Page 30 of I'll Be the One

I’m so lost in her dancing that I only barely process when the music stops. Everyone cheers for Bora and Chad. Despite the enthusiasm, though, everyone looks terrified.

“That... was interesting,” says Henry.

“Tell me about it,” I groan. “They reallyareweeding us out as much as possible.”

“Yup.”

I look around, and see variations of panic and despair in Tiffany’s, Imani’s, and Henry’s faces. This choreography is basically a death sentence.

“Don’t panic yet,” Mr. Park says with a chuckle, addressing the entire room. “The first few hours of today’s practice will be learning the dance. Then, after everyone learns the basic moves, we will branch out into the individual pairs. After that, you will have an entire extra session of practice in two weeks. Please stand up and join Bora in front of the mirrors.”

It’s only when I’m standing next to Henry that it occurs to me that dancing with him means that Henry will touch me and I’ll touch him. I know it’s a pretty duh thing to realize just now, but I guess I’m still processing the fact that all this is even happening.

Even though I already danced in the same space as Henry, what we’re about to do now seemsa lotdifferent. I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that I’m about to dance quite intimately with him for the entire world to see.

Heat rises up in my cheeks. In my reflection in the mirror, I’m blushing bright red like a tomato. Something else in the mirror catches my attention. I look away from my own face to see that Cassie is glaring daggers at me. And she’s not the only one.

I sigh.Better get used to it now, I think. After all, this is justthe beginning. Soon, I’ll have to dance with Henry in front of thousands—maybe even millions—of viewers watchingYou’re My Shining Starin the audience and on TV. My own friends are going to see me dance with Henry. Mom, Dad, everyone. If I can’t dance with him now, in the relatively private confines of a studio, I won’t be able to do it in front of all those people.

In the end, I just try to forget he’s famous. It’s the only way I can get myself to relax and focus on learning the choreography.

Bora and Chad slowly lead us through all the steps, going at half the tempo so everyone can follow along. Slowed down, the dance is a lot less intimidating, but even then, people are stumbling here and there. It’s a really hard routine.

“You’re a pretty good dancer,” I say as I sync my movements to Henry’s. “I have to admit, I had my doubts when you showed up to the audition.”

“So did a lot of people.” He shrugs, and before I can fully process what’s going on, Henry spins me around, gently raising my hand and guiding it so my body turns 360 degrees. Thankfully, my instincts take over, so even though my head is spinning, my body gracefully executes the turn without awkwardly twisting my legs.

“And you’re areallyawesome dancer,” he says with a grin. “Although I never doubted that.”

“Well done!” exclaims Mr. Park from the front of the studio. “Looks like Mr. Cho and Miss Shin are off to a good start!”

I glance up to see that the entire room is staring at us again.Even Bora and Chad stopped dancing to watch. Bora full-on glowers at me like she wishes I’d messed up.

Her annoyance only makes me want to do better. I hold my head up high and give her a look that says,Yeah, I can dance. What are you going to do about it?

She glances away first, scoffing like she can’t believe my nerve. I know it’s probably not a good idea to make an enemy of one of the judges, but I just can’t keep being intimidated by someone who’s so clearly a bully. Enough is enough.

We’re running through the choreography again and again when something happens. At first, I think I imagined it, but then it happens again. Henry’s stomachgrowls. It’s quiet and barely audible over the music, but I’m positive it’s not my stomach, and everyone else is too far away.

Henry notices my stunned expression and gives me a sheepish look. “Had to skip breakfast to beat traffic.”

I frown at him. It’s past two now. He must be starving.

“Don’t you have... people responsible for feeding you or something?” I ask, gesturing to his team at the back of the room.

Henry gives me a startled look. “Oh, they’re just my PR team. Portia posts my pictures and takes care of logistics for me, while Steve makes sure I get where I need to go safely. I can’t ask them to fetch me food... that’s below their pay grade.”

I shrug. “Some people do. I’ve heard stories about how celebrities order their staff to do chores and stuff like that.”

He shakes his head. “I’m not that type of person. That’d be so insulting. I didn’t even ask Portia to spray me when I got injured during the first elimination round. She insisted on doing that herself.”

I can’t help but respect him a little bit for saying that.

Then, I get a pretty wild idea. I have no idea if he’d be down for it, but I figure it’s worth asking.

“Hey, do you... wanna grab tacos after this?”

Chapter Thirteen

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