iii. The two linked arms but separated yet again.

Well, fate somehow did. Whether it was a blessing or curse, Yuna could not tell for sure.

By the time the clock hit 7.30, Yuna entered the confines of her high school, School of the Performing Arts Seoul.

How funny. I used to think that Seoul was far. Now I actually come here every morning.

But it couldn't be helped since School of the Performing Arts Seoul was one of the best schools when it came down to honing artistic talents. As a result, Yuna had to wake up at 5.30am every day just so that she could take the train and reach school thirty minutes before the bell rang. 

In every decision, there's always a sacrifice. I guess my sleep is it.

There, she caught a glance of someone whom she had never expected to meet. At the sight of him, she her heels and walked towards another direction with frantic steps.

Yuna bowed her head down, attempting to use her long hair to cover up her face so that the dancer wouldn't somehow realise that the girl who changed her direction with the speed of light was, in fact, someone whom he had once proposed a challenge to.

Because her line of vision was blinded by the hanging strands of her hair, Yuna couldn't see which direction she was heading to. In the end, she bumped onto a solid chest.

"Sorry!" she apologised and jumped away instantly, coming face to face with the guy she was trying to avoid.

...Oops.

"Hello there! You seem very familiar," the dancer greeted with a chirpy voice that was ticking off a certain girl who badly wanted to escape.

Ugh. I can't believe this is actually happening. Why is he also attending this school out of all places?

A pretentious smile was etched on her face like a clock rooted on a wall.

"Oh... Hi there! Long time no see!" she faked an enthusiastic voice while laughing. Her laugh was a high-pitched, anguished cry.

"Yes, you seem extra enthusiastic to see me. Hmm, I wonder why for a person who's clearly seen me but decides to walk towards another direction?" questioned the pouting guy whose eyes were lit with a piercing glimmer.

I officially hate you, 10:10 guy.

Out of her head, she tried to come up with an excuse, "I think you're mistaken. I saw you but I didn't know if it was you or not. Then I remember that I have something to do over there, so I thought I should just go there first." Although the excuse itself was like poorly stuffed filler in novels, the misleading smile on her face never fazed.

"Oh, indeed. Sounds perfectly reasonable."

The dancer nodded, as if convinced by that lie.

But honestly speaking, I can't really see through him very well since he always has that sneaky grin plastered on. He may just be acting sarcastic.

"What do you want to do there though? Oh- speaking about it, I need a tour around this school. Maybe that can be my first stop. I'll accompany you then!" he suggested with an eyesmile.

B-But that place only has a staff room and the general office! I don't even need to look for teachers so early in the day... If I take him there, my poorly woven excuse will certainly be exposed!

...Ugh, I knew it. This guy is just trying to be funny with me.

Yuna rebuked the insolent boy in her head as its gadgets worked again to generate yet another excuse. They worked with the ticking in her watch, which had already become one with her heartbeat. For a while, sheer silence enveloped them.

Breaking the stillness was a fit of chuckles from the boy in front of her. She scowled at the dancer who was unable to suppress his overwhelming laughter.

"Just kidding. Drop that frown off. You look like you're having a hard time," he teased.

The girl sideeyed the still laughing guy while stating, "Oh, not at all... You must be the one having a hard time instead, right? After all, you had to stomach all that sniggering inside you."

The dancer rubbed his head sheepishly, but he soon came up with a cheerful rebuttal, "Well, you ignored me. So that was just a small revenge."

Revenge? Ah, such a petty kid. I'm pretty sure he's not just 1 year younger than me.

Judging by the dancer's clueless face, Yuna automatically assumed he was a first year, which would mean he was one year younger than she was since she was already a second year. After all, no second or third year, with their brains still intact, would look so lost just on the first floor.

The boy peered at her for a moment before asking, "Hmm... Just curious, but what's your birth year?"

Yuna smirked and responded, "Hmm... Don't you know age is a sensitive subject for girls?"

In contrary to what her crossed arms might mean, muffled chortles surfaced in Yuna's consciousness, because the idea of seeing the boy's face crumple like a wrinkled piece of paper made up for the embarrassment she had to suffer earlier on.

Unlike what Yuna would like to believe, she was equally as childish as the guy she mocked was. 

For the first time, he furrowed his eyebrows as he questioned, "What's the big deal with girls not revealing their ages, though?"

Really? Don't pull that trick on me. Acting innocent is scarier than being blatant.

"Sensitive information, you know. Why would you ask me that? Aren't you experienced with girls?" 

The guy scrunched his eyebrows even more.

"Now now, where did that come from? Either my first impression is that poor, or you just assume the worst out of everyone."

With a voice tone that tinged with a trace of dejection, the dancer could almost deceive the girl into thinking that he was being genuinely hurt. Well, she might have if she didn't already know his pattern, or if she was a little more naive.

Ugh, the mainstream kind of flirt who doesn't know that he's actually a real flirt... Or maybe he does and is just pretending to act dumb. Ah, am I overthinking again?

...Or am I overthinking my overthinking?

The avalanche of doubts in her head were almost flooding her. Such thoughts carried a sense of wariness, but Yuna had heard of tales of boys who played around with girls, baiting them and capturing their hearts before deserting them back to reality. She didn't want to be tangled up in that mess, not when she was on a mission to fulfill her dream. Better be safe than sorry, after all.

But I guess my resolve isn't that strong as I hoped it may be. Not if I'm still talking to him like this... Why is that so? Is it because it's the third time we've met? Or is it because he's a dancer? 

I wonder.

As expected, the dancer himself recovered from his misery in a matter of minutes. He never ever seemed to brood on one matter. So unlike Choi Yuna, who tended to replay the most insignificant scenarios over and over again in her head, like a broken television.

"Well then, I'll just reveal mine. I'm 18."

...Wait what? Did I hear wrongly or something? He's 18?

Yuna widened her eyes in disbelief as she scanned the guy up and down more carefully. His eyes were still like tiny little clock hands that only reminded her of those small, adorable clocks she would place on her table for easier reference. His face was almost proportional with the size of his eyes, and it might arguably be even smaller than Yuna's own face size. Not to mention, he seemed to be only a few centimetres taller than Yuna.

Plus... He's even more childish than I am! How can he be 1 year older than I am and an actual adult? Unbelievable!

"...Judging by your expression, I suppose I'm older than you," he casually commented with total disregard of Yuna's eyes that were widening with every tick of the clock on her watch.

"You can't blame me. You don't look or act remotely older at all! Seriously, baby faces these days are deceptively magical," she remarked, awe-struck with amazement.

The dancer managed to stifle his chuckling that time, but by the end of his convulsing, he was not smiling. Instead, his lips were pressed together to form a thin, faint line.

He said, "I know you're astounded by how young I look, but I advise you to stop staring. It may make me confused."

Abruptly realising how inept her behaviour was, Yuna stepped back almost instantaneously with the same awkward smile as before.

"...I guess I was too excited."

Great job in embarrassing yourself for the umpteenth time, Choi Yuna! Bravo to you!

"Oh yes, I can tell."

He nodded slightly while gazing at Yuna with eyes that sparkled amusement. On the other hand, Yuna was bowing her head and seeking refuge in the flimsy shelter of her hair.

She cleared , attempting to divert attention away from the topic as she asked, "So why do you seem to be my junior? I'm like... one year younger than you."

The youth's smile faded away without a trace. His gaze almost seemed forlorn somehow.

"Well, something happened along the way. Something not very relevant."

It definitely must have been relevant enough to cause you to stay back for 2 years. But I guess it's none of my business anyway. We're strangers after all.

...Hmm, are we still strangers now, though?

"Well, since we've met each other for the third time, I'm afraid you'll have to fulfill your end of the bargain, sunbaenim," said the person whose beam was as illuminating as sunlight. It was so illuminating that it was almost blinding.

Every time fragility seems to surface on his face, it's gone in an instant. Really... Why does it feel like we're so near, yet so far? 

I always feel that way every time I surround myself with people. Maybe it's just my own problem?

She groaned. She didn't want to involve herself in others' problems anymore. Those unexpected meetings had already dragged her away from the route of the plan she had so carefully crafted, and she estimated around an hour time wastage. 

"Last time you said we were strangers. This time, let's be friends." 

"Friends...?"

Friends?

Yuna recalled all those bonds that were created and destroyed at the same breath. Myriads of people whom she called 'friends' joined her when she danced up on stage, amidst the colourful lights that highlighted her graceful figure. When the pure white dress adorned her slim figure, she really appeared as a swan which fluttered its feathers for its viewers. The swan glided across the polished surface of the stage, earning the admiration and awe of people who cheered for anything that seemed beautiful. They nodded in recognition, showered her with congratulations of a magnificent performance, and after the stage of high-pitched giggling and laughing, they exited the hall as if they were done with the performance.

Afterwards, those friends never visited her in her secluded training room or gave her a listening ear when she was crumbling, both in the inside and outside, even when she always accompanied them through their lamenting and complaining. Friends indeed.

Yuna knew exactly why. Despite her radiance on stage, it was just an immaculate facade to hide her underlying ugliness. She wasn't like the boy in front of her, who conversed with tact and humour. Maybe... Maybe that was why by the end of the day, those myriads of people deserted her. Because there were always interesting things out there. Those which did not include her.

Therefore, when the boy proposed for them to be friends, Yuna bit her lips in hesitation.

His momentum interest is going to fade, just like the others'. I should stop this relationship which will eventually die into nothingness. But why...?

Why am I wavering again?

She wrote her number on the memo pad she always brought with her, tore out a piece of the paper and passed it to the guy.

Being friends... Will it be as easy as it sounds?

"Happy?"

"Very. Ah- I still don't know your name. How poor of me. You are...?"

"I'm Choi Yuna."

"Well, I'm Kwon Soonyoung, but you can call me Soon."

The bad pickup line ended with a glare from Choi Yuna, which thus began the affinity of the two, its threads tangled within the hands of the ticking clock.

As the two walked towards the hall, the school's assembly area, Soonyoung asked, "You learn ballet, don't you?"

"Yes. How did you...?" asked Yuna who was in disbelief at least twice in the same day.

"It's quite obvious. The last two times I saw you, you carried ballet shoes. And you still do," remarked Soonyoung who was staring at the pair of pathetic ballet shoes which were drooping out of Yuna's bag.

"Well, you sure have a keen eye. But I prefer it if you call me a ballerina."

Learning ballet sounded so literal somehow. It was more of a fact, but rather than thinking she was a mere ballet learner, she wanted to be referred to as a ballerina. Even though she might not be like Odette, still she wished to perform Swan Lake on stage someday, and be recognised as an actual ballerina.

"Are you planning on becoming one?"

Yuna contemplated over that question. Was she? Of course she was. In fact, it was her lifelong dream.

"Yes. Definitely," she declared boldly.

The youth smirked as he nodded in approval.

"You're so sure of your dream. I kinda envy you for that."

"What do you mean? Aren't you planning to pursue street dancing in the future?"

As someone whose eyes were fixated on just one goal, Yuna couldn't possibly fathom why or how Soonyoung was hesitant in his approach.

If he made up his mind to enrol into the school, then shouldn't he be confident? He seems to be the confident type, anyway.

"I guess I'm not a street dancer anymore."

When those words left Soonyoung, he gazed at Yuna with glazed eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"It's a long story. Never mind that! I want to learn ballet. Can you teach me?"

Was Kwon Soonyoung a dodger? He played more games than Yuna did during their conversation. Although Yuna wanted to catch a glimpse of his elusive heart, she never seemed to catch him, unlike how she could catch all sorts of Pokemons in Pokemon Go. 

And although it was in Yuna's blood to deny an outrageous favour, it also seemed to be in Soonyoung's blood to persist until he triumphed. So Soonyoung won, yet again.

Yuna wished she could win just for once.

The ballet lesson, least to say, was an utter disaster. It did have a smooth start, because Soonyoung had the advantage of being a flexible dancer and he picked up the basics fairly quickly, but when the duo moved on to the more complicated tricks, Yuna continuously slipped again and again, her thin legs succumbing to the pressure of her weight like stiff chopsticks which knew nothing of the elegance of ballet. Whenever she reached the ground, her skin tingled with pain, but not even the physical pain could compare to the humiliation she felt.

It's happening again. Oh why are you such a helpless idiot, Choi Yuna? Why is your body so useless?

The problem subsided for a few weeks, but for some reason, her pirouettes were a mess again.... all because of that condition which had plagued her for her whole life, stopping her from truly becoming the ballerina she wished to be.

"Are you okay?" Soonyoung asked, wide-eyed. Yuna merely nodded placidly.

"I'm... fine. I think the ground is just slippery."

What a lame excuse.

Soonyoung must have thought so to because he cast her a questioning glance. Still, he said nothing else.

"Your posture is wrong."

"Huh?" Yuna gasped and blinked upon hearing Soonyoung's comment, but as she scrutinised her every action, she realised she didn't make a mistake like she had suspected she might have. She glanced back at the guy who formed a very suspicious eyesmile upon seeing her baffled expression.

"I guess that just proves that when people say they're fine, they're actually not. Maybe you should say you're not fine next time so that I'll think you're fine, since you're just so good at reverse psychology."

"Oh, you're such a smartass, huh? Always trying to outsmart your sunbae," grumbled the unimpressed Yuna.

"Sunbae, you sure don't act like a sunbae," Soonyoung joked.

Yuna glared at him with penetrating daggers. Why did their friendship seem like a Tom-and-Jerry game, and with Tom being Kwon Soonyoung and Jerry being Choi Yuna? Every time Soonyoung wanted to catch her off-guard, he always succeeded, but every time Yuna tried to do the same, she ended up getting caught instead.

Oh, how she wanted to budge free from the cursed destiny of Jerry....

"You sure have guts, Kwon Soonyoung-ssi."

The fake smile on Yuna's face was beyond terrifying. It was even sinister.

"You need guts in this world to survive," chortled the passive Soonyoung.

The conversation ended there, and it was just then when Yuna realised that all they had been doing was talking rather than actual dancing. Soonyoung didn't seem to bring up that topic again, so Yuna decided to let it be. She didn't want to collapse like the fragile piece of paper she was again once she stood up. Having her whole dance class knew about her condition was enough; she didn't need another person to know, especially not when she didn't know if he belonged to those myriads of people.

The clock hands in Yuna's watch ticked again and again, reminding Yuna of the time she had lost just sitting on the ground and staring at the ceiling of the training room. That was why Yuna always rushed through her life like a bullet train zooming to its destination. She never knew when she would have another time of being immobile just like that. Her whole life had been a series of bursts of energy, and following them afterwards, a break that seemed to last for eternity.

Such a regular routine meant that she was a step behind the other ballerinas... and that also meant that she was a step behind in the journey towards pursuing her dream. 

She relaxed her entire body against the ground, her helpless orbs still fixated on the ceiling that shielded the duo from the taints of the world outside. There were only the dance room and them. Peace and quiet. 

I'm wasting time. I should get up and start practising. But really, I don't feel like caring anymore. Not anymore...

I feel tired... Just so tired. I feel like a child who isn't strong enough.

The first one who interrupted the still air was unexpectedly Yuna herself.

"You know what? You sound like you're experienced in this world already. Like an actual adult, surprisingly."

"Surprisingly? I believe I'm way more experienced than you are, sunbae. I've seen more of this world after all," came Soonyoung's silky smooth voice.

"Right. You're a street dancer. But you know, I've always wondered..."

How does you feel like when you dance on the street? Don't people normally walk away? After all, the street isn't a proper stage for everyone to automatically notice you and you only. Won't you feel disspirited when they do? Won't you give up? Because even though I detest those people very much, I think I may just succumb without them.

Kwon Soonyoung, what does dancing mean to you?

The questions she had were an avalanche, but Yuna settled with a simple question. The battery in her mind was coming to a standstill.

"Isn't it hard?"

"Of course it is. But when people recognise me from the crowd and give me encouragement, it allows me to gain confidence. Does it for you?"

Even when they're strangers?

Yuna couldn't see his face, but judging from the lightness of his voice, he must be wearing that cheeky grin of his then. She couldn't fathom how strangers were a source of encouragement for him. Then again, she never could understand him. She didn't think he could understand her either.

"Not really. Not when their encouragement feels like empty words."

"Not everyone gives empty encouragement. Some are actually genuine. In fact, anyone can be genuine if you believe so."

Easier said than done. How do you believe so even when obvious signals have been telling you otherwise, Soonyoung-ssi? You're way too idealistic.

Maybe Yuna wished she could be idealistic rather than realistic.

"It isn't that easy. to think so"

"I never said it is. But trying to think so will make you feel a bit better. A bit."

I guess you're wrong for once. If making excuses for others makes me feel better, then I probably would be happier than I already am.

Rustling sounds echoed in the small confines of the training room, and then, a small clock face surfaced in Yuna's line of vision. 

"...Well then, how about you? Do you ever go out beyond the dance room?" he queried.

For the past few years since she had aimed to achieve only one dream, Yuna could barely think of any moments when she was truly out of the dance room. Even when she wasn't holed up in the room dancing, she was holed up in her home dancing.

I feel like dancing has merged with my soul to become one. Really... Has there been a day when I stopped dancing? 

"I guess not," she replied. Soonyoung nodded with an expressionless face, as if he had expected such an answer.

"I think you should broaden your horizons, you know. Dancing is more than just staying holed up in a room. It's about creativity and experiences," he spoke with wisdom. Ironically, the person he was enlightening had enlightened her fellow friends with that same exact concept. She just didn't seem to put her knowledge into action.

"I know... But I don't have much time," she stated, not keen on elaborating further than that.

"But if you train the same way as you did before, you'll just be a regular old dancer. It's easy to be a good dancer. But to be a better dancer?" Kwon Soonyoung narrowed his eyes as he continued, "It takes more than that. For starters, you need your own voice, not just robotic techniques."

Choi Yuna stared at the deceptively childish face in front of her. The realisation of why his dancing was just so captivating dawned on her in an instant.

His dancing has many technical flaws. But that rawness is what makes his dance beautiful.

I wonder... I wonder when I can amaze people not for my perfection, but for my flaws. Just like how he can.

Would I be able to do that someday?

Thanks to that disastrous lesson, Soonyoung managed to find an excuse to spend even more time with Yuna, with the excuse that she hadn't taught him the full concept yet. Yuna's initial reluctance gradually transformed to resignation, and even warm acceptance, although she didn't admit that, of course.

Most lessons flowed as smooth as water despite Yuna's tendency to overcomplicate the simplest explanations. Perhaps Soonyoung had the capability to decipher long strings of confusing instructions. Nevertheless, there were a few lessons when her legs gave in, and they would just spend their time staring at the ceiling while exchanging small talk.

Oddly and fortunately, Soonyoung never questioned her condition. She didn't know how she would respond if he did.

"I've always been curious... Why've you enrolled into the school so late?" Yuna asked.

She couldn't see his expression, but from the clicking sounds he made with his tongue, she supposed it wasn't a pleasant issue for him to talk about. 

"Must I really answer that question?"

"No. Sorry." Her apology was sharp and sudden. Throughout the course of their conversation, as much as they were playing a Tom-and-Jerry game with each other, they also concealed all the angst inside them and avoided peeling off the other party's facade.

Becaus everybody had secrets, and secrets were meant to be kept, as much as possible.

"That's funny. You don't seem like the type to say sorry," chortled a mocking voice.

"Are you implying that I'm shameless?"

"Maybe."

Yuna's lips curled into a wry grin.

"Oh really? I think you're the shameless one. Who's the one who pleaded a busy person to teach him ballet by hook or by crook?"

"Well, I never said that shameless is a bad thing. You need thick skin to survive."

Why were their conversations running in such baffling riddles? Every time Yuna seemed to caught up to Soonyoung, he darted off to another corner while waving at her, a rebellious smirk on his face. What an annoyingly charming guy he was.

"This is really becoming a one-man show of you trying to cheek me out," she sighed in resignation.

Of course,  there came Soonyoung's triumphant response.

"I'm always glad to be of service, sunbaenim."

When the ballet lessons concluded, Soonyoung, with his brilliant geniusness, somehow persuaded Yuna to learn street dance from him as a sort of 'repayment'. It took him less effort than before. Well, Yuna had a part to play in that, since she was the one who let herself be persuaded.

Unfortunatly, the teacher himself could only concoct instructions understandable to him only.

"Well, I have to say that I'm way better at you than teaching" she jeered at him once the lesson was done. At the end of the day, Yuna could only manage to pick up the mere basics, but it didn't matter to her since she thrilled in the prospect of seeing Soonyoung squirm with his scrambled explanations.

At that moment, his confusion had dissipated without a trace; instead, a false confidence replaced it when he declared, "N-Never mind! I'm still better at you when it comes to actual intelligence, anyway."

"Well, I now see that you're not quite as smart as you think."

"Has the thought of me pretending to be dumb occurred in your mind?"

Soonyoung wriggled his eyebrows suggestively, but Yuna knew him too well to fall for that bait.

"I think you're overestimating your own capabilities, Soonyoung-ssi."

"Well, we both have different perspectives on this matter. Let's agree to disagree," Soonyoung attempted a peaceful agreementwith a deceiving smile plastered on his face. Yuna couldn't help but scoff at how thick-skinned he was. Maybe if she was as stubborn as he was, she would be able to turn the tables of the game they were playing. She nodded to herself with a childish resolve.

"So, must I really continue to call you Yuna-sunbaenim?" lamented the pouting Soonyoung.

"Duh. Didn't you learn honorifics since young, Soonyoung-ssi?"

"Yes, but technically I'm older than you. Isn't it weird to call someone younger your sunbaenim? Plus, it sounds so rigid and stiff."

"It's not my fault you enrolled in late. Anyway, you're just one year older than me. That isn't much of a difference," Yuna remarked. She honestly didn't want to care about trivialities like honorifics or without, but when you're living in South Korea, you couldn't help but care somehow. It's part of the Korean culture after all.

"One year is a lot. Hey, can I just talk to you informally?"

"Jeez, you're like a kid. Fine, if it suits you. Shall I call you oppa then?"

Soonyoung mused, "Nah. Honorifics aren't my thing, although I want to feel how it's like to be an oppa since I've always had a noona at home." His smile appeared to be tinged with nostalgia.

Yuna recalled how she hadn't be able to spend time with her family lately. Of course, she did return home every day, but she always left early and returned home late. By the time she could see her family members, her energy had all been zapped away by the arduous training and she barely uttered a few words to her family.

Such was yet another sacrifice of her obsession towards dancing. She wondered...

Was Kwon Soonyoung like that too?

"Oh, so are you the maknae? I'm the maknae too."

Is unnie all right? With me going on a precarious road, she must be suffering alone. But still, whenever I return home, she always smiles at me and takes care of my wellbeing. Even amma and appa are so supportive of me without a single complaint...

I really owe them for this, don't I?

"Yes, I am and I get spoiled too often. Sometimes I wish I'm the oldest just so I can be more free."

"Well, seeing how you're able to come out as a street dancer, your family must be quite lenient. Not many families are okay with their son being a street dancer."

The street dancer emitted chuckles that sounded to be of both recognition and bitterness.

He said, "They are. But I'm the one who isn't sure of this path."

His statement made Yuna reconfirm the fact that he was harbouring doubts when he chose to join School of the Arts. Was that perhaps a reason why he was two years back?

Although she couldn't relate to his hesitation, she did want to understand. What made the seemingly shameless Kwon Soonyoung hold back for his dream? Shouldn't his interest of dancing propel him forward already? 

When she turned to survey his expression, she realised his insecure look was an exact copy-paste of her past self. That small, fragile girl whose once joyous smile crumbled into nothingness when she crumbled on stage in front of the whole school, and was later diagnosed by the doctor with a foreign condition that had denied her dream to become the graceful ballerina she so wished to be...

Becker Muscular Dystrophy. That cursed illness which placed her body at a prior disadvantage.

Thanks to that, she spent that whole rotten night holed up in her room, wailing. She threw the awards she had attained for 'Best Dance Performance' away, like her scattered tarnished hopes which had been abandoned by fate. At the end of her tantrum, her face was soaked with dried, salty tears, her limbs numb due to both resignation and that flawed gene she carried in her body.

Despite that, she scrambled up and gathered all the remants of resolve which were dispersed inside her. Because the moment her heart beat in unison with the music, she knew that dancing was going to be her flowery path of happiness.

As she clutched all those memories, she offered her greatest bit of advice, "I've always been sure, but it's not easy all the time. I don't think it'll be for you either. But as you said, dancing is all about your own voice. Disregard all your concerns for the moment, and just focus on your inner voice. What it tells you may very well just be the answer."

Soonyoung's head nodded as Yuna's calm and passive voice resounded in the silent room. He was motionless for a while, but soon after, he smiled slightly.

"I see you've learnt well from my encouragement. The complicated things seem to be simpler than what i make it out to be. Thanks a lot, Yuna."

"That's funny. I've always been sure of where I'm heading. But it's not always easy." She thought of her fragile physique.

Every twirl that time made followed the steady throbbing of all the clocks around the world.

Tick tock, tick tock.

Although time is just but an invisible passageway, the mechanical rhythm of a clock's hands can still keep track of its pulse. With every fleeting step, time chortled at the humans which were chasing to catch up to it, only to grasp nothingness in their hands. It is just like how one so desperately runs after their dream, but trips and wakes up from the utopic fantasy they had and smacks back onto reality. The humans were swept away by the foggy maze which time had set, their faces blurring into indistinct figures that were further and further away from the invisible figure.

Yuna saw the impish devil that was time as one which put on a facade of eternity just so that it could tempt people to play a game of catching. But the truth is that no one can ever catch up with time which ran at the speed of light; no one, not even the supposedly fastest human Usain Bolt. The clock is the only item that signals to humans that time is never infinite, even though it so deceivingly seems to be. That is why no matter where Yuna went, she always brought a clock with her, be it in the form of a watch or the automatic numbers displayed on her phone. Because if she didn't, she might really be engulfed in the fog that time had left behind. Because if she didn't, time might really abandon her and she might really abandon herself.

By the time she managed to sprint to her last checkpoint, graduation was already near the corner. And the ringing of the clock in her head which screamed 'graduation' nudged her again and again that she really didn't have much time left, even though time somehow kept deceiving her to think otherwise.

I don't have much time left to fulfill my dream. I need to practise even harder. But more importantly...

...It doesn't seem like I have time to bid a proper goodbye.

When she arrived at the graduation party held for the graduating classes, she could only recognise a very few faces. The faces which greeted her with warm smiles were even far and few between.

Fortunately, she managed to spot her friend (well, she hoped that friend was really a friend) and didn't end up spending the whole party wallowing in her loneliness, but still...

For a moment, she did crave for more company... more experiences as a youth. If she bade farewell to her high school just like that, then will she never recover all the laughter she had sacrificed during her dance towards her dream?

Even so, I won't regret it. Because dancing... Dancing is my joy. Dancing is my fun. Dancing is my happiness. And nothing else can ever replace what dancing has in my heart.

After her graduation party, Soonyoung shock her with a surprised visit and cheekily saluted, "Congrats on your graduation, Yuna."

"Thanks a lot. Although you're a cheeky brat, I have to say you've made life a lot more interesting for me."

"Am I a kid? To think that I'm one year older than you. I feel hurt, sunbaenim," complained the pouting Soonyoung. Even until the very end, they still had to bicker like that, hadn't they?

"Stop using age as an excuse, Soonyoung. You don't seem to behave like you're older at all."

"And you're saying that you do? Tsk tsk, Yuna. I never knew you to be such a hypocritical person."

They exchanged laughter in the midst of their argument. Laughing sprees seemed to have become a part and parcel of Soonyoung's life, and even Yuna had been influenced by that laughing monster to giggle at the unfunniest moments ever.

Before they parted, Soonyoung again took the initiative to ask, "By the way, want to grab a coffee sometime...?" Yuna faked a pretentious frown.

"Is that a date?" asked the usual dubious Yuna, although the question was more of a tease then.

"Oh please, don't get wayward thoughts," rebuked Soonyoung.

"Isn't that what I should be saying right now?"

That was the third time. Well, even though it wasn't entirely coincidental like the previous two meetings were.

The laughing didn't cease even when they officially crossed on different paths. High school was over, but Yuna knew that the ending brought a new beginning. For the next chapter of her life, she knew she was going to be one step even closer to her dream, and maybe, to happiness as well.

A/N: I would like to apologise for the extremely~ late chapter T_T School has started and I can only manage to find time during my CNY holidays to edit this chapter before I can finally release it! It's quite a long chapter though, so I hope the quality is good enough to satisfy all your insatiable needs! While the second stage is foreshadowing for the third stage, the third stage is also like development for the forth stage since this is the chapter where Hoshi and Yuju get glimpses of each other's doubts, but not quite enough as they're still developing a relationship! I have to say that it's fun writing the dynamics of their relationship... Their many differences and similarities make them a bundle of fun to write. xD I have a feeling that next chapter will be longer than this one, so it may be a while before it'll be released. I'll still work hard in finishing it though! *^*
*P.S. Did you get that Very Nice reference? That song has been stuck in my head for quite a while lol.
**P.S.S. This chapter may be quite confusing, but no worries~ Most, if not all of your doubts towards the characters should be cleared in the next chapter! That includes Yuju's illness. I'm not revealing too many details here since it won't be as fun xD The specific illness Yuju had is somewhat inspired by Catching Kayla, which is an inspirational video about a runner who developed a disease that affects the spinal cord and also somewhat from Me Gustas Tu's slipping incident.