“How was the party?” Myungsoo carefully released the chemical from the dropper and noted down his observations. He hadn’t been looking her way since the class started, because he wasn’t sure if he could handle a distressed looking HyunA without falling for her even deeper.
“As far as I remembered, it was okay. Or at least it was okay before I got drunk.” She spun the pen in her hand. The text messages from Kris had been vague and although it seemed as though nothing happened, she had this notion that she has definitely done something. ‘But what?’
“You got drunk?” Myungsoo looked up in shock, dropping the beaker and their experiment shattered by his feet. Gasping, she immediately got off her stool and started cleaning up their area but Myungsoo remained stoned in his position. “What happened?” his question was what she wanted to know too.
“I don’t know.” She sighed, rinsing the cloth under the tap water. “I can’t remember what happened.”

Silence had ensued throughout the lesson but as he packed his belongings, Myungsoo couldn’t help but voice another of his burning question. “You haven’t been joining us for dance practice lately.” He had heard some rumors, but he didn’t want to believe it. She was never close to Kris’ friends, so why would she be hanging out with them all of a sudden?
“Oh, that.” She looked up from the books she was gathering. “I was grouped with Lay and Luhan. It’s a long story and somehow it just happened. Sorry.”
“Oh,” Since when had we gotten this awkward? Myungsoo cleared his throat and flashed a smile at her. “They’re great, especially Lay. I’m sure you’re improving at a faster rate than when you were learning from me.”
“Will you be taking part in the dance battle?”
“I haven’t had enough time to practice any routines.” He waved his once injured arm. “Still trying to get back in shape so I’m skipping this one. Maybe next year I will.”
“I can’t wait to see you in action.” Since when had we drifted so far?

///

She was partially thankful for the exhaustive dance lessons Lay put her under, because by the end of the day, she would always be too tired to think about Kris and her drunken incident. She could lie to herself that everything was fine and her body would be too tired to rebuke. Everything was going fine again. Maybe. During lunch Luhan would invite her to join them and somehow it seemed as though Kris was avoiding her on purpose because she never did see him for lunch. Of course, Chen and his crazy antics always made her feel welcomed and Tao did a great job of keeping the jealous cheerleaders (of her hanging out with EXO, what else?) away from them, but at the same time, she felt out of place. Kris who was the link between her and EXO was constantly missing. Her dance lessons also kept her from joining Myungsoo and the rest of their clique. It felt as though she was stranded in the middle of a tightrope.

“HyunA rarely hangs out with us anymore.” Lizzy pouted as she glanced over at the table which took centre stage with its noise level. The boys were creating a great deal of ruckus which HyunA must deem funny from how she leaned against Xiumin for support while she giggled. “She must love her life there.”
Myungsoo took a glance out of the corner of his eye and immediately returned his attention back to his kimchi stew. Although neither of them had voiced it, surely HyunA was close to ending their act. She had successfully blended into the EXO circle and it wouldn’t be before long now that she starts dating Kris. He would have to stop his heart from delving further. That was what he promised himself when he started the game. He isn’t supposed to hurt himself or HyunA.

///

“Are you sure you’re