A week had passed since I last saw Astro, and I was beginning to think that meeting them had just been a dream. My heart sunk a little at thought, but that’s how dreams are. Too good to be true.

“Alright class,” Ms. Park announced, “It’s time for gym.”

Gym. Not something I was particularly good at. Sure, I could run when told to or jump rope or climb a mountain, but I could not hit a ball to save my life.

“I heard we’re joining with another class,” one girl whispered.

“Which one?”

“2… A? I don’t know.”

“Wait… isn’t Sanha in that class?”

“Ommo really?!”

“Wah… I hope so! He’s so cute-”

I slammed my locker shut, now completely dressed for gym. All the other girls still sat, chatting away, but I had no one to chat with. It’s my fault, really, for not trying to make an effort at making friends. Honestly, at times I annoyed myself with thoughts like this. It was pathetic, really, to feel down about having no one when I didn’t do anything to change that to begin with.

“She’s a friend of mine.”

A tiny smile formed across my lips. No… I wasn’t alone. Not anymore.

“Noona!” a voice called suddenly.

I looked up only to be faced with Sanha’s grinning face, “S-Sanha-yah-”

“Where have you been?!” he pouted, “We all waited for you in the Music Room, but you never showed up.”

My eyes widened slightly, “Really?”

He nodded, “You’re our fan! You have to be there to watch our practice and cheer us on!”

Blushing a little, I glanced at the girls staring at the two of us, dumbfounded. “O-oh…”

“You’ll be there today, right?” he pressed on, ignoring the crowd slowly forming behind him.

I nodded, “Yeah-”

“Yay!” he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around me, “I was beginning to think you didn’t like us or something.”

I shook my head.

“Good!” he drew back, grinning widely, “Because I would have been really sad.”

I smiled sheepishly, “I’m not that important.”

“No way!” Sanha shook his head furiously, “You are the most important person, Noona! We love you too much-”

An outburst of whispers rippled across the crowd behind him.

“Astro has a girl?”

“Her?”

“Does Sanha like her?”

“No!! Sanha is mine-”

I shrunk back from the weight of stares pressed against my face. “U-um,” I glanced at Sanha nervously, “Sanha-”

“Come on! We’re going to be late for class!” ignoring my stares, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the gym.

“No way… is that her?”

“She’s so quiet… I never noticed her before.”

“How can someone be so small?”

“Wow… I’m so jealous…”

I dropped my head to my desk, exasperated with all the rumors flying around. Some were close to the truth, and some were so far and wild that even I had trouble keeping up with them. All I could do at that point was silently pray for tomorrow to be quieter.

“Excuse me?” a voice spoke up in front of me.

I looked up, meeting the gazes of a group of girls, “Y-yes?” my voice came barely above a whisper.

“You’re Astro’s girl, right?” one of the girls raised an eyebrow, chewing her gum rather loudly.

I shrunk back into my seat, “I- I’m not-”

“‘Cause we called dibs on them long before you,” the girl continued, “Don’t mess with Eunwoo. He’s mine.”

The girls nodded.

Not meeting their eyes, I sunk even lower into my seat. Great. Just great. What next? Death threats? Girls these days are way too… serious over this sort of thing.

“Jangmi-ah!” a voice called from the door.

“Jinjin Oppa!” the girls squealed, forgetting about me and flocking over to the boy near the doorway.

I looked up as he made his way to my desk, “Y-yeah?”

“Come on. We’re starting practice early.”

I hesitated, “The teacher isn’t back from-”

“Come on,” he picked up my bag and nodded to the door, “We’re not letting you skip again, okay?”

I nodded, hurrying out after him as the girls behind me stared after him.

The door to the music room swung open, and the five boys turned to look up at the two of us.

“Jangmi-ah!” MJ shouted, rushing forward to pull me into a giant bear hug, “I missed you so much!”

I coughed slightly as he pulled back and placed my hand on his heart.

“Do you feel it?” he looked at me sincerely, “It’s been hurting ever since you left-”

“YAH!” Moonbin pushed him out of the way, “Stop being an idiot, idiot!”

“I’m not the idiot-”

She watched as Astro continued to bicker with one another until Jinjin shouted over all of them to stop.

“Let’s get started!” Jinjin pushed the boys into their positions.

The boys nodded and set to work. I sat in the corner working on my homework while they sang and danced, but just as I needed to get my work done, I couldn’t help but stare at them. It was like a dream… a beautiful dream to have friends like them. I never wanted to wake up.