↬ dance studio.

@⁰² sihyeon k. He follows every direction as instructed to him; one hand pressing between the girl's shoulder blades, too high for comfort, and the other lazily holding her hand in his. He would always get tense around people that were entering his discreet zone, not to mention girls. Either way, he let out the tension by sighing through his nose, fixing his posture, looking down at his feet to line them parallel with Sihyeon's. He listened attentively, nodding slightly to show he understood. Oh, okay, so she was going to lead this time, he acknowledged in his head. Posture upright and stiff, his eyes fixed on their feet. He hesitated when she took the initial step, almost going the other, wrong, way, but quickly caught himself with a silent "oh," escaping his throat. "So, if I'm leading," he started, bringing his other foot to the other one, "I'm the one stepping forward?" He broke into an crooked, amused half-grin at his dance partner's remark. "I'll consider wearing sneakers, just in case." He followed that with a nod, it did make sense and he proved it by falling into a sync with her, following her lead this time.

@⁰¹ yibo w. she nods along, attention already well engraved onto her phone to look through her playlist for a suitable song, and when she looks up, she can't help but crack a brief chuckle. of course not at his posture, but she found it . . . somewhat cute? that he was already in position? she's quick to abandon the speakers, taking this moment blink up at him, wondering just how to . . . fit herself in his arms. "uh, okay well," she starts, slowly guiding his hand to rest over her torso whilst her other one clasps his in a loose hold. her back remains straight, chin held up before she gestures for him to do the same, if he already wasn't. "lets start with the basics that you know then! the box steps you were talking about were right. i think to lead, you've got to initiate the first step. like this," she starts, maneuvering her left foot to take a step in front of his right one, respectively. "from this, you should understand which foot to either move forward or back, and if you step on their foot.. well, i hope your dress shoes don't hurt too much." a laugh slips past her lips sheepishly, before she brings allows her other foot to follow suit and stand before him. "does that somewhat make sense?"

@⁰² sihyeon k. "Anything would help at this point," Yibo muttered under his breath through a scoff, settling down his gym bag near the wall, following Sihyeon to the center of the room. "Uhm... I think I can waltz? That's one-two-three, one-two-three, right?" Yibo asked, showing the box steps very languidly. "Mostly I need help with how to... uh, how to, you know, hold the posture? I don't know," Yibo's shoulders dropped slightly, distressed by his own lack of knowledge. This was going to be a challenge by which he would possibly get the confidence to ask and get his boyfriend to dance. Maybe, just maybe. "Like, I know the basic," Yibo said, facing the large mirror with his arms in the correct position, awkwardly embracing a body of air with one arm while the other imitated holding the hand of the air in a flexed position. "But like... how do you lead and ?" Yibo scrunched up his face to glance over at Sihyeon who was setting up the music.

@⁰¹ yibo w. the request, it doesn't necessarily baffle her too much? i mean, she /is/ a part of the dance club too and it doesn't hurt to ask from his perspective. and luckily for him, she actually did know a thing or two about slow dancing. so, she nods with a relieved smile, finding it easy to agree to his proposal. though she may not recognize him (and would probably be too anxious to ask for his name in case it was rude), she could do this for him without qualms. "yeah, i know how to. or well, what i taught when i was in high school," she bashfully lets out a laugh. "but i could help you, definitely! is there a specific slow dance you want to learn? waltz, ballroom―anything you had in mind?" she's well distracted by now, already having forgotten the contemporary routine she'd learn moments ago, more so leaning for this to be her priority as she saunters towards the stereo with her phone readily connected.

@⁰² sihyeon k. Weird, yes, unexpected, even more so. Yibo was a confident person, so much so that he thought sometimes that he was perfect in things he did. But this time, despite it concerning dancing, he really would appreciate some help. And what was wrong with it? Nothing. Worst case scenario; being rejected. "So like... can you slow dance?" Yibo blurted out, taking a step forward to ease his anxiety. "I've done the choreographed couple dances, but that's different. It's dynamic... and well uh choreographed," Yibo tried to explain himself. "Could you uh show me? Or like... uhm... you're here and all, so... would you?" Yibo trailed off, eyebrows furrowed in an almost pleading fashion, uncharacteristic of him. The premise was that if she were to ask him for help, especially when it concerned dancing, he would help her. Having a hand in helping someone accomplish and achieve something he is also passionate about? Sign him up!

@⁰¹ yibo w. as soon as he apologizes, she's quick to shake her head, catching the way he evidently looks nervous (if the subtle beads of sweat lightly scattering over his forehead wasn't enough) through the anxious behavior he shows. "no, no, don't be sorry, haha. if anything, i'm sorry for occupying it right after the dance club meeting." she says this with a softer tone and hopes that he wouldn't feel bad. but, she deduces that he does from his slight stutter, and a concerned expression ades across her visage as a result, now parting her lips to back off from the studio, until he backtracks out. "i'm sor―" she begins, but she's cut off from his seemingly abrupt question, figuring that maybe he's been pondering it over. "yeah, of course. what do you need help on?" is it weird―she asks herself―to be so willing to help someone that you're almost certain that you don't know? no . . . i mean, that's what a kind person would do, right? or someone naïve really.

@⁰² sihyeon k. "Mm," he nods, looking everywhere but her for the moment, not wanting to sound rude or anyhow interrupt the other. He was all for ambition and working on oneself, therefore he didn't want to stand in the way of her practicing. "Uh... sorry then," Yibo said, hand shooting up to smooth down his sweaty hair from the earlier practice at the back of his neck. He didn't care for a shower just yet, obviously with different plans on the agenda. "Uhh, me? I uh actually I wanted to do some overtime too," Yibo backtracks, still unable to let go of his pride. Would it be really that humiliating to actually ask for help? "Uhhhh," Yibo breathed out to regain his confidence and courage. "Prepare for uh prepare for the spring formal, I guess. But go ahead, I'll come back... uh another time," Yibo said, forcing a polite smile. That wasn't asking for help. He was about to turn and walk away, his competitive brain nagging in his head. He stopped and turned around, finger pointing this time and a determined expression on his face. "Actually, could you help me?" Yes, that wasn't that difficult, despite his chest tightening with nervousness.

@⁰¹ yibo w. her arms initially outstretch, chin tipping up to keep up with her posture until a voice lulls her attention away. though she should be, at least, a tad bit annoyed, she isn't. instead, she blinks up at him, just having a twinge of hope that a name would come to mind. any name, to tell you the truth. but, nothing registers and it shows within the furrowing of her brows. "uh," she starts, retracting her arms. yes, she needs help, but her pride is held too high to admit so. "just some overtime, yeah. i'm alright, haha. but do you need the dance studio?" she offers with a polite smile curling the ends of her lips despite her earlier disappointment, attempting to soothe the slight awkwardness. "i could leave if you want to use it, it's no problem, really."

@⁰² sihyeon k. Yibo was under a weird kind of pressure. Never has he been insecure about his dancing skills, not once. Whenever he doubted himself, he would practice till oblivion until he perfected every move. But this was different. Since he saw flyers about the spring formal, he was getting restless. After the regular practice, he hit the locker rooms, waiting, making sure everyone else left, so he wouldn't have to deal with his insecurities publicly. He planned on sneaking back into the practice room and use a phantom partner to practice. Awkward, but it was the only way to gain confidence to actually prompt him asking his boyfriend to the formal. And there he was, sneaking in, just to be met with one of his fellow dancers. "Oh," he stopped in his tracks, staring wide-eyed at Sihyeon. "Uhh... doing overtime? Need help?" Yibo tried to digress from his own intention of returning to the practice room. This was awkward.

@⁰¹ yibo w. why can't she do it? it's frustrating―usually, she prides herself in being able to memorize choreography, but perhaps, the contemporary genre is something unfamiliar for her. that must be it, right? she takes a glance at herself through the mirror, eyes boring through the glass with a heaved sigh. she could spare thirty minutes to practice more, she decides. so, she raises her arms behind her head to lightly stretch, her head tilting to the side as she murmurs a small, 'alright, you've got this', beneath her breath. surely, she doesn't anticipate to be interrupted, mostly because she actually /doesn't/ have time to practice, but rather, she impulsively makes time for it, and that meant to cut the time spent studying later.

"okay, 1, 2, 3―"