“You were hurt, alone and afraid.

You said I was too good for you.

But I chose you over all of that,

You weren’t what others wanted,

 And I loved you for it.”

All the stools had been lined up in a row on the stage, with Rainie at the center. As each girl sat smiling widely and following their BTOB partners with mesmerized eyes, Rainie did the exact opposite. She stared anywhere but at Minhyuk.  She knew she was supposed to be looking at him, but she just couldn’t. Rainie felt bad that he was making a sincere effort to move her with his romantic words, but she knew those words couldn’t ── no, shouldn’t be for her. Never had a boy ever said anything so loving to her before, with the exception of Sungjae. He didn’t count anyways, he was her brother.

And every time she attempted to glance at Minhyuk, all she saw was Peniel staring at her from behind him. He wasn’t blatantly gawking at her, but it was all too clear that his eyes would slide over every chance they got. The obvious frustration displayed by Minah squirming beside him confirmed Rainie’s thoughts. Rainie fought to focus her mind on Minhyuk, who was still dancing around her like a big-eyed puppy.

It was over before she knew it. The rest of the girls were standing up and brushing non-existent dust off their tiny skirts, fluffing their hair with pompous looks upon their faces. They flounced away, tittering maniacally to each other. Sungjae came over to Rainie and patted her affectionately on the head.

“Don’t be so stone-faced, Rainie-ah, you almost made Minhyuk pee his pants.” Sungjae laughed, pulling Minhyuk to his side out of thin air.

“I did not almost pee my pants.” Minhyuk frowned. His eyebrows furrowed and made him look even more like a baby animal.

“I’ve never seen you so nervous in your life hyung, I didn’t think my little sister could have that effect on you.” Sungjae continued, ignoring Minhyuk’s comment. “You were sweating for once!”

“Was not!”

“Was too!”

“Was not!”

“WAS TOO!”

“WAS… oh whatever.” Minhyuk sighed and walked away, throwing his hands up in the air and muttering to himself.  

“Seriously though, you looked fit to murder someone up there.” Sungjae turned his attention to Rainie, who flushed red in embarrassment.

“Really? I didn’t mean to…” Rainie replied self-consciously. “I’ll try to do better next time.”

“You just need to calm down a bit. And stop staring at Peniel. I swear, I thought you two were going to burn each others’ eyes out.” Sungjae said. “You know, I didn’t let Hyungsik partner with you for a reason.”

“And what would that be?” Rainie asked, remembering how she had found it odd that Sungjae had called Hyungsik a ert. He didn’t exactly seem like one.

“He’s a huge flirt.” Sungjae said in a dismissive tone. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“You don’t need to worry about me, Sungjae, I can take care of myself.”

“The problem is, I really don’t think you can.”

The lights on the stage were hot. Very hot. Rainie could literally feel the sweat and steam sticking like sheets of glue to her face. And all those eyes… those judgmental, calculating eyes. They didn’t help her nerves either. She could hear their voices, hissing threats and curses at her.  

“What does that thing think she’s doing, sitting up there mooning over MY Minhyukkie?” One girl screeched while she chomped down on several pieces of gum.

“Yeah, she didn’t even win a backstage pass.” Her friend nodded furiously. “She must have cheated her way in.”

Similar comments arose from others beside them. Thankfully, the loud music blasting from the speakers helped block most of their harsh words, but Rainie could still see their faces, outlined by the bright stage lights. Trying to ignore them, she breathed deeply and forced herself to stare directly at Minhyuk.

The poor boy almost jumped off the stage, he hadn’t expected her to do that. Having gone through the rehearsal with her avoiding his eyes, Rainie’s intense gaze made the sweat start paddling like crazy down the stream on his cheek.

Seeing his surprised expression, Rainie knew she had to stop whatever terrorizing look was occupying her face. Managing a small smile, she tried to look sweeter.

And just like that, Minhyuk’s whole posture changed. He stood up straighter, danced more energetically, and even started to grin in a way that seemed all his own.

”Because you’re my angel,

My perfect, beautiful angel.

Scarred but healed,

We’ll piece each other back together.”

Then, suddenly, Minhyuk took Rainie’s hand. Pulling her up, he twirled her around as he sang.

Rainie followed along with his dancing hesitantly. This wasn’t in the script, was it? As the other members started to notice the pair dancing together, they grabbed their partners and followed along.

The reaction of the audience was immediate. A collective wave of indignant stammering swept across them. Nearly the whole room was in an uproar now, half gesticulating angrily, the rest cheering with a mixture of jealousy and yearning.     

Even with all the commotion, Rainie was happy. She hadn’t felt this excited for so long, it was as if she were an old woman stretching her rusted joints. Minhyuk was smiling, and being her mirror, she found herself smiling right back at him. 

A/N: Those lyrics above....well I made them up. >.< They aren't an actual BTOB song, I just thought the words sounded good together and could be a song. Please don't make fun of me, ah, I know I'm not confident in my composition skills at all. I'll be doing a double update today! Remember to subscribe/comment/upvote if you like my writing! Thanks!