Hoseok's face burned at the realization of what her words meant. “I forgot to bring a towel in with me.” she said, her embarrassed voice barely making it through the door. He swallowed thickly, his eyes darting over to the last locker, the one nearest the small shower room which was full of white, fluffy towels. He his suddenly dry lips as he slowly made his way towards the towels.

The shower room beyond the doorway was small. There was one, tiny shower cubicle in the corner of the room, which was sectioned off by a door of frosted glass. He grabbed one of the towels and stood in front of the door. His hand hovered over the door handle, taking a deep breath. He jumped back when Jang Mi called his name once again. “I’m here.” He said, hoping she couldn’t detect the nervous quiver in his voice. “I’m coming in.” he said. She squeaked out an ‘okay’ and he slowly opened the door.  He held the door open for a few seconds before poking his head around, his eyes firmly closed. He waved the towel around but no one grabbed it.

He cracked open one eye, spotting her barely visible silhouette through the shower door. On the other side of the glass door, Jang Mi pressed herself against the back wall of the shower. She had felt the rush of cool air enter the small room when Hoseok had opened the door. Even though she knew that he couldn’t see her, she still covered her body with her arms as best she could. She heard his feet shuffle over the tiles and suddenly a towel appeared at the top of the door. She quickly grabbed it and wrapped it around herself. “Thanks, Hobi.” She said, thankful for the piece of material that was now securely wrapped around her body. “No problem. Don’t take too long, I’m starving!” he said with a laugh, trying to cover the awkward atmosphere as he hurried out of the room, closing the door firmly behind him.

She released a breath that she didn’t realize she had been holding, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. “How could I have forgotten a towel? They're literally right by the door.” She grumbled to herself as she quickly dried herself and pulled on some clean clothes. In the break room, Hoseok fidgeted, too much nervous energy coursing through his veins to allow him to sit and wait patiently. He stood up and started pacing the small room, banging his leg off of the small coffee table, a hiss of pain making its way out of his mouth as he rubbed at the sore spot.

He shook his head to try and rid himself of the thoughts of how Jang Mi must have looked, water droplets running down her body as she waited for the towel… “Stop.” He growled at himself. “Think about something else. Anything else.” He said, desperately trying to erase the images his mind had created of his best friend. He jumped when the door opened and Jang Mi appeared, throwing her used towel into the laundry bin. “Is it Jimin's turn to do the laundry?” she asked as she made her way to her locker, pulling out her bag and jacket. Hoseok nodded, “Yeah, he said he is going to do it tomorrow.” He said as he slipped on his jacket.

He couldn’t hide the smile that appeared on his face when he saw her pulling on the gloves that he had bought for her. “How was your lesson with Do-Jung?” he asked as she pulled on a hat. “Good. He's actually pretty talented.” She said, not noticing the pout that graced Hoseok's face at her words of praise. “He’s not as good as me though, right?” he asked childishly. She laughed at his petulant tone as she turned to face him. “I don’t know…” she said, tapping her chin as she pretended to think. Hoseok gasped, his hand clutching his chest. “How? How could you betray me like this?” he asked as he grabbed the back of the couch in front of him. “You always used to say that I was the best dancer you knew!” he wailed, barely able to keep his laugh in.

“I don’t know, Hobi. You are getting old.” She teased. His jaw dropped. “Old? Old?! I’m only a year older than you!” he shouted indignantly. She shook her held, a smirk on her face. “Maybe I’ll need to stop calling you oppa. How does Hobi ahjussi sound? I think it has a nice ring to it.” She said, a laugh making its way out of . “Yah!” he shouted as he ran around the couch, not giving her the chance to flee as he stuck his hands inside of her ped jacket, brushing against her side making her squeal. “Hobi no!” she shouted as he relentlessly began tickling her sides. She tried to push him off but her laughing made her attempts weak.

“Call me oppa and I’ll stop!” he offered, a smile on his face, relishing in the sound of her laughter. “O-O-Ahjussi!” she yelled as she tried to push him away, her legs buckling underneath her from laughing so hard. She collapsed onto the table behind her, Hobi moving with her, inadvertently moving in-between her legs to continue tickling her. He hovered over her, his fingers still dancing up and down her sides. “Call me oppa and I’ll stop!” he offered again. “Ok! Ok! Oppa! Hobi oppa!” she screamed, tears of laughter falling from her eyes. His hands moved from her sides as promised, instead moving to rest on the table on either side of her, caging her in-between his strong arms. “That’s better.” he said, smirking down at her.

She brushed away a stray tear as she tried to regain control over her breathing. She looked up at him and it was only then that they both noticed the position they were in. She was on her back on the table, her legs dangling off from the edge. Hoseok stood in-between her legs, his hips flush against her and the table, the upper half of his body hovering over her, his hands on the table on either side of her. His eyes trailed down from her face, which was flushed from laughing, down to her chest which was still heaving as she tried to regain control over her breathing. Down to her hips and the tiniest slither of skin that was exposed between her sweater and her jeans, down over her strong thighs which were brushing against his own strong thighs.

Her eyes took a similar journey. From his smiling face, his tanned skin almost glowing in the light of the room. Her eyes trailed down, his sweater doing little to hide the strong muscles of his lithe dancer’s body. Although the sweater hid his torso, she knew all too well that his abs were well defined, the taut, honey skin that begged to be kissed, hidden under the layer of fabric. Her gaze finally settled on his strong thighs which were nestled in-between hers. It took every ounce of her self-control to stop herself from squeezing her thighs together, desperate for some relief from the burning that had settled inside of her.

Hoseok was the first to move, taking a step back and offering her a hand. She slipped her hand into his and he pulled her up, smiling at her like he always did. “Come on, let’s go.” He said as he pushed down the urge to finally claim her lips and took another step backwards, letting her slide off of the table and gather her thoughts and her belongings. She felt a tremendous sense of loss as he moved away from her but she tried not to let it show as she finished getting ready to go. She risked a glance at him, her eyes meeting his as he stared at her. She quickly focused her attention back to her jacket, fumbling with the zip with her glove clad fingers. Hoseok's hands appeared in front of her, she watched as he pulled up the zip with unshaking fingers.

Her eyes met his once again. They stayed that way for three heartbeats before he gave her his signature grin. “Let’s go. I’m buying.” He said as he led the way out of the room. She released a deep breath, her hands covering her undoubtedly scarlet cheeks as she followed Hoseok, a strange feeling blossoming in her chest.

That night, after he returned home after spending the evening with Jang Mi, he lay in bed, looking up at the dark ceiling. Flashbacks of images and memories appeared before his eyes, Jang Mi's smile when she looked at him. The way she moved so effortlessly and gracefully when she danced. Her loyalty to him and to all of her friends. The feeling of her body pressed up against his when they danced…

He kicked off his blankets, cursing loudly into the dark room. “What the hell am I thinking?! This is Jang Mi. My best friend since high school!” he shouted as if he would receive an answer from the dark room. “I can’t think about her that way… can I?” he wondered aloud, his voice wavering at the end. He flopped back against his pillow as he resumed staring at the ceiling. “I mean, she is really beautiful… like painfully beautiful. Plus she's smart, talented, caring, funny, kind… oh my god! I like her” he mumbled, his hand slamming over his mouth as soon as the words left his mouth. His eyes darted from left to right, as if someone would be able to overhear his words. His hand slowly slipped from his mouth, falling to rest on the bed beside him.

“I like her.”