I'm sorry for not updating yesterday! I was busy and I decided to update late today. I probably won't be updating as often after this though because I haven't been prewriting lately :( I'll still stry my best to update every other day at least. Anyways, I got carried away with the "shopping" part, so there's a LOT of images! At first, I was going to just put pictures of dresses until I remembered Suzy liked to wear dresses. Since she was the person I used to represent Haeyoung, I figured I'd use pictures of her in dresses to help you visualize better. Anyways, the dance is drawing near! Any guesses on who Haeyoung chose? ;D (p.s. It'll be revealed in the next 2 or 3 chapters. Be patient!) Keep the comments coming~

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Haeyoung’s POV

Over the next few weeks, I continued to avoid the guys. It was hard at first, but I eventually got used to it. I talked to a few other people, but I never grew close to them. It just didn’t feel right.

I grew more and more nervous as the winter dance neared. Every weekend, I set out to buy the perfect dress. And every weekend, I went home empty handed. I needed a dress that would take his breath away. One that would make him speechless. I wanted everything that night to turn out perfect.

Surprisingly, I never had second thoughts about my decision. In fact, with every passing week, I grew more confident in my decision.

Frustrated, I finally decided to ask Sehun to help my find a dress. To be honest, I thought I would have to drag him with me to go shopping. Instead, he excitedly agreed and told me he’d take me to a store where I was guaranteed to find ‘the dress’.

Two weeks before the dance, Sehun picked me up from home and took me shopping. The store he praised so much was in an unknown area in Seoul. It was on the second floor of a shopping complex on top of a shoe store. After passing the shoe store on the way up, I begged him to take me there afterwards. He quickly agreed and led me to the dress store.

As soon as I walked in, I knew I made the right choice in asking Sehun to help me. The store had a white interior with wooden furniture. There were various cabinets with an infinite supply of dresses. At first, I frowned at how small the store was, but later I discovered that there was a door leading to another room with more dresses. Sehun and I split up and set out to find my dress. After half an hour of hunting, we met up near the dressing room as I tried every dress on.

“You have to give your honest opinion about every dress, okay?” I yelled from the dressing room.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Sehun replied. He was sitting on the chair outside the changing room, waiting for me to model all the dresses.

“Yah, it has to look perfect!” I argued.

“Arasso, just hurry up! I’m getting impatient.”

I walked out with the first dress on.

“So, what do you think?”

“Are you getting married or going to a masquerade?”

I scowled before trying the next dress on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, this one?”

“I feel like I’m seeing you for a business meeting.”

“Can’t argue with you on that one.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I came out with the next dress.

"Do you want to go back to Club NB?" Sehun jokingly asked.

"No!!!" I yelled.

"Well then that dress is a no-no!" he replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I shyly walked out with the next one.

“…. Why does this dress even exist?”

"I honestly don't even know why I put this on."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I jumped out with the next outfit on.

“MY EYES!” Sehun quickly covered his eyes.

“It doesn’t look that bad…” I mumbled.

“I feel seduced just by looking at you! And what’s with the cat ears!?” he yelled.

“Yeesh…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I tried on yet another dress.

“Halloween already passed, you know…”

“Huh?”

“Mmmnmnmnmhhh.” Sehun mumbled.

“What are you saying!?”

“I thought I was speaking mummy.”

I sighed and went back to change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was starting to get tired of changing and put on the next dress.

"You remind me of that puppet. What’s its name again? Aish… It was the name of a song…” Sehun thought for a moment. “Ah! You look like Pinocchio!”

“Rude!” I stormed back into the dressing room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Frustrated, I put on yet another dress. I stepped out of the room and looked at Sehun. His mouth was open and he remained silent.

“Um… Sehun?” I asked.

“That’s the one.”

“Really?” I looked in the mirror and examined the dress. I had to admit, it was pretty breathtaking. I nodded and went to change back into my clothes. I paid for the dress and Sehun took me downstairs to look for a pair of shoes. Thankfully, this didn’t take as much effort or time as it did with the dresses. I quickly found the perfect pair of heels to match the dress.

After buying the shoes, we left the store and started walking home. While we were walking, I was squealing.

“What’s wrong with you?” Sehun raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing, I’m just really excited for the dance. I’m so happy I found the perfect dress. Thank you Sehun!” I proceeded to squeeze Sehun. He returned the hug and after a few moments, we let go of each other.

“No problem. But aren’t you nervous?” he asked. I suddenly remembered what I was going to do at the dance. I felt the butterflies in my stomach and put my hand over it in attempt to soothe the awkward feeling.

“Yeah, I guess I am…” I muttered.

“Well, you’re confident in your decision, right?”

I nodded.

“Then there’s nothing to worry about.” Sehun patted my shoulder.

“You’re right. Ahhh, I’m so excited!” I squealed again.

Sehun smiled and shook his head at me. Suddenly, something popped into my mind.

“Wait, what are we going to do about my mask?” I asked. I’m pretty sure it would be extremely difficult to find a place that sold masquerade masks here.

“Don’t worry, I know someone who likes designing masks. I’ll get one to match your dress.”

“Someone does that for a hobby? Wow,” I remarked. That was such an odd hobby.

“Yeah, pretty weird huh? Just worry about your makeup and your hair. I’ll have everything else prepared.”

Sehun really knew how to make me feel better. He was such a great friend to me, even if we haven’t known each other for long. I came to realize that I owed Sehun a lot. Without him, I’d be a complete wreck right now. I decided that I should do something nice for him.

“Hey Sehun, are you busy tonight?”

“Not that I know of, why?”

“I want to treat you out. Where do you want to go?”

“No thanks, Haeyoung. I’d feel bad if you paid for anything.”

“Come on, let me repay you for everything you’ve done! I can’t let you help me without getting anything in return.” I reasoned.

“Really, I don’t need anything. Just seeing my friends happy again will be enough for me.”

“You really care about them a lot, don’t you?”

“Yeah. They’re practically my brothers. We tell each other everything…” Sehun trailed off. I realized it must be hard for him to keep our meetings a secret from them. My guilt grew even stronger.

“I feel bad for making you keep all of this from them. I’m definitely taking you out to eat at a fancy restaurant tonight and there’s nothing you can do to stop me,” I declared.

Sehun remained silent and I took that as a victory. When we got home, I called for Seungwon to introduce him to Sehun. We were sitting on the couch when Seungwon came into the room, wearing his tux as usual. Seriously, this house wasn’t even that fancy. I should tell him to wear something more casual next time I see him. Sehun immediately stood up and deeply bowed towards Seungwon.

“Annyeonghaseyo. I’m Oh Sehun, Haeyoung’s friend.”

“Nice to meet you, Sehun. My name is Seungwon. I’m Haeyoung’s butler.” He slightly bowed his head in response to Sehun’s introduction.

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

“So, do you have feelings for Haeyoung as well?” Seungwon asked.

“Seungwon-shi! He’s just a friend!” I scolded him. Sehun laughed.

“No, sir. I’m only her friend. My friends are the ones that like her,” Sehun replied politely. He had such nice manners. He must get them from his mother.

“Ah, those two. I remember them. Well, Ms. Jin, is there anything I can help you with before I go?”

“Neh. Do you mind calling the driver? I wanted to repay Sehun for all his help by taking him out to dinner,” I replied.

Seungwon gave me a questionable look.

“Not on a date!” I put my hands up.

“I’m just joking, miss. But of course, I will notify him right away. Just instruct him on where to go.”

Sehun and I nodded.

“Well then, I will be going back to my room now. Goodnight, Ms. Jin. Goodnight, Sehun. Have fun and don’t stay out too late.” Seungwon bowed before he retreated back to his room.

“Wow, you have a driver AND a butler? Not to mention, a fancy house. Your parents must be loaded,” Sehun commented. I shyly smiled.

“Yeah, if only they were home more often.”

Sehun shot me an apologetic look. I quickly changed the subject before things got too serious.

“Come on, let’s go eat.”

When we got to the restaurant, I got us a table in the corner, away from everyone else. I never liked sitting near other people. I usually preferred eating in a quite area.

Once we were seated, the waitress took out orders and quickly left.

“Wow, I could totally get used to this,” Sehun said while looking around the restaurant.

“Trust me, I’d pick your parents' restaurant over this place any day.”

“Then why didn’t we just eat there?” he asked.

“Because if we went there, we would’ve eaten for free and I wouldn’t be repaying you. Plus I haven’t eaten at a classy restaurant like this in a while.”

Just then, our food arrived and we began eating.

“Have you told Luhan and Kai about the dance yet?” I asked.

“No, not yet. I’ll tell them next week.”

I looked at him with a worried expression on my face.

“Trust me, they’ll say yes. Especially if I tell them you’re going.”

“I hope so…”

After a few minutes of eating, Sehun spoke again.

“You know, they really miss you.”

I stopped eating.

“Neither of them are the same without you. They used to be so happy and lively all the time. Now, they’re boring and uninteresting.”

The familiar feeling of guilt came back as I silently listened to Sehun speak.

“That’s why I really want them to go to the dance. Although one of them will end up heartbroken, they’re both rational. Nothing will break their friendship with each other. The other would eventually accept your relationship and move on. I just want everything to go back to normal. Soon.”

“Me too,” I mumbled. "Is Luhan still mad at me?" I hesitantly asked.

"He's more heartbroken than angry. But I'm sure he'd take you back in a heartbeat," he reassured me. I nodded and continued eating.

We quickly finished our dinner and I dropped Sehun off at home.

“Thank you, Haeyoung-ah. That was the first time I’ve eaten a place that nice. It was a nice experience,” Sehun said as we walked to his door.

“I should be thanking you, Sehun, for everything you’ve helped me with. I can never completely repay you,” I replied.

“Seeing you guys happy again will be enough for me,” he cheekily responded. I smiled at his cheesiness and playfully nudged him.

“Things will be back to normal in two weeks. We’ll just have to wait until then,” I said.

“It won’t be back to normal.”

I looked at him, surprised.

“It’ll be even better.”

“Oh gosh, how much cheesier can you get!” I laughed.

“Oh, you have no idea,” Sehun smirked. I shook my head.

“Well, I’ll see you at the dance. Good luck,” he said as he unlocked the door.

“See you there. Thank you,” I replied. Before entering his house, he gave me a quick hug and bid me goodbye. I waved while I was walking back to the limo.

As I got in, the limo driver looked at me and smiled before pulling out of the driveway.

“You have a good friend there, Ms. Jin,” he commented. This was so much different compared to what he said when we dropped Sehun off last time. Back then, he chuckled at our ‘young love’. Oh, how the times have changed.

“I do, don’t I?” I smiled as I looked out of the window.