It happens too fast for him to absorb it. The only thing he remembers is being whisked away by a sea of pink. All of them cheering, screaming and pushing him towards the bright lights “We’ve won Minhyuk! Great job” he hears.

Microphone pushed towards his hand, forced to grasp the object, there’s a trophy being presented to him. He freezes - collects himself quickly, because that’s what they’ve been taught. He speaks “I’d like to thank my team members for working so hard with me today; in future I’ll work even harder!”

That’s it, two seconds of fame for twenty two hours of hard work. He watches the confetti fall, and the crowds gather. Everyone wearing their pink uniform with the letter D, strapped to their chest, hugging, embracing and cheering. Everyone’s happy, he’s happy, his team is too, his parents probably all the more when they watch this, but Minhyuk realises he could be happier.

“Good job!” Jihoon wraps his arm around him, tousling his hair, pulling him into a winning hug. He hasn’t stopped yet, not to find that one familiar face he really wants to see. He catches the flash of orange, and a bit of blonde.

“Minhyuk!” Jiyoon shouts, or rather squeals into his ear “Good job!”

“It was a team effort” he lets her take him away, further away from the crowd on the floor, closer towards an even bigger crowd of screaming girls. He stops, waves a bit and kisses his medal for show. He bows and throws a few imaginary hearts in their direction. Then again he’s carried off his feet by his own band members who found their way downstairs.

“Does this mean you’re paying for dinner tonight?” Ilhoon butts in, hair swooped to the side, grinning as he wraps his arm around, carrying him away from the crowd.

+

They’re backstage now; some sprawled over the floor, others on the chairs and tables. Everyone’s tired. This whole act was tiring. Minhyuk wants to find her backstage because he can. Where no eyes are on them and no one will out them for being who they were – two people in love.

“Good job!” she slaps him a bit hard on the back

“Al-” he stops, greeted by the younger, albeit taller girl in orange.

“Yooyoung” he smiles “What are you doing here?”

“We’re on our way out, I just wanted to congratulate you!” she smiles, her eyes like crescents

“Where’s Alice?”

“Joohee unnie?” Yooyoung places a finger to her chin “I’m not sure! The last time I saw her she was still outside in the stadium” she shrugs and skips towards the other girls.

He hands the trophy over to Jihoon, and picks up his feet. “Where are you going?”

“I left something- out there!” he smiles, feet plodding, unable to stand in place. He pushes past the sea of people walking towards the exit, avoiding some who want to talk to him, others who are still congratulating him. Bursting through the crowd he stumbles forward into the empty stadium. There’s no cameras, no persons, well except one.

“As always Miss Song, you’re last...” he speaks to her with forced formality.

She pauses, peers through the dimness to see the person talking to him. She laughs, he does too. Arms tucked away behind his back, he clip-clops his feet towards her. They look at each other; they look around, certain that there are no strangers around she leaps towards him. Hair flying towards his face, she hugs him, tight “Congratulations... You clever boy” she smirks, tousles his hair and plants a kiss on his cheek.

“Is that all?” he pulls her away, almost disappointed.

“Why?” she’s surprisingly oblivious, Minhyuk thinks, for Song Joohee.

He scratches his head and sighs “What are you doing out here?”

“I dropped something” she remembers again, fingers running across her neck, searching the ground in almost complete darkness. There are a few things scattered all over the floor, mostly rubbish, confetti among other things he doesn’t really want to know. “My necklace...” she says nervously “The one you got me”

She can feel her stomach churn at the guilt “Silly... Why would you wear it to an event like this?”

Alice pouts, “It’s not like I get to wear it all the time... and plus you were coming...” she frowns, fingers scrunching up the bottom of her shirt.

“Well where did you drop it?” his fingers trace down her arms and find her fingers. They interlace with hers and he clasps her hand tightly. She looks around, ignoring his fingers running across her knuckles, or how he places both their hands into the pocket of his jacket. “They’re freezing...” he utters, trying his best to warm it up.

“I think when I was running...”

He chuckles and she’s quick to shoot him a glare “I participated... that’s all that matters”

“I saw you...” he grins, mentioning the topic again

“You were doing archery, how?”

“You underestimate my third eye Song Joohee” he laughs.

By now they’re already half way around the stadium, walking, strolling rather, “I was cheering for you too – did you see me?”

He did in fact. She was standing next to Ara, arms wrapped around her friend’s waist, hiding behind her tiny frame whilst resting her head on her shoulder. Her voice was unmistakeable; besides it was the only one he really wanted to hear shouting ‘Lee Minhyuk, if you don’t win you’re dead’ (How loving)

“No” he lies “I didn’t”

“That’s right, you were too busy paying attention to the cheers from your other girlfriends”

“Do it for me, so I can see it”

She scoffs “Watch it when the show’s broadcasted”

Minhyuk pouts, and whines in the manliest way, well as manly as whining is “Sweetie” he calls her “Honey” he pouts “Baby”. He clears his throat and looks around “Jjoohee-ah”

Alice finds it ridiculous how her knees buckle, just a tiny bit when he calls her by her real name. She stops and pulls her hand out from his pocket, places him at an arms distance in front of her. She recites the song lyrics in her head, with a little tweaking of her own.

“Hey Minhyuk you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind” she can feel her two cheeks turning a darker shade of red. He watches her recall the choreography, whilst trying to remember the words in English. She turns, pauses and Minhyuk knows she’s forgotten it already. But he claps anyways.

“If I saw that I probably would’ve done even better” he smiles at his eye-rolling girlfriend.

“Well maybe you can help me quickly find the necklace before my manager, or yours, come for our heads”

Truth be told, Alice had almost forgotten what she was doing in the first place. Somewhere between Minhyuk holding her hand, Minhyuk teasing her and Minhyuk lovingly calling her by her real name, Alice wished that they could be like any other couple. That they could walk on the streets and casually hold hands, that dream dates, were really just dates, that in a few minutes she wouldn’t be whisked away to another event, not knowing when she’d see him next.

“You’re never going to find it; it’s too dark in here”

 Alice frowns, and kicks aside a few loose items, “Not if you don’t help me”

Minhyuk walks over and sits down beside her, observing her face. He can see the fatigue that plagues her, the one that hides in the bags beneath her eyes, or the cracks of her lips. “Stop, babo” he holds her hand

“I have to find it...”

“Stop”

“If you’re not going to help...”

“Stop” he squeezes her tighter “Please”

He sighs, climbing to his feet “If I don’t find it, who will?”

“It’ll probably appear in lost and found”

“What if it doesn’t?”

“Then... I’ll buy you a new one”

“I’m not fond of you wasting your money on me like that”

“I’m not wasting anything, you’re worth it... every cent – every dime – everything” he caresses her cheeks, with his hands running down her neck, fingers intertwining with her hair.

It’s still, and almost quiet with the exception of the noise coming from the locker rooms. She inches closer to him, fingers working their way up his waist, their lips meet. She moves to let him in, only then does she realise how much the stress, the distance, and the situation pertaining to their relationship upset her.

“I love you, you know that right?” he smiles, forehead pressed against hers

“Yeah, I love you too. I love you...” she smiles, hand caressing his cheek

“Joohee unnie!” Ara’s voice calls to her from afar

“I’m here!” Alice shouts

“Were you looking for your necklace?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t find it” she squints at the figure ascending from the well lit area

“You asked me to hold onto it for you, remember?”

Minhyuk laughs, and pushes her playfully “You would forget something like that”

Alice smirks, and shakes her head. “I guess I have to go then” she sighs, defeated.

“Don’t overwork yourself, ok?” he hugs her tightly

It wasn’t a date at the amusement park; it wasn’t their dream date in the Maldives either. They didn’t have photos to keep, or anything they bought to keep as a reminder. But it was a date neither of them would forget.

+

The car ride was quiet, but the nice kind. The one where no one has to talk, or anyone wants to either. They were tired from the day, and as if it wasn’t bad enough that they were actually exerting effort (more so than usual) as well. Alice sits in the car, the one right next to the window, because she likes the view.

She glances down when her phone flashes.

You’re the best prize I’ve ever had.

She laughs to her self

Gross... I love you too, stupid :)