Chapter 2

“Jessica! Hello? Earth to Jessica!” whispered Sooyoung.

“Huh? What?” said Jessica exasperatingly. She had been trying to tune out the monotonous voice of their music history teacher, who basically just wanted them to memorize endless lists of dates and names.

Sooyoung huffed in annoyance, “I asked you for the nth time if you wanted to watch a movie with Taeyeon, Sunny and me after dinner.”

“I can't,” replied Jessica. “I have other plans.”

Jessica didn't want to specifically mention the fact that Yuri was giving her lessons. Sooyoung already knew about her little crush on their instructor, but Sooyoung didn't quite realize the extent of Jessica's feelings. Jessica's body tensed with anxiety; she hoped that Sooyoung wouldn't inquire any more into the matter.

“Oh. Okay...Maybe next time then.” Sooyoung glanced at her briefly and turned her attention back to the teacher.

Jessica stared at the floor distantly. A horrible feeling of guilt formed in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't lying-- technically--but she was definitely omitting a lot of the truth. She just really didn't want Sooyoung to form any horrible conclusions about her.

Her mind drifted to the encroaching tutoring session. She was elated by the fact that she had this opportunity to get closer to Yuri, but she honestly didn't know what to do. She knew that she wanted to make a move, but it suddenly occurred to her that she had no move. What was she even supposed to do?

After forming 100 different potential scenarios in her head, she finally concluded that forcing things to happen wasn't worth it. She would just let things progress naturally and freely. After all, it appeared that Yuri was somewhat interested in her as well.

Jessica's smile quickly faded when she remembered a recent tabloid about Yuri's spotty relationship history. There were rumors that Yuri dated a handful of men and women, but never for extended periods of time.

She, however, wasn't going to put much weight on the media's accounts. It was all just speculation, after all....

Jessica made her way to the dance practice room after dinner. She looked down at her cellphone and noted the time; she was ten minutes early.

She walked inside and spotted Yuri talking with Hyoyeon, who was a promising SM choreographer.

“Ms. Kwon?” inquired Jessica shyly. She was suddenly 100 times more anxious than she was a second ago.

“Oh...Miss Jung...” Yuri gave her a smile that momentarily made her falter. “I take it that you know Hyoyeon?”

“Y-Yes. Kind of.”

“Oh...Jessica, right? I remember you,” enthused Hyoyeon. “You're quite popular among the trainess, like I was,” chuckled Hyoyeon. “Yikes! Look at the time, I've gotta run. I'll see you two around!”

Once Hyoyeon left, Yuri immediately started the lesson.

“Let's start with something simple. Why don't you do something basic moves for me? I don't really know how advanced you are yet.”

Jessica felt quite insulted; Yuri was basically treating her like a beginner. Instead of following Yuri's instructions, she started dancing to a complex routine that she had been practicing on her own.

When she finished her routine Jessica sat on the floor to catch her breath. She looked at Yuri, who was leaning against the mirror with an unreadable expression.

“It wasn't basic, but I think it showcased my abilities,” said Jessica after an awkward moment of silence.

Yuri smirked at the