Letters On Our Skin || BangChan

9

A mirror, covering the whole wall opposite of the door.
A window from ceiling to floor to my right.
Huge speakers all around the room.
A small couch with three fluffy pillows to the left,  a table and shelf next to it.
"You're kidding me," I cautiously walk inside. "A dance room?"
"Thought you might like it," Chan steps in behind me and closes the door. "I guessed it's been a while since you danced in a real studio. We have a really big studio in the basement but another band had it booked for right now so..."
I pull the glasses off my face while Chan crosses the room and puts his backpack down on the couch. He opens a panel in the wall and pulls out a few cables.
"You can put on your phone here," he says as I step behind him to look. "If you want I'll leave the room, so you can dance in private."
"No," I say and take off his huge sweatshirt, the beanie, and my mask. "You can stay. There's really only one song I want to dance to. I just finished the choreography a few days ago. Maybe you can tell me what you think about it.. I never really know if my stuff is any good."

I take off my shoes and he sits down on the couch.
I am worried we'll get caught if someone comes into the room, so I quickly connect my phone with the stereo and pick the song. I hand the phone to Chan so he can press play when I'm in position.
This choreography must be one of my favorites. It took me hours to get it right, but I think it's ready.
I walk towards the middle of the room, roll my shoulders and do five squats to really get the blood flowing.
I watch Chan in the mirror and how he's following my simple movements. When he catches my eye, he blushes and quickly looks away. I almost have to laugh.
"Okay, you can play it now."

The music starts and I take a deep breath. Zara Larsson starts singing and the beat of the song pulsest through the air.
This is easy. I forget what my life is like when I dance.
The only thing that counts is music and dance.
I learned that you don't need huge, flashy moves to dominate a room. Sometimes, all it takes is the precise movement of a hip, the wave of a finger, the nod of your head.
I roll my head back and drive my hands up and down on my body, moving my hips just as I've practiced.
The choreography feels empowering to me.  Sexy. I feel comfortable in my body, confident and strong.
When the beat drops for the chorus I turn around myself, flaying my arms. I kick, lock, and drop to the floor. I do my favorite part that includes tiny jumps and a drop into a deep squad.
I almost forget that I'm not alone in this room. But when I catch Chan's stare in the mirror, I can't hold back a grin.
It looks wicked in my reflection.

I can't deny that I like being watched while dancing. But I think a bigger part of me likes his attention. I like being watched by him. I like that he can't take his eyes off of me. And I can't deny that I chose to dance to this song specifically because it does feel a little bit flirty, a little bit daring. I could've chosen any song,   but I wanted to show him this one.  There's nothing wrong with wanting to show my talent and also the best side of me.
When the song goes into the second verse I drop to the ground again. The music travels through my veins, my body moves without my thinking. I close my eyes and let the song move me.
I love this song. I love this dance.

The music finally stops and I open my eyes again. My breathing goes hard and I rub my chest to calm down.
"So, what did you think?"
Chan wordlessly reaches into his backpack and brings forth a small bottle of water. I drink half of it before handing it back to Chan. His cheeks are blushed, he avoids my eyes. For a moment, I'm scared I might have gone too far, but then he gets up off the couch and scratches his neck.
"You did this all by yourself," he asks then.
I nod. "Yeah, in my apartment."
It's my turn to blush. My apartment is really just a big room with a small kitchen on one side and my bed on the other. The bathroom is just big enough for me to reach the sink from the shower. It's hardly worth talking about and even less of a space to properly dance. But I make do.
I clear my throat.

"The move you did in the beginning," Chan says and gets into the position I started the dance in.
I jump in position next to him. In the mirror, a boy and a girl stand next to each other, doing the same move. I try to hide my smile when Chan starts circling his hips the way I did and copy his moves.
"It looked really nice when you did it," he says and stops mid air, "but if you'd turn your body ninety degrees, you'd have an easier time going into the next section."
He dances the part of my choreography almost perfectly and it's astounding to see how much he can remember from seeing it only once.
We dance it through two times before he talks again.
"You should come dance with Minho, Hyunjin, and Felix sometimes. I think you'd have a lot of fun."
"Oh, I don't know. I wouldn't want to intrude."
He chuckles and rubs his face, "Seriously, you'd be doing them a favor. They loved having you over last night. Felix couldn't stop talking about you."
I drop down onto the ground and stretch my legs. Chan sits down across from me.
I think for a moment, a small smile growing on my lips.
"I like them," I say then, "You have amazing friends. I could see how close you guys are with each other. It was really nice."
"Yeah, well, that's what years of living in one dorm will do to you."
I laugh. "I guess so. And, you know, the whole band thing. International superstars. Loved and adored by millions."
He grins, cocking his head.
"Ah, I almost forgot about that."
He checks his phone and adds, "We should probably get going. I don't really want to get caught by someone. It would get us both in real trouble."

I put on the huge sweatshirt, beanie, and sunglasses, before we sneak out of the building again.
Just when I open the door to my apartment do I notice that I haven't given anything of the disguise back to Chan before we said goodbye.