A/ N: Birthday Update!!!! Hehe, I’m 19 years old now…. I am sooo old… T.T

Be expecting another (b-day) update some time later today!!

And No Myungae parts again this chapter… :’P

But I thought it was important to sort of build the Hye-jong relationship(?) further.

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Hyera was not sure of the exact time the Infinite members had returned to the company, but she knew that at the moment, they were busy reviewing their own performance from the day’s M! Countdown performance and refining their choreography. It was 10:20 p.m. She and Sungjong had decided to meet around 11:30.

While Hyera sat on her bed on the floor of her dorm deep in thought, Soojung came and took a seat right in front of her. “Hey! You doing okay?” said Soojung.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, I’m good. Tired,” Hyera replied, smiling at her friend.

“Hyera-yah, you seem a little… off, lately. Is it because of my…”

“No no no no! Soojung-unnie, it’s not that at all! How could you say that? And I haven’t been off, unnie, I’m perfectly sound,” Hyera jutted in, shaking her head at Soojung aggressively.

“Oh, okay,” Soojung murmured, “But, are you sure?”

“Unnie! I’m really happy for you! It’s going to be soooo exciting! Come on, you know me better than that,” Hyera reassured Soojung, who still wore a worried look on her face.

Eventually, Soojung let Hyera off and climbed in her bed to go to sleep. The other girls all filed into their bunks one by one, and the lights of their dorm room were off by 11:00p.m.

Hyera still lay in her bed under her blankets at 11:22p.m, her heart pounding. She wasn’t sure why, but she was anxious about going to meet Sungjong. With a deep breath, she rose and checked herself in the mirror before slipping out of the dark dorm room.

Sungjong was not waiting in front of the practice room, but by the dim light coming from inside the doors, Hyera guessed the boy had already arrived and was waiting for her inside. Sure enough, when she entered the room, she found the boy lying on his stomach on the hardwood floor. He did get up in sitting position as soon as he caught sight of her, though.

“Great job today,” Hyera spoke, taking a seat in front of Sungjong. For some reason, now that she was here with the boy, she felt more at ease. She didn’t suspect that the boy would pull an odd move like last time again, so her muscles were not completely tense and tight, although not at all relaxed either.

“Thanks. And thanks for watching,” Sungjong replied with a small grin.

Silence protruded the room after Sungjong’s simple response, and Hyera couldn’t help but think to herself that for a boy who claimed to have a crush on her, he really wasn’t making much of an effort to win her over with conversation.

“I thought it would be helpful to you if I taught you some simple girl dances today…” said Sungjong, cutting off Hyera’s thoughts, “but before that, what were you talking to the vocal trainer about this morning?”

Uhhmmm, Nosey much? Hyera thought, but she replied nonetheless with a deep sigh that sounded much more exasperated than she meant. “She wanted to make sure I was okay, and to reassure me about things. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Soojung unnie is debuting solo soon.”

Sungjong nodded. He had heard from the Infinite hyungs, who had been vibrantly excited at the news that their old friend was finally going to carry out her dream like they’d done with theirs. Soojung was using her artist name Baby Soul to produce a single in order to let her name be known in the music industry, to prepare an easier route for the girl group when they debuted together.

“Were you disappointed?” Sungjong asked Hyera. He knew could never feel what Hyera was feeling right now, because he was in no way a talented singer like Hyera still waiting for her voice to be heard, but he could sympathize with her on the matter wholeheartedly. Hyera and Soojung were two singers in the same group of basically equal talent, but despite, Soojung was the one getting the better and earlier opportunity. In addition, Sungjong had heard that one of the other girl group members, Dahee, was going to play the lead in Soojung’s Music Video for her solo single. Of course, the Woolim Company only wanted to create favorable circumstances for the girl group’s debut, and Sungjong was sure that Hyera understood that completely. She obviously wasn’t complaining. As he watched Hyera’s expression, a strong desire to comfort her in any way he could aded Sungjong’s mind.

“Of course I was,” Hyera muttered, heading sinking, “And of course I know it’s in our group’s favor. I’m completely happy for Soojung unnie, but that doesn’t mean I’m not at least slightly envious.”

Again, Sungjong moved his head up and down in agreement. “You have every right to feel disappointment and envy. And by the looks of it, you’re taking it really well and holding out strong, in my opinion,” he remarked, in his attempt to offer Hyera words of comfort. Did it work? Any effect? He thought to himself.

Hyera simply nodded, but her eyes still gazed the floor and her head remained bowed. Taking note, Sungjong got up abruptly. “Well, nevermind that. Let’s dance.” He extended his hands out to the girl still sitting on the floor. Hyera looked at them, puzzled, but then grasped them with her own two hands. Sungjong pulled the girl up and smiled, but took note of how cold her hands were.

“Since you are a girl after all, I thought it would be good for us to dance to some simpler girl songs. Any objections?” Sungjong inquired cheerfully. Hyera shook her head, observing the bubbly boy with curiosity.

“Great. Do you know this dance? It’s the dance from Tell Me by Wonder Girls,” said Sungjong.

Hyera felt her cheeks redden with embarrassment, and she shook her head to signal that she did not know the dance, despite the fact that the dance was something of a national favorite. It all led back to the notion that Hyera was not a natural born dancer, and therefore, did not pursue any type of dancing beyond what was required of her.

“Awww. Well it’s very simple, so I’ll just teach it to you, and you’ll have it in no time,” Sungjong reassured her. Hyera bit her lip nervously, unsure whether this was going to turn out well.

First, Sungjong began with the basic, mild tempo shoulder and chest shimmy of the song’s introduction. He showed Hyera how to move each of her shoulders back and forth while hers arms were gathered behind her. Through the wide mirror in the practice room, Hyera could see how flawless and fluid Sungjong’s movements were. Rather comical, but still graceful. In contrast, Hyera’s own movements seemed to suggest frustration and rigidity.

The two of them upgraded to a shimmy with their arms bent and extended out to their sides. With each movement of the shoulders, Sungjong seemed to radiate exactly what the actual dance was called, the aegyo dance. He turned toward Hyera and repeated the dance movement, smiling at her with a brilliant gleam to his wide grin. At that, Hyera couldn’t help but let out a chuckle in response.

“Hahaha, How are you so good at this?” said Hyera in between giggles.

“It’s natural,” Sungjong responded, his face beaming, “And Hey! At least you’re getting it! Even if it is a little stiff.”

The chorus, the main focal point of the Tell Me dance, was much more difficult than Hyera had imagined, and she struggled to follow Sungjong, who seemed to speed through everything with perfect ease. Right then, more than usual, her body would not work in unison; her upper body moved to a completely different tempo and rhythm than her lower. At multiple attempts for Hyera to follow a certain movement which required one to shake the hips while extending the arms out to the right and drawing the left arm down the right playfully, Sungjong finally lost his composure as the teacher and burst out laughing.

“Yah!!” Hyera yelled at the boy, who clutched his stomach as he cackled out loud.

“Oh man, oh man, I’m sorry Hyera,” apologized the boy, straightening up and reserving himself to just a smile, “Here, just shake your hips lightly, like this, and just be more loose with your arm.”

Sungjong’s demonstration discouraged Hyera even further, as he seemed to surpass even the original. She let out a sigh, which Sungjong caught immediately.

“Lee Hyera, do as your teacher says,” Sungjong scolded in a friendly tone. He moved closer to the girl and gently lifted her arms to the right in the fashion of the dance move. Grabbing her left hand, Sungjong mimicked the move for Hyera, the girl letting Sungjong control her. “See? Very loose and light,” said Sungjong softly, “And then all you have to do is add the hips.”

When Sungjong placed his hands lightly on Hyera’s hips, a warm spark shot through his fingers, making him jerk his hands away momentarily. Sungjong blinked, but then moved his hands onto the girl’s hips again, more carefully this time. He gently beckoned Hyera to move the way she needed to for the dance to flow. A tingling feeling remained at the spot where his fingers met the fabric of Hyera’s clothing, and Sungjong wondered if he was just imagining it. Nonetheless, as Sungjong guided Hyera, she seemed to ease herself into the dance move.

Sungjong directed Hyera to follow the dance with her arms by herself, while he still guided her hips. By now, she was getting it exactly, and Sungjong grinned to himself smugly. However, something was wrong with the way he was holding onto her by the hips, even with the touch of only a few fingers, and as Sungjong realized what it was, he pulled away from her abruptly, distancing himself from the girl by three quick backward steps.

“Am I getting it right…” called Hyera, unaware that Sungjong had scooted away from his position behind her.

What Sungjong had realized through the tingling in his fingers was that at any moment, he was in danger of pulling the whole form of Hyera much closer to him. He had too suddenly become aware of some menace inside him that wanted to engulf the girl, and that had come very close to doing so, if he had not pulled his fingers away. Shaking himself, Sungjong took a deep breath. He wasn’t going to lose control.

“Sungjong sunbae?” Hyera turned, finding Sungjong much farther away than she’d thought. The boy smiled at her with an odd, unnatural smile, and said, “You’ve got it now.”

Hyera’s shoulders slumped with relief. It had taken her almost an hour, but now she knew the choreography for the first half of Tell Me by Wonder Girls. Of course, that wasn’t to say that she could dance it well, but the fact that she had tried her best in the last hour comforted her.

“I think that’s enough for today. You tired yet?” Sungjong asked, tentatively getting closer in order to speak to Hyera more clearly.

Hyera nodded, letting her head fall to the side.

“Let’s meet again tomorrow, so I can finish teaching you the whole dance,” continued Sungjong. Hyera’s head perked up in response. “Are you sure? You’ll be busy all day tomorrow. I’m surprised you’re not wiped out already today,” she retorted.

“I’ll be fine. I want to,” Sungjong reassured, “And I’m determined to make you become more natural with those dance moves.”

Hyera chuckled, feeling the day’s fatigue settling on her weight. With a yawn, she mumbled, “Alright. I guess we’ll go then.”

The two of them exited the main practice room of the Woolim Company, clicking off the few lights they had used. At the door, Hyera turned to Sungjong, a thought having struck her.

“Is it okay if I call you Sungjong-ie? Instead of sunbae? We are the same age,” asked Hyera. Sungjong stared down at the girl, taking in each defined line of her features, lingering over her sparkling eyes.

Pondering over what Hyera had said, it occured to Sungjong that all of the girl group trainees called him ‘sunbae’ with the exception of Jiae, even Soojung and Dahee, who were older. He hadn’t thought too much about it since he hadn’t gotten many chances to become close with any of them, but now that he did think of it, he felt a little ashamed of his carelessness. He was no proper senior to Hyera, Jiae, or any of the girls. Most of the other Infinite members treated the girls like close friends, and so should he. For all he knew, Hyera could be older than him by birth month, since Sungjong often found that his late September birthday made him one of the youngest ones of his age group. It wasn’t fair that he could refer to her as just Hyera while she did not. With a sigh, Sungjong answered, “You’re right, we are the same age. What month were you born?”

At that, Hyera stuck her tongue out slightly, responding, “December. I’m late, but we’re only apart by about three months, right? You’re September.”

Sungjong was surprised that Hyera knew his birth month. He wondered whether or not this was the result of the girl group trainees looking up each of the Infinite members’ profiles online. He also felt strangely smug that he was in fact older than Hyera, by three months. “I’d be glad for you to leave that ‘sunbae’ part out. I should never have accepted that title from you or any of the other girls in the first place,” he said.

“Cool! Thanks, Sungjong-a,” Hyera chimed, snickering with the end of her phrase.

With a grin himself, Sungjong waved at the girl. “Goodnight, Hyera-yah,” he said.

“Goodnight, Sungjong-ah.” Said Hyera, another giggle following as she finished.

*****

Two things nagged at the back of Hyera’s mind when she awoke the next morning. The first thing that surprised her and that got her cheeks to heat up a little was the fact that she had dropped the ‘sunbae’ from her reference to Sungjong, just like that, without any hesitation. She knew that she had always thought of him as one of equal age. But it was still a bold move, for her to suggest the friendlier form of simply his name, herself. She wondered if she had come across as a little too straight forward. The other thing, which made her almost cringe, was the fact that in her mind, she knew she was excited for their next meeting that night. Although her body told her she was extremely tired from the extra activity, her mind beckoned her on, giving her good signals when she thought of their late night meeting.

Hyera did not know what to think of these unexpected inner thoughts, or about Sungjong and the whole deal the two of them had going, as a matter of fact. The boy was no longer acting in curious or suspicious ways as before, which made Hyera wonder if she’d actually played some part in helping him out, with whatever had been troubling him before. A crush. For some reason, Sungjong made Hyera second guess herself as to whether she knew the real meaning of that word or not. Or even the rest of the world that had taught her the meaning of that word to her in her 18 years of life, for that matter.

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