I sat facing a tablet as images of Mina performing “Black Swan” appeared before me.
Momo sat beside me looking expectantly and weighing my reactions.

“Wow, she’s actually really good…like I know nothing about ballet but she seems amazing…” I responded, as I noted how her dance on the beach finally made sense.

“Uhuh, she used to be the future of Japanese ballet,” Momo continued, scrolling through a playlist of more of Mina’s dances, “But she quit.”

“WHY?” I asked.
Honestly, if I was that good at something I would be set for life.
Instead of still trying to work out what I wanted to do with my life.

Momo paused for a bit, “Nobody knows.”

“So why are you telling me this?” I asked, sipping on my latté at SMTown Café, “And only after everyone else left?”

Momo said she had some things she needed my help with after the meeting was adjourned.
Sana wanted to stay but Chaeyoung said she needed to speak to her about her friend Dahyun and ushered Sana away.
Now it was just me and Momo, with Doyoung staring seriously at me from afar as he wiped a few coffee mugs clean.

“Because I need you to help convince her to join Jihyo and me in the performance.”

Sana and Chaeyoung stared at each other with their arms crossed at a café a few blocks away.

It was minutes after they just screamed at each other.

“Yah, sunbae! Dahyun told me your conversation with her about Sungjoon oppa,” Chaeng had begun the conversation, noticing Sana’s face fall somewhat, “Stay away from my oppa!”

“Why? First, stopping calling him oppa. Plus, your oppa is my boyfriend!” Sana retorted.

“I knew him forever so of course I can call him that! And how is he your boyfriend? You literally hated him a few months ago!” Chaeyoung cried, giving the table a slight punch.

“Well I like him now!” Sana replied and slammed the table, “Feelings can change over time.”
At that, she seemed to remember some things and her face reddened.

Chaeyoung did not want to know what she was thinking about.

“Do you even know Sungjoon oppa that well?”

Sana paused. “Well, I know enough.”

Chaeyoung clapped her hands in victory mode.
“Ha! See! You barely even understand him! How can you be together with him?”

“Well, does Sungjoon like you back? If not, then none of what you say matters.”

Chaeyoung felt like she just got stabbed.

Sana continued, “He likes me back. That’s what matters.”

Chaeyoung just felt like she got ultra-killed.

She quickly took a deep breath.
She needed to think fast.

“Maybe…Sungjoon oppa doesn’t like me right now, or he might never like me,” Chaeyoung explained, “But I’m sure about one of thing. He would never ever get into a relationship that quickly.”

“Why so?”

“Honestly, Sungjoon oppa is kind of like an old man…which is cute of him,” Chaeyoung mused, “Means he is pretty conservative and old-fashioned. He is the type who would most likely spend months to years courting someone if he finds the right one. He literally crushed on Nayeon sunbae for two years without even showing his face to her. He’s that kind of guy.”

Chaeyoung continued, “I think he’s only with you in the heat of the moment.”

Sana could not help thinking Chaeyoung could be right.
But she could not show that. “What if you are wrong? What if you don’t know him that well?”

Chaeyoung stared back, “Let’s wait and see.”

I took a deep breath before pressing the doorbell.
I have not been here since the toilet paper horror incident.

A voice cracked through the speakers.

“Hello?”

It sounded similar to Mina’ voice, but more mature.
“Hello, I’m Kim Sungjoon and I live next door? I go to school with Mina.”

“Ahhhh, you are our Mina’s school mate! Come on in, come on in!”

The gates opened automatically and I strolled in nervously. I wonder if that was Mina’s mum…
Sure enough, an older lady who looks strikingly like Mina opened the door.

“Hello, I am Mina’s mother. Nice to meet you Sungjoon-shi.”

I finally got a good look of the house after the mess that was last time.
It really looked like a palace. I still could not believe such a fancy place existed in my neighborhood.

“Take a seat here and feel free to have some of those snacks. I will get Mina down here…”

Mina’s mum turned around and made her way upstairs, calling her daughter’s name.

Jungyeon wondered why she was doing this.

She was browsing through the Facebook of Minatozaki Sana, scrolling through her history.

“Who is Sungjoon’s girlfriend?” she mused.
Besides Sana being the head cheerleader, Jungyeon knew very little about her.
Apparently in their year and moved from Osaka since freshmen year, Sana was never in their class.
She did not even seem to have had much interactions with Sungjoon before this…if Jungyeon knew she would have kept an eye on this, just like that time Sungjoon crushed on Nayeon. Then again, Jungyeon did not pay too much attention to those two, knowing full well Nayeon considered Sungjoon way out of her league…

Nayeon was an ice queen.
If Jungyeon knew the Nayeon from Jeju camp, a drama addict and with the carelessness of a three-year-old, she may have paid more attention to a possible Sungjoon-Nayeon coupling.

Jungyeon rubbed her eyes.
She lost her train of thought.
She should really Facebook stalk Sana.
But remembering what Tzuyu told her at the cinema, she could not help but type in Im Nayeon in the Facebook search bar.

“Wait what?”
I stared in shock at Mina.

She stared back blankly at me, her eyes distant.
“I’m sorry.”

“But your mum said you can dance again now, as long as not super competitively…”

“I still don’t think I am ready for this…”

I sighed. “I know this is a lot to ask, but can you at least think about it? Even if you don’t dance, your experience will be very helpful…be it choreography or…”

Mina’s mum came by to add more tea and turned to her daughter, “Come on, Mina. Your friend here seems to really want your help…maybe we can talk more about it later, see if you can give it a go?”

Mina backed down at the words of her mother, “Fine, I’ll think about it.”

“Great! Let me know when you have an answer!” I smiled and turned to bow at Mrs. Myoui for her encouragement of her daughter.

Mina walked with me to the gates as I headed out.
Suddenly, she stopped.

“Sunbae…”

“Uh huh?”

“Can you please don’t tell Momo about…what I told you…?”

I looked at the former ballerina quizzically.

“Can you let this be, our little secret?”