You miss me on the hotline, yeah

Tell the DJ to play it all night, girl

The last of Mario’s vocals sounded as the R&B track ended, marking the end of class. The instructor gave a short speech, telling his students that they had done a great job today and that he’d see them tomorrow.

“... And don’t forget about the dress rehearsal tomorrow night. The rehearsal starts at 7:30pm so be in this studio around 6:00pm for a quick run-down of the schedule.” There were of a chorus of “Neh’s” heard throughout the room as the students began to grab their belongings.

Kass had almost forgotten about the rehearsal; she had been so busy with homework and running around the office that she didn’t have the time to tell Coordi, or anyone for that matter, that she wouldn’t be around on Friday night.

She and the rest of the students bowed and applauded; it was like a ritual at the end of every class. She grabbed her drink bottle and slung her backpack over her shoulder. After saying her goodbyes, Kass made her way out of the room before a voice stopped her in her tracks.

“It’s nice to see you in your own element for once.” She turned to see Wooyoung giving her a small smile and wave. He was wearing a baseball cap, to which she assumed was to cover up his face to prevent any accidents from the screaming hoards of fangirls, although there really was no need to as the students of Howon were pretty oblivious to the idol stars that attended their school.

“Wooyoung-oppa, I thought you didn’t have class today?” Kass replied in between breaths. She was still recovering from her two hour long choreography class. All those vigorous practice sessions with her brother didn’t seem to pay off.

“I don’t. I just came in to hand in an assignment,” he said, closing the five meter distance in between them. “I’m impressed with your dancing Kass-ah. Where’d you learn to move like that? Did Mai-ah give you some lessons?” Wooyoung asked.

“I’m... glad you think so oppa. My little brother actually got me into it. I think Mai-umma would be too busy to give me one-on-one lessons.” She chuckled before taking another sip from her drink bottle. “Did you come here by yourself or did Minjae-ssi bring you here?”

“I took the bus but Minjae-hyung’s picking me up.”

Kass simply nodded as she looked down the hallway. Wooyoung diverted his attention away from the girl, taking in the surroundings of the familiar hallway he had walked down time and time again. An eerie silence continued between the two, the only sounds were the passing footsteps and chatter of passing students.

“Hey, I thought you, Junho-yah and Chansung-ah had all the same class schedules. How come I didn’t see them go to class  today?” Wooyoung finally asked after a very long silence.

“We don’t have all the same classes.” The older male looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. He knew for a fact that the three maknaes had a similar timetable with a few classes together. “Okay, we just have a different timetable this semester. Given Chan and Ho’s schedules, they had to make a few adjustments so I only have some classes with them,” Kass explained.

Once again a silence broke out, leaving the two standing awkwardly in each other’s presence. Kass was not the closest to Wooyoung; yes, they were on familiar terms but they had never really communicated when it was just the two of them. They had talked, mostly with the rest of the members and her dormmates, but seldom alone- no, not seldom, never.

If she were to pick who she was closest to in 2PM, aside from Junho and Chansung, it would most likely be Taecyeon. Kass’ first encounter with Taec had not been the best as he had practically mocked her about her unique use of honorifics, mostly “umma”, but funnily enough, that was the start to a great friendship.

Due to Taec’s close friendship with Jay, Kass had become somewhat close to the leader the few short months she had known him. Though they did not talk as much as she and Taec did, and they didn’t hang out like she, Chansung and Junho did, it was enough for them to be comfortable around each other. He had given her pointers on how not to get on Mai’s bad side, and helped her get to know her elusive roommate, Renn. She had also found out about the leader and her roommate’s relationship through the way Jay would talk, look or just act around her. Kass had confronted the said leader about this to which he didn’t deny nor affirm the statement.

She had gotten to know Khun through Taec and being the prince that he was, they hit it off without any troubles. Junsu on the other hand, she hadn’t said more than a sentence to. Maybe it was because he was always off in his own little world, whether it was composing a new track or working on his vocals, or the fact that she couldn’t understand a word he said with that Daegu dialect he spoke in.

Then there was the male standing in front of her, Jang Wooyoung. Honestly, it had never occurred to her whether or not she and Wooyoung would be classified as friends. She had actually seen him on campus a few times before she had joined the staff at JYP Entertainment. The first time she met him was as she was entering the dance studio just as he was leaving. Chansung had some prior commitment while Junho was running late.

Kass had arrived a few minutes earlier than usual for class that particular day and had decided to take a peek at what the class before her was doing. Peering through the small glass portion on the door, she looked inside the room. A student, to which she now knew as Wooyoung, in a printed white tee and yellow trackpants caught her attention. She watched the male move to the beat of the song and her eyes widened at how far the student could bend back. His hips must have a mind of it’s own, Kass had thought to herself.

She hadn’t realized she was still standing in front of the door when it opened and nearly knocked the living daylights out of her. A pair of hands held onto her arm and waist to prevent the girl from tripping over her own feet and falling backwards. Kass had quickly pulled away from the boy’s grip, smoothing out her clothes and avoiding the male’s gaze. She was embarrassed enough and she didn’t need him to see the creeping shade of red on her cheeks. Wooyoung had muttered a “sorry” as she had pulled away from him.

“Kass-ah, aren’t you late for your next class?” Wooyoung’s question brought her back to the present as she snapped out of her flashback.

“Hmm? Nope, that was my last class for the day. How about you Wooyoung-oppa? Isn’t Minjae-ssi waiting for you?” Wooyoung took out his phone and checked the time.

“I have 30 minutes to spare before Minjae-hyung gets here,” he replied.

“Well then I guess I’ll keep you company until then.”

“Oh, no Kass-ah. You don’t have to, I’ll be fine by myself,” was Wooyoung’s quick reply.

Kass simply shook her head. “It’s fine. Besides I have some more time before I have to meet with Ho and Chan anyway.”

“Kass-ah, really, you don’t have to. I can just use this time to get some practice in,” Wooyoung insisted.

“You hungry? How about ice cream? I could so do for something cold right now,” Kass continued, completely ignoring Wooyoung’s protests.

“I’ll be-- wait, ice cream? It’s winter Kass-ah, and you want to eat ice cream?” The younger girl nodded.

“What’s wrong with that? Come on, I know you can’t say no to ice cream oppa.”

Before Wooyoung could reply, he felt a hold on his wrist and the two were already inside a convenience store. Kass pulled him over to the freezer and slid the glass door across. With her free hand, she reached inside the freezer, pulling out an ice cream bar with blue and white wrapping, and placed it on the closed glass door on her right.

“Which one would you like oppa?” Kass turned to Wooyoung who was looking out the window, his attention elsewhere.

“Huh? Oh, the chocolate one,” he replied before turning his gaze back to the window. Kass fished out his choice and let the door slide shut, dragging him towards the counter.

Wooyoung watched the girl place the ice creams on the countertop and pass a few notes to the cashier. “Wh-what are you doing?” He looked at the girl wide eyed when he realized she was paying for him.

“Paying, what else? You can’t dine and dash in a convenience store oppa.” The cashier handed Kass her change and ice creams in a small plastic bag. “Here,” she took out the chocolate cone and passed it to the older male. “Take it as a late congratulatory gift for your... amazing comeback.” Wooyoung tried to decline but before he could, Kass had already unwrapped the cone and stuffed it in his mouth.

Kass grabbed his wrist once again and pulled him out of the store as she headed to the her favorite bench, seated underneath a big old tree. Wooyoung remained speechless the entire time as Kass chattered the rest of his waiting time away, to his amusement.

“Chansungie was right about you.” Kass said to herself, turning her gaze up at the blue sky.

“Right about what?” Wooyoung asked, still concentrating on his ice cream.

“Huh?” Kass turned to face Wooyoung, his question startling her.

“What was Chansungie right about?” The expression on the girl’s face told Wooyoung she was not following. “You said, Chansungie was right about you. What was he right about?” Kass’ eyes widened, realizing Wooyoung had over heard her comment.

“Eh, what? N-nothing... I didn’t say that, are you hearing things oppa?” She stuttered, trying to find a way to change the topic. “Look oppa, it’s snow!” Kass was now standing, pointing at nothing. She heard Wooyoung chuckle softly; he wasn’t buying it.

“Kass-ah, the sun’s out and there’s not a cloud in the sky. How can it be snowing?” Wooyoung teased. “Come on, tell me what he said.” He was now standing beside the girl, nudging her arm lightly.

“It’s winter though and I’ve never seen it snow in real life before.” Kass pouted, continuing to ignore Wooyoung’s question.

“Doesn’t it snow where you’re from?”

Kass quickly searched her brain for the next thing she could think of. “Uhh... Christmas is coming, have you bought presents yet? I have no idea what to get the other members and unnies...“ Wooyoung shook his head at the younger girl’s ramblings.

“This girl...avoiding questions.” Kass heard Wooyoung mutter to himself, a smile playing on his lips. It was a genuine smile and not one for show. She smiled inwardly at the sight, knowing that she brought that little spark back to Wooyoung.

Maybe this was a start to a new friendship after all.