CREDIT: superELFjunior

I was greeted by angelic voices. I looked up, meeting nine figures standing ahead on the stage on the far side of the large room. I could make out Jessica, standing along beside Tiffany, Sooyoung, Yoona. The girls were all there, singing. And then I gazed all around, from the high chandelier, to the setting and atmosphere. It was more like a fairytale ball than a simple gathering.

“Beautiful,” I breathed, my mouth open in awe, my eyes set on the girls chorusing away together on the stage.

“She is,” I heard Kris say from behind. I released a snort, already knowing who he was talking about. He looked down at me, a tiny tease forming at the corner of his mouth. “Sorry,” he said. “You look beautiful, too.”

I rolled my eyes, and as we strode over my senses kicked in. I tried to avoid the crowd as best as I could. For some reason, it suddenly felt wrong to be here. I unintentionally covered my face as people walked by, and I would stand behind Kris to hide myself.

“Would you…stop standing b-behind me?” Kris said as we were standing near one of the pillars of the ballroom.

“S-Sorry.” I came out and hid behind the pillar instead. He cast me a rigid look.

“Rika?”

I apologized again. “S-Sorry,” I said. “I-I just— I’m— j-just—”

“Hiding?”

To be honest, I wasn’t. No, that’s a lie. I was hiding—hiding from everyone possible. Hiding from Jessica, because she surely didn’t know I was coming. And as much as I’d love to see Krystal it would mean meeting Sehun as well, and—

Okay, breathe, Rika, breathe.

I hadn’t seen Kyuhyun around. Maybe that was a good sign. Maybe he decided to skip the party.

But that wasn’t what Kris would want, of course. He was waiting for Kyuhyun more than I should be.

I turned to Kris. “Maybe Kyuhyun’s not coming,” I said.

He was already sipping a glass of punch. “Why wouldn’t he?” he questioned me. He passed his glass to me. “Here, I’ll be back soon.”

“Where’re you going?” I asked, panic suddenly rising. But he was already gone, leaving me here alone within the large crowd of unknown faces.

Shoot. I’d always hated being in a crowd alone.

I could already feel my fingers trembling over the cool glass.

“Okay, no need to panic,” I said to myself. “Kris will be back soon enough.” My teeth clenched as I growled. “He better be.”

My grip on the glass tightened, and during that moment I gulped down the entire drink, down to the last drop. My cheeks were bloated like a chipmunk, but it helped ease my nerves. While letting it fall down into my throat, I almost spilled the juice back out when something hard bumped into me from the back.

“Oh, sorry!” said the guy in tux. He gave me a short apologetic glance and then turned, then whirled back, eyes wide, stopping just in front of me instead of heading off the other way where he was supposed to. I froze, and he muttered my name. “Wait. Erika, right?”

I swallowed all the juice, my cheeks deflating, and smiled tightly at Luhan. “You remember me,” I said, when I wished he didn’t.  

Meeting Oh Sehun’s best friend, right here, right at the place where I wasn’t supposed to be. Great.

My fingers trembled even more, and the glass slipped right through, aiming for the marble floor. But before it evolves into a crash, Luhan’s dainty fingers caught it swiftly before it’d shatter to pieces of sparkling bits of glass. The way he caught it was like the way a gentleman dancer would, ones that I’ve seen in movies. Now I knew why he was in SM. His dancing would probably be as graceful as the way he caught the glass between his fingers.

“Here.” He handed it back to me with a smile.

I hesitated for a second, then took it from him. “T-Thanks.”

He seemed like he had something to say, by the way he was gazing at me.

“I…didn’t know you were going to come,” he said, very carefully, as if he was still choosing the right words to use.

“Well—”

“I bet yours sisters convinced you to come?”

I just nodded. Either way, he should’ve known already about my multiple declines to come to this event. But here I was, dressed and prim as I’ve never been in my life—except he’d never know my true intentions, which were sealed and locked away, not in me, but in Kris’ mind.

Judging by the look in his eyes, Luhan knew there was something. Just great.

The next minute silence took over.

“So, uh, it was nice meeting you,” I said; a very bland and formal sentence to use. And then I turned my back on him, a little too quickly, my skirt billowing about th