I woke up the next morning, head rested on Heecheol’s shoulder and my arm rested on his chest. I felt bad getting up out of bed, but I had class. I went on with my normal morning routines and woke Heecheol up before I left.

“Hey, I’m going to class.”

He mumbled something that I figured was an okay.

“What time does practice start?”

“Noon.”

My last class of the day got out at eleven.

“Wait for me here and I’ll go with you okay?” Heecheol rolled over and said whatever. I smiled and kissed his head before heading out the door.

“Ohhh someone’s glowing today.” My friend teased as I walked into class. “Heecheol call you before class?”

“Nope, he stayed over last night.” I said, taking my seat.

“Soonbok.” She gasped.

“Calm down. Nothing happened.” I rolled my eyes at her. “He had a rough day at practice yesterday.”

“Oh, so he came over to vent?” I nodded. “There had to be some kind of action.”

I laughed. “We couldn’t just cuddle on the couch watching Heartstrings?”

She chuckled. “Oh you’re mean.”

“He wanted to watch a movie.”

“That’s a drama not a movie.”

“Fine, let me rephrase, he didn’t tell me to change it.”

Class started and I just watched the clock. I couldn’t wait to go to practice with Heecheol. Even though time felt like it was going super slow, I survived my classes. I raced back home as soon as my professor dismissed the class. The door was unlocked so I knew Heecheol was still there.

“Oppa, I’m back.” I said walking into the kitchen. I was surprised I didn’t find him there, so I knew there was only one other place he could be. I quietly opened my bedroom door and peaked inside to find Heecheol sprawled across the bed and the blankets on the floor. “Heecheol, get up. We have to go.” He didn’t budge. I walked over to the bed and poked Heecheol’s side. “Wake up.”

“What time is it?” He groaned.

“11:30.” I smiled.

“Dammit.” Heecheol jumped out over bed and put his jeans and socks on quickly. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah I just got home.” I told him.

Heecheol nodded. “Then let’s go.” He said as he stormed out of the room.

I chuckled and followed him out the door. He pulled me along as we rushed to the studio. We weaved in and out of the sea of people and were lucky to arrive at 11:55.

“Why do you have to live so far from the studio?” Heecheol asked as we headed upstairs.

“Because I like my house.” I told him.

Heecheol smirked, “Ha.” He opened the door and led me inside the dance room.

“There you are Heecheol. You were almost late.” Junyoung said patting Heecheol’s shoulder. “Feeling better today?”

Heecheol nodded. “Yeah much better.”

“You finish your classes for the today, Soonbok?” Junyoung asked giving me a hug.

“Yeah,” I smiled at him, “and I figure watching you guys would be more exciting than sitting at home.”

Junyoung laughed. “Very true.”

“SOONBOK!” Minwoo exclaimed running up and hugging me. “You came to watch?”

I nodded. “I want to see this performance at its best. Pretend I’m the audience at your comeback stage. Wow me.”

Dongjun pointed at me with his chest popped out. “Challenge accepted.”

“And you have to focus on all nine of us, not just Heecheol.” Hyungsik joked. The boys laughed, even Heecheol.

“I don’t just focus on Heecheol.” I scoffed.

Taehun smiled. “Soonbok, you watch him more than you realize.”

I blushed. “Fine, if I watch all nine of you, you guys have to cook me dinner.”

“Okay,” Dongjun nodded. “If you watch Heecheol more, you have to make us all dinner.”

“Fair enough.”

“Okay then, let’s start.” Kwanghee exclaimed.

The boys got into formation and the music started. I sat in the corner and shifted my gaze between each of the members, trying to avoid looking at Heecheol. I thought I was doing pretty well but then I made eye contact with him through the mirror right before his solo. I couldn’t look away because the spotlight was supposed to be on Heecheol. My gaze shifted when Taehun started rapping, but I knew it was too late. Everyone knew the whole minute Heecheol was rapping I never took my eyes off of him. Once they finished the song, Heecheol walked over to me and helped me to my feet.

“Good try.” He said, kissing my forehead.

“Yeah, you had me nervous there for a bit.” Kwanghee chuckled.

“He just didn’t want to cook.” Siwan scoffed. “Not like we’d eat his cooking.” We all laughed as Kwanghee gasped.

“Aside from your bet, how was the performance?” Junyoung asked.

“I liked it.” I smiled. “Very good.”

“Really? But there were so many mistakes.” Kevin frowned.

I shrugged. “I couldn’t tell.”

Manager walked in with his arms folded across his chest. He had a light expression, so I knew he wasn’t there to be harsh on the boys.

“How’s the performance coming along?” He asked.

Junyoung stepped forth from the group. “It’s still a bit messy but we’re close.”

Manager nodded, “Well, how about this. If you are able to flawlessly perform this for me, I’ll let you go back to the dorms early.”

“You guys can do it.” I smiled. “Fighting.”

“Think about what’s for dinner, Soonbok.” Minwoo teased.

“1, 2, 3.” Junyoung counted and then the music started.

I watched as the boys performed again. This time I knew they were giving it their all. They all had a look of determination. Manager and I exchanged proud glances.

The music ended and the room was filled with ZE:A’s excited cheers.

Manager laughed. “Get out of here.”

Heecheol walked over to me and wrapped his arm around my waist. “Guess we’re unwanted here, Soonbok.” He chuckled and kissed my cheek.