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Anyway.
For some reason, seeing those two huddled together, whispering as if plotting some secret, made his stomach churn.
'What, do they like each other? Are they going to start dating? Why is it so hot in here?'
The air from his nostrils felt annoyingly hot.
Hunter tugged slightly at the knot of his tie, which was choking him. Because the people beside him were being so restless, his nerves were on edge, and he couldn't even hear the white-haired old man on the podium droning on.
If it were up to him, he wanted to rip off the stifling tie and blazer and bolt out of here. However, this damn class had a court-side ticket to the US Open finals on the line.
Hunter took a long, deep breath.
Ignore it.
Let them do whatever.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
[Ha, damn it...]
The sound of those two whispering was more irritating than the sound of a mosquito buzzing in one's ear in the middle of the night. Just as Hunter, who had been glaring at them, finally lost his patience and opened his mouth to snap something, the children all stood up at once with a loud commotion.
It was the signal that the dance class was beginning. While he had been distracted, it seemed the etiquette class had already ended.
While a grand piano and a string quartet played classical music live, Walter and Megan demonstrated the basic waltz steps in the center of the floor.
While the students had time to practice the steps individually, Walter circled the hall, pairing the children off one by one. Finally, he stopped in front of the three of them and drew an oval rope in the air above their heads.
[One lady and two gentlemen; you three will be tied together as one team.]
He then placed Jiyu and Rex facing each other and had Hunter stand behind Rex.
[Mr. Lafayette. Extend your right hand and lightly support the lady's back with your left. That's it, well done. Now, the lady, extend your left hand and place it lightly on Mr. Lafayette's hand, and place your right hand on his shoulder. Keep your elbow elegantly raised!]
After personally correcting their posture, Walter turned to Hunter and had him place both hands on Rex's shoulders.
[Mr. Hamilton will follow the same steps behind Mr. Lafayette. When the song ends, switch positions.]
Hunter grit his teeth and brushed back his fallen hair. He was being told to hang onto Rex—who was dancing with Jiyu—like a ridiculous dog's tail.
Damn this cotillion class.
His patience was reaching its limit.
He thought of the court-side ticket for the US Open finals. Court-side seats, where you could hear the players muttering curses and see the beads of sweat flying off their foreheads, were precious spots where black market prices soared up to $20,000 per person.
If he stormed out now, he would have to give that up.
[Huu.]
Hunter took a short breath.
Endure. Just endure it.
Just then, the music that had stopped began again.
With both hands on Rex's shoulders, he performed the waltz steps with a bored expression.
I wonder who will make it to the US Open finals.
The players' rankings and their assigned seeds tangled chaotically in his head. He hoped Federer and Nadal would make it to the finals.
He tried his best to keep thinking about other things, but Rex suddenly leaned down and whispered something into Jiyu's ear. Then, Jiyu's entire face—which had been mostly hidden by the back of Rex's head, leaving only her forehead visible—came into view. She had a surprised expression, her mouth open in a small circle.
What the hell did that Rex bastard say to make her look so stupid?
Suddenly, his stomach twisted. His gastric juices bubbled like lava.
Did I eat dinner too quickly?
Then, Jiyu looked up at Rex and asked.
[No way. Really?]
Hunter rolled his eyes and scoffed.
'Most of the absurd things that come out of Alexander de Lafayette's mouth are lies. Don't you know that yet?'
He couldn't understand why she fell for it every single time. Was she an idiot?
[I'm telling you. I heard from a 7th grader that the last song is always a line dance to country music. I heard they still use old-fashioned stereos and CDs, so I looked secretly, and there really was a country music CD inside the stereo. So, I swapped it with a gangster hip-hop CD I brought.]
Rex tilted his head to the side, trying to stifle a laugh. Jiyu's gaze seemed to land on Rex, who was trembling his shoulders while clenching his teeth, and then she burst out laughing. Her eyes narrowed into slits, and something that wasn't there before appeared on her pale cheeks.
Hunter came to a dead stop.
Again, again, again—those damn dimples.
Seriously, he swore to heaven, he didn't have a speck of interest in Jewel Parker's face. Until now, he had never looked at that face closely. But now that something had suddenly appeared, his eyes kept sticking to it.
It felt strange. A peculiar restlessness and an irrational sense of anxiety stirred within him. It felt even shittier because he didn't know why he felt this way. If it were up to him, he wanted to snap at Jiyu and tell her not to laugh like that because it made his stomach churn.
Suddenly, Rex stopped. Come to think of it, the music had also stopped. At that moment, Walter gave instructions over the microphone to switch partners with the person next to them. Hunter pushed Rex's shoulder mercilessly, while Rex was still giggling.
[Get lost, Lafayette.]
[Shit. Give it a rest, Hunter.]
Ignoring the stumbling and grumbling Rex, he strode toward Jiyu. As soon as her eyes met Hunter's, the smile on her face vanished like a popping bubble. Then, she eventually broke eye contact and primly cast her gaze downward.
Hunter felt even worse than before.
'Why does she make that face when she looks at me? What did I even do?'
He placed his hand on her back and pulled her close.
Oops. Failed to control the strength.
Pulled in as if collapsing, Jiyu snapped her head up with a bewildered expression.
With her lips pressed tight and her eyes full of accusation, she glared up at him.
'Why are you looking at me like that? It's okay to waltz with that bastard, but not with me?'
The childish, bratty question rose up to his throat, but he suppressed it and pushed it back down.
[Hand.]
Hunter raised his right hand and demanded bluntly.
At that, Jiyu let out a small sigh and slowly raised her left hand with a timid motion. It was an oddly tantalizing movement. Then, she hesitated, curling her fingers at a distance where she almost touched his hand.
Hunter couldn't take it anymore and snatched her hand. It throbbed hotly, as if a fire had been lit in his solar plexus.
'It's annoyingly hot. But were her hands always this small? Or did my hands get bigger?'
He looked down at her with a bewildered gaze. Jewel Parker, whom he saw every day, felt as unfamiliar as a girl he was seeing for the first time. After taking a small breath, she placed her right hand on his shoulder.
'Is Jewel Parker sick? Why is her hand so hot?'
His left shoulder felt hot, as if an iron had been placed there instead of a hand. As he looked down at the round crown of her head, with her ash-brown hair loosely braided on both sides of her face, sweat trickled down the back of his neck. The damn air conditioner must be broken.
[Now move.]
His voice cracked slightly.
[Okay.]
The two began to move to the waltz music. Jiyu's steps got tangled, and she stepped on his shoes a couple of times.
[S-sorry!]
[Dammit. Focus.]
Hunter stepped combatively to the elegant waltz piece 'The Blue Danube' by Johann Strauss. He was good at anything physical. He could master simple, repetitive steps like these after following them just a couple of times. Once they were ingrained in his body, his steps never tangled.
On the other hand, Jiyu kept missing her steps, as if she were a person with two left feet. He frowned.
'What is wrong with her? She wasn't this bad when she danced with Rex.'
Jiyu, who stepped on his foot for the third time, bit her lip hard and glanced up. Then, as soon as their eyes met, she immediately looked down. To anyone, she looked intimidated.
What's her deal? Am I going to eat her just because she stepped on my foot a few times?
[...I'm sorry, Hunter.]
Hunter only scoffed and didn't respond. It was already a known fact that Jiyu's physical abilities were pathetic. It wasn't as if it hurt that much just because she stepped on his foot with those thin bird legs.
He sank deep into thought. There was something he had been curious about for a while.
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