Riley walked slowly out of the cafeteria, following everyone else in the direction of their rooms. She wasn't sure what to do or how to feel. She had known instantly that HimChan was band-mates with her brother, but for some reason he wasn't the one that worried her. JongUp would be living close by. She would be able to see him everyday. Silently scolding herself, she wondered why she had never thought about what she would do when she finally met JongUp. In the past, she had only been worried about meeting him and to get him to fall in love with the idea of being an idol once again.

 

She stopped walking for a moment, feeling tormented with her conflicting emotions. She was happy. It was hard for her to admit, but yes she was happy. It would be so much easier to get to know JongUp with the man living so close, so why did it make her so nervous. She was scared that maybe her identity would be given up too easily.

 

“Riley!”

 

She jumped slightly, quickly looking up to find Kan standing in front of her. She smiled, quickly looking away from his chocolate brown eyes.

 

“Are you okay? You didn't eat much at dinner.” Kan talked freely with her, almost as if they had known each other for years. It was like she was talking to her brother and it was very comforting.

 

“I'm fine!” She put a big smile on. There was no reason to doubt her decisions now. She had put in all the effort and time to make it here, and now that she was about to meet JongUp she shouldn't be scared away. Even if her identity was to be found out, at least she knew she tried. She smiled widely taking happy strides alongside Kan who kept nudging her gently. She nudged back, happy that she had connected with Kan so easily and was able to joke around with him.

 

“Let's watch a movie!” HyeMi called down the hallway before running into their dorm with nearly everyone following her. Kan ran ahead to make sure he could get a good seat. Riley paused in front of their neighbor's door, wondering if JongUp was still there.

 

She stepped towards it, wondering what would happen if she were to knock on it. She could picture JongUp opening the door. She smiled and was about to go to her own room when...

 

“What are you doing?”

 

She turned, finding that JongUp was already beside her. She quickly turned to him, bowing. She never thought that this would be the first time they would be able to meet. When she met his eyes again, she was able to smile.

 

“Are you lost?” His attitude wasn't friendly at all, but she tried to remain happy. Instead, she shook her head and glanced behind her. “Then leave.”

 

She wanted to introduce herself, but he obviously wasn't in a very good mood. She opened to speak, but with one single glance from him she could only close again.

 

“JongUp! What is wrong with you?”

 

Riley took a step back just as Kan came to help her. She didn't know what to think with his attitude. She never thought that after all this time this is how they would first meet each other. Even after JongUp rolled his eyes and locked himself in his own room, she had to be forced to go back to her own room.

 

“Don't worry about it too much. He has been in a bad mood, but he'll cheer up soon enough.” Kan patted her shoulder. However, she wasn't so sure. What she was sure about was that his attitude had something to do with why he was no longer working with BAP. She sat down beside her friend to watch the movie, but she was distracted with her own thoughts.

 

She pretended to focus on the movie before glancing in HyeMi's direction. HyeMi seemed to be having fun.

 

Riley removed herself from beside the couch and went to her own bed. She wanted to talk to her brother again. Wanted to ask what had happened to make JongUp so upset, but she knew she couldn't. However, just hearing his voice might help. She didn't hesitate to leave the room, making a call to her brother.

 

She paced down the hallway, waiting for her brother to pick up. It wasn't much of a surprise when he didn't pick up. He was obviously busy. It wasn't hard for her to keep walking because she loved to walk when she was stressed about something. In no time at all she had walked around the entire floor and started to walk around again. For a few minutes she stopped to stare out the window. She could no longer believe that she made a bad decision. Even if JongUp didn't like her, that wasn't the entire reason why she had come here. Some of the best teachers were here and she could learn a lot from them.

 

She shook her head. She had to stop seeing everything as a negative experience. She had chosen to do this and now she couldn't reverse any of it. She had to stick with her plan till the end, especially since she drug HyeMi with her.

 

“Riley?” She jumped slightly, not realizing anyone had been in the hallway. She turned to find JongUp standing to the far left of her. She turned, their eyes meeting. “Your name is Riley, right?”

 

“Oh, uh...yes.” She felt her cheeks turning red while she wondered how he had known. She watched JongUp go over to a window. Even though she waited for a while, she didn't receive anything else. She turned to her own window, feeling unsure of what to do.

 

“Sorry for yelling at you earlier. I was mad and I took it out on the first person I saw.” JongUp was still staring out the window as he spoke. She turned her head for a second, but quickly looked away.

 

“It's ok.”

 

“No it isn't.”

 

Riley ce again, this time their eyes meeting. She looked away, not able to say anything back to him. That didn't stop him from continuing.

 

“My older brother was in a car accident. They say he'll never be able to walk again...that he'll never be able to dance again.” JongUp had blurted. Riley turned her entire body quickly, surprised to hear such a surprising confession. She would have never guessed JongUp would tell her, a stranger, something like this. “I don't want to dance anymore. I don't want to dance if he can't.”

 

She shook her head, thinking about what was the best thing to say.

 

“I don't think that is what your brother would want from you. I think he would want you to dance for him.”

 

JongUp gave her a sharp look, forcing her to be quiet. He turned back to the window, obviously trying to calm down.

 

“What are you two doing out here?” They both turned, Riley pointing at the familiar person. It was the doctor. Kim Jaejoong.

 

“We were just talking.” JongUp bowed his head respectfully. Jaejoong glanced between the two of them, staring at Riley a bit longer than necessary. “Ok, get to bed soon.”

 

He hesitated by Riley, looking down at her as if he knew something. The small look, the look of knowledge, made her heart race. However, he walked straight past not giving much care when they actually went to bed. JongUp turned to Riley slowly, his eyes seeming to narrow.

 

“I'm thinking about quitting dance. It's not fun anymore.”

 

“You can't! Think about the others and how much they depend on you!”

 

She closed quickly, noticing the changes in JongUp's features. She shook her head, not wanting him to think that she was weird. She only wanted him to believe that dancing was for the best.

 

“You don't know anything!”

 

JongUp's voice was rising along with his anger. Riley took a quick step back, but she didn't need to. Kan was there along with Himchan and her best friend, HyeMi. She didn't want to be around anymore, but instead wanted to go to sleep. She grabbed HyeMi's arm, pulling her back in the direction of their dorm.

 

“What happened? What did you talk about?” HyeMi asked her, but she couldn't answer. It would be okay to tell her eventually, but right now she wanted to keep her silence.

 

“I'll tell you tomorrow. I'm tired so I'm going to wash up first.” Her voice was low as she entered their room and quickly grabbed things to wash with. As soon as she was showered and had pajamas on, she climbed into bed and closed her eyes, not caring that Kan had attempted to talk to her.