Kikwang was walking towards the dance studio with a smile on his face and earphones plugged in his ears.

 

I have never felt this happy in months!

 

Things are finally looking my way~

 

He flashed a smile at the guard on post and swiped his ID on the slot. The computer ran Kikwang’s name and pulled up his profile and schedule under a second. Kikwang then walked forward only to be stopped by the guard. He then immediately pulled his earplugs out.

 

“Sorry, but according to your schedule, you shouldn’t be here right now. Your next class is tomorrow morning under Miss Min.”

 

Ah~ I forgot students are not allowed to be here without teachers~

 

Kikwang laughed dryly as he scratched the back of his head. “I’m sorry~ I will just wait for Miss Min to be here then." He turned around and started heading for the bench nearest the guard post. He sat down, took his phone out and gave Min a call.

 

BEEP!

 

“Huh?”

 

Is that her voicemail?? Haha, wow, how friendly~

 

“Hey, Minyoung~ Where are you? Did you forget about me?”

 

Kikwang laughed at himself and ended the recording. He looked at the clock on his watch and saw that it was already half past 11am.

 

She’ll probably be here soon…

 

At 11:40am~

 

I can’t wait until she hears the song I picked! 

I can’t wait to see her dance to it!

 

At 11:45am~

 

Ah, I want to see her now!!!

 

Kikwang jumped up, ran to the school’s gate and looked for Min. He turned his head and squinted his eyes, just so he can see the girl he has been waiting for.

 

I hope she did not forget about me…

 

With a slump of disappointment, Kikwang went back to his place on the bench and sat. He looked at the time on his phone and saw that it was 10 minutes before 12pm, their arranged time of meeting.

 

I wonder where Minyoung is right now… Did she really forget?

 

He browsed through his phone then deleted messages one by one. His phone isn’t a smart phone so he had to painstakingly do it over and over. At around 11:55am, Kikwang was done deleting all the messages in his phone. He sighed and looked towards the gate.

 

Still no sign of Min.

 

Why are girls always late?

 

I remember when I had to wait for 2 hours at the movie house for Hyuna. I was so mad at her but when she finally came, I couldn’t even tell her how long I waited. I just let her drag me inside.

 

…

 

Why am I even thinking of Hyuna???

 

He shook his head abruptly and ran towards the gate. He looked for the girl who can help him make his dreams come true… But saw no sign of her.

 

Aish~ Girls…

 

It’s so hard to be with them.

 

He turned around and walked towards the bench. He kicked a small rock away from the pathway.

 

But when you finally understand them, you get this fulfilled feeling that would seem to last you a lifetime.

 

He sat down and looked at the time: 12:03pm.

 

But nothing lasts forever… Not even life.

 

He sighed and leaned back, gazing upon the dancing leaves atop.

 

I wonder why I am alive right now. What could be my purpose?

 

I wonder if I’m really meant to be an idol. I’ve been turned down and let go too many times already yet I’m still here…

 

Taking a chance.

 

But will I just keep on trying?

 

Will there be anything good that will come out of this?

 

I did my best to keep Hyuna happy, and yet she still cheated on me.

 

I did my best as a JYP trainee, and yet hyung let go of me because of the rumor.

 

I even drank my milk every day, and yet I’m still short.

 

Life is so unfair.

 

He let out a sigh as he walked towards the gate again at a normal pace. When he reached the gate, he looked at the streets to see students scurrying about. He sighed and went back to the bench.

 

Last chance.

 

Last chance, Lee Minyoung.

 

Last chance, Lee Kikwang.

 

He sat down on the bench and saw that it was already 12:08pm.

 

“Are you sure Miss Min is coming?”

 

Kikwang looked up and saw the guard walking towards him. He nodded in response, wondering why the guard asked. The guard nodded in return and looked towards the gate.

 

“Are you a special student?”

 

Kikwang didn’t know if he was supposed to be offended or be delighted by the question but answered anyway. “What do you mean?”

 

“Well… I haven’t seen Miss Min around guys older than her except her brother. Are you by any chance Miss Min’s boyfriend?”

 

Kikwang couldn’t help but laugh at the question. “No, no, I am just her student.”

 

The guard nodded again and looked at Kikwang carefully. Kikwang could feel the guard eyeing every part of him. He glanced upon the gate to avoid eye-contact with the guard.

 

“Are you her only student for today?”

 

“Yes… Yes…”

 

“REALLY????” The guard’s voice went up by octaves which took Kikwang by surprise. He looked up at the guard to see a genuine look of surprise all over the older man’s face.

 

Kikwang gently nodded. “Is there a problem with that?”

 

“Well, to be honest…” The guard forcefully sat beside Kikwang which made Kikwang scoot to the other side of the bench. He is now face-to-face with the guard.

 

Don't tell me... No... No... Is he gay…?

 

“Don’t tell Miss Min or anyone I told you this, okay?”

 

Kikwang replied with an awkward nod.

 

“I was the guard on post during Miss Min’s first day here.” The guard squinted his eyes and paused. “I believe it was about… 7 or 8 months ago! She was still a bit chubbier then but she looked very tired. And her eyes always seemed swollen.”

 

Where the hell is that girl?

 

“Anyway, on her first day, she arrived about more than an hour earlier. She is very quiet and didn’t talk much with the other dance teachers in the lounge and just proceeded to her studio. I heard stories about her since there was a former dance teacher here then that always talked about her. Ah~~ Maybe you know her… The principal said she is an idol now!”

 

Kikwang shook his head immediately.

 

“Ah… Well, on her first day, the principal instructed me to give Miss Min some gifts that were from the former teacher. “ The guard stopped talking and closed his eyes. He put his hand over Kikwang’s right shoulder.

 

Lee Minyoung, SAVE ME!!

 

“I am sorry, I can’t remember the name”, the guard continued. Kikwang shifted away from the guard and the older man retrieved his hand. “So I went in to the dance studio where Miss Min was. I was holding the flowers and a basket filled with sweets and saw her dancing, and wow… She’s very great! So I stood there by the door and watched her for awhile. She was facing the back and was wearing this big headphone. So I walked in and then called her name for quite a number of times but she wasn’t turning around. I didn’t want to interrupt her dancing though… When you see her dance, you just want to watch her. You know, she’s that kind of person. I think she will be a very good entertainer.”

 

Kikwang smiled and nodded. He was about to speak when the guard did.

 

“And then she turned around and I saw how her eyes widened... And suddenly she was screaming while backing away from me! I didn’t know what happened but she kept on screaming and screaming but I was just standing there…”

 

Kikwang was now more than confused.

 

“Then some of the teachers maybe heard her cause I didn’t close the door and they came in. But she went to the far corner of the room and screamed some more.”

 

“Why?? What happened??”

 

“I don’t know for sure…  Then she was crying while she broke down to the floor … I didn’t know what to do but my instincts told me to not come near her. The other teachers tried to get close to her but every time someone does, she screams and cries some more. And then she curled up into a ball… You can see that she was shivering... It was a very sad sight...”

 

The guard sighed.

 

“I never saw anyone so scared in my entire life... And I couldn’t even do anything about it...”

 

The guard shook his head and looked down. Kikwang could see the man turn red.

 

“Then what happened??” Kikwang didn't know why but he was too worried about what had happened to Min to care whether the guard cries then and there or not.

 

“She kept on being like that so one of the teachers called her grandmother. She didn’t stop screaming and crying until her brother came. She was so tiny that her gigantic brother just scooped her up his arms and took her away.”  The guard ended with a laugh.

 

Chansung?

 

“Did you ever find out what happened to her?”

 

“No... She didn’t come to class after that for maybe two weeks or so...  But she did come back. She just didn’t come to class early. She would come inside the building when a student is already here. She didn’t even talk to me and didn’t even look at me. But when she came back last week, she was different… Very different.”

 

“How so?”

 

“For one, she started talking to me... And she grew a lot thinner and more beautiful... She doesn’t look tired or scared anymore. She didn’t seem aloof to people anymore...”

 

Kikwang nodded, digesting all the information that was brought up to him by the elder.

 

“She’s here”, the guard whispered.

 

“KIKWANG!!! Sorry, I’m late!”

 

Kikwang looked up to see Min running towards them. He stood up and said, “What happened to you?”