The Diamond Hall’s entrance is filled with student lining up to register their attendance upon our arrival. The moment I have my keen eyes on them, I can tell just how hard they must have been working on looking good tonight. Although that’s the case for the girls—they all look so mesmerizingly beautiful in their lovely dresses—I’m in a big surprise for the guys. I mean, I never knew they could be so hot in those tuxedos. Ha-ha.

After we have done confirming our attendance, Baekhyun, Taeyeon unnie and I enter the hall. Pleasing music is blared throughout the speakers. I can see students have started to loiter around the venue with their dates while some of them prefer to gape at the various lip smacking dishes that are served through buffet style. They cannot start dining right away, though. According to the leaflet given upon registration, it says that dining commences only after the speeches from the university’s director and Jinki sunbae-nim as the President of Student Affairs club. 

“Yoona noona, is that you?” Kai suddenly comes into my view. He’s standing in front of me with the posh tuxedo, and there’s a girl next to him, which I assume to be his girlfriend. I heard he’s now got himself a girlfriend. From a girl’s perspective, I would say she’s pretty. I love her hair and her blue short dress.

“Oh, Kai,” I say, giving him a small smile of delight. “Yeah, that’s me.”

“God, you look so different that I can’t tell it was you.” He chuckles, rubbing his nape casually. “You had your hair changed, eh?”

“Yoona, Baekhyun and I are going to meet our friends,” Taeyeon unnie whispers in my ear. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Okay, unnie.” I wave at the adorable couple who’s taken their feet off us. “See you guys later.”

I look back at the younger guy and nod. “I got rid of my bangs and bleached my hair blonde. I look just fine, right?”

“You look more than fine, noona. I think it suits you so much.”

“I guess so.” I can’t help but feel curious of Kai’s date. She hasn’t said a word—and only listens to us talking. I guess she’s shy or you know, awkward being with a stranger. “Anyway, you haven’t introduced your date to me, Kai. Who is she? Is she your girlfriend?”

The younger guy suddenly intertwines his fingers with hers, and flashes me a jovial grin. “Yeah, she’s my girlfriend,” he admits boldly yet I could feel a little tinge of shyness in his voice. Kai glances sideways at her. “Jung Soojung.”

“Hi, I’m Soojung.” She finally opens . “Kai has told me a lot about you, unnie.”

I’m pleased that she’s finally settled down and begun to talk to me casually. “Oh, really?” I say. “That’s pretty surprising since Kai and I haven’t met up in a while. I think the last time I met you was like, two weeks ago, if I’m not mistaken. I asked you for a favor, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, that’s true,” he answers. “So how did it go, noona? Were you able to talk to Lu Han hyung?”

“Oh, I did,” I say smoothly. I wasn’t flustered because I was the one to bring up the topic. I knew that question would come out within this conversation. ”Well, everything went well.”

“That’s good to hear, then.”

“Are you alone?” Soojung shows me a puzzled look.

“I was about to ask that!” Kai pipes up. “Where’s your date, noona? You can’t possibly be here on your own tonight, right?”

“I’m alone tonight,” I say spontaneously.

Shock washes over the couple’s faces.

“How can you be alone, noona?” Kai pulls a frown. “I mean, that so doesn’t make any sense! You’re super popular around guys. I even know some of my friend who adore you. To have people not asked you out, that’s just ridiculous.”

I let out a dry laugh. “You know, some people would just love to be alone on such a fine night like this,” I say. “If I said no guys asked me out, that’d be a lie.” God, why did I sound like I am super popular? “There were some guys, but I turned them down.”

“Why did you do that, unnie?” Soojung questions, perplexed. “I believe girls would be so happy if guys ask them out, wouldn’t they?”

I do not give the female freshman a reply. Instead, I flash both of them a beam of significance and let them think whatever they want as to why I ended up alone tonight.

Baekhyun’s ludicrous thought on the way here finds its way back at the back of my mind. He said that he knew why I ended up with no date tonight.

“You know, there are only two reasons as to why you’re alone tonight. First, you don’t like those guys that asked you out. Second, you’re waiting for that ‘someone’ to ask you out, which is what I’m thinking to be the exact answer.”

No, I’m not waiting for that ‘someone’. Really. Even if I am, will he show up tonight?

Well, he won’t… will he?

///

After the end of the two prominent figures’ respective speeches, the banquet is officially up, and so is the dance. Students can either choose to eat or dance. Well, they opt to dance because that’s the main agenda of this eventful night—dining can come later. However, for girls or guys with no dates, they have no choice but to dine the lavish banquet and gaze at the couples with envy.

The famous Taeyeon’s Gemini makes its entrance through the speakers and as if on cue, guys start giving their dates a gesture towards the heart of the hall, where the dance is taking place.

Several guys are giving me such desperate eyes when I pass by them to the banquet, but I feign ignorance. It’s not that I’m being arrogant or anything. I just don’t feel like dancing albeit the thought of dancing gracefully with a date and everyone else seems rather intriguing.

“Hey, Yoona.” A man’s voice resonates as he touches my shoulder lightly when I’m at the banquet for a drink. I don’t even have to turn around just to know who he is, because it’s plain obvious that he is the President of Student Affairs club.  

I smile at him. “Sunbae-nim,” I utter softly. “Why are you here instead of dancing over there with others?”

“I don’t have a date, Yoona.” A chuckle seeps from his lips. “But don’t say I didn’t go asking girls out, okay? I’m in charge of the event tonight, so yeah… I can’t just be seen enjoying the night, can I?”

“Well, of course you can,” I say, looking straight into his eyes. “You’re a student yourself, aren’t you?”

“But still…” He trails off for a moment and ends up smiling in defeat. “Well, you win, Im Yoona.”

I flip my hair charismatically. “Well,” I say smugly. “I guess you couldn’t talk because you were too busy mesmerizing how beautiful I look tonight, right?”

The President giggles bashfully, giving me a thumbs-up as if he agrees with my point. “Anyway, where’s your date?” He looks around, but to no avail when he can’t see anyone standing next to me. “Are you here alone?”

“Yes,” I say briskly, “but don’t ask me why because I’ve now gotten sick already of people asking me the same question over and over again.”

“All right, I won’t ask.” He smiles a little. I know you have a reason to be here all alone, though.”

I give him a nod. “Sunbae-nim, you know… I would love to say sorry for not being able to carry the task you asked me to do. Persuading Lu Han to attend the formal dance, to be specific.” I couldn’t provide him with any excuses, because there’s none indeed. I’m completely at fault this time, I must admit. “I’m really sorry. Because of me, our club’s at stake. So here… I don’t mind if you want to take the position off me. I… I’m ready.”

“Yoona.” Jinki sunbae-nim calls out my name softly. “Look here.”

I look into his eyes.

“You don’t need to seek forgiveness from me because… you’re not completely at fault. I mean, it is part of my fault too.”

“What do you mean?”

“I… I shouldn’t have asked my subordinate to do the job on my behalf. I should have been the one doing it. I’m the President, aren’t I? However, the moment I’d realized how irresponsible I was, everything had been all crushed. Lu Han was still strict with his answer until the end and we can’t do anything to make his change his mind. So in the end, I went to talk to the upper management and they… were able to understand after hearing out my explanation.”

“Really? That’s… great!” My face jolts with happiness. No words can describe how happy I am upon hearing the news.

The older guy scratches the back of his neck. “We get a teeny bit of a penalty, though.”

“Oh, what is it?”

“I let you and others know during the next meeting,” he says, smiling. “So that means you’re still part of the club. I would’ve never thought to cut you from the club, Yoona, You’re a great secretary for these two awesome years you’ve spent with me and the members.”

“Thanks, sunbae-nim.” I swear I almost cried. “I will do even better from now on!”

“That’s it! I’ve always liked your fighting spirits, Yoona. And you being consistently formal to me, by the way.” he says, chuckling. Ha-ha. I get what he means. Up until now, I have never called him anything but ‘sunbae-nim’. He and the others have continuously asked me to drop the honorifics, but I just couldn’t. “Now that we’re done and the song’s almost finished, shall I go dance for the second song with this beautiful girl in front of me?”

“I would love to, but I’m afraid I have to turn you down.”

“Why?” He fakes an annoyed sigh. “Am I not that handsome to be dancing with you?”

I laugh teasingly. “Yes, sunbae-nim. If you were a little bit more handsome, that would have been my pleasure to dance with you.”

///

Heart beats fast,

There’s a sudden, significant beat in my heart the moment the next song is played throughout the hall. I chew on my lower lip when I immerse myself into the first few lines. Just so you know, the soundtrack of Twilight Saga—Part 1,  ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri has always been my all-time favourite song. I swear I literally melted when the song hits my eardrums.

Colors and promises,

How to be brave?

How can I live when I’m afraid to fall?

Just before I get to delve myself deeper into the heart-fluttering chorus, a handsome man in dashing tuxedo holds out a hand to me all of a sudden in which I can’t help but be extremely flabbergasted.

But watching you stand alone,

All of my doubt suddenly goes somehow.

It’s Joon.

I never thought he would suddenly jump out in my direction. I mean, why is he asking me to dance with him? Hasn’t he already had his own date?

 “Joon?” I frown at him, confused. “What are you doing here? Go dance with your date!”

“She’s dancing with someone else, so it wouldn’t look weird if I dance with another girl as well, would it?” He lets out a playful chuckle, his hand doesn’t waver—it’s still pointing at me to reach it.

I don’t know what to do; my head’s in a mess.

One step closer.

“Come on, Yoona. I know you turned me down the other day when