And that was how I spent a good majority of my days and nights; with Hyuk, perfecting his dance and giving him suggestions on choreography.

            When their performance required it, I was in the dance ensemble. As accomplished as I felt, it only served as a reminder of how far I still had to go before debut. Although I was the only trainee who made it into the concert performance, I was placed in the back because comparatively, I wasn't as skilled as the Nana School dancers. They had dedicated their entire life to the art of dance and I was still fresh and inexperienced to true performances of a grand scale. So I practiced hard, watching Hongbin and the other members from the back. They heaved and they sweated. They practiced until their legs turned to jelly, and I wasn't going to lose to them. I wasn't going to settle on being in the back for every song.

            When I wasn't practicing with the group, Hyuk was glued next to me. Every time there was down time or when his hyungs were practicing their solo stages, we would use that time to dance secretly. He wanted it to be as much a surprise to his hyungs as the Starlights. It amazed me once again how mature Hyuk was and how his playful, sarcastic attitude was quickly replaced with a serious, focused one when it came to taking the stage. I was grateful that he did serve as a valid excuse as to why I hadn't interacted with Hakyeon and Taekwon, but on the other side of the coin, I was a little bummed that I didn't have time to catch up with Hongbin.

            Whenever he was at practice, he looked exhausted. With his drama and concert preparation, his plate was absolutely full. He had to make up time that he lost with intensity. I watched him worriedly, but didn't want to distract or disturb him. So I took care of him in subtle ways. I'd place water bottles near his stuff. I'd turn the fan towards his direction if he was drenched in sweat. After all, he had helped me more than he could ever know just by being himself. I'm sure Taekwoon, Hakyeon, and his other group members shared the same sentiments.  

            Speaking of Taekwoon and Hakyeon, ever since I received that ominous text message from Taekwoon, I had been avoiding them like the plague. It seemed that they did reconcile, judging from the bubbly, loving atmosphere circulating them. I had a feeling they finally confessed because the look in their eyes when they looked at each other was no longer wistful and in pain, but bright and adoring.

            Why was I avoiding them?

            Well, frankly, I was pretty embarrassed.

            I had fantasized and crushed on Taekwoon for about a year now, and the shame was overwhelming. I couldn't face him without remembering the times I misinterpreted his actions or dreamt about the day he would confess his hidden feelings for me. While those days seemed like ages ago, it felt like the time in between was similar to someone's growth and maturity from middle school to university. My silly one sided crush flopped but didn't go unnoticed. It made it worse when I remembered that Hongbin, of all people, had seen through my self-claimed impenetrable facade of indifference with Taekwoon. In addition, now knowing that Hakyeon and I vied for the same man and that I fell inexplicably on my face in comparison to their depth of love, I felt embarrassed to no end. It was a childish crush that I never wanted the world to know about. While I had no inkling of desire left for the man, the very thought of having had them haunted me. Part of me was afraid that Taekwoon had figured me out and wanted to discuss it over coffee. If that became a reality, I would be utterly mortified. To prevent it coming to fruition, I ran away and avoided being alone with them as much as I could. Whether Hyuk caught on or not, I never really knew, but he did appear whenever Taekwoon went to approach me. So I was relieved and grateful regardless.

            However, one day, I wasn't so lucky. I came out of the bathroom grinning like an idiot because my duet stage with the maknae was coming out excellently and both of us were now on the same wavelength. Both of us had something to prove. In different degrees, we were the underdogs; the people that had been in the back or the sides for too long so we were going to pull all the stops to shine together. I was quickly retracted from my thoughts by a long arm blocking my path and I stepped back in surprise to find Jung Taekwoon staring at me intently.

            I laughed nervously as I bowed, "H-he-he- hello sunbaenim."

            "Saturday. The cafe down the street. 10am." he mumbled.

            I had to lean in to hear him.

            "What?"

            "Coffee." he increased his volume. "Saturday at the cafe down the street. I'll be there at 10 am."

            I blinked, a bit astonished. "I ... umm..."

            "I want to talk to you about a lot of things. So please." his gaze bore into my face.

            His eyes seemed to be pleading with me with a gentle seriousness, so all I could do was nod. With that, he smiled slightly and his heels to disappear just as quickly as he had appeared.

            I froze as I realized what had happened. I leaned back against the nearest wall and let panic take over. I was meeting Jung Taekwoon for coffee because he wanted to discuss things? This was it. This is where he was going to officially reject me and I have to explain in embarrassment that I hadn't felt anything for him in a few months now so he didn't need to feel sorry. Would it be weird to apologize for liking him? Or for being used as a pawn for jealousy unknowingly? For sticking my nose in their business and dedicating a piece for their love? My head reeled with unanswered questions, but I knew that for a fact, I couldn't stand up my sunbaenim. I had to go to the cafe on Saturday.

            With a sigh, I walked back to the practice room.

            Hongbin exhaled as he stepped out of the bathroom, shaking his head disapprovingly, having overheard the entire conversation. He wanted to approach you during practices and ask how you were doing. He felt awful he didn't have time to visit you in the hospital, much less welcome you back personally. By the time you two were finally in the same room, you and Hyuk had developed some sort of bond in his absence. Every time he glanced over to see if you were free, Hyuk would be by your side and doing moves together that irked him. In order to get the dance, he thought about watching you through the mirror but it served more as a distraction than an aid. He found the way you expressed the emotions of the song on your face awe-inspiring and the way you danced so fluidly-- it was a work of art. What topped it all off was the pure fire of ambition in your eyes. It made him laugh knowing you weren't going to simply settle for being happy that you had been chosen, you wanted to raise the bar and push your limits. He knew he had to do the same. He couldn't lose to you, especially since he was the idol, and it was his concert. Willing his body to move just a few minutes more, he practiced until he couldn't any longer.

            But another thing that bothered him was your odd behavior around Taekwoon. It reminded him of the first few times he had watched you and figured out about your feelings. You would dip your head and look panic-stricken whenever he seemed to get closer. Your face would become flushed and your eyes would flitter about nervously. Did you still have feelings for Taekwoon? And why exactly did that bother him? He shook those thoughts away and made his way to the practice room, making a mental note about the day and time your meeting was supposed to be.

~

            Saturday came, and I paced around in my apartment, trying to figure out what to wear. I wasn't there to impress Taekwoon nor did I want to appear like I wanted to look good for him, but I also didn't want to look like a slob. He was still a respected sunbaenim that I looked up to after all. I threw on a simple short sleeve dress and put my hair in a loose ponytail then was on my way.

            Taekwoon sat prettily with his legs crossed in the far corner of the coffee shop, staring out the window as if deep in thought. I approached him shyly and he smiled, gesturing for me to take a seat.

            "Hakyeon told me your usual order, so I ordered it for you." he stated.

            I nodded meekly. "Thank you, sunbaenim."

            "No I should really be thanking you."

            I dared to look at him, surprised by his words. "What?"

            "You helped us didn't you?" Taekwoon asked and all I could do was stare at him. Should I admit it? I wasn't supposed to know and I didn't want Hongbin to get in trouble for spilling the secret.

            "What? Who?" I feigned ignorance.

            Taekwoon chuckled, "It's okay. Hongbin confessed to us that he told you when we visited you at the hospital on the day of the audition. He wanted to make sure your efforts didn't go unnoticed."

            I blushed. "I wasn't doing it for attention..."

            "I know." he smiled warmly. "And that's why I felt like I really needed to thank you personally somehow."

            "You must've had a hard time convincing Hakyeon not to come along." I chuckled.

            He nodded, "You have no idea. But I wanted to thank you on my own, in my own way. You've only helped me kindly on a few occasions now and I haven't even done anything for you."

            I shook my head, "You're my respected sunbaenim, and I'm friends with both you and Hakyeon too...so it's just what friends do..."

            I trailed off  realizing that maybe Taekwoon hadn't really considered me a friend, since we only conversed a few times.

            But Taekwoon nodded and grinned. "I really appreciate you. That's why I wanted to clear up any misunderstandings about mine and Hakyeon's behaviors towards you. I only ever thought of you as a friend and not someone I could use."

            Although the clear rejection stung a bit, I couldn't help but smile at his confession. We were clearing the air and I could see the possibilities of a deep friendship forming.

            "But in Hakyeon's case, he was using you." he muttered underhandedly and I giggled at him throwing his boyfriend under the bus. "I'm completely innocent."

            "So the arm pulling meant what exactly?" I relaxed into my seat, now certain that Taekwoon would never find out about my previous crush on him.

            The waitress placed our drinks on the table and Taekwoon remained silent until she left. Then he responded, "Well, I really was always intrigued by you."

            My eyes widened in astonishment. "Me?"

            "Hakyeon spoke so highly of you, and from my studio I saw how hard working you were. Hakyeon raved about how you treated him as a person rather than an idol so he felt comfortable with you. So I began observing you from afar and I felt like we could be good friends too. I wanted to get to know Hakyeon's close friends better as well and for them to like me for his sake...but I never knew how to go about it. So I was super happy when you approached me first."

            I smiled. I was also thankful for that moment of bravery too because it really became the catalyst of my current clarity.

            "So... friends?" he questioned timidly.

            I laughed. "Yes, of course. We're definitely friends."

            For the first time, Taekwoon's bright smile was directed towards me and also for the first time, I didn't get any butterflies, just pure happiness that everything had ended up working out on both our ends.

~

            Or so we thought.

            That night, Hyuk scrambled into the dance studio where I was one again practicing.

            "HYUNG! NOONA!" he cried.

            "What?" I stood up anxiously, uneasy from the hint of panic in his voice.

            "HYUNG!" he banged on Taekwoon's studio door as I watched him in confusion.

            Taekwoon stepped out with a look of alarm that mirrored my own.

            "What's wrong?" he breathed, studying the maknae worriedly.

            "Hyung." he turned to me. "Noona."

            "What?" Taekwoon and I urged.

            Hyuk unlocked his phone and showed his screen to us. Visibly, was a large picture of Taekwoon and I having coffee earlier that day with the title: "BREAKING NEWS: JUNG TAEKWOON DATING A SAME COMPANY TRAINEE".

            My eyes widened in horror as the realization kicked in. And as if to confirm the news even further, Hyuk whispered:

            "You two are involved in a scandal." 

A/N: DundunDUUUNN. Oh the dreaded scandal :O hahaha sorry that I've been MIA! Job hunting hasn't been going well sadly :'( but for some odd reason when I think about the odds our idols have to go through to reach their dreams, all the things that I felt were terrible seemed insignificant. Anybody else get inspired by their idols like that? Anyway WOOO FANTASY COME BACK! All the songs seriously give me chills! But a lot of my friends liked Dynamite better. What do you guys think? I really liked both songs personally. It's definitely hard to compare cause they're different genres and feels x) 

ANYWAY, there's one chapter left (nooooo!) and I have a good portion of it written already so I hope to polish and publish it sometime this week. Stay tuned for the conclusion of the story ~ :) thanks for reading and for subscribing! You guys are the best!