My Little Dancer

fourteen // distraction

"Stop being afraid of what could go wrong,
and start being excited about what could go right."
Tony Robbins

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"Yein?"

"Yein!"

"Sorry yes?"

Sungyoon sent her a slightly confused look. They were having a meeting for the planning of the engineering major's next freshmen orientation. He was a year four and the house head of their house that consisted of four groups.

Mentally slapping herself for letting her mind wander during the meeting, Yein apologised before joining in the discussion. She was eternally thankful for her rather good multitasking skills, enabling her to act as if she was giving her full attention.

Yein had been having a difficult time.

Ever since the after-exams party and the king's cup game, she had been doing her best to be professional when interacting with Jungkook, acting as comfortably as possible. She used to think she was really good at being professional, having been brought up in a crazily competitive dance school where she had to keep her emotions and behaviour in check. For the first time in her life, the level of her professionalism was being challenged.

Appearing normal required a lot of effort on her part; she'd hide her shivering fingers behind her back or shove her hands in her pockets if she had. As much as she tried to maintain eye contact with him, she'd eventually end up diverting her gaze away.

She wasn't sure if she was being overly sensitive but through observation, Jungkook had been the same. He didn't seem like he was forcing himself to converse with her normally, he was just normal. It made her wonder what his actions truly meant that night. One thing for sure, it made her doubtful all over again.

To make matters worse, some genius decided to pair them up as group leaders in the same group. Yein was sure no one outside their circle knew anything because another girl came up to her to tell her 'how lucky' she was to be paired up with Jungkook.

All in all, she understood that for now, even though her outward wall was breaking apart, she had to continue holding the fort.

//

"Yeinnn!" Mijoo sang as she sauntered into her own room.

Jisoo was busy hacking away at her keyboard in the midst of a game while Yein was occupying her bed, scrolling through her phone. Whenever she was feeling bored alone, Yein would frequent Jisoo and Mijoo's room. She could just go next door to Sujeong's but that girl was often not around or Taehyung would be there (which made her want to reconsider pulling out from their agreement to be roomies the coming semester).

"Welcome back," Yein said, glancing up to look at her friend.

"How's your orientation planning going?"

Yein slammed her phone down with a glare, surprising Mijoo. "Guess what? I'm paired up with Jungkook."

"Isn't that good?" Jisoo said while still focused on her game.

"How is that good?" she whined.

"Good cause y'all will be able to work well together. Not like you have to work with someone you don't know," responded Jisoo.

"Or don't like. Like Yooseong," Mijoo added.

Sighing, Yein agreed. "That's... true..."

"So what's the real issue hmm?" asked Mijoo as she pulled over her sweater.

Eyes darting around and chest rising for another sigh, Yein shook her head. She didn't really know what was wrong. She just felt so confused with her emotions being all jumbled up.

"Upset that he's acting totally unaffected by everything?"

Yein looked up at Jisoo beside her in shock. It was like she nailed it.

"Mmm... Knowing Jungkook, you just need to give him some time," assured Mijoo, her tone relaxed and casual.

While Yein pondered over what Mijoo said, the girl interjected with a question which with the way she asked it, sounded like a rhetorical question. "You'll still be able to dance with him right?"

Flashing a smile, though not one that wanted to tease her little friend, she continued, "Revolution is up to perform for closing night. And we're gonna perform our competition routine."

//

The door beeped open and a lifeless body stumbled in, collapsing right onto the bed. Kicking her flipflops off, Yein rolled around and stared blankly at the white ceiling.

I've got to dance with Jungkook?

Rolling onto her side, she grabbed her pillow and hugged it tightly.

Of all things, why do they have to do the competition routine? There are so many others we've learnt and performed.

The more she grumbled and complained, the more upset she felt. The more upset she felt, the more she grumbled. And before she knew it, Yein had a really ugly frown on her face and her heart was feeling extremely bitter about the situation.

Realising that it wasn't helping, she heaved a long and heavy sigh. Springing up, she used both hands to smack her cheeks. With some newfound determination, she shoved her pillow aside and crawled over to her chair. Opening her laptop, she immediately set her mind to focus on the various tasks she had to complete for the orientation.