I stared at the champagne-colored dress, the fabric to feel the small jewels imbedded into the material. I didn’t want to know if they were real diamonds or not, and I most certainly didn’t want to know where Jongdae had found a dress like this.

I slumped over, my head reeling. 

Christmas Eve was only a week away, and I was so nervous I felt like I was about to pop. Where had all the time gone?

Maybe it had been lost between school, lunch, hanging out with Yeonhee when I wasn’t training, and trying to fit homework and studying for exams into all that.

Simply put, Yeonhee was amazing. The last time I was friends with a girl was before my mother died, and I had never been as close to them as I felt I was with her. She was dedicated to her studies, which I appreciated and respected more than you could imagine, but she also fit right into our small friend group like a glove. She and Sehun, who I found out was in the year below us, immediately clicked, and she settled into the space between him and Tao at our table. 

Yeonhee also knew how to do all the “girly” things I’d missed out on--how to put on makeup, how to coordinate an outfit, how to flirt--which I realized were mostly things I would’ve learned in my first couple years of high school. I wasn’t complaining, though--I’d gladly shut out all those “normal” things again if it meant meeting Kai and going on the biggest adventure I’d ever had in my life.

It’s true, though, that it was one scary adventure.

Jongdae had us all meet at his place earlier that day to put finishing touches on the plan--AKA weave in how we were going to get my father out of Galaxy’s before the cops arrived--and had warned us about the dangers of the plan. 

Of course, though, when he asked if anyone wanted out last minute, not one soul raised their doubts. No one even flinched as Jongdae listed off how easy it would be to get shot, stabbed, otherwise wounded, or killed (not even Kyungsoo looked put off). We were all deadly serious. And we knew how committed we had to be to pull this off.

My phone rang, grabbing me out of my thoughts. Without checking the caller ID, I picked up.

“Hello?”

“Eunji? It’s Yeonhee,” a clear, comforting voice came through the line.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Not much, um,” she began, sounding a bit strangled. “I was just wondering, um...”

I shifted on my bed so I was sitting upright. “What’s wrong, Yeonhee?”

“Nothing! Nothing’s wrong, I just wanted to... ask you something.”

“Okay, well, shoot,” I said, relaxing a bit, but not entirely.

“I know you’re not the best at this stuff, but I wanted your opinion... Do you think I should ask Sehun out?” she asked, and I nearly fell backwards onto my bed. That’s what she wanted to ask?

“What?” I questioned. “That’s what this is about?”

I could hear her groan over the line. “Ugh. I’m sorry. I didn’t know who else to ask. I just... I’ve been waiting for him to ask me out, but he hasn’t yet. And I can tell he likes me! So it’s been driving me insane,” she said, and I furrowed my brows.

“How can you tell he likes you?” I asked bluntly, and she laughed.

“A lot of it is the way he looks at me. I catch him staring at me from time to time and when we talk it always feels like we’re in our own little bubble. Plus, he’s always going out of his way to do things for me. Did you see him buy me sweet cakes the other day? They cost extra, but he bought some for me, and when I told him I would pay him back he scrunched up his nose really cutely and said, ‘Why would you do that?’ He’s just so cute, Eunji! I don’t know what to do! Why hasn’t he asked me out yet?” she whined.

My mouth opened and closed like a fish. That’s how she knew? But... That could just be him! He could just be being nice! How was she so sure?

“Um, because I am. I just feel it,” she suddenly said, and my face went bright red even though I was completely alone in my room. I’d said that aloud, hadn’t I?

“You just feel it?” I echoed, and she laughed in my ear.

“Oh, please, you can’t be serious, right? You’re the queen of observation! Surely you’ve noticed the way Baekhyun and Kai look at you,” she said, and I froze in place.

“What?” I asked sharply, and she gasped.

“Oh my God, you are serious. How can you not notice? They always look like they’re about to rip each other’s throats out over you,” she huffed.

“But... But that’s...” I spluttered, at a loss of words. 

“But nothing! They both like you Eunji. I don’t know how you haven’t realized that,” she groaned, and I flopped against my bed.

I guessed that when I put it into perspective, them liking me would make sense. Especially the way Baekhyun acted around me, and the way Kai got... oh my God... he got possessive when Baekhyun goofed off around me for attention. 

My stomach twisted in an almost pleasant way. Keyword: almost.

“Eunji?” I heard from the phones speaker, and I quickly tuned ba