Silver stilettos graced the gym’s hallway flooring with gentle kisses as Aya sauntered to Kai’s dance studio. Deep down, the inevitable hip swaying the high heels forced upon her body irked her; she didn’t want extra attention. The entrance staff gave her dolled up appearance an excessively long once-over as she swiped her student ID at the front desk, but there weren’t many other spectators after. Thank goodness Chanyeol wasn’t around the moment she checked in.

Aya didn’t even do much to herself for the rendezvous. Granted, she barely had time to prepare much after turning her closet inside out to find that red dress. She threw the deep velvet material over her head and only then proceeded to assess what else she needed to throw on. Aya found the shoes next, wanting something more glamorous and festive than her go-to black heels. She immediately strapped on the glitzy footwear gems for a bit of walking practice as she worked on her face and hair.

She glanced at her bedside clock, reading 6:00pm. Shoot. Aya grabbed a pair of reliable ballet flats and a travel shoe bag. Then she lightly lined her upper eyelids and applied mascara for more dramatic eye fluttering – should she need a secret weapon against Kai’s teasing. Aya splashed a dash of glitter on the inner corners of her eyes while walking back and forth in her room to get accustomed to the heels. She smoothed on pale pink lip gloss and then put the makeup bag down. Dancing would naturally flush her face. Besides, let’s face it, Kai could get her to blush whenever he wanted. Her dress was strapless and she wanted to downplay the skin exposure by choosing against an updo. Aya styled soft waves with subtle curls into her hair that cascaded down her shoulders. Then she picked out silver jewelry, switched to the flats for the walk to the gym, nestled the heels into the travel bag, packed everything into a purse, grabbed a coat, and was out the door.

Now she found herself at the famed double doors of the dance studio. Déjà vu nudged her back to the week before when she paused at the threshold with the same struggle – trying to balance excitement and anxiety. She half knew and half didn’t know what was to come. Committing to the risk and trusting Kai to the fullest, Aya pushed through the doors.

The room was empty.

Kai was freaking out. It wasn’t even the effortless outfit he managed to coordinate last minute or how his hair looked. He decided on slacks and a simple button up for ease of motility on the dance floor. Aside from worrying over how many top buttons to leave undone, there wasn’t any usual fumbling due to nervousness. Kai gelled his hair to casually sweep up and over his forehead. There really wasn’t anything else he needed to primp, thank goodness. Though he did find himself glancing at his blurred reflection harder than need be on the glass countertop of the shop. He also found himself impatiently drumming the pads of his fingers while checking the time. If only his order was punctually ready for pickup when he called in earlier.

6:50pm.

Oh, I’m early, Aya noted, looking up at the clock in the dance studio. She shrugged off her coat and hung it up beside her purse on the hooks along the wall beside the doors. Night approached faster at this time of year, so the darkened skies were already littered with stars. Aya walked towards the glass wall furthest from the doors to get a view of the scenery.

6:53pm.

If Kai ever wanted to be in a Korean drama, he was well into getting some training done. He dashed out the doors and made his way to the gym as soon as his pickup order was placed on the counter. Praying that his hair didn’t completely fall apart, he quickly checked the status of the gel’s hold before even making his way through the gym’s front entrance.

“Whoa, bro,” greeted Chanyeol with a grin as Kai fumbled with his student ID. “Aya really must mean a lot to you. Where’d this fancy swag come from? What the heck, you barely dressed for any of my guitar performances. And I had two of them at our theater hall! Here you are, gelled and buttoned up. For our gymnasium of all places! Is there a rooftop Italian restaurant that I don’t know of in here?”

“Chanyeol,” Kai finally stated, halting the chatterbox. Kai only let Chanyeol rant for as long as he did so he could catch his breath.

“What?” Chanyeol asked.

“How does my hair look?”

At any other time, Chanyeol would have indulged in unrestrained laughter. Yet being the caring friend and older brother figure, he easily read the urgency and sincerity in Kai’s eyes. “Geez,” Chanyeol started. “I’d ruffle your hair if it wasn’t styled so well, but you look completely fine. Calm down, we all know how much you both like each other. You’ve been so patient and that’s probably something no other guy has given her for a while.”

Kai nodded in relief, allowing Chanyeol’s words to soothe him. “Thanks, man.”

“Yeah, yeah, anytime. Also, this is just the first step, okay? It’s definitely going to go well. The marriage proposal comes way later if you both get to that point,” he chuckled.

“Well, I’m completely aware of that,” Kai playfully retorted.

“Hey, hey,” Chanyeol defended with his palms up. “The way you’re dressed and acting all fussy, especially with that in your hands, you totally look like you wanna keep her for a long time.”

At that, Kai only smiled. He thanked Chanyeol once again and continued on to where Aya waited.

6:59pm.

Aya wasn’t keeping track of time anymore. She mentally accepted that she would take whatever may happen in the next few hours and enjoy herself in Kai’s company. Still gazing at the glittering night sky, the sudden opening of the studio door interrupted her reverie. Should the image of a drama movie continue, Aya perfectly played her part in that heart-pounding moment. She slowly turned her head with her hair sweeping aside to reveal her bare shoulder as the door revealed a barely composed Kai.

One hand was crossed behind his back, with the other holding the door open as he manically gulped down oxygen in a frenzy. Kai’s head was down as he took multiple deep breaths, refusing to face Aya until he recovered from his disarray.

She giggled. “Kai,” she began. “I thought you had enough exercise earlier.”

Kai finally breathed back some confidence and lifted his head – only to have his breath taken away again. “Whoa,” he gasped. He released his hold on the door to let it close behind him as he took one step towards her. Kai shamelessly eased his gaze over Aya from head to toe and back up again. “You look absolutely beautiful.”

“You look pretty good yourself,” she smiled, turning to completely face him. “Black on black? Are you trying to kill me?” Aya, forgetting her bashfulness in the situation, started taking small steps in Kai’s direction.

“What?” he questioned, freezing his movements and placing a hand on his chest to smooth out his shirt. “Does it look bad?”

“No,” Aya laughed. “Just… You really thought you needed to have so many buttons undone? You’re showing more cleavage than I am!”

“What are you talking about?” Kai frowned. “Everything you’re showing is perfect!” he blurted. Then he realized exactly where he was letting his eyes wander. And he realized how Aya came close enough to stand right in front of him. “Wait… Uh… I mean-”

“It’s okay,” she reassured. “You look very handsome, if it’s even any different than other days.” Despite her nearness, Kai let out a sigh of relief. “I will tell you one thing though,” Aya paused, a smile creeping onto her face at Kai’s flustered demeanor. When he couldn’t take it anymore and lifted an eyebrow, Aya spoke, “Your hair’s a little messy.”

“Chanyeol lied to me!” he outraged. “What’s wrong? Is it flat? I haven’t styled it in so long, have I lost my touch?”

Aya burst into laughter, somewhat realizing how Kai gets such a kick out of teasing her. “No, no, there’s actually not one strand of hair out of place.” To prove her point and make him even more amusingly uncomfortable, Aya reached out her hand to smooth out his hair and softly kissed his cheek when she finished. “Perfect.”

Mesmerized, Kai caught her gaze and breathed, “Yes, you are.”

“Thanks,” she replied with a smile. “What’s wrong with your other hand? Did you break it on your sprint over here?”

“Oh!” he remembered. “No, I’m trying to keep this a surprise until now.” In one swift motion, Kai brought out his hidden hand and the bouquet of white roses in its grasp. “For you.” Aya gasped, both her hands lifting up to . “In the name of our friendship’s innocence, your beauty’s purity, and the loyalty I endear to you.”

A smile of unfathomable unhappiness appeared on Aya’s face as she accepted the bouquet. “Thank you,” she whispered, lost in her admiration for the flowers.

“I mean every word that I said. And I also mean it when I say that you look so beautiful… And hot at the same time.”
 

“Way to ruin the moment!” Aya burst as her head jerked up at him.

Kai could only chuckle, “I’m being honest with you! Seeing that dress I’ve only seen on a hanger in your closet, now finally on your body is some sort of victory right now. And your hair… Your legs in high heels… And your eyes are sparkling at me more brilliantly than ever. I could die happy right now.”

“But I don’t want you to!” she playfully whined. “Not that I don’t appreciate it, but please don’t tell me this bouquet is the extent of your accomplishments for tonight.”

“No, absolutely not!” he defended, before clearing his throat. “My lady,” he began, taking the bouquet in one hand and Aya’s left hand into his. “May I please have this dance?”

She beamed up at him. “Yes.”

Kai led her to the music system, placing the flowers atop the machine and then preparing the song – a subtle, but also distinctive holiday waltz. When they reached the middle of the dance floor, Aya abruptly turned to face Kai.

“Am I even your lady?” she questioned.

“Shh,” he tenderly hushed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Kai took her hands and readied their waltz stance as the triple beats began. Holding her as close as possible with enough distance to comfortably guide her, Kai stepped them into the rhythm of the music. “Just be with me, in these moments. I want to take you away and make you happy.”

Aya relaxed into Kai’s arms with a soft exhale. Then she looked into his eyes and simply replied, “Okay.”

It was magic, as if the smooth, wooden floorboards melted and transformed into clouds. The phrase “walking on air” became sensible as Aya felt nothing weighing her down. Her feet effortlessly followed Kai’s lead as they swayed to the music’s direction.

Kai was equally in a state of bliss. Despite harboring a bit of anxiety for the moment the song would end, he was still able to indulge in the fact that Aya chose to spend the evening with him.

He didn’t want anyone else. Kai knew the struggles he had with finding a bond with a girl up until getting to know Aya; he wasn’t going to let nervousness stop him from giving his all.

As soon as the song started fading into a slower pace, Kai called her name. “Aya.” She immediately gave Kai all her attention, tearing her eyes away from their reflection in the studio mirrors. “I really want to do my best for you. Would you let me?” The music completely faded as Aya found herself confidently nodding her head at Kai’s request.

“I know you’re not completely over your past relationship,” he continued.

“I know,” she interrupted with urgency in her eyes. She took back her hands, only to grasp fistfuls of Kai’s dress shirt. “I know,” Aya softly repeated. “But I know that I can’t let that keep my feet glued to the ground. Glued to one stagnant place.”

Kai smiled. “See how much you’ve grown? It’s remarkable you’ve accomplished that much. But I don’t want you to be alone anymore. And I want to be there for you.” He gently pulled her hands into his. Then he placed a kiss upon both. “Aya,” he looked into her eyes. “This Christmas, you give me your heart. And the very next day, I’ll be here to stay. So next year, you won’t have to fear. I’ll love you like someone special.”

After Kai’s words, all Aya could hear was the drumming of her heart. He turned the chorus to that dreadful song into something promising and beautiful, catching her off guard. She was melting into all the sweetness he was presenting to her. There wasn’t anything else to consider anymore.

Kai thought his heart would burst. He already prepared himself with multiple self-talks that whatever the outcome of the evening would be, he wouldn’t regret trying. Taking Aya’s silence as a sign to continue, he did.

“Aya, would you be my girlfriend?”

More silence. Up to this point, Kai did all he could to prevent his dancer’s cockiness from screwing everything up and he succeeded, causing him to be the most anxiety stricken he’s ever been. The moment’s stillness heightened his awareness to everything, to every motion. The very next movement he caught was Aya in a breath. He watched her lips part as he awaited a single word – a simple answer to his question. That one word, which would lead to complete happiness or possibly the complete polar opposite emotion.

Not one word passed Aya’s lips.

Instead, she pressed her lips against Kai’s.

And after Kai registered her silent answer, he kissed her back.

She wound her arms around his neck, as he did the same around her waist. Not wanting to give an inappropriate impression, Kai placed one last full kiss upon Aya before resting his forehead against hers. “So…” he huffed.

“Yes.” Aya tilted her head back and nuzzled her nose to his. “I’d love to be your girlfriend.”

Kai left an arm around her waist, but pulled back a bit to caress her cheek with his hand. “Perfect,” he grinned. “You really had me scared for a second.”

“Only a second?” she retorted. “I should have taken my sweet time answering you.”

“Hey,” he whined. “I worked really hard to make this evening work out.”

“Yes, I’m sure you did,” she stated. “But I saw the flowers coming.”

“What?!”

“Kai, I saw them behind your back on the mirrors.”

“What?!”

“You were too busy drooling over the sight of me in this dress as we walked towards each other.”

“That I won’t deny, but you looked so surprised… Did you fake that?!”

“No!” Aya laughed. “I was touched that you picked out an entire bouquet full of meaning. And you ran all the way over here to meet me by 7:00. You probably looked really dashing in your hurry.”

“Hey, I look dashing all the time,” he smirked.

“Well, now I can be another judge for that,” she fired back.

“Then I’ll just distract you with kisses.”

Aya couldn’t hold back the grin appearing on her face as Kai twirled, and then dipped her. Yet right before Kai could lean down to meet her lips, the announcement speakers crackled. And to both of their surprise, the mischievous voice did not belong to Chanyeol. It was youthful and feminine, and quite similar to Aya’s voice.

“Big sister, you said yes, right?!”

So how did you like the story??!! ^-^ Any comments and thoughts are welcome. They could inspire me for future stories, wink wink.

Again, shoutout to masianlove2 and Pikrachu for being so loyal and supportive and commenting all the time xD I was gone for a while because... I graduated from college and now have a degree in English!! Trying to figure out the rest of my life, but I definitely have not forgotten AFF and aim to write more stories here. Hugs!