Snapping back into reality, Kyungsoo had been sitting with a female and chatting about the desires and pleasures that so happens underneath the bed sheets. He was doing the very thing he had once became so bashful about, but he was spitting out sexual references and sharing even his own desires that were once real to him. “Maybe you haven’t found the right man for the job yet.” Kyungsoo’s eyes crinkled and he expressed his sarcasm through a loud commotion of laughter leaving his lips, hand slamming down on the table as he was trying to control it. 

Her body froze upon the sight, as she found herself between two walls of a small alley. Her intentions had been to take a shortcut home, the sky had turned dark and her thighs were hurting. She wanted to get home as soon as possible, to detach the artificial legs and give her thighs some rest. But instead, she’d found herself inconveniently walk into an unfortunate situation, something she clearly wasn’t meant to see. She would’ve turned on her heels and fled from the situation but instead the person ahead turned to face her and have their gazes meet for just a short second. She felt like she was unable to move, like walking away and pretending she had never seen any of it wouldn’t be the right thing to do.

Or so she thinks.

        ❅        It was easy, making out Nari's words, even while tending the meat, making sizzling noises, roasted on the grill, slowly turning tender, edible, carefully watched by her eyes, ears attentive to her words. It had been her idea, unusual for Yuzi, suggesting to eat out, preferring to cook at home, feeling unusually sluggish this day, asking to meet up, to have dinner together, now listening quietly. It had taken time, growing used to her phrasings, the elegant manner of speech, unusual words, never heard before in such context, without fully understanding, the reason as to why, being adressed as human, not called her name, she had simply accepted it, never entirely getting it, just taking it as habit.         The last words, being seen as food, nourishment, it made her heartrate pick up, echoing in her ears, overtuning the frying noises for a moment, stomach twisting, passing as quick as it came, making her look up finally. "Who? Or what?" A question so simple, yet so difficult, she loved many, her blood-born brother, who never hurt her, Hoseok, who always came back, the pain of fighting never lasting, inseperable like twins, and dancing. It was the greatest pain, that accident, not watching two people die, but merely being a spectator, obersving her dreams shatter, her heart break, her leg showing it off, more than she ever could. Years later, even after finding solace in different styles, it still ached, seeing people dancing ballet, knowing, even though her leg had healed, her heart hadn't, that she would never dance it again, unable to overcome this wall.         "You should eat now", she said instead, picking the meat up, covering her plate, toppled by vegetables, followed by her own plate, distracting herself, with actions simple as that, enough to pull her to the past, away from the cleanly white hospital room. She wasn't able to, not entirely, though not the memories, yet distracted by earlier words, gazing at Nari again, head tilted aside lightly, watching her some moments, before asking, "Who did you love?"

       ❅         "Did you really search?" She asked, more out of reflex, voice stable, rapid eye movements giving her away, gazing at her screen, not at the female, analyzing the video, looking for mistakes in the choreo, pausing, writing them down, continuing the view. Clearly she wasn't aware, hadn't listened properly, else she would have pointed it out, the swear words mentioned, something she never just let pass, disliking the sound of them, raised with polite language. Some more minutes, the end of her video, finally she looked up, gazed at the other, at times like these, with her hair messy, unable to be kept straight after dancing, in boring clothes, usual attire of jeans and crop top, merely changed training outfit for streetwear, she felt inferior, Nari with flawless looks, radiating beauty, much unlike her simple looks. She wasn't like that, having inferiority complexes, feeling beneath everyone, on the other hand, at times she could be proud, was raised for leadership, did excel at it, leading dance groups, instruction choreographies, but it was a fact, Nari did have a different aura, intimidating at times, now merely relaxed, maybe soothened by a warm drink.         "What were you looking for again?" Finally closing her laptop, pulling out the remaining earphone, the other left dangling, paying the least attention possible, entirely missing out the important part, not when she hadn't listened. Notebook placed on top, the pen stuck inbetween pages, marking the last scribbled words, the remaining mistakes to correct, after the lunch break, during afternoon practices. Hands were filled again, grabbing her cup, taking a sip of coffee, bitter elixir running down her throat, warming her up, refreshing her, with big eyes directed at the other, waiting for a reply, scanning her face, looking for some hints to take, whether she had missed out, missed something important, missed something while paying attention elsewhere.

Swallowing hard against the uncomfortable frog in her throat, she only managed a slight step backwards before her back met a wall. Still, it wasn’t nearly far enough to evade what she perceived as disturbingly bizarre, invasive prodding. The second the digit met the dip of her cupid’s bow, she shook her head and, having mustered up some semblance of courage, firmly said, “Stop it.” It did occur to her then that she could physically force the girl away, but Lucy wasn’t exactly one to immediately launch into an altercation as a solution for anything, no matter how painfully awkward she felt. “I would very much appreciate if you would stop touching me please.”