You stare at the cocky brute in disbelief as he leans back against the mirrored wall and shoves his hands inside the pockets of his sweatpants. He an eyebrow and crosses his arms over his chest, yet again blowing a bubble with his gum.

Seeing that you’re clearly not going to win this round, you roll your eyes and let out a quiet whine before hopping to your feet and stomping over to Jongin.

Mrs. Choi calls out the last few names and smiles to herself as her eyes roam about the studio, checking out the couples she’s paired together.

“Okay, class,” she begins with a loud clap to get everyone’s attention, “You have five minutes to get acquainted with your partner, if you aren’t already, and then we’ll begin the session.”

You meet her eyes and she gives you a wink before gesturing for you and Jongin to get talking. She then turns around and starts fiddling with the radio while the rest of the pairs chat away.

You can do this, Minhi, just don’t punch him in the face and everything will be fine! You think to yourself as you turn to face Jongin.

“So,” you begin awkwardly, attempting to alleviate the tension between the two of you. If you’re going to be partners and win the competition, you might as well be cordial with one another.

The other just blinks at you and chews his gum.

Your eye twitches at his lack of a response and you take a breath to calm yourself down.

“Have you heard of this competition before?” You try, faking a small smile.

“Duh.” Jongin rolls his eyes and pushes himself off the wall with his foot. “Who hasn’t?”

“I’m sure there are some people who have no idea what it is,” you defend yourself. You struggle to stand tall against the judgmental look the other gives you. You can’t believe his arrogance. You shouldn’t feel inferior to this blockhead.

“I guess.”

And with that, the conversation is over.

You desperately fish around for something to say while Jongin just ogles at some of the girls in the class. He his lips and sends a wink across the room when a shocked girl meets his hungry stare. She blushes and waves before quickly snapping her head back to her partner.

I think I’m gonna be sick, you wrinkle your nose and let out a huff. The rest of the couples are laughing with one another and seem to be having the time of their lives as your eyes scan the room. There’s not one couple that isn’t laughing or conversing.

Besides you and Jongin, that is.

Your eyes find Seungjin and his partner and you have to hold back a pout.

The two of them are laughing and playing some sort of hand game with one another. They seem pretty close, which makes you wonder if they have history as a couple or something.

Your heart clenches at the thought.

The thought of anyone being romantically involved with Seungjin makes you feel sick to your stomach.

“OKAY!” Mrs. Choi shouts suddenly, startling you out of your thoughts and silencing the rest of the class. “Socializing time is over!”

Sounds of protest echo throughout the studio and Mrs. Choi shakes her head with a laugh. “Oh, stop it. We have a lot to do in this class, and I want to start our first lesson right away!”

You raise an eyebrow and exchange confused looks with a few girls standing next to you.

“Wait, we’re not going to work on our dances for the competition?” You ask, looking back to Mrs. Choi with furrowed brows.

She shakes her head. “Nope. All of that will be done on your own time. It’s up to you and your partner to practice and come up with a routine. I can’t afford to dedicate two months of class time just to those routines.”

“So where do we practice?” The girl Jongin winked at earlier asks, placing her hands on her hips.

“That’s not my concern,” Mrs. Choi replies with a shrug. “Like I said, it’s up to you as a couple to figure something out. The studio is open anytime afterschool, so feel free to discuss amongst yourselves who gets to use it when.”

You frown at the fact that you’re now required to spend time with Jongin after school. Jihyun will have a fit when you tell her about this.

“It’s not like I’m leaving you high and dry, though,” Mrs. Choi sighs as the class complains. “I’m going to dedicate one day a week to the competition. It’ll be like a showcase. Each pair will show me the progress they’ve made at the end of each week and I’ll give you some pointers and tell you what I think of your routines.”  

More protests erupt and a few students even curse under their breath.

“Come on, guys, it’s fair enough,” Seungjin laughs and rolls his eyes. You smile at him and nod to your classmates.

“How is it fair that I have to babysit a child against my will?” Jongin says, but only loud enough for you to hear. Your eye twitches and your ears turn red at the insult. You spit your tongue out at him and glare as he scoffs at your childishness.

“Thank you, Seungjin,” Mrs. Choi smiles and flicks on the radio. “Now class has officially started! Let’s go, twenty lunges! Start!”

You smile at the distraction from Jongin’s insults and the dance competition and focus on the class, tuning out everyone around you. Except for Seungjin, of course, who you secretly scoot closer to throughout the period.

Class is over before you know it and you quickly claim one of the four showers in the girls’ locker room and strip off your sweaty clothes. You quickly wash yourself and massage your sore muscles under the hot water before turning the knob to the ‘off’ setting.

You towel off and check to make sure the ends of your hair didn’t get wet before heading over to the lockers and retrieving your uniform. You dress quickly and let your hair down, smiling to yourself when you see that the curls haven’t been affected in the slightest.

You grab your bags and whistle a tune to yourself as you weave through the remaining girls toward the exit.

The bell signaling the end of class sounds and you scurry off to second period.

The hallways are crowded and would probably be hard for a normal sized person to squeeze through, but being of the small stature that you are, you manage to get to your class without a problem. There are some benefits to being tiny.

You step into the history classroom and immediately grab the two desks at the back corner near the windows for you and Jihyun. She should be here any sec-

“Minhi~!” Your best friend pulls you into a tight back hug and wiggles around, her chin resting on top of your head.

You let out a grunt and playfully whack at her arms. She releases you and steps back with a shameless smile.

“I missed you,” she states simply, plopping down in one of the two seats. She leaves the seat closest to the window open for you, knowing it’s your favorite spot ever.

“Aw, I missed you too, Jihyunnie~!” The two of you squeal and flap your hands at each other like dorks, not caring about the typical judgmental looks you receive from the few other people in the classroom.

“So,” Jihyun begins with a suggestive look, “how was dance class?”

You roll your eyes and sit back in your seat with a grunt. “It was alright, I guess.”

You would be a hell of a lot more excited about dance if Jongin wasn’t in the class. Scratch that, you wouldn’t really care if he was just there; but the fact that you got partnered with him for the competition and not Seungjin ticks you off.

“Just ‘alright’?”

You nod stiffly and pout your lips.

“What happened? Is Seungjin not in your class?” She asks, her eyebrows tugging down into a disappointed frown.

“No, he’s in my class, it’s just...” You bite your lip and frown, thinking about Seungjin’s partner and him laughing together while you and Jongin stood around awkwardly.

“Spit it out, babo!” Your best friend smacks your head with her bright pink folder and leans forward, waiting for you to tell her about your morning.

“I got partnered with Jongin for the Seoul Supreme Dance Competition,” you whine, shooting a lethal glare at your desk.

Jihyun makes the strange hissing noise that she always does when she finds something particularly distasteful. You just nod and repeatedly stab the tip of your pen into the wooden desk.

“Well, he’s an awesome dancer, so maybe you’ll win!” She suggests with a half-hearted smile. You can’t say you haven’t thought about that little bit.

“Maybe. Until then, I’ll just stare at Seungjin from afar.” Your cheeks flush at your own statement and you wiggle around like a little girl while Jihyun just laughs at your innocent little crush. You both exchange loaded glances when the object of your affection strolls into the room.

He notices you almost as soon as he walks in and gives you a toothy grin, his eye smile awakening the little butterflies in your stomach.

You forget about your Jongin problems immediately.

The rest of the day passes quickly and last period is almost over. Jihyun naps beside you while the teacher drones on about numbers and how calculus is a vital part of life. You roll your eyes and adjust the loose ear bud in your left ear.

You tap your pen on the wooden desk and bob your head to Big Bang’s song ‘Bad Boy’, staring out the open window and out over the schoolyard. From the second floor of the school you can clearly see the streets of Seoul surrounding the academy. The mountains lie just beyond the tips of the buildings and you find yourself lost in the beauty of the day.

Before you know it, the last bell of the day sounds. Students shoot out of their seats and out the door in a matter of seconds until only you and Jihyun are left in the classroom.

The other lifts her head off the desk and blinks at you. You stifle a laugh when you notice the huge red mark on her right cheek; she was probably sleeping on that side a little too long.

“Come on, sleepy head, time to go.” You say a quick goodbye to the teacher before dragging a drowsy Jihyun out of the classroom and into the crowded hallway.

After finding your lockers and dropping off books, the two of you continue out of the school and across the schoolyard.

Jihyun is telling a funny story about how some girl she can’t stand totally screwed up a song in her vocal class when you hear a male voice calling your name.

The schoolyard is pretty crowded with groups of friends chatting and exiting the school, so it makes it pretty difficult to locate the source of the voice. You squint a little and see an arm waving back and forth in a crowd.

Seungjin emerges from a group of girls and bows to them quickly before turning and jogging in your direction.

“Minhi!” He calls once again, waving to you with that adorable smile. The butterflies flutter in your tummy and your toes curl at his adorable face. It should be illegal to be that cute!

“Annyeong, Seungjin,” you say shyly as he approaches.

He comes to a stop a few feet away from you, not even out of breath, and pulls something out of his bag. He reaches his hand out to you and turns it over to open his palm, exposing a familiar little Pororo charm you could’ve sworn was on your backpack.

“I’ve been looking for you since second period,” he admits sheepishly as you take the charm from his hand, blushing a little when the tips of your fingers come in contact with the soft skin of his palm. It’s like baby skin! So soft!

“I can’t believe this fell off! Kamsahamnida, Seungjin! This little thing is really important to me!” Indeed, it is one of your most valued possessions. It’s the first gift Jihyun ever got for you. Your eyes tear up a little at the thought of losing it and, without thinking, you throw your arms around Seungjin and bury your face in his shoulder.

He doesn’t say anything, but you swear you can feel his heart thumping in his chest. Or maybe that’s just yours.

Beyond embarrassed, you break away from him and retreat a little behind Jihyun, who’s struggling to keep a normal expression. She’s gone beat red with trying to hold in her laughter.

“S-sorry about that, Seungjin,” you whisper, not daring to look into his eyes. You don’t even know what came over you. You probably look like such a freak right now.

You hear him chuckle and peak up through your bangs to see his cheeks flushed a light pink color and a huge smile on his face. “You’re very welcome, Minhi. Maybe you should lose things more often.”

Your eyes go wide at his statement and so do his. He didn’t mean to even say that! It kind of just slipped out.

Jihyun is a choking mess by this point.

“I-I’ll see you tomorrow, Minhi!” He blurts before spinning around and speed-walking over to a group of his friends. You hear hoots and hollers from them and can’t help but smile to yourself. Seungjin just indirectly admitted he liked the hug!

Jihyun finally bursts out laughing and your cheeks turn a bright, crimson red at her cackles. You glare at her playfully and grip the strap of your bag tightly, trying not to squeal and turn into a puddle of mush, yourself.

“You guys are too cute,” Jihyun gasps, clawing the air. She wipes a few stray tears from her eyes and straightens up, grabbing your hand in hers. “Come on, let’s go get some bubble tea to celebrate this momentous occasion!”

You roll your eyes at her statement and let out a tinkling laugh. Even with the Jongin situation this morning, you can’t help but feel that today was a really great day. And you might actually be able to bear these next two months.

Omo, so so so sorry for the long wait! I really hope this cute little toe-curling update is to your liking!

Is it bad that I felt embarassed writing this? I thought it was cute haha.

Anyway, thank you so much for being patient and not unsubscribing!

Please comment and upvote, and I'll try to update again on Thursday! 

Annyeong~!

**EDIT! I realized that I haven't introduced Kai as Kai yet, because I'm still using Jongin for the beginning, so I went through and changed "Kai" to "Jongin" throughout this chapter. Sorry if that confused you at all!**