American Casual

Julia was about to leave her office for the day when Youngjun knocked on the door. “How's everything going?” he asked. “The boys being good for you?”

“They're great,” she managed. “Really welcoming.”

“I know they can be stubborn, but if you have any problems, just let me know, okay?”

“Will do,” she said unconvincingly, bowing as she slid past him into the hallway. “Julia!” Jin called from the far end.

Julia sped up, glad to have a reason to avoid Youngjun’s questions. “I don't have long, I have plans with Shindo tonight,” she explained.

“Ah, the mysterious dancer,” he said, falling into step beside her.

“He's hardly mysterious,” Julia said. “He's worked here for four years, drives a nice car and visits his mom every weekend. Not exactly James Bond.”

They got onto the elevator and she pushed the button for the lobby. “Where's he taking you?” Jin asked.

“Dinner and a movie,” she replied. “Apparently there's a new action movie out tonight.”

“Desert Ranger? I'm dying to see it!” he said longingly as the doors opened. “Tell me if it's good or not.”

Julia saw Shindo waiting for her by the entrance. “See you later,” she said happily.

Shindo smiled when he saw her. “Ready to go?” he asked, pulling out his keys.

Julia nodded. “Were you waiting long?” she asked.

“Only a minute or two. I was afraid you'd be waiting on me, but rehearsals ended on time for once,” he said, putting his arm around her. They went outside and got into Shindo's gleaming silver Mazda, the wind tearing at them mercilessly. “I can't wait for spring,” Shindo shivered as he started the car. The heat clicked on as the car started moving and Julia held her hands to the vent. “Me too,” she agreed. “It never gets this cold in Long Beach.”

Her phone buzzed and she glanced at it. “Who's that?” Shindo asked.

“Just Chanyeol wanting to hang out,” she said. “I'll tell him I'm busy.” She sent a quick response and slid her phone into her satchel.

“Maybe you should think about not hanging out with him so much,” he suggested.

“Why, what's wrong with Chanyeol?”

“Not just Chanyeol. Maybe you shouldn’t hang out with them outside of work.”

Julia frowned. “But I like hanging out with them. Besides, Youngjun-”

“All I'm saying is you've been having problems with them, right?”

“Just one or-”

“Just give them some space,” Shindo interrupted. “Guys don't like to be smothered.”

Julia shrugged. “I guess. I'll think about it.”

Shindo smiled. “Good,” he said smoothly. “We're here.”

As he parked and they went into the restaurant Julia puzzled over what Shindo had said. Why should he care? she wondered. He must be concerned about me. He’s a thoughtful guy.

The hostess seated them and Julia opened her menu, but it still niggled at her. Stop it, she told herself sternly. Just have a good time and let it go.


******


Jongin was staring into his cereal when Chanyeol flopped onto the couch with a groan. “What's with you?” Jongdae asked him.

“Julia can't come over,” he moaned. “I wanted to show her a song I'm working on.”

“Dude, she's with us all day,” Kyungsoo pointed out. “She probably needs a break from us, especially after the whole dancing thing.”

“What?” Jongin demanded, his head snapping up instantly. “What did you say?”

“Nothing,” Kyungsoo replied, looking confused. “What's your deal?”

“I don't have a deal,” Jongin muttered, looking down again. Kyungsoo was prevented from speaking again by Baekhyun and Junmyeon rocketing through the door. “You'll never guess who we saw Julia leave the SM building with!” Baekhyun gasped.

“Will you relax?” Junmyeon snapped. “She was probably going on a date. Girls do that, you know.”

“You mean she left with a guy?!” Chanyeol exclaimed.

“No, a three-horned monkey,” Junmyeon said sarcastically.

“What's going on now?” Sehun asked, walking past them to the fridge. “Baekhyun off his meds again?”

Baekhyun glared at him and he smirked as he grabbed a water.

“Apparently Julia left SM with a guy and Baekhyun's freaking out,” Jongdae said, idly flipping through TV channels.

“Who was it?” Chanyeol asked.

“I didn't get a good look,” Baekhyun confessed. “But he looked handsome and fit.”

“Oh, does Chanyeol have competition?” Minseok asked as he entered the room.

Chanyeol's ears flamed and he folded his arms awkwardly. “I don't have a crush on her,” he muttered. Minseok grinned, but didn't press the issue.

“What happened to you?” Sehun asked Jongin, leaning against the counter. “You've barely spoken to anyone all day.”

“Maybe he's got a crush on Julia too,” Minseok said wickedly. Jongin glared at him, but didn't reply.

“Seriously, what's wrong?” Sehun pressed in a low voice. “Talk to me.”

“I don't need to talk to anyone,” Jongin snapped. “Damn, can't we talk about anything besides Julia these days?”

Everyone stared at him perplexedly. “Uh... I didn't say anything about Julia,” Sehun said uncomfortably.

“Oh,” Jongin muttered, embarrassed. He pushed past Sehun and went straight to his room, where he collapsed on his bed and buried his face into a pillow. He felt a tiny tongue lick his dangling hand and he sighed. “Not now, Monggu,” he groaned, pulling his hand away.

“You care to explain that?”

Jongin peeked over his pillow. “That depends. Are you gonna yell at me again?”

Junmyeon sighed. “I don't like yelling at you,” he said, “or anyone else. But I'm not sure what else I can do, Jongin. You've been completely out of sorts for weeks now, and I'm at a loss at how to help you. Please, just… just talk to me again.”

Jongin sat up reluctantly, holding the pillow to his chest. “You're not gonna like it,” he warned him.

“Probably not,” Junmyeon agreed, “but you need to get whatever it is off your chest.”

Jongin related the fight with Julia, leaving no detail unsaid. He felt ashamed as he repeated the insults he had thrown at her, but saying her rebuke aloud crushed him all over again. Junmyeon seemed to waver between shock and something like pity, settling on the latter as Jongin finished and stared at the floor. “Go ahead, yell at me,” he muttered.

Junmyeon chuckled and Jongin looked up in surprise. “What's funny?” he demanded.

“Nothing,” Junmyeon said. “It's just ironic that she got through to you in one conversation, where I couldn't make a dent with a hundred lectures.”

Jongin groaned again. “It’s just… we talk about how important our fans are to us, and how we want to inspire people to follow their dreams. I never considered that she was-”

“A person?” Junmyeon suggested. Jongin threw his pillow at him and he dodged it easily. “This is hard enough without you being so happy about it,” he grumbled.

“I’m sorry,” Junmyeon said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I’m glad you’re starting to come around. I know this tour’s overwhelming to think about, and the schedule thing sucked, but do you think we could maybe move past this and start fresh?”

Jongin shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “She seemed pretty upset.”

“I’m sure we can talk to her,” Junmyeon said comfortingly. “She might dump her drink on you, but she doesn’t seem to hold grudges.” He put a hand on Jongin’s shoulder and squeezed it warmly. “Let me know if I can help,” he said, smiling.


******


The next day Julia got up early and headed to the SM ENTERTAINMENT building. It was still dark outside and the sun barely illuminated the horizon with pale yellow lines.

Julia swiped her card and entered the building, sighing as the warm air embraced her. She had taken advantage of Yixing’s offer and gotten a practice room booked, but she didn’t want the others to know, hence the early hour. As she rode up to the fifth floor she felt excitement bubble up inside her. I haven’t been this excited about dancing since high school, she thought, and she hurried down the hallway to the practice room.

She heard a noise from inside the room and she froze, her hand on the door handle. Is that music?

She pressed her ear to the door and could make out an indiscernible song playing from somewhere inside. She checked her watch again. It’s five-thirty in the morning. Who could possibly be using this room right now?

Annoyed, she pushed the door open to demand an explanation. There was only one person in there, dancing near the mirrors on the other side of the room. It took Julia a minute to realize who it was. Oh no, it’s too early for this, she groaned inwardly.

She decided to just get it over with and tossed her bag to the floor. “Sehun!” she called over the music.

Sehun turned around swiftly and Julia saw the same consternation on his face as he recognized her. “Why are you… how did you…”
He seemed to be having trouble forming sentences and he finally just rubbed the back of his neck in frustration.

“I’m not stalking you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she said flatly. “Yixing booked this room for me as a favor.”

Sehun raised an eyebrow. “I always have this room booked at this time. Yixing knows that.”

Realization dawned and Julia groaned aloud. “Whatever,” she muttered. “I'll just… it's…” Disappointment crashed over her and she picked up her bag as she pushed the door open.

“You can still dance, right?”

“Not today, apparently,” she shot over her shoulder.

“Look, we… I guess we can use the room together.”

Julia swiveled back around. “Why?” she asked suspiciously.

Sehun shrugged. “Yixing probably thinks we won’t stay in the same room longer than a minute. Maybe I want to prove him wrong.”

Julia wanted to refuse, but she remembered how excited she had been just a few moments earlier and she sighed. “Fine,” she said, dropping her bag, “but I’m not dancing with you. I’ll just stay over here and use my earbuds.”

Sehun shrugged again and went back to his side of the room. Julia put her earbuds in and tried to ignore Sehun’s reflection in the mirror in front of her. He can look if he wants, but he’s not going to ruin this for me, she thought determinedly.

She hit play on her iPod and tucked it into her pocket, closing her eyes as the music started. It wasn’t EXO, just some indie EDM she’d gotten off iTunes, but she liked it enough to warm up to. She stretched methodically, allowing the music to get her blood pumping, then she threw in some simple moves. This really got her going and she went full freestyle, popping and gyrating to the track. She forgot about Sehun, and Jongin, and English lessons. Right then, in that moment, all she wanted to do was dance.

The song was nearly nine minutes long, so by the time it ended she was sweaty and breathing hard. Time to level up, she thought, choosing a new song. This one had a metal sound, with wailing guitars and drums crashing heavily. Julia liked using this music to test her more athletic moves, like spins and flips. She nearly fell the first few times, but gradually her muscles remembered and she started landing every stunt easily. She watched herself in the mirror, mentally making corrections and adjustments as she needed to. The song soon ended and she did one last flip, landing lightly on her feet. She sank down to one knee and rested her forehead on her thigh. That was awesome, she thought.

Someone tapped her shoulder and she jumped. “What?” she asked, pulling out her earbuds.

“Do that again,” Sehun said.

“Do what?”

“Any of it. All of it. Do it again.”

He had a weirdly intense expression on his face and Julia got up awkwardly. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked. “I feel like you’re trying to see into my soul or something.”

Sehun blinked and some of the intensity faded away. “Sorry,” he murmured, “I was just surprised. I didn’t know you could move like that.”

“Jealous?” she teased. He looked a little annoyed, but didn’t push back. “Just show me again,” he said, holding out his hand for her iPod. She gave it to him hesitantly and he plugged it into the speakers. The song started over and she tried to remember what she had done. She was now fully aware of Sehun watching her, his hand resting on his chin as he analyzed every move she made. She stuck her tongue out at him and made him smile for the first time. This is progress. Weird progress, but progress.

She ended with another flip and Sehun folded his arms critically. “Where did you train?” he asked.

“At a rec center near my school,” she replied, wiping her forehead with her sleeve.

“How long?”

“Six years.”

He seemed to have something to say, but he pressed his lips together and kept silent. “What?” she demanded. “You didn’t like it?”

“Actually I loved it,” he responded, “something that surprises both of us, I’m sure. Would you… take some critiques?”

Would I? she wondered. Part of her didn’t care to listen to him, but the other part leapt with excitement. He is a professionally trained dancer, even if he is an idiot, she mused. “Sure,” she said aloud.

“You hold your breath a lot,” he said immediately, “and you speed through some of your moves before you finish doing them. It’s okay to slow down a little, even during a fast routine. Just remember to keep breathing and your moves will be easier to sustain.”

Julia was surprised by the sincerity of his advice. “Thanks,” she said cautiously, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“How many of our routines do you know?” he asked.

“A few,” she said warily. “Why?”

“I think we should try one together,” he said, shrugging. “I haven’t had a new partner in ages, and I could give you more pointers if you want.”

“Okay,” she said, then wanted to kick herself. This could be a trick to try and trip me or something, she thought savagely, but she went and stood beside him anyway.

“Your pick,” he said, giving her his phone. She scrolled through his library, then on a whim she picked Lotto and hit play. He looked pleasantly surprised by her choice and quickly took a spot beside her. “Try to keep up,” he teased.

They got through the first verse without a hitch, then Julia decided to shake things up a little. Instead of following the group choreography, she did Sehun’s solo dance, body rolls and all. She saw Sehun laughing in the mirror and soon they were both bent over, laughing hysterically. “That was great!” he gasped, trying to catch his breath.

“Did it make you… feel things?” she asked, wiggling her hips in mock suggestiveness. This set Sehun off again and he sank to the floor, tears forming in his eyes. “Stop, I can't breathe!” he pleaded, putting a hand to his chest.

The music was still going, so Julia picked up the choreography again, only this time exaggerating it so ridiculously that by the end Sehun was laying on his side, clutching his abdomen as tears poured freely down his face. “Please have… have mercy!” he sputtered.

“Okay, but only because you begged,” she teased. She came over and sat beside him as he gradually composed himself and managed to sit up again. “You really do like surprising us,” he said, wiping his eyes again.

“I'm not really trying,” she replied, “though I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy being unpredictable.” She leaned against the mirror and looked at their reflection across the room. “Can I ask you something?” she said suddenly.

“Sure,” Sehun said agreeably.

“What is it about this situation that you hate so much?”

Sehun folded his arms. “I don't know,” he confessed. “The group is just in a really good place right now, you know? All of us are doing really good, and… I was upset that SM threw a wrench into that.”

“So you aren't just a cranky man baby?” Julia asked, feigning disbelief. “Everything I know is a lie!”

Sehun smiled and shook his head. “I'll admit, you've been a pain in the neck, but you've been pretty cool about everything, in spite of me, and I respect that.”

“I respect you too,” she replied. “You work really hard, harder than I could've imagined. With everything EXO’s been through over the years, you deserve to be in a good place. All of you do.” On an impulse she took his hand and squeezed it, then felt self-conscious and quickly let go.

This gesture seemed to touch Sehun and he stood up swiftly. “Come on,” he said, giving her his hand, “we've still got an hour.”


******


Julia returned to her apartment and got a quick shower before settling into her lesson planning, reliving her time with Sehun over and over continuously. Yixing's going to be incredibly pleased with himself once he finds out, she thought. I don't know whether to kill him or send him flowers.

Someone knocked on the door and she looked through the peep hole. She could see Baekhyun, Junmyeon and Minseok, and a few other people who stood out of her view. “Hello,” she said, opening the door cautiously. “What's up?”

“We wanted to come see your place,” Baekhyun said, already peering around her into the apartment.

“You finished your TV shows, didn't you?” she asked knowingly. She looked behind him at the others. “Are all of you here?”

“Nah, just us, Jongdae and Sehun,” he said, gesturing at them carelessly. “The others are busy or whatever.”

“Come in, I guess,” she said, “though I wish you'd called first. My apartment's kinda messy right now.”

“I'm sure it's fine,” Baekhyun said, entering the room immediately. Julia stepped back and the others filed in behind him. “This is nice,” Junmyeon said, taking in the Oriental curtains and band posters that hung on every wall.

“What can I say, I'm a basic white girl,” she said, closing the door firmly. Jongdae laughed at this. “Is this what you do when you're not with us?” he said, pointing at her open laptop.

“It's what I'm paid to do,” she said, “but I do other stuff too.”

“Like dance?” Minseok teased, examining a Nirvana poster interestedly. Julia saw Sehun suppress a smile. “Yeah,” she agreed, “like dance. Come on, I'll give you the tour.”

She led them down the hallway to her bedroom, which only held a bed, nightstand and dresser, then to the bathroom. The medicine cabinet was open, showcasing her few toiletries, so she went to close it.

“Wait,” Baekhyun said. “Where's your skin products?”

Julia looked at him blankly. “I just… keep them in that bag,” she said, nodding at the little bag on the top shelf. “Why?”

“How do you fit all of them into that tiny bag?” Minseok asked in confusion.

“It's just cleansing wipes and eye makeup remover,” she shrugged. “I had moisturizer, but I ran out last week and I keep forgetting to get more.”

All the guys cringed and shook their heads. “Tell me you're joking,” Jongdae pleaded. Julia sighed and got her bag down. “See?” she said, holding up the wipes and eye makeup remover. “That's it. That and a handful of makeup.”

“I feel a little nauseous,” Baekhyun muttered.

“Ha ha,” Julia said sarcastically. “I know skincare is important, especially in Korea, but-”

“Don't you want to prevent dry skin and breakouts?” Minseok asked. Julia closed the cabinet and folded her arms. “Let’s move on,” she said, leaving the bathroom.

“What's in here?” Jongdae asked, pointing at a door almost directly across from the bathroom.

“Nothing, just storage,” Julia said hurriedly.

“Ooh, what kind of storage?” Baekhyun asked excitedly. “I love organizing storage space. I'm a very organized person.”

“Since when?!” Sehun exclaimed.

“Really, there's nothing interesting in there,” she said, attempting to guide them back to the living room. “I still haven't quite unpacked everything and-”

Baekhyun opened the door and his mouth dropped. “Guys, I think we just hit the jackpot,” he whispered. They all looked in, then walked into the room in shock. “What… what is this place?” Junmyeon asked.

Julia sighed. “This is my merch room,” she said, feeling embarrassed. “I collected a lot of KPOP stuff over the years, but never had room to display it all until now, so I… so I did.”

The room was covered with posters and pictures of dozens of different KPOP groups and solo artists, each with their own little section. EXO had one of the biggest spots, bearing photos from every era to date. “Look, there's SHINee!” Baekhyun exclaimed.

“BTS, f(x), NCT, Super Junior, BIGBANG…” Minseok trailed off. “How many groups are there?”

“Look, lightsticks!” Jongdae said, digging through a box on the floor. “There's gotta be fifteen different groups represented here!”

“Okay, you got to see, now come out,” Julia said, crossing her arms.

“Oh, don't be embarrassed,” Junmyeon said. “This is pretty cool stuff.”

“Look at this album collection!” Sehun breathed, running his finger over the shelf of CD cases. He pulled one out and examined it. “Is this a-”

“First edition Heartbreaker album by G-DRAGON,” Julia finished quickly. “Yes, and it was very expensive, so don't break it.”

Sehun carefully slid it back into its place. “GOT7, VIXX, WINNER, 4MINUTE, TWICE... you don't mess around, do you?”

“Shut up,” she muttered.

“What else do you have?” Jongdae asked eagerly.

“I have a few T-shirts and a hoodie,” she said offhandedly. “KPOP stuff is really expensive, especially when you're buying internationally.”

“Well, you'll never pay for EXO stuff again, I promise you that,” Junmyeon said definitively. “We'll hook you up with whatever you want.”

“What's this?” Minseok asked, picking up a thick notebook from the shelf. Julia felt alarm streak through her. “No, don't-”

He opened it and a large stack of folded.papers fell out onto the floor. Jongdae grabbed the nearest one and read it. “They're choreo notes,” he said, looking up at her.

“Okay, I keep all my notes for learning routines,” she admitted. “Happy?”

Minseok glanced at the pile, then back to the book. “How many do you know?” he asked incredulously.

“Enough,” she said defensively.

“I think I speak for all of us when I say that this is the greatest thing we've ever seen,” Baekhyun said, busily flipping through a SEVENTEEN photo album.

“You don't think it's… I don't know, creepy?”

“Creepy would be if these were written in blood,” Jongdae said cheerfully, scooping up the fallen papers.

“It's not creepy,” Sehun said quietly. “It's… flattering.”

Junmyeon looked at Sehun in surprise, but didn't say anything.

“Will you tell us who your biases are now?” Minseok asked, closing the notebook.

“Never,” she swore. “It's too risky.”

“Please? We won't say anything,” Baekhyun begged.

“Yeah right,” she said, shaking her head. “Not happening.”

She finally got them to leave, though they were very reluctant. “You have to bring the others here,” Jongdae told her. “Chanyeol would love it.”

“I know,” she agreed.

“And that skincare conversation isn't over,” Minseok said determinedly. “We've got to do something about that.”

Julia shook her head again and pulled the door closed, making a mental note to put the room back in order as soon as the guys were gone.

Notes