[optional: watch ian eastwood's choreography of pain by pinkpantheress to be guided]

XLVIII. BTS IN LA PT. 3

It was like he was a trainee again, looking at everyone with wide eyes.

Back in July, the very same day that Jungkook figured out that Gyeoul and Taehyung were childhood friends, Jungkook made Gyeoul promise to book him a free slot in one of her classes if they were in LA at the same time.

That time has come and he wasn't entirely sure if he was as eager as he was before. Other dancers eyed him and some of his other members as they stood by Gyeoul in front of the mirror. The Bangtan Bomb camera was also there by the side, filming him no matter if he was performing well or not.

The energy in the room was already insane and there were still ten minutes before the class started. All of the dancers he's looked up to, idolized, and even the ones that choreographed for them, they were all here. He knew that the dance community here were almost all friends, especially the more known ones, but he didn't expect more than half of them to attend this class. They were all rowdy as they interacted with each other, the excitement for Gyeoul's first class in LA after two years building up.

He felt nauseous. His dream of attending her class was coming true, but at what cost? All of the other dancers were intimidatingly cool and he wasn't sure if he could amount to that.

"How're you guys feeling?" Gyeoul asked, walking up to the four idols.

Along with him were Jimin and Hoseok, Taehyung claimed that he was only there for support.

"Like I want to go home," Jungkook admitted.

Jimin tsked and patted his shoulder, "It'll be okay."

Jungkook kissed his teeth, looking at him with a dry expression, "Yes, thank you, I feel so much better."

Lightly punching Jungkook's arm, Gyeoul grinned, "Just do what you usually do when you train with me, it's practically the same thing anyway, just with more people."

"How long is the choreo anyway?" Hoseok asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"About forty seconds?"

The dance leader smiled at Jungkook, "See? In training, we've both done longer choreo than that with her. It'll be easy."

And about forty-five minutes later, he found that it was not easy.

But it was fun.

Every dancer was spread out to their happy places. The BTS members were scattered throughout the studio.

Brian Puspos, the one who choreographed Serendipity, Butterfly, and parts of My Time, was beside Jimin, who was his bias, the whole time by the side. The older dancer kept making jokes and Jimin would laugh every time. Hoseok was beside Jojo Gomez and Melvin Timtim in the middle, all three varying in dance styles but seemed to mesh well. At the very back of the class, Jungkook was with the younger dancers from The Lab, Josh, and Julian, looking like he was free from his worries from earlier.

Gyeoul, who was in front, clapped her hands, "Alright, guys, switch!"

Immediately, the ones who were situated at the back moved to the front, while the ones who were in front moved to the back.

Taehyung stood up to stretch his legs, having been sitting for the past half hour. He made himself her personal secretary and assistant that day. Whenever Gyeoul would go to her laptop to play back the song to a certain part, he'd be three steps ahead of her. It happened so many times in the first part of the class that Gyeoul simply handed him the laptop to make things easier for him.

Everybody found Taehyung's actions cute. Even the one filming the Bangtan Bomb couldn't help but release soft chortles out of endearment.

"From the top?" Taehyung asked as Gyeoul turned to tell him.

She breathed out a small laugh, "Yes, please."

With a curt nod, he bent down and pressed the play button.

Once the music started, Gyeoul started jumping up and down like was using a pogo stick. The action hyped the entire studio more than it already had.

Taehyung turned around and faced the Bangtan Bomb camera, "She's great, isn't she?"

The editors were probably going to edit that out, but he said it anyway, feeling the need to praise the dancer one way or another.

Life of the party. That's what she was. It was evident with the way her exhilarated smile shined even though a mask was covering her mouth. Her energy was contagious. She was a powerhouse that fed people her energy and managed not to run out of it. Taehyung could clearly see how much her passion showed as she would demonstrate each step with such intention.

To think, around fifteen years ago, she was just this kid that lived and breathed dance, teaching her first class because she wanted to gift her best friend shoes for his birthday. Now, she was a globally recognized choreographer and had some of the most sought out dancers attending her classes.

Little Taehyung would most likely beg present Gyeoul to buy him a decade's worth of shoes and choco pies if he saw how far that little girl that walked a little bit like a penguin had gone.

"Secretary Kim finally lost his focus."

Gyeoul's hushed voice brought him out of his reverie. He blinked repeatedly as she brushed by him, an amused glint in her eyes as she paused the music.

He cleared his throat, looking over to his other members to check on how they were. "They're doing great. I've always seen them dance for a decade, but they always look different when they're not dancing for a performance."

Now scattered in different parts of the studio from their initial positions, the three were in their own worlds. Jimin was recalling the steps with one of the dancers, Jungkook was laughing at something his new block mate said, and Hoseok was marking as he mumbled the counts.

"They really are," Gyeoul agreed. "Are you sure you don't wait to join? There's still some time."

And possibly sprain his ankle because of the footwork? He smiled sheepishly, "I'm not warmed up enough, but I'll try next time."

She nodded, giving him one last smile before walking over to the front to continue with the class.

When it rolled around to the part where groups and solos were being filmed, everyone was huddled into a messy concave around the chosen person to do the solo.

For the first part, she chose the 3Js, Taryn Cheng, Big Will Simmons, and Ian Eastwood to dance with her in one big group.

Jungkook felt like he was floating in clouds as he stood a step backward from Gyeoul's right. The cheers from the other dancers were deafening, in a good way. It all felt like it came straight from those YouTube videos he would stay up watching back when he was a trainee. Looking around him and seeing the eased yet excited expressions of the other dancers she chose, he could truly feel how it felt like to be in his dance idol's inner circle.

Gyeoul held her hand out in his direction for a fist-bump, "Let's get it!"

With energy surging in him, Jungkook returned the fist-bump.

She turned back to the group and told them to make a circle and they would then skip back to their positions as the intro of the song would play. The videographer was ready to film, and Taehyung was ready to click the play button.

"Ready?" Taehyung called, looking over all the heads to find Gyeoul's.

Standing on the tips of her toes even though she was tall enough to get a glimpse of him, she smiled and raised her hand to give him a thumbs up.

"Fighting!" he cheered before playing the song, eliciting a chorus of cheers from the dancers.

Ian laughed from beside Gyeoul, "He's cute."

"I know," she managed to answer before their cue came.

They moved like superheroes getting into an explosion in slow motion for the first few beats, still gathered in a disorganized circle. Another beat came and they skipped to their positions from earlier.

Groups and solos went on and the energy of the room never deescalated. In between one of the performances of the groups, Gyeoul beckoned Hoseok, Jimin, and Jungkook over to the side where not a lot of people were since they were all huddled to the middle as the groups went on.

"I already asked the managers and they gave me the green light. I'm planning on calling you guys out for solos after this group, would that be okay with you?"

Jungkook beamed at her, "Did we do well enough for you to recognize us like that?"

She patted his back with a laugh, "You guys were phenomenal and I want to show that off. I know you already did a group, but I wanted to highlight more of your individuality."

Jimin gulped, "Are you sure we did that well?"

"Yes, I am. But if you guys don't want to, there's no pressure."

The two younger ones turned to Hoseok, silently telling him that the decision was left to him.

He raised his eyebrows, "Why are you looking at me?" Turning to Gyeoul, he shrugged, "I guess it should be okay."

She nodded, looking at all of them, "Are you positive? Again, there's no pressure. You can deny if you want to."

"We're sure," Jimin confirmed.

Nodding once again, Gyeoul started to walk backward, "Alright, get ready. I'll call for you."

She made her way back to the mirror beside Taehyung, watching as the dancers started to freestyle, extending their own stories to the one she created within the choreography.

Once the group finished, Taehyung paused the music and Gyeoul went forward to high-five the dancers. "Can we have Hoseok Jung on the dance floor, please?"

The circle parted, letting the said dancer through. It was like that one part in Chicken Noodle Soup, except the dancers were more hyped at the fact that J-Hope himself was going to set the dance floor on fire.

Just like Gyeoul pointed out when they first met, one of the highlights of Hoseok's dance style was his shoulders. His shoulders carried the whole piece. Everybody watched him in utter awe as he moved his seemingly boneless body as taught by the choreographer. He owned the term 'dance genius' and claims it every time.

Watching him was addictive.

"You're from another planet," Brian Puspos complimented as dancers closed in on Hoseok, jumping up and down.

Next up was Jimin.

Gyeoul called him to the middle and he approached all shy and goofy because of the loud cheers from the dancers around him. She could see the nervousness on his face.

However, his shy persona disappeared once the music started.

If there was anything to highlight about Jimin's dance style is his adaptability when it came to his footwork. The choreography had many elements of lite feet and house, something he didn't have much foundation on outside of his trainings with Gyeoul, but he managed to pull through seamlessly without losing balance.

From his place beside Gyeoul, Brian whispered, "I think I just fell in love."

Gyeoul wasn't surprised. Park Jimin had that effect on everybody. She high-fived Jimin as he jogged away from the camera and back into the swarm of dancers beside Hoseok and Jungkook.

Next was Jungkook.

He jogged up to Gyeoul for a fist-bump first before going to the middle of the dance floor, bowing repeatedly at those who cheered him on before Taehyung started the music.

Everything that Jungkook touches turns to gold, Gyeoul's choreography was no exception. His ability to dance in the pocket was impressive. He understood the textures and when to apply them. He understood the parts where he had to extend and the parts where he had to ease up.

By the end of it, Jungkook managed to do eight counts of freestyle that made the room go wild.

"You did well, dance child,"

"I know, thank you," he grinned, bouncing on his feet beside her.

Before the class ended, Gyeoul allowed the dancers to scatter to their happy places and halved them, directing them to face each other as they made one last run. She skipped along the middle as the intro went on, cheering both sides to make the most of the last run for that class.

It was bittersweet. That class would be her first and last class in LA that year. The rest of the days would be for rehearsals for the concerts. She wasn't sure when she would be able to come back the next year. On the bright side, she would be able to attend her friends' classes and dance battles, so it wasn't much of a tragedy for her.

"Thank you, everybody, for coming to this class. I didn't expect this place to be so packed, but here we are," she chuckled.

The class has come to an end and she has to say her ending remarks before they go. All of the dancers huddled around Gyeoul as she stood in front of the mirror, some were already drinking water, and some were sitting down and standing up. Taehyung, Jimin, Hoseok, and Jungkook stood at the very back of the dancers, listening intently to what Gyeoul had to say.

"For classes like these where I'm not going to be teaching here for a while, I would have chosen something a bit more meaningful, but I wanted this class to be more on the fun side. I still hope that you picked up something more than the choreo. Some of you are regulars in my classes, and some of you are here for the first time, either way, I still hope that a fraction of my passion for dance is transferred to you. There's not really much to say except, I really had fun today. Thank you for making today enjoyable."

She bowed her head and smiled at them.

Ian let out an 'aw' as he made his way to her, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in a tight embrace. Gyeoul furrowed her eyebrows in confusion but returned the hug anyway.

"We're gonna miss you, Gia."

A laugh almost escaped her lips, "I'm not dying. I'm still going to attend classes here until I leave."

Little by little, it took almost thirty minutes for the whole class to disperse. Gyeoul was left there with the BTS members since their managers already left.

Once the last person closed the door, Jungkook clung to her side. "Thanks for doing this for us, Gia. It's a dream come true for me."

She patted his arm in return, "You were great." She turned in Jimin's direction with her fist outstretched and he bumped it with his. "You did great as well." She turned to Hoseok who was already waiting for her fist-bump. "You also did great." Turning to Taehyung, like Hoseok, he also had his first ready. She high-fived his fist instead, "And you were great too."

"Did you see how those dancers looked at you in your solos? You were awesome!" Taehyung praised, shaking Jimin's shoulders from behind.

Jimin groaned and hit Taehyung's hip, "I know. I was scared that I'd make a mistake, but it all went smooth— will you stop?" Taehyung grinned, slinging his arm around his shoulders instead.

"Alright, everyone in the middle," Gyeoul directed, pulling away from Jungkook and getting her phone from beside her laptop.

Hoseok looked at her confused, "Why?"

"I'm taking a picture."

Deciding to tease her, Jimin disagreed, "But I'm hungry, the others are already on their way to the restaurant—"

Jungkook cut him off by taking his wrist and dragging him to the middle of the dance floor. Hoseok laughed, clapping his hands as he made his way over to them.

Taehyung took Gyeoul's phone from her grasp, "I'll take the picture, go join them." He smiled at her and already positioned himself.

She grinned, pulling him with her by his belt loop, "There's a huge mirror right in front of us, we can just take one huge mirror selfie."

"Right," he gaped, looking back and realizing there was one indeed.

As soon as they made it there, Hoseok told her to go in the middle since she was the choreographer. She held the phone out, posing with a V-sign and ready to click on the button when they all shuffled closer like sardines.

Taehyung wrapped his arm around her waist while Hoseok put an arm around her shoulders, both of them moving closer as if they were trying to bump their heads with her while Jimin and Jungkook posed on the floor.

"Everybody, say 'kimchi!'" Hoseok smiled.

"No."

Hoseok's smile didn't waver as he lightly kicked Jimin's butt.

"Kimchi!"

username1: dude... i made the mistake of choosing this as my first advanced class and struggled real hard... and park... jimin... FREAKING HELPED ME RECALL THE CHOREO
      |
      username1: he was so soft spoken and it made my heart go PAHYDYWBTSUWBGDEV

username2: this genre of the 3js is officially my favorite everybody say thank you to gia

username3: this was hands down the best class i've ever attended. the dance itself was diffcult but gia taught it to be really easy and her interactions with bts were so cute
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      username3: whenever gia would pause/play the music taehyung would be way ahead of her and do it for her instead to the point that she let him act like her assistant the whole time
      |
      username1: winter bear's friendship>>>

username4: can jung hoseok reject me so i can move on please???

username5: hobi can step on me and id tell him to do it again

username6: jk came a long way from the boy who covered gias choreos in the old bighit bldg to attending her classes in la in the legendary millennium studio and being friends with her irl

username7: gia ahn. that's it. that's the tweet.

NOTE

i had a dance instructor like gyeoul. she was only available for a day and we spent around four to five hours training with her (and she ended up living in my mind rent-free after that). she was incredibly kind and motivating, she had this way of teaching that kept things fun yet serious. there was one time she asked me to demonstrate something and complimented me when i got it right and i had to fight this urge to tuck my hair behind my ear like that debby ryan meme.

also, the distinctions between the dance line are so clear whenever you focus on them. i think it has a lot to do with their foundations, like hobi from street style/old school hiphop, jimin from classical, and jk from open style (see kyle hanagami and alexander chung choreos as example). but they're all so great like?????

❝You did things to me that I just can't forget. (Now all I think about) are the nights we were tangled up in your bed.❞ – Left & Right by Charlie Puth ft. Jung Kook of BTS

streaming is not enough, i need jungkook's voice to take up every corner of my mind.

[visual representation of me listening to that line. got me all blushy and stuff]