XIV. A MILLION DREAMS

"Look, a shooting star!"

"It's like a booger being flicked in the sky."

Gyeoul scrunched her nose in annoyance, "Can we wish upon a booger?"

"I don't know. Should we test it out?" Taehyung moved to pick his nose.

The girl quickly snatched his wrist away before he could continue doing so. "Ew, that's disgusting." She pulled back, letting go of his wrist and laying down on the floor to get a better view of the stars. "My father told me that when we wish upon a star, our dreams will come true."

"But they're so far away," Taehyung voiced confusedly. He laid down beside her, using his arm as a cushion. "How can we know it will come true when we can't even reach them?"

"Good point, my father probably lied. My aunt also said that wishes are pointless and we have to work to get what we want."

Although, upon looking at the twinkling starlight on the vast canvas, something in Gyeoul's heart bloomed. A desire to grapple onto the string of dreams that plagued her mind every night.

"But it never hurts to try." She raised her hand up, fingertips trying to reach out to the sky. "What would you wish for?"

She was pointing at the sky, but he was looking at her hand — looking at their friendship bracelet. 

"I'm still thinking about it."

"Well, I wish to be one of the greatest dancers to ever live. I want to inspire people like all those people on TV. I want to be rich and buy as many things as I want." She paused as her eyes landed on the bracelet on her hand, retracting her hand and tucking it under her head. "And I wish to be together forever with my xiaolongbao."

Taehyung hummed, "You're leaving tomorrow for good, so that's one less dream for the stars to worry about."

The cheerful spark in Gyeoul's chest dimmed down upon hearing the bitter tone in his voice. Of course, the dreaded day was to come so soon. Since they found out, they've been subconsciously doing more things together to try and dismiss the fact that the day would come eventually.

"I want to do something related to music, a singer, or something like that," Taehyung mumbled, continuing his wishes upon seeing the unmistakable sadness that crossed Gyeoul's features. "I want to be rich and famous and be able to reach the stars. I want to be someone people can look up to." He sighed, "I have probably a million dreams. I want everything but it seems impossible."

"You'll get everything. I'm rooting for you."

"And I'm rooting for you." He drew in a short breath. "You said something before about seeing each other again when we grow older. Do you really think that will happen?"

"I hope it will. I wish that it will."

"Then that wish will come true too."

❆

"Gyeoul, hey!" Quentin, one of the founders of the Stip Step Studios, greeted her as she walked inside the room. "We're glad to have you on the show today."

"Thank you for having me. It's an honor to be here," she grinned, bowing her head at the older dancer. She turned away from him and to the person on the other couch who was typing something on his phone. Her eyes brightened up as she realized who it was. "Oh, Yongsik-ssi, I didn't know you'd be here."

"It's nice to see you again, Gyeoul-ssi," he said, smiling at her for a quick second and typing something on his phone once again.

Quentin hummed, clapping his hands, "Please sit there while we set up the cameras and microphones. We'll be starting in a few minutes."

"Do you need help with anything?"

"No, you can chill there for a bit."

Gyeoul nodded and sat down on the couch, eyeing the interior of the place. She's only seen it on Youtube and in social media posts. She was impressed at how homey they made the studio.

To pass the time, she checked her phone for texts and calls she might have missed. The only messages she got were all from Taehyung. Gyeoul grinned and checked on Taehyung's messages. As soon as she clicked on it, she scrolled up and was immediately graced with a picture of him posing with a finger heart and another picture of the whole group forming a deformed heart, but the thought was still there and their supportiveness made her heart swell.

TAEHYUNG
hello hello

TAEHYUNG
the guys and i wanted to wish you good luck on that podcast interview today :))

TAEHYUNG
i'm excited to hear whatever you have to say

TAEHYUNG
spoil your future projects mwah - jk

The messages stopped there. She could only assume that Jungkook snatched his phone and Taehyung chased him around. Just like that her day was already made. She put her phone back in her jacket's pocket and sat still, fiddling with her fingers.

"Yunseo has been waiting for you to hire her again these days," Yongsik suddenly spoke up, earning her attention. He slipped his phone between the cushions of the couch.

Gyeoul smiled, "I've been a bit busy these days. I'll try working with her again before the year ends."

"Busy working for BigHit?"

"I've been fixing up some schedules as well."

Quentin clapped his hands, "Would you like a drink before we start, Gyeoul-ssi? We have water, banana milk, strawberry juice, orange juice, and cold brew coffee."

"The coffee would be nice. Thank you."

"Sure thing," he said, smiling at her. Turning back to Yongsik, he said, "Go get her some coffee."

Yongsik smiled tightly at Quentin before getting up to get Gyeoul's drink. The woman grimaced and sunk back in her seat upon seeing the reluctant look on his face. It was like visiting your relative's house and their mother telling their child to get her snacks. A kind gesture that made her somewhat guilty for some reason.

Her apparent soulmate (according to Songyi) came back inside with a can. He smiled sincerely and handed her the coffee. Gyeoul smiled and accepted it, and immediately she saw that it was one of those cold brew coffees with the BTS members' faces on it. Yongsik gave her one with Taehyung's face on it, making her try to keep in a laugh. He must be haunting me, she thought.

"Thank you," she said, bowing her head slightly.

Yongsik nodded and settled himself on the couch next to Quentin. The older dancer sent them looks, silently asking if they could start already. Gyeoul nodded, giving him a thumbs-up. Quentin moved his hands to count them off before clapping, waiting five seconds before he spoke.

"Hello, guys, welcome back to another episode of the Stip Step's Podcast stringing with the grooves. We're your hosts Quentin Hong and Do Yongsik," he introduced, "And today, we have a world-famous, world-class choreographer, musicality master, prodigy, creative director, she's even a renowned model, video editor, one of the greatest and most genius dancers in the game right now, in our studio. Also known as Gia, the most requested guest, Ahn Gyeoul!"

"Oh, god," Gyeoul cringed, wanting the couch to eat her alive at that point.

"Wow, that's a lot. I got that from one website. An extensive yet accurate description of our guest today," Quentin chuckled. "We got Ahn freaking Gyeoul in the house. What's up, Gia? How are you right now?"

"Very overwhelmed with the description. To all the viewers and listeners out there, I'm not as great as they made me out to be," she laughed along, "But other than that, I'm feeling pretty great, I'm doing well. What about you?"

"We're doing great, interviewing you for this podcast has been a dream for so long and now we get to live that dream, so thanks for dropping by," Yongsik said, his eyes smiling back at her.

"It's been some time since we last had a proper conversation so it's really nice to hear from you again in person," Quentin continued. He gestured to Yongsik, "I don't know if you two have met before, but he's been bragging that you work a lot with his cousin."

"If anything, I should be bragging about working with his cousin, Yunseo, instead. Her camera work is fantastic." Gyeoul smiled and leaned back slightly, looking back at Quentin, "Last time we saw each other was at one of your classes back in 2018, right?"

"Around two years later and now you're choreographing for some of the biggest artists in the world." Gyeoul pursed her lips and nodded along, waiting for him to continue. "Was this like a dream for you when you were a kid?"

"More of a side-goal, actually, choreographing for people other than myself was never something I intended to do, but I guess collaborating with such talented people is a different type of thrill, you know? It's always a learning experience."

"So, you mentioned learning experiences. How exactly did you start learning how to dance?"

"I think it was when I was around three or four years old?"

"People can dance at that age?" Yongsik asked, aghast by her statement.

Gyeoul hummed, "People can dance at any age." She crossed her legs, smiling slightly. "But in my case, Ms. Sim — my aunt and mentor — she noticed that I was gravitated to music and enrolled me in a dance school for the summer. After that, I never wanted to stop. I fell in love with dance. She managed me through my competitions, earlier classes, taught me everything she could, and such."

"And now you're a mentor too," Quentin stated. Gyeoul nodded sheepishly and took a sip of her coffee. "How does that feel? How does it feel to be the 'master' that people look up to?"

"That's the thing, I don't think I'm a master, that's why I refuse to use the term 'masterclass.' I'm a teacher, but a master? I'm far from being one," she paused, mulling over her thoughts. "I still have a lot to learn and more teachers to learn from. People may consider me as such but I don't think I'm at that point right now."

"I'm curious, who were your mentors?"

"There's a lot," Gyeoul breathed out, her mind going blank. She thoughtfully thumbed through her hair, "Well, there's of course, Ms. Sim, then when I came to the States, there's Keone and Mari Madrid, Tessandra Chavez, Tricia Miranda, Zoi Tatopoulos, Kyle Hanagami, and that's just to name a few. There's a lot of talent that brought me to where I am now but I can't name them all to you at the top of my head."

"No wonder you're so intimidating," Yongsik asserted.

Gyeoul raised her eyebrows, unsure if that was a good thing or not.

Sensing her confusion, he quickly corrected himself, "Sorry, I meant that you're really talented and that scares me. Do you remember your first class here in 1MILLION?"

"It was in 2016, right?"

"It was the first and last time I attended your class."

The performance director tilted her head, laughing slightly with unsure question marks evident in her eyes.

"It was different from what I'm used to. Your style is very intricate and deals more with musicality. I had such a hard time with everything that it scared me off from taking another class from you. I still am."

Gyeoul nodded understandingly, "I'm not scheduled for any in-person classes as of late, but if you're ever looking to give my dancing another chance, you have my number. Give me a call, I'll try to make time for you and we'll train."

"For free?"

She pursed her lips, eyes flickering between Quentin and Yongsik. "Next question please."

They laughed. Quentin shook his head, "How old were you when you started teaching?"

"About ten years old?"

"Wah," Quentin breathed out, shaking his head at her in amazement. "I've known you for so long yet I never knew this stuff. How'd you get to teach at that age?"

The woman traced the exterior of her can in thought. "My aunt, I practically begged her to help me set something up at a dance studio because I needed the money to buy my friend a gift for his birthday."

"And are you still friends with this friend?"

"No, we lost contact after I left my hometown."

Yongsik pouted, "That's too bad." He turned to the camera and gave it a thumbs-up, "To whoever that friend is, thank you for kickstarting Teacher Gyeoul's career."

The podcast interview went on smoothly after that. The two men were easy to converse with and Gyeoul felt like she was only speaking with friends.

Until the 'dating' question rolled around.

"So, Gyeoul, netizens are wondering. Are you dating someone at the moment? The last time we heard about your love life was when those rumors with Jackson Wang came out. Was that ever real?"

Gyeoul pursed her lips and breathed out a chuckle, "That's old news, my friend. I never dated him in the first place. He reached out to me through Jessi and asked if I could choreograph Titanic and I did. He's really friendly and we became and remained acquaintances. Although, I don't speak to him very often."

Quentin nodded understandingly, "Then let's move on to something recent. Are you in a relationship with any of the BTS members? A lot of people say that you are, but their comments pertain to V and Jimin especially. There's talk of you getting involved in a dating scandal with one of them. It's inevitable, isn't it?"

She blinked at him. Quentin was her friend, sure, but his questions were becoming something one would read out of a gossip blog. When she accepted the offer to appear in their podcast, she expected that the conversations would be centered more on dance and career. It ticked her off, but not to the extent that it annoyed her. She knew these types of questions would be thrown her way eventually.

"My apologies if I come off as rude, but calling rumors 'dating scandals' is ridiculous to me. There's nothing wrong with them dating, so why call it that way? Imagine how those idols would feel." Gyeoul pursed her lips, avoiding the interviewer's eyes. "Then that person would feel guilty because such rumors affect their career negatively and they'd be inclined to apologize even when there's nothing to be sorry about. And then they would have to worry about the other person's safety.

"Whether you notice or not, these people have a strong sense of fear and feel the need to hide because of the consequences that will come. Artists aren't just there for people's entertainment. They're human too, they should be allowed to feel happy as much as the next person. Loving someone and being loved is such a beautiful thing, no one should feel restricted from feeling so. Please, don't think as if I am speaking on behalf of the idols, it's just my opinion from what I have observed.

"And to answer your question, I am not dating V or Jimin or any of the BTS members or any other human in the world. My relationship with them is purely business. As of now, I'm a lover without a lover, and probably will remain as such for a long time."

Quentin smiled apologetically at her, "Sorry for the unprofessional questions."

"I'm sorry if I offended some people as well."

She knew that her rant would make many people view her in a bad light, but it was such a ridiculous term and question. It has been a controversial topic, and though not all people, there were still some netizens who never took confirmed dating rumors well. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it. She hated how it was normalized to use idols to feed their delusions to the point of thinking that they had no other purpose in life than to do so.

username1: if i can't have bts can i have their choreographer?

username2: i love that she probably went 'fuck it' and ranted about the problems idols have to face on a daily basis #certifiedgiasimp

username3: who is she to speak for the idols???

usename4: istg idols get shipped with everybody they interact with. kudos to gia for speaking up about this
     |
     username3: BUT THEY DO why else would they interact with them? especially v because he's MINE
     |
     username4: oh honey
     |
     username4: he would never go for you

username5: i'm glad she never became an idol because my wallet could never handle another bias to spend money on

username6: i have a huge crush on gyeoul but jimin can have her
     |
     username7: RIGHT??? THEY'RE SO SIMILAR AND PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER

username8: bro she's been like my dance mom right from the start and now she's with my fav group don't talk to me i'm crying

❆

"As of now, I'm a lover without a lover, and probably will remain as such for a long time."

Taehyung smiled to himself, tilting his head back. His eyes were glued on the screen, his lips pressed into a delicate grin as he watched the enchanting moons of Gyeoul's eyes appear as she smiled.

After his hectic schedule that day, he went back to his atelier to rest when he found a newly released Stip-Step podcast episode on Youtube. Remembering that his friend had an interview with them earlier that day, all intention of relaxing on his little couch faded away. So, without waiting any longer, he put the hour-long video on.

Suddenly, three knocks sounded from his door.

He turned, only getting a glimpse of the person's silhouette on the frosted glass. Pausing the video, he stood up from his chair and opened the door.

Gyeoul stood on the other side, pointing a toy gun at Taehyung's face with her other hand behind her back. The idol bit back a smile, raising an eyebrow at the object. She pulled the trigger and a ton of bubbles came out of it, making the both of them laugh. The dancer did it once more, now pulling the trigger repeatedly as she circled it around his head.

"Where'd you get that? Can I borrow it?"

She pulled away before he could reach the toy and revealed what she was hiding behind her back. Taehyung pouted in disappointment when he saw that it was only a smaller version of the one she was playing with.

"It's tiny."

"It's your only option because I'm not giving you mine."

"But I like yours better."

Gyeoul smiled sweetly, "No."

Taehyung let out an exaggerated sigh, taking the smaller bubble gun from her hand. "Fine, I'll take what I can get." He went back inside the room, keeping the door open for her so she could come in. "So, what brings you here? I don't remember you having any schedules today."

"I was called in to work on the blocking changes by the performance directing team tomorrow so I dropped by today to finish it as soon as I could. Then, on my way to the parking lot, I thought about you and now here I am," she answered, walking inside the little studio and seeing her face paused in an unflattering time. She cringed, eyes narrowed at the vile sight. "I didn't look that bad in the mirror."

"You look pretty," Taehyung smiled, sitting on his chair.

She almost snorted, shaking her head. It was a wonder how he managed to change such simple words into magic. The dancer lifted her gun and pointed it at him.

Taehyung was quick to retaliate by pulling the trigger of his toy gun before she could. Gyeoul laughed weakly, sinking back on the couch in defeat. She rubbed her eyes and tried to suppress the yawn that was threatening to escape her.

"You look pretty tired, are you driving home?"

"Yeah, I should get going before I fall asleep. I just wanted to drop by and say hi."

The idol moved from his chair to sit beside her on the couch. He tapped his shoulder. Gyeoul furrowed her eyebrows, unsure if he was telling her to lean on his shoulder or if he was massaging his muscles. Taehyung noticed her confusion and laughed. He brought his left hand over to the side of her head and gently placed it on his right shoulder, ruffling her hair lightly before returning his hands to his sides.

"You can sleep here if you want to. It's dangerous to drive when you're like that."

"The last time I slept at work, my senior scolded me hard and sent me home."

"Just rest, I'll deal with it in the morning."

Gyeoul finally closed her eyes, not having the energy in herself to argue with Taehyung. Eventually, the weight of her cheek on his shoulder started to grow heavier, telling the idol that his friend was relaxed. Smiling fondly, he looked back at the screen, seeing the paused screen.

She could have simply said 'no,' but she went on and did a short speech.

"Thank you, by the way."

A few seconds passed before a groggy voice replied, "What for?"

"For speaking up about the 'dating' thing. There were consequences to addressing that and you knew it. But still, you went on about it without stuttering." He smiled, allowing his cheek to fall on her head. "Any regrets?"

"I have none, but I know that the media wouldn't be as kind to me anymore."

A sigh fell from his lips, "Whatever comes next, we'll protect you. I can make sure of that."

"I can handle it on my own, don't worry about me. What you need to worry about is the fact that BTS is now number one on the Billboard chart with Dynamite right now. King shit right there. Congratulations, you deserve all of it."

"Thank you," he whispered, laughing slightly at Gyeoul whose voice was slowly dropping into a drowsy mumble. "I still can't imagine that you taught your first class just to buy your friend a gift. That's adorable."

She chuckled, "I was an adorable kid."

"You should show me your baby pictures sometime."

"I'm warning you, I was dangerously adorable as a kid so you might get baby fever."

"You're still dangerously adorable now."

Gyeoul scrunched her nose in secondhand embarrassment, bringing herself out of her comfortable position and standing up to leave the room, "That was too much. You're done. You're done."

Taehyung laughed, catching her wrist and leading her back to the couch. "Come back, I'll keep my mouth shut."

"No, you ruined it, I'm not sleepy anymore."

"Then I'll sing you to sleep."

She paused. The corner of Taehyung's mouth quirked up into an amused smirk, knowing that he won her over. Grinning at her, he patted his shoulder as if it would make sleep more tempting. Rolling her eyes, Gyeoul exaggeratedly slumped back on his shoulder.

"I could work all day to find the perfect tune," Taehyung sang, "But I could never write a song as beautiful as you."

Before he could continue, Gyeoul spoke, "I'd honestly marry your voice if it was a person."

Taehyung breathed out a groan, shrugging her head off of his shoulder and making her laugh out loud. He stood up, taking a small pillow along with him. Gyeoul threw her head back in glee as he chucked a couch pillow into her lap.

"That was too much! You're done. You're done," he said, quoting her earlier words. He took his bubble gun again and shot her with a ton of bubbles. "As if my voice would ever marry you."

Sitting idly around wasn't an option. She stood up and kept pulling the trigger, her bigger bubble gun doing more wonders than the smaller one she gave him.

"You started it!"

NOTE

the stip-step podcast is inspired by the kinjaz podkast.

song(s) mentioned in this chapter — titanic by jackson wang | dynamite by bts | as beautiful as you by will post