I don’t know how we wound up together in the drama club once again. Everyone else seemed to think it was fate, or meant to be, and all that gist, but I think it was because we had similar interest. Simple as that.

 

Well, perhaps not that similar. While I preferred the roles with fewer lines—though not as decorative as a dialogue-free tree—Woohyun always landed the lead roles. He was perfect for them. With a visual as handsome as his, and amazing acting skills to go along with it, he was a gem in our club.

 

This year’s drama was a story of a medieval kingdom, and Woohyun had never looked more royal in his princely costume before. Never thought tight lilac stockings and deep navy shorts could look so breathtaking on a guy, but Woohyun really did make everything look good.

 

As for me? I was the lowly servant girl of the princess with only three lines or so.

 

I did not have a lot of scenes, but I attended every practice anyway. Aside from the fact that I took pride in my perfect attendance, I wanted to fully support Woohyun—and also ogle at him in that outfit. Though it looked good, the outfit was worthy of a teasing for the next ten years to come.

 

Others misunderstood my intention. Everytime I appeared to a practice session that didn’t require my presence, they awed and told me what a wonderful girlfriend-to-be I was. I had no such relationship with Woohyun. In public we even tried to keep our friendship to a minimum to stop these misunderstandings. We communicated more through social media anyway, so I had no idea how people managed to conjure such ridiculous thoughts.

 

I mean, yes, there were a few times where it seemed like this might go somewhere, or where he treated me differently than other girls, but I assumed it was because he saw me as a friend. Like, not even the childhood friends or best friends type of friends, but someone he is slightly more comfortable with compared to the rest of the class, or school for that matter. And as we walked to drama club together, or as he successfully made me laugh every time, or always searched for me first whenever he had some big news, people simply started to assume something was up.

 

Sometimes I wished they were right.

 

“Cut!” The drama teacher suddenly yelled, yanking my attention to return on the actors on stage.

 

The witch, which was my friend’s mother, lied in defeat against the styrofoam wall, panting heavily at the damage inflicted upon her. I missed that part while I was deep in thoughts. Instead, I noticed Woohyun’s troubled expression.

 

Now, I’ve read over the entire script for nearly fifty times to know how the story progressed and what should’ve come next. It was a kissing scene between the prince and the princess.

 

“Why’d you stop?” The drama teacher demanded.

 

I did not know whom she addressed the question to, to Woohyun, or the one playing the princess?

 

Then, suddenly, Woohyun’s gaze fell on me, singling me out among the audience of fellow spectators. He did not smile or act in a manner that could set on the flames in my heart, and yet it did. I could hear it pound along with the passing seconds of silence in the real world.

 

“I can’t do it,” the princess then spoke, apparently being the one who messed the play. “Hyunmi will get jealous.”

 

All eyes turned to me.

 

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, catching Woohyun’s fervent gaze still on me. He, along with everyone else, was awaiting my reaction or permission I was not entitled to give.

 

“Uhm… You can do whatever you want,” I said, though my tone ended up sounding more bitter than I intended it to be. It was a dead giveaway of my heart’s true reaction. Plus, the way I brushed my feet together was a clear sign of my discomfort.

 

“Can’t we change the scene? We don’t want to make Hyunmi jealous,” the princess pleaded.

 

“It doesn’t really concern me though,” I lied again, shifting my eyes at anyone but Woohyun. This time the words came out as a statement of denial. And my fidgeting fingers only added on to that fact.

 

“It so does. She is so jealous!” Another member accused me and laughed in amusement.

 

Darn, was I that obvious?

 

“Fine, let’s omit the kiss and change it to a hug,” the teacher compromised, jutting down some notes in her printed script.

 

Everyone suddenly appeared way happier than they ought to be, including myself, including Woohyun. Because as the teacher counted off for the same scene to start from the beginning again, Woohyun looked at me, and I looked at him, and we furtively happened to smile bashfully at the same time during that exchange.

 

Words weren’t necessary, but for that moment, I had never been more thankful to our fellow drama club members for shipping us together. What should’ve made us feel uncomfortable made us shy instead. We wouldn’t be receptive of the shipping idea unless the interest already lied there in the first place. My cheeks flushed at that idea alone.

 

Maybe one day, their hopes would come true.

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I finallyyyyy had a dream of Woohyun again, eventhough it was very short with minimum interaction, but I'm still so happy. I actually had a few other dreams, but I forgot how they went when I woke up, or they were even weirder than my previous strange dreams. But thissss... Doesn't this sound like a really nice intro for a high school au one-shot? Hehehehe