The warm autumn sun shone into my face as I glared at Henry. Narrowing my eyes, I stared him down as he glared back with just as much force. I took a step forward. He tried doing the "bring it on" face, but burst out into laughter instead. I quickly followed suit and soon we were giggling like little children. 

 

"Okay let's settle this like how Korean people do it, rock paper scissors" he suggested, trying to calm down.

 

I agreed while holding back another wave of laughter. We were standing beside a small cart that sold ice cream cones off the side of the road, while battling out who would pay. I took a off my cone before saying,

 

 "Rock..paper...scissors!"

 

Henry groaned as he realized he lost and turned to the vendor to pay. Satisfied, I skipped happily beside him as we made our way back to the SMent building.

 

As he ate his ice cream, he pulled his hood further down and adjusted his sunglasses. 

 

"Does that really work?"I asked. 

 

"No, but it's better than walking around with a name tag on my back."he casually said.

 

I pretended to be annoyed and shoved him gently, making him smear the ice cream on his chin. Laughing while apologizing, I was pushed back and I promised to find him a napkin once we got back to the practice room. We continued in comfortable silence, as we walked.

 

Ever since the "bed" incident,as we called it, Henry had taken to befriending me saying that he had nobody else to speak in English with. He was friendly and silly, ignoring the fact that I had not been very nice to him when we first met. Often, we would talk about the things we missed about home, and I was glad for his company because it helped me forget my homesickness and my worries for my dad. Henry had never pushed me about why I was here for so long, but I knew he was curious. 

 

We strolled down the street with the sun warming our backs until the SM building came into sight. A small gathering of schoolgirls crowded around the entrance but kept their distance from the door as they waited excitedly for a glimpse of their favorite celebrities. At the same time, Henry and I spotted them and ducked behind a nearby tree. Slowly, I peered out and checked to see if anybody had seen us. 

 

"All good"

 

I said to him as he pulled the drawstrings of his hood until only a small part of his face showed. I cocked an eyebrow and asked,

 

"So how are we going to get inside?" 

 

"Hmm..I think there's a door at the back but we have to run really fast to avoid the fans. Usually, I wouldn't have to use the back door but.."

 

I pointed to myself, and nodded,"Gotcha."

 

On the count of three, we crept out from behind the tree and sprinted to the next closest tree before breaking out into a full out run. I followed him as he ran a big loop around the side of the building to the back. The sound of girls screaming and cheering in their high pitched voices drove me to speed up and I quickly glanced behind me to check. It didn't seem like anybody saw us, but I was still worried. With nobody trailing us, Henry and I slowed to a jog once we reached the back door. Panting lightly, he typed in the passcode, swung it open, and walked inside.

 

The metal door closed gently behind me and I basked in the wonderful feeling of air conditioning. The cool air crawled up my hot back and legs and I tucked the hair that had come loose from my ponytail behind my ear. I looked ahead to see Henry disappear around the corner. Ugh, whatever happened to male chivalry? I called out his name as I continued down the hallway. The sound echoed off the walls and there was no reply.  I checked the corner cautiously before turning it to see if he was going to jump out at me but there was no sign of him. Nobody was there. 

 

"..Henryyy.. This isn't funny.." I cautiously raised my voice. 

 

The hairs on the back of my neck prickled and I felt like he was just waiting to scare me. I continued down the eerily empty hall and up the stairwell. Still no Henry. I crept through the second floor until I heard something. Music? It was coming from the room at the end of the hallway and I could faintly hear the bass pounding. Relaxing, I smiled slightly and thought,

 

"Wow, I being such a scaredy cat! Can't believe I was even worried, he was just wanting to start practicing early."

 

I casually walked over to the shut door, pressed the handle down and pushed it open. It swung into the room and the music blasted freely out, something upbeat and catchy. The heavy bass throbbed through the speakers and as I caught a glimpse of the person in the practice room, I could see it wasn't Henry. He was tall and slender but with an lithe athletic build. His body moved smoothly to the beat, the obviously practiced choreography displayed in the wall length mirror. Focused, he didn't notice my presence and I watched quietly, entranced by the dance. I stood by the door, not wanting to interrupt. A few minutes passed, and I decided I had been there long enough, so I backed through the entrance. His dark brown eyes flicked up and caught mine in the mirror as I stepped out and closed the door. I turned around and saw Henry jogging towards me. Smiling, we called at the same time,

 

"I've been looking all over for you!"

 

As I closed the distance between us, I faintly noticed that there was no longer music coming from that room at the end of hall. It was quiet and still, and I felt like something was missing. I couldn't get the image of the way he moved out of my head. He had looked so confident and immersed in the moment, I was drawn in without even knowing it. 

 

Henry playfully pushed me to walk forward and as he steered me around the corner, I glanced back and saw the dancer leaning out of the room with his gaze locked on me. Perspiration dotted his brow and his shirt clung to him, his hand relaxed on the door handle. I finally tore my gaze away as I rounded the corner and he was out of sight. But I wondered if it was just my imagination, or did I see a hidden smile in that last glimpse?

 

 

Ahh sorry for not updating sooner!

Hope you enjoyed this little bit!