Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

The next day, when He Xu pushed open the door to the dance studio, he indeed saw that small, thin figure already sitting at the door.

Ian was still wearing a hoodie, with the sleeves covering half of his fingers, and he was curled up in a small ball against the wall.

He heard the door open and looked up, his gaze passing over He Xu's shoulder to the mirror deep inside the dance studio, then returning to his own, quietly watching him.

He Xu stood at the door and looked at him for two seconds.

"...몇시에왔어? (...when did you come?)"

Ian did not answer.

His gaze drifted away again.

He Xu did not ask any further questions.

He went inside, took off his coat and draped it over the back of a chair, bent down to tie his shoelaces, and stood in front of the mirror to warm up.

Ian sat down on the floor behind him, hugging his knees, in the exact same posture as yesterday.

The dance studio remained quiet for a long time.

The only sounds were the hum of the air conditioner and the slight clicking of He Xu's joints as he moved them.

When He Xu finished the second section, he suddenly heard a very soft sound behind him—

"...잘해요. (Dancing well.)"

The voice was very soft, as if squeezed out of the throat, carrying an uncertain and tentative tone.

He Xu did not stop.

He continued dancing the entire segment, then slowed down to finish, turning around to look at Ian.

"...Thank you." he said.

Ian's gaze fell on the hem of his clothes, and his lips twitched very slightly.

He Xu walked over, picked up the water bottle, took a sip, and sat down on the floor next to him.

The two people sat side by side, with about one person's distance between them.

The afternoon sun slanted in through the high window, spreading a warm golden dappled light across the floor.

"...오늘뭐할거야? (What do you want to do today?)" He Xu asked.

Ian lowered his head, his fingers unconsciously picking at the loose threads on the cuff of his sweatshirt, and remained silent for a long time.

"...봐도돼요? (...Does this look alright?)"

「응.（Yeah.）」

So He Xu stood up and walked back to the mirror.

He switched to a slower song with a melody featuring a slight, repetitive electronic tone.

He didn't deliberately try to make his dance look fancy; he just let his body flow naturally with the rhythm, occasionally stopping to adjust the angle of a certain movement, as if he were showing Ian a process of disassembly.

When he jumped for the third time, he saw in the mirror that Ian's body was leaning slightly forward.

The amplitude was very small, but He Xu managed to capture it.

Ian's gaze was following his hand—or rather, the trajectory of his wrist as it turned.

He Xu stopped, turned around and looked at him.

"...손목? (Wrist?)"

Ian's eyelashes twitched, and he nodded.

He Xu walked back to him, squatted down, and looked him straight in the eye.

Then he extended his right hand and slowly repeated the wrist-turning motion he had just made—flipping his wrist, slicing his fingertips through the air, and retracting his wrist.

"이렇게? (Like this?)"

Ian's gaze followed his hand, as if he were recording the trajectory with his eyes.

Then he looked down at his right hand.

He hesitated for a long time, so long that He Xu thought he wouldn't move.

Then he took his hand out of his sleeve and very slowly imitated He Xu's movements.

The wrist rotation angle was a little off, and the trajectory of the fingertips was somewhat stiff.

Overall, however, there are no errors.

He Xu did not say "well done" or "wrong".

He simply watched the action quietly, then spoke: "...다시해볼래? (...Want to try again?)"

Ian didn't answer, but he did it again.

This time, the wrist angle was right, and the arc drawn by the fingertips was smoother than before.

He Xu did not press the matter further.

He stood up and walked back to the mirror: "또할게. 잘봐. (I'll dance it again. Look good.)"

For the next few days, every afternoon followed the same rhythm.

He Xu went to the dance studio, warmed up, and danced.

Ian sat in a corner by the door or on the floor, quietly watching him jump.

Sometimes He Xu would ask Ian a few questions during halftime, and Ian would sometimes answer and sometimes not.

"밥먹었어? (Have you eaten?)"

"...응.(Yeah.)"

"어제뭐했어? (What did you do yesterday?)"

"...모르겠어요. (...I don't know.)"

Sometimes He Xu would stop to demonstrate a certain action.

Ian's gaze would follow his hands or knees, as if etching those traces into his eyes.

He Xu noticed that he was imitating—his wrists and shoulders moved involuntarily to the music.

On the fourth day, Ian finally spoke up.

He Xu was sitting on the floor drinking water, and Ian was sitting diagonally behind him.

Suddenly he spoke up, saying, "...저거, 어때요? (...Um, how do I do it?)"

He Xu turned his head and glanced at him.

Ian waved his hand – or more accurately, he imitated the finishing move of He Xu after completing the last set of movements.

He Xu thought for a moment, put down the water bottle, and stood up: "...보여줄게. (I'll demonstrate for you.)"

He slowed down and went through the closing posture again—his body went from unfolding to contracting, his center of gravity shifted from his back foot to his front foot, and finally he held the position.

"여기서무게중심을앞으로옮겨. (Move the center of gravity forward here.)"

Ian looked at his feet, then looked down at his own feet.

He Xu took a step back: "해볼래? (Want to try it?)"

Ian did not answer immediately.

He looked at his feet, then looked up at the floor where He Xu had just stood, and remained silent for a long time.

"...못해요. (...can't do it well.)"

"괜찮아. 한번해봐. (It doesn't matter. Try it once.)"

Ian hesitated for a long time.

But in the end, he slowly stood up, his movements more steady than He Xu had expected.

He stood in front of the mirror, looked down at his feet, as if he were relearning how to walk.

Then he moved.

It's no exaggeration to say that he dances very well.

very good.

He Xu froze.

His arms slowly uncrossed and hung down at his sides.

Ian stood in front of the mirror and repeated the closing posture from before—from extending his body to closing it, shifting his weight from his back foot to his front foot, and finally holding the position.

The angle of the contraction was slightly different from He Xu's demonstration, and the range was also smaller, but the texture was completely different from what He Xu had seen in countless professional dancers.

It's an instinct, something that grows from within the body.

His spine remained a complete vertical line during the movement, his shoulders dropped, and his core engaged.

He Xu has taught this movement to countless people. Most beginners either sway their upper body or relax their lower body, but Ian does not have any unnecessary swaying from beginning to end.

His heels landed first, his knees bent slightly to release the momentum, and his body maintained that even, inward tension throughout the weight transfer.

Ian stopped and turned his head to look in his direction, as if waiting for an evaluation or the next instruction.

He Xu finally spoke.

His voice was a little lower than usual: "...다시한번해봐. (...Do it again.)"

Ian did not hesitate.

He walked back to the starting position and did it again.

This time, his amplitude was larger than before, and the angle of convergence was closer to the trajectory demonstrated by He Xu.

After stopping, he turned around sluggishly and looked in He Xu's direction.

He Xu finally straightened up from the wall, walked to Ian, squatted down, and looked him straight in the eye.

"...너, 춤을배운적있어? (...Have you ever learned to dance?)"

Ian's gaze fell on He Xu's collar, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "...없어요. (...No.)"

"한번도? (Not even once?)"

"...유치원때했어요. (...skipped during kindergarten.)"

He Xu fell silent.