CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: A New Challenge

{ Their startled eyes met, and breaths were held in. } * Click for BGM!

The busy school-filled days flew by. At around lunch break, Kai called his parents to the high school while Hyejung called Suho's parents. It was time to sign some important papers for the competition.

With Mr. Gong standing by the side, Yuni placed two sets of printed papers onto the desk. With Hyejung and Kai quietly watching, the guardians took the papers into hand and carefully read. There were sections for the details of the competition and medical insurance.

"I am sure everything is in order." Yuni spoke up, placing her hands behind her back. "The kids will be traveling to a couple of different district schools, but there's no need to fret. The transportation will be taken care of. I think they'll enjoy themselves greatly." she smiled. 

The parents exchanged glances and quiet murmurings. After a few careful moments, they signed the papers. Hyejung and Kai gave each other a low high-five as Yuni took the papers and placed them in a portfolio.

"Okay! Well that settles everything!" Yuni cheerfully beamed, hugging the portfolio to her chest. "Thank you for your time." she bowed politely to the parents. They walked out of the office, giving the two teenagers smiles and light words of encouragement.

It was quiet once the door closed. Hyejung awkwardly cleared , "So..? Is that everything, Miss Lee?"

Yuni giggled with a nod. "Yup! It was a very short and simple process. You may be excused now."

Mr. Gong chuckled. "Good luck on practicing!"

"Thank you!" Kai and Hyejung bowed their heads to the two teachers before striding out of the office.

Once they were in the halls, Hyejung couldn't contain her excitement. "YES! WOO!" she pumped her fists in the air, spinning around with a big grin on her face. 

Kai furrowed his eyebrows and stared at Hyejung a strange face. "Yah. What the heck is wrong with you, Seo Hyejung?" he mused, running his fingers through his dark locks.

Hyejung laughed, giving Kai's arm a sudden, firm punch. "Ow! What was that for?!" he whined, rubbing his poor arm with a childish pout.

"That? Oh, you were ruining my moment," she bluntly deadpanned, sticking her tongue out. "Why? Is it bad to be excited?"

"No, but it's bad to beat up innocent people," he retorted, following after the girl. "Yah, is it normal for people to hit other people they like?" he smirked, nudging Hyejung with his whole side.

Hyejung blinked at Kai numerous times, her head tilted. "Beats me. I ain't a psychiatrist or the heck," she scoffed, speaking at a relatively fast pace. "Anyways, the competition is a pretty big deal. Didn't Miss Lee say there was more than one-"

At that exact moment, she yelped when she found herself lightly pinned against the lockers.

Hyejung gulped a huge lump in , staring at Kai with a flabbergasted, hesitant expression. The lad's hands were gently wrapped around Hyejung's clothed arms, the proximity of their faces close. Way too close. If one of them leaned in just a mere inch, noses would touch, and perhaps other precious facial parts. 

But thankfully for her, Kai's head was turned as he watched a flood of students passed by out of the classroom next door. Bodies lightly bustled against the sun-kissed boy accompanied with loud chatter abundant and various. All the while, Kai remained close to Hyejung, standing in front of her like a protective cage. 

Through all the time, Hyejung mentally chanted to Kai, *Don't turn your head. Don't turn your head. Don't turn your head-*

Kai turned his head and directly faced Hyejung. An enticing, soft glow sparked in his brown orbs. To keep her relatively composed, he comfortably pulled his face back just a few inches. To him, it felt nice to have the girl so close to him. It felt right.

A small, natural smirk found its way to form on Kai's plump lips. "You changed the subject," he murmured, almost in a whisper.

Hyejung abruptly felt dry, her knees growing weak. "Wh-What? I, er-" she stammered, flustered. "Ugh, just move Kai!" she exclaimed, rashly slapping his chest. 

Kai couldn't help but laugh at his antics, pushing himself off of the tomboy. As Hyejung brushed herself off, Kai asked, "You okay?" he looked at the girl with a secret affectionate glow in his eyes. 

"Huh?" Hyejung blinked up at Kai before hesitantly nodding. "Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm fine," she mumbled, trying to mentally get a hold of herself. 

"Well, now that you're ready, let's head to lunch." Kai said, stuffing his hands in his slack pockets. He extended his arm out, intending for Hyejung to wrap her own arms around it. "Shall we?" he smiled charmingly.

Hyejung snorted. "What, did you get that from some sissy princess movie? Get out of the way." she stubbornly shoved past the boy, stalking up ahead. 

Kai chuckled, shaking his head. *Seo Hyejung, how dense can you get? I wonder.* He followed after the tomboy with a small smile.

The duo entered into the vast cafeteria, quickly grabbing their choice of scrumptious food. Once they did that, they reunited with Exo-K at their usual table.

"Hey guys," Hyejung greeted, taking a seat between Baekhyun and Kai. Chanyeol, Sehun, and Suho sat across the table while D.O. sat beside Baekhyun.

"What's up, Hyejung? How did that meeting with the dance instructors go?" Baekhyun asked, showing off his bright, amiable smile.

"Uh, I'm right here y'know," Kai spoke up, taking out his chopsticks. "You can always ask me." 

Chanyeol snorted, chewing his food with emphasis. "Yah, who would want to ask you when Hyejung's here? She's cooler than you anyway."

Kai scoffed, giving Hyejung a skeptic, blank stare. The tomboy just innocently shrugged her shoulders. "Can't hide the truth I guess," she muttered, a small grin perking up at the corner of her lips.

"Great. Now my friends are turning against me," Kai groaned, making the boys burst into guffaws.

"No, but really. How did that meeting go?" Suho interrupted, taking a quick sip of his apple juice.

When Hyejung opened to answer, Kai pressed his hand over without exchanging a glance. "We got chosen to be in this huge dance competition. As a duo of course." he smiled.

Hyejung rolled her eyes, swatting Kai's mouth off of . "Yeah, what he said." she mumbled, wiping her lips with her uniform sleeve. "We're going to be traveling to a couple of district schools and stuff. It's pretty big."

"Wah, sounds cool! We'll be cheering you guys on!" Sehun beamed, clapping his hands enthusiastically.

"So you guys will be traveling together, right? You are partners after all," D.O. commented, popping some rice into his mouth.

Hyejung huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "Unfortunately."

"She means fortunately. She really can't contain her excitement," Kai corrected, showing off a playful grin. She scowled at the teasing, punching the lad in the arm. 

As the seven friends laughed and continued to chatter, a certain queenka was discreetly watching them from a nearby table. With her elbow propped onto the table, Heejin rested her chin in the palm of her hand. Her eyebrows knitted together as she deeply thought.

"Hmph. What could they possibly be talking about?" the girl studied their expressions and actions. "By how they're acting, it looks like it's a pretty big deal. I wish knew." She sighed, her lips formed into a pout.

The queenka particularly kept her eye on Kai and Hyejung, watching them bicker and tease each other. "They're really close now. This isn't good for me. Not at all." she scowled, glancing down at her food to take a moody bite.

When she lifted her gaze, she noticed the familiar, curly-haired boy staring at her. She raised a brow as the boy immediately whipped his head away, flustered. Heej