Eyes glaring, lips tightly sealed, he eyed the person in front of him again.

“Mwo? Wae?” she teased then giggled right after.

He was actually just faking an angry look and was in fact holding his laughter.

She had been laughing nonstop ever since he got backstage. His other group members were also teasing him repeatedly which didn’t help at all.

What were they laughing at? Him! Him because he couldn’t help but be emotional during their last speech. The first day of their online concert just ended.

“Hajima” he warned while squinting his eyes, faking the angry tone.

“Wae? What will you do?” she asked, glaring at him. She can be really intimidating to him that would make his knees wobble in fear.

Yes, this girl can be scary at times, correction, most of the time, but he didn’t make it obvious of course.

She was leaning by the makeup table with hands crossed her chest. It was her turn to fake the anger.

He shrugged his shoulders and pouted. He was too weak for her. He had been pursuing her for almost 2 years now.

He could still remember the moments that she had caught his eyes. These were during a biannual sports event and during an awards ceremony when both their groups stood on stage to accept awards and she had said her speech in Japanese.

He was just silently admiring her from afar, getting to know her little by little when their groups had chances to meet. He discovered how great of a ballerina she was when she had performed during a year end award.

He finally had the courage to talk to her when both had collaborated for a dance performance with members of other groups. That was how he befriended her until they grew really close.

It really saddened him when she had to go through anxiety the past year. He did everything he could to somehow be a source of strength for her.

He wouldn’t deny that due to the recent circumstances he got a bit depressed which was why he couldn’t help but be emotional during his part of his group’s ment.

She knew about this, and this time, she was his source of hope and strength. Every time she smiled, he would smile. Every time she would talk about how happy she was, it would make him happy as well.

If this was her way of returning the favour to him, he didn’t mind. He enjoyed her company more than anyone else’s. He was still unsure of her true feelings for him. She was great at keeping secrets.

He sighed. He remembered one incident last year that actually inspired him to write his song.

“Come to think of it, Mina is really similar to Hyeseul. They have so much in common. No wonder why you like her,” his best friend commented.

He shook his head about to protest, “ani…” when he heard the door slam.

Him, his same age best friend and his group were inside a dressing room now, just waiting for their turn to perform in a television show.

He didn’t feel right. He walked to the door and opened it, only to see a surprised Mina. The girl became more shocked, eyes widening at the sight of him.

“Annyeonghaseyo,” the girl bowed, avoiding his gaze.

“I thought I’d pop up to say hi to you but… it’s almost our turn. I guess I’ll see you later,” she was stuttering. He knew right then and there that she heard what the topic was earlier.

He was about to explain when she had left him, probably running to her group’s dressing room.

Everything went well during the show. They were still all hyped up as they returned to the waiting room.

“What did you say?” one staff said, talking to another staff member.

“The stage had a crack on it when TWICE were about to perform,” one of the staff answered.

Hearing this made his heart stop. He immediately ran outside the room, just following where his feet would take him.

There were too many things running on his mind but there was only one thing he wished for, “please don’t be hurt. Please be safe,” he prayed.

As soon as he saw her group’s waiting room, he rushed inside, not caring if he looked like he barged in.

Once his eyes laid on her, he went after his guts and just wrapped her in his embrace. Knowing she was safe was the only thing he cared about.

“Are you ok? Did anything happen?” he asked, holding her arms, not wanting to let go.

“I’m fine,” she figured he must’ve heard about the problem with the stage. “Don’t worry,” she assured. Relief washed over him as he hugged her again.

“Jimin~ssi,” she called him as he let go from his hug. He smiled at her, signalling to continue what she was about to say.

“The person you just hugged right now. The person, you’re worried about, was it really me or was it your first love?” this was brave and bold of her but he knew she got hurt with what she discovered earlier, leading her to asking this.

“Is it the latter? I’m not the shadow of the one you seek. I need you to make up your mind right here, right now,” he just confirmed that she definitely heard what Taehyung had said earlier.

He saw her members going out of the room, giving both of them space, they must have been surprised with what Mina asked as well.

He smiled at her and close