He was beside her again. The trees swayed in the soft summer breeze as they walked down the street, past little shops and cafes with their doors propped open in the evening heat. The sun was gently glowing, starting ever so slightly to dim and slip over the Seoul horizon.

 

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

 

So Young turned to face the person that had spoken, but the sun's rays blocked her sight and she squinted, trying to make out his features. She heard him chuckle quietly, and the next moment, she woke.

 

So Young's eyes fluttered open. The sun streamed into her bedroom, revealing that it was near noon. She lay in her bed for a moment, mulling over the new mysterious dream, until she remembered what happened the night before.

 

She had left Kwangmin at the club, rushing back to her apartment at Kai's frantic call. Turned out, however, that the source of his scare-inducing panic was only a small, wiggly spider crawling obliviously across Kai's kitchen floor, which So Young immediately caught in a cup and tossed out the door. She had left in a storm, pissed off that he made her come all this way just for that.

 

"Huh. Who does he think he is?” So Young said grumpily, muttering curses at him.

 

“Your best friend, of course,” a voice answered her, setting a cup of coffee on the bedside table. “And ouch. Are those curses directed at me?” Kai pretended to look hurt, seating himself on the edge of her bed. She glared at her friend, kicking him off her bed with her feet.

 

“What are you even doing in here? I swear, you come over so often to mooch off me, it’s like you don’t even have your own apartment. Except you do.”

 

“Aw. I came here to make you food. And coffee. Obviously,” he gave her a sheepish smile, rubbing his , which he had landed on after being forced off the bed. “Peace?”

 

She gave him a look, reaching for the coffee and taking a sip carefully. “Well, since this coffee is so delicious, I guess I can let it go this time,” she said, taking another drink glancing over at him. Kai grinned in relief, jumping back on the side of the bed again.

 

“I knew it. My cooking is irresistible. What were you doing last night that was so important anyways?” he asked.

 

“For your information, a friend took me to a club to see his dancing. It was fun, until you called in,” Soo Young explained, rolling her eyes.

 

Kai stiffened. “He? Dancing? Club? Since when do you go out with guys?” he muttered suspiciously.

 

“Since… now,” she shrugged, kicking her covers off and climbing out of bed. She placed her cup down and headed for the bathroom.

 

Kai was left sitting on the bed, furrowing his brows. Somehow, he didn’t like the thought of Soo Young going out to clubs with other guys. He had told her to go out more often earlier that week, he had to admit. But still. It gave him an icky feeling.

 

He sat still for a moment, then shook it off, climbing off the bed and heading to the kitchen to finish breakfast. His thoughts would have to wait.

                                                                                . . .

 

Soo Young walked into class that day in a considerably better mood. Who wouldn’t be extra cheerful, after having hot breakfast served to you first thing in the morning? She hummed as she slid into an empty seat, taking out her books and her smile widening at the thought of starting a new project.

 

“Hey. Anyone sitting here?” Soo Young glanced up briefly, still humming, and did a double take when she saw the person standing beside her.

 

“Oh! It’s you!” she exclaimed. It was the guy from the night before. But he was a dancer, if she wasn’t mistaken…

 

He gave a slight smile, tilting his head. “You’re the girl from last night. Lay’s friend.”

 

“Yep! Kwangmin, right?” She returned the smile, motioning him to sit down. “Ah… sorry about ditching you there. There was a slight emergency. That didn’t turn out to be an emergency at all, in the end…” she muttered the last part to herself.

 

Kwangmin looked a bit confused, and she grinned, turning towards him.

 

“Anyways, how was it?”

 

“The rest of the night was great… there were a lot of new dancers to meet. And don’t worry about leaving early, you seemed to be in a real hurry. “

 

“Aish… thanks. I’m not always like that, I promise.”

 

The professor walked in and started class, introducing a new project they were to be assigned.

 

“You’ll have a month to work on it… and I will choose partners this time. Chanyoung and Hana, Youngjae and Jaymin, Soo Young and Kwangmin…”

 

Soo Young turned to and her seat partner and raised her eyebrows. “I guess we’re partners. Nice to meet you.” She offered her hand jokingly.

Kwangmin smiled, taking it and giving it a shake. “My pleasure.”