“JunHyung, what are you doing? I’m trying to listen to Outsider!” JunHyung had tapped RaeIn on the shoulder, making her jump.

“Well, uh, everyone’s dancing now except for you.” RaeIn looked around and found that everyone around her was in fact dancing – and partnered up at that. She turned to one side and KaHee was with K.Will; she turned to her other side and JulSu was no longer in sight.

“Ah~ But I have no one to dance with though…” When RaeIn turned her head back towards JunHyung, she was surprised to find his hand sticking out in front of her face.

“So?” JunHyung asked when RaeIn didn’t do anything.

“Oh, yes! I’m sorry,” RaeIn stuttered, blushing a little in embarrassment and surprise as she accepted JunHyung’s hand.

“Nae saengae gajang areumdaun sunganeun~”

“JunHyung-oppa, you featured for K.Will with this song before, didn’t you?” RaeIn asked as the two began to slowly step along together.

“Mm, yeah, during Music Bank one time. You remember that?”

“Yeah, but vaguely,” RaeIn replied. “What about you?”

“Of course, I remember. I was there.”

“No, I mean… Do you still remember the rap to it?”

“Yes,” JunHyung quickly replied defensively.

“Are you sure?” RaeIn instigated. “That was such a long time ago.”

“What are you talking about? That was earlier this year!”

“Namjadapge yaksok jikilge ~”

JunHyung glanced at K.Will then at Outsider before replying to RaeIn, serious and determined. “Here, listen: Even if time passes by, even if the world changes, I will be by your side, because you’re the only one in my heart.”

JunHyung paused at K.Will’s turn to sing: “Because I love you more than anyone else~”

“You can’t be described with words.”

“It wouldn’t suffice even if I shout that you’re the most beautiful person countless times~”

“I will show you how much I love you, because my love for you is eternal.”

JunHyung cleared his throat as he ended his final rap. He had been looking down the entire time that he was rapping, so he was surprised to look up and find RaeIn grinning at him. Had she been looking at him the whole time?

“Those are really beautiful lyrics; it’s great that you remember them. You need to rap that to a very special girl some time,” RaeIn laughed. JunHyung blushed once his brain comprehended the lyrics he had just rapped to RaeIn. Realizing that the song had ended and he was still holding onto RaeIn’s hand and waist, he jumped back suddenly flustered.

“I, uh, I’m going to…” JunHyung muttered, leaving RaeIn quite confused.

“Okay…” RaeIn said, now feeling a bit awkward as she watched JunHyung walk away from her. “I wonder where he’s going.”

“Hey, boys answer us: which of you are into bad girls? What about good girls? To the bad girls and good girls here: make some noise!” HyunAh shouted out.

“If you can’t tell yet, next up we’ve got Miss A with ‘Bad Girl Good Girl’!” JiYoon continued.

Though she loved Miss A and this song, RaeIn decided that she wanted to take a break from dancing for a bit. She also decided that she was a bit curious about where JunHyung went, so she decided to follow him. She let out an “excuse me” and “oh, sorry!” as she tried to make her way out of the crowd. However, she ended up tripping over someone’s foot. She closed her eyes and stuck her hands out, bracing herself for the fall, but ended up falling into the arms of a kind savior…

——-

 On the other side of the party, JulSu sat down at a table near the dance floor, taking a sip of her Pepsi. She watched as everyone danced, but her expression was dull. At that moment, DongWoon walked by with a plate full of food. He noticed JulSu sitting down, and he glanced around to find that she was all by herself.

“Hey, JulSu, do you mind if I join you here?”

JulSu looked up at him and gave a weak smile before taking another sip of her drink.

“I’ll take that as a yes…” DongWoon said, sidling up next to her and placing his plate down in front of him. After taking a bite of chicken he asked, “So what’s up?”

JulSu turned her head to look at DongWoon, still expressionless and zombielike. Silently, she pointed her finger towards the dancefloor.

“Oh, is this like charades? I love charades!” DongWoon said excitedly. “You want to dance?”

JulSu shook her head and simply pointed again.

“Oh, you look tired so… you must have already danced!” DongWoon replied with conviction.

Again, JulSu shook her head and pointed. A slight frown was now visible on her face.

“Aw man, this one’s hard…” DongWoon rubbed his chin pensively. His eyes followed in the direction JulSu was pointing.

“Nae saengae gajang areumdaun sunganeun~”

“Man, I really like this song, ‘Present.’ K.Will is a great singer,” DongWoon mused before redirecting his attention towards figuring out what JulSu was pointing at. “But I still don’t get it.”

“HyunSeung is dancing with GaYoon-unni.”

“Ah, I see,” DongWoon said, still facing the dancefloor. He watched as JunHyung and RaeIn began to dance together. Next he noticed that K.Will and KaHee were dancing together. Finally his eyes spotted HyunSeung and GaYoon dancing together as well. He took a sideways glance at JulSu, who rested her head on top of crossed arms.

“Are you… okay?”

Silence.

“He didn’t ask me to dance,” JulSu finally replied after a short pause.

“Maybe he didn’t see you,” DongWoon suggested.

“Of course he saw me; I was just with him a little while before that.”

“Maybe GaYoonie-noona asked him first.” Again, DongWoon received silence in response. Feeling awkward and apologetic, DongWoon started to get up. “I’m sorry. I think I bothered you when you wanted to be by yourself. I’ll go now…”

“Wait,” JulSu said meekly, grabbing DongWoon’s arm and gently tugging at his sleeve. “You’re wrong.”

“I-I’m sorry, I take it back! GaYoonie-noona wasn’t the one who asked him to dance!”

“No, I meant… You’re wrong. I don’t want to be by myself,” JulSu confessed. “Actually, it’s the opposite. RaeIn-unni and KaHee are both busy entertaining everybody, SaRang-unni is drinking with some of the guests, and HyunSeung is dancing… So actually, right now I’m a bit lonely. So if you would stay with me…” DongWoon wasn’t sure how to react, so he froze awkwardly in mid-stand and mid-seat. Surprised at her sudden vulnerability, JulSu caught herself and quickly let go of his sleeve. “I meant… I mean… You don’t have to stay with me. I’m sure you’d rather eat with your group members.”

DongWoon let out a chuckle and sighed as he sat himself back down next to JulSu. “Well, if it’s okay, how about I stay here with you?”

“No, no! You don’t have to feel sorry for me. I don’t mind sitting by myself. So you can sit with your friends, really!”

“Well like you said, everyone’s busy doing this and that. JunHyung and HyunSeung are dancing. I don’t even have the slightest idea where KiKwang, DooJoon and YoSeob are… We pretty much have the same friends and they’re all doing something, so we’re pretty much in the same boat.” DongWoon chuckled. “So yeah, since I have no other friends to sit with, I think I would prefer sitting here with you. That way we can keep each other company… if you don’t mind, that is.”

JulSu looked up at DongWoon with a small smile. “I don’t mind.”

——-

“Whoa there, Clumsy! I knew you would fall for me eventually,” said the voice belonging to the arms that caught her.

“Ah, NichKhun-oppa, thank you for catching me,” RaeIn said standing herself up and dusting herself off.

“Long time no see, RaeIn-ah! Congratulations on your album sales!” NichKhun opened his arms so RaeIn could hug him.

“Oh, thank you, thank you,” RaeIn replied. She glanced behind NichKhun trying to locate JunHyung.

“So how have you been?”

“I’ve been great! But actually I was trying to look for…” RaeIn looked past NichKhun again but regretted it immediately as she made eye-contact with DooJoon. “Aigo~” she muttered under her breath as DooJoon walked towards her.

“RaeIn-ah! Stop running away from me!” DooJoon called out once he got closer. RaeIn, who was freaking out a little bit at this point, looked around trying to find a way to escape him this time.

“Geot eulon bad girl sog eulon good girl~”

“Ah, NichKhun-oppa, don’t you love this song? I really like it a lot.” RaeIn quickly slipped her arm around NichKhun’s, attempting to steer him away from the fast-approaching DooJoon. However, NichKhun already noticed his arrival.

“Hey, DooJoon!” NichKhun waved his free hand, signaling to DooJoon that it was okay to join him and RaeIn. “How are you? What have you been up to?”

“Oh, hey, Hyung,” DooJoon greeted staring at RaeIn, who was still hooked onto NichKhun’s arm. “Actually, I needed to talk to RaeIn. Is it okay if I borrow her for a while?”

“Actually,” RaeIn spoke up before NichKhun had a chance to say anything. “Khunnie-oppa and I were just talking about how much we love this song, so we were going to go dance for a bit. So if you would excuse us…” Again she tried to drag NichKhun away, but to no avail.

“We were?” NichKhun asked; his confusion apparent.

“Weren’t we?” RaeIn replied, laughing nervously. She mentally kicked NichKhun for not playing along.

“I see.” DooJoon smirked at RaeIn, seeing through her lie, causing RaeIn to go into panic-mode.

“Well, uh… A-actually, you know what? I want some cake. Oppa, let’s get some cake…”

“Cake sounds like a good idea, actually! Excuse us, DooJoon!” This time NichKhun played right into RaeIn’s plans, much to her relief. DooJoon sighed as NichKhun and RaeIn scurried off to the dessert table.

At that moment, DooJoon felt someone grab his arm and pull him towards them. DooJoon stumbled a little, letting out a small “oof!”

“KiKwang, what are you doing?” DooJoon exclaimed, regaining balance.

“Watch him while I find JunHyung-hyung!” KiKwang ordered, handing DooJoon over to JiHyun and SoHyun. The two girls saluted KiKwang as he set off on his next mission. Then, they each took one arm and dragged DooJoon to one of the empty booths in back.

“What are you guys doing?!”

——-

“This cake really looks good. This whole week, I was looking forward to today’s party. I kept telling myself that I should work hard… to get the cake!” NichKhun mused as he cut himself a slice.

“I changed my mind. I don’t want cake anymore,” RaeIn said. She started to walk away when NichKhun grabbed her hand.

“Wait! I got you a slice too!” At first his meerkat eyes peered at RaeIn, but soon a sweet smile was on his face as he dragged RaeIn to a nearby table. “Let’s eat this together!”

RaeIn had no choice but to follow him. “Wow, really? I needed NichKhun’s help to get me away from DooJoon, but now I need help to get away from NichKhun! All I wanted to do was look for JunHyung to see what he’s up to, but what is this?”

“Mmm, this cake is pretty good!” NichKhun commented after taking a bite. RaeIn agreed after taking a bite herself. She kept looking around at party guests nearby. Suddenly, she spotted JunHyung. While NichKhun wasn’t looking, she brought out her cell phone.

Save me! Look behind you.

“Come on,” RaeIn thought, watching JunHyung. “Check your phone! Check your phone!” She was relieved when she saw JunHyung reach into his pocket and bring out his phone. When he turned his head and finally made eye-contact with her, she pleaded with her eyes for him to help her. She saw his eyes move towards NichKhun for a bit, and when his eyes returned to hers she saw him grinning, making fun of her from afar.

“Hyung, it’s nice to see you again!” JunHyung greeted approaching RaeIn and NichKhun. After he reached the table, he patted NichKhun’s back.

“Oh, JunHyung! It’s nice to see you too!” NichKhun replied before taking another bite of cake.

“Hey, Hyung, is it okay if I borrow RaeIn for a bit? I need her help with something.”

“Sure, of course!” NichKhun said. He turned to RaeIn, who was stuffing her face with as much cake as possible. She lied about not wanting cake anymore. “I’ll talk to you later then, okay?”

“Mmhmm!” RaeIn replied, with still stuffed with cake. She waved goodbye to NichKhun as she quickly scampered after JunHyung.

“Thank you!” RaeIn said when she was finally able to speak legibly.

“No problem,” JunHyung replied coolly.

“By the way, where have you been hiding? After K.Will and Outsider performed, you just disappeared.”

“What are you talking about?” JunHyung denied. “You’re the one that’s been hiding.”

“Not from you,” RaeIn grinned.

“Oh, really?” JunHyung asked, raising an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

“Yah~ JunHyung-hyung! I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Where have you been hiding?” KiKwang’s statement, which appeared out of nowhere, reaffirmed RaeIn’s initial claim and this time it was her turn to raise an eyebrow at JunHyung.

“Aishh~ Why does everyone think I’m hiding? I’m right here!”

“Hey, RaeIn-ah!” KiKwang said brightly after spotting his friend. “I’m sorry, but I need to borrow JunHyung for a bit!”

“No problem,” RaeIn replied, amused as KiKwang forced JunHyung to follow him.

“Yah~ Where are we going?” JunHyung complained. Eventually KiKwang forced JunHyung into one of the booths, and he plopped down on one of the cushioned seats. “Yah~ What’s going on?” JunHyung looked around at his boothmates and found DooJoon, JiHyun, SoHyun, HyunAh and JiYoon. DooJoon, HyunAh and JiYoon looked just as confused as JunHyung felt. JiHyun and SoHyun on the other hand looked like they knew exactly what was going on.

“Thanks for watching them, JiHyun-noona, SoHyunnie,” KiKwang said.

“No problem,” JiHyun and SoHyun said, saluting once again.

“Why did you call us over here, Oppa?” HyunAh asked KiKwang.

“I’m doing a surprise performance,” KiKwang announced. At the MCs, he directed, “HyunAh and JiYoon, can you guys announce me next on the list?”

“Sure, I guess we can do that,” JiYoon replied though obviously still confused. “But why are you having a surprise performance?”

KiKwang paused dramatically and averted his gaze, bringing a closed fist to his heart. “To win KaHee back!”

“When exactly did you lose KaHee?” JunHyung muttered under his breath.

“Then why exactly are we here?” DooJoon asked KiKwang, referring to JunHyung and himself.

——-

“Next up we have a surprise performance!”

“That’s right! In fact, it was a surprise to us MCs also!”

“Let’s call up to the stage DooJoon, JunHyung and KiKw—I mean, AJ with ‘Wipe the Tears!’”

“I bet you all miss this one. I know I do!”

“Listen,” DooJoon started off, taking center stage first. “AJ gonna sing this song for love, to get her back.”

While he started the song, DooJoon knew that this performance was KiKwang’s for KaHee. However, a part of him couldn’t help but think of RaeIn. He tried scanning the crowd before him and he hoped with all his might that RaeIn was in the crowd, watching him and listening to his words.

“Man, do it for love, to get her back. You know what I’m saying? Okay, let’s go!”