“Sehun! Jongin!”

Both pairs of eyes widened and turned to face the owner of the voice.

“Please pay attention during class,” I stated, a bit annoyed. I hated when people talked while I was trying to teach. “Better yet, why don’t you guys demonstrate a simulated conversation for the class?”

Sehun and Jongin groaned and slumped in their seats at the same time, making me chuckle.

“Fine, but next guys, I’m not letting you guys off the hook.” I turned around to face the board and continued the lesson as planned.

Sehun didn’t know why that particular flashback of Jongin came into his mind, but he knew it must have had some sort of connection with Jongin’s current worry. Sehun could see it in his eyes. Was Jongin meeting a new girl? Nah… If he did, Sehun would have found out before anyone else. Did that new girl know ssaem for some reason? Was that why Jongin was so curious why he was with Eunbi-ssaem? Sehun began thinking deeply and just stared at the front of the classroom. As he ruled out any possible love interests from Jongin’s list, he paused. Something smelled fishy…

“Ssaem! Are you busy tonight?”

I looked up to see the face of the voice, and smiled. “Not really. It’s a Friday, so I don’t have much homework due tomorrow.”

Jongin’s eyes lit up a bit, but he tried to act nonchalant about everything. “I’ll walk you home then,” he said casually.

“What? It’s fine. You go home early and sleep!” I insisted.

“Nah it’s ok. I can sleep in tomorrow. Besides, you never know when you-know-who will show up,” Jongin suddenly whispered.

I knew exactly what he was talking about. Speaking of which, those gangsters haven’t really shown their faces for a while now. I hoped that we were out of their hit list for good.

“I’ll wait for you outside, ssaem,” Jongin called.

“Are you sure?” I asked, but before he could reply, Jongin had already left.

I sighed, chuckling. As I packed up my bags, I suddenly gasped, and mentally slammed my face into the wall.

“Aish!!! I forgot to give Sehun back his coat!!!” I growled. I sighed loudly, and folded Sehun’s coat neatly and put it into my laptop bag. I would have to give it to him next time.

“Wahh the weather is getting colder these days,” I said as I rubbed my hands.

“Yeah…” Jongin replied. I looked up to see if something was wrong, but his face showed no signs of pain or discomfort. I shrugged off the short remark, and continued walking.

“Mmmm…. It smells really good….” Since it was getting late, the night food stands were out and smelled amazing. Without knowing it, I had begun to slowly migrate towards a particular food stand filled with fried, yummy food.

Suddenly, I felt someone grab my arm from behind pulling me back. I lost my balance from the sudden gesture, and ended up leaning on the person’s chest.

“Yo, ssaem. Where do you think you’re going?” I looked up, only to quickly look down. Our faces were uncomfortably close together. One wrong move and I would have punched myself in the face for my stupid mistake. I awkwardly pulled away from the person, and brushed my skirt.

“Sorry Jongin. I guess I’m just really hungry..” I began to walk back on the main sidewalk, but I felt Jongin’s hand on my arm again, this time, dragging me towards the food stand.

“Sit.”

“W-what? Jongin-“

“Ssaem, I said sit. Let’s eat.”

“Are you kidding me? You’ve got to get home!”

“I have time to kill. So hurry up and come here and eat!”

I stopped struggling and was dragged by Jongin to the food stand, where the aroma of amazing food flooded my nose. I closed my eyes and took a deep sniff, smiling. I loved food. More than boys- err what?

We sat down and ordered a plate of tteokbokki and soondae. It was served right away, and I immediately dug in, gorging myself with food.

“Oh.. Jongin, aren’t you going to have some?” I asked.

“No. It’s ok..” he replied. He seemed to be looking at something in the distance instead, and I tried to see what he was staring at. When I traced his eyesight, I landed on one sign.

Galaxy Chicken.

As a child from a family of chicken fryers, I knew which chicken shops were good and which were not. My parents run a family-owned business, so they only have one store, but in my opinion, I think they fry the best chicken in the world. 

“Do you like chicken?” I asked smugly.

“W-what w-who said that?!” Jongin suddenly turned around, looking flustered.

“I like chicken too. I ate it all the time when I was a child.”

“…yeah… I like chicken.. but my parents don’t really let me eat it much because they say it’s unhealthy.”

“Are you kidding me? With the amount of exercise you do, you could eat a whole fried chicken a day and still be healthy,” I assured him. Suddenly, I froze, and turned around to face Jongin.

“Dance……. Don’t you have dance practice right now?!?!” I asked, my eyes wide open and worried.

“Oh…huh? Yeah… but it’s ok. I can just practice later,” Jongin said.

“Oh my… I am so sorry Jongin. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. First you offer to walk me home and then you stay with me while I eat tteokbokki…..” I felt really bad, because he wasn’t my close friend or anything, and he wasn’t really getting anything out of staying with me. I liked his company, but I wasn’t entirely sure if it was mutual.

“Just finish the food first,” Jongin said, staring at the half-finished plates.

“No it’s ok, we can leave now,” I said as I reached into my back for my wallet to pay.

“No, ssaem, it’s ok. I can manage this much,” Jongin said as he pulled out the money before I could.

“But Jongin…”

“Ssaem, I said it’s totally fine.” Jongin smiled, and I was so confused.

Why was Jongin being so freakin’ nice to me all of a sudden? Maybe his head got banged up during the fight… I don’t know.. But there was one thing I was sure about: I owed him big time.

“T-thanks Jongin…. I’ll pay you back next time, I promise,” I said.

“There’s no need to.”

“No, I will. Don’t worry. I will,” I assured him. I hated feeling in debt to people.. My stupid pride..

We began walking again through the busy street. Crowds and crowds of people were hustling and bustling in the streets, and the flashing lights and street music contributed to the overall city-feel.

After a few more moments of walking, we entered a less busy street with fewer people and virtually no music.

“Hey ssaem…”

“Yes?”

Jongin rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the floor.

“Ssaem… Do you want to come to dance practice with me?” Jongin then turned around to look at me, waiting for my response. Since he was wearing his signature snapback, I couldn’t really see his eyes clearly, but I could tell they were flickering with hope.

“Oh.. Jongin… I would love to, but I can’t dance…”

“Oh I meant do you want to watch me dance?” Jongin rephrased.

“Oh…. OHH…. Sure.. I mean, why not? As long as I won’t disturb you,” I replied. I mean, I really didn’t have anything to do that night, and Dara was probably working on her essay right about now, so I would have to be super quiet in the dorm anyways. Besides, who knew when Jongin would be this nice again?

“You won’t, don’t worry,” Jongin said with a smile. “It’s this way, right around the corner. The practice room, I mean.”

I followed him down a dark alleyway and through some sketchy shortcuts, but we finally arrived at the practice building. To my surprise, it didn’t look as fancy as I thought it to be. Maybe Jongin’s huge mansion had influenced my image of him…

We entered the building, and lo and behold, the room was just as simple as it had looked from the outside. The practice room had mirrors on all four walls, with a music player and speakers surrounding the walls. The lights were bright, and the floor was hardwood. Nothing too fancy shmancy about this place.

“So, this is where you practice every night?” I asked, peering around the room.

“Yep.. Not too shabby. It’s a great place to practice at night because not many people around here come during the night,” Jongin explained. “Noona, here, catch!” Jongin said before flinging his jacket and hat at me.

“Hey- oomph.” I caught both pieces of clothing but the jacket ended up covering my face. As I took a big breath to protest about calling me noona again, I paused, because Jongin’s scent flooded my nose. Instantly, I went through mini flashbacks inside of my mind to other times when I could smell Jongin’s distinct scent. Good thing the jacket could cover my blushing.

“Noona, you ok?” Jongin asked.

“Oomph- yeah! Sorry,” I said as I snapped out of my flashback and took the jacket out of my face, folding it and putting it down beside me.

Suddenly, music began to play, and Jongin went to the middle, looking at himself in the mirror. I sat down near the side of the wall, and wrapped my arms around my legs, watching for his next move.

When Jongin danced, he transformed into a whole different being. His eyes focused on a new goal, and his concentration was intense. His passion for dancing ultimately showed through the way he moved his body so elegantly yet so powerfully. In short, he was amazing at what he did.

My jaws opened wide as I watched him dance his heart out. My eyes couldn’t get off of him; he was just too mesmerizing. It’s always nice to see a person do what they love.

Before I knew it, almost half an hour had passed, and I had been watching Jongin the whole time. Jongin eventually got a bit tired, and stopped the music to take a quick water break. He came over to where I was sitting, and sat down himself, gulping some water. He was panting heavily already, and his clothes were almost drenched in sweat. Beads of sweat were even glistening on his forehead, showing the dedication and hard work he had put into his passion.

“Jongin….” I began, looking at him. When Jongin turned around, our eyes met full on, and they did not quiver. “You are an amazing dancer. Don’t stop, ever,” I said.

“Thanks..” Jongin replied, trying to manage a smile. He then turned around to drink some more water. Before he stood up to begin practicing again, however, he looked straight ahead, blankly.

“Noona… Do you want to know the reason why I fought Sehun that day?”

The room was silent, and the bright lights suddenly felt even brighter.

“……….what?” I asked, speechless.

“I said, do you want to know why I beat up Sehun at the hakwon?”

I had been dying to know, but the tone of Jongin’s voice expressed sorrow and guilt, and I felt bad prying those emotion-laced memories out of him.

“It’s up to you, Jongin. Do what you want to do, but either way, I’ll try to help,” I said, looking at him with wistful eyes. Jongin looked at me, studying my face. His own facial expression remained motionless.

“Noona…”

Sorry for a shorter update guys! It was originally supposed to be longer, but I wanted to update something today... so I wrote this real quick today.. Please be understanding of the more boring chapter~ I promise I'll add some more action soon! anyways, exams are almost over!!

P.S. Overdose is so good~ I can't get it out of my head... Kai looks especially good hoohoo! 

Thanks for reading guys!! <3 Your support truly motivates me to continue to write~