Eunhee's POV

“… The Syndicate!”

When the MC called out our band, I was in a state of shock and was totally speechless. I heard E-Young gasped and Injoon was gawking at the corner of my eyes. I couldn’t believe what I’ve just heard but the results were right there in front of us and it showed that we won to 4Minute by five votes. I was rooted into place, and was gazing at the big screen with mixed emotions when suddenly E-young took my hand and dragged me towards the stage.

“Come on! We need to thank the crowd at least!” E-Young grinned as she pulled me along.

Still a little bewildered, I stumbled my way up the stage while the audience gave their final round of applause. After showing our gratitude and appreciation by bowing countless of times, unintentionally, I looked up and scanned the crowd until my eyes set upon a figure. He was standing there amongst the crowd with his arms crossed and the usual crooked smile on his face. Even if I couldn’t read his expression at that time, just by seeing him, and knowing that he came to watch our performance was more than enough to make me feel that it was all worth it and that I could smile with no regrets.   

~~~~~

Back at the dressing room, E-Young was so happy we won the showdown that she couldn’t stop talking about the performance. I was in a good mood myself that I didn’t mind listening to her chatter and just went along with her even if it was a little exaggerated.

“Eunhee-ah, did you see the crowd’s reactions when you suddenly pop up from under the stage? They went wild, wild I tell you!” said E-young cheerfully for the umpteenth time as I stepped out of the changing room. 

“Really?” I asked, grinning at her while tying my hair up into a simple ponytail. “My attention wasn’t fully on the audience since I was concentrating on singing and playing the guitar. The stage lights were a little blinding too.”

“Yup, I guess they were taken aback. Who would’ve thought that we would use the rising platform, we never used them before in our performances,” said E-Young, nodding her head while sitting back on her chair. “To be honest, when you brought up those ideas I had doubts that it would work but then it turned out to be brilliant,” she grinned as she gave me the thumbs up.

I merely chuckled. “Is that a compliment I hear?” I cheekily asked as I started to pack up my things. “That’s a rare thing to hear, especially from you.”   

E-young crossed her arms, stuck her tongue out and turned her back on me just as I heard a few knocks on the door.

“Eh?” we both turned our attention at the door.

When we heard another knock, E-Young jumped down from her chair and rushed towards the door. “I’ll get it!”

My mood suddenly dropped once our visitor stepped into the room. Seeing the situation, E-Young immediately grabbed her things and nodded at me before dashing out, forgetting to close the door.

I heaved a sigh and crossed my arms before turning my attention to the person in front of me. Well, I knew that we would have to face each other again sooner or later.

“Yes?” I asked indifferently. “If you have something to say then please make it quick, I don’t have the time or energy to argue with you.”

Jihyun pursed her lips in hesitation before answering, “Don’t worry, I’ll get straight to the point. Your band won fair and square so I’ll stop pestering you and you can continue on being Myungsoo’s dance partner.”

I blinked and kept my mouth shut since I didn’t have anything to say to her. There was a moment of awkward silence that made her a little uncomfortable.

“But I’m not going to apologize because I know that you won’t forgive me anyway,” said Jihyun, trying to keep a straight face.  

I rolled my eyes. “At least we both agree on something…” I mumbled.

“Well that’s all I have to say, see you around,” she said before walking out of the room, closing the door behind her.

When she finally left, I let out another sigh, one problem solved. I hoped that nothing like this will ever happen again because it really did drain my energy, physically and emotionally.

I continued to finish up packing my things when I heard another knock and the door being opened. I put down whatever I was holding in irritation and blew a few strands of hair that was covering my face.

I turned back once again with a glare and a slight frown. “What is it th-…” I choked on my words and my expression turned into surprise when I saw Myungsoo standing perfectly by the door with one hand in his pocket.

I heard him chuckle and was flashing that crooked smile of his. “Shouldn’t someone who just won the showdown not too long ago be smiling and in high spirits instead of frowning?”

I blushed and nervously looked down. “I’m sorry….” I muttered, still not confident enough to face him.

“Eunhee-ah,” he called. I slightly looked up and saw that his expression turned serious. “I should be the one apologizing,” said Myungsoo while taking in long strides towards me.

“Eh?” I straightened up, not believing what I’ve just heard. What surprised me more was that he unexpectedly embraced me. I was totally stunned by his sudden action that I felt my legs weakened and my heart was beating so rapidly that it was making me hard to breathe. My face would probably be red just like a tomato by now since I could feel the blood rushing in.      

“I’m sorry Eunhee-ah…” said Myungsoo softly, sounding sincere and apologetic. I was too shocked to utter a word or even blink so I just stood there stiffened and speechless in his embrace. I faintly felt his heart beating as fast but perhaps it was just my imagination since I was still in a daze. “I’m sorry for not being understanding or seeing through the lines… Now I know why you had to win and I’m thankful for that. I’m sorry for taking it out on you last time… You’ve been through a lot.”

“It’s not your fault…” I finally managed to reassure him while cautiously patted his back, smiling a little. We stayed like that for a couple of seconds but to me it felt like time had just stopped. I wanted to say something else, wanted to tell him how I missed him but it’s as if my tongue was stuck and nothing came out. Instead I asked him, “So, you’ll continue to teach me and we’ll start practicing again?”

Myungsoo gave out a heartfelt chuckle as he let go of me. “You missed me that much huh?” he teased me while ruffling my hair.

“Yah, I was just making sure that’s all. I don’t want all of my hard work keeping my place as your dance partner thrown to waste,” I gave my excuse as I tossed his hand away trying to hide my embarrassment.  

He then grinned and lightly flicked my forehead. “There’s no way I’m going to give up on you, Eunhee-ah,” he said as I grimaced in pain, rubbing my forehead. “Don’t worry; we’ll start practicing as soon as possible. By the way, the performance was awesome! You did great out there,” praised Myungsoo, giving me the thumbs up.    

Sungyeol’s POV  

As the excitement of the showdown died down and everyone has started to leave the auditorium, I was laughing along as Hoya and Dongwoo bickered about the bet they had agreed on earlier. It seemed that Dongwoo was still reluctant to give Hoya his money. Their little fight got my full attention that I didn’t realize Myungsoo had vanished from my side.

“Come on you two, continue your little quarrel someplace else! Stop embarrassing us!” Sunggyu tried to break their fight as we all stood up and decided to leave as well.

“Hey, where’s Myungsoo?” asked Woohyun, tapping my shoulder.

I shrugged. “Don’t know, he’s probably at the dorm already,” I answered as I looked around. Then I spotted Injoon and E-Young walking out from backstage but I noticed that Eunhee wasn’t with them so I assumed that she must still be at the dressing room. Right at that moment I decided to take the chance and congratulate her personally.

“You guys go on without me!” I shouted at the others as I ran down the steps and headed towards the backstage.

“Sungyeol-ah! Where are you going?” I heard Woohyun called after me.

“I’ll see you guys later!”

~~~~~~           

As I ran down the corridor towards the dressing room, the chance that Eunhee had gone back to the dormitory flashed into my mind. But I immediately shook it away, there’s no harm in checking.  Even if she had left I could always go back and find her.

When I arrived, I saw the door was slightly ajar and the lights were still on. I smiled knowing that my prediction was right so I quickened my steps. But what I failed to predict was that someone else was already there before me.   

As I took hold of the handle and peeked through the gap, my eyes grew wide and my heart sank as jealousy took over. I couldn’t bear to watch the scene in front of me so I turned around and closed the door quietly behind me. I let out a disappointed sigh and gazed up at the ceiling trying to calm myself down. I really wanted to barge in there and break them apart but what prevented me was that I caught a glimpse of Eunhee’s expression. She looked so relieved and happy that I don’t have the heart to hurt her. Once again Myungsoo was a step ahead of me, and somehow I could guess where Eunhee’s heart is drawn into.   

I decided to head back to the dormitory and take a shower hoping that the water will wash all my pain away.

Until everything is clear and Eunhee has made her choice, I still have a chance don’t I?  

******

I'm really sorry for the super late update! /bows 90°/

I've been caught up with school, assignments, exams, and life... but don't worry, I still want to finish this story

To those who have stuck with me all this time, I thank you so much and I love you!

To new readers, you are always welcome!

'Till next time ^_~