Mona chewed... and chewed for the umpteenth time. She wasn’t sure how long she had been standing by the food table; all she knew was that she was extremely sick of the pretzels she’d been eating. She craned her neck. Where was he? Where was Simon? What was he doing? Why couldn't she see him? Feeling frustrated, her hand reached out for another pretzel. Might as well... No one else was going to eat it anyway...

“Whoa. Didn't know Intae hyung hired a waitress!” Jeesu smirked as he came over, Daniel and Youngwon in tow. “Umm, I’d like some pretzels please.”

“Shut up.” Mona rolled her eyes before looking around, her eyes wildly searching the room. Where is Simon?

“Who are you looking for?” Youngwon teased.

“None of your business.”

“Nah, I’m just saying, if you’re looking for Simon hyung, he’s on the dance floor.” Youngwon said, reaching for the pretzel that she was about to stuff in .

Mona pouted. “What’s he doing there?”

“Playing tennis.” Daniel replied, sarcasm dripping from every word. “What else would he be doing on the dance floor Mona?”

“You should go and dance with him.” Youngwon urged.

Mona widened her eyes and shook her head in horror. “No freaking way. You know I dance like a buffalo.”

“Out of all the animals you can compare yourself with, you chose a buffalo?” Jeesu said incredulously.

“Well... whatever! I’m not going there!” Mona huffed.

“You know he’s been surrounded by girls ever since he came right?” Daniel asked with a raise of his eyebrow.

“No, he hasn’t!” Mona said, trying to convince herself that Daniel was lying. Well, he lied 95% of the time, but she had a slight inkling that Daniel was right this time, and she didn't like it one bit.

“Really? Shall we ask him then?” Daniel challenged her, nodding his head at Simon who was approaching them with a smile. “Hyung! A lot of girls you had there!”

Simon laughed it off. “Oh well, you know...”

“Anyone caught your eye?” Youngwon asked, wriggling his eyebrow excitedly.

Simon smirked before nodding his head. “Yeah, definitely!”

“Got her number?” Daniel asked.

Beside Jeesu, Mona tensed up. Please say no! Please say no!

“Of course I did!” Simon replied while Youngwon cheered. Mona’s heart fell almost instantly to the ground. No! He wasn’t supposed to have eyes for anyone! He was supposed to stay single until she was brave enough to make her move! Maybe she was being a tad bit selfish, but in her mind and in her heart, she had never considered the fact that maybe he might have eyes for someone else...

“Hey  guys! C’mon, we’re performing soon!” Intae said as he rushed over. “You guys remember the choreography and the lyrics right? Don’t screw up.”

“Hyung, you know you’re the one who’s always screwing up right?” Jeesu pointed out.

“Whatever! C’mon! Let’s go. Simon sshi, are you ready?” Intae asked with a big smile.

Simon nodded his head. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Erm Mona sshi, you’ll be watching us right?”

Mona looked up from the ground and swallowed the lump in . She tried to smile at him but knew that it came out more as a grimace than a smile. Without saying a word, she nodded her head and quickly looked away, missing the look on Simon’s face.

Daniel turned to look at his friend, feeling suddenly apologetic about what happened. He shouldn’t have asked Simon anything. Mona seemed quite upset, and he wished he could take back what he said. He sighed. He loves to irritate the hell out of her, but sometimes he knew he had gone way to far...

“Mona! What are you still doing here? C’mon! Let’s go watch their performance!” EunJi said, pulling her towards the small made-up stage, JiEun following behind.

She bit her lip, trying hard to focus on their performance. She knew they had a new song and had been practising till late nights to perfect the dance but she couldn't bring herself to concentrate, the conversation earlier playing itself over and over again in her head. She was over-reacting, there was no doubt about that, and maybe she was being a bit dramatic, but she couldn't help it. She wanted Simon all to herself! He wasn’t supposed to look at other girls!

“Yah, JiEun! Can you believe that a bunch of medical students can sing and dance like this?” EunJi’s happy voice penetrated her mind.

“Yeah! And look at their bodies! Not bad huh?” JiEun replied loudly over the song.

Mona shook her head. She had to get out of here. She was going crazy and she needed some fresh air, fast. “Hey, I’m going to go outside for awhile. I’ll see you guys later.” She said before slipping out.

Once she was outside by the pool, she took a deep breath that soothed her nerves, albeit only slightly. It was a very cold night, but there was absolutely no way she was going back into the house. She sat herself down on one of the pool chairs and played with her hair. She felt... weird. Simon wasn’t hers, not yet at least, and so there was no reason for her to feel... weird. She knew what she meant by weird. She was jealous. Jealous of the girl that caught Simon’s eyes. Why couldn't it be her? Why was it that every time they meet, she would embarrass herself? She scoffed. Maybe that’s why...

“Mona sshi?”

She jumped in her seat, so lost was her in thought, and quickly turned around. She stood up and knocked her sling bag to the floor. “Simon sshi!” She squeaked.

And so her usual ritual began. Her knees would buckle, her palms would sweat, her heart would skip a beat, and sweat would trickle down her neck... and all because of encounters with Simon. She wondered if she has enough water to actually sweat to death. She doubted this little ritual would end, unless of course if he became hers...

Simon picked her bag and handed it to her before focusing his eyes on her. “What are you doing out here?”

“I was just... uhh... just... err... thinking.” Mona managed to say after catching her breath.

Simon raised his eyebrow. “About?”

“You.” Mona blurted out without thinking. Crap, crap, crap! That wasn’t supposed to happen! She wasn’t supposed to say that! Now what’ll he think of her?

Simon chuckled. “Really? Wow... I’m flattered.”

“Uhh... Simon sshi, what are you doing out here?” Mona asked, trying desperately to get out of the embarrassing situation.

“Actually, I was wondering why you ran out during our performance.”

“You... saw that?” Mona asked tentatively.

Simon shrugged. “You weren’t very hard to miss.”

Mona pondered over his statement. What does that mean? She supposed it could mean either in a good way or a bad way. Did he mean she was too attractive to miss? Or she was too ugly to miss? What was he saying?

“I meant that in a good way.” Simon added, as if reading her thoughts.

Mona smiled to herself. That was the second compliment he gave her. If he kept it up, she might be on cloud nine by the time the night ended. She wanted to return the compliment, but decided to keep shut. She couldn't let what happened in the car happen again!

“Oh erm... thanks.” She just said.

“So do you like the song? And our choreography?” Simon asked, taking the seat opposite her and motioned for her to do the same. She hesitated for a split second until he flashed her a dazzling smile. Her knees buckled again and she would’ve fallen to the ground if not for the chair. She held on to the chair tightly and looked at Simon. “It was... good.”

“Just... good? For someone who was so honest with me earlier, your ‘good’ doesn’t sound very convincing.” Simon stated.

Mona smiled sheepishly at him, her nervousness dissipating by the minute. She found it very easy to talk to him as time progresses. “Actually, to be honest, I wasn’t really paying attention.”

“Oh, why?” Simon asked, his interest piqued.

Because I was too busy thinking about you! She was about to blurt that out but bit her tongue just in time. If she said that, she will probably never recover from the shock and embarrassment. She might even have to transfer Uni... or move to a different continent. Mona shook her head, wishing he’d just drop the subject. Thankfully, he understood and gestured to the big house.

“Should we go inside then? It’s getting kinda cold.” Simon suggested.

“Erm, why don’t you go ahead? I’m going to stay out here for awhile. Party’s not really my scene.” Mona said, looking out to the pool.

“Oh? Then what is your scene?”

“I prefer staying at home. But if I have to go out, I’d rather go for dinner, or movies, anything besides parties.” Mona said with a shrug. She wondered why he was so interested. Was he just trying to have a conversation with her? Or was there something else?

“Sound’s fun. We should do that sometime.” Simon said.

Her ears picked up the word ‘we’. She turned to look at him, and raise her eyebrow. “We?”

Simon nodded his head. “We... as in, you and me. Unless if you want to invite the others as well...”

“No!” Mona said a little too loudly.

“No?”

“I mean yes!”

“Yes?”

“I mean uhh... I mean...” Mona stuttered, unsure on how to fix her slip-up. She could feel the heat on her cheeks, as hot as the scorching sun and prayed for him to say something... anything.

“Well, why don’t you let me know once you make up your mind?” Simon smiled.

“Oh... erm, ok.” Mona said meekly.

“So, Mona sshi...” Simon said, standing up. “Since we have nothing to talk about, do you want to dance with me?”

Her hands that were gripping the chair loosened. “Dance?”

“Would you like to slow dance with me?” Simon asked again, a smile on his lips as he waited for her answer.

Dance... Dance was something she vowed she’ll never do. She didn't even dare dance in front of the guys, let alone Simon. She was going to die, she knew it. He will laugh at her and with every laugh, she would die a little inside. Embarrassment was a dangerous disease, shyness even worse. It was just her luck that she happened to have both...

“I... erm... I...”

“Everybody can dance.” Simon said and proceeded to do something that Mona for years later, will still remember. He grabbed hold of her hand that was still gripping the chair and pulled her up and into his embrace, his right hand on her waist while the other held on tightly to her hand. He moved slowly, guiding her movement to match his.

Mona felt tingly. A part of her wanted to burst out laughing at their physical contact while another part wanted to just bury her head in the crook of his neck to smell his scent. She decided that both were creepy acts, and so she refrained herself from doing anything. Instead, she stared at their intertwined hands, and marvelled at how perfect her small hand fit in his. Does he even know the effect he has on her?

“Mona, I’m up here you know...” Simon said, humour in his voice.

She dared not look up. She might drool and she couldn't risk that. No, the moment was perfect enough without her having to look up... “Simon sshi...”

“Please... drop the formalities with me. It’s oppa.”

“Oppa?” Mona said, staring at his chest. He wanted her to call him oppa?

“What’s going on here?” Someone suddenly said from behind her.

She jumped in fright and detached herself quickly from Simon before looking behind her. Her face broke into a wide smile. “Dari oppa!” She shouted, running over and giving him a tight hug, forgetting Simon completely. She didn't think that was possible, but Dari oppa was something else entirely...

“Hey baby girl! How have you been? I’ve missed you.” Dari said, wrapping his arms tightly around her, aware that Simon was watching.

“I’ve missed you too! You’re late! I’ve been waiting for you for hours!” Mona pouted.

Dari laughed and ruffled her hair. “Miahn... I got off duty late. Who’s that?” Dari asked, pointing at Simon.

“Oh erm... Simon... oppa, meet Dari oppa.” Mona introduced, wondering why she was feeling nervous. Calling Simon oppa was strange, but she could get used to it. She definitely liked how it sounded... Well, at least it was a step in getting closer to Simon.

“Oppa?” Both of them said simultaneously. 

Chapter Posted on: Jun. 9. 2012

Hey!!! I'm back! Vacation was awesome but I really couldn't wait to continue this story! So here I am, watching Euro 2012 and writing at the same time! The chapter's longer than before because i couldn't stop writing. Hahahaha... Hope you guys like it! Please enjoy! Thanks so much to all those who commented and subscribed! ^^