Boy across the street (KSM/HHJ)

fourteen

Hyunjin PoV

Freestyle. 

Who came up with freestyle? And why did we have to dance alone in front of the entire dance class without a given choreography? 

I've been dancing since I was a little boy, but freestyle isn't my favorite at all. 

Our dance teacher picked a person who had to start, it was a girl I was in science class with, and when the music started, she moved her body perfectly. It looked like she had been practicing for this for days and I was impressed.

After everyone clapped, Mr. Choi choose the next person, which was Minho. Everyone became quiet and the music started. At first he began to move his body slowly, he brushed his body with his hands, threw them over his head, next to him and twisted his body. His facial expressions were on point and he didn't look at us, just at himself in the mirror.

I was impressed and had to admit that he was pretty good looking in that moment so I could understand why the girls next to me where screaming their lungs out. The song came to an end and he ended it with a fitting pose. We all clapped and I shouted that he did well, but he just gave me an annoyed look. 

The teacher called me up and I started to get nervous. When I stood up I could feel all the eyes on me. Minho's eyes pierced me and my stomach churned. 

But the moment the music started I forgot everything. I blocked out the people, our teacher, Minho's judging looks and it was as if I merged with the music. I just concentrated on myself, on my movements and on the damn good feeling I was feeling. I loved dancing and I realized that again in that moment.

But suddenly all the energy and all the confidence in me turned into a disaster. A disaster for me, nothing dramatic for others. That's what I hated about being a perfectionist. A mistake was a mistake and I hated making mistakes at things I was good at. 

The ground beneath my feet felt like it was being pulled away from me and I could feel a sharp pain in my knee. I sat on the floor and saw everyone's shocked looks, even Minho looked a little surprised. Mr. Choi asked me if everything was okay and I just nodded. Before I fell, it felt like my kneecap had popped out. I tried to get up, which was difficult because of the strange feeling in my leg. 

"Lee Minho help him up and take him to the school nurse," our teacher said and I tried to tell him that it wasn't necessary but he insisted. Minho hesitated for a moment but then came to me and helped me up. We walked out slowly and I quietly thanked him.

 He didn't do this voluntarily but he still seemed a little worried. 

"What even happened?" He asked me after a long awkward silence and with slight concern in his voice. "I don't know, I suddenly felt pain in my knee."

 I hobbled next to him because my knee hurt so much every time I moved. It was an unpleasant feeling, hard to describe. It kept stabbing and felt like someone was pressing my kneecap into my bone. 

When we were in the school nurse's room, where noeone was, I sat down, he asked me: "Does that happen alot?"

 "Sometimes but usually it just hurts a little bit but I ignore the pain and just carry on." The other sighed as he rummaged for something in a drawer. "You have to give yourself a break. Especially if you feel pain," he said, sounding like he was speaking from experience. 

He held out an ointment and said, "Put it on where your knee hurts. That should ease the pain a little." I thanked him and did what he said. The older one opened the window, sat on the windowsill and took cigarettes out of his jeans pocket. "Don't you dare tell that to a teacher." He light up his cigarette.

I watched him smoke the cigarette and let the ashes fall out the window. "You don't smoke, am I right? Or do you want to have one?" I shook my head. I didn't like the smell of it and didn't understand why people would destroy their lungs for something like that. But he probably had a reason, and maybe he'd stop at some point. It was quiet and I thought about what I could talk with him about. 

Steps could be heard in the hallway and from the way the person walked I could tell that someone wanted to come into the room with us. "Someone's coming in soon," I said. "No, it's just someone passing by." 

"Believe me, I'm sure." He rolled his eyes and threw the cigarette out the window after putting it out. A few seconds later our dance teacher came in and I saw from the corner of my eye how surprised Minho looked. "Hyunjin, is your foot better," he asked and I was pretty sure he could smell the smoke. I nodded and wanted to get up but it still hurt a lot so I hissed. "Can your parents pick you up?" the latter asked me and I thought for a moment. 

Both my parents were at work and even if they were at home they wouldn't have wanted to pick me up. I shook my head slightly and said, "No, but I don't live far from here. I can walk slowly." Mr. Choi sighed and looked briefly at Minho who then said: "I can call my father and ask if he can pick me up and drive you home." 

"That would be nice," said the oldest in the room and mentioned that he had to go to his next class. Before Mr. Choi left, Minho called his father and told me that it was no problem for him to drive me home but that we would have to wait another half hour. 

A few minutes passed.

"Thanks for earlier." I looked at him confused. "That you warned me." I had almost forgotten that. "No problem," I mumbled and took my notebook out of my bag that the teacher had taken with me earlier. I opened a half-blank page and thought about what I could draw. 

I looked into the room to find something that would inspire me. My eyes wandered over to Minho, who was again holding a cigarette in his hand and looking out the window. I looked at him longer and asked cautiously: "Can I draw you?"

 "What? 

"Can I draw you?" "Why would you want that?" I ran my fingers through my hair. "Uhm, I don't know what to draw right now and your appearance in the moment is somehow aesthetic. And different than all the other people I usually draw." 

I usually drew mostly Seungmin though and sometimes random people I created in my head. But he didn't need to know that.

"Do whatever you want," he said and I started drawing him. It was just a rough drawing, nothing complicated so I finished it pretty quickly. When he noticed this he asked me if I could show him. 

At first he didn't say anything and I was afraid that he wouldn't like it and that he would make fun of it, but he, to my surprise, said: "Wow Hyunjin, that looks damn good." I smiled happily and was just about to thank him when his father called to tell him that he was there. 

We didn't speak to each other anymore, he just helped me to walk. His father didn't even say hello to either of us and when I got out of the car my knee was feeling better. 

I stood in front of my door and opened it with the thought that I still had a few things to pack because tomorrow was the day I had to leave.

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