Chapter 15 What Do You Know About K-pop? #2
“Well, while you all were listening to One Direction growing up—”
“I was not into One Direction, mind you.”
“Oh, that’s right. You were listening to the newest trends in nature sounds. What was it back in the early 2000s? Frogs? Roaring
brooks?”
“Ha ha. I happened to be more into underground hip-hop at the time. I just never told anyone, since I was afraid I’d be kicked out of youth group.”
Tae nodded his head, impressed with this confession. “Well, I was listening to Super Junior, BigBang and SHINee. My cousin
sent us over the CDs from music stores in Korea, and Min and I jammed to them. I was that goofy kid practicing the choreography
in the mirror.”
Silence. Shit, he’d shared too much. He just confessed to be being a total dork dancing to K-pop choreography. He was suddenly
terrified to look at Julia.
“Well, okay then, teacher. I doubted that you were expert enough to be the one to get me up to speed. But you’ve proven yourself
worthy . . . almost. I’m thinking that in order to really show your mastery of K-pop, I’m going to need to, ahem, see some of this choreography, you know, with my own eyes. That way
I can trust that you’re the real deal.”
“Ha ha, Jules. You wish. So not gonna happen.”
“How am I gonna not make a fool of myself on my date tomorrow if I don’t know what the choreography looks like?”
“Jules, we’re about to watch the concert. Just—”
“Dance for me!” Julia’s face lit up with laughter as she egged Tae on to show her some moves. He hadn’t seen this side of
Julia, the complete abandonment of seriousness and just pure joy. He didn’t want to say no.
“Please,” Julia said, this time her expression more serious. “I really want to see you do this, since it’s something I know
you enjoy.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll show you. But . . .” he reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her up to standing and into his arms
“. . . I’m not doing this alone.”
“No, no, no. I’m a terrible dancer.”
“I got you,” Tae said into her ear.
He pulled out his phone, connected it to the Bluetooth speaker he’d set up and opened Spotify.
He selected an upbeat song from their earlier days and pressed Play.
The song’s choreography had body rolls that would make Julia blush.
But instead, he put his hands on Julia’s hips and simply pushed them side to side, letting her find the beat.
Facing her, he mimicked the motion. It felt intimate, the two of them moving in tandem.
“Breathe, Julia,” Tae said.
“Sorry I’m not better at this,” she whispered.
He took both her hands and put them on his shoulders while his remained on her hips. “You’re doing great. Now, don’t look
at your feet. Look at me.”
She raised her eyes to meet his, and he pulled her closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He’d lost track of the song.
He’d forgotten where they were. All Tae could focus on was Julia, in his arms, moving with him.
At some point their bodies moved closer till there was almost no space between them. Tae gently pulled her flush to him.
Julia gasped at the contact.
He wanted to capture that gasp with his mouth and kiss her.
He hadn’t meant for it to get this heated. He wasn’t trying to make a move on her. But here, under these lights, with her
smelling and feeling so good, he couldn’t help himself.
“The music stopped,” she whispered.
Tae hadn’t noticed.
He reached back and reluctantly took her hands from his neck. As she released him, he twirled her around and held her waist
ready to dip her.
But Julia was so caught off guard, she went dead weight in his arms. So as Tae tried to lower her, her feet lifted from the
ground. He wasn’t ready for her full body weight to crash into his one arm. He lost all balance and braced himself for the
fall.
“We’re going down,” he heard Julia squeal. Which was the funniest thing he’d ever heard.
He stretched out his arms so he wouldn’t crush her as he landed. The two of them were wrapped-up arms and legs, elbows jabbing, knees knocking, hands grabbing. Both laughing so hard, Tae couldn’t breathe.
“Thanks for the commentary,” he said, trying to catch his breath.
When Tae opened his eyes, two doelike eyes looked up at him. The fairy lights hanging above them sparkled in her eyes, and
Tae couldn’t stop looking. The laughter had died down, but the smiles remained.
Tae heard the hitch of Julia’s breath as she slightly arched her back, putting their bodies in closer contact.
“Wow, Taehyung-ah, you did such a good job decorating out here. It’s beautiful.”
Tae scrambled his body off Julia’s, and she jackknifed herself up into a seated position. Impressive core strength. Just as
he’d worried about in his nightmares, his parents walking in on him with a guest. As if he was seventeen trying to get lucky
on prom night, only now he was a grown-ass adult, making it a hundred times worse.
“Annyeonghaseyo,” Julia said, getting to her feet, bowing greetings to Tae’s dad as he walked out into the backyard.
“Hi, Julia. Wow, it looks so pretty here. Tae worked hard all day to get this ready for you.”
Julia snuck a glance at Tae and then tucked her hair behind her ear as she lowered her eyes. “It’s amazing. I’m so grateful.”
“Oh, Tae loves sharing K-pop with people, especially BTS. You’d think he was being paid by the company.” His dad laughed,
and Tae noticed how it sounded heartier and healthier than it had in a long time.
“Okay, Appa, how about we don’t embarrass me in front of our friends?” Tae said.
“Julia is more than just a friend,” his dad answered. “She’s family.”
“You look really good, Mr. Kim,” Julia said.
“Thank you, Julia. I feel really good too. The best I’ve felt in years.
I’m just so thankful that our Tae was able to come home and help with everything.
I can’t imagine what would happen without him.
” Tae’s dad walked over and patted him on the back.
He was twenty-five years old and hadn’t realized how much he needed the comfort and approval from his father until that very moment. Tae tried to swallow the emotion.
“Tae is everyone’s savior, apparently,” Julia said, smiling up at him. “I’m sure you’ve heard he’s helping me not make a total
fool of myself on these dates. Even though I’m a lost cause.”
“Nonsense, Julia. All of us know you are a diamond. You are the gongju of Irvine, California. And not just any man can win
the love of a princess. It takes a special man who will appreciate and love her just as she is. One who will not be intimidated
by her beauty or brain, who will not want to steal from her wealth. But someone to make her laugh, be there for her when she
cries, and always remind her of her worth. That’s the man for you, Julia.”
Tae stood staring at his father in awe. He, in one moment, told Julia all that Tae had wanted to. That she was a treasure
and all the guys she’d tried dating were the trash.
“Mr. Kim . . .” Julia tried to speak, but the words seemed stuck in her throat.
Tae’s father walked over and wrapped his arms around Julia. “All this fuss over dating, when we all know our Julia’s prince
will come. He just has to prove himself worthy of her. And not in the ways the world sees worth. But in the ways that love
does.” He patted her head and looked over at Tae.
His dad stepped back. “Now, you two have fun. Enjoy the concert. Julia, I especially like the songs ‘Spring Day’ and ‘Idol.’
I hope BTS performs those tonight for you.” His dad winked at her.
Tae couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Julia said.
As Tae’s dad left them alone, Julia turned to Tae, a softness on her face that took Tae’s breath away.
Her hand gently brushed against his, and he reached his finger out to keep the contact between them just a tiny bit longer.
“Tae, thank you for this,” she said as she waved her hand across the yard. “No one’s ever done something like this for me
before. Thanks for sharing a part of yourself with me too.”
Tae couldn’t quite figure out the sound in her voice, but he was too afraid to step forward. He wasn’t sure he was ready for
where this felt like it was going.
“Well, wait till you see the video. The concert is amazing.” Tae walked away from Julia toward the projector, changing the
subject.
He pressed Play and sat down on the blanket. He patted the space next to him, and Julia joined him. He poured her a glass
of wine and passed her an ARMY bomb.
There they were, just two friends enjoying a BTS concert.
No big deal.