(FLASHBACK)

YEAR 2010

Victoria’s POV

“You tired?” Nichkhun asked and I nodded. I was still panting with exhaustion after 6 hours of dance practice. We were now in SM’s practice room.

    Me and Nichkhun got an offer to perform as a couple at MBC’S Gayo Daejun. It was really an amazing offer and I really want to nail it. This is also a huge chance for me to show off my dancing skills.

    “Let’s do it one more time. The last one.” I said as I stretched. I heard Nichkhun whined.

    “You said that last time.” He complained but still got into his position. I the music and we started dancing again.

    We had been practicing for almost a month now and the big day is only a week away. It was a bit tiring since we had to practice almost every day but the more we practice, the better we get. I was really nervous since this is my first time dancing on a big stage with only one partner and I really, really don’t want to screw things up.

    “Okay! Done!” Nichkhun exclaimed with relief when we finished and plopped himself on the benches. I was still standing, arms crossed as I looked at my reflection in the wide mirror. I was still not satisfied with our performance.

    “Let’s do it again.” I said as my hands waved him over. He groaned again and stomped his feet. I just rolled my eyes at him.

    “I thought you said—” He closed his mouth shut when I shot him a glare.

    “I know, I know but I want this to be perfect. It still feels like something’s missing. There’s no… feel? Yeah, there are no emotions in our dance.” I said in an exasperated tone.

    “Maybe that’s because you need to relax. Do you know how stiff you’ve been? Here…” Nichkhun lightly placed his hands on my hips and swayed them side to side. “You need to loosen up and also you need to act more y.” He chuckled and I scowled at him through the mirror.

    “Okay, okay I got it.” I the music and started dancing again.

    I listened to what he said and danced a bit more sultrily and I could feel Nichkhun being a bit more passionate as well. I was a bit shocked when his hands were no longer in their usual ‘manner’ when he held me. And when it was time for the kiss, he would usually turn his face to the other side so our cheeks would touch but instead he leaned in closer. His lips were close to mine. Startled, I let go of my hands around his neck and fell back on the floor. Nichkhun fell on top of me but managed to support his weight off of me.

    “Are you okay?” He almost breathed. I quickly pushed him back and scrambled myself to stand up.

    “Sorry about that. Guess I’m too tired.” I lied, looking away.

    “I told you so.” He chuckled and just lay down on the floor, probably exhausted. I walked towards the benches and took as seat.

    I stared at Nichkhun and sighed. It’s been almost two months since the whole Tiffany thing happened and it’s getting harder and harder for me to go on with this show without feeling extremely guilty. I haven’t told Nichkhun that I know everything so he was treating me more lovingly than ever. It was still a big blur whether he was being real or not. To be honest, I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.

    I remembered how awkward the first shooting for WGM after knowing the situation was.

(FLASHBACK)

Me and Nichkhun were doing a shooting at our WGM house today. Nichkhun was supposed to cook for me today so I came early at the house and waited for him. When he came, I wasn’t as excited as I usually would be. I was acting a bit cold towards him today but it wasn’t on purpose. I just naturally did that to him.

    For some reason seeing his face made my insides uncomfortable. I didn’t know why but it was extremely annoying. I sighed.

    “Victoria, can I talk to you for a bit.” The director called when we were on our break. I followed him out the door and we were now outside on the porch.

    “Is there something wrong?” I asked, a smile on my face.

    “Did you two fight?” I was about to answer but he cut me off. “Don’t try to lie to me. It’s pretty obvious that you’re upset with him.” I hung my head low and I heard him sighed. “Okay, I need you to set your personal feelings away and focused on the recording. Can you do that?” I took a deep breath and nodded.

    “I understand. I’m sorry.” I apologized. The director went back inside the house but I didn’t follow him. I stood on the porch and placed my hands on the steel rails to support my weight as I leaned forward. It’s a nice day today.

    “Hey you okay?” I didn’t need to turn around to know who the owner of that deep voice was. Nichkhun leaned his back against the rails and gazed at me.

    “I’m fine. There’s just a lot on my mind right now.”

    “You can tell me. Maybe I could help.” He smiled at me but I shook my head. I’m having a major headache because of you, I sneered mentally.

    “It’s okay, you wouldn’t understand.” I lied. Of course he would understand. He’s the only who could understand.

    “Just try me. I think I can handle it.” He encouraged. I took a quick glance at him from the corner of my eyes as I thought about it. I turned to face him.

    “Do you have anyone you like in this industry?” I asked. He looked surprised but then cocked his head to the side.

    “There is actually…” He looked back at me with a smile on his face. “Victoria-ssi.” He stated and chuckled. I rolled my eyes at him and looked away. I wanted him to confess to me about the whole situation but I guess he rather locked his lips tight.

    “You know, that’s getting really old. It’s obvious that you’re lying.” I said snidely. He looked at me quizzically.

    “I’m not lying, it’s true.” He raised his right hand up in a swearing gesture. “You’re my forever.” He chuckled and I could see his ears turning slightly pinkish. I’m really tired of this façade of his right now. It’s fine when we’re recording but when it’s just us, I really want him to be honest with me.

    I snorted mentally and shook my head. Yeah right.

After that it was hard to just act normal with him but I would sometime forget about everything when Nichkhun gave me his warm smile or when he squeezed my shoulders to comfort me or when he lightly teased me. Honestly, when I’m with him, I’m in a different world. I forget about everything and just let myself react to him naturally. But of course after the recording ended, I would mentally scold myself for losing to him like that.

    It’s getting tougher and I don’t think I can stop myself from falling deeper for him when he’s treating me more and more lovingly each day.

    “I’m really excited for next week.” I pulled myself away from my thoughts and gazed at Nichkhun who was still lying on the floor, his eyes closed.

    “I’m not. I’m really nervous. What if I can’t do well?” I sighed and closed my eyes.

    “I’m going to be right there beside you, so you don’t have to worry.” I felt something squeezing my shoulder. My eyes shot opened and was surprised to see Nichkhun sitting next to me. He gave me that boyish smile of his and I couldn’t help but smile back.

    “What time is it? It’s late. We should get going.” I said as I looked at my phone. It was past 3 in the morning. Wow, I didn’t realize how late it had gotten.

    “Let me rest for a minute. My body’s really sore.” My heart jumped when he rested his head on my shoulder, his eyes slowly closing. I stifled a giggle as I gazed at his angelic face. My fingers slowly drew closer to his face to brush back a strand of hair on his forehead but I quickly pulled my hand back when I realized what I was doing.

    It’s times like these that I lose myself to him. No matter how many times I told myself not to fall for him yet, I just can’t help it. I was already in too deep before I knew what was going on. I was lying to myself. I can’t let these feelings go. No matter how much I denied it, I do have feelings for him. I do love him…

    But it’s still meaningless. He’s with Tiffany. When this is all over, he’ll be back by her side, where he really belongs. There’s nothing I can do about that.

    I gazed at his handsome face as the tears formed in my eyes. I swallowed back the sobs and slowly rested my head on top of his. I closed my eyes when I smelt his familiar scent.

    It’s okay Victoria, it won’t hurt. It may hurt now but it’ll pass. He’s just not yours.

Tiffany’s POV

It’s been over a month since I broke down in front of Victoria yet, everything was still the same. I admit, after telling Victoria about my relationship with Nichkhun, I expected her to quit doing WGM but there were no news indicating they would both leave the show.

    “Hey, are you listening?” I shook my head and snapped out of my thoughts. Siwon was waving his hand in front of my face. I smiled apologetically at him. He let out a disbelief laugh and leaned back against the couch. We were in our company right now. “Here I was rambling about what happened to me today and you completely spaced out. Am I that boring?” Siwon sulked and I pinched his cheeks.

    “Sorry about that. I was just… thinking about something.” I smiled at him and he was smirking.

    “Thinking about Korea’s corniest couple?” He laughed and I rolled my eyes at him. “Why are you still thinking about that?” Siwon asked as he played with my phone in his hands. Siwon and I are really close friends. He’s like the big brother I always wanted. He’s nonchalant, playful, and childish and loves to tease (especially me) but he’s also mature, responsible, caring, down-to-earth and is a master at helping his friends out.

    “How can I not think about that?” I stated obviously. “Nothing happened.”

    “Maybe Victoria had fallen for Nichkhun and decided to steal him away from you.” He said bluntly. My eyes widened at him. That was a possibility but knowing Victoria, she would never do that to me… right? “Hey relax, I’m kidding.” Siwon clearly saw the alarm in my eyes. “Besides, I heard from my manager who heard from a staff that Victoria was practically begging Soo Man to let her quit WGM. But he didn’t let her cause of the show’s ratings and stuff.” I exhaled with relief to hear that.

    I didn’t need to worry anymore. Victoria already knows and I’m certain that things are going to be fine.

    “Don’t do that okay?” I glared at him. “Victoria won’t do something that vicious towards me. I trust her.” I stated but still… I’ve seen girls stabbing their friends in the back for love in movies a lot of times. Victoria is a girl and… Nichkhun is a guy… There’s bound to be an attraction between them…

    “Hey, hey stop imagining things.” Siwon was snapping his fingers in front of my face. I pushed his hand away and he grinned at me.

    “Hey guys!” Eunhyuk said as he plopped himself on the couch next to me. “What are you two talking about?” Besides my members, Siwon was the only guy who knew about my whole situation and I intend to keep it that way. I don’t need anyone else getting into this mess. I exchanged a look with Siwon.

    “Not much, just catching up.” I nodded in agreement and secretly threw a wink at Siwon. I could see him suppressing a smile. “What about you, what are you doing here? I thought you said you had a day off today?”

    “Oh, I had a sudden recording just now. I just finished it.” He explained.

    “Recording?” I asked. Eunhyuk nodded and pointed a finger on the floor.

    “At the first floor practice room. I was suddenly asked to make an appearance on WGM.” My body stiffened when he said the last word. “I was just helping Victoria and Nichkhun with their dance performance. Wah did you guys know that they’re going to perform together at Gayo Daejun? Wow!” Eunhyuk said enthusiastically. I winced but he didn’t notice it. Siwon looked at me and I smiled weakly at him.

    “Are you a big fan or something? You’re too excited about this.” Siwon teased and Eunhyuk chuckled as he placed both his hands on the side of his face.

    “Yah, you wouldn’t believe what I saw down there. It was like…” He started to squeal like a fan-girl and Siwon slapped his knees. He only laughed. “They both look really good together. And don’t get me started about the chemistry, yah the skinship they had is unbearable. You should’ve seen our choreographer. He was obviously jealous.” He laughed again.

    I felt the tears threatening to spill but I held them back in. Was what I thought about earlier true? Did Victoria really had fallen in love with Nichkhun and decided to replace me in his heart? Or maybe Nichkhun already confessed to her and they’re now dating? I felt my chest getting heavier and tighter.

    “Hey Tiffany?” I heard Siwon called but I couldn’t move. He shook my shoulder but I just kept staring into nothing.

    “Tiffany, something wrong?” Eunhyuk grabbed my wrist. “Oh! Nichkhun was wearing the exact same bracelet as you. I was just thinking how cool it looked.” I finally snapped out of it when I heard him say that, a smile on my face.

    “Really?” I asked, a bit too eager. Eunhyuk was startled a bit but nodded. My smile grew wider and I traced the infinity pendant bracelet on my left wrist. He’s wearing it too.

    “Whoa, I gotta run. See you guys later.” Eunhyuk said as he looked at his wrist watch. I heard Siwon said goodbye to him but I only nodded as I gazed at my bracelet.

    “Okay, what’s with that weird look on your face. You look like you’re drunk.” Siwon commented mockingly but I was too happy to be affected by him.

    “He’s wearing it too.” I murmured. “I gave him a bracelet just like this on Valentine’s Day…. I can’t believe he’s still wearing it.”

    “Ahhh, now I get it. They’re couple bracelets aren’t they? No wonder you look so happy.” He chuckled and I stuck my tongue out at him. “So now I guess you don’t have to worry about them anymore?”

    “I’m good for now. But I don’t know how I feel about the couple dance they’re doing.”

    “I’m betting it’s a y dance.” I slapped Siwon’s shoulder and scowled at him. He laughed and ruffled my hair. “I’m just kidding.” He laughed but I just sighed.

    “I know but it still might be true.” An image of Nichkhun and Victoria holding each other passionately popped in my mind. I quickly shook my head.

    It’s okay. They’re just acting, that’s all it is.

    And for the first time, I actually believe it.

~~~

Hey my lovely cupcakes! >.< I hope you guys like my story so far. I was planning on doing the next chapter about Nichkhun so I hope you guys like it. Exams are just about to finish and I think I'm doing great so far. But I still have a bad feeling about it. Okay, okay, I won't think about it. So lately I've been creating a lot of posters for my fanfic and it's really fun since it's like my first time doing posters like this. Hope you guys like it <3

P.S. Thanks for the support, comments and criticsm. They helped a lot and I'm really motivated. Thank you cupcakes~~~!