‘dig a hole, label it love’ |past| kjh & ltm
taemin places great pride in the fact that he tries to be as graceful as possible. he’s worked for many years perfecting his stance and his balance, classes after classes, practicing even when he knew he shouldn’t because of sickness or lack of time, or when he knew he should be studying other things. dance has always been something of an escape, a place he can go to where he has more control but simultaneously, he can also let go of things there. it’s liberating, it’s thrilling, he loves it.
and lately, he’s been throwing himself into it the same way alice threw herself down into that hole in the ground, tumbling upside down, confused and disoriented. he knows he’s in trouble, mentally, he knows he ought to be seeking some sort of council or therapy, but… he can’t bring himself to figure out what to say. he doesn’t even know where to start, how to try, where to go to. his brother’s death wasn’t his fault, and yet? his sister’s mental decay was unstoppable, and yet? everything has been happening so fast in the last few months, and he doesn’t know how to properly avoid it.
well, he shouldn’t say that. he does know how to avoid it, and avoid it quite entirely—namely dropping out of college and blocking his now ex-boyfriend’s number. his parents haven’t even called him, so there’s little to evade with that. all he really has left right now is the meager dance lessons he’s taking over at In Step, and somehow the last two weeks have seen him practicing at all hours of the day, losing himself in the beat and rhythm, drowning in the music as deeply as he can.
consequently, he can’t sleep, not for longer than only a few hours at a time anymore, so he thinks he has to burn off some of this energy. not that he has any energy. still though, he goes off to a nearby park, before the break of dawn, and begins practicing once again. he puts great pride on his level of balance, but then he missteps and crumbles down, falling, and realizes too late that he had been badly positioned on the top of a hill. it’s not large or anything, but the sudden decline of the ground flings him onto a jogging path and he scrapes up his palms trying to stop himself. shit, that hurts.