“So tell me about your strengths and weaknesses in singing. I’ve been told your rapping is quite refreshing,” Yesung his head cutely to the side, probing me to speak up. I remain silent, not knowing what to say. Seeing my discomfort, he pats my head lightly. “To start, how about I hear some of your rapping?”

I nod slightly and rack my head for a song. “Do you know the song ‘Eh Hey’ by Simon D?”

“That song is so catchy! Heechul hyung is good friends with Simon D, so I’ve heard him rap a couple of his songs before.”

I beam happily, and begin to perform the song a cappella. Yesung bobs his head and taps his feet to the beat, harmonizing with me when the chorus comes around. When the song ends, Yesung claps and I smile, feeling a little more at ease after singing together. 

Yesung compliments me on my rapping skills, wanting to learn how to do spitfire raps without stumbling over the words. I laugh at his attempt to rap, adding some fail beatbox attempts along with it. Without realizing it, two hours pass as we laugh and seldom sing to each other. The door opens a crack while Yesung and I proceed to joke around and sing another children’s song.

“Yah! Yesung-ah, I didn’t know their debut song was *Gom Semari! Will they be releasing a dubstep version for them?” Eunhyuk pokes fun at our singing and shakes his head at Yesung’s so called ‘tutoring.’

*(Note: Gom Semari = Three Bears, a Korean children’s son)

Yesung gets up and starts to do his signature octopus dance while playfully singing the Pororo theme song. For what seems like billionth time, a grin breaks across my face as I begin to do ‘the sprinkler’ alongside Yesung. Eunhyuk’s eyes bulge in mock-horror and tackles Yesung once he finishes the song.

“Eunhyuk-ah, how was the Strong Heart recording?” Yesung asks as he collects himself from the attack. 

“You know, the usual. Shindong cross-dressed again.” Eunhyuk gives us a gummy smile as he quickly glances at the clock in the room. “Anyways, it’s almost time for their dance practice, so I’ll be taking Serene away from you now.”

Before I could properly bid Yesung goodbye, Eunhyuk grabs my hand and pulls me away, ushering me toward the dance studio. I look back to apologize to Yesung, but he only shoos me away and turns his back to clean up the mess we had left. I turn my attention to Eunhyuk, who is still tugging me down the hall. 

“What’s the rush?”

“Everyone else is already at the studio. So hurry up, little one,” Eunhyuk chides. 

“YAH! I’m not even that short!”

Eunhyuk laughs and I pretend to kick him in the heels, but my teasing fails as I trip over my own feet. I stumble forward, but Eunhyuk lurches forward and wraps his arms tightly around my waist. I stare at him, flustered. 

“I-I um, sorry, Eunhyuk-ssi.”

“That’s Oppa to you, you klutz. Is your ankle okay? Can you still dance?” Eunhyuk searches my face for any sign of pain. I blush and turn my body away from his. 

“I-I’m fine. Let’s just go.” 

Eunhyuk clasps my hands and pulls me in closer.

“If you’re hurt, don’t be afraid to tell me. I’m the one at fault, so I’ll take responsibility in necessary.”

“Serene-ah! You forgot your--” Yesung stops mid-sentence when he sees how close Eunhyuk is to me. He bites his lip and casts his eyes downwards. I push Eunhyuk away and avert my attention to Yesung, who is twiddling his fingers. “You forgot your cellphone back at the studio,” Yesung mutters. 

“Mianhae, I made you run after me.” I take the phone from his hands and make an apologetic smile. “I’ll try not to be so forgetful.” I chew my lip and look up at Yesung expectantly. 

“Ah, no. I should be the one to apologize. I didn’t mean to interrupt you two.”

“We weren’t doing any--”

“Thanks, hyung.” Eunhyuk cuts me off before I can explain myself. “Let’s go, Serene-ah. We’re already late as it is.”

I bow deeply to Yesung and clamber after Eunhyuk, not wanting to hold up the dance lesson any longer. I glance back and see Yesung slowly trudging back to the practice room.