Behind the Mask

~Chapter 3~

"Oh, a little eager, are we? Knowing who I am would spoil all the fun."

The ceaseless mystery surrounding the boy sparked my curiosity, it made me feel surprisingly giddy and excited, yearning to learn more about him. Any new detail I would manage to find out seemed like a milestone on the path of finding his identity.

"Well I can tell for sure that you don't look repelling or anything alike, I'm guessing you're shy?"

"You could put it that way, yes." He answered. "I'm just worried this might end if you found out who was behind this mask." The way he pointed between us two as he spoke brought a small, uneasy feeling in my stomach.

What was 'this', anyway? A couple of mere strangers who were growing comfortable around each other unusually easily, unusually fast. We probably would have never even met but for that near-death experience of ours. Still, I was glad we did. It brought the diversity I hadn't known I needed, even if the next day I would have to slip back into my routine.

Right now, I didn't want to leave this other-worldly pub, though. I didn't want to leave him. Not this fast.

The strange silence outside our cubicle pulled me out of my thoughts and I opened my mouth to ask why the music had stopped playing, but just then, I heard a familiar Got7 song coming from the room next to ours. It was one of my new favourites and, coincidentally, Sensei had taught me a short choreography for it just a few weeks ago.

Feeling a fresh doze of energy racing through my body, I stood up with a smile and started to dance in the middle of the room, while humming along to the rhythm of the melody.

The stranger watched me in awe for a while and I was happy I could impress him that easily, but soon enough, it was my turn to be impressed when he joined me on the 'dance floor' and matched my moves with precision.

How in the name of reason did he know this choreography? I was supposed to be the only one familiar with it. But then again, we shared the choreographer with BTS, so the boys might know it, as well, if they had been curious enough to learn it. Was it possible that this stranger was...

But no, I'd have recognized him, for sure. I had spent years watching their videos and listening to their songs, I would have recognized his voice, at least...

But before I could think about that possibility any further, the song came to an end and so did our dancing. Even though I was a bit tired, the boy next to me didn't seem to have broken a sweat. That would only confirm my theory.

Interesting. BTS had debuted a few years ago, so they would have had much more time to practise and grow resistant than me. I decided to test him a little.

"Hey, that was really fun! Why don't we do it again?"

"You're right, this was fun." He admitted with a little smile. "But the music stopped."

"Don't worry about that, I got it covered." I could literally feel the smirk spreading ear to ear across my face, but I couldn't help it. I opened my purse and grabbed my phone, looking for the one song that would let me know for sure if he was who I thought he was. Or at least, one of the seven boys he might be.

Fire started playing, and I walked to the middle of the room, waiting for him to follow. Instead, he just sat down on the couch, claiming to be too tired to dance to this song. He wasn't even panting as he spoke.

Still, the song had started, so I just shrugged, got into position and began to move. One of the reasons why I was so passionate about dancing was that, the second a song would start, I could put every thought aside, concentrate on nothing but my moves accompanying
each sound and just get lost in the music.

The boy was right, Fire was a tiring song, but that was exactly why I loved dancing to it. The more difficult a choreography would be, the more alive it made me feel.

After a short while, he gave up and joined me, dancing by my side. He was a skilled dancer, although had a bit of trouble with his handwork, but was obviously familiar with the choreography. He must have known it for years.

He was also a great performer and thrived with confidence, feeling perfectly comfortable under the spotlight, as if that was where he belonged. But I had to find out more about him before I could tell who he was.

The song soon ended, leaving us both in a pool of sweat. No blood or tears this time, apparently. We were both grinning like idiots, though.

We both felt hot from the intense effort, and as I tried to fan myself with my hand, he came closer and confessed : "You are a great dancer. One of the best I've seen."

"You weren't that bad either", I teased. I wasn't ever going to let him know, but he was born for the spotlight. And even though my compliment was half a joke, he seemed genuinely proud, which made my heart ache a bit. He must have heard so many praises before, but he still cared about mine as if it were the first. I also noticed how, after having congratulated me, he hadn't pulled away, but had instead got closer, hesitantly placing an arm around my waist, bringing my hips close to his.

He used his free hand to remove that horrible mask, but I couldn't distinguish any features of his face in the dark.

He was smart.

Without fully understanding my own actions, I softly grabbed the hem of his jacket, pulling him closer. He didn't flinch at the proximity, which only encouraged me to do the most reckless thing I had ever done.

I lifted my head, standing up on my tippy toes, lips eager to meet his. The boy's face seemed to tense for a moment, but then it softened, his eyes fluttering close. My heart hammered against his chest and my lips parted slightly, waiting for his kiss when, suddenly, I could feel the atmosphere shift once again.

I looked up in surprise to meet his eyes, now fully open and giving away the grin playing on his lips. Still, he must have noticed my disappointment at his sudden change of heart, because he quickly chased it away, murmuring: "Don't worry, I have bigger plans for tonight."