[Week 1]

-Day 1-

            It was finally time for preparations to begin, and the first order of business was a full cast script reading. Leads and minor characters crowded onto the lit stage, huddling in a large circle around Director Kim who stood in the center with her assistants, directors, and production team, Hye Jin included.

            “Welcome, and congratulations to all of you for passing the auditions and making it onto the cast. Although there are a lot more supporting characters than the main casts, just know that your part is still very important to our production, no matter how small.” She smiled at each and every one of the students, making eye contact to let them know that they were all essential to the production. “Now, without further ado, let’s begin. We will be handing out your scripts and will promptly proceed into a quick read through of the play. No character voices, no accents. We’re taking this chance to familiarize ourselves with the dialogue.” Director Kim went around with the rest of the directors and assistants, all holding stacks of scripts to hand out to the students.

            Hye Jin spotted Kris amongst the crowd and made an effort to avoid that general area as she passed out the booklets, but he wasn’t making it easy for her. He would duck past the other helpers, avoiding all the other scripts handed to him and following her until she was finally obligated to give him one. She held up a book and he took it with a smirk, throwing her a wink as she quickly her heel to join Director Kim.

            Why was he making it so difficult for her? Why couldn’t he just leave her alone? Sure, they had a past, but that was what it was. A completed event. A completed paragraph in her life, one she had edited and altered several times already. And now she was ready to move on to her next sentence. No, she had already started writing her next few sentences. Kris’ return just deleted all of her work though, bringing her back to a paragraph that had already ended, one she wanted to move on from and never return to.

            “All right, everybody, let me warn you ahead of time, this production is going to take a lot of practice to perfect. And, with practice, comes time. We’ll be spending a lot of time here at rehearsals, so expect to stay into the late hours. If you have early classes, well, that's too bad. You signed up for this. Anyway, enough chit-chat. Let’s begin.” Director Kim ended her speech and began the first of many rehearsals ahead of them.

-Day 2-

            Hye Jin stifled another yawn, nodding off to the muffled voices of the cast on stage, her head bobbing from side to side as she fought the drowsiness that suddenly overcame her. Hidden off to the side in one of the wings, she snuggled onto a small couch, making herself small, obscuring herself in the shadows. She drifted in and out of dreamland, startling awake with the shouts and hollers from the reading only to fall back into light slumber.

            Her mind swirled with thoughts of Kris, of her past. Why was he back now? When did he come back? Why am I even caring? He’s not my concern anymore. She shifted again, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her arms on them. Burrowing into her make-shift arm pillows, Hye Jin opened her eyes to be greeted by darkness. She let her eyes adjust as she breathed out her fatigue, clearing her mind of all her troubles.

            I’ve moved on already. I shouldn’t worry myself about him anymore. Just let the past go and live life like you have been these past four years. Be strong, Hye Jin. Be strong…Am I, though?

            Her thoughts tugged and pulled, straining her mentally and physically. She felt the pressure weighing her down, settling onto her already burdened shoulders. The doubts and second thoughts from years ago came flooding back, drowning the labyrinths of her psyche.

            Escape. She needed to get out of there and away from Kris. She needed to get away from the heartache and pains of her past. Yet, the past immobilized her. It paralyzed her, rendering her useless. She couldn’t escape from it, couldn’t run away. She was trapped in his grasp, coiled around his little finger, writhing in the clutches of his reappearance.

            Hye Jin shut her eyes, squeezing them tightly until little floating dots swam beneath her closed lids in a whirl of patterns. She held her breath in an attempt to suppress the memories that flashed through her mind, yet only managed to worsen her pounding headache. Nausea washed over her and she took several long breaths before they became short, shallow ones.

            Oh crap, this can’t be happening now…She tried to stop hyperventilating, but couldn’t. Her breaths became ragged and her head began to spin. She needed to stop thinking about him, but her thoughts were only painted even more with his image. Light whimpers escaped from her lips, slipping out involuntarily as her body began to shut down. Her already dark world was becoming darker and she couldn’t hold back her tears. Although her eyes were shut tight, the salty tears managed to squeeze themselves out, flowing down her cheeks in single droplets. One after the other, they landed on her jeans, staining the denim with dark, circular patches.

            Find your happy place, Hye Jin. Do it! She willed herself to try and breathe normally. She tried. You can’t do it. You’re weak. You’re pathetic. No wonder he—

            A soothing voice sounded next to her ear, breaking through the dark veil that had enveloped her. A warm hug tugged her out from the cold void. A soft breath caressed her soul and brought her back to reality.

            “So baby don’t cry, cry…” The whispering voice faded, as did Hye Jin’s little panic attack. She lifted her head off her arms and opened her eyes, turning to the left. She met Luhan’s inquisitive gaze, holding it for some time before looking away. “You good, now?” Luhan asked, still looking at her curiously.

            Hye Jin nodded; coughing, she lightly shook out of his embrace. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks…again.” She stood up from her seat and scurried off, pulling up her hood and wiping away any moisture still on her cheeks. She slipped past the cast and Director, shuffling noiselessly down the stairs leading to the floor seats of the theater.

            Luhan had reached out to grab her, but stopped halfway. His arm lowered to his side as he watched her with clouded eyes. His gaze followed her as she took a seat in front row with a smile on her face, like she hadn’t been crying in despair just seconds ago. The pain she was enduring, the mysteries that surrounded her seemingly normal life, he would never be able to fathom. But, he got a glimpse of her sufferings. Through her sorrowful cries and her heartbreaking whimpers, he felt her torment, her troubles. She was hurting.

            And he had to admit, it hurt him a little bit too.

[Week 2]

-Day 6-

            “Come on, people. What’s going on? You’ve all got your cues, right? You all know your positions, don’t you?” Director Kim questioned. Her voice was heavy with annoyance. Murmurs of affirmations echoed across the stage paired with hesitant nods. Director Kim closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her noise. She let out an exasperated sigh and opened her eyes. She stared down each student, sending them hard glares and finally erupted. “If yes, THEN GET THEM RIGHT.” She stormed out of the theater, calling out a ten minute break before slamming the doors shut.

            Hye Jin flinched in her seat and tightly clutched onto her clipboard. She watched as the students slowly dispersed, breaking into little groups and heading into the dressing rooms, backstage, or to the theater seats below. They muttered their complaints, flustered over how angry the Director was getting even though it was only their second week of rehearsal. Positions and cues for such a large production couldn’t be learned in less than a week, they needed time more time.

            Stalling a bit, Hye Jin waiting until everyone got off stage before peeking past the blackout curtains and emerging onto the lit stage. She shuffled along stage right, heading down the steps and to the emergency exit at the back of the theater. She scanned around her, checking if the coast was clear before pushing open the door and climbing up three flights of stairs. At the top, she pulled open the door and entered the theater balcony. She eyed the rows of chairs for any visitors. To her delight, nobody occupied the seats. Squealing lightly, she skipped down the aisles, going straight for the center of the balcony, and plopped down in a front row seat. She placed her clipboard beneath her seat and leaned forward, resting her arms on the railing in front of her and looked down.

            It never failed to take her breath away every time. Even for a university auditorium, the architecture and structure of the room and stage rivaled those of world renowned arts centers. The lights, the ambiance, they lulled her into a peaceful place. Serene and warm, it kept her out of her dark place. Well, it tried to.

            “Hye Jin, I thought I would find you here,” a deep voice interrupted her silence. The voice was all too familiar. In her time of serenity, he was the last person she wanted to be with. “Mind if I join you?” he asked, sitting down next to her without waiting for a response.

            Cocky as ever, I see. Why does he always have to ruin everything? Why does he always take the joy out of my life? Hye Jin shifted to the other side of her seat as far away from him as she could. Reaching down, she picked up her clipboard and flipped through the script, blatantly ignoring his presence.

            “So, what do you think of Director Kim? She’s a feisty one, isn’t she?” he snickered, smirking at Hye Jin for a reply. She continued reading through her notes, jotting things down here and there.

            Feisty? She’s a grown woman, Kris, and your teacher, for that matter. She’s not one of the girls you plan to hook up with. Hye Jin rolled her eyes and straightened out the sheets of paper. Clamping her pen under the clip, she stood up and turned to leave, walking away from Kris in silence.

            “You’re going to have to talk to me some time soon, you know,” he called out after her. She stopped walking, taking in a deep breath to calm her rising anger. Looking back at him, she gave him a dead-eyed stare, bowed, and silently took her leave. She knew she had to talk to him, she just didn’t want to yet.

            Kris watched her retreating back, regret flickering in his eyes. I’ll get you back, Hye Jin. Just you wait. You’ll be mine once again.

--

            “Hey, what’s up?” Luhan whispered rather loudly, joining Hye Jin in the stage wing. She put a finger up to her lips, shushing him quietly and pointing out to the actors and actresses on stage with a scowl. They were in the middle of another run through after returning from the well needed ten minute break. Director Kim had calmed down significantly and was now smiling proudly at the cast as they executed each step perfectly, not missing one single cue. Her eyes sparkled with pride as Kris stepped forward, reciting his lines with grace and poise, emoting sorrow and discord with admirable skill.

            Hye Jin instinctively frowned, conflicted at his appearance. As much as she hated him, she couldn’t deny his abilities. Against her own, horrible experiences with him in the past, she couldn’t let that shroud her observations and analyses. Being the speech coach, she had to be unbiased with his evaluations, leaving all prior emotions out of her notes. She had to be professional and separate her personal life from her work. Easier said than done. Scribbling down a few pointers into the script, Hye Jin flipped the page and started grading the next actors and actresses who came forth.

            Listening intently to their voices, Hye Jin’s brows furrowed in concentration and she started twirling her pen through her fingers out of habit. She expertly spun and twirled the pen around, going through a full pattern before repeating it over again.

            Weave through the fingers.

            Twirl between the middle and ring finger.

            Twirl between the middle and forefinger.

            Flick and spin around the thumb.

            Repeat.

She tilted her head as she listened on, analyzing the accents and figuring out how to tweak and adjust their words. Engrossed in the scene, she jumped in surprise when a hand clamped down on hers, trapping her pen on her clipboard. Her eyes flickered down to find Luhan’s hand covering her own.

            “Stop with the twirling of the pen and fingers. It’s giving me a headache,” he whined, snatching up the pen and stuffing it in his jacket pocket with a glare. Frowning, Hye Jin reached for him, but he turned his body away and dodged her outstretched hand. She glowered at him before reaching for her ponytail and pulling out another pen tucked in her hair. Shooting him a triumphant grin, she focussed back on the play. Flipping through her script, she caught up to their scene, glared at Luhan for distracting her, and continued writing notes.

            Luhan smiled softly at her concentrated frown, resisting the urge to smooth the wrinkles away. He had bugged her enough already anyway. Now, she was in coaching mode and needed all of her attention on the stage. Scooting around, he leaned against the wall beside her, studying her silhouetted profile as she looked from her script to the characters on stage. He noticed her twirling her pen yet again and grimaced playfully.

            “That was great! Okay, next act people. Let’s get a move on!” Director Kim shouted from her seat within the audience. “Oh, and one more thing: PROJECT YOUR VOICES. A lot of you are getting lost within the first five rows. I need to hear you from back here, GOT IT?” A chorus of yes ma’ams echoed throughout the hall and the actors and actresses shuffled off the stage, allowing the crew to set up the next act.

            Hye Jin stretched on her stool, straightening out her back and rolling out her neck to relax her tensed muscles. She rotated her shoulders before adjusting her clipboard on her lap, ready for the next scenes. The stage was set and the Director called for places.

            “I’ll be back.” Hye Jin tensed as she felt Luhan’s breath against her ear. She felt him slip her pen on her ear before seeing him scurry on stage and settling at the piano. He stretched his fingers, warming them up for his songs. He flashed a playful smile at her before turning back to the ivory keys and producing the first piece, initiating the act and scene.

-Day 8-

            “Wait for me!” Luhan called after Hye Jin. He rushed out the café and sipped the coffee spilling out the lid. Holding his cup at arm’s length, he ran after her and hoped to avoid any spillage on his clothes. Hye Jin turned her head, chortling as she saw him awkwardly running with his outstretched arm.

            “You do know that you look like a dork, right?” she asked with a smile, sipping her coffee nonchalantly when he finally reached her, doubling over to catch his breath. He still held his cup in the air, making himself look even more ridiculous than when he was running. Biting back her laughter, Hye Jin reached for his cup. “Here, let me hold that.”

            He smiled gratefully. “Thanks,” he managed to gasp out. Hye Jin chuckled at him and continued to sip her drink slowly. Although she knew they had plenty of time to get back to the school, she checked her watch anyway.

            Drats, two more hours. Well, we are still at least half an hour away, not including the wait time for the bus. We’re fine, right? She went to take another sip from her drink, but brought up an empty hand. What the… She looked over to see Luhan holding her cup and taking a large gulp of her drink.

            “Uh, Luhan…” she started, shaking her head at his err.

            “What?” he asked. He wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve and raised a questioning brow at her. “What is it?” he asked again when she didn’t reply.

            “That’s my drink,” she laughed, pointing at the cup in his hand. Luhan’s brows shot up in surprise. He looked from the cup in his hand, to the one she was holding, then back to the one he had.

            “Huh, no wonder it tasted different. I thought they screwed up my order. Sorry, Hye Jin,” he apologized. Holding out the drink, he offered it back to her with a grin.

            She laughed again and shook her head at him. “I barely had any of that and it’s already half finished. You keep it. I’m just going to drink this one.” Tipping his full cup at him in a salute, she spun on her heel and walked off towards their bus stop.

            Luhan looked down at the cup in his hand, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Taking another satisfying sip, he jogged after her.

            In the shadows, a figure watched the pair laughing and joking, jealousy coursing through his veins. He was pissed. That punk, he did that on purpose. If he makes a move again, I’m going to beat the crap out of him.

--

            “Again, do it again! That was horrendous. Come on, guys. We were doing so well earlier this week, what the heck is happening? Is it because you’re all still hung or something? Yes? Well, DON’T BE. You’re at rehearsals, so act professional. AGAIN.” Director Kim sat down with a huff, still fuming at the kids on stage. She was extremely annoyed at the lackluster performance they were putting on. They only had so much time to rehearse before the first stage, she couldn’t afford to waste time repeating scenes that shouldn’t need to be redone. “Hurry and set yourselves up!” she roared, throwing a script towards the stage.

            Hye Jin sat quietly on the couch in the wings, observing the play from her special spot. She added more notes to her already marked up script, adding to the confusion of words scribbled all over the pages. Not only that, she was adding to her extremely long list of advice and tips. To her relief though, she noticed some improvement with each practice, crossing out a few pointers here and there if she knew they were up to standard, consistent, and solid. Leaning back on the armrest behind her, she decided to rest for this redo scene, opting to not mark this time around. Closing her eyes, she snuggled into her jacket comfortably and listened to the voices on stage.

            “Sleeping on the job now, aren’t we?”

            Hye Jin sat up instantly. “No, I’m not. What do you mean sleeping?” She chuckled nervously. Luhan eyed her suspiciously and sat down on her legs with a mischievous grin. “Hey! What the heck!” She squirmed under his weight. Though she knew he was holding his own weight, he was still quite heavy for her petite frame. “Get off!” she whispered angrily, pushing him as hard as she could.

            Luhan laughed at her feeble attempts. “That’s what you get for lying to me.” After a while of struggling, he finally decided to stand up, releasing her from his torment. He pointed to the other end of the couch, wordlessly telling her to move to the other side so that he wouldn’t block her. She crawled to the other side, allowing him to join her on the couch, and flipped her script open to the new scene.

            “Thanks, again, for moving this couch here, Luhan. If I have to sit on that stool one more time, I’ll kill myself. I’ll jump off a cliff is someone tells me to. Seriously.” Hye Jin leaned onto the soft cushions, turning her head to watch the new scene.

            “No problem. But, just so you know, it wasn’t entirely for you. I wanted a comfy seat too,” he teased, laughing at her incredulous expression. “I’m kidding. It was for the both of us. Happy?” he asked. Hye Jin nodded quietly and focussed back on the play.

            The last scene of the play, and for rehearsal that night, was coming to an end. Jack was escaping the city, leaving behind his trail of murders and walking into the darkness of the night. Blending in with the shadows, he would vanish into thin air, leaving the mystery of the deceased women cold and unsolved.

            Kris exited stage left, walking right towards Hye Jin in the wings. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, fidgeting with her clipboard and pen as he stopped right next to her. Reaching down, he her hair, tracing his fingers down her jaw. He grabbed her chin and forcefully turned her to face him.

            “So did you enjoy my show?” he asked arrogantly. Hye Jin pushed his hand off with a scoff and gathered her belongings. Luhan quickly got up to help her, placing her things neatly into her bag before wearing it on his shoulder. She bowed her head at Kris before striding past him, exiting the theater through the backstage dressing rooms. Luhan smiled amiably at Kris as he passed by, bowing a full ninety degrees before jogging after Hye Jin.

            Very soon, babe, you’ll be mine once more. Just you wait.

--

-Day 10-

            “Quick, you’re up soon.” Hye Jin tapped Luhan on the cheek, waking him up from his nap. He scrunched his nose, displeased and annoyed by the disturbance. Swatting away her hand, he lifted his head off her lap and stretched out his arms with a yawn. Rubbing his eye, he dragged his feet towards the piano, waiting for his cue to begin playing the song. Kris entered the stage and sat down at one of the tables. Cue music.

            Hye Jin listened distractedly, waiting for a mispronounced word from the students on stage. She twirled her pen, staring at the pages on her clipboard blankly, losing herself in her thoughts. Slowly the printed words started to blend together and the voices became a long droning sound. The familiar dark haze began to creep into her thoughts, luring her into her dark place.

            “Hye Jin?”

            She snapped out of her thoughts, shaking her head once to clear the memories that still lingered. “Oh, you’re done?” she whispered to Luhan. He nodded his head in reply, taking a seat next to her. Curiosity briefly flickered in his eyes, but he put on a smile and just let it slide. He prodded her clipboard silently and she rolled her eyes with a sigh. “I’m not your pillow, Luhan,” she grumbled, but let him lay down anyway. He shot her a peace sign before comfortably resting his head on her lap and shutting his eyes. Light snores almost instantly followed as he quickly slipped into dreamland.

            I wonder why you’re so sleepy today… She chuckled softly, shaking her head in wonder. Turning her attention back to the stage, she listened to the rest of the play. Once in a while, she would mark up her script, but most of the time, she was zoned out, lost in thought.

            She hadn’t meant to do it, but she started to recall her past. Her tortured memories resurfaced once again, suffocating her in her dark void. She closed her eyes and watched the images rush through her head. She saw their intertwined hands, their first date, their first kiss, all the momentous events which used to make her cheeks blush and heart race.

            Now, though, they made her heart wrench, made her cheeks flush with anger. She became paralyzed with fear rather than with shock. His presence made her antsy instead of restless with nerves. She hated him now even more than she had loved him before. He broke her.

            She hadn’t known when she closed her eyes, but she was suddenly aware of the darkness around her. A light, rhythmic poking on her cheek brought her out of her stupor.

            “Hey, hey, hey, hey, Hye Jin, hey, hey, hey, Jin, hey,” Luhan mumbled, poking her dimple. He knew she had fallen into her little world again just by looking at her expression. Her tensed limbs also confirmed his assumption. “Are you awake yet? Do I need to do like the fairy tales and wake up the sleeping princess with a kiss?” he said with a smirk. He knew that would do the trick.

            Hye Jin’s eyes shot open and she looked down at Luhan with a frown. He looked right back at her with a cheeky grin, his fingers lightly rested against her jaw. He gave her cheek a tap before bringing his hand down, his eyes never leaving hers. She was the first to look away, staring out to the stage to break the tension.

            “That wasn’t cool, Luhan,” Hye Jin grumbled, slapping him lightly on the forehead. She wanted to tell him more, that joking with a girl about kisses was wrong and cruel, but she clammed up. Who was she to tell him that? It wasn’t like she was dating him, or possibly contemplating the idea. No, she was just a friend. If she mentioned the thought, it would imply that she was attracted to him in the slightest. But, she wasn’t, was she?

            “Cool or not, it worked, didn’t it?” he bit back, turning to his side to hide his hurt expression. Why does it bother me that she is so against the idea, joke or not? He coughed to clear his mind and drew patterns on her knee to distract himself.

            “I guess it did, just don’t do it again, okay?” she mumbled quietly. Had he listened carefully or even looked at her expression, he would’ve heard and seen her reluctance.

            “You’re the boss.”

            The air grew heavy with unspoken words and hidden emotions. What would’ve turned Hye Jin into a heap of giggles was unfelt as Luhan continued drawing on her knees, alternating between the left cap and right. There were so many things they wanted to express, but neither of them knew what they wanted to say or even what they wanted to talk about. The tension was unnerving and they wondered what had made them feel so awkward now. Unfortunately, they were interrupted by someone even more unsettling.

            “Well, would you look at that? Comfortable now, are we? You guys have nothing else better to do than lay around and sleep?” Kris sneered, startling Hye Jin. She jumped in her seat, knocking Luhan’s head off her leg and scrambled to her feet. A jumble of stutters and broken sentences rolled off her tongue and she had to bite them back. She stood in silent repentance, ashamed that he was somewhat right. The stage was clear and a hum of voices emanated from backstage.

            “We weren’t doing anything-“

            Kris cut Luhan off with a glare. “That you were. Everyone else is busting their asses off trying to get bring this production to perfection while you two are doing who knows what in the wings. I thought you were better than this, Hye Jin.” He shot her a look of disappointment before looking at Luhan with a glare. Turning on his heel, he started towards the dressing rooms to join the rest of the cast and crew. He stopped to look back at them coldly, his gaze lingering on Hye Jin longer than he had intended to. “There’s a meeting right now and the Director needs you both there.” With that, he disappeared through the doors.

            “We should…go…” Hye Jin mumbled, taking quick strides towards the door backstage. Her head was downcast, her hair masking her glistening eyes. Why did I let his words affect me so? Maybe because most of it was true. She knew it was more than that, though. When he had looked at her, she definitely saw his disappointment, but there was something else behind his eyes. She didn’t know if she saw it correctly, but she swore she saw betrayal.

--

            “Wonderful rehearsal tonight, people, really. Give yourselves a pat on the back because that last run through was darn near perfect. Now, just a few housekeeping things I need to take care of. Costume fittings will be starting next week and will go on for two weeks. There will be no full rehearsals for these two weeks, but we will be working on the musical numbers during the second week. The first week, the main cast will be meeting one on one with Hye Jin. She has been working very hard, listening for errors in your accents. Take into account everything she has to say, okay? It’ll benefit you. Other than that, we’re all done for the night. Have a good weekend, everybody!”

            Excited murmurs arose as everyone filed out of the dressing room; talks of costumes and fabrics were exchanged and gushed over in animated chatter. Hye Jin observed her peers’ joyous faces, many of them ecstatic for their week long break. Regrettably, she could not join them in their merry celebrations. She still had work to do.

            “Okay, team, the real work starts after the next two weeks. Rest up and get ready to have full rehearsals with costumes and quick set changes.” Director Kim picked up her bag with a sigh, ushering the crew out of the dressing room. She pulled Luhan aside, slowing down so that they trailed behind the crew a couple of paces. “Luhan, I need you to finish that saloon piece as soon as you can. If you don’t have it by the end of the two weeks, well, we’re going to have to use the original score,” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. His looked down at his shoes in shame and disappointment. “I’m not pressuring you to do this, Luhan. You know we won’t hold anything against you if we do end up using the original piece.”

            Luhan nodded his head and mumbled an “I know”. She patted his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

            “I just want the best for you, dear. We both know that this is a great opportunity to showcase your compositions and skills, but just remember, this won’t be your only chance, okay? If you really can’t compose a song, then so be it. Don’t beat yourself up over this, understood?” She ruffled his hair, smiling down at him comfortingly. He lightly smiled back and gave a nod. “Good, now get going. She’s waiting for you.” She nudged him forward with a knowing smile and turned back into the dressing room, closing the door before he could even say anything.

--

            Hye Jin swung her dangling legs, staring up at the clear, pitch black sky above. She counted the stars, marvelling at how brightly they shone in the night, winking down at her with distant secrets. The wind picked up, shuffling around the fallen leaves around her. A shiver passed through her body and she tugged her jacket tighter. Her breath came out in light wisps as the temperatures began to drop.

            It looks like the season is changing soon. Can I say the same thing for my life? Hye Jin sighed in wonder. Things certainly haven’t been normal ever since she received the letter. Oh, and not to mention her past coming back to haunt her in the form of her high school sweetheart, Kris Wu. She realized that everything seemed to be changing for the worst. The old habits she thought she had broken and the doubtful girl she had once been was resurfacing. They were swimming to the surface of her character and drowning her self-confident, outspoken demeanor she had tried so hard to forge.

            But then again, there are some good changes, no doubt. Images of Director Kim, the cast and crew, the stage and lights, played through her thoughts. Who knew such things, without pages and literary texts, could bring joy and optimism into her life?

            And then there was Luhan. Who was he to her? He most definitely was a friend, one she could trust with her secrets and weaknesses. Even though they had only just met, he was always there for her. He took care of her, made her laugh, and comforted her whenever she got lost in her thoughts. If not for Luhan accompanying her in the wings during rehearsals, Hye Jin knew she would never be able to make it through the two hours.

            So, who was he to her? She couldn’t figure it out for something decided to interrupt her.

            “Rehearsals are long over, Hye Jin. Why are you still here?”

            She grimaced at the voice and growled back a reply. “It’s none of your concern, Kris.” She didn’t even bother looking over at him. After what he had done to her, he didn’t deserve her time.

            “I’m just asking. Damn, girl, when did you get so angry? You’re nothing like the innocent girl, sweet girl I dated once before,” he answered, slightly by her attitude. This girl in front of him was nothing like his Hye Jin from high school. And he sort of liked it.

            “I don’t care of what you ask or do. Just leave me alone.” Hye Jin jumped off the ledge and landed lightly on her feet, shaking off her jacket of any leaves or dirt. Gathering her scarf and bag, she bowed her head politely at Kris before turning towards the school to wait inside.

            “I don’t like how close you two are.” Kris’ voice came out in nothing more than a whisper, but Hye Jin still heard him. She stopped walking and looked back at him, only glancing at him over her shoulder. Although he hadn’t named any names, she knew who he was referring to.

            “Like I care what you think. You don’t own me anymore, remember?” she replied with a scoff. Sending him one last glare, she looked away and pulled open the door. He watched her enter the building, walking away from him. He watched as she strode down the hall, meeting a figure halfway with a light hug. His eyes darkened and his heart tugged as he watched the duo laughing and smiling, completely unaware of anything or anyone around them.

            He couldn’t bear to witness the scene anymore and turned towards the parking lot, mumbling empty promises to himself. “I don’t own you yet, my dear little Hye Jin. Not yet. But, I promise you, I’ll get you back.”

--

            Hye Jin didn’t dare look back after she entered the school. She knew she couldn’t face him for she feared she would break down. It took everything she had not to burst into tears and sob out her replies. She was just that weak.

            Taking a breath, she tried to calm her nerves as she trudged down the hall to no particular destination. She didn’t want to leave just yet, scared that Kris would still be out there. Why had I waited, anyway? Who was I waiting for? I don’t usually stay behind often, so why did I today? She shook her head, disappointed in her own stupidity. Lost in her own self reprimanding, she hadn’t noticed a figure turning the corner and walking towards her.

            “Hye Jin! What are you still doing here? I thought you would’ve left by now.” Luhan jogged the rest of the way, stopping just in front of her and greeting her with a hug. Hye Jin tensed at the unexpected embrace, but quickly relaxed with a laugh. She lightly returned the hug and pulled away.

            “Honestly, I don’t even know why I’m still here. I guess I got too distracted by the stars,” she chuckled, knocking her head playfully.

            “You’re always zoning out, huh? Are you…okay?” he asked, a hint of concern in his eyes.

            Hye Jin smiled, and shook her head. “Don’t worry, I’m okay.”

            The both of them walked out of the school to the furthest stalls in the parking lot, to their silently declared spots. Nobody liked to park far away from the school. For their own convenience, they always chose the nearest stalls. Hye Jin and Luhan figured since they were always one of the last to leave campus, they would park further out and reserve the closer stalls for the peers. Also, it meant they could easily park next to each other without trouble.

           “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Luhan asked out of habit. Hye Jin raised an eyebrow at him and laughed. He looked back, confused.

            “Uh, no, I won’t be seeing you tomorrow because it’ll be Saturday. If I remember correctly, we don’t have rehearsals,” she chortled, grinning at him playfully. He stuck his tongue out at her and poked her forehead. “Anyway, see you on Monday.” She quickly hugged him and headed to her driver side door.

            “Yeah, see you on Monday,” Luhan replied, waving at her before he hastily entered his car and started up the engine. He hoped she hadn’t seen his flustered expression and reddened cheeks.

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Hmm, this was long. Lots of useless info/description, but that's just how I write >_< I wonder if anybody is even reading this....

See you in the next Chapter!

-greenninjapanda GNP-