Chapter 14: It's a little problematic

"Crap… I'm late…" I muttered under my breath as I glanced nervously at my watch. Going to bed in the wee hours of the morning had caused me to oversleep. Taeyeon isn't going to be pleased.

I scrambled towards the lift and jabbed the "up" button with my forefinger. I then folded my arms and watched impatiently as the lift made its slow descent – before getting stuck at the tenth floor.

Why oh why does a six-star hotel only have one lift?

Another brief look at my watch and I grimaced. The manager might seem easygoing, but she's a real stickler for punctuality. At this rate, she's going to roast me over a pit.

I strode hastily to the other side of the lobby, where a large marble staircase was situated. I climbed a step, and paused.

Thanks to the medicine prescribed by the doctor, the swelling in my right knee had gone down quickly. Nevertheless, she did warn against overexertion in the short term.

I'm sorry, doc, but I'm not going to get myself barbecued.

With a wry grin, I raced up seven floors to the grand ballroom.

"O—oh!"

I snapped my head up at the exclamation to realize that I had nearly crashed into the petite girl before me. "Sorry, Yoona." I said as I went around her.

"It's okay…" She answered hesitantly. "Good morning, Sooyoung."

I continued to stride towards the table tucked in a corner of the spacious ballroom. "Morning," I replied before frowning a little. Something told me that this scene was oddly familiar, yet different.

"Hey Yoon," I asked as I did a quick survey of the place, "…is Taeyeon here yet?"

"Nope."

"Hoo…" I sighed in relief as I collapsed on the chair. And to add to my joy, my right knee was not acting up despite the earlier sprint. Except for a slightly numb feeling at the kneecap, everything else was fine.

Lucky me.

Yoona approached the table with an amused look on her face. "You're really happy today."

"I am?" I said, even as I broke into a big smile.

"Yes, a huge difference from last week." The girl gave me a knowing smirk before walking away.

I stretched back lazily on the chair.

Life's good when no one's angry with you.

As I gazed at the bright lights on the ceiling, I started to hum the tune that has been stuck in my head since last night.

What had happened then seemed almost surreal now.

You see, there was some on-location filming to be done at the grand ballroom of the hotel, and I had been tasked by Taeyeon to oversee the preparations. It was almost 11 pm when I finally stepped out of the tiny office located on the same floor. While the others had long left for the day, I had stayed behind to finish some administrative matters.

I trudged along the dimly lit corridor, idly wondering whether excessive yawning could cause jaw dislocation. Just as I was about to round the corner, however, I spotted a sliver of light extending from the slit between the slightly ajar doors of the ballroom.

I frowned. Didn't I tell them to switch off all the lights before leaving?

I made my way grudgingly to the entrance, where I pushed the heavy doors open. And stopped in my tracks.

Under the dazzling chandeliers, was a girl dancing.

Classical music played softly in the background as she twirled on the polished floor, completely oblivious to my presence. Her eyes were closed in deep concentration while her arms were raised in front of her, as if holding an invisible person.

I leaned against the doorway, admiring the way her brown hair swirled around her as she glided across the ballroom to the rhythm of the music. Any other person would have seemed strange dancing by himself, but not when it came to her.

When it came to her… it became fascinating.

At last, I stepped into the light. "Boo!!"

My voice echoed through the hall and the girl literally jumped.

"Soo—Sooyoung!" Jessica shot me a glare from the center of the ballroom. "You gave me a fright!"

I laughed. "At least you didn't end up with your on the floor," I said lightly, recalling a certain incident in the studio. It had seemed so long ago.

The girl's pale face regained some color as she tried to stop herself from breaking out into a smile. Not very successfully, I must say.

"What are you doing here? It's already late," she asked as she walked towards me.

"Right back at you, what are you doing here, superstar?"

Based on her schedule, she should have been occupied with several appointments and appearances during the day. I would have expected her to be sleeping at home by now.

"I asked you first," Jessica huffed, folding her arms.

I rolled my eyes. Ice Princess can be such an Ice Baby sometimes. "To answer your majesty's question, I'm in charge of ensuring that everything is in order for the filming tomorrow."

"So would you deign to reply now?"

The girl frowned, not really understanding my last sentence. But of course, she wasn't going to request an explanation.

She made a guess. "I'm practicing for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" I repeated, before being reminded of the plans for the next day. "Oh..." I said as I grinned slyly, "…the ballroom scene."

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. If you haven't deduced by now, our Ice Princess here was supposed to dance with Dongwook in what was considered the crucial scene in the movie. In other words, the scene that was calculated to make all the audience, female or male, swoon alike.

But hasn't she been practicing intensively with the dance teacher for almost a week?

She's really hard working.

I stepped towards the girl, who had in the meantime seated herself on top of the grand piano.

"May I?" I said as I stretched out my hand, bowing slightly.

Jessica blinked.

I tilted my head a little to the side.

"Well, I'm sure you would like someone to dance with instead of waltzing around with a phantom."

The girl glowered at me but I merely chuckled. "C'mon," I said encouragingly as I took her hands and pulled her off the piano. I led her to the center of the ballroom, where I put one of her hands on my shoulder. At the same time, I reached around her to rest my palm against her back.

"Wh—what?" Jessica choked as her face reddened. She hurriedly retreated backwards, removing her hands from me.

"Aren't you practicing for tomorrow's scene? So I get to be Dongwook right? I'm taller too."

The girl let out an indignant puff. Nonetheless she obediently closed the distance between us.

"Try not to step on my toes though," I added with a grin.

She snorted. "What makes you think you can dance better than me?"

"Mmm... I don't know," I stared at the other end of the ballroom thoughtfully. "Maybe the fact that I took part in dancing for a few years?"

Jessica mulled over my words for a moment before her eyes widened. "I didn't know you liked to dance."

"Hmm? Well, my mom had insisted that I learn ballroom dancing…"

I grabbed her hands again. "…although I much prefer hip-hop."

"And this," I pressed my hand against her back, pushing her body against me, "…is how you do the waltz."

I drew back slightly, smirking at the sight of the deep red tinge on the girl's cheeks. Geez, someone has a really good blood circulation.

"Idio—"

Before she could complain, I tightened my grasp on her further, causing her to gasp.

"And... one, two, three, one, two, three…"

She was resistant at first, but after a few minutes she gradually relaxed and got into the groove.

I was pretty impressed. She had only been taking lessons for a while, but other than being a little stiff; her movements were smooth and elegant.

"Soo..young."

"Hmm?"

"You've heard? About... James Smith's movie?"

I raised my eyebrows.

"Oh yes. I haven't congratulated you yet. Congratula—"

"Was it because of you?"

"Me? What do you mean?"

"When he called Taeyeon to tell her that I was selected, he said something weird."

"Weird?"

"He said... ‘Miss Jessica should be thankful that her assistant has such a good stamina.'"

My eyebrows twitched. Why, that —

On seeing the flash of irritation on my face, a mixture of worry and horror clouded her expression.

"Sooyoung, what did you…"

I nearly smacked my forehead in exasperation. Damn guy deliberately made it sound so wrong!!

"I didn't do anything!!" I interjected quickly, lest she got the wrong idea about what happened. She still looked unconvinced.

"I'm serious. He just made me stand outside the meeting room to wait for him."