Soobin’s POV

For the next few days, practice was intense. Since this is an Asia wide competition, the competition would be more intense, so we have to put in more effort and correct every simple mistake we make.

When we were done with practice ever night, we were totally exhausted. Sometimes, Donghae would fall asleep on the table. He had to use more energy since he was the guy and there were lifting and I admit I wasn’t really very light. Most nights, I have to come back with a blanket to refrain him from catching a cold.

Omma had always asked me to wake him up since sleeping on the table is really uncomfortable, but seeing how tired he is, waking him up seems very bad, so normally we’d hope he’ll wake up in the middle of the night and head to bed. Sometimes, when I see that he’s really tired, we’ll just skip the tuition since both of us have other work to do.

When the holidays came, Donghae and I trained harder. We start at 9 with Ms. Shi and end at 3pm, but we’ll stay longer to practise on our own. Other than dance, we still had remedial classes and admin matters regarding our Japan trip.

One week before the competition we shortened practise time since we’re afraid we might end up hurting ourselves or over tire ourselves.

“We’re flying off to Japan in 5 days time. Are you nervous?” Donghae asked me as we took a break.

“Not yet. I guess I will on the plane or something.” I said before gulping down half a bottle of water.

The days flew past really quickly. The next moment I know, I’m already at the airport with Donghae, Ms. Shi and Omma.

“Don’t skip meals ok? Donghae ah, please look after Soobin for me. She’s a real troublemaker at times.” Omma said as she touched my face.

“Omma!”  exclaimed as Ms. Shi and Donghae laughed. We waved Omma goodbye before walking into the duty free zone.

“Soobin, you take the seat with Donghae. I’ll take the alone seat.” Ms. Shi said. Donghae and I protested, but she insisted on sitting alone.

“You young people need to spend more time together.” She smiled before heading to the seat which was in front of us. We had the privilege of taking business class, Even though it’s only for an hour or so.

When we got to Japan, we took a bus which was arranged by the travelling agency and went to our hotel to check in. We got a deluxe suite where there are 3 separate rooms, 3 bathrooms and a living room.

We all placed out bags in our own room before we head out for dinner. I could tell Ms. Shi was a little awkward with us as after dinner, she excused herself back to the hotel, allowing ourselves to take a walk around since we didn’t have a chance to.

The street of Tokyo was busy. People were walking with really quick pace to and fro. They squeeze through people like it’s an ok thing to do.

Donghae and I stuck close to each other, but because the street is really crowded and there’s always people squeezing between the both of us, I got separated from him. What’s worst, I didn’t know how to get back.

Should I head back to the hotel first or look for Donghae first? I decided to head back first since it’s the wisest thing to do. I was glad I took Japanese as an elective in school. However, I wasn’t really good at it. But who cares, it’s the only thing I can do now. I saw a nice looking couple and asked them for directions back to the hotel.

After walking for a while, I asked another lady and was glad I was on the right track since the roads seem unfamiliar. After walking for around another 10 minutes, I was back in the hotel lobby.

“Oh miss, your boyfriend was looking for you just now. He rushed out to look for you after hearing you’re not back yet.” The receptionist said.

“I’ll wait for him here then.” I said and sat down on one of the chairs in the lobby. I wanted to deny he wasn’t my boyfriend but there’s no point telling her since she doesn’t really know us.

Sitting in the lobby for around an hour, Donghae wasn’t back yet.  Wanted to go look for him, but if he’s back and I’m out he’ll head out again.

Around 10 minutes later, I heard heavy running footsteps running into the lobby. It was Donghae. He ran straight to the reception counter and I saw the lady pointing at me. Donghae’s expression changed before he ran towards me and pulling me into a hug which shocked me.

“You scared the hell out of me.” His voice was quivering. Was he crying?

“I’m sorry to make you worried. I tried my best to come back here as quick as I can.” I said and pushed him away slightly and indeed, he was crying.

“You made me so worried.” He pulled me back for another hug.

“Let’s go back. Ms shi must be worried.” I said and pushed him away again. We walked into the lift and it was only the both of us. I passed him a tissue and he wiped away his tears. I’ve never had a guy cry for me in any way. Donghae actually cried for me because he thought I got lost.

“You 2 took really long. Head to bed early. We have an early morning tomorrow.” Ms. Shi said and for the first time, I’m seeing her without all those thick make up. She looks really pretty but why must she cover her face with Makeup, not saying she doesn’t look good in it.

I went into my own room and showered before heading to bed. I’m quite tired, but I guess Donghae must be more tired since he searched for me the whole night out in the bustling crowd.

End of Soobin’s POV

Donghae’s POV

After Dinner, Ms. Shi left Soobin and I alone as she head back to the hotel. The streets were crowded. It was really hard to manoeuvre around. I wanted to hold onto Soobin’s hand so that she won’t get lost, however thinking we were sticking so close to each other, we won’t get lost so easily. However, I was wrong.

A lady walked in between us causing there to be a gap between us and more and more people walked between us. We weren’t able to walk together in time and we drifted further and further away till she was out of my sight. I couldn’t move any faster because of the crowd. I decided to try and squeezed myself through until I got to a section where there was no crowd. However, I didn’t see Soobin anywhere.

I’ve officially lost her. Using another route, I ran back to the hotel to not see her anywhere.

“Excuse me, did you see a girl with long brown hair and wearing a red hoodie? She left the hotel with me.” I asked the receptionist, but she shook her head.

“I’ll inform you when she’s back.” She told me, but I couldn’t just sit here and wait.

“Tell her I’m looking for her when she’s back.” I said before running out to search for her. Going back to the place where we had dinner I looked out for a girl in red. It was a good thing she was wearing a bright colour.

At first, I thought it was easy to find her, however when time passed, I got more worried and more afraid, worried that something might happen to her. She’s a girl after all and in a place which she is not familiar with.

Half an hour had past and there’s no sign of her. What if something really happened? What if she get robbed? Kidnapped? Or even ? I was more worried by the second. Images were flashing through my mind. I cannot let those things happen to her. I promised Soobin’s Omma that I’ll take care of her.

It was close to an hour already. I made my way back to the hotel, praying really hard she would be back. I walked faster and faster and ended up running.

“Is she back yet?” I asked the receptionist and she pointed to the seats where Soobin was sitting there.

I saw her looking at us and stood up. Immediately, I ran towards her and puller her into a hug.

It seems like she has been sitting here for very long. She pushed me away from the hug twice before I realised what I was doing and what’s worst, I was crying.

In the lift, she passed me a piece of tissue and I wiped away my tears. Why was I crying for her? When I lost her, my heart was beating so quickly. I felt like I’ve lost something really important to me. Am I in love with her?

When we head back into our rooms, I kept asking myself that question. I admit that I felt something for her after the school trip, but that was only sympathy and guilt. It’s impossible that I like her. I only treat her as a female friend which I can get along with, nothing more. I decided to ignore everything and head to bed. If I think for another second, I think I can forget about sleeping.

The next morning, we got up real early to head to the championship ground to rehearse. Our slot is at 10am, so we have to wake up early. Tomorrow’s the competition day already. I hope I won’t get distracted about anything. There’s no time to get distracted.

We had an hour to practise. When the music started, we moved with the music. Ms. Shi who was at one of the audience seats gave us corrections on our position. Because the stage was slightly bigger than the studio, we had to move more and we only had an hour to get used to it.

After an hour, time was up and we left the grounds. Ms. Shi said if we continued with today’s performance, it won’t be a problem getting the champion trophy.

“Have a good rest today. Songsaengnim have some errands to run.” With that, Ms. Shi disappeared into the crowd.

“I’m hungry.” Soobin said and I looked at her. Oh right. We didn’t have breakfast. Since we were going to dance, we didn’t eat.

“Let’s go grab something to eat then.” I said and she stopped outside a sandwich bar. We got inside and took a seat and took a look at the menu.

“I’ll have a club sandwich and a cup of hot chocolate.” Soobin said.

“I’ll have a chicken and ham sandwich and a cup of Americano.” I said before passing back the waiter the menu.

Soobin was looking out of the window at the bustling street. I couldn’t help but think that she looks really beautiful when the sun is shining on her face. It makes her skin glow more radiantly. What the hell are you thinking Lee Donghae? I mentally slapped myself.

“Are you alright?” She looked at me and I nodded my head.

“You seem to like Americano.” She said as the waiter placed our order on the table.

“You seem to like chocolate.” I said and she smiled.

“Chocolate makes me happy.” She said as she took a sip of her hot chocolate. During the meal, we were quiet. There was occasional small talk, but you can sense the obvious awkwardness amongst us. However, as compared to before, we are slightly more comfortable with each other. I noticed now adays, she smiled more and she look really pretty when she smile. I remember the times when the only expression on her face was fear and sorrow. I hope I won’t see those expressions anymore. I hope she’ll always be happy when she’s with me.

End of Donghae’s POV