Chapter 28: Just one dance.

“Hello! My name is Jo Youngmin.”

I bowed. I had auditioned, well, actually tried to audition to some papers at dramas or even at a musical play. But nothing worked, they didn’t let me at least show my talent. They would say no directly. My mother had done a great job paying everyone but I wasn’t going to give up.

“We can only accept you as an extra. Like, people walking on the street. Or acting as a hotel receptionist. Something like that.” The director spoke up.

“I… I was…”

“I know you expected at least a minor paper. But that’s all I can offer to you.”

“I understand.” I muttered. Is he serious? Me as an extra? Aghg…

“Will you take it?” He crossed his arms. “Decide quickly. We have another people on line for the auditions.” Do I have a choice?

“Yes, that would be okay for me now” I smiled.

I turned around and sighed. That was the best I could do at that moment. My stomach growled. It was about midnight. I went to a store and bought some ramen and a water bottle.

I smiled thinking about going tomorrow to college and to find Sumi there. I had to encourage myself. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I had to be patient.

The next morning I woke up early and took a shower. The water was cold and I was freezing but I prefer to take it as “refreshing”. I shouldn’t be complaining though.

I took my backpack and walked to the bus station. Have I mentioned I didn’t know how to use the public transport? But Sungmin was really nice and taught me some things about it. So now, I was going to my first day at university.

I walked in the building and headed to my first class. Of course, I had to start my studies from the beginning so Sumi wasn’t at any of my classes. Even so, I could find a way to see her at school.

I paid attention to all my classes since I had to get good grades because of my scholarship. It was nice because some girls lent me their notes so I can catch up on the lessons. Being handsome has its benefits after all.

The break finally came and that meant I could spent some time with my Piggy Mushroom. I went to the cafeteria and looked for her. She was there, sitting with Changbum and… Lee Taemin? Wait, are they still close?

Ok, don’t panic Youngmin. They must be friends, that’s all. But now, how can I talk to her? How should I get close? She still probably hates me right now. She can’t avoid me for so long anyway, I’m Jo Youngmin after all.

“Hi guys!” I made my way and sat beside Sumi.

“Youngmin-ssi?” Taemin tilted his head in confusion.

“Who told you that you were welcomed to sit with us?” Changbum glared at me. Ok, this mousey is getting me out of my nerves.

“It’s just that I’m newbie here at school and I haven’t seen Sumi and Taemin-ssi in so long. They are my friends”

“I don’t know about Taemin but I’m not your friend anymore. So…” Sumi muttered.

“Did you listen well?” Changbum said.

“I wasn’t talking to you” I glared at him.

“Youngmin-ssi. Please just find somewhere else to sit” Taemin gave me an apologetic look.

“I just wanted to talk to you guys” I stood up and shrugged.

I walked away and found an empty table. I sat and sighed. There wasn’t going to be that easy. Especially with that guy Changbum getting wrong ideas to Sumi about me.

“Oppa! Why are you sitting here alone?” Krystal Jung came with that plastic and cheerful smile of always.

“Just eating” I rolled my eyes.

“Woah! Someone isn’t in a good mood today. Are you coming to prom?”

“Prom?” I sipped my grape juice full of curiosity

“Yes, there’s a prom the next week. Well, it’s not actually a prom but a charity event. I’m part of the staff that is organizing it. I would ask you to come with me but I already have a date”

“Who is your date?” I tried to be friendly.

“Sehun of Exo. I’m sure some of my beautiful friends will drop their dates if I tell them you’re still free” she put on lipstick while looking at herself at the mirror.

“Thanks but, I have someone in mind to invite to prom. And if she’s taken, I think I’ll be going by myself”

“Don’t worry baby, you’re Jo Youngmin. She’ll say yes” she winked.

I tried to gain confidence with Krystal’s words. But it was Sumi who we were talking about. She wasn’t a common girl. That’s why I ended up like this because of her. She’s not like others. I knew that too well.

But then, an amazing idea came up in my head. What if I appeared as a secret admirer? I could write letters for her and signed as an anonymous. And then at the prom… I could came in front of her with a bouquet of flowers or a plush.

Yeah, I know it sounds so romantic that Piggy won’t be able to resist. But what if…? No, Jo Youngmin it’s not a time to doubt about your plan. It’s not like there’s another way to get close to her in this situation. Plus, I want to avoid her going with someone else to that prom.

So, I started my plan and wrote letters for her the whole week. I placed them in her locker every day with a candy or a chocolate bar. The day before the prom I asked her to be my date with a red rose.

“Sungmin! A vanilla latte for the table 2” I said while I was cleaning one of the tables of the coffee shop.

“Coming!” Sungmin shouted from the kitchen.

I still continued working at the coffee shop like a part time job so I could earn some money. It was nice to work there. Sungmin had taught me how to clean (Yes, I didn’t know how to do it since I used to be a chaebol) and also how to prepare any kind of coffee. It’s pretty fun.

Also, there is a group of fans that come to the coffee shop often to support me and say some encouragement words. They buy us coffee and I sing for them to show my gratitude.

I said goodbye to Sungmin and headed to my apartment to get ready for the prom. It was a special night and I was actually late because of my work.

So, I was standing there at the entrance of the hall where the prom was taking place. I arranged my clothes and looked at myself at the mirror. Sungmin had lent me a light blue suit. It was kind of old fashioned but I made some fixes so it looked better. My hair style was now really short so there wouldn’t be any problem about being messy.

I sighed. Was I nervous? Yes, I was ing nervous. I didn’t know what was going to happen that night. There was still a little possibility of me being rejected but at that time I didn’t want to think about it.

I held the pink box gift with the Mario’s Mushroom plush inside. It was so cute. I spent half of my salary buying it but it was worth it. It was a perfect pink mushroom’s plushy. I decided to carry it inside a box because it would look so ridiculous to come to the prom with a plush on my hand.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. The room was filled with people dancing at the center of the hall. It wasn’t going to be that easy to find Sumi like that. After some minutes, someone poked my shoulder.

“Jo Youngmin, right? I’m glad to see you here” someone said at my back.

It was Ricky from Teen Top. We studied together at high school. So, we were good friends.

“Ricky. It’s been a long” I smiled.

“Who is that gift for? Is it for your date?” He looked at the box curious.

“Yeah, I’m kinda late. Have you seen Changbum?”

Of course, they were of the same company and that brat wouldn’t stay away from Sumi.

“Oh! I just saw him sitting there” he pointed at my right direction.

“Thanks. It was nice to see you again”

“Yes, we should go out for a drink someday” he winked.

I walked to the direction were Ricky pointed and finally found Sumi next to the mousey just like I thought. But to my surprise, there was someone else with them: Lee Taemin. Maybe they just came as friends Youngmin, don’t overreact. They are just chatting with some other friends. There’s nothing to worry about.

WTF! Lee Taemin just put his arm around Sumi’s waist. Ok, there’s something definitely wrong here. I made a fist with my hand trying to hide the jealousy attack I was suffering at that moment.

Taemin whispered something on Sumi’s ear and then they walked away of the crowd. I followed them, keeping my distance of course. They sat at a lounge chair on the corner of the hall. It was very dark but I could still see their faces.

They were chatting and laughing at Taemin’s jokes. Sumi looked… happy. I’d never seen her before like that. She was stunning, wearing a navy blue long dress. Her hair was combed beautifully with a silver hairclip that combined with the details on her dress; although her haircut was still short, she dyed it of dark red and so put on lipstick of the same color.

She was perfect, no matter if she looked like an elegant Hollywood star or like a shy tomboy. To me, she was the most beautiful girl in the world. And she was with someone else…

Taemin held her closer and I knew what was going to happen. He kissed her softly and smiled. She smiled back and kissed his cheek blushing. I couldn’t stand watching them like that. I didn’t know they were dating. What was Taemin’s apologetic look the other day at the cafeteria? Why was he trying to be a little nice? He obviously knew she used to be my girlfriend. At least Sumi told him the truth about the contract. I felt betrayed. I considered him as a friend.

Anyway, I knew I had hurt Sumi a lot. I had not right of feeling betrayed or even angry or jealous. Sumi deserved to find someone else. But why Lee Taemin? It’s like, I knew Sumi always had a crush on him. She always saw him as someone impossible to reach. Now she’s with him, I didn’t have any chance to win her back.

Taemin said something to Sumi’s ear and then kissed her neck. Ok, he’s going too way out with her. They kissed again but this time in a more passionate way. My heart ached and a tear rolled down to my face. I didn’t know why I was still staring at them instead of looking away. I was just torturing myself looking at that scene. And Jo Youngmin doesn’t cry in public, remember? What was I doing?

Youngmin, calm down. You can’t give up that easily. You knew this could happen when you decided to come back to Seoul. You should at least try…

They went together to the dance floor and I left the pink box with a note attached. I knew Sumi would come back there because she left her purse and Changbum was close. Good thing he didn’t see me.

I wrote on the note: “I know you already have a date, but can I ask at least just one dance? Please meet me at the backside garden” I signed it as ‘Your Secret Admirer’ and left it on the table.

I went to the garden and sat on the border of a fount. I breathed deeply and sighed controlling the tears to come out from my eyes. The air was blowing but it wasn’t too cold since we were in summer. I waited there for about an hour till I heard some footsteps coming on my direction.

I looked up and saw her standing in front of my eyes. She was so beautiful. The moon reflecting her white yet caramel skin. Her little and cute eyes. Her big and thick lips tinted of red.

“Sumi…” I muttered standing up. “You came…” a little smile formed on my lips.

“So, it’s you. I had this bad feeling that you could be that secret admirer but I really wanted to think that I was wrong” she placed a hand on her hip looking upset.

“Can I have one dance?” I bit my low lip and extended my hand waiting for an answer.

“I can’t. I already have a date” she crossed her arms.

“Then, why did you still come here?” I shrugged.

“Don’t get wrong ideas. I just… wanted to clear the things up” the nervousness filled her voice again.

“Me too” I came closer to her.

“Why are you even here? Why aren’t you hooking up with some girls or something like that?” she rolled her eyes. I scoffed.

“I’m not a high school student anymore Sumi. Why would I do that? I’m just trying to probe you that I really care about you” I looked her in the eyes but she immediately looked away.

“You don’t care about me. You don’t even like me. You just want me, like a toy. And in the moment you can own me again, you’ll leave me”

“Where did you get all those ideas from? Did Changbum tell you that?”

“Just shut up. Look, you should just go on with your life. Just get it over, like I did. Our relationship wasn’t going to work anyway. Why to bother in trying it now?”

“How did you do it? How did you forget about me?” I gulped holding back my tears.

“It’s called time. And it’s been three years”

“So now, are you happy with Taemin? Being his girlfriend makes you happy?”

“That it’s none of your business. I’m going back to the party” she turned her back to me and started walking away.

“Piggy Mushroom!” I held her arm.

“Don’t call me like that” she gritted her teeth.

“Just one dance…”

“Youngmin, I already told you that…”

“I know. You don’t feel anything towards me anymore. But I want to see it. I need to convince myself that what I want is just impossible, in order to forget about you”

“This is nonsense” she blew out.

I rounded her waist with my arm and turned her to face me. I held her close so, she wouldn’t escape from my gaze. I moved my feet as if a slow melody was playing. I held her hand with my free arm and entwined our fingers. I could sense her breathing was shortening at the touch and so was mine.

“Do you remember when you got drunk at a party? It was so fun that night” I chuckled.

“You said one dance. Didn’t mention anything about talking” she complained.

“Ok. Sorry”

Even though she was way shorter than me I found myself placing my head on her shoulder. I hugged her tightly not letting go. I wished we could stay like that forever but I knew it was coming to an end soon.

“I missed you so much…” I whispered.

“Youngmin, let go” her voice cracked. I ignored her. “I told you to let go!” she commanded.

I released my grip from her. She was closing her eyes and looked upset. Like if she wasn’t happy about what was happening. Why was she like that? Didn’t she feel the same as me?

“See? I didn’t feel anything. Not even friendship. This cannot happen. Just forget about me and go on with your life Youngmin. Just as I did”

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