Kai’s POV

To say that my dance auditions were difficult would be lying. It almost made me wonder why I was so nervous about them in the first place. I was sure I did amazing. It was one of the few things in life I knew I was exceptionally good at, and I wasn’t going to half- it just because I knew I could. I gave it my all in the studio and I could see that my classmates and teachers were impressed.

But those impressions of me didn’t matter as much as some.

As I watched the girl I was in love with return to our table from the bathroom, I could only wonder why I had been such an idiot for so long. I spent a good portion of my childhood hating her, quite another bit of it being fascinated with her, and the past few years had been spent irreversibly in love with her.

She was everything I could want in a girl: witty, intelligent, and kind. She was beautiful, no doubt about that, but her beauty was nothing in face of the fact that she loved me for who I was. She didn’t care that I was sometimes insecure about how I looked, or if I was smart or not. She held my hand when I was feeling sad, and she managed to make me smile even when I didn’t need her to. She was one of my best friends, and I wouldn’t trade her for the world.

We were out to dinner, and she was explaining to me that she was going to try and arrange an internship with the orphanage back home. She was really dedicated to those kids, and it had me thinking about how she much she cared for other people. I would have been blind to see that her kindness extended to everyone she met, even those who she didn’t particularly like. I could learn a thing or two from her.

Daesang had been on my mind since the moment we met so many months ago. I was hit with jealousy I never knew was possible when I saw how well she and him got along. Despite willing myself not to go there, I couldn't help but think how good of a couple they would make. They were both writers, and had a love for the supernatural and fantasy genres. I didn’t want to admit it, but Daesang was also really nice, and he seemed to have an interest in kids as well. They both liked the color green, they both had good relationships with their family and, well, they just looked good together. Maybe that’s why I had that outburst during the orientation. I just didn’t want to admit to myself that Kaemi could do so much better than me. I couldn’t stand to think that she had other options. I had been so hell-bent on making her look only at me, that maybe I didn’t notice the competition.

“Kai? Are you okay? You seem spaced out.”

Her voice broke me out of my thoughts, and I looked to see her standing up, jacket on. I flashed her a grin and shook my head.

“I’m fine,” I reassured her. “Just got lost in your beauty for a moment.” She rolled her eyes, but her cheeks pinked and she grabbed my hand. We left the restaurant for the brisk chill of the Seoul evening and headed back to the campus, where we fell asleep, cuddled on her couch.

#

The next morning, I woke to the smell of pancakes and honey. Kaemi was no longer at my side, so I assumed it was her, but when I glanced through the arch separating the living room from the kitchen, I saw Rae cooking.

“Morning Prince Charming,” she called, expertly flipping the pancake in the pan. “Sleeping Beauty went to shower. She should be out soon; she’s got a class in an hour.” At the reminder that there were classes, I shot up off the couch. A quick glance told me that it was 8:30AM; I still had just enough time to make it back to my own room to shower before class, but not much.

“Can you tell her that we can meet for lunch? I have to go!” I left before giving the red haired girl time to reply.

As I made it back to my room, Levi, my roommate was just getting up. He gave me a sleepy wave as I shuffled through my drawers for my workout clothes and a towel. I have never showered so quickly in my life, but I was ready to go in twenty minutes, and began the trek across campus to the dance studios.

When I made it the studios, I was surprised to find that my class was only half full. A few of the students were already doing some warm up stretches and I joined them, recognizing one of the guys from the same audition group as me.

“Zelo, right?” I asked the curly haired boy stretching his hamstrings. He looked up and shot me a grin.

“The one and only,” he replied, winking at the girl standing to my right. She blushed and turned away, embarrassed that she was caught staring at him. “You’re Kai, right? Killer moves yesterday. Where did you learn to dance like that?”

And just like that, I had made a new friend.

Class started a few minutes later, and the last few students trickled in just before the teacher. The format of the class was pretty loose: because there were so many styles and we were all at a pretty advanced level, we would be working on individual and group projects to mark our progress throughout the semester. At the end of the year, there would be a showcase of each dance class that the rest of the university and outside community would be invited to attend. It was especially exciting because we got split into smaller groups and were able to come up with the choreography ourselves. I knew this would take a lot of work outside of class, but I was up to the challenge.

Forming a group was easy. Zelo and I teamed up, along with two other guys, Jongkook and Hyunseung, and a girl, Min. They were all really good dancers, and like most others in the class, we had training in a variety of styles.

After picking out of a hat what expression we would be performing at the end of the year showcase, we did just a few simple dances in class (so as to keep us on our toes, according to the teacher) and were let go a little early. My group and I decided to get to work right away, and we agreed to meet back at the studios after dinner. We traded numbers and parted ways; I was optimistic about the coming months. New friends, new challenges… Things were looking up.

I checked my phone for messages, and saw that Kaemi had texted me just before class started. The message was cute, and a tad bit sarcastic, but I wasn’t expecting anything different. I messaged her back the typical sappy reply and headed to my next class.

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A/N: A very short chapter, sorry! But I told you, no matter how long I am away from this story, I will not abandon it. I just don't have it in me. But I'm getting back on writing game. While this won't be updated super frequently, expect a chapter at least once every two weeks. As usual, comment, subscribe and upvote. Check out my other stories, and be sure to spread the word like wildfire!

Also, introducing an Ask the Characters segment to each chapter! Ask any character any question, and I will answer them at the end of every new chapter. No question is too invasive and all characters are up for questioning. I am excited to see what questions you all have, so don't be afraid to ask!

xoxox

aeru