Chapter 47. Dancing queen (1)
'It sure is a peculiar place.'
Lee Hyun thought as he walked down the stairs of an old building. The location he was going towards was the basement of the old building.
As he reached closer, he heard the sounds of people cheering and hooting.
'Dancing is the way'
That was the word written on the basement door. Lee Hyun took a deep breath and finally opened the door and bright light came into his eyes.
"Woohh!!"
"Alice! Alice!"
"Boss! I know you would win today."
"He can't defeat Alice. Her nickname is the dancing queen."
Loud voices came into his ear as soon as Lee Hyun walked into the basement.
For a second, he felt unfamiliar. He looked around like he had encountered a completely new culture.
'So, this is where the dance battles are held.'
The basement of this old building was actually one of the clubs in Hongdae and it would occasionally hold dance battles.
Solo dancers and dance crews would actively come to take part in it for the prize money and the club would get more customers because of this.
It was a relatively famous place.
Although it was his first time coming here, he didn't have any problems searching for this place.
Most people who frequented Hongdae works know about this place. It was really famous among aspiring dancers and youngsters.
"It sure is packed."
Lee Hyun muttered as he stood in the back. The basement was packed with people. Most of them were young, but there were quite a lot of middle aged guys too.
Some of them were wearing hoodies and caps while some girls had heavy makeup on their faces.
And in the centre of all this, a dance battle was going to start.
"Yo! Yo! Yo! The battle which everyone was waiting for will begin now. Are you all ready to witness this epic face off!!"
The referee, who was a fat man wearing a black jacket and cap shouted. Claps and cheers erupted as everyone looked at the two people standing in the centre.
'I don't know him...'
Lee Hyun first looked at the guy with red hair and a muscular body. From the cheers, he was able to figure out his nickname.
He was called 'Boss'.
Lee Hyun just gave him a glance and moved his head to look at his opponent.
A youthful girl with some western features was standing in front of Boss. She has short blonde hair and there was a confident smile on her face.
His gaze lingered on the girl for sometime.
"Alice Jung!"
He had only heard rumours about her in his past life. So, he doesn't know how she really looks, but looking at her, he can easily tell that her beauty transcends all the rumours.
She was more beautiful in real life.
"The battle will start now! On one side, we have the Boss who belongs to a big dance crew and on the other side, we have Alice who has been winning this competition for a year now."
The referee introduced the two of them with enthusiasm. Then, he began to state the rules of the battle.
"The dance battle will go on for 5 minutes. You can dance in any style or show any move. The only rule is that you can't touch each other. So, are you two ready??"
Dance battle.
Like its name, it was the battle between two dancers or dance crews. One can dance in any style for a specific amount of time and the only rule was that the dancers could not touch each other.
It was a battle with only dance as weapons.
'In a way, it's really cool.'
Lee Hyun thought and focused on the dance battle. Both Alice and Boss nodded their heads and a groovy beat started to envelope the whole room.
The first to move was Boss.
He started his dance with a twist and moved along with the beat. Looking at him, Lee Hyun can see that his basics were really good.
His steps, the tapping and his waist movements!
They were all par with professional dancers. He had heard that Boss belonged to a break dancing crew. Maybe that's why his steps were full of energy.
But...
'He's good, but she's on a different level.'
Even though Boss was a great dancer, Lee Hyun's gaze automatically moved to Alice who was just starting her dance.
It was the same for most of those people.
She just has the talent to attract people's attention to her. Someone like Boss can't compare with her currently.
"Ohhh! The dancing skill has finally decided to go all out!"
The referee shouted as he saw Alice moving her waist in a sexy manner.
She was holding back till now, but that move signifies that she was ready to go all out now. Lee Hyun also realised that and started watching more intently.
Alice first did a light tapping step and then started moving her waist elegantly. Her steps were not rough and she was dancing with ease.
Her sexy legs were enough to charm all the guys and her waist emphasised her slim body.
Her dance may look sexy, but it has elegance in it. She was sexy, but elegant and her movements were enough to captivate anyone.
'Her nickname is not for nothing.'
Dancing queen
Lee Hyun thought about her title. It was more of a nickname given to her, but her skills were really at the level of a queen.
If she entered a dance reality TV show, then she would probably be the winner.
That was the level of her skills!
"Everyone! The final showdown will begin now. The windmill battle is starting!"
The referee shouted on the mic.
Both Boss and Alice glared at each other as they put their hands on the ground.
Windmill - It was really a hard move in breakdancing. Putting your hands on the ground and spinning.
It was also common knowledge that this move was disadvantageous to women.
Men would be much better in this. Lee Hyun also thought the same, but when Alice started spinning, his eyes widened.
'She's more than just good.'
He stared at her with shock visible in his eyes.
Alice's long, straight legs gracefully kicked through the air in a perfect arc, cleanly, purposefully, and with a flair that could only be executed due to her confidence.
Many people practiced the windmill move, but those who could execute the typically gruff dance move with such flair and elegance were few and far between.
Her opponent Boss was also good at it and his spinning was much faster than Alice, but his moves were slightly rough.
It can't be compared to Alice.
It looks like he was too excited and pushing himself a lot.
"... The victory is already clear."
Lee Hyun muttered and thought that the battle would finish soon. It also happened like what he had predicted.
Alice kept spinning, but Boss wasn't able to keep up with her.
In the end, he lost the balance of his body while changing his hands and fell on the ground.
It didn't look like he was injured, but he didn't forget to glare at Alice who only gave him a smile in return.
"Yo! Yo! The battle is finally over and we can already see who the winner is - The dancing queen, Alice!!"
Cheers erupted as the referee gave Alice an envelope full of money. Lee Hyun also clapped standing in the back.
After that, Boss was supported by his friends and left.
Alice also didn't stay for long and started moving towards the exit. It looks like she was not interested in the rest of the dance battles.
'I need to get her at all cost!'
Lee Hyun thought as he chased after her. He was now more than just sure that Alice would become the backbone of his girl group.
"Alice Jung!"
He shouted her name as soon as he spotted her outside of the building.
Alice also turned back and looked at Lee Hyun who was smiling at her. He looked strange to her, but she didn't give it much thought.
Lee Hyun just opened his mouth after a while.
"I heard you wanted to talk with me."