Chapter 11: Minhyuk’s POV

            “Yun-Ae-sshi, we’re going to get dinner right now. Do you want to come with us?” I asked.

            “I’m okay. Thank you though,” She said before she began dancing again.

            “Minhyuk hyung, come on,” U-Kwon said, who was already halfway out the door.

            Sighing, I followed him out of the practice room and went down to the lobby to meet up with the others.

            “Where’s the new dancer?” Jiho asked once he saw that Yun-Ae wasn't with us. 

            "Yeah, I really wanted to see her," Jihoon added. 

            "She could have left before we came down," Taeil pointed out. 

            “She's still practicing upstairs,” I said.

            “What? Did you even invite her to come with us?” Jaehyo asked.

            “She said she wasn’t hungry,” U-Kwon shrugged as we all exited the entertainment building together.

            "Hey hyung, what time is it?" Kyung asked once we were finished with dinner.

            When I went to get my phone out of the pocket I usually kept it in, I didn't find it.

            "Shoot," I hissed as I continued to search the other pockets of my jeans and the pockets of my sweatshirt.          

            "What's wrong?" Jaehyo asked.  

            "I think I left my phone back in the practice room," I said as I rechecked the pockets. “I thought I was forgetting something when I left,"

            "Do you want me to drop you off at the building so you can look for it?" Manager hyung offered. "We're headed that way anyways," 

            "Yes. Thanks hyung," I said.  

            "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Jihoon asked nervously.

            "I'll be fine," I reassured him. 

            “Alright," Manager hyung nodded. "And if you find it, call me and I'll come and get you," 

            "Thanks," I said. 

            When the road manager got to the building, I thanked him and got out of the van. Pulling my hood over my head, I then headed to the bulidling. 

            Once I was on the right floor, I saw the lights on in a practice room down the hall.

            I found Yun-Ae dancing in front of the mirror. She would go for a few seconds before she made a mistake and went back to the beginning.

            After watching her do that a few times, she let out a loud sigh and sat down on the hardwood floor, burying her face in her hands.

            Seeing her sitting there, so tired and frustrated with herself, reminded me of how I felt all of those nights before Block B's debut when I was dancing until the early hours of the morning every day for months. 

            "You know, this dance is a lot easier to do with a partner," I said as I walked over and took a seat next to her.

            “Minhyuk-sshi, you scared me,” She said as she put a hand to her chest and let out a sigh of relief.

            “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” I apologized. “What are you doing here still?”

            “I need to practice,” Yun-Ae sighed. "You saw how I was today," 

            "It's your first day," I reminded her. 

            "I know. But I still feel bad for messing up so much today. It was like I was letting everyone down because I wasn't getting the routine. Especially U-Kwon-sshi," She added as she took her hair out of the messy ponytail it was in and ran a hand through it.  

            “Ignore him. He's just stressed. Our unit group promotions begin in six weeks and he's concerned that you won't learn the routine in time because you just got hired," I said. "But he's a really nice guy when you get to know him," 

            "Um...I'm just wondering. But, is there a reason why I was hired so late?" Yun-Ae then asked. "I mean, it just seems like Ara's been here for a while,"

            "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're a replacement. The first dance partner I had quit and the last one I had can't perform with us anymore," I explained. "So the company decided to hold auditions and you were selected," 

            "Oh," She replied quietly. 

            "If it makes you feel better, you were my favorite out of the fifteen finalists," I said. 

            “Thank you Minhyuk-sshi," Yun-Ae said sheepishly. 

            "How about we drop the formalities? I mean, we'll be working together for a while so you know, I don't see why not," I suggested. "What year were you born in?"

             "1992," She replied.

            1992. She's the same age as Jiho, Kyung, and U-Kwon.

            "I was born in 1990 so I'm your oppa," I grinned. "Um, so you know, the dance we're doing, it's a lot easier to do it with another person. Do you want to run through it with me?" I quickly offered, changing the subject after a patch of awkward silence between us.  

            "I'd like that Minhyuk...oppa," Yun-Ae nodded. 

            Then, the corners of her lips turned upwards into a small, shy smile. She looked down at the dance floor and then chuckled softly. She's adorable. 

            "Come on," I said, getting up first before I extended my hand to help her up. 

            We began to take apart the chorus together. Here and there, I had to teach her a new move or correct what she was doing, but it only took her a few minutes to have that part of the routine down pat. 

            Now I was teaching Yun-Ae how to move a bit after I did so it looked like I was controlling her heartbeat, giving the impression that she was a puppet and I was the master.

            “You’re really good,” I said, slightly out of breath from the last run through we did.

            “Not really, but thank you,” She smiled as she bowed her head.

            “Hey this has nothing to do with anything but have you seen an Android lying around?” I asked, suddenly remembering that the reason why I came back to the practice room in the first place was to find my phone. 

            “I can help you look for it,” She said before walking around the room with me. "What does it look like?"

            "White, kind of like an iPhone with the camera in the wrong place," I explained. “I found it!” I said happily as I spotted it next to the speakers.

            “Oh, what time is it?” Yun-Ae asked.

            “It’s almost midnight,” I said when I looked at the clock at the top of the screen and the fifteen new text messages I got from Zico and manager hyung.

            “I’m sorry for making you stay longer than you should have,” Yun-Ae apologized with a bow.

            “No it’s alright. I’d probably spend this much time trying to find it anyways,” I laughed. “Hey, I can walk you home. Do you live around here?”

            “I appreciate the offer but you should probably get going too. Your group members much be worried,” Yun-Ae said. “I’ll be going first,” She bowed before rushing out of the room.

            “But it’s not good for a girl to walk alone at night,” I called after her, but no response came afterwards.