January ZE:A's hectic schedule begun immediately the next day. "Where's Kevin?" "Stop smiling Dongjun, we need to get your makeup done!" "Has anyone seen Hungsik's coat? It was on the sofa just a minute ago!" "I'm out of lip gloss! Somebody get me a new one, quickly!" The backstage was a flurry of staff members and idols rushing here and there, frantically preparing for the stage show. Amongst the sea of people, Alise who had already fulfilled her duty as assistant manager was helping one of the makeup artists with Minwoo's makeup, since there were not enough of them and all of them were too busy with the others. Luckily she has a few tricks up her sleeve, thanks to her mother who had constantly forced her to learn how to dress and makeup more like a woman. Minwoo didn't need much makeup anyway, just a swipe of concealer and highlighting the inner corners of his eyes with a light shimmery shadow and voįla! His makeup was done, his features immediately illuminated. Alise grinned at her work. Not too bad, she nodded to herself, quite satisfied with how the makeup turned out. While Alise was cleaning the makeup table, Minwoo tapped his fingers on the table, bored out of his mind waiting. The wait before a stage show is always the most agonising part, he didn't know what to do with his time. Then a sudden thought came to him. He opened his mouth to ask the girl in front of him, "You said you came for the high salary, is there any special reason for that?" Wow he sure is sharp. Her hands stopped for a while, unable to respond immediately. She never thought he would ask her something so detailed, especially not idols who have much more important things to tend to than to be curious about their assistant manager. Nonetheless, she answered nonchalantly as her hands continued to move around. "Actually there is, initially I accepted this job is because it can help me earn extra funds for college, or even for university in the future. My family isn't loaded, so I'll have to work hard for my own sake." "College? You're studying in college now?" "Oh! I didn't tell you guys? Yes, I'm still living the school life. So this job is only temporary, like a part time job since I still have college to attend to." "Hmm," Minwoo placed his hand under his chin as if he was thinking. "I actually thought of continuing my studies after becoming an idol," but he didn't think it was possible now. With all the constant dance practice he and s had been doing and ZE:A's increasing activities, he had never been busier.

 

"Well, I think you should," Alise looked up briefly and said, "If you really feel like furthering your studies, that is." she then added, and went back to work. She wasn't sure what to make of Minwoo's sudden declaration, was he serious or was he just joking around?

 
"Yeah maybe I will, in the course of time..." Minwoo muttered to himself. Then with a smirk, he teased the girl who was still busy with her hands. "You really weren't kidding when you said you came for the money." Alise's face crimsoned over at this. "Well I can't help it. I'm in dire need of funds and I'm also kind of desperate, colleges aren't that generous when it comes to fees." She sighed, thinking about the large amount of fees she has to pay the upcoming month. "But don't worry though, I'll only be here for a year then I'll be going overseas to further my studies." Alise moved on to pack the remaining makeup supplies into a cosmetic bag, unaware that the boy had gone stiff. Alise will be gone after a year? It struck him like a lightning. He hadn't thought of something like that before, he thought she was a permanent staff of the company and would be with his group for a few years at least. She's leaving so fast? A strange feeling started to grow in his chest. He creased his eyebrows, confused. It was something he never felt before.

 

What is this feeling? Just when he was trying to figure out what kind of weird emotion that was, the Manager called out to the members in a loud and clear voice, "Ready!". The boys were up next. Minwoo had no choice but to leave matters aside until later and put on a good show for his fans. But soon after his successful performance on stage, he had forgotten all about the strange feeling earlier. Later that night Alise worked overtime in one of Star Empire's empty office. She had so much to do, but so little time, not to mention some coursework too from college which were silently waiting for her at home. Even though she would very much like to go home and have a long and sweet date with her warm bed, she didn't like postponing any of her work. So there she was, scribbling away with her faithful pen into the small hours of night. It wasn't until 2 in the morning that she had finally finished all she had to, with a throbbing head and almost broken fingers. She let out a big breath, relived that all her work was done. Alise stretched and gathered her things, ready to leave the building. But before she could even walk 10 meters away from the office, music filled her ears. She recognised it as one of the songs from ZE:A's new album, a really catchy and cheerful song. Feeling meddlesome, she followed the sound and to her surprise, reached the practice room from yesterday. The lights inside were on. Who could still be here at this time of the night? Alise peeked into the brightly lit practice room, and was once again awed by what she saw.

 

His dancing always amazes her. Minwoo could feel someone looking at him. He couldn't be mistaken, the stare was burning holes into his back, making him feel uncomfortable. Curious as to who would still be in the building so late, his eyes drifted up and over to the door. And there she was, standing there with her eyes fixed on him and hands full with heavy books and thick folders. Once their eyes met, the girl immediately turned away and disappeared in a hurry. Minwoo frowned at her reaction, did she just avoided me? Pausing the music, he walked towards the door and opened it, not expecting to find Alise just beside him. The sound of the door opening must have startled her, her hands slipped and all the paperwork she was carrying flew all over the place. She frantically went after the flying papers, grabbing them and arranging them neatly in a flurry of movements into her arms. She had spent the whole night writing and filing documents, she was definitely not going to let all her hard work fly out the window. Alise looked like an animated doll, mechanically grabbing paper from the air and stuffing them back to their original place repeatedly.

 

Minwoo chuckled, amused at her actions. He picked up the papers closest to him and somewhat took a quick glance at the content written. It was ZE:A's everyday schedule, starting from January until December all the events and performances that they were going to have, all handily organised. "Wow, you did this? " he pointed at the paper in his hand, unable to believe she had already planned ahead all the group's activities in such short time. Efficient, and disciplined too, he was impressed. So far, it seems none of the previous assistant managers were as systematic as her when it comes to paperwork. The Manager had hired the right girl. Alise was still chasing her papers, so she just answered a short 'yes' without turning to look at Minwoo. After a series of running and jumping, finally all the papers were back into her hands. Alise let out a huge breathe, thank god her papers were safe. If they had flown away and never to be found again, the whole night's work would be wasted and she would have to redo the papers again. That would be a total nightmare.

 

"So," Minwoo leaned against the door frame, "The reason you are still in the building so late is because you were doing your job?" He raised an eyebrow, looking for confirmation.

 

"Yeah, you could not believe the amount of work an assistant manager has to do." She sighed, "Well it's my duty anyway, I was the one who accepted this job, so I can't say much." With a shrug, she accepted her situation.

 

She sure is dedicated to her work, Minwoo thought.

 

"How about you? Still practicing so late?" Now it was Alise's turn to ask him.

 

Minwoo nodded, "Our group is slowly getting attention from the outside, I don't want to spoil anything by dancing the wrong moves." As one of the members of ZE:A, his first priority is to maintain his group's image so that they can have a better chance at gaining popularity. That aside, he is still the dancing machine of ZE:A, so his dancing skills have to be perfect.

 

"Oh," Alise answered, no wonder he was so insistent on practicing even in the middle of the night.

 

Minwoo looked at her, expecting her to say something more.

 

.......

Awkward silence fell between them. None of them know what to say next. Just as Alise was thinking of a way to excuse herself politely, Minwoo suddenly asked in a small voice, "Do you want to see me dance?" Alise stared at him for a while, wondering if she had heard him correctly. Did he just give me permission to watch him while he practice his routine?