ONE WEEK LATER

“We’re dating!”

Winter gawked at Yu Ri, agape. Yu Ri had her fingers tightly knitted with Rocky’s and they were standing so close to each other that no light passed between them. Winter did not seem to be the only one speechless, however, because around her all the ASTRO members stared at the both of them with stupefied faces. Then all of a sudden, the room broke into a clamour of chatter, everyone fighting to let their voices be heard.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Yeah, I wonder why none of us saw this coming?”

“Are you in your right mind?”

“When did it start?”

“This is your announcement?”

“Everybody, stop!” Rocky barked, and everybody fell into silence. “I know this is very shocking to all of you, but can we please keep it down? I gathered us in the dorm so that none of the staff could overhear us talking. If y’all keep talking loudly, I’m afraid even our neighbours will know about us dating!”

The ASTRO members and Winter sat around the tea table with folded arms while Rocky and Yu Ri sat on the sofa. Winter could feel the tension in the space between them, though her own heart was beating at a frantic pace. She sneaked a glance at Moon Bin, who was sitting at the opposite end, the other 4 ASTRO members between them. He had his arms folded as well, though his face was unreadable.

“We’re going to need an explanation, Rocky,” Eun Woo said in a reproachful manner. Although he was frowning, Winter could tell that he wasn’t all that angry at them. His expression was amused, even. “How did it start? Who confessed?”

Rocky took a sideways glance at Yu Ri, his cheekbones rising. “Man, this is going to be cringey…” he said, grinning stupidly. “I liked her ever since the first task, when I was chosen to be her mentor. Yu Ri stood out easily among the rest, being the cutest, hamster-faced—” He paused midsentence, for MJ had coughed purposefully, his cough sounding a lot like “goosebumps!” Rocky cast an annoyed glance at MJ before continuing, “Anyway, I knew from the start that I wanted to take care of her. Every time she talks to me, her voice is so angelic—”

“Can we just skip to the confession part?” San Ha grumbled.

“I was the one that confessed first.” Yu Ri spoke for the first time. She looked at Winter sheepishly, “Do you remember what I told you, Winter? I said I would confess to Rocky if I managed to get into Girl’s High. And I did get in! But I couldn’t get a chance to do so because I’ve been so busy. When we finally got a break that day, I decided it was the right time. So I texted him saying I’ll be waiting for him at the Han River. I wasn’t sure whether he would come though, because I knew that he was still busy with work. He didn’t reply my message, but he appeared running towards me at night, carrying a bouquet of flowers. Rocky said he brought them to congratulate me for getting into Girl’s High. And because it had been so long since I last saw him, and those flowers were so thoughtful, I-I kissed him.”

“Ooooooooooooohhhhhh!” MJ teased, his voice dragging as he looked at Rocky with playful eyes. “Our cute Rocky received a kissy kissy?”

“Shut up,” Rocky snapped. His cheeks seemed to be permanently raised.

“You kissed?” Jin Jin said unbelievably. “How old are you again, Yu Ri?”

“Sixteen this year!” she chirped.

Jin Jin ran his fingers through his ash-coloured hair, looking like he was about to faint. “Rocky, both of your contracts have a no-dating policy, you know that. Didn’t you hear about what happened to Hye Rim noona after she got caught dating another trainee? Both of their contracts got terminated! Surely this is a risk you know you shouldn’t take, especially since you stayed in the company the longest!”

“Which is why I called all of you here. I need all of you to keep this a secret,” Rocky said, his eyes glistening.

“What?” Jin Jin blanched. “But I’m the leader of the group, I’m supposed to keep you guys i