I scan the crowded ballroom from my round table while holding a wine glass, trying hard to keep my face peaceful or at least straight. My parents are next to me, talking to Dad’s friend, the owner of this newly opened art hotel downtown who invited us here for his birthday party.

          I’m supposed to meet Baekhyun this week, but something came up and he couldn’t go. Last time, I was the one who couldn’t make it. I exhale deeply in silence, frustrated at the thought that I need to wait again for us to meet.

          The MC announces a ballroom dance session, and most of the guests get up in excitement. I lean back to my seat instead, knowing I’ll just watch.

          “Hello, Lana noona.”

          Someone greets me from my side, and a young man bows to me. I look at his face, trying to recognize him. His friendly eye smile seems familiar. “Jeno?” I guess cautiously.

          He gives me a wide grin, and nods. I get up in surprise, and look at him in disbelief. “Wow—it’s really you? You’ve grown so much! When did the last time we meet? I think you were still wearing your uniform!”

          Jeno sheepishly smiles. “Noona, would you dance with me?”

          He offers his hand, and I laugh in amusement. I take his hand, and take a look again at him. I’ve seen him since he was little, so I was always under the impression that he was just a child. “My, you’re so tall now, even asking me for a dance… You’re all grown up.”

          Jeno and I blend in with the other dancing couples, and we talk about our families as we dance. He’s a bit stiff, but not that bad. I notice his parents dancing near us, and I send them a nod when they meet my eyes. I’m feeling less bored by talking to Jeno, but suddenly I notice him spotting something behind me.

          Someone slides to our side, and we stop moving. My eyes widen to realize that it’s Baekhyun, wearing a tuxedo and his hair is lightly parted to a side. He bows to Jeno, asking to take his partner for a dance.

          Jeno looks flustered, then slowly lets go of my hand. “Then… Noona… I’ll see you later.”

          Baekhyun thanks him, and he stands in front of me. Finally our eyes meet, and I close my lips. Baekhyun places a hand on my back, and takes my hand with another. His movements are confident and sturdy, compared to Jeno’s shy and hesitant touches. I look away to the floor and laugh a bit. It might also be an attempt to calm down my wildly thumping heart.

          “Oh, look at you dancing with another guy happily.” Baekhyun says as soon as we start moving.

          “It’s a family friend. He’s like a little brother to me.”

          "You must be Miss Lana from the Hong household. I'm Byun Baekhyun. I'm still a student, but my father is a general manager of a five-star hotel. That should make me a pretty eligible bachelor."

          "I don't remember this party having a matchmaking theme. And I have a boyfriend, sorry."

          "Lucky dude." the sides of Baekhyun's lips go up. "You're very good at this dance, Miss. How is it possible?"

          "Well, in the past, I learned it together with someone. He was annoying, but we made a good pair." I shrug. “By the way, are you crashing this party?”

          “Excuse you, I was invited. Well, my old man was. He must be somewhere with his colleagues.”

          I just nod and blink. Baekhyun smiles looking at me, and leans in for a short kiss. "Sorry for lying."

          "Only for lying?"

          "Do I have another sin?" he furrows his brows.

          "Looking this gorgeous in public."

          He scoffs. "Can't do anything about that."

          We keep dancing, but Baekhyun keeps looking at various directions as if he's looking for something. He then stops, but I realize he's leading us to dance closer to one of the corners near the instrument players.

          He breaks away from our dancing stance and takes my hand, going towards a door behind the small stage. It’s a narrow hallway, and a few staffs are walking here and there. Baekhyun brings me to the end of the corridor, and we enter the emergency stairs.

          He silently looks around, making sure nobody is there. I’m standing near him in silence with my toes curled. He looks so good in that tux. His current serious face is driving me insane.

          “Safe.” he slowly says.

          Before I could respond, he pushes me to the wall and starts kissing me. I throw my hands around his neck, and let myself drown in the moment.

          After some time I ran out of breath, and I grip onto his upper arm. Baekhyun breaks the kiss and I try to inhale some air while he looks at me. He traces the curve between my neck and my shoulder with his fingers, and I shudder.

          “You’re sweating.” he says.

          “It’s summer night.”

          “Is it really because of the weather?” Baekhyun lifts one side of his mouth and puts a hand around my waist. I push his chest, and he snickers.

          “We shouldn’t stay here, someone might come.” I glance at the emergency stairs area in worry.

          “Well…” he takes out something from his pocket and slips it to my hand. I take a look, and it’s a key card. I slowly laugh in disbelief.

          “Wow, you’re crazy.”

          Baekhyun smiles before lifting my chin for a kiss again. “The last one, before we go.”

***

15

          I lazily sit on one of the huge sofas in the hotel lobby, stretching my neck and staring hatefully at the old-fashioned chandelier on the ceiling. What am I even doing here?

          “Sit up straight, don’t embarrass me.” a gruff voice is heard, and I fix my sitting position. My father strolls with his crisp suit, and looks around. “Aren’t you glad to be here? Since I’m now a manager, I can have my family vacation here for free, and I gave it to you as graduation present.”

          I clench my jaw. I’d rather be given money or something more useful, rather than staying in this hotel. The facilities are not fun, and I’m alone.

          “Then, let’s go have lunch.” Father says, turning around to walk.

          “I’m not hungry…”

          Father has his eyes locked on the entrance. “Oh… Look who’s coming.”

          A female employee with an attire similar to my father’s enters the lobby, followed by a girl seemingly my age behind her. She spots us, and cheerfully goes to our direction.

          “That must be the niece that she has always been raving about. The daughter of her older brother, chairman of a company or something. She must be treated like a princess all her life.” Father mutters, his tone slightly irked.

          “Manager Byun!” she stops near us, and so does the girl. She’s pretty, but—what’s that thing on her head? It’s a pink beret with furry surface, I think I can use it to clean a table.

          “Hello, Manager Hong. Who is this?”

          “This is my niece, Hong Lana. She’s here for some fresh air after her middle school graduation.” Manager Hong happily says.

          “Oh, then she must be the same age as my son here!” Father pushes my back forward. “Baekhyun, greet them.”

          I bow, and Manager Hong looks delighted. “That’s wonderful, you two can be friends! You have cute hair, by the way.”

          The sides of my mouth go down. Father laughs, and pats my hair. “This bowl cut was for school, I’ll get him to the hair salon soon.”

          “Where are you two heading?” Manager Hong asks. “Do you want to join us for lunch?”

          “I was going to, but he said he wasn’t hungry.” Father shakes his head.

          “After seeing that.” I point to Hong Lana’s beret. “I got hungry. It reminds me of a steamed bun.”

          The adults laugh, but Hong Lana looks scandalized. Her eyes widen for a second, then squints her eyes irritably. I throw her a smirk, and she avoids my eyes.

          We go to the restaurant, but my father and Lana’s aunt left midway because of work. We’re silently finishing our food in front of each other when she puts down her fork, and it clinked loudly against her plate.

          “You had the audacity to talk about my beret when you have that hair?”

          Oh, this is going to be good. “You waited for a full fifteen minutes to say that?”

          “This is fashion! My mother went to great lengths to get this, for your information.”

          “I said it made me hungry. That must be a great item to come with that benefit.”

          closes, and I take another bite of my lunch. “Hey, do you want to play with me today?”

          Lana’s forehead wrinkles. “Play? What are we, little kids?”

          “It’s a no, then.” I raise my eyebrows.

          We finish eating, and I follow her silently from behind. She keeps looking back in annoyance, and finally turns around. “What are you doing?”

          “Nothing. I have nowhere to go.”

          She rolls her eyes, but then she looks like she’s thinking. “You asked me to go together. Is there anything we can do?”

          My lips curve a bit. “So you’re interested?”

          “Depends.” she crosses her arms.

          I look at her beret again, and sigh in concern. “But do you always wear it all the time? Aren’t you afraid of dandruff or something?”

          She seethes, and I grin.

          “It’s fa—”

          “Fashion.” I finish her word in a mocking tone.

          She starts dashing after me, and I run with a big smile on my face. We went past the front desk, and meet the managers who just finished a meeting. I can see the disappointment in my father’s eyes, and Manager Hong is seen covering her face with her hand.

          I keep running from Hong Lana happily, thinking maybe this vacation isn’t going to be that boring.