Christina's POV

As I walked backstage after my performance, I could hear the thundering of the crowd continuing on even after I had disappeared from the stage. I felt as if I was on a different planet- my mind was swirling and I could feel adrenaline rushing through my entire body. My backup dancers all looked just as ecstatic. All of our hard work, the painful and tiring hours of practice dedicated for this and the future performances, was paying off.

“You were amazing out there, Christina!” Junhui praised.

I grinned and high-fived him. “You were pretty hot out there yourself!” I turned to the rest of the crew and let out a loud cheer. “Good job guys! Oh my goodness, that was better than I expected. Thank you all for your hard work! This couldn’t have happened without you guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Naw, thank you, Christina! If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be here in the first place!” Ming playfully pushed me with his shoulder. Everyone else agreed.

When my company and I got together to plan my debut, and since my company is an American company, we had no clue who to ask to be my dancers. It was quite interesting- being part of an American company while being active in the Korean entertainment business. SM was kind enough to open one of its practice rooms and, after asking around, other companies offered their trainees as backup dancers.

My manager and I sat down together to choose dancers we were interested in, and, after we selected 8, we went and sat in during their practices at their respective companies. We ended up asking all 8 to join me, and they all agreed.

Our first practice was quite interesting. We were all strangers, for the most part.

Now we’re like a big family.

A knock came at the door while we rested and monitored the other performances. Eli’s head poked through and he broke into a smile when he saw me.

“Oh? Hey there,” I waved brightly at him.

He awkwardly stepped in and greeted the others in the room. I could feel my friends’ eyes traveling from me to Eli and back.

Eli cleared his throat. “Can I, um, talk to you outside?”

“Sure! I’ll be back soon, guys.” I could feel their gaze follow me out the door, and I knew they were suspecting something.

Since we were out in public, we had to play it cool. Eli and I kept a generous distance between ourselves.

“Congratulations on your debut in Korea,” his eyes twinkled. “I noticed the flowers in your waiting room. Looks like you have a lot of fans already!”

“Yeah,” I sheepishly rubbed my neck. “It was nice of them. I noticed UKISS sent me a bouquet, too.” I nudged him.

It was his turn to be embarrassed. “Yeah. They insisted. How was it? Being on stage in Korea.”

“Um, it’s what I expected, but, I mean, the thrill of being on the stage can never be fully expected. It’s something that people have to experience to really understand.”  

I noticed the playful look in his eyes. “What are you up to?”

He tugged my elbow. “Come here, I want to show you something. It’s on another floor though, so let’s use the stairs.”

He lead me to the stairs like he said, but once the doors closed behind us, he pulled me into a hug. “I’ve wanted to hug you all day,” he whispered into my ear. “But those darn cameras were in my way.”  

“Sneaky, sneaky,” I laughed. “I knew something was up.” I rested my chin on his shoulder.

We stayed like that for a few minutes before I pulled away. “Everyone’s going to be wondering where I went. I better go back.”

“You dance with so many guys,” he mumbled.

“Aw, looks like the boyfriend is jealous,” I teased. He grabbed my hand, squeezed it, and let go.

“You go first. I’m going to go say hi to some of the others before leaving. I’ll see you later?” Eli had a hopeful look in his eyes.

“Of course, silly. Give me a call!” I called over my shoulder as I exited the stairs.

When I arrived back in my waiting room, BAP was dancing on the screen. My backup dancers all gave me a knowing, pointed look.

“So where were you?” Ming raised his eyebrow and smirked.

“Hanging out with some friends,” I answered vaguely, knowing that they already guessed the truth. They knew me too well by now to tell when I was lying.

“I see, I see,” Junhui nodded his head slowly, teasingly. “We’ll just have to believe you on that one,” he stressed the word ‘believe’.

I rolled my eyes while everyone burst into laughter.

My manager walked in and the mood instantly turned serious as we began discussing tomorrow’s plans.

“We’re going on MusicCore tomorrow and afterwards, Christina, you’re going to a press conference that is going to be aired by MBC,” he announced.

I circled my finger at everyone. “All of us?”

My manager shook his head. “Nope, they only want you.”

“Well, they’re only going to get me if these guys can come with me,” I tilted my head.

My manager knew he wasn’t going to win this one. He sighed. “Fine, I’ll go talk to them. The rest of y’all prepare to go on a press conference, okay?”

The second he was out the door, everyone let out a loud cheer.

I grinned. I knew these guys had been chasing after their dreams for so long. They deserved all the positive media attention they could get.

Tomorrow was going to be so fun.

After the performances ended and everyone was called back to the stage, and after everyone left, I headed straight for SM’s building, where Eli was waiting for me.

He was sitting in my practice room, crossed legged, leaning back against his arms, and staring at the ceiling.

I pushed the door open. “Hey there.”

“Hey there,” he turned his head to look up at me. “I missed you.”

“You saw me like, an hour ago,” I laughed as I sat down beside him. He grabbed my ankles and pulled me closer to him.

“I know. I still missed you though. I kept thinking… one day you’re going to go back to America, right? Since that’s where your main activities are still going to be…” His voice trailed off.

I stared at our entwined fingers. “Yeah. Once these next couple Korean activities end-- the drama, the music promotions—I’ll probably have to go back to America for a while.”

We stayed silent for a little while, each lost in our own thoughts. I felt his grip on my hand tighten, and then he pulled me into a hug. I settled on the ground between his legs and rested myself against him.

We were both thinking about the future.