Soohyun and her team were diligently working on their Treasure performance with a vocal trainer and one of YG’s choreographers.

“Okay! I think you’re ready for the vocal part but that won’t be sufficient to convince the jury! We need something more! I discussed with my friend here and we agreed that we don’t have the time to create and rehearse a whole choreo but maybe just some steps and a bit of acting would do the trick. I’ll let you explain your ideas!” The vocal trainer handed over to the choreographer.

“Let’s say that you three, you’re trying to woo Soohyun, your treasure……and each one of you will interact with her! At the end…” The choreographer thought about something before continuing. “Soohyun will choose one of you! You Jinhwan!”

The latter shivered as he heard his name. “Soohyun…choosing him? What a wonderful idea!” He daydreamed.

“Let’s start the rehearsal! We don’t have much time so I expect a complete involvement from you.” The choreographer clapped her hands to motivate them.

The four young artists immediately started rehearsing their stage performance, following the instructions given by the YG staff. Near the end of the song, the choreographer stopped the music.

“Okay now, Soohyun, you choose Jinhwan! You just have to take his hand in yours, Jinhwan kisses your hand and then you walk side by side still holding hands! And don’t forget to smile! Jinhwan, you too!” The choreographer gave her last instructions.

Jinhwan gulped, anticipating the skinship between them. “She’s only 15! She’s only 15!” He was constantly repeating himself inwardly.

“Wait, wait! Not now! Let’s start again since the beginning!” The choreographer stopped them before Soohyun could make her choice and started the song from the beginning.

Jinhwan sighed, half relieved, half disappointed.

Soohyun’s POV

I was quite tired since I woke up very early that day to attend the Mix                and Match filming but I was determined to do my best to help the guys of my team.

I diligently sang my parts and acted alongside the boys to recreate the story imagined by the choreographer. Towards the end of the song, the three guys were aligned and that was the moment I had to choose Jinhwan. I put a smile on my face, approached him and grabbed his hand. As soon as I did so, I felt something like electricity in my fingertips at the contact of Jinhwan’s warm hand. I was so surprised and so I searched for Jinhwan’s eyes to see if he also felt it. When my eyes met his, I felt myself melting under his soft gaze. The eye contact only lasted a second before Jinhwan softly kissed the back of my hand. It made me even more nervous but I had to continue the performance so I tried to ignore the butterflies in my tummy. I remained professional until the end even if I couldn’t help but notice that holding Jinhwan’s hand was a lot different than holding my brother’s hand or the hand of the male actor that acted alongside me in AkMu’s mvs.

When the music stopped, our hands remained clasped a second longer than necessary before I released his. I didn’t have the courage to look at him again so instead, I looked at the two other guys and the YG staff. They looked satisfied.

“Okay! That was great! Enough for today! We’ll start again tomorrow! We only have two remaining rehearsal sessions before the evaluation so I hope you’ll give your best to be perfectly prepared.”

We all clapped our hands to congratulate everyone. Not wanting to stay any longer near Jinhwan, I quickly searched an excuse to leave the room.

“I’m sorry but I have to go. Chanhyuk is waiting for me. Bye! See you tomorrow.” I said goodbye, still avoiding Jinhwan’s beautiful brown eyes.

“Bye Soohyun!” Everyone chorused.

End of POV

Soohyun walked towards the door, her body shivering. She could feel two eyes burning holes in her back.

“Turn and look back at me! Turn and look back at me!” Jinhwan prayed silently.

As if she had heard his silent prayer, Soohyun discreetly looked over her shoulder and her eyes instantly met the ones she was searching for. She promptly averted her gaze and quickly left the room. She ran absent-mindedly in unknown corridors. Finally, she stopped, out of breath and rested her back on the cold wall. She could hear the loud beating of her heart, half because of running and half because of Jinhwan.

Soohyun’s POV

What’s happening to me? Why did I react like that at the contact of his hand? Why did I feel so weak when I looked into his eyes? I can’t be….. It’s impossible I fell…. ! No no impossible!

----------------------------------------------

In a coffee shop near YG’s building

Ha Yi, Hanna and Soohyun were together at a table, sipping their drink while chatting excitedly.

“So how are your rehearsals going?” Ha Yi asked her two juniors.

“Great for me! As expected we have a good teamwork with Bobby and the boys! At first, they were surprised to see me but they quickly refocused on the competition! We are working on “Let’s get it started” from the Black Eyed Peas! One girl and three guys, I think it’s the perfect song for us!” Hanna explained confidently.

“Cool! I’m sure it will be great! Bobby is an awesome rapper and Junhoe has impressive vocals! I don’t really know Chanwoo but I’m sure he’ll give his best with you. And what about you Ha Yi? Happy to work with Hanbin?” Soohyun friend.

Ha Yi immediately frowned at the mention of the name of IKON’s future leader.

“Actually, we are not working well together! We have both our own opinion and we have some difficulties communicating peacefully! We already argued two or three times during our first rehearsal session!” Ha Yi said bitterly.

“Lovers’ quarrel!” Hanna whispered to Soohyun but loud enough for Ha Yi to hear it.

“We’re not lovers!” Ha Yi blushed furiously.

“You’re not lovers YET.” Soohyun corrected with a smirk.

“Stop your nonsense! It’s true that I have a crush on him but I’m sure it’s not reciprocal.” Ha Yi confessed.

“You, stop your nonsense! When you two are together, the love tension around you is so thick, your attraction almost tangible. Of course you’re arguing but it’s normal considering your respective strong characters. But I can assure you that Hanbin’s smile is never as bright as when he is with you! Whenever he spots you somewhere, an adorable smile enlightens his usual poker face. I know that he looks cocky but it’s only because he doesn’t know how to behave around you. He wants to impress you but he is very awkward.” Hanna explained.

“Really?” Ha Yi opened wide eyes at Hanna’s explanation.

“Yup the exact truth!” Soohyun nodded, agreeing with the young trainee.

Ha Yi stayed silent, thinking deeply about what her friends said about Hanbin. She never imagined Hanbin’s annoying behavior could be interpreted as a twisted way to express his love for her. Guys were really complicated if Soohyun and Hanna were right about Hanbin’s feelings.

“And you Soohyun? How are you doing with the adorable Jinhwan?” Hanna said out of the blue.

Soohyun who was not expecting such a straightforward question couldn’t control her emotions and a cute blush appeared on her cheeks. Ha Yi who was still thinking about Hanbin snapped out of her thoughts after noticing Soohyun’s embarrassment.

“Ho ho don’t say a word! Your flushed cheeks spoke for you! He already managed to seduce you during your first encounter! What a playboy!” Ha Yi giggled.

“That’s n-not what you-you’re thinking!” Soohyun stumbled on her words.

“Wow you’re even stuttering! Cute!” Hanna squealed. “So what did he do to leave you in this state?”

“Nothing! We just rehearsed the song!” Soohyun tried to dissimulate the truth.

“Stop lying or I’ll tell Chanhyuk that you’re in love with Jinhwan!” Ha Yi threatened the female half of AkMu.

“You wouldn’t?” Soohyun asked, worried.

“Try me!” Ha Yi replied confidently.

Soohyun raised her eyebrows at Ha Yi’s blackmail. Her Unni could really be creepy sometimes.

“Okay!” She sighed. “The choreographer asked me to grab Jinhwan’s hand towards the end of the song and I felt weird when I held his hand.” Soohyun explained.

“Good weird or bad weird?” Hanna questioned.

“Good weird!” Soohyun blushed, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. “And when I met his eyes, when he kissed the back of my hand, it felt like a million of butterflies were flying in my tummy.”

Hanna and Ha Yi smiled at each other before bursting into laughter.

“Our Soohyun-ah has a crush on Jinhwan!” They exclaimed in chorus.

Soohyun tried to deny it but the more she was defending herself, the more the two other girls were teasing her.

“Okay I admit that my eyes are searching for him now when I enter YG’s building but that’s all.” Soohyun finally confessed.

Hanna and Ha Yi giggled at Soohyun’s naivety.

“You definitely have a crush on him. How should we call you two? Soohwan or Jinhyun?” Hanna proposed couple names.

“Ssssh! Don’t be so loud. And we’re not even together so no need to search for a couple name! You should search for Hanbin and Ha Yi! What about HanHi?” Soohyun striked back.

And they continued bickering, teasing each other and laughing.

-------------------------------------------

Soohyun as well as Ha Yi and Hanna appeared in Mix and Match with their respective team. Soohyun particularly grabbed the public attention because of her good teamwork with the trainees and for her surprising chemistry with IKON’s future vocalist Jinhwan.

This chemistry was especially noticed by a certain older brother.

On YG’s rooftop

“You wanted to talk to me Oppa?” Soohyun questioned her older brother.

“Yes, I wanted to ask you something! I hope you won’t find me intrusive or overprotective. I’m just watching over you as your Oppa!” Chanhyuk said, visibly uncomfortable.

Soohyun looked at him, wondering why her brother asked her to meet him on the rooftop.

“Okay! So, I noticed that since your started working with a team for Mix and Match, someone is often looking at you from afar, when we’re eating at YG’s canteen or when we meet him in corridors. I often caught him observing you and I have the feeling that you’re also secretly watching him. I have this feeling since I watched you two sing together in Mix and Match.” Chanhyuk explained.

Soohyun froze at Chanhyuk’s words. She didn’t expect having such a conversation with her older brother and she was feeling quite embarrassed but at the same time, she was delighted to learn that someone was interested in her. Could it be Jinhwan? She decided to play the oblivious girl.

“Whaaat? Who’s watching me and who am I watching from afar?” She asked to her brother.

Chanhyuk raised his eyebrows at Soohyun’s surprise. He was almost certain his observations were accurate.

“Jinhwan! I think Jinhwan from Team B is watching you and I think you’re also interested in him!” Chanhyuk continued, trying to confront his sister.

Soohyun felt as if her heart exploded into her chest when Chanhyuk pronounced Jinhwan’s name but she remained calm on the outside.

“Jinhwan? Are you joking with me? He’s…..20 if I remember well! You really think I prefer older guys? Can you imagine? He is even older than you! That would be so weird for me.” Soohyun denied all of Chanyuk’s previous statements. “I admit that he is nice but that’s all.”

The older sibling seemed quite convinced by his younger sister. To complete her little act, Soohyun burst into laughter.

“You’re not really a good detective Oppa!” Soohyun laughed.

“Aish I feel so embarrassed now!” Chanhyuk massaged his neck, looking sheepishly at his sister.

“It’s okay Oppa! I know that you just want to protect me.” Soohyun said, linking her arm with his. “Let’s go back inside now that everything’s clear.”

The two siblings walked towards the door together to go back into YG’s building.

Besides the door, a young artist who just wanted to breathe some fresh air on the rooftop decided to leave quietly, not revealing his presence. On his way back to the rehearsal room where his teammates were, he replayed in his mind all the conversation between the two siblings. Each time he remembered Soohyun’s words, he felt his heart breaking a little bit more into his chest.

Finally he reached the room where everyone was waiting for him.

“Jinhwan! Finally! Let’s start the filming now that you’re back!” IKON’s future manager exclaimed.

Jinhwan joined his friends and started the rehearsal with less determination than usual, his broken heart refraining him from doing his best.

----------------------------------------------------

Second part of this fic ^^

I hope you enjoyed this update!

Only one chapter remaining so be patient for the final revealing of everyone’s feelings!

Thanks a lot for all your comments and for your subscriptions! It means so much to me!!!