, completing the circle with its rotating motion. My hands slid along my legs with a simple flowing movement and removed themselves at the level of my belly.
The applied weight settled on my right hand resting on the floor, while my right bent leg resting on the floor began to twist out and slide towards the spectators. My other outstretched leg slid out in circles and angled to the subsequent side, leg changes.
I felt the drop nearing its end and turned into the prone position.
My hands supported part of my upright torso and hips as my legs alternately extended long and finally found the necessary support to stand upright.
