Chapter 17: Minhyuk’s POV

            “Hey,” I said, greeting Yun-Ae with a hug when she entered the practice room.

            “Hi oppa,” She said as I felt her arms wrap around my waist, which made me smile.

            “Are you alright?” I asked, putting my hands on her shoulders.

            “Yeah. Sorry about that last night,” Yun-Ae apologized quietly, looking down at the floor to avoid my eyes.

            “As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters,” I reassured her.

            “Where’s U-Kwon and Ara unnie?” Yun-Ae asked as she looked around the room after realizing that neither of them were here.  

            “Something came up in U-Kwon's family, so he’s going to be out for the day and Ara called in sick this morning,” I explained.

            I didn’t really have to call her in for rehearsal but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to spend time with her alone. 

            "So, are you ready to get started?" I asked. 

            "Yeah," She nodded with a smile. 

            “That was good,” I said, trying to catch my breath after running through the routine for what seemed like the hundreth time today.

            “Yeah,” Yun-Ae nodded.

            While I took a bit of a break, Yun-Ae continued to practice. She wouldn’t take her eyes off of the mirror as she did the dance step over and over again.

            “I’m hungry,” I said. “Let’s go get dinner,”

            “Okay. Let me just go through this step one last…” Yun-Ae tried to bargain.

            “Stop dancing,” I said as I set my hands on her shoulders to try and get her to stop. “Let’s go to dinner,”

            “Fine,” She sighed.

            “So what do you want to eat?” I asked as we walked to the elevator together.

            “Doenjang jjigae,” She said with a teasing smile.

            “Really, what do you want to eat?” I chuckled.

            “Naengmyun," Yun-Ae said.

            "I know just the place," I replied as I pressed the down button for the elevator. 

            “Lee Minhyuk?” The ahjumma at the entrance of the shop gasped.

            “Annyeonghaseyo,” I said happily as Yun-Ae and I bowed hello to her.

            “Is this your girlfriend?” The ahjumma asked.

            “No, I’m just a friend of his,” Yun-Ae explained.

            I wish it was more than that.

            “I’m guessing you come here often?” Yun-Ae asked. “The ahjumma seems to know you very well,”

            “Yeah, I came here all the time in high school and before my debut with my mentor,” I nodded.

            “So, are you excited for the unit group debut?” Yun-Ae asked while we waited for our food to come.

            “Yeah,” I said with a half-hearted smile. 

            It wasn't long ago when I realized that my time left with Yun-Ae was now very limited. We were going to be promoting in our unit groups for a month and a half. And once promotions were over, I wouldn’t need a dance partner anymore.

            Would I even see her again after this is all over?

            “What about you?” I asked.

            “I'm excited," She said. "I just hope that I'll be ready in time,"

            "We still have two weeks," I reminded her. 

            "I know," She sighed. "But I'm still making so many mistakes. Half of the time, my timing is off or my arm isn't angled the right way or," 

            "We still have time to fix that," I said, taking her hand in mine and giving it a slight squeeze to reassure her. 

            “Two orders of mul naengmyun,” The ahjumma said as she came over with the tray.

            I realized that my fingers were still intertwined with Yun-Ae’s. When I saw the look on the ahjumma’s face, the two of us quickly pulled our hands apart and looked down at the table.

            “Thank you,” The both of us said, still a little flustered from what had just happened.

            “Enjoy,” The ahjumma chuckled as she set the bowls down in front of us.