---Liz’s POV---

      The school week passed uneventfully, the girl’s going to their classes and falling more and more in love with their trades.  Every day Cat came home with more makeup smears on her hands, her eyes alight with excitement as her talent grew.  Often times Liz was sat down and forced to let her apply different styles of makeup, some amazing and some just outright silly. 

      Liz didn’t mind however, and often enjoyed showing off Liz’s talent to her classmates, often times catching the eye of her trainers.  Liz herself was also flourishing in her class, coming home sore but happy after a good day of dance.  It was getting close to her first day of work and her excitement was building as the hours ticked by.  She couldn’t wait to be a part of such a monumental project, and the fact she’d be working with SM Entertainment, a company she’d idolized for years was just astounding to her.

     She couldn’t help but chuckle as she thought about the debates in the past between her and Cat.  Cat was an avid fan of YG Entertainment, having fallen in love with their group BigBang, and when Liz had announced she was an SM fan, ohhhh the spats they’d have.  Leaning back into the plush arm of their couch, she yawned, stretching over the arm itself and relishing in feeling her back crack.  Enjoying the rare couple hours between classes, she hummed quietly to herself as she stared aimlessly at the ceiling, running her fingers through her hair.

      Without warning her mind drifted toward Chanyeol.  She had run into him a few times throughout the week, and each time he left quite an impression on her.  The most recent occasion being she was sitting in the building’s green room, curled up in an arm chair taking a nap.  She had woken up to find him doing his homework next to her on the couch, his jacket draped over her.  The leather held a hint of his cologne, a deep musky scent that caused her heart to flutter. 

--Flashback—

      “Chanyeol?  Is this yours?”  She murmured, blearily rubbing her eyes and squirming under the jacket.

      “Yes.  You looked cold so I covered you up.  Hope I didn’t wake you.”  He replied, not looking up over the script in his hand, his brow furrowed as he stared at the pages, his lips moving silently. 

      “Oh… no, you didn’t.  Thank you.” A warm flush raced over her cheeks as she tucked her knees up in front of her, enjoying the warmth the leather provided.  Burying her face into his jacket collar, she watched him quietly for a moment, just enjoying the comfortable silence.

      “My friends have been asking about your sister, you know.”  He spoke, abruptly breaking the silence.  When Liz looked over, her eyes met his as he stared at her intently.  “A few of them have seen her work and are impressed.”

      Her eyes narrowed slightly, feeling protective of her sister immediately.  “Oh?  What’re their names?  Maybe they’re classmates of hers?”

      “No, no.. they’re not.  They just have seen her work.”

      “How?  Her work isn’t really public right now.”  Curiosity attacked her, as well as suspicion; there was something that he wasn’t telling her.  And in the time they’ve known each other there has been a lot of that going on.

      Shrugging, he looked back at his script, a faint smile tugging at his mouth.  “When do you start that job of yours?  It’s soon, right?”

       “Yea… I start next week actually.  Monday I think.  Why?”

       Chanyeol chuckled, shaking his head and looking at her with an amused expression.  “I’m making conversation, Liz-ah.  Why must you read into everything?”

      “Because everytime you ask about my job you get this weird look.  What?  Are you jealous or something?  That I won’t be around you all the time anymore?” Burying her head under his jackets, she hid her burning cheeks, half hoping that would be his answer.

      Blinking slowly at her, he busted out laughing, rubbing the back of his neck.  “Uh, no.  That’s not my problem at all.  Just curious.”

     Slightly hurt, Liz nodded, burrowing back under his jacket to hide her flaming red cheeks.  A cool jolt of air brushed against her and the other end of the coat lifted from her feet, Chanyeol’s head appearing in the light that was now filtering in.  “…unnie?  I didn’t hurt your feelings did I?”

      Despite indeed feeling hurt, she couldn’t help but smirk at the fact he had his head, under his jacket, right around her hips.  “Do you know how this would look if someone walked in right now?”

     A playful grin darted onto his face, replacing the concern that was there once before.  “Well, then they’d think I was the luckiest guy in the world!  Aaand… they’d probably be jealous.” 

      Laughing, she pushed him back with her foot, pushing at his shoulder then throwing his jacket at him.  “Look who thinks he’s suddenly a ladies’ man!”

     “Think?!  Liz, I am a GIFT to women!  Look at these guns!”  Sitting sprawled on the floor, he flexed his arms showing actually impressive biceps, despite being so tall and lanky.  “No one can resist meeee!”  He cackled, laying down in the floor, arms folded under his head. 

      “Oh yea?  I think I’m doing a rather good job of it actually.”  Liz smirked, raising her eyebrow as she leaned over the arm of the chair to grab her bag from the floor.  As she reached, a whoosh of air caused her to look up, and Chanyeol was leaning over her, a cocky smirk on his mouth as he encircled her waist with his arm, pulling her toward him.  His mouth was barely an inch away from hers, his eyes locked on hers as he felt her pulse begin to race.

     “Oh really?  Hm… That flush on your face is telling me otherwise.”  His deep voice had caught a husky tone as he stared at her, and she was painfully aware of the warmth of his arm wrapped tightly around her waist, his thumb absently caressing her back. 

     Swallowing hard, she tried to force a bored expression on her face, but knew it wasn’t working when his smirk got bigger.  “Y-you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

      “Says you…”  He grinned, then leaned forward, his breath hot on her lips.  There were mere millimeters separating the two, and she felt her heart beat frantically.  Right when she was almost positive he could hear how her heart was racing, his phone blared from across the room.  Ripping away from each other as if cold water had been thrown on them he dove over to his phone and stared at the screen.  “…Uhm… please excuse me.”  He murmured, walking out of the room.

--End Flashback—

      A flush returned to her cheeks as she thought about how close he had been to kissing her.  It was surprising how such a silly kid could suddenly be so attractive… and what surprised her most of all is how badly she truly had wanted him to kiss her.  Reaching up she placed her fingertip to her lip, remembering with a shiver how sweet his breath had been, how warm his hands were on her body.

     Bolting up to a seated position, she stared blankly at the wall.  Did she have a crush on this boy…?  A boy she barely knew?  And what was that nonsense he spouted about his friends knowing Cat’s work?  As far as she knew all her projects and portfolios were private in the makeup lab… Shaking those thoughts from her mind, she stood and ran her hands through her hair, suddenly aching for a shower. 

     Shuffling back to her bedroom, she pushed the door shut behind her with her foot then grabbed her towel.  Stretching she walked into the spacious tiled bathroom, and stripped down as she turned the shower on.  Pulling her hair under a shower cap, she stepped into the steaming water and groaned as it hit her sore muscles.  As much as she loved her classes, she had to admit they were taking a toll on her body.  Her feet were blistered and sore, and her muscles ached constantly.  Truth be told she couldn’t even remember the last time she was able to move without feeling her back protest…. Well…that’s not entirely true.  When his arm was around her it was as if all her aches and pains had vanished, and he was all she could see.

    Her eyes snapped open and she clapped her hands over .  “No no no no no no….” She murmured, shaking her head back and forth.  She just couldn’t let herself like this boy!! Not when she had so much to work on… so much going for her!  He could ruin it as quick as a snap.  Crouching in the shower, she gripped her hair with her hands, letting the hot water roll down her back and soothing her muscles. 

     However her relaxation wouldn’t last long, as her phone blasted SHINee’s “Everybody” from her room, jolting her out of her thoughts.  Grumbling, she turned off the water and wrapped a towel around herself, shuffling back into her room.  Picking up her phone she gasped sharply as she saw it was her boss, nearly dropping her phone immediately.  “H-Hello?”

     “Ah, yes. Liz.  Glad I caught you.  Is this a bad time?”  A male voice came from the other end, sounding slightly louder than it should, with muffled laughter coming from behind him.

      “N-No sir.  How can I help you?”

      “There’s been a slight change of plans.  We actually need you to start work today.  Is that going to be a problem?  I’ve already called your teachers.”

     “Oh!  No, that’s not a problem!  I’ll leave right away.  Are you at the school?”  She gasped, drying her hair off with a smaller towel and frantically racing around her room for her dancing gear.

     “No, actually.  We’re at SM right now, in the large studio… The one with the blue cloud walls, remember?  I’ve sent a car to come pick you up.  They should be there in a few minutes.”

     “Y-yes sir!  I’ll be there as soon as possible.  Thank you, sir!” When the phone went dead, Liz stood there for a moment dumbfounded.  After a second her heart began to beat frantically, and she cried out as she ran around her room, searching for everything she’d need for the day and shoving it into her duffle bag.  After that she laughed aloud as she realized she’d been tearing around her room in her underwear, the window beside her bed wide open.   Sliding on a pair of dark jean shorts, she paired it with an oversized slouchy t-shirt and brown army boots, and then brushed her short hair back into a small ponytail.

      As she grabbed her bag she stopped, looking at her mirror in her room.  Usually she wouldn’t bat an eye not wearing any makeup to her dance class, but she was going to SM Entertainment, training a new group of idols.  Sighing, she threw down her bag and quickly applied her face.  Delicate concealer, a quick smooth cat eye and a lip with a few brushes of mascara was all she had time for, since a horn sounded in the driveway.  A few spritz of her perfume finished her look as she grabbed her bag again, running out the door.

     A non-descript black van sat in her driveway, but a very sharp dressed gentleman climbed out, bowing as she came out the door.  “Miss Elizabeth, we’re running late.  If you’d please climb in we can be on our way.”

     “Oh!  Yes, of course.  And call me Liz.”  She grinned at the man, bowing quickly as she dove into the van, belting herself in quickly.  Almost as soon as she had sat down the man was back in his seat, driving out of her driveway and toward the highway.  Pulling out her phone she quickly sent a text off to her sister saying where she was, and didn’t know when she’d be home.

     Nerves rolled through her as it hit her where she was going.  SM Entertainment!  Home of SHINee!  Her head spun as she thought about potentially running into those boys, but she shook her head and swallowed hard.  She had a job to do, and couldn’t afford to let anything, or anyone, distract her.  Soon enough they were pulling into the SM parking lot, the driver flashing a badge through the window to a guard.  Once her door was open she stepped out, nervously fidgeting with her shirt, suddenly feeling very underdressed.

      “Ah!  Miss Elizabeth.  Welcome!”  The same male voice from before called, and she looked up, seeing one of the male judges from her interview waving at her from the front door.  “My name is Hyun Jo Un.  Feel free to call me Jo.  We’re running late, so we have to hurry.  Today will be meeting the boys, and then starting to get some basics down.  We have a couple songs recorded already, but we need your help to choreograph a dance to them.”

    “Yes sir, that shouldn’t be too hard.”  She chirped, running to catch up with him as he walked down the hallway, shouldering her dufflebag.  Anticipation caused her nerves to race, especially when she saw records, awards, and photos of the various SM groups everywhere.  Her heart nearly stopped when she saw the SHINee section, and Jo chuckled.

     “You like them, yes?”

     “Y-Yes.  They’re one of my favorite groups.”  She blushed, lowering her face away from the large photo of the leader, Onew.   “My iPod is full of their music.”

     Chuckling, Jo smiled pleasantly as they entered the elevator, stretching his shoulders.  “There’s a changing room right off the rehearsal space, so please change before you go in.  I’m sure you brought extra shoes?  Street shoes are not allowed inside.”

      “Yes of course!  They’re in my bag.  And it’ll only take a minute; I’ll be in soon.”  She murmured, stepping out of the elevator and heading toward the changing room.  In a few minutes she emerged, wearing black baggy sweat pants and a tight red tank top, leaving her hair tied up in a ponytail.  She had put on her dancing sneakers again, making sure they were clean before walking toward the studio. 

      Jo was across the room, speaking to someone that she couldn’t see through the window of the door.  Pushing open the door she was bombarded with the sound of multiple voices chattering, and Jo was fighting to get above their voices.   “Enough!!  My assistant is here and I expect you to be on your best behavior!”

     Walking over to his side, her eyes nervously locked on his, she turned and bowed to the rather large group of guys in front of her, then stopped when she saw a familiar face.  “Ch-Chanyeol?!”

     “…Hey Liz.”