LV Chapter 2.1 || The Sponsor, Mr. Clements

[228 W 43rd St.]

Sitting down in the entryway to put on his shoes, Sasya looked up the address on Google Maps that Karel’s secretary had provided. When he carefully examined the map, he saw Times Square nearby. He figured that if he went near the station, he could find the foundation office that George had mentioned.

‘I’ll come pick you up.’

At the end of their call, George had said that, wanting to meet formally to explain the proposal in detail. However, Sasya refused. He felt he could find his way on his own, and more importantly, he didn’t want to be indebted to George.

In fact, Sasya held a grudge towards Anton George, who was Mr. Clements’ secretary. The fact that he had never delivered a single one of his carefully sent emails to Karel Clements was so shocking that he still couldn’t calmly accept it. Though he no longer writhed in tears like the day he discovered this truth.

In truth, he felt strange about why he had cried so hard that day, and he even felt somewhat distanced from his past self. Anyway, the intense sense of loss and emptiness from that time still reverberated in Sasya’s heart, and it had grown into hatred and distrust towards George.

While squatting to tie his shoelaces, Vadim spoke to him from behind.

“You should wear something a bit cleaner.”

“This is the only pair I have.”

Just as he said, Sasya was wearing thin canvas sneakers even in the middle of winter. Although he lived in a dormitory and spent more time in ballet shoes than outdoor shoes, his shoes weren’t particularly worn out, but after being suspended, he had been going out more often, and they had gotten noticeably dirtier over the past few days.

Hearing Vadim’s words, the stained sneakers started to bother him. Especially the toe and side seams were heavily stained, as if mud had splashed on them.

Vadim silently sat down in front of Sasya and wiped the stained toe of his sneakers thoroughly with a wet wipe. Sasya’s ears turned red as he looked down. To avoid feeling humiliated, he pulled out a freshly laundered outfit he had carefully folded at the bottom of his sports bag, but he had no choice with his shoes.

“If you happen to meet your sponsor, don’t talk back like you did to me, but behave like an obedient child.”

“I’ve never talked back.”

As soon as Sasya responded, Vadim gave him a sharp look as if that very response was talking back. Sasya felt intimidated but still finished what he wanted to say.

“And I don’t think I’ll be able to meet Mr. Clements…”

“…”

“His secretary said that sponsors and sponsored individuals are usually forbidden from meeting.”

He tried not to show his disappointment, but his downcast eyes betrayed his feelings.

Vadim sighed briefly and helped Sasya up. Since he mentioned being called by the foundation, he hadn’t explicitly shown his emotions, but he clearly wasn’t entirely pleased. It was like he was reluctantly revealing an unfinished piece of work he had been hiding.

“Stop dawdling and hurry before you’re late!”

Sasya, who had his butt slapped by Vadim’s rough hand, checked the time, swallowed a sigh, and rushed out the door. The wooden and metal stairs clattered, the vibrations echoing all the way to the hallway.

Fortunately, as soon as Sasya entered the station, he was able to board a subway that had just arrived at the platform. Anxiously pressed against the window, which only showed darkness, he slipped out through the doors as soon as the announcement for Times Square station was made.

Times Square was as crowded as ever, just like always. Passing through the complicated station entrance mixed with road construction, repair works, police cars, taxis, and tourists, he walked along 41st Street, where neatly arranged office buildings were lined up. This area was traditionally home to many old media company offices, with the New York Times headquarters nearby.

Repeatedly checking the map and his surroundings, Sasya soon found the building’s entrance. It seemed to have been built around 100 years ago, with a vintage modern architectural style. The entrance was massive, reaching two stories high, and when he looked up, he saw the address ‘228’ written in a thin, sophisticated Gothic font.

‘This must be it.’

Through the glass door, he could see a black marble floor and a heavy, dark-colored desk. As Sasya hesitated at the entrance of this unfamiliar environment, a large man wearing a black suit like armor walked out from behind the desk. Sasya unconsciously tried to act like he was just passing by.

“Are you a visitor?”

However, it was the guard’s voice that caught him by the nape of his neck. Sasya had instinctively shaken his head but quickly nodded.

The guard placed his hand near his ear and muttered, ‘Looks like he’s here,’ looking at Sasya. Just as he was about to respond, thinking he was speaking to him, the guard pointed deep into the corridor. Only then did Sasya notice the small walkie-talkie in the guard’s ear. He had nearly been greatly embarrassed.

“The elevator is at the end of the corridor.”

Surprised by how smoothly he was allowed in, Sasya thanked the guard three times before stepping inside. The guard, with a raised eyebrow, nodded lightly and stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the empty lobby like a soldier in iron armor.

Woah…

Finding his posture incredibly disciplined, Sasya entered deeper into the building. He was amazed that he could enter without wearing a suit, having his ID checked, or going through baggage inspection. Moreover, the corridor wasn’t just boring stone walls. On either side, there were traditional accessory shops like hat stores, candy stores, and eyewear shops lined up.

Particularly drawn to the candy shop, Sasya approached the glass window decorated with beautiful cursive lettering. Below the store name, he saw ‘Since 1910.’ A candy store over 100 years old!

Unable to simply pass by, Sasya pressed against the window. Just then, the candy master was pouring a bluish candy with a thick texture onto a marble slab. The surface of the candy, just cooling after being heated, sparkled like a gem. The master, noticing Sasya outside the window, smiled. Sasya was mesmerized, watching him skillfully stretch and shape the candy mixture for quite some time.

Buzz, buzz.

He snapped back to reality due to a faint vibration. Reaching into his pocket, he slowly realized a call was coming in.

“Hello?”

― This is George. Are you coming?

The moment he heard George’s voice, a flood of forgotten information rushed into Sasya’s brain.

Goosebumps rose along his spine.

He had just arrived at Times Square, and time was already tight. Flustered and unable to make any excuses, Sasya heard the elevator doors open behind him. And the man who stepped out was someone he had seen once before.

“Ha.”

George, who had let out a short sigh, ended the call and stepped out of the elevator.

Although he had only seen him once, he was undoubtedly Karel’s secretary. George, with his hand on the elevator door, gestured to Sasya, who was standing stupidly in front of the candy shop. His expressionless face somehow seemed more intimidating than Vadim.

“Let’s go up.”

***

“Sasya Shchedrin. First, there’s something I want to make clear: your sponsor doesn’t judge you. Regardless of what values you hold or what kind of personality you have.”

“…”

“It means that support is neither increased nor cut off due to issues of character. That wouldn’t be proper sponsorship. He also strongly detests manipulating the emotions of those who are experiencing a sense of loss because of money.”

Sasya sat on a massive leather sofa large enough that he could lie down with plenty of room to spare. Beyond the vast reception room, there was an open window, and George happened to sit backlit by the sun. Because of this, his expression was hard to see, and he couldn’t read his mood, which made Sasya tremble inwardly.

Making a mistake in front of someone you don’t like is really hard to endure. All there would be was self-reproach, making it hard to even breathe. Clenching his fist, he dug his fingernails into his palm, trying to calm himself. His gaze was fixed on two beautifully shaped cookies and a glass of lemonade, but he didn’t feel like touching them. He had been feeling bloated whenever he ate cookies like those lately.

And before the panic of being late due to being distracted by the candy shop had subsided, George brought up his ‘suspension status’.

“But this is a bit different. You had conflicts with other students, right?”

He was shuffling through some documents. Sasya, unable to speed-read English, couldn’t understand the contents of the documents, but he recognized from the printed logo that they were documents sent by the school.

Would the sponsor have seen these too?

George stopped speaking and stared directly at him. Sasya barely remembered that his last statement had ended as a question.

“Ah, yes… Manuel was seriously injured and returned to France.”

“As a result of the violent incident?”

“Yes. I caused his injury.”

“So, was the cause of the conflict on your end?”

Sasya’s heart began to ache with a tingling sensation at George’s question.

The cause of the conflict.

That would be both right and wrong. If Manuel hadn’t been gay, if he hadn’t liked him, if he hadn’t forcefully attacked him while he was in a painful emotional state… perhaps such an incident wouldn’t have happened.

He still didn’t think it was entirely his fault, but thinking that things wouldn’t have happened if he had been more composed made him breathless.

“The report states it was a sexual confrontation. They didn’t specify the details to protect the students, but… it’s quite vague. Could I hear more details about this?”

Sasya had decided that if adults asked about the incident, he would tell the truth.

Because he didn’t have protective parents like Manuel’s, who would unconditionally cover up his mistakes, he would have to defend himself.

And he forcibly convinced himself that he had done nothing wrong. Heaven and the god within it would be his witness. If Manuel returned from France and apologized, if Julia and the teachers’ misunderstandings were resolved, if José’s heart, which had coldly turned away from him, softened, then everything would be okay. He believed that with time, everything would improve.

But the feelings he had buried seemed to have festered, and just recalling the incident made him choke up, making him speechless.

His mind wanted to explain things clearly and precisely, but something was blocking him. Perhaps it was because of George, who was looking at him like he was a stranger.

“Ah, and about the runaway incident during your suspension, and the illegal labor—can you explain those with valid reasons? The Sasya Shchedrin we received reports about was a student who diligently completed his studies for a year and was even selected as the top scholarship student last year… It’s hard to believe everything that’s happened in the past week.”

“I, I…”

When Sasya finally opened his mouth to defend himself, he heard a strange resonance from somewhere. It was like the sound of steam escaping through a pressure-filled pot lid.

Only after a while did Sasya realize it was his own labored breathing.

“Don’t scare him.”

A low voice spoke, and a large hand covered Sasya’s vision. The last thing he saw was George’s slightly surprised face. Around the wrist of the hand covering his eyes, something silver seemed to glint.

“I asked you to interview, not investigate, and that’s your problem, George.”

After briefly covering his field of vision, then immediately blocking his nose and mouth with one large hand, Sasya took several deep breaths. This was definitely a perfume he had smelled somewhere before.

The boy, who had suddenly hyperventilated from excessive tension, slowly calmed down in the large hand. Breathing in the damp air, he tilted his sweaty neck back and finally raised his head. Then, another hand gently patted his shoulder and slowly lowered his head, making him close his eyes.

Before closing his eyes, Sasya had clearly seen the face of the person who was calming him.

‘Mr. Clements.’

Repeating deep breaths within the large hand, Sasya slowly leaned back onto the leather sofa as guided. With each deep breath, the clean, refreshing scent of cypress filled his nose.

Sasya looked up at Karel upside down with a hazy vision. The left hand that had been calmly patting his shoulder disappeared into its owner’s pocket once Sasya seemed to have calmed down. Sasya’s long gaze followed that hand regretfully.

Sasya had thought Karel might look down at him once and ask if he was okay, but no such thing happened.

The sponsor continued to look only at his secretary, George, directly in front of him.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know how to handle a young boy.”

To George’s words, Karel simply nodded without scolding him.

And when Sasya thought he could breathe easily now, the hand had already disappeared without hesitation.

Sasya observed the ceiling pattern where Karel had been, listening to the footsteps moving away behind him.

‘Is he leaving?’

Moments later, a heavy door opened and then gently closed.

The cypress scent still lingered at the tip of his nose.

“Please get up now. Are you okay?”

At George’s words, Sasya rose his upper body sluggishly. After George handed him a handkerchief, Sasya quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead and neck and asked, “Is that the sponsor’s room?”

George didn’t answer, but Sasya’s gaze was fixed on the door made of dark wood and wouldn’t look away. He had definitely heard footsteps heading that way earlier.

He thought he might never meet his sponsor again, but the fact that he was actually quite close made his heart race.

Moreover, he appeared immediately when Sasya showed signs of anxiety, as if he had been watching all along.

Sasya suddenly turned to George and asked, “Mr. Clements must be busy, right? He has a lot of work every day and many guests…”

“…”

“He’s busy right now, isn’t he? I shouldn’t be interrupting, right?”

It was obvious what the child was trying to probe, but George didn’t answer. He just silently organized the documents and placed them in a black leather folder.

Sasya had become more talkative compared to earlier when speaking with George, and his speech had also accelerated. Although George thought he should respond somehow, as he had just admitted himself, he was not accustomed to dealing with children.

Moreover, there was Karel’s silent reproachful gaze.

So George chose to remain silent and simply follow his superior’s orders.

“He has nothing on his schedule right now. Come this way.”

At George’s words, Sasya jumped up from the sofa. He staggered once due to dizziness but moved with a very energetic motion.

As if understanding Sasya’s emptiness after Mr. Clements had cleanly disappeared, George approached the heavy door and knocked twice briefly. Sasya’s heart began to pound beyond a mere thump to a loud bang, thinking he might be able to peek inside.

As soon as he knocked, George pushed the door open.

“You may enter.”

Sasya, who hadn’t heard any voice from inside granting permission, hesitated but leaned his head past George’s arm holding the door.

Then he carefully took one step inside the opened door.

The first thing that caught his eye was the room’s size. It seemed even larger than the outer reception room. Following the black glossy carpet covering the entire floor, his gaze moved to see a person sitting in front of the central sofa table. It was his sponsor.

Sasya looked up at George with a face that seemed to ask what he should do. However, George simply closed the door behind him without a word.

Swallowing hard, Sasya slowly approached the sofa where Karel was sitting in the center of the room. The room was filled with things Sasya had never encountered before. While the reception room he had been sitting in earlier had a modern atmosphere with simple furniture, glass tables, abstract sculptures, and spaced-out areas, Karel’s office was full of antique furniture bearing the marks of time.

There were brown sofas made of soft leather that had been aging for many years, an armchair beside it, a table with impressive ornate legs, and even a golden candlestick on top that wasn’t lit.

Sasya moved carefully, making no sound as he approached Karel.

Karel was sitting quite comfortably on the sofa. Lifting his eyes slightly to confirm Sasya, he gestured for him to sit across from him and then leaned forward to reach for a plate on the table. It looked like the same type of cookies he had seen outside.

Karel picked up a cookie, broke it in half, and offered a piece to Sasya. The cookie piece, which Sasya had thought was as small as a fingernail, turned out to be quite big when he received it.

Sasya hesitated a bit. He usually didn’t like cookies because they made him feel bloated, but since it was offered…

Crunch.

After taking a bite of the cookie, the sweetness spreading from the tip of his tongue made him involuntarily sniff. After patiently waiting for Sasya to finish the half cookie, Karel spoke in a soft voice.

“I’ll apologize for my secretary’s behavior.”

“Apology?”

Sasya asked, startled.

“He’s new to New York. His speech might sound a bit stiff since English isn’t his native language.”

“It’s… It’s okay. I’m not good at English either. I understand.”

Karel laughed slightly at Sasya’s words. Feeling relaxed by his soundless laugh, Sasya reached for the remaining half of the cookie himself.

“As I said before, I’m not trying to interrogate you, and even less trying to criticize or scold you. It’s just that our reports have always shown ‘Sasya Shchedrin’ as a student more diligent in his studies than anyone else… and seeing such a significant change made me worried.”

“You were worried about me?”

Sasya asked in a small voice. Karel nodded, meeting his eyes.

Sasya felt a bit intimidated. Instead of meeting the sponsor to show his best side and receive praise, he was meeting him after causing worry, which made him incredibly embarrassed. His ears burned.

He wished he hadn’t chased him after that day’s practice. Now the sponsor would definitely recognize his face.

“The reason… of course, the reason is important, but I thought if we could find the problematic areas and provide the support you need, wouldn’t you become a good student again?”

“…”

“There’s always a limit to what the school can grasp.”

Saying this, Karel asked, “Is the reason for your suspension as described in the report true?”

At that question, Sasya recalled Karel’s earlier words. The phrase ‘this is an interview, not an interrogation’.

Sasya realized that even though Karel seemed generous, he was still conducting an interview. While the secret about Manuel was holding him back from speaking freely, Sasya’s desire to not appear as a pathetic student causing trouble was stronger.

And perhaps this was his first and last opportunity to explain his side.

“It’s true that I hit Manuel first. But I didn’t really want to hit him…”

As he said this, Sasya clasped his hands together and spoke the truth, slightly trembling. Sometimes when he looked up, his eyes would meet Karel’s. Unlike Sasya, who kept rolling his eyes, Karel didn’t take his gaze away even once and listened to Sasya’s story carefully.

“…I’m not gay.”

“…”

“I hate men. They disgust me. Ever since I was young, when I said I did ballet, my friends would tease me. Asking if I wanted to become a girl… Manuel was a good friend, but he tried to do something like that to me. I hated it so much.”

Even though he wasn’t lying, he felt as if Karel was observing him down to his bone marrow, which made his voice grow smaller.

Nevertheless, Sasya mustered courage and spoke to the end.

“I just kicked him… and Manuel happened to bite his tongue…”

After saying that much, Sasya took a silent deep breath while looking at Karel’s reaction. Holding his clenched fist tightly and trembling.

He finally told the truth that Manuel had been hiding.

A sense of guilt and relief washed over Sasya.

Sasya had always been curious. How would adults react if he spoke the truth about his innocence?

And Karel, unlike other adults he had met so far, didn’t look like he was scolding or doubting him. He simply drank a glass of water placed on the table with the same calm gaze as before.

Sasya looked at him with an anxious face. George had said that his sponsor wouldn’t judge him based on his values or character. Whether he was gay or not, that wasn’t important to a sponsor. Still, Sasya had mustered courage with the sole desire to clear his name in front of him.

“I believe you,” Karel said as he put down the glass.

“I will instruct to reinvestigate the incident when the other student returns. If your innocence is proven, you can also receive compensation for the suspension.”

Was it going to be resolved this easily?

Sasya opened his mouth, a bit overwhelmed, and nodded.

He too had been waiting for a moment like this, hoping that at least someone would be on his side, and for some reason, Sasya had always expected that his sponsor might do this. He had been very kind to him from the beginning and had never forgotten to send him a birthday card.

At the same time, Sasya was hurt by Manuel. He couldn’t understand why he didn’t tell the truth when he could receive such unconditional understanding from his parents.

“So what do you need most right now?” 

Sasya’s eyes opened wide at his question. The half-eaten cookie crumbled between his fingers.

“What I need?”

Karel nodded. Sinking into the sofa and leaning back comfortably, he didn’t seem like someone who would judge or evaluate him, just as George had said.

He was simply asking what he wanted. As if he would really listen.

Sasya, with cookie crumbs at the corner of his mouth, asked back in a daze.

“I always get scolded at school. I fought with Manuel, and while that wasn’t entirely my fault, I haven’t done anything particularly good. I’m curious why you’re still supporting me… I keep causing problems…”

“You’ll get to understand it with time.”

“…”

“If the student I support becomes an outstanding dancer in the future, everyone will say I was right.”

At that moment, Sasya almost burst into tears. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.

As time passes, the inflammation on his thigh will disappear, Manuel will return and confess the truth, he’ll use the money from the part-time jobs to enter competitions… When he graduates from school as the top student and joins a ballet company, everything will be okay.

What was making Sasya suffer was the people who were judging him. José, who thinks he hit Manuel without reason, Julia and other dormitory supervisors who are disappointed in him, and Vadim, who says he’s far from being a legendary ballet dancer despite being just a student.

The tears he had been holding back now filled his eyes. Sasya lowered his head and silently wiped his tears with the back of his hand. No matter how much he wiped, the tears kept overflowing.

Karel spoke in a low voice.

“I heard you’re looking for part-time jobs. If you need money, I’ll support your living expenses. If you’ve been kicked out of the dormitory, I can also support you by giving you a place to live. If you want to see your mother, I can send you a plane ticket.”

“…”

“I’ll do all of that if you want. But in return…”

“In return?”

Sasya, with a choked throat, asked back.

“Promise me you’ll become a wonderful dancer.”

This was something he had been hoping for as well.

“Graduate as the top scholarship student and join a ballet company… And become the youngest principal at around twenty-two. How’s that?”

“I’ll do that. I’ll definitely do that!”

“Let’s surprise everyone together.”

“Ah… thank you. Thank you…”

Sasya cried, his face a mess of tears and snot. He wanted to crawl to Karel’s knees and cling to his pants, but he held back, afraid of startling the sponsor.

As Sasya trembled with emotion and cried, he soon started hiccupping intensely. Karel, looking slightly embarrassed, approached him and patted his back, making him drink cold water. With the sponsor holding the cup to his mouth, Sasya tilted his head back and gulped the water. While glancing at Karel’s focused side profile, he suddenly choked and spit water all over his clothes.

“Oh no…”

Even then, the sponsor didn’t make an upset face and just continued patting Sasya’s back while he coughed. Only Sasya was concerned about the wet shirt and tie. Eventually, Sasya couldn’t help himself and clung to his solid waist, crying.

* * *

“Levin. I told you I got a call from the scholarship foundation, right? Just now, the secretary and the sponsor came and interviewed me directly…”

Sasya was holding his phone while looking at the back of the car that had just dropped him off – a sleek, heavy black car pausing at the end of the street, preparing to exit. His sponsor must be in that car.

While sadly watching its back, the car turned right at the intersection and disappeared from view.

― Wow, you must have been nervous.

“Yeah. I was extremely nervous.”

― Did you answer clearly?

“I’m not sure. I tried to, but I was actually quite anxious…”

Sasya had hidden the fact that he had hyperventilated while talking to the secretary and that he had ended up crying in front of the sponsor.

― What’s the result?

“I’m not sure about that either. The secretary said they’ll contact me soon. He said he could support my living expenses and help with rent. He even said he’d send a plane ticket to my mother if I needed it.”

― That’s really great! I hope it works out.

“Yeah, but I’d prefer help with rent. That’s the most urgent.”

Sasya, still with reddened eyes from crying, wiped his nose and entered Vadim’s apartment gate.

Vadim’s apartment was on the first unit of the second floor in a three-story building that shared a small garden. As soon as he heard the clanging of the small iron stairs, Levin asked if he had already arrived at the teacher’s house.

“Hey, so…”

― Yes?

“Do you lose points for crying during an interview?”

―Hmm… Well, it’s not like they’re scoring you. But generally, it’s probably better not to cry.

“Haah…”

From Sasya’s deep sigh, Levin could easily imagine the scene. If only he had acted more composed. For some reason, it seems he was overwhelmed with emotion and ended up crying. Sasya sighed ‘haah’ once more.

Probably the one most regretful about it was Sasya himself. So Levin didn’t say much more, just left some positive words.

―Everything will work out, Sasya.

“Yeah. I’ll call you later.”

After hanging up, Sasya sat down on the stairs. His lean legs, with muscles and bones, stretched across two steps. Five mynas kept by the woman living on the first floor chirped towards Sasya.

Looking at this scene, Sasya unconsciously touched the tips of his thumb and index finger together. It felt like the texture of the sponsor’s clothes was still lingering on his hands.

The crisp woolen texture, and the hard torso and thighs where he could feel the bones right under the skin.

It felt like hugging a hard old tree. If he were to exaggerate a bit, he thought he’d get a bump on his forehead when he rested his head on his abdomen. While touching his forehead, Sasya recalled the one time he was hugged by his grandmother when he was young. Because his grandmother was plump, when he hugged her, it felt soft and fluffy.

Mr. Clements’ embrace was completely different.

Still, it was strange that he found his embrace comfortable. Maybe the reason was that he wasn’t someone who would scold or evaluate him. In fact, when he heard George’s words that he wouldn’t judge him by his character, he was somewhat disappointed. It sounded like he wouldn’t praise him even if he was a good student.

But thinking about it now, he was rather glad about that.

Moreover, the sponsor had waited until Sasya completely stopped crying. He seemed to have noticed that the more he tried to comfort him, the more Sasya’s sorrow grew.

“Haah.”

Sasya sighed deeply again. He kept regretting not being more mature.

If George hadn’t come in and informed him of the sponsor’s next schedule, he might have kept crying like that.

Still, the sponsor had generously driven him here. He didn’t show any sign of being annoyed or wasting time with a child… It was completely opposite to George’s attitude of treating his emails as useless pranks.

‘Promise me you’ll become an outstanding dancer.’

I’ll really achieve it.

I don’t just want to be an ordinary dancer.

The moment he recalled Karel’s voice, Sasya stomped down the iron stairs. Using the stair railing as support, he extended his right arm in arabesque and lightly kicked back and forth. Even in jeans, his legs were so straight.

After loosening his legs, Sasya extended his right leg back, doing an arabesque pose. Then, lifting his leg high while supporting his lower back, he elegantly did a penché¹. Standing up again, he deeply bent his left leg in a plié and suddenly took an attitude pose. The mynas shouted ‘Bravo!’ at his beautiful pose, like a music box figurine.

Sweat dampened his spine. Regardless, Sasya did en dehors² turns in his canvas sneakers. On the fourth turn, his axis wobbled, but he held on with his ankle strength until the end. Sasya Shchedrin, whom he had seen in videos, had done the same. Even if his axis wavered a bit, he persistently held on. That way, the viewer’s impression would last longer. It was something worth learning.

On the friction of cement and grass, Sasya continued turning like a spinning top. Continuing without stopping, during his sixteen pirouette turns, the owner of the mynas on the first floor opened the door, wondering what was happening.

「You’re really good!」

Sasya didn’t understand the foreign language. When an unexpected audience member saw him and smiled, Sasya suddenly stopped in his place.

“Haa, haa…”

After stopping his dance, all he could hear was the chirping of birds, his own breathing, and his heart beating much faster than would be appropriate for a calm everyday moment. Feeling the silence, he became embarrassed by the memory of dancing in the empty garden as if hypnotized.

“Keep it up.”

It was an immigrant’s accented English. However, Sasya, his face turning red with shyness, fled up the stairs. His slender legs, hidden by his jeans, sprung like a spring, taking three steps at a time, and he quickly disappeared into the second-floor door.

* * *

For four days after the interview, no contact came from George. During this time, Sasya had perfectly adapted to a life without a home.

In the morning, he would wake up earlier than Vadim’s commute time and stretch under his supervision. After Vadim left, grumbling, Sasya crawled back under the blanket and slept until around 11. Then, during lunch, he secretly threw away the cold food Vadim had prepared and went to Levin’s school to eat. Levin’s roommates also occasionally bought him meals. Even if it was just a $2 pizza or food from a food truck, Sasya was grateful and ate well.

After parting with them in the afternoon, Sasya would stop by the backstage of the Met Opera. The lighting staff, who would always open the backstage door for Sasya to practice alone, would greet him with a smile. He had been anxious, thinking he might be denied entry due to his suspension, but fortunately, it seemed the opera house staff were unaware that he was suspended. Although I must add, they didn’t even know his name.

Sasya would stretch alone in the busy backstage before a performance and secretly watch the ballet dancers changing into their costumes. One of the principals would mess up his hair before leaving, and Sasya would look at him with admiration.

“I know your face. You’re a ballet student, right?”

A dancer in stage costume asked. Sasya nodded without answering.

“Do you always come to watch?”

Sasya nodded again without answering. He tried to engage him further, but losing interest in his lack of response, he soon left.

Sasya stared at his back and approached the gaps between the platforms where he could see the opera house auditorium before the performance started. This opera house signaled the start of a performance by raising chandeliers on the ceiling. The sight of several beautiful chandeliers, shaped like bursting fireworks, rising simultaneously captivated Sasya. His white cheeks would easily blush while looking up at them.

And when Vadim would finish work, he would return home and have dinner with him. Before sleeping, he would not forget to apply a hot compress to the inflammation in his thigh.

Fortunately – or unfortunately due to his suspension – his injury was healing quickly. Vadim said that for this type of inflammation, the only solution was to rest and not overexert himself.

On the fifth day after the interview, a call came from an unknown number.

— This is George. One of the things Mr. Clements promised has been prepared faster than expected. Shall we meet?