Lee Minhyuk was a film and movie major, dreaming to become one of South Korea’s biggest movie producer who could make it big in Hollywood someday. The class was tasked to do a documentary regarding the diverse clubs at Balgwang University in order to get extra credit. When Minhyuk was assigned with the newly formed show choir club, he did not expect being blackmailed into becoming a member. He planned to join and leave as soon as he was done. But then Kihyun joined, and his friend probably wouldn’t let him escape. And today, he was kissed by a girl for the first time. Now he wasn’t sure whether to leave or stay.   He didn’t even know the girl’s name, only remembering her as the one who came late during their first meeting because she had too much fun with some other guy? But as it turned out through his incredible news deducing abilities, they were only teasing her with her ex boyfriend whom she utterly despised. So how had it come to this?   As the entire clubroom engulfed in silence, Kihyun was the only one obnoxiously teasing and congratulating him for his first kiss. How awkward. Now everyone knew his lips were lips.   Minhyuk wanted to confront the girl, whom the others kept calling Mira, but she already left the room. So before others broke out into loud chaotic cries, he quickly chased after her.   “Uuhm…” His intention to confront her disappeared when he saw her squat down against the wall outside the class, suddenly bursting into tears. “Was my kiss that bad?”   Mira looked up, not expecting to see him. “Oh dear God, I’m so sorry, Minhyun,” she said.   “It’s Minhyuk.”   “Oh, right.” Mira awkwardly rubbed the tears away from her eyes and got up again. Clearly she had acted without thinking. She wasn’t the type to kiss strangers she didn’t even know the name of, but her logic seemed to have gone astray for a moment.   “So… Do I get an explanation for what just happened?” Minhyuk asked unsurely, wanting to gain answers, but knowing a girl in tears was better left alone.   Mira softly nodded her head. After what she had done to him, the least she could do was owe him an explanation. “As you may have heard, I recently broke up with my ex. Let’s just say he did something horrible to me.”   Minhyuk gasped out loud, not so subtly trailing his eyes over her body.   “No, not in that way!” Mira immediately said, making a weird face at him. Maybe she shouldn’t have hated Mark to such an extend considering he didn’t physically hurt her. But sometimes, the mental scars were harder to deal with.   “It’s just… He was never there for me when I needed him the most. He was always busy with his school and other activities and I could go for weeks without hearing anything from him.” She didn’t know why she opened up so much about her failed love life to someone she had just learned the name of. Maybe she needed a listener who wouldn’t take Mark’s side for once.   “That is horrible. It’s like you were dating an imaginary boyfriend,” Minhyuk commented, nodding thoughtfully at her story.   “Right? That’s why I broke up. But he visited during club day, saying he still loved me and all. The others must’ve misunderstand and think I still like him.” The more she told her tale, Mira realized how miserable it was.   “So why did you snatch my precious lips?” He suddenly asked, trailing his fingers to his mouth, his face sinking into an overly dramatic expression.   Mira didn’t expect Minhyuk to be quite blunt with his words, stammering a little at what she thought was a brilliant plan in the spur of a moment. “I… I thought they would stop if they see I have moved on.”   “By kissing another guy?” Minhyuk said.   “More like dating him?” Mira dropped her gaze to the floor, realizing how stupid it was. Poor Minhyuk got dragged into her mess. This was the worst first impression ever. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. I should go in and tell them it was a lie.”   Minhyuk blinked his eyes, watching her willpower crumble in merely a few minutes. She looked so dejected when slumping back to the practice room. Her eyes were still red and swollen, and anyone could tell she had been crying. Would he get the blame?   “Well, there she is!” Sungjong said, excited to see Mira enter the room. Though he had only just recently joined, he was excited to get involved in the latest gossip. Without having the entire perspective of the issue, he thought it was just fun and games.   “Minhyuk isn’t seeing anyone right now,” Kihyun added, squinting his eyes suspiciously.   “Oh! So it was a lie?” Biah asked, completely surprised.   “Mira is a big fat liar, I told you,” Kibum said, convinced he still saw the chemistry between Mark and Mira last time.   “I bet they’d get back together soon,” Maerin snickered a laugh, excited for her friend.   “I’d say in two weeks. He even came to look her up during club day,” Taemin said.   “Aw, that is so sweet. He’s trying to get her back,” Yerin squealed.   Oh how terribly wrong they were. But because Mira couldn’t bring herself to tell them the truth, her silence only led to a bigger mess. They’ll forever misunderstand, and she’d have to suffer inwardly. So Mira shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and got ready to meet her doom.   “Minhyuk and I are—”   The door flung open as Minhyuk stormed in. He approached Mira, slipped his arm around her waist, and kissed her in front of everyone.   Mira had no idea what was happening, but neither did she have the strength to push him away. Minhyuk was so gentle and careful she found her own lips move along with his. It was so strange and so right at the same time. When he pulled away, she wasn’t sure what kind of emotion she read from his eyes. Sympathy? Concern? Hesitation? It sure wasn’t anything romantic.   She watched him take her hand in his as he faced the entire class in such a way they could clearly see their intertwined fingers.   “We’re dating,” Minhyuk declared.   Everyone gasped in shock. It was real?   “But you never told me about it!” Kihyun accused his friend.   “You would tease me if I did, so I kept it a secret from anyone, especially you,” Minhyuk said. He cleared his throat, once again addressing the others. “So don’t bother my Mira about her ex anymore. It will break my heart.”   As the entire class erupted into chaos, Mira turned to him with furrowed eyebrows, mouthing the words “what the heck” to him.   Minhyuk nodded his head reassuringly. Seemed like they had a lot of talking to do.     Since Leeteuk was busy teaching English classes, the students had taken it upon themselves to lead the meeting.   “So, this is the song we’re going to perform,” Woohyun said, writing a single song title on the board. “If you are not familiar with it, you should listen to it.”   It was Hyunmi’s first revelation to the song, and after revisiting it, wasn’t sure they needed lyrics as bitter as a cup of dark coffee for their first gig. “I know you’re a musical genius and all, but wouldn’t a song with an uplifting message be better suited?”   Woohyun turned to meet her gaze, smiling sweetly, which she immediately reciprocated. Anyone could tell neither of their smiles were entirely genuine when their main focus was to prove the other wrong.   “Are you questioning my song choice, second rank?” He asked, keeping his tone calm despite his taunt, as if he tried provoking her on purpose.   “No, not at all,” Hyunmi immediately replied, not wanting to give him a reason to storm out of the club if she lost her cool. For someone with the ego of a first ranked, she had to feed his pride. “I know you have better skills than me, dear musical genius, but I don’t want Crescendity to be known as the group singing about people’s heartbreak and depression.”   “Have you never been depressed? When a person is feeling down, there are times when we don’t need encouraging words, but rather, someone who understands our struggle. Crescendity will be known as a relatable group who gets them.”   Hyunmi folded her arms, refusing to get swayed by his legit argument. Her patience was thinning, and it showed on her face. “Some people prefer encouraging words over a groupie of equally depressed people. Someone to reassure that things do get better. That’s what we should be about.”   Everyone switched their gaze between the two as if they were watching a ping pong tournament. Honestly, they did not care much for the lyrics and just wanted to sing. But as expected from the two, they’d do an in depth analysis on the song’s philosophy and its impact on human behavior.   “I think both of you make a good point.” Maerin finally stepped in, trying to keep the peace and harmony among them. “Since Crescendity doesn’t have a signature style yet, we can explore both options and see which one works best. We can sing the song in different ways so that listeners can interpret the song according to their own need. Sounds good?”   Nearly the entire room bursts out in a chorus of “yes.” They were just glad to move on without anyone punching anyone.   Maerin sighed in relief after feeling an indescribable tension between the two. She spontaneously gazed at Taemin, noticing he had been waiting for her to look at him. And when she finally did, he flashed his thumbs up, telling her good job.   “Next time you wanna fight, please get a room. Don’t involve us with whatever is going on between you,” Kibum told his two friends, knowing both of them enough to notice the slightest change in their usual behavior.   “I bet other stuff will happen instead,” Seulyi said, wiggling her eyebrows. She cackled in amusement when her friend turned to her with a judgemental look.   The entire classroom cooed in anticipation of a new scandal, looking at the victims, thirsty for potential gossip.   Woohyun turned to Hyunmi with mischievous eyes, readying his bullets for the shot. “Well, you did say you wanted to top—”   “No, no! That was an entirely different context!” Hyunmi quickly interrupted, stopping him by placing both hands in front of his mouth. A nervous staccato laugh broke out from her lips.   “Don’t lie to us now. We know you like it,” Seulyi bluntly said, as always, not filtering her words.   Mira shook her head, feeling sympathy for her roommate. Yup, Seulyi treated her breakup with the same erseness. She was secretly glad someone else had fallen victim now.   By this time, Myungsoo had seen and heard enough about Seulyi’s erted side—though he hadn’t seen her unleash her full potential yet. Usually he would laugh along to her words, but this time, he couldn’t.   “Why aren’t we performing more than one song?” He asked, steering everyone back to the right topic.   “We called the owner to double check, and it turns out we’ll be the opening act to another band,” Maerin explained, having been the one in charge of calling since Kibum delegated it to her. When Kibum threatened to tell Taemin she was a lazy and uncooperative leader, she immediately abandoned her mashed potatoes and dialed the number.   “But why can’t the boys sing?” Jaehwan asked. Though he didn’t say it out loud, anyone felt his disappointed for not getting to sing.   “Because the original song itself is sung by male artists, so it would be a nice change if we used female vocals,” Woohyun explained, a slight rise in his intonation showcasing his unbearable excitement.   “After stalking everyone’s Soundcloud accounts, I do agree this song would fit the girls well,” Hyunmi added a bit reluctantly, having accepted her defeat. By agreeing to the song, she was only admitting he was, as always, better than her.   “Y-you listened to our Soundcloud?” Jineul asked with a stammer, her lips pressed tightly to show her discomfort. She stared at the other girls who were equally surprised.   “How does she even know our accounts?” Mira wondered. No one had ever heard her covers before. Not only was her roommate an interrogator, she seemed skillful enough to become a private investigator.   As everyone wondered the same thing, Jineul had something more concerning in mind. She bit her bottom lip before hesitantly raising her arm midway. “Is it necessary for everyone to participate and sing?”   Hyunmi frowned, as if the question was rhetorical in nature. “Yeah, of cou—”   The others watched in amazement as Woohyun managed to shut her up simply by tapping her arm. Such a phenomenon had never happened before.   “We’d love it if you could join, but if you’re not ready, there is always a next time,” he provided a much more laid back answer, being surprisingly kind despite the arrogance he usually showed.   “We won’t force you into doing something you’re uncomfortable with. But remember, in order to improve, the first step may be to just do it,” Hyunmi added, which sounded like some inspiring commercial.   “Like Nike?” Maerin commented with a laugh, referring to the sport brand's tagline.   “Yeah, like Nike.”   As others laughed, Jineul breathed out in relief. Her biggest fear was being threatened to leave the club for not participating. Knowing she