24

'Only look. Do not like. Do not love. Do not want. Just look.'

Hyoyeon repeated these words to herself over and over like a mantra while tracking Hyukjae around the room.

All of a sudden, she froze because....

his movements slowly, but surely, were heading towards her ... until finally coming to a stop right next to her.

"Kim Hyoyeon.." he said her name slowly, eyes intently focused on the dance moves that she was trying to execute. Hyoyeon, with a laser-like focus, was determined not to let him find out her secret. It was just one more day... not even -- just one more hour

"Hmm..."

Minutes seem to tick away as she waited for him to give her his assessment but..... nothing.

All that came out of his mouth was the same sound - "Hmm....."

Hyoyeon frowned.

Everyone - literally EVERY ONE - else in the room had recieved glowing praise and words of encouragement but all she deserved was a "Hmm.."? Unable to control her annoyance at this unfair treatment, she made her moves even more powerful, precise and smooth until some students stopped what they were doing and turned their attention towards her. 

Hyukjae moved back slightly -- allowing her more room to do her thing. She couldn't really see the expression on his face since she was moving so much but when the music finally ended, she stopped - right in front of him - eyes glaring demandingly. It was a side of her that rarely came out; leaving even Hyoyeon herself surprised. 

But alas, the euphoria lasted only about five seconds longer. As reality kicked in and the sound of applause from her fellow students filled her ears, Hyoyeon's gaze instantly dropped to the ground  with cheeks that were rapidly gaining a pink flush. 

"Hmm..."

There it was again. 

'What the heck is it supposed to mean?' 

But before she could open to ask, Hyukjae had already moved on to the next student.

"Jung Nicole"

She heard him say. 

"Good form. I see you worked on what I said about controlling your hip movements..... Very good. ..... What's this? Have you secretly been taking classes with someone else? Where did you learn that 1-2 step footwork? ... I hope you take the Advanced Level class with Kahi noona next session. I think her dance style would be perfect for -- "

Hyoyeon turned away abruptly.

She didn't want to listen to anything more. Questions, curses, self-pitying words -- her mind was suffocating with thoughts it couldn't keep up with - and out of it all, one bothered her the most: Did I do something wrong to make him turn so cold?

"Unnie!"

"Hyoyeon unnie!"

She stopped dancing and shot the younger trio (who were calling her name) a puzzled look. "What?"

"Hyukjae ssem already announced break time!" 

"Huh?" Hyoyeon looked around in surprise.

"You were the only one still dancing," JiYoung giggled. 

Sure enough some people were sprawled out on the floor while others were  hanging out by the window sill or gathering around Hyukjae at the front of the room. A few were also not-so-discreetly eyeing her and snickering. Mortified, she turned pink once more "No! I made a fool of myself again!"

But the younger girls were quick to assauge her despair. MinYoung even threw a protective arm around her, "No worries, No problem, Hyo unnie! You would be the best dancer in here even if you were on crutches so turn that frown upside down and let's go to the convenience store! Do you remember promising to buy us snacks yesterday? Let's gooo!"

They were almost out the door when Hyoyeon halted, smacking her forehead - "Yah! I forgot to bring my purse. Hold on, I'll go get it."

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*whispers*  

("ohmygod!"

"isn't that...?"

"what is he doing here?"

"OH.MY.GOD! I'm hyperventilating!"

"where is my makeup compact? where is itt!!!!")

Hyoyeon had gathered up all her stuff and was just zipping up her bag when she felt a strange kind of frenzy overtake the room. Hushed whispers, a rising panic, girlish squeaking.... 'what in the world?'

She was about to stand up when she found a pair of red Converse sneakers right in front of her. 

Puzzled, her head shot up and found.......

.... a very good-looking guy grinning at her. 

A guy who looked a lot like her favorite singer and Korea's No.1 popstart- Rain.

"OH MY GOD IT'S... wait no, it can't be! Rain oppa's like 6 ft. tall... but then..... who... is.... he..?"

As if the boy in front of her could read her thoughts, he immediately extended his hand forward, "Hello. Hyoyeon ssi? I am Lee Junho. Nice to meet you."

'Lee Junho?' the name sounded familiar to Hyoyeon.

*more whispers*

("It's him!"

"I told you!"

"Wow! I can't believe he's right in front of my eyes!"

"he's so cute. ottohke?")

Suddenly, it struck Hyoyeon as well. Lee Junho was a trainee at JYP Entertainment - one of Korea's leading agencies. She had seen him on some Idol Survival show on television once but it was SooYoung who had recently told her that this soon-to-debut idol group called 2PM was also taking dance lessons at the Academy. It was definitely him. 

"Hyoyeon ssi... right?"

She quickly brushed away her thoughts and accepted his handshake with a still confused nod, "Yes... but... how do you know me? Have we met before?"

By now, the entire room was watching their interaction shamelessly; curious about how one of their fellow students knew a handsome idol band-member-to-be. Because although Hyoyeon herself had no idea, most of them had already seen Junho on television recently. He had been gaining a lot of popularity on a reality show called Hot Blood along with his bandmates so in their eyes, he was already a bona fide celebrity.

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"Aniyo," Junho smiled easily - it was a hundred different kinds of adorable how his eyes almost disappeared when he did - and Hyoyeon had to control the unexpected and strange urge to pinch his cheeks. 

"Then...?"

"We haven't met before but...." he gave her a little wink (which looked more like a double blink) "I am here to change that."

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A/N Surprised? i think HyoHae fans must hate me now. as well as HyoHyuk fans. my mind keeps taking detours :( this story is never going to end at this rate.... i kid! i will make sure to end it ok, so hang in there with me as we meander our way towards it.