A few days later, Jinri stepped into a stadium for the rehearsals of the concept evaluation performances. It was a day before the performances, and stress could be seen on the faces of all trainees as she walked past them in the hallways.

She went into a train of thought as she reminisced about last year when she had to perform ‘Fingertips’ as her concept evaluation mission. She thought about her team members, and the various emotions she felt at the time, but snapped into reality when Jinyoung flicked her hard on the forehead.

“Ouch!” she screeched while slapping her brother’s arm.

Jinyoung began to laugh and whine at the same time at Jinri’s reaction, but soon went into a serious mode and looked down on the ground as he gulped.

“What’s wrong Baejin? You seem a bit off today. I mean you’re always weird, but you seem extra weird and odd than usual.” She asked jokingly at her brother, trying to lighten up the mood which had changed in a matter of just a few seconds.

“You know that I always do badly in anything whenever a family member is in front of me and watching… I even made a mistake a few days ago when you came to watch our dance practices. What if I do really badly in these performances as well and I make a negative impact on the team?” he replied.

“Uhm.. yearh… I’m sure you’ll do well Jinyoung. The less you think about it, the less nervous you’ll be about it. Maybe you won’t make a mistake in front of me! But if you really feel that insecure, then how about I just don’t watch your rehearsal? I just need to watch the ‘Never’ rehearsal anyway. I heard that the ‘Never’ rehearsal is after your team, so I can go into the rehearsal hall after you get off the stage. What do you think?” she replied, slightly taken aback with Jinyoung’s worries and fears.

After Jinyoung agreed, he went back to his normal self and continued to tease Jinri until he had to go up on the stage.

Instead of going inside the rehearsal hall directly, Jinri hid behind one of the entrance doors where she could see Jinyoung, but Jinyoung couldn’t see her. She began to watch as Jinyoung walked up onto the stage and started talking with his team members.

She sighed in relief at the fact that her brother didn’t seem to be nervous, only to jump back in surprise as someone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder from the back.

She turned around to see Daehwi and Woojin in their ‘Never’ outfits, also staring at her with a surprised face because of her reaction.

“Noona? How come you’re standing here? Jinyoung hyung is about to rehearse now, aren’t you going to support him in front of the stage?” Daehwi asked.

“Ah, no… Jinyougn always makes mistakes whenever a family member watches him do something. That’s why I’m hiding right now, so that he wouldn’t be able to see me.” She replied back, getting an understanding nod from both boys.

Daehwi was going to suggest that he and Woojin would both stay with her for ‘Oh Little Girl’ rehearsal, when an idea suddenly popped in his head.

“Oh I see. Well hey noona, I think I’ll go in front of the stage so I can cheer Jinyoung hyung up. You know he loves me too much hahaha. But I think Woojin hyung wouldn’t mind staying here with you! I guess the two of you can watch the ‘Oh Little Girl’ rehearsal from here together and then come out afterwards for ‘Never’. Right? Well I’m going to go now, bye hyung! Bye noona!” Daehwi said without taking any pauses in between to his hyung and noona, afraid that if he stopped for at least one second, one of them would interrupt and his plan would be ruined.

After Daehwi left, only silence and awkwardness was left.

“Ahh, I guess it’s just the two of us now then.. Oh, the rehearsal is about to start now.” Woojin said to break the silence.

“Oh yes. Let’s watch!” Jinri awkwardly replied, starting another silence as she faced away from Woojin and looked away to watch Jinyoung on the stage.

Both Jinri and Woojin were facing and watching the stage, but the only things on their minds were each other. Jinri was thinking of if Woojin would be judging her for not talking to him and only watching the stage despite his kindness of deciding to stay behind the entrance doors with her. She wondered if Woojin, who was standing behind her, was watching the stage or if he was also thinking about something else. Woojin was also thinking of if he should start another conversation with Jinri, or if she would think that he was annoying for interrupting her while she was trying to watch her brother. He wondered if she had any feelings for him at all.

The rehearsals for ‘Oh Little Girl’ finished with Woojin and Jinri still thinking about each other.

Jinri turned around to face Woojin after the song finished, only to see Woojin staring at her.

“Oh! Uh… the stage finished… haha. That was good, right?” Woojin muttered while looking down, embarrassed at the fact that she caught him staring deeply at her.

“Haha yes.. That was a good rehearsal. I think it was good too.” Jinri replied awkwardly, nervous at the fact that Woojin had been staring at her.

This followed another silence once again, and the two just stood side by side until the staff called out for the ‘Never’ team to come up onto the stage, and they walked out with some distance between them.

‘Why am I always so awkward and stupid in front of him/her? I missed another chance to get to know him/her better..’ were the thoughts in their heads as they went towards the stage.

+ I am so so so sorry for the late update! I had exams so I couldn't find the time :( I will update more regularly in the future! Sorry and thank you <3