Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

He Xu stood in front of the mirror and could feel Ian's gaze on his back.

It's very light, but it keeps going.

He played a song again, this time with a slightly faster tempo.

He didn't deliberately adjust the range of motion when he jumped, nor did he tense up because someone was watching.

He is used to being watched.

But being looked at like that is definitely different.

There was something in Ian's eyes that He Xu couldn't quite put his finger on, like a dry sponge quietly and silently absorbing all of his movements.

When He Xu finished dancing, sweat was already streaming down his jawline.

He walked to the wall, picked up the water bottle, took a sip, and turned to look at Ian: "춤을출줄알아요? (Can you dance?)"

Ian looked up at him, neither shaking his head nor nodding.

"...아니에요. (...don't jump.)" Ian said.

The sound was very soft, like the buzzing of a mosquito.

He Xu did not ask any further questions.

He put the water bottle back against the wall and stood in front of the mirror again: "그럼계속봐. (Then let's keep watching.)"

For the rest of the afternoon, He Xu danced intermittently in the dance studio, while Ian sat quietly on the floor in front of the mirror, watching.

When He Xu danced to the third song, Ian changed his posture—from hugging his knees to sitting cross-legged, with his body leaning slightly forward.

When He Xu jumped to the fifth song, Ian began to nod gently to the rhythm of the music.

He Xu glimpsed it in the mirror; every repetition was perfectly timed.

He Xu did not point it out.

He just kept jumping.

As evening approached, He Xu stopped, walked to the wall, and picked up his coat: "나간다. 너는? (I'm leaving. What about you?)"

Ian looked up at him, his overly quiet eyes showing no lingering affection or reluctance—just confirmation that this person was leaving, confirmation that today's viewing was over.

"...나도가요. (...I'm leaving too.)" Ian stood up and followed He Xu to the door.

As He Xu opened the door, she glanced at him sideways and asked, "Will you come again tomorrow?"

Ian paused for a moment, then nodded very slightly.

-

By the time He Xu returned to his residence, it was completely dark.

He changed into slippers and walked into the living room, casually draped his coat over the sofa armrest, and then went to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water.

He stood by the kitchen counter, staring at his reflection in the window, but his mind involuntarily drifted to the boy who had sat on the dance studio floor that afternoon.

Ian.

He wasn't quite sure why he was thinking about it.

A sixteen or seventeen-year-old Korean boy appeared alone in a not-so-famous dance studio in Los Angeles. He didn't speak or dance; he just sat there and watched him dance for the entire afternoon.

That look was so unique.

Quiet, focused, with a strange feeling that is different from ordinary people.

He Xu put down the water glass, wiped his hands, and turned to walk towards the living room.

Jiang Yanbai was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, with a half-open sheet music on his lap and Bluetooth earphones on his ears. He looked like he had just returned from the recording studio, and his hair was still a little messy, as if it had been pressed down by the earphones.

He Xu sat down on the edge of the sofa opposite him.

"I have something to ask you."

Jiang Yanbai raised his eyes, shifting his gaze from the sheet music to He Xu's face: "What's wrong?"

"Do you know a Korean kid? His name is Ian, he's about sixteen or seventeen, he's very handsome, and he doesn't talk much."

Jiang Yanbai took off his headphones, hung them around his neck, and tilted his head to think for a moment: "...Ian? Which Ian?"

"I don't know his full name." He Xu leaned back on the sofa. "I met him at the dance studio this afternoon. He sat by the door watching me dance all afternoon without saying much. I asked him and found out he's Korean, and he seems—a little strange."

Jiang Yanbai closed the sheet music in his hand, placed it on the coffee table, and leaned forward slightly, as if he had finally remembered something.

"Are you describing someone who is short, has very short hair, has very big eyes, and looks at people with a strange expression?"

"right."

"...That's Park Soo-young's son." Jiang Yanbai's voice was a little lower than before. "His mother's name is Park Soo-young. Have you heard of that name?"

He Xu thought for a moment: "...It seems not."

"She was quite popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She was a South Korean singer who released several albums. Later, she got married and immigrated to the United States with her husband, and gradually stopped singing."

He Xu leaned back on the sofa: "That kid—"

"Ian is her son, and he's been...you know? Not quite normal since he was little." Jiang Yanbai tried to be as objective as possible. "High-functioning autism—I've heard that—he doesn't talk to people much, and he doesn't go out much either. The only thing he does on his own initiative is go to that dance studio to watch other people dance. I've seen him a few times, always at the entrance of the dance studio."

"So he came alone?"

"His mother sometimes comes with him, but she doesn't show up often. She lives nearby and probably thinks the dance studio is safe, so she lets him come by himself." Jiang Yanbai paused, "—How did you suddenly run into him?"

He Xu paused for a moment: "...He sat at the door watching me practice dance—he didn't run away when I opened the door."

Jiang Yanbai looked at him: "You talked to him?"

He Xu paused for a moment, his gaze falling on the glass of water that had gone cold on the edge of the coffee table.

"...said a few words."

Jiang Yanbai looked at him, not pressing for details about "what he said," but instead asked from a different angle: "When you were talking to him—what was his reaction?"

He Xu thought for a moment: "...He listens. But he doesn't really care who he's talking to. He'll take a long time to answer a question, and sometimes he won't answer at all."

"So you were still able to have a conversation with him?"

"...It's probably because I spoke to him in Korean." He Xu leaned back on the sofa. "He reacted faster when he heard Korean. After that, we didn't talk much. He watched for an afternoon, and I danced for an afternoon."

Jiang Yanbai leaned back on the sofa and remained silent for a moment before asking, "...Are you going tomorrow?"

"He said he'll come again tomorrow," He Xu said in a very calm tone.

Jiang Yanbai looked at him for two seconds: "You're not being pestered by him, are you?"

"..." He Xu didn't reply, picked up the glass of ice-cold water and took a sip. "It's just a kid. Watching him dance, it doesn't take much effort."

"...You seem to care quite a bit about him."

"Even if you were paralyzed on one side and unable to take care of yourself, I would still care about you."

"...Can't you speak more politely?" Jiang Yanbai said with a dark expression.