Sunday, day 7. It’s been about a week.

            When I woke up my eyes immediately went to the folder sitting on my desk. I thought about it, then quickly pushed it out of my mind.

            I couldn’t think about it now, not today.

            Today was the day of my debutante ball dress fitting.

            Ah. The ever infamous debutante ball, aka a boring ceremony where the girls in our upper class make their debut into society. Whatever that means.

            I sighed and got dressed, meeting my mother downstairs where she was already waiting. She loved these things.

            “Oh honey I’m so excited for this!” she cooed. “You’re going to look so beautiful in that dress!”

            “Thanks,” I mumble.

            My mother took us over to the dress shop, where other girls planning to make their debut at the ball too. Jiyeon was there, as well as my other good friend Wendy.

            Son Naeun was also there.

            I swallowed hard and tried my best to avoid her, knowing that it was better if I didn’t know.

            “Yeah, Daehyun’s my ,” Jiyeon was telling Wendy. “He’s been such a about it because he hates formal events but hey, that’s what he gets for being a rich kid. Wendy, who’s your date?”

            “This guy named Kris,” Wendy replied. “He’s a family friend. He’s flying over here all the way from Canada.”

            “Hey guys,” I said, joining them. “What are you guys talking about?”

            “Oh just our escorts,” Wendy replied happily. Then her face fell. “Oh my gosh…I’m so sorry Hyemi.”

            That’s probably what has been bugging me all morning: the fact that Taemin was now practically considered dead and that if he was here, he would’ve been my date. But since he’s gone, I had none.

            “It’s okay,” I practically choked out. “I’m fine. I can go dateless.”

            Wendy pouted. “But a pretty girl like you should have an !”

            “What about Kai?” Jiyeon asked.

I cringed. “Ew. That’s pretty gross.”

 “But you two would make such a cute couple!” Jiyeon exclaimed. “I’m sorry, but I’ve been thinking that since you left Bambam for him. Which, trust me, I would’ve done the same thing.”

            “You went out with Bambam?” Wendy asked me.

            “Anyways,” I replied, moving on. “I would seriously rather go dateless than to have Kai as my .”

            “He seems like a good guy,” Jiyeon said. “Very genuine.”

            I ignored this as I left them to go try on my dress. I smoothed the sides, then sadly smiled to myself.

            Monday, day 8. People have stopped talking about him, amazingly.

            I went to English class. Kai was already there, listening to music on his phone or something. He was wearing one of those beanies again. I unpacked my things, silent. I did not wish to talk to him. If anything, I felt too sad to talk at all. That dress fitting yesterday was too much for me.

            Kai seemed to miraculously notice my gloomy aura and said, “Are you okay?”

            “Don’t talk to me.”

            Kai put a hand to his heart, pretending that he was in pain. “That hurts. It really does.”

            I rolled my eyes, not in the mood.

            “I’m just not used to seeing you more depressed than you usually are,” Kai replied innocently.

            I didn’t respond to him. Instead, I stared up at the board, like a zombie.

The rest of the day went by slowly. I didn’t say a single word during class, and walking between passing periods felt like a tiresome chore. At lunch I pitifully sat by myself in the hallway, not eating anything and instead just quietly staring out the window. At one point, I’d glanced down the hall to find Kai standing right there. I should’ve noticed the concern in his eyes, but was too broken to care.

            School ended. I was at my locker, getting my books. When I closed my locker door, I found Kai.

            “What do you want?” I asked.

            “Jiyeon told me about the debutante ball.”

            Oh my freaking god.

            “Look,” I said, seriously not in the mood to deal with Kai and his antics, “I don’t need an , much less have him be you. Just forget about everything she said.”

            “Don’t think that I want this either,” Kai replied. “But I’m just saying. If you do end up needing an , I’d be willing.”

            “Why?”

            “Because I pity you. Do you know how stupid you look walking around school like a freaking zombie?” Kai asked.

            “I’m fine,” I snapped.

            That night, both my parents were home so we all ate dinner together. “Hyemi,” my mom was saying. “I know you’ve been troubled by Taemin’s disappearance. But you shouldn’t let that stop you from having a great debut at the ball. I would love to see you with an .”

            “I don’t need an ,” I said again. Although, deep inside I knew that going without an would look pretty funny, not to mention embarrassing.

            “Jiyeon has Daehyun, Wendy has Kris…I really think you should reconsider and try your best to find an ,” my mother suggested. “Even if it won’t be Taemin.”

            Even if it won’t be Taemin…

            After dinner I retreated back to my room, where I laid on my bed pondering about the issue.

            Kai was poor. He wasn’t in the upper class, which meant that he’d have to go through extra, harder training. He’d have to learn the dance steps, clean himself up, rent a tux and everything. He had to make me look good, and it’d be harder for him since he has no experience. Would he really be up for such a challenge?

            My mother was right, though. This debut thing was important. I had to look my best, and sadly to look my best an would be a huge push.

            The following morning, Tuesday, day 9, I walked into first period to find Kai sitting there listening to music, as always.

            “So,” I said. “Are you still up for the debutante ball?”

            Kai pulled out an ear bud. “I offered, didn’t I?”

            “It’s going to be a lot of work,” I warned him. “You need to make me look good in front of all those important people.”

            For a boy who has probably never even touched a tuxedo, he sure looked confident. “That shouldn’t be too hard.”