"Don't move, Haeri!" Lina reprimands as she carefully twists strands of Haeri's hair into an elegant side braid. The rest of Haeri's hair is going to hang free, long and flowy and just slightly curled.

Haeri giggles and stills. "Sorry! I just really wanted to touch it." Lina laughs and pins the braid into place.

"There! All done."

"Thanks! I'll do your hair now. What do you want?"

"Hmm.." Lina thinks. "How about... like a messy bun? And maybe some curls." Haeri agrees happily and begins working as the two chat about their excitement for the night. The radio plays softly in the background, and Haeri hums along as she works. Ten minutes later, she steps back to survey her work proudly

"Wanna see? I finished!?" she whirls Lina around and hands her the mirror. Lina gasps when she sees her hair.

"Thank you! It looks absolutely perfect!" Next come the nails. Lying side by side on the sun-warmed carpet, Lina takes out a bottle of silver to match the glitter on her green dress while Haeri has picked out a classy gold. Both old hands at manicures and pedicures, the girls finish fairly quickly and enjoy a peaceful silence while they wait for their nails to dry. Once that's finished with, it's three-thirty, meaning they have just about an hour left to do their makeup and get dressed before the boys are set to arrive.

At four, Haeri's mom pokes her head in with a plate of watermelon, which the girls enjoy before turning back to the mirror. Lina claps her hand when Haeri emerges in her dress. "God, Haeri, you're going to outshine every girl there tonight!" Haeri laughs, a little embarrassed. "Thanks, Lina. You're going to look even prettier, though. All those boys are going to be wishing they asked you before Jungsik did." Lina waves away the compliment but looks pleased.

Finally, at four-thirty, the doorbell rings. Haeri and Lina look at each other and grin before heading downstairs to greet their respective dates. Both boys, dressed smartly in suits and ties to match (Jungsik in green, Sehun in gold) gasp appropriately when they see their dates and offer their arms.

Haeri's parents, both looking very proud, accompany the couples as they walk to the park, although they keep enough distance to allow some privacy. Lina and Jungsik walk a little apart from Haeri and Sehun for the same reason. All the way to the park, Sehun can't stop looking at Haeri. Embarrassed, Haeri finally asks him why.

"You look so beautiful that I can't look away," he answers sincerely. Haeri blushes and hits him gently on the arm.

"Please, you don't look too bad yourself," she shoots back weakly. Honestly, she can't stop looking at him either: Sehun looks fine.

There are several other prom couples at the park, too, either in groups or by themselves. Their own group nods to classmates they recognize as they pass by them. The area they pick out is a bit off to the side and secluded, but quiet and undoubtebly pretty enough to be the backdrop to their prom pictures. The pictures take almost an hour. First the couples take their own pictures, then the girls by themselves and the guys by themselves. Finally, at the end, everyone comes together for a group pic. Haeri's parents take pictures of everything, including Haeri fixing the boutonniere to Sehun's suit and Sehun tying the corsage onto Haeri's wrist. Haeri shoots her parents an exasperated, if loving, look when she even hears them taking pictures of her and Sehun as they're walking back to the house.

Once they're back at the house, Lina and Haeri bid each other a temporary goodbye as they depart to their separate dinners. Haeri's parents wave Haeri and Sehun off fondly as they drive off in Sehun's car. Sehun makes easy, casual conversation with Haeri all the way to the restaurant. They talk about their future plans for summer, college, life. Haeri can't help but let out a little gasp when they arrive at the restaurant. It's a fancy Italian place that she's always wanted to try.

The waiter directs them right in, complimenting how nice they look together as he does so. Haeri blushes, and Sehun thanks him cordially, a smile on his lips. Dinner is a pleasant affair, consisting of salad and pasta and then ice cream to end on a sweet note. Though she tries her best to enjoy it, Haeri is a ball of nerves the entire time; not because of Sehun, whom she feels she is completely comfortable with again, but because this is prom. It's so strange to think that's she's a senior now. She remembers being a freshman and thinking prom would never actually come for her. Now she's here with a boy she never would have dreamed she would ever know, much less date and then go to prom with. When Sehun questions her absentmindedness halfway through the meal, she cites these reasons honestly.

"Ah," Sehun nods, "I know exactly what you mean. It really does seem like yesterday that we were walking in to our first day of school, doesn't it?" Despite Haeri's protest, Sehun pays for the whole meal. He checks his watch as they head back out. Seven. "Perfect timing," he murmurs as he starts up the car. It's already quite dark outside.

If her nerves were bad back in the restaurant - well, they're even worse now. As they approach the beach resort venue, Haeri feels jittery and for some reason a little ill at ease. It's just the nerves, she thinks to herself. As if sensing this, Sehun places a comforting hand on her own. Haeri smiles in the darkness.

By the time they pull up at the resort, prom is already in full swing. At the entrance, Haeri feels a moment of panic when she can't locate her ID card, but finds it stashed in the bottom of her purse. With a sigh of relief, she shows it to the teacher at the entrance, who checks both of them over and nods, saying with a smile, "Have a good time, guys!"

The lights are so bright when they walk into the wall of music and voices that Haeri feels blinded. Her vision clears gradually as her eyes adjust to the light. Arm in arm with Sehun, who steadies her wonderfully, they wander around the elegant resort, taking in all the accomodations: the punch bowls and dessert tables, the dance floor, and the resting area, which holds couches and some tables. There's also a beautiful garden in the back, perfect for private conversations and one on one moments.

The couple finds Lina and Jungsik after a couple minutes, though they soon separate again. Looking around, Haeri notices everybody's ecstatic, exhilarated faces and feels happy herself. Prom is truly the ultimate culmination of the four years the seniors have survived. As the night passes away, more and more students drift towards the dance floor, and soon a wildly moving pack of bodies has formed. Haeri and Sehun look at each other, question in each other's eyes.

"No?" Sehun asks. Haer shrugs.

"Dancing's not really my thing."

Sehun laughs. "Me, neither. Well, not this kind, at least. I just feel awkward. Maybe we can just join in for a couple at the end?"

"Yeah," Haeri agrees with relief. "That sounds good." They occupy themselves with the punch and desserts instead, picking out their favorites and having a good time. Suddenly, the loud dance music stops abruptly, followed by a message from the DJ.

"Alright guys, I promise there's more to come! But for now, what's prom without at least one slow song?" A couple voices in the room groan dramatically, and the DJ laughs. "Here's to all the couples! Enjoy!"

As the familiar opening piano notes of 'A Thousand Years' fills the room, Sehun looks at Haeri and puts an arm gently around her waist. Haeri complies with a hand on his shoulder, and as they dance slowly with the other couples in the room, Haeri sighs in content and closes her eyes. The slow beat of the dance is hypnotizing, and Haeri finds herself wishing she and Sehun could stay like this forever. As the song comes to a wistful close, she is surprised with a soft kiss. Haeri opens her eyes to find herself looking directly into the eyes of Sehun. She blushes, unable to help herself, and kisses him back just as the song ends. They stand there for a full minute as the DJ returns to playing electronic dance music, existing in their own world. The rest of their surroundings seems to blur and fade away into soft edges, the chattering of students becomes faded and insubstantial.

"That was..." Haeri struggles to find the right words.

"I know," Sehun murmurs. "I know."

"I wish we could have stayed like that forever."

"Me too," he replies. Then, whispering: "I want to tell you something."

"Okay," she whispers back.

"I've said this to you before, but I feel that it was never enough. Now, I want to tell you this again, and I want you to know that I mean it and believe it, more strongly than I've ever believed anything else in my life. Is that okay?"

Haeri knows what he's going to say, and perhaps he knows that she knows, and she's beyond scared yet ready to hear it, and she doesn't know what to say so she just nods, jerking her head up and down, and holds his hands tighter.

Sehun leans in closer until Haeri can feel his breath hot on her neck, and he parts his mouth ever so slightly and starts to say,

"Haeri, I-"

The bowl of punch hits her like her worst nightmare, a red flood of hate and envy and malice that pours down her head and drowns her heart and ruins her beautiful, beautiful dress.

Stunned, Haeri stands there motionless as her dress drips red sweetness that pools around her heels. By the time she thinks to look up, it's already too late: the perpetrator is long gone. She can't bear to look at Sehun. She can't bear to look at anybody. And slowly, as more and more people notice and stare and point and deride her, a horrible noise begins small and becomes louder and louder and louder.

It's the sound of laughing.

Haeri puts her head down, tears streaming down her face, and runs.