“Okay. Ready and… go!”

      I called after positioning my phone and hitting record as the song started. It’s been a few weeks and showcase prep has been going really good. All the choreography has been settled and showcased to Jiyong-sunbae for approval. After some final tweaks, Jun and I were finally pleased with what we had created and have been drilling but we decided to film it since the eye can only catch so much while you move around. As we began to dance, our movements mirrored each other with the distance between us shrinking during the chorus but expanding once again as the next verse begins. Once the bridge hit we broke from our mirroring to each do a short solo before coming together at last for the end of the song to dance as one. In the last ten seconds of the song we were back to back and once the last line of the song was being sung we slid to the ground, leaning our heads back onto one another's shoulder. We turned our heads away from one another and Jun placed his hand on mine just as the music cut off. Taking a moment to catch our breath, we stayed in that position before I jumped up to stop the recording which caused Jun to fall back onto the dance room floor.

“Finally we nailed the ending!” I cheered.

“This deserves a break as a reward,” Jun laughs.

“Okay but before the break let’s watch the video first.”

      As I said this, I laid down next to Jun, holding the phone up for both of us to see. My eyes were trained on the video, searching every detail to note what to fix later on. I was so focused on the video that I didn’t know how close Jun and I were until I turned my head to give some comments, only to see his face inches away from my own. My lips quickly closed into an awkward smile before I sat up in the calmest way possible, even though my heart was racing. Luckily his eyes were still trained on the phone so he didn’t notice the blush I am sure has started to settle on my cheeks.

“Do you want your water?” I asked as I got up to grab mine, putting some distance between us to give my heart to settle down.

“Yeah,” He replied sitting up now too.

“Okay so I think we just need to fix our timing in certain parts, especially the solos, and clean up the moves more.”

      After handing him his water bottle and having a short water break we were back to drilling the dance. We were able to run the dance a few more times before we had to switch and go work on our other pieces. As the girls greeted me, Su-min could tell the moment she saw me that something had happened. Being the people they were they refused to start practice until the latest tea has been spilt. Once I explained what had happened, Seohee teased me for my “boldness” as Su-min and Minah laughed at my innocence; getting embarrassed over such a small action. After the latest details had been spilled Minah called us all back to focus and back to dancing. We chose Minah to be the choreographer this time around because we loved her hip hop piece to “Blue Moon” by Hyolyn and Changmo the most out of our own choreography. It passed Jiyong’s evaluation with ease. We just have to work on formations and adjusting the dance for a group. Since dancing took up all of the class time every day, we used breaks between our academic classes to discuss costumes, stage props, etc. Today’s lunch discussion ended up being about costumes. During a heated debate on whether we should do a collective group costume or individual costumes with similar color scheme, I got a text message from my mom. I stumbled with my words a bit, skimming the content of the message, causing the girls to look at me and I motioned for them to continue without me before replying to the text.

To: Hyemi

Kyungsoo and I have a client emergency to deal with in Busan so we’ll be staying here overnight. We’ll need you to watch Soomi for the night and take her to school in the morning.

To: Mom

Yes mom, I’ll watch Soomi.

      A sigh escaped my lips as I place my phone back on the table and turned back to the girls. They all looked at me confused until Su-min spoke up.

“Your mom?”

“Yup. She asked me to watch Soomi,” I replied flatly.

“I thought you liked your sister?” Seohee asked.

“Yes, I love the munchkin but that just means I have to miss practice today.”

“Can’t you take her?”

“I don’t want to take her out so late, plus I’ll have to take her to school in the morning so both her and I will be needing the sleep,” I laughed.

“Okay we’ll let Jiyong-sunbae know.”

      Before we could continue the earlier conversation, my phone alarm went off reminding me that I have class in ten minutes. I split from the girls and rushed off to class with their encouraging words to listen in class and to not sleep. I shook me head with a smile and waved at them once more before turning the corner. Once I was seated in class I remember that I should text Jun about not making it to class today but but before I could, the professor entered so I placed my phone back in my pocket. Halfway through the lecture the usual boredom kicked in since the professor was just reviewing for the test. Needing a change of pace, I quietly pulled my phone from my pocket and opened up my messages.

To: Prince <3

Hey, I just wanted to give you a heads up that I won’t be able to make it to class today. Just gotta take care of some things.

To: Hyemi ^^

Oh okay, hope everything goes well. Wait… aren't you in class?

To:Prince <3

Thanks ^^ and what? Psh no…

To: Hyemi ^^

Well thanks for letting me know now pay attention in class lol

      A small smile spread across my face and I had to force myself to control it as the professor’s eyes scanned my area of the class. I sent one last text to ask Wonwoo to cover my shift at work today, so that I could pick up Soomi on time, before finally listening to what the professor was droning on about. Once class ended, it was off to Soomi’s elementary school. Once she saw me she ran to me excitedly since it’s been a while since we last saw each other.  

“Unnie!” She squealed, greeting me with a hug.

“How have you been my little munchkin?”

“I’ve been good but you don’t visit enough. When was the last time I saw you? Two months ago?”

“Yes yes, I’m sorry. How about I make you something good to eat in return?” I offered, slinging my arm over her shoulder as we left.

“Oh! Deal! Can we have japjae and tteokbokki?”

“We’ll have to stop at the market on the way but that’s doable,” I smiled.

“Yes!”

      I ruffled her hair as we walked down the street to the bus stop. On the bus Soomi was catching me up in the latest gossip going around school and home and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her enthusiasm. Once we arrived at the market, we split tasks and Soomi was speeding off to find rice cakes and glass noodles while I went to the vegetable section. As my eyes scanned over the various vegetables, they caught a glimpse of something familiar and unconsciously my voice came out.

“Jun?”

      My hand went to cover my mouth, realizing what I had just said. This may possibly be an awkward encounter if that’s not him. Luckily for me the boy turned at the sound of his name and satisfied smile spread across his face. I gave him a confused look as he came over but his smile never faltered. I looked him up and down suspiciously before asking.

“What?”

“You said my name. Without sunbae,” he stated smugly.

“Just a slip of the tongue, Jun-sunbae.”

“Aww come on, you know you are the only girl who calls me sunbae? All the other girls in the class calls me Jun or Jun-oppa,” he whined.

“Maybe I like being the only one to call you differently.”

      I internally screamed at my rather bold statement and it took everything in me not to show how much I wanted to hide in a hole at that very moment. It seemed to throw Jun off as well as it took a bit for him to reply. Hyemi you idiot!

“You have a point. It’s a bit formal for me but I’ll tolerate it for you,” he laughed which eased my tension a bit, “How are the things you had to take care of though?”

“Actually speaking of which-”

      As if on cue, Soomi came barreling towards me. Her arms were full and she had definitely grabbed more than glass noodles and rice cakes like I asked. She happily placed everything in the cart and I rolled my eyes.

“That doesn’t look like rice cakes and glass noodles,” I scolded.

“Well, he doesn’t look like vegetables to me,” she huffed.

“Hey, cut the sass. I ran into him while grocery shopping. He’s my sunbae,” I said sternly although I couldn’t help but smile. “Jun-sunbae, this is the thing I have to take care of today.”

“Hey! I’m not a thing!”

“Yes yes. I’ll buy you two snacks out of this pile, put everything else back.”

      She obliged but not without grumbling about it before she went to put the items back. As I watched her figure disappear into the aisles I heard Jun chuckling from behind me.

“And she is why I can’t come to class today,” I said with a shrug.

“You will be missed,” he stated dramatically.

      I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help but laugh with him. We continued to chat for a bit until Soomi returned. After that we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I grabbed the rest of the the ingredients then we were off to the apartment. Once we got home I immediately went to start cooking after putting the groceries away. To keep Soomi busy and not bored I enlisted her to help me cook. It did work for a bit but soon after, she got bored of it and decided to watch TV instead. All was quiet except for the TV, the sound of the kitchen fan running, and Soomi’s occasional laugh. As I was cooking I realized that I didn’t have enough sesame oil so I asked Soomi to go downstairs to ask Mingyu for some. Since I’ve stayed here Soomi has been over quite a few times with mom’s and Kyungsoo’s busy schedule, so she had grown accustomed to Wonwoo and Mingyu from the amount of times they come knocking on the door for something or vice versa. It seemed to take longer than usual for Soomi to come back, but luckily everything was practically done. When she had finally came back, she wasn’t alone.

“Unnie! I’m back! I brought the grocery store oppa with me,” she hollered as she entered the room.

“Huh?”

“Yeah he was there with Mingyu-oppa and since Mingyu-oppa was busy writing an essay I asked this oppa to come play with me instead.”

“Yah, am I not enough for you?” I joked before addressing Jun, “Did you eat yet? We were just about to eat dinner if you care to join us.”

“Yeah, I would love to.”

“Soomi go grab an extra plate and chopsticks.”

“Okay!”

“Sorry about her, if it isn’t a problem can you just go along with her?” I apologized once she was out of earshot.

“No worries, she reminds me of my younger brother so it’s no trouble. I think they’re around the same age.”

      He replied with a small sad smile. I wonder how long it’s been since he last say his family? If I remember correctly he told me that he originally was attending university in China before deciding to transfer to a Korean university… he must miss them… My mind began to wander on its own but luckily Soomi quickly came back and we all sat and ate. During dinner, it was pleasant and comfortable, filled with laughter and smiles. Soomi quickly dragged Jun to play the moment we finished eating. That gave me a chance to clean in peace for once. I stole peaks every now and then while doing dishes and honestly I could not control the smile it gave me every time I did. Jun played so well with Soomi and both their laugher could be heard throughout the apartment. It was nice.

“Okay Soomi, you’ve played enough. Go do your homework,” I said once I finished cleaning.

“Awww, but I wanted to play with Jun-oppa more,” she whined.

“Well maybe if you finish it fast enough he’ll still be here, now go go.”

      With that in mind, she made a dash for my room. Jun and I made eye contact before we both smiled at each other as he motioned me to come join him on the couch.

“Sorry if we ended up stealing you away from Mingyu and thanks for helping me watch her,” I apologized as I took my seat.

“It’s fine really. Mingyu just needed me to proofread his essay since Wonwoo isn’t home so I’ve served my purpose already,” he laughed, “plus she’s a good kid and fun to be around so it wasn’t a problem.”

“She was only good cause you were around, she always give me a hard time cause I don’t visit home often,” I rolled my eyes.

“Oh do they live far?”

“Yeah, kind of. It’s that and just school.”

“Well it’s good that you and your sister have a good bond with each other. You know, it's actually kind of interesting cause you guys don’t really look like each other.”

“Oh, actually that’s because Soomi is my stepsister.”

      It’s not like I’m hiding the fact because it made me uncomfortable or anything, it’s just not something that comes up in conversation. If asked directly I have no trouble in answering. It was actually funny watching Jun’s face change from surprise to realization to panic as he scrambled to apologize. It made me realize that I never brought it up when we had those “get to know you” talks.

“Jun-sunbae, you’re fine. It’s not a big deal. My parents got divorced when I was a second year in high school then in my third year she met Soomi’s dad who was widowed, they fell in love, and got remarried.”

“Sorry if I made you talk about it if you didn’t want to.”

“If I didn’t want to talk about it I wouldn’t, honest. We’re friends so it’s okay, I’m not bothered by it either. Kyungsoo is a great guy, my mom is happy, and I have the little munchkin in my life now. My dad video calls me every now and then too so it’s not that unpleasant,” I explained.

      A heavy atmosphere fell over both of us as we didn’t know what to talk about after something like that. The air was tense and my leg couldn’t help being jittery, I needed a change of pace as soon as possible. Luckily my brain was on the same page with me for once.

“Well since you’re here and if you’re free for now do you want to get in the practice we’ll be missing tonight?”

      I threw in a smile to reassure him that I wasn't bothered and it took him a moment before his panicked face melted into a smile as well, agreeing. With that, we moved the coffee table to make ample space to practice and started to warm up. Once the music started playing the tension began to melt away and by the beginning of the next song it was as if it was never there. In the middle of running the dance for the nth time, my eyes caught a small shadow streak by, a smile growing on my face. In the next instance Jun is abruptly stopped by Soomi’s arms wrapping around him. Giggles erupted from the two of them as Jun’s focus face melted a playful grin within a single beat as he picked her up and twirled her around.

“Were we being too loud?” I asked,watching the two with a smile.

“No, I finished! So what were you you guys doing?”

“We were practicing a dance for our showcase,” Jun replied.

“Unnie, you can dance?! Can I see?!”

“... yeah I do… and of course you can see,” I replied softly, ruffling her hair, “ but you’re going to have to get off Jun.”

      I got up to restart the song and I internally scolded myself. It had slipped out for the second time today and I could already picture his smug grin without even turning to look at him. Lo and behold when I turned around it was there and I just rolled my eyes in response as we got into first position. As we went through the choreography I couldn’t help but smile at the awestruck expression that stayed on Soomi’s face the entire duration of the dance.

“That. Was… AMAZING! I want to see the performance on stage,” she whined.

“Sadly it will be too late for little girls like you to go out but I’ll make sure Mingyu gets a video of the whole show for you. The other girls are in it too.”

“... Fine. I guess I’ll have to take it BUT you have to make sure it isn’t blurry!”

“Of course, only the best for you,” I said, giving her an eye roll.

“I want to learn it! Can you teach me? Please?”

“Well… I mean I don’t care but it both Jun-sunbae and me so… if he is willing…”

      I purposefully dragged to . She immediately caught on and turned her full attention to Jun. Her eyes were glittering with excitement as she silently pleaded him with her puppy eyes. I could just see him melt under her gaze before he responded with a laugh.

“How can I say no when you’re looking at me like that?”

      At that Soomi cheered happily, jumping up from the couch and giving Jun yet another hug before she pulled away to stand between us and learn. We ended up teaching her a bit of the chorus before we just started goofing off and dancing to girl group songs when it was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a frog croaking. Soomi and I both turned to look at Jun questioningly. He sheepishly turned away to answer his texts, explaining that it was Minghao.

“A frog text tone?” I laughed.

“Hey, in my defense that’s his favorite animal okay?”

      I put my hands up in mock surrender as I tried to stifle my laughter. I looked at the time and saw that it was actually getting pretty late and before I could ask what was up he already told me.

“Sorry, I have to go. Mingyu was supposed to clock in ten minutes ago so Minghao is asking me to drag him to work.”

“No worries, you go do that.”

“It was nice to hangout and get a bit of practice in, and it was nice to meet you Soomi.”

“Will you come over and play next time?”

“Of course,” He smiled, giving Soomi a hug before heading out, “I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”

“Yeah see you in class,” I waved after him.

“Are you two dating?” Soomi asked just as the door closed, causing me to nearly choke on water.

“No we’re just dance partners,” I brushed off.

“Are you only saying that because you think I’m going to tell mom?”

“No we really are just dance partners, what makes you think otherwise?”

“I don’t know, do you like him?”

“I really can’t keep up with you,” I rolled my eyes.

“You didn’t answer. So you do!”

“Why don’t you try this hard in school?”

“Hey! I’m in the top of my class!”

“Keep trying kiddo.”

“Well I like you two together, you guys look happy with each other… Maybe I should talk to Mingyu-oppa and-”

“Thanks for rooting for me but please don’t do anything stupid.”

“Ha! So you do like him! You just admitted it!”

“Okay, time for bed,” I clapped ending the conversation, “your homework is done and you’ve played your heart out now go brush your teeth.”

“You like him ~” she cooed before darting to the bathroom.

“Soomi!”