[CONTENTID1]

thirty-six: winter dance

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[CONTENTID2]

[High school dances were never very appealing to Juyeon.]

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[CONTENTID3]

"So, I know the secret behind our Romeo and Juliet," Juyeon said over the table at breakfast, feeling ridiculously smug.

"You do?" Baekhyun laughed over his bowl of unappetizing blob-mush. It tasted like cereal. "Well, what are you waiting for? Give me the juicy gossip about the starstruck lovebirds."

"I will indeed," Juyeon said, nearly bouncing in her seat with the effort to not just blurt it all out. Exo hid smiles of amusement behind their hands.

"Alright, let's here it," Suho said, giving her an encouraging smile, and Juyeon immediately went for it, mouth running a mile a minute in her excitement.

"Okay, so, when Sangyoung first asked Yoona out, it was actually on a dare. Jun used to be good friends with him, and when they found out Yoona had a crush on him Jun dared him to go on a date with her. But he ended up falling madly in love with her anyway."

Kai was grinning. "So, when Sangyoung said they threatened him if he wouldn't help them cover up the evidence …"

"That's right. He and Jun had a falling out when Jun joined up with Taehyuk, but Jun still knew him, and he threatened to tell Yoona about the dare if he didn't help."

Sehun shook his head, completely unimpressed. Everyone else seemed interested, though, and Chanyeol leaned over the table to listen to her. "And why did they break up?"

"Oh, it was something unrelated―I think Sangyoung got caught cheating on a test and she was very angry that he did such a dishonest thing, and then all of Yoona's friends thought she could do better, and so they broke it off despite still liking each other. But Sangyoung didn't want her to know about the dare―he thinks she sees him as a cheater, he doesn't want her to see him as a bastard either."

"So that's how they got him to throw us off track," D.O said, shaking his head. "How ridiculous. And a waste of time."

"We should find a way to get them back together," Baekhyun said with evident glee.

D.O shot him an exasperated glare. "You just love meddling, don't you?"

"It's not meddling. It's gentle persuasion on both sides to unite a heartbroken couple for the greater good."

"Yeah. Meddling."

Juyeon opened to add to that, but at that moment she felt someone nudge her shoulder. She looked up to see Sumi standing over her.

"Come with me for a sec," she said, her piercing catching in the light as her eyebrows furrowed together. "I need to talk to you."

"Oh," Juyeon said dumbly in her confusion. Having Sumi approach her in the hall? And talking to her like this outside of their dorm room? This was … new. "I ― okay." She slid out of the bench. "I guess I'll see you guys later?"

Exo was staring back and forth between Juyeon and Sumi, nonplussed. Juyeon shrugged back. if I know.

She followed Sumi out of the dining hall, feeling curious