CHAPTER TWO

~*~

[January 15, 20XX – Day 1 of 100]

Donghae woke up early to fix himself. Of course he wanted to look presentable. Partly because, he wanted you to fall for him immediately, and another reason was that, he wanted Sojin to see how well he had become after her rejection.

Arriving at school, Donghae looked at the mirror one last time and fixed his hair. “This will be fun,” he thought. He stood outside and waited for you.

After 30 minutes, you came. Donghae was so annoyed for having to wait for so long yet he managed to put on a charming smile. “Hey,” he approached you.

You raised your eyebrows but immediately brought them down so as not to be rude. “Annyeong haseyo, Lee Donghae-ssi. What brings you here? Are you waiting for your friends?” You bowed politely.

“No, they’re already inside. I’m actually waiting for you,” he said, shortly after bowing. Your eyes widened, a clear sign of shock.

“Me? Why?” you asked him curiously. The two of you started to walk inside the campus, attracting many students. You mentally facepalmed yourself. “Great, now they’re going to spread gossips about us.”

“Our club’s dance instructor told me that we’re going to perform for a program on February 1,” Donghae started. You didn’t interrupt and let him continue. “He assigned me to choreograph the production, but according to him, we’re going to dance ballroom, specifically tango.” He looked at you and expected that you’d know where the conversation was going.

You eyed him curiously. Part of you knew what he was going to say next, but you didn’t want to assume. “Then?”

“So, um,” he bit his lower lip, and looked at the ground. “I was thinking, maybe you could be my partner?” he finally said. Your eyes grew big, you just couldn’t believe what he just said. “You can also help me choreograph the steps!” Donghae added frantically, afraid that you’d walk out and reject him, too.

You wanted to say “yes” the moment he asked you, but you figured it would look really bad if you agreed a moment too soon. You pretended to think for about a minute, and faced him. His face was full of anticipation and fear. He looked really cute, and you just wanted to pinch his cheeks but you managed to control yourself. “Um, sure.”

Donghae’s eyes widened. “Really?” You nodded and he smiled at you. “That’s great! So, I’ll see you after classes everyday starting on Monday?”

“I guess,” you flashed a warm smile before bidding goodbye. You headed to your first class, while Donghae proceeded to their practice room where the other members of Super Junior were waiting.

***

Donghae entered the room smiling really brightly. He plopped himself on a chair beside Siwon, who was reading an English newspaper.

“Ya Donghae-ah. Why are you smiling like that? We’re about to get blinded,” Heechul teased.

“I asked Eunji to be my partner in the ballroom dance,” Donghae proudly shared. Several members (like Kyuhyun, Youngwoon, Jongwoon, Sungmin, Ryeowook, Heechul, Hyukjae, Shindong, etc.) cheered and patted Donghae on his back.

“Wow Donghae, you’re really fast!” Hyukjae laughed.

“Of course. I would win the bet, I’m telling you. She’s so easy. I guarantee, after 100 days, she’ll go ‘boo hoo’,” Donghae casually said, twirling the pen in his hand.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Siwon threw the newspaper on the table and left the room, leaving his coffee unmoved. The members stared at his back, curious, but then went back to congratulating Hae.

“Guys,” Jungsoo started, “I really don’t think you should continue this.” The boys stared at him and waited for what he was going to say next. “Hearts aren’t something to be toyed with.”

“Come on, hyung. We’re just having fun!” Hyukjae laughed, putting an arm around Jungsoo’s shoulder. “It’s not like this is going to kill her.”

“It probably won’t kill her physically, yes, but it can kill her emotionally. Why do you have to do this? Why do you have to involve someone really innocent in a dirty plan like yours? You better stop this,” Jungsoo stated firmly. The boys frowned at him.

“Why are you being such a killjoy, hyung? Why don’t you just join us? Or if you don’t want to, maybe you can just support us. We’re your dongsaengs,” Shindong looked at Jungsoo, giving him puppy eyes, but Jungsoo didn’t budge.

“Yes, you all are my dongsaengs, that’s why I’m trying to correct you because what you’re doing is wrong.”

“Wrong? Having fun is wrong?” Youngwoon frowned.

“No, but playing with other people’s emotions is definitely wrong,” Jungsoo tried to explain.

“Um, hyungs?” Ryeowook butted in, “I think Jungsoo-hyung is right.”

Youngwoon faced Ryeowook, “Now you’re on his side?” He then turned to Jungsoo, “You know what, if you’re against this, then we’re not going to force you. But please shut that mouth of yours and stop lecturing us like this is some kind of deadly sin.”

Annoyed and offended, Jungsoo stood up. “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He turned his back towards the boys and started to walk away, shaking his head is disappointment, but paused after some steps. “Hearts shouldn’t be toyed with. Because when the heart itself learns to play, you might not be able to get its rhythm,” he said, not looking back.

The boys just looked at each other, shrugging, as they heard the door slam shut.

***

[January 16, 20XX – Day 2 of 100]

Donghae waited for you again that morning. You were about to think that he likes you, but you immediately erased that thought in your mind and tried to think that he was only doing that because of courtesy.

He accompanied you to your room, and after you bid goodbye, your classmates started teasing you. You blushed really hard, and this reaction satisfied your classmates.

“Hey Eunji!” You heard someone call your name. You looked around the room and saw three girls sitting near the air conditioning unit. You waved at them, smiling as you approached your friends. As soon as you sat down, they bombarded you with questions.

“Why are our classmates teasing you?” Hwang Yeonjeong, one of your friends, asked you. You smiled shyly while thinking of how to answer her question.

“Err, they saw me walking with a guy on my way here,” you blushed. The girls squealed. You wished that they won’t ask you who the guy is but unfortunately, luck wasn’t on your side.

“So who is the guy?” Yena asked, poking you on the side.

You blushed again, you could swear you looked like a tomato. “Um, Lee Donghae.”

Your friends squealed again, except for one girl.

Jung Sojin.

“Lee Donghae? The dancer guy?” she asked, her lips quivering.

“Yes. Why?” you asked her curiously.

“He– You– Are you two dating?” she stuttered. You could hear nervousness in her voice. You knew that Donghae courted Sojin but she turned him down. You never knew the real reason why, but you had a feeling.

“No! We’re just friends,” you waved your hands frantically. She smiled and nodded, and faced the other side.

You heard her sigh in relief. You wanted to believe that what you “heard” only came from your imagination but then reality hit you. Your feeling was confirmed.

You knew exactly why she turned him down.

***

Donghae put his bag on one of the chairs and sat on one comfortably. He looked around and noticed that they were incomplete.

“Ya Heechul-hyung, where are Jungsoo-hyung and Siwon-hyung?” he asked Heechul, who was updating his Instagram account.

“I don’t know,” Heechul shrugged, taking a selca.

“Um, Donghae-hyung, I think Jungsoo-hyung is mad at us,” Ryeowook told Donghae, his voice trembling.

“Why?”

“I tried to call him but he cancels it. I can tell because it rings once then it gets cut. Sometimes he doesn’t cancel it but then I only reach his voicemail.”

“Don’t be alarmed. He’s just being girly and sensitive and emotional and stuff because of what I said yesterday. He’ll get over it soon and realize that we have a point,” Youngwoon said coolly.

“Hyung, you were too harsh yesterday. You shouldn’t have told him that,” Jongwoon commented. Youngwoon gave him an icy stare. Jongwoon suddenly found his shoes interesting.

Donghae felt the awkward silence. He looked at his watch and waited for your dismissal.

When it was time, he got up from his seat. He muttered a goodbye and headed to your building.

***

You were fixing your things when suddenly, a girl in your class squealed. You and your friends were curious so you all looked at the door.

Standing at the entrance of the room was Lee Donghae. He was smiling at you, his backpack swung on his shoulder in a cool way. Your friends pushed you towards him, squealing in unison.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” you awkwardly greeted back.

“Eunji-ah, why don’t you introduce us to Lee Donghae-ssi over here?” Yena poked you again.

“Um, Donghae-ssi, these are my friends. This is Hwang Yeonjeong,” Yeonjeong bowed formally, and Donghae returned it, “this is Choi Yena…” Yena bowed politely, “Hello.”

You looked at the girl beside Yena. “And this is,” you took a deep breath before continuing, “Jung Sojin.” You tried to see Sojin’s expression but she had her head down. She bowed awkwardly, and you the smirk on Donghae’s face.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Donghae said, his expression changing. He smiled sweetly at Yena and Yeonjeong, then turned to face you. “Monday, don’t forget,” he pinched your cheeks. You blushed, but you managed to say, “Yes.” He smiled, patted your hair/head, and left you with your friends, blushing.

“Monday? Mind to explain?” Yeonjeong teased you while jumping up and down.

“Nothing! We just have a dance practice,” you laughed.

“H-hey guys, I better go now. I’m not feeling very well,” Sojin said before walking away. “Take care and get some rest, okay?” you said but you were not sure if she heard you.

“I’ll call you two later. Bye girls!” Yeonjeong hugged the two of you and left. Yena also left with her boyfriend, Zhang Yixing.

You stared at Sojin’s back as she walked away, swearing to yourself that you saw her shoulders up and down, as if she was crying.

~*~

A/N:

Happy birthday Lee Donghae! /throws confetti everywhere/

This chapter isn't interesting but I updated because it's Donghae's birthday!~ I'm not sure when I can post the next update because my exam days are coming and I have to prepare. T_T So please don't hate me if I can't post the update next week! :c

Thanks for bothering to read this, anyway. I love you all! I hope we can be friends. :^)