I was sitting in practice room alone, staring at my reflection in the mirror. My phone was ringing nonstop and I couldn’t get myself to answer any of those calls. I knew what they all wanted. ‘Is it true?’ ‘Are you kidding me, Mi Yeon?’ ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ ‘Where are you, we need to talk…'

It was just few hours since company released the great news. Announcement. Yeom Mi Yeon and Cha Hakyeon are dating. Couple. They’re in relationship.

I watched my sleepy eyes and thought about all of this fake play. I knew Hakyeon for a pretty long time but I never saw him as anything else than a friend. And now we had to go around holding hands, acting like a lovey-dovey couple, just to promote our upcoming duet album.

It was pretty disgusting, doing it for the money, but I couldn’t say no. The album was already in making and I knew how much Hakyeon wanted it to be a success. If our managers thought this was good way of getting us to the top then I had to do it for him, right?

I reached for my phone and looked at the long list of names on the screen. Most of them were my close friends. In the middle I found five missed calls from Hakyeon.

He picked up almost immediately. “Mi Yeon,” he breathed into the phone, “are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” I said truthfully and lied on the cold ground. “Are you?”

“Yeah.” He was silent for few seconds. “Where are you now? Some people called me that they can’t find you.”

Liars. I wasn’t even hiding.  “Tell them they have to search harder.”

He laughed softly. “So where are you? Do you need a company?”

“No, I’m okay,” I replied with a sigh. “And just because we’re couple now you don’t have to worry about me. There are no cameras around.”

“You’re mad,” he stated and paused. “We can still stop this, you know? We can tell everyone that they’re lying. That it’s just for publicizing our names… We can tell them the truth.” From his voice I could tell that he was hurt.

“No. No!” I stood up quickly. “It’s okay. I just have to get used to all the attention and I have to talk to my friends about it. It’s going to be okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am.”

There were another seconds of silence. “Will you tell your friends… that it’s fake?”

“You know that we can’t tell anyone. Not even our parents.”

“But I also know that you’re stubborn as a mule,” he said laughing. “It’s just few months, Mi Yeon. I promise. After promotions are done we'll tell them that it’s not working and that we’re breaking up. And then everything’s going to be like it was before.”

“I know…”

This time the silence on both sides was comforting. I heard him breathe and somehow I knew that he was smiling.

“Well… Go home if you’re not there yet. Tomorrow we have dance practice together and I want you to be full of energy.”

“Pfft, I’m always full of energy,” I told him with a wide smile. “But yeah… I’m gonna go if my darling said so.”

“Awww, you’re so cute, Mi Yeon,” he sang.

“Shut up, Cha Hakyeon,” I hissed with red cheeks.

“Remind me that we have to work on accepting compliments.” I laughed, wished him good night and then hung up before he could say anything else.

***

I walked in to the room. While closing door behind me my eyes were already fixed on Hakyeon’s slim figure dancing all around the practice room. Pelvic circling, waist bending and hands going up and down - everything he did… was too much for me. How could someone be so naturally y?

“Enjoying the view?” he asked heavy breathing. “I can see you in the mirror, you know?”

I said nothing. Only moved to the couch and took off my jacket. Now that he stopped he was back to his normal self. y but not breath-taking y.

“Are you ready for today’s lesson?”

“Lesson?” I laughed and turned to him. It surprised me how close to me he actually was. Even though I would have to make at least two steps forward to touch him, he was still a lot closer than I was used to. “So now you’re my instructor too or what?”

He nodded. “I made the choreography for our title song. So… yep.”

Pointing index finger at him like an idiot I raised my eyebrows. “You?”

“Why are you so shocked?”

“I don’t… know,” I gulped.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Let’s begin.”

He was actually a really good teacher. I tried really hard to do my best. He still found some errors in my moves here and there but overall Hakyeon was happy that I listened to him.

Just after finishing up the first part of the song he smiled at me and spoke: “And now I’m going to dance with you.”

“Like… how?” I inquired. “You were dancing with me all along.”

“I was just helping you. Don’t forget that it’s duet. Pair. That means two people.” Without any warning he s arms around my waist. I squeaked and tried to free myself.

“My god, calm down. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.” I backed away despite his words. “Mi Yeon, we’re boyfriend and girlfriend now. We have to touch each other. Especially while we’re dancing.”

I inspected my boring shoes because I didn’t want him to notice how red my cheeks were. His touch wasn’t uncomfortable - in fact, it was the exact opposite. The second his skin touched mine - it felt like an electricity was flowing through my body.

“I’m sorry.” I glanced up at him, stepping closer again. “I was just… slightly taken aback by… by the… the sudden feeling. You’re the first boy… to… touch me.”

“First boy? You’ve never had a boyfriend?” Instead of answering I shook my head. “Oh… I’m sorry. I’ll be more… careful.” Suddenly he froze in place. 

“Is something wrong?” 

Hakyeon grinned. “I may touch your… well, your everything while dancing. It’s pretty sensual… To suit the song of course! Not because I’m some ert. I thought it would be okay…”

Inhale. Exhale. Keep calm. The idea of Hakyeon touching me while dancing seductively… 

“…This will be the death of me.”