POISONED YOUTH: TWISTED

CHAPTER 1

Every step she took felt like walking on knives.

The pain in her feet had become something she barely noticed anymore. Ballet demanded precision—every glide, every turn, every landing had to be perfect. One wrong move could ruin the entire routine, and one careless mistake meant more hours of practice.

Yeoreum took one final breath before pushing into her last pivot turn.

Her body spun smoothly across the floor before she landed on one knee, one arm extended to the side while the other curved neatly across her chest. She held the position for three seconds.

Silence filled the studio.

Then came the applause.

Their instructors clapped as the fifteen dancers slowly relaxed from their final poses.

"Good job, dancers. I hope you can keep this up until next week, okay?" Head Mentor Jinri said with a smile. Her expression was warm, but her strict tone made it clear that she wasn't asking. "We don't want our sponsors complaining about us, right?"

"Yes, Miss!" The girls bowed together.

"You're dismissed."

The moment Jinri turned away, the dancers collapsed onto the wooden floor.

Groans filled the studio. Some stretched their aching legs while others simply lay there, too exhausted to move. After hours of practice, even standing felt like a punishment.

Yeoreum quietly sat down and began stretching her legs. Her short black hair was damp with sweat, sticking slightly to her forehead. She pulled off her ballet shoes and immediately winced when her bare feet touched the cold floor.

Her toes were red and sore. She stared at them for a moment before sighing and reaching for her duffle bag. She carefully placed her ballet shoes inside.

"Na Yeoreum?"

She looked up.

One of the assistant mentors was standing by the glass doors, his head poking into the studio.

"Someone named Jung Yoonoh is looking for you."

"Yoonoh?"

"Yeah."

Yeoreum gave him a small nod. "Thank you."

She slipped into her black slippers and hurried outside.

The moment she stepped through the doors, a familiar voice greeted her.

"Ah, my favorite ballerina."

Yoonoh stood several feet away with his arms stretched wide, wearing the biggest grin she had ever seen.

Yeoreum raised a brow. "Don't."

His arms slowly dropped. "Why?"

"Because I already know what you're about to do."

Yoonoh's lips turned into a pout. He even stomped one foot against the floor like a child throwing a tantrum.

Yeoreum burst out laughing. "You're ridiculous."

"You don't love me anymore."

"You're so dramatic."