**

The hall was still filled with many people; talking, laughing, socializing, and just having a good time really. The excitement after the performance was still buzzing in the air. Everyone was honestly in merry spirits. Add to the fact that Christmas was just around the corner, clearly many were already feeling the holiday joy. Chorong was definitely feeling it too.

She had just come back after her long talk with Joonmyeon and honestly, she hasn’t felt better – or more so relieved. She was happy, extremely and tremendously happy in fact. The pianist even felt like belting out to a random song – she was that happy.

Chorong felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, or a piece of thorn had been pulled out from her chest, eventually letting her breathe with ease again. A gleeful smile finally appeared on her beautiful face, delight and contentment surging within her.

The romantic relationship she had with Joonmyeon might have ended, but they agreed to still be friends. She even agreed to going to his engagement party on Christmas Eve. She was glad they ended on a good note. She might have lost a lover, yet she still has a great friend beside her.

Speaking of lover, Chorong was trying to find the person she hoped would finally become hers.

“Have you seen Luhan oppa?” the pianist asked Eunji and Baekhyun. The two were by the food table, talking and teasing each other. “I saw him with Director Jung earlier,” Baekhyun commented, nodding his head towards the musical director. Chorong craned her neck and met with the director’s gaze. He was with his fiancée, Director Seo. She smiled at the both of them but eventually looked away after not seeing the vocal major. A frown immediately made its way on her face.

“I saw him leave,” Eunji then said. Chorong turned to her and tilted her head to the side. “He left?” she asked, a tad confused. The female vocal major nodded her head. “He went out after escaping all the people congratulating him,” she told her. “It seemed like he was going to the gardens,” she added, shrugging her shoulders.

Now this made Chorong’s frown deeper, her eyebrows furrowing together. “He went to the gardens?” she repeated. “I was there but I didn’t –“

Realization soon hit her.

Chorong wanted to slap herself. Earlier, before the vocal major had to leave for the performance, they had agreed to meet by the benches in the gardens. She was indeed in the gardens but she was with Joonmyeon. The senior might have seen them together and most probably had left. Her heart painfully squeezed at the thought of Luhan hurting because of what he might have assumed to see. She internally cursed herself for not being more alert. She was also a little miffed at the senior for leaving just like that. He left without even saying a word to her – or to them. It was a tell-tale sign that Luhan was hurt though so Chorong seriously hated herself at the moment. A frustrated groan escaped her lips.

“Why?” she then heard Baekhyun ask her. “Did something happen between you two?” he added, staring at her curiously.

She nodded her head, lips pursed thoughtfully. “I think I just messed up my chance to be with the man I truly love,” she answered, eyes serious as she tried to avoid their inquisitive stares.

Eunji smirked whilst Baekhyun looked fairly surprised. The pianist bit her lower lip, getting more and more frustrated by the second.

“So you finally realized it,” the female vocal major stated. Chorong nodded her head, sighing heavily. “But I think it’s too late now,” she replied, looking terribly broken. She was close to tears but she tried to hold it in. It wasn’t the time for her to feel bad for herself.

The senior was most probably feeling much worse than her. Guilt stirred at the pits of her stomach.

She then felt a comforting hand on her shoulder.

The pianist turned around and saw her friends – Bomi, Hayoung, Naeun, and Namjoo together with their respective partners – all smiling at her.

“Then we’ll create a chance for you – for the two of you,” Minseok then told her, smiling his lopsided grin.

Chorong, tears already flowing down her face, simply nodded her head, utterly speechless.

**

“Why are we here?” Luhan asked his mother, his brows deeply knotted together. He was honestly shocked to realize where they were at the moment. His parents just made him dress up in a suit and took him to one of the country’s five-star hotels. They gave him no further explanations, just the usual ‘just some party by a friend or business partner.’ His family frequently attend events whenever they’re in Korea and Luhan has learnt not to ask any more about the parties but maybe he should have – especially when his gut was twisting and churning to the point he got zero sleep the night before.

The uneasiness inside of him never left after the night of their performance. His heart was heavy, and his mood depleted greatly. As the days went by, the uneasiness grew and now Luhan understood why. He stared at the sign in front of him,