For two weeks I limped to work and took a break from dancing. After that episode at the dance studio, I almost avoided the crew like a plague, in an effort to never come into contact with Sehun again. However, I began feeling more at peace and didn’t think much about Jongin. Actually, I hadn’t thought about him at all until I saw him on a billboard in the city. “Kai is finally returning!” it broadcasted.

So he was coming back. Did I still bear the same anticipations as before? He changed; he’s no longer Jongin, but the distinguished dancer Kai.

Kai. It was a name that seemed so foreign to me. In fact, it was foreign. I believed that was the stage name that he adopted after his debut as a professional dancer a few years back. I guessed he was assimilating into the American culture, or it was simply a gesture to attempt to bury the past – our past. Maybe he was actually able to, something that escaped my capabilities. I only knew him by Jongin; his label was no longer something I knew him by, and he was no longer whom I knew.

Things returned to the way they were before my outburst, and I reunited with the crew right after the two weeks of rest.

“Woo! The Queen is back!” my closest member on the team, Yuri, cheered when I walked through the door.

I laughed and shook my head mockingly. “But the Queen is standing right here,” I said back and motioned up and down her perfect ballerina figure.

“Ah, my precious Jennie-pie is up and well,” the leader welcomed me back with a warm hug.

I giggled and tightened the hug, relishing the feeling of warmth after weeks of freezing in a lone, dark apartment. “Hey, Mark,” I greeted.

“Alright, kiddos, ready to roll?!” Mark hollered, to which everyone hailed.

Before we could begin practice, however, the same blonde male from two weeks ago breathlessly sprinted into the studio. “Sorry I’m late!”

“Nice of you to join us, Oh Sehun,” Mark stated disapprovingly. “How is it that you leave the house before me and still manage to get here late, huh?”

“Traffic?” he answered in comical tone and shrugged his shoulders.

Practice passed without incident that day. Generally, it consisted of Mark hollering orders or criticisms at us, and us groaning back in dissatisfaction. I mostly safely avoided Sehun, not that he was seeking me out. But even so, I caught the brief looks of concern that occasionally decorated his usually insipid facial expressions. It was those that I ignored and escaped.

As more practices ensued, Sehun and I actually began actually communicating with each other and the awkwardness between us evaporated – at least somewhat.

And so, I began spending time with the only person who witnessed my embarrassing incident. Surprisingly, we actually grew to become close friends. This seemingly arrogant and apathetic guy turned out to be rather caring and playful. I began to develop a sense of trust that I failed to cultivate in individuals other than my most trusted co-workers, Kana, and obviously Jongin.

Sehun and I were the only ones left in the studio after everyone had left. “So…” Sehun began as we sat alone against one of the mirrored walls in the studio after practice one Saturday night, “What happened that day?”

I glanced at Sehun in pondering while gulping down ice cold water. “When?”

“You know...the day we met.”

Oh. He still remembered. “Uh...well…” I hesitated. It wasn’t exactly comfortable to bring back up such an embarrassing incident.

“It’s okay if you don’t feel comfortable telling me, you don’t have to. I’m just...curious...and worried about you. That’s all,” he explained with a soft look in his eyes.

I felt comfortable with Sehun, and it was about time I explained my illogical behavior that day. “Well, I was practicing that day.” I paused, not knowing exactly what I should say next, while Sehun patiently waited for me to continue. “And this song began playing. And it brought back memories from the past.” Should I tell him about Jongin? Was it necessary?

“Sad memories – ex-boyfriend?” he asked in a low voice.

Bull’s eye. I guess it was that obvious, judging by the implications of the song’s lyrics and my pathetically tear-stained face. “Yeah. We dated in high school. Then, he was accepted into Juilliard so we broke up. It’s been almost seven years since I last saw him, yet I still think about him. It .”

Then, without another word, he pulled me in for quick but comforting hug that seemed to dissipate all my worries and miseries.

Others, especially Kana, didn’t see us as friends, but we couldn’t define ourselves as anything more than what that term encompasses.