“Are you going to start drooling?” Kris pokes your cheek again.

“Shut up,” you say absent-mindedly, eyes transfixed on Kai as he danced. As usual, the room is full of noise, echoing with the squeak of Kai’s shoes, the pounding bass of the music and the low chatter of the other boys.

“Maybe a nosebleed,” your best friend continues, still prodding your face insistently.

With a little meow of protest, you swat his hand away. “Stop it,” you whine half-heartedly. “You’re just jealous you can’t dance half as well as he does.”

“Low blow,” Kris complains, before getting to his feet. “I’m getting a drink. Want one?”

You see him leave the room out of the corner of your eye as you shake your head, before turning your full attention back to Kai. You can’t help but admire him when he dances – he definitely has charisma, and his movements are sharp and cutting, sometimes smooth and flowing. But it’s not just that, you decide – Kai loves dancing, and his passion for it shines through every time. 

To your annoyance, someone else sidles up on your other side; you can feel the heat radiating from him. “Hey, Soojung!”

“Tao, you stink,” you say with a teasing grin. “What’s up?”

“Do you like Kai?”

You freeze, completely astonished by his question, and then turn to face him slowly. Tao seems to be completely serious about it, his face earnest and eager to hear an answer. “What?” you splutter. “Why?”

“Do you?” he persists.

“As in, do I like like him?” you ask slowly, not sure if you want to hear the answer.

Tao nods.

Flabbergasted, you pick your words carefully. “I like him as a friend. And I also admire him a lot, especially as a dancer.”

To your confusion, he seems to deflate a little and you can’t help but wonder if he has a crush on you. “So you do like him,” Tao says flatly.

 “A little bit, I guess,” you admit uncertainly. “Please don’t tell anyone, it’s just me being silly and shallow.” You stop, and narrow your eyes suspiciously. “Why are you asking me this, anyway?”

“No reason,” Tao says cheerfully, shifting his weight so he can stand up, but you grab his wrist and pull.

“That’s not fair,” you pout, giving him your best puppy dog eyes. “Please, pretty please, tell me?”

He caves almost instantly. “Okay, okay! Some people aren’t too happy with the way you’re staring at Kai.”

“Not happy…” You frown. “As in, they were jealous?”

“Maybe,” Tao says, dragging out the word so you know you’re right.

“Who was it?”

“I can’t tell you!” Tao says, looking pained.

“Come on!” you plead. “Just a hint?”

“Maybe,” Tao says again, in the exact same manner, and you know you’ve won.

As the other boys begin to file into the room, you put your plan in action. After you give him a pointed look, Tao sighs quietly, then fakes a yawn. “Soojung, can I lie down on you?” he asks plaintively.

Feigning surprise, you nod and arrange your legs, making sure he can rest his head on them. “You seem pretty tired,” you say, pressing your palm to his forehead. “Are you sick?”

“I don’t think so,” Tao says uncertainly, and you hum disapprovingly.

“Poor thing,” you coo, brushing his hair away from his face. It’s surprisingly soft, you note, as you thread your fingers through it, combing through whatever knots there are.  “You’re so cute, Tao.”

“Bbuing, bbuing,” he says cutely, bringing his fists up to his face. From your angle, the effect is somewhat ruined but you pretend it’s hitting you full force with a coquettish giggle. “Bbuing, bbuing!”

You laugh again. “Okay, okay, I get it!” Pinching his cheeks and tapping his nose, you fuss over how adorable he is. You can feel everyone’s eyes on you now, so you go in for the kill, leaning down and pressing a kiss to his cheek and finishing with a shy giggle.

“What’s going on?” You look up – and up – to see Kai standing in front of you.

You exchange a look with Tao. “Nothing,” you say innocently.

“A kiss on the cheek doesn’t look like nothing,” Kai says dryly. You notice he doesn’t look too pleased with the situation – none of them do, really, but he was the first to notice, or at least intervene.

“He was tired before,” you explain, running a hand through Tao’s hair again. From the corner of your eye, you see Kai follow the movement with a little frown.

“ it up, Tao, practice isn’t finished,” Kai says, grabbing Tao and pulling him to his feet. You stand up as well.

You smirk. “Did you want one too?” you offer, stepping closer to Kai. His face, already red from dancing, turns a shade darker, but he declines coolly. “Fine, then I’ll just kiss Tao,” you say, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Alright, that’s enough,” someone says, placing their hand on your shoulder to separate you from Tao. Kris glares at the younger boy, looking pretty angry for something that was just a joke. You cast a glance towards Tao, who gives you a knowing look.

You realise that Kris has yet to remove his hand from your shoulder, and smile. With one smooth movement, you reach up and take his hand, pulling it off your shoulder, before standing on your tippy-toes to plant a kiss on his cheek.

As the other boys wolf-whistle, you hide a giggle at the way Kris freezes before squeezing his hand gently. “There, now you don’t need to be jealous anymore,” you tease, but the smile on your lips turns into a full-blown grin when you feel Kris tightening his grip on your hand.

“Who said I was jealous?” he grumbles, but he presses his lips together, as if trying to hide a smile – and failing, to be honest, but it’s still cute.