The Dance Challenge (1)
“So this is what the kids these days are into?”
They say ten years can change the course of a mountain, but twenty years had truly transformed everything. Among today’s young people, the trend was apparently filming challenge videos—dancing to popular songs and uploading them to internet platforms. Back in my day, we only ever went to PC cafes or pool halls….
“But your face will be exposed. Is that really okay?”
“That’s what makes it even better. If it gets a lot of views, you can get advertising offers or even idol casting calls.”
“Tsk.”
“Just once. Can’t you film it with me just once? Please?”
Dohee insisted that my face alone would guarantee a million views and begged me to join her video. She called it the perfect chance to grow her channel.
“Fine. I’ll do it.”
When my niece, whom I hadn’t seen in twenty years, asked so earnestly, what uncle could possibly refuse?
“What kind of dance is it?”
I asked with complete confidence. After all, I had danced until I was sick of it in the other world. The nickname “Butterfly of High Society” hadn’t come out of nowhere. Covering an idol dance routine? I could do that with my eyes closed.
“This one!”
Dohee showed me one of the trending challenge videos. It was a clip of people dancing to the highlight choreography of an idol song.
“It doesn’t look that hard.”
Since the moves were designed specifically for challenges, even beginners could follow along easily.
“Shall we try it right away?”
It seemed like I wouldn’t even need to practice. I shrugged and started dancing alongside Dohee.
But….
“Hmm?”
The moment I actually tried, things refused to go as planned. It felt like my head and body were operating on completely different wavelengths.
“Hah… should we try it one more time?”
Wondering if it had just been a fluke, I played the song again. The result was exactly the same. When I watched the recorded footage, I looked like a wooden puppet.
“It’s harder than it looks, right?”
“Yeah… it’s a bit difficult.”
We decided to practice the choreography a little more before filming again. Maybe my body had tensed up because it was a style of dance I’d never tried before. It was fine. After a few more attempts, I’d surely get the hang of it.
“…….”
Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for that optimistic thought to crumble. After more than thirty minutes, I still couldn’t get past the third move. That was when I finally realized the truth.
I was, in fact, an absolutely terrible dancer.
The reason I had always believed I danced well was simply because my partners had been excellent at leading. Without someone to support me from the side, my pathetic skill level was laid completely bare. I was a bona fide body-idiot.
“…….”
Dohee narrowed her eyes and stared at me. Her gaze was filled with disbelief.
“Didn’t you say you were good at dancing?”
“I thought I was… until now. Guess I was wrong.”
I had simply been lucky enough to have good partners. I was nothing more than an ordinary person. I swore to myself that I would never again claim I could dance well.
“Should we start over from the beginning?”
“Y-yeah…”
Time passed like that. Before we knew it, a full hour had gone by.
“I don’t think this is going to work…”
We mutually agreed to switch to a different challenge. My dancing skills were clearly not improving.
“How about this one?”
I picked a challenge that looked easy at first glance.
“What kind of dance is this, though?”
It had seemed simple, but the vibe was completely different from any dance I knew. I wasn’t even sure if this could properly be called dancing.
“It’s a trending cat meme right now.”
“A cat meme?”
To help me understand, Dohee played a clip of a news anchor saying, “A cat is walking across the completely frozen Han River.”
“That’s a meme? Why?”
“I have no idea either.”
Even Dohee didn’t know why it had become a meme. She was just doing it because everyone else was. I decided not to overthink it. After all, it’s natural for older people to struggle to understand the younger generation.
‘It really is easier than the last one.’
Since it wasn’t based on idol choreography, it was noticeably simpler than the previous dance. But this time, a different problem emerged.
“My rhythm keeps getting off.”
It turned out I had a serious case of beat-deafness. Challenge videos required dancing to a precise beat, so the moment I missed the timing, I had to start over from the beginning. As a result….
Even after practicing for over two hours, we still hadn’t succeeded once.
“Want to take a short break?”
“No! We haven’t succeeded even once yet!”
“That’s true, but…”
“Come on!”
Dohee forcibly pulled me to my feet and started the music without giving me any time to prepare. Doom-chit. Doom-chit.
I let out a small sigh, but the thought of disappointing my beloved niece made me move my body with everything I had. Maybe that effort paid off.
‘This feels good.’
The take we had just started was progressing more perfectly than any of our previous attempts. I hadn’t made a single mistake past the halfway point.
‘Now I just need to do the walking part…’
Just a little more. I focused hard, refusing to let my concentration slip even at the end.
And then, right as the final section began—
“Dohee?”
The familiar voice from beside me made me instinctively turn my head. It was my sister’s voice.
“Unnie!”
“Ah.”
Thanks to that, this take also ended in failure.
“We were so, so close!”
Dohee puffed out her cheeks, clearly disappointed.
“Sorry. But I think I’ve got the feel for it now, so if we try again—”
“Dohee. Who is that person?”
At that moment, my sister approached us and asked while looking at me warily.
“Well…”
Dohee glanced at me. It seemed like she was asking if it was okay to tell the truth. I slowly nodded. There was no reason to hide my real appearance from my sister.
“It’s me. Sihyun. Your little brother.”
“What?”
— Flashback Sequence —
“So here’s what happened…”
Yoo Sihyun gave Yoo Jinah the same explanation he had given Dohee earlier, this time with even more detail.
“So what you’re saying is…”
After listening, Jinah asked with an incredulous look.
“That’s your real face? The one from before was a fake one made with magic?”
“It’s not exactly that the face itself is fake, but…”
Hans had been a real butler who worked for the Evelin family. Sihyun had simply borrowed his appearance and name. Hans wasn’t a fictional person.
“It’s basically the same thing. Anyway…”
Yoo Jinah let out a deep sigh.
“If there’s anything else you’re hiding, tell me now. Don’t surprise me with it later.”
“There’s nothing. This really is everything.”
“You’re sure?”
“What would I have to hide from you, sis?”
Yoo Jinah narrowed her eyes but eventually nodded slowly.
“Alright. Let’s say I believe you for now…”
Her gaze shifted to her daughter. Dohee flinched and spoke as if forcing the words out.
“I-I was wrong…”
“Mom is sorry.”
“Huh?”
Dohee looked up in a daze.
“M-Mom?”
Yoo Jinah had bowed her head deeply.
“Mom was wrong. No matter how upset I was, I shouldn’t have raised my voice like that…”
“No! You didn’t do anything wrong, Mom. I’m the one who was wrong…”
Jinah immediately bowed her head as well.
“I-I’m more sorry… I got angry for no reason…”
While talking with Sihyun, Dohee had naturally started thinking about her mother as well.
‘Unnie must have gone through so much.’
Jinah had lost her parents and younger brother at an age not much older than Dohee was now. To lose both mom and dad in a single day? It was something she didn’t even want to imagine. Just thinking about it made her chest feel tight.
And today, the uncle she thought was dead had miraculously returned. Yet she had gotten angry at him simply because it was inconvenient to live with her mother’s brother. How painful that must have been for her mom.
Dohee bowed her head deeply in apology.
‘Thank goodness.’
Watching the two of them, Sihyun smiled softly.
‘Looks like their reconciliation is pretty much done…’
Sihyun interrupted their conversation and asked,
“There’s still one more misunderstanding we need to clear up, isn’t there?”
He continued calmly.
“The reason you two fought wasn’t just because of what happened today. I know the timing is a bit awkward, but…”
“…….”
“Where is my brother-in-law right now?”
“How do you…”
For a moment, Jinah’s eyes widened as she looked back and forth between Sihyun and Dohee.
“I heard everything from Dohee. You’ve been preventing her from seeing her father for over a year now.”
“That’s…”
If they didn’t resolve the root of the problem, the same thing would only keep repeating. They might be able to reconcile with a few words for now, but if this situation continued, the emotional rift would only deepen until an invisible wall formed between them. As their family, he could not stand by and watch such a tragedy unfold.
“So…”
Jinah bit her lip hard. She was clearly struggling with whether or not to reveal the truth.
“It’s just that…”
After a long moment of hesitation, she lowered her head completely. She simply didn’t have the courage to tell her daughter the truth.
“I-I’m sorry…”
She was far too fragile a person to calmly speak the truth.
‘As expected, it’s not that easy.’
Seeing her reaction, Sihyun let out a small sigh. He had suspected as much. If it had been something she could say easily, she wouldn’t have hidden it all this time.
“Alright. I won’t ask anymore. There must be a reason you’re hiding it this much. Instead…”
After glancing at his niece, Sihyun asked,
“Just answer me this one thing. Is my brother-in-law still alive?”
There were people like this sometimes. People who hid the truth because they thought the other person was too young, or not ready to accept it. They might believe they were being considerate, but for the person forced to wait endlessly, there was nothing more painful.
‘A year is long enough.’
Dohee’s heart had already been worn down to nothing. She must have sensed it too—that something had happened to her father. That he might… even be dead. Otherwise, there would be no reason for her mother to hide it so desperately.
But.
‘If that really is the case…’
It would be better to tell her honestly. He didn’t want to leave the entire burden on her shoulders. He wanted to carry it with her. To suffer together.
Thump. Thump-thump.
Fearing that her worst worries might be true, Dohee fixed her gaze on the speaker with a fragile expression, like someone waiting for a truth she didn’t want to hear.
“It’s not like that. Why would your dad be dead…”
Jinah forced a smile as she spoke. This wasn’t her usual evasive answer. It was the truth Dohee had waited a whole year to hear.
“Ah.”
At that short reply, Dohee let out a deep sigh of relief. Thank goodness. It really was such a relief… that her father hadn’t died without her knowing.
With a slightly more relaxed face, Dohee looked at her mother.
“Mom can’t tell you the details right now, but…”
Her mother trailed off uncharacteristically.
“Can you wait just a little longer? Just a tiny bit longer?”
She promised that when the time came, she would tell her the entire truth without leaving anything out.
“…….”
Her voice trembled noticeably as she spoke.
“Okay. I’ll wait.”
Dohee nodded slowly and gently hugged her mother. For today, simply confirming that her father was alive was more than enough.
— Present —
“Hmm…”
I slowly looked around. It was quiet. Far too quiet. Even though there were three people in the house, the only sound was breathing.
‘Did I say too much…?’
The atmosphere had grown awkward because of me, and it made me feel incredibly uncomfortable.
Startled, my eyes suddenly met my sister’s in midair. Her gaze was as sharp as the bitter cold of midwinter, so I quickly looked away.
“Ahem. Hm.”
I let out an awkward laugh and stood up, heading toward Dohee’s room.
Knock knock.
“D-Dohee?”
I called out to her carefully.
“You don’t want to finish filming that video from earlier? I have a feeling we’ll actually succeed this time. If you’re up for it, want to go film it together?”
There was no answer.
‘She probably doesn’t want to go anymore.’
After everything that had happened, it made sense that she’d be exhausted. I should just let her rest today. I nodded to myself and turned to leave.
Creak!
At that moment, the firmly closed door burst open.
“Let’s go!”
Dohee came out of her room, grabbed my arm, and said,
“Are you sure? If you want to rest, you can.”
“I’m fine! We have to finish it today!”
Dohee spoke with renewed determination. I had thought she would be down, but… she seemed surprisingly okay. Or maybe she was just forcing herself to act fine.
“Sis, we’re going out for a quick walk.”
“Alright. Just don’t stay out too late.”
My sister nodded quietly.
“W-we’ll be back!”
After giving an awkward goodbye, Dohee hurried out of the house.
“Okay. Be safe.”
We headed to a nearby park to film the video.
“I’ll start right away!”
“Okay.”
We were the pair that had come so close to succeeding before. As if to prove it hadn’t been a fluke, we managed to complete the challenge in less than an hour after starting the shoot.
“D-did we do it? For real? Really?”
“I-I think so…”
“…….”
“…….”
After the intense practice, sweat was pouring down both of us. As if we had planned it in advance, we turned our heads at the same time and stared at each other.
“Kyaaaaaaa!”
We threw our arms around each other and celebrated our success.
See? I told you I could dance.