“Bye, Mom!” You call as you run to the front door. You slip into the hideous school shoes and wince as the stiff leather pinches your toes. “Aish…”

You sling your dance bag across both shoulders and do a mental checklist to make sure you have everything you need.

“Bye, sweetie!” Your mom waves with a smile, although her response is a bit delayed. She continues down the hall and into your younger brother’s room to wake him up.

Taking a final look in the hall mirror, you grin to yourself. With a small ‘fighting’ pose, you exit the apartment.

Starting today, you are a third year high school student. A senior. It’s time to mature and start applying to colleges and, maybe, auditioning for entertainment companies.

Senior year for a student at Seoul Arts Academy, like yourself, is not easy or stress-free in the slightest.

You whistle to yourself and play with the ends of your hair as you walk to school. You admire the curled strands with a satisfied smile. Up until last week, you’d always had super long pin-straight hair.

Now, you finally taught yourself how to use a curling iron and even chopped a good couple of inches off the boring mop.

Also starting this year, since you’re a senior, your mother is allowing you to wear makeup, though you don’t wear much. It would probably be an awkward contrast with your childish, cute features. Either way, you feel at least a bit more like a woman.

The school gates linger in the near distance and the corners of your mouth turn up into a wide smile. You pick up the pace and reach the gates in a matter of seconds.

“Minhi!” A voice you’d recognize anywhere echoes across the open schoolyard.

You snap your head in the direction of the voice and your smile grows even wider. “Jihyun!” You sprint over to your best friend and throw your arms around her.

She stumbles a little with the impact of your small body, but quickly regains her balance with a chuckle. “Yah, take it easy. You saw me a week ago!”

“Mehrong!” You giggle and release her from your death grip. Taking a step back, you flip your hair purposely and wait for her to say something about your new look.

Jihyun narrows her eyes and leans in closer to study your face. “You look cuter than usual.”

A smug grin appears on your face and you twirl a few strands of hair around your index finger. “Do I?”

She giggles and reaches out to touch the shimmering curls, “It’s so pretty!” She furrows her brows and her lips form into a pout. “Who taught my Minnie to use a curling iron?”

The smug grin grows wider and you gesture toward yourself with your thumb.

“Omo, seriously?” Her eyes widen and she studies your face once again. “And you’re wearing makeup?”

“Yup.”

She squeals and pulls you into a hug. “Aigoo, my little Minhi is growing up! How did you manage to change so much in a week?”

You roll your eyes at her comment; the two of you are the same age. It’s just the fact that you’re so small and cute that makes everyone treat you like a little kid.

“Yah,” you whine, struggling against her hold. She laughs and holds tighter, and you can’t help but giggle at her antics. You don’t even care about the weird stares other students are giving the two of you; you’ve been doing stuff like this since primary school, where you met, and will probably continue to do so until you’re wrinkly old prunes.

Suddenly, the schoolyard is filled with the high-pitched squeals of countless female students. You and Jihyun freeze and turn together, still in the same position, to find the cause of the commotion. The crowd is way too thick for you to see through, though.

“What the hell are they screaming for?” Jihyun growls and shoots a lethal glare at the backs the screaming girls’ heads.

You shrug and wiggle out of her arms, standing on your tiptoes and craning your neck to see over the ocean of girls.

Jihyun laughs and pats your head jokingly. “Maybe if you were on stilts, little one.”

You glare at her and swat her hand away. Finally, the ocean parts and makes way for whatever, or whoever, is the cause of the ruckus. You squint against the bright sunlight and place one hand above your eyes to cast a shadow. Adjusting to the light, both you and Jihyun let out a groan simultaneously.

You roll your eyes as the school kingka, Kim Jongin, saunters through the cleared pathway like it’s his own personal red carpet. The girls at school have always secretly fangirled over him, but ever since he got recruited into the popular underground dance group, Exo, they’ve practically thrown themselves at him. They’re no longer afraid to let their infatuation for him show.

And he soaks it up like it’s the glorious light of the sun shining down on him. Not only is he beyond popular, but he has the ego and arrogance to go with it.

You nearly gag as you watch him wink to every single girl as he passes, a smug grin plastered on his face. His uniform is nowhere near being within the dress code regulations. The jacket is ed completely and his tie hangs loosely around his neck; his shirt isn’t even tucked into his pants!

The arrogance practically rolls off of him as he walks by you and Jihyun. He turns to the two of you and smirks, winking seductively. You shudder and wrinkle your nose. You hate conceited, flirtatious boys the most. Cute, innocent guys are way more your type.

Jihyun scoffs, “And some things never change, I guess.”

You nod your head in agreement and watch as the self-righteous kingka makes his way over to a group of his friends.

Feeling eyes on him, he sends you a sideways glance. He smirks at you and winks, once again. You give him a disgusted look and quickly tug on Jihyun’s arm. “Come on, let’s go find out if we have classes together!”

You drag her away and Jongin shrugs at his rejection, not really caring for your type anyway. Unlike you, his preference is the y, mature type of girl.

Thank the Lord.

“We have history and calculus together!” Jihyun cheers when you reach the bulletin board and pull off your individual schedules.

You smile brightly and the two of you do your secret handshake, first slapping opposite hands and then bumping hips. You look over your schedule once more, pleased with the order of your classes.

First period is Advanced Dance, then comes history with Jihyun, then science, after that comes lunch, followed by English and finally calculus.

“We have last period together,” you giggle, pointing at your schedules. Jihyun smiles and rubs her hands together evilly.

You laugh and elbow her in the side. The last time the two of you shared last period, back in your first year at high school, you would always take turns sleeping while the other took notes. Afterwards, you would leave together and then spend the rest of the afternoon doing random stuff. Sometimes you’d even skip class completely. Having your best friend in your last period class sure helped the tortuous hour pass by.

“Maybe you’ll have dance class with Seungjin,” Jihyun whispers, winking at you.

Your cheeks blush at the name of your crush and you slap your hands over them, glaring at your best friend.

“Oh, like you weren’t thinking the same thing,” she laughs, waving off your glare with a knowing smile.

You have to admit, she’s right. You’ve had a crush on Ham Seungjin since the first day of your second year.

He transferred from some other high school in Seoul after a teacher there recommended him for the dance program Seoul Arts Academy offered.

Normally, the school wouldn’t even consider taking in a student late. It would be unfair to the other students who already took the entrance exams and worked hard at the dance program auditions to get into the school. However, after Seungjin showed off his skills, the school immediately retracted their previous statement and took him in with open arms.

Needless to say, he is one of the best dancers in the entire academy.

In your opinion, he is the best. Not only is he an incredible dancer, but he’s totally your type:  cute, small, innocent, and beyond sweet. Every time he’s within five feet of you, you break out in a cold sweat and can’t form coherent thoughts.

Jihyun takes every opportunity she can to tease you for it.

“Whatever,” you mumble finally. You throw a glance toward the large clock above the bulletin board. First period starts in about seven minutes, and since you have dance, you decide to get there early so you can change. “I’m gonna head to class, see you second period, Jihyunnie!”

“See you then, Minnie.” She smirks and pinches your cheeks and coos teasingly, “I hope you get to dance all close and stuff with Seungjinnie~!”

You laugh against her squeezing fingers and swat her hands away. She winks and spins around to walk to whatever class she has first period.

You stare at her enviously as she disappears into the crowded hallway. Jihyun is everything you wish you could be: tall, y, mature, gorgeous, all that. Not that you don’t like how you look, but getting mistaken for a little kid all the time isn’t exactly a confidence booster.

You shrug it off and head to class.

The advanced dance studio is absolutely gigantic. It’s so much bigger than the regular studio you’ve used the past two years. Three of the four walls are nothing but floor-to-ceiling mirrors with bars attached to them. On the fourth wall is the double-door entrance and on either side is a door into girls’ or boys’ locker room.

You ogle at the polished wood floors for another minute before quickly scurrying into the locker room to change into your dance clothes.

The lockers inside don’t have built-in locks, which makes you feel a whole lot smarter for bringing your own. You pull on your black, spaghetti-strap leotard and frown at the open back. One of the straps on your other leotard broke, so you’re forced to wear this one. You feel way too exposed.

You decide against the shorts in your bag and step into a pair of oversized grey sweatpants with the school logo on them, hoping it counteracts the revealing leotard.

Humming a tune to yourself, you tie your hair up in a ponytail, careful not to mess up any of the curls, and pull it tight. You grab your iPod from a pocket and place the ear buds in your ears, cranking up the music. You sway back and forth to one of 2NE1’s songs and lock up your possessions in the cramped locker.

You exit the locker room just as the first bell sounds and other girls begin pouring into the locker room.

“Omo, you dress so fast, Minhi!” Another student says as she passes. You shrug with a sheepish grin and continue into the studio.

The dance instructor, Mrs. Choi, is fiddling with an iPod stereo when you walk into the otherwise empty room. She glances up from the device to give you a sweet smile. “Annyeong, Minhi-ssi!”

You blink at her, surprised that she knows your name, and give a small wave in return.

She laughs at your innocent expression and straightens up. “Yup, I remember you.”

You raise an eyebrow and pout slightly. “How?”

“Your dance teacher from last year sang high praises of your abilities,” she explains. “She was adamant that you be put in the advanced class.”

A huge grin appears on your face and you clap your hands. “No way! That’s so sweet of her!”

“Your audition is what sealed the deal, though,” she adds with a wink.

You think back to your audition for the advanced class that took place two months ago and smile at the memory. You had to perform a minute long number in front of the principal, both dance instructors, and the rest of those who were auditioning.

It was beyond nerve-wrecking and you never thought you’d make it through, let alone that the advanced class teacher would actually remember your name.

You bow with a cheeky grin and she instructs you to go and stretch while you wait for the other students.

You do as she says and settle onto the floor near the left side of the studio. You place both ear buds back in their positions and stretch out one leg, reaching for your toes with both hands.

After a few minutes, students begin pouring out of the locker rooms. You stealthily study the guys entering the studio and you nearly scream when you spot Seungjin fooling around with one of his friends. They’re walking toward where you’re sitting.

The two of them plop down nearby and you struggle to stay calm and focus on your stretching. Not able to hold yourself back, you glance at the pair out of the corner of your eyes. Seungjin is stretching, as well, while his friend lounges on the hardwood floor lazily.

You hold back a squeal when Seungjin looks your way and smiles brightly. He waves enthusiastically and you feel enticed to do the same. His eyes crinkle into little half-moons when you wave back and you have to face front before your poor heart explodes.

“Okay, class, gather around for a minute!” Mrs. Choi calls, clapping to get the attention of the other students.

You pull one ear bud out and smile when she meets your eyes.

“First of all,” she begins, “welcome back and welcome to your first day of senior year! Congratulations on getting accepted into the Advanced Dance class. I was very pleased with all of your auditions.”

The class claps for one another and you find yourself staring at Seungjin once again. He smiles back and gives you a thumbs up.

Your cheeks blush a light pink and you look back to Mrs. Choi. As you turn your head, you catch sight of a familiar face. Your eyebrows pull down into a frown and your nose wrinkles. How had you not thought of it before?

Kim Jongin leans against the mirrored wall at the other side of the room, surrounded by his guy friends and a good amount of fangirls. Of course he would be in the advanced class. He had one of the best auditions ever, and you were there to witness it.

You push back your distaste for the boy and listen to Mrs. Choi once more, ignoring the other’s presence.

“I’m going to jump right into things,” she announces with another clap. She passes around some flyers and you all study them intently. “It’s the annual Seoul Supreme Dance Competition!”

A smile spreads across your face as you read over the flyer. The Seoul Supreme Dance Competition is the most anticipated dance competition of the year. Nothing before or after it can ever surpass its greatness. It calls for pairs of dancers, eighteen years and older, to compete against couples from all around the country. The prize is different every year, but not announced until right before the competition.

“The date of the competition is set for May 15, which is roughly two months from now,” she continues. “As you all probably know, this is a competition for pairs, and I’ve decided that everyone in this class is going to participate!”

The class erupts in cheers and hoots at her announcement.

“But,” she adds with a suspicious grin, “I will be choosing your partners.”

At this, a nervous silence ensues and everyone exchanges wary glances. You cross your fingers that she pairs you up with Seungjin and silently chant incantations in your head as she begins listing off pairs of students.

You begin to sweat when you haven’t heard your name nor Seungjin’s name called and begin to pray even harder that the two of you are together. You don’t pay attention to any of the other students without partners and stare desperately at Mrs. Choi.

“And then we have Kim Jongin...” your ears perk up at the name and a sick feeling comes into your stomach. You didn’t even realize his name wasn’t called yet. You hope more than anything that Mrs. Choi can read your mind at this moment as you will her to not call your name next. “And his partner will be Song Minhi!”

Your heart falls to your toes and you scowl. Just your luck.

Your eye twitches when the jerk looks just as disappointed as you are. He sighs and the annoyed expression is replaced with a wicked smirk. You can already tell he plans on annoying the hell out of you. You’ve made your feelings towards him very clear over the past two years, so he’s well aware of your hatred for him.

For all you know, he probably hates you just as much. The two of you are complete opposites.

You hear Seungjin’s name get called out and subconsciously frown at the girl partnered with him. She doesn’t notice and skips happily over to her partner.

Seungjin meets your eyes and smiles somewhat sadly. You raise an eyebrow at the expression that you’ve very rarely seen him show and he shrugs, turning back to his partner.

Your heart races and your cheeks flush. Is he actually upset that the two of you aren’t partners? Is that what that sad smile was about?

Or maybe he felt bad that Jongin is your partner?

That might be it.

You look back over at your own partner and he gives you an impatient look. When you just blink at him he rolls his eyes and gestures lazily with his hand for you to go to him, blowing a large bubble with his gum.

You gape at him and can’t believe his rudeness. You’re not a dog.

This is going to be a long two months...

Well, that's chapter one! I hope you  like it so far >.<

I'm not really sure when I'll update again, but most likely sometime within the next few days. 

I really should be working on my other two fics.....whatEVA, YOLO.

....I'm sorry.

Please comment and upvote!

And please check out my other fics HERE and HERE!

Annyeong~