ch. 28

"just want you to stay."

-stay

"babe, are you ready for rehearsal today?"

yunho looks over to his girlfriend, who has a beautiful smile on her face. her hazel eyes twinkle with stars of interest as her petite hand wraps around his, her long hair flowing behind her.

he smiles back while admiring the beauty beside him. "of course! my group has our dance routine perfected!"

"i can't wait to see yours then!"

after a few minutes of walking in the hallways, they arrive in front of a pair of doors that lead to the theater. being the gentleman he is, the light brunette opens one of the doors and allows the girl to enter the room before he follows her from behind.

since the two of them were in different performing groups, they decide to split up and meet up with their members, who are waiting on different sides of the theater. they bid each other goodbye and place a kiss on their lips once they spot their friends from afar. departing from one another, the male catches the attention of his companions with a wave of a hand.

when they notice him, the guys flash him a polite smile and open up their circle to him, so he can join them. yunho opens his arms and slings them onto mingi's and seonghwa's shoulders as his feet jitter with excitement.

"is everyone here?" the dance leader asks while looking around the circle. "the stage is first-come-first-serve for practice."

wooyoung shakes his head. "nope, not yet."

hongjoong gives the raven-boy a confused look, taking attendance once more. "everyone is here though, who are we missing-"

"sorry i'm late!"

immediately, the circle creates an open space for the latecomer to squeeze in while they catch their breath. all eyes are on them, widening when they recognize the person.

"eunbi is here!" wooyoung attempts to embrace her but stops at the sight of a hand.

huffing with exhaustion, the girl glares at him while her hands are on her bent legs. "aish, leave me alone for once wooyoung-ah."

everyone else greets her with their 'hellos' and their grins, which she responds to tiredly. despite her lack of energy, she manages to muster a smile from her lips.

then she looks over to yunho. "hi."

his mind goes blank.

it has been four days.

four days since he has seen her small, cute figure.

four days since he has heard her heavenly voice.

four days since he has met her gorgeous eyes.

it has been four days.

yet here she is, standing in front of him.

not being able to speak, he simply nods in response to her greeting.

"okay," wooyoung claps his hands together to gain the group's attention. "since everyone is here, you guys need to claim the stage while i assign eunbi her seat."

"seat?" yeosang raises an eyebrow at the peculiar command. "you know, why is eunbi even here?"

eunbi rolls her eyes as she lifts her hand that is currently holding her phone. "wooyoung wants me to play camerawoman for your performance, so he told me to come to rehearsal today and practice recording."

"yes," the black-haired boy says. "now, i need her in a specific seat that catches all the good angles of the dance so go and take the stage before someone else does!"

with that, everyone scurries off to their designated locations. yunho, being the closest to the platform, climbs the small set of stairs and successfully claims the spot for his group. the blinding lights shine into his eyes, causing him to shield his sight with his hand.

he takes a moment to observe the large auditorium as he waits for all the members to step onto the stage. spotting his girlfriend in the corner with her group, he sends her a flying kiss, which he receives back from her. the affection they have for each other is immense.

his eyes then continue to scan the area after the small interaction, his head slowly turning to the right while waving at his other friends, and locks onto a familiar pair of people. wooyoung is ushering eunbi into a seat that is located in the middle of its row and the center of the room. the girl flicks her hand at him to get him to leave her be, but he is clearly ignoring her request.

nonetheless, she grabs her device and holds it vertically with one hand as the other hand lays on the armrest. boredom is written on her face as she moves her phone around for the perfect angle of the stage.

from behind, the black-haired boy extends his arms out to correct the phone's position in her hand while he casually leans his body closer to her. his face hovers next to hers to tell her the adjustments of the recording, which earns no reaction whatsoever.

understanding her mistake, she simply nods as a sign of acknowledgement before using her free hand to slap his face away from her without looking.

yunho's smile falters a little.

their exchange of words and actions reminds him of the memories he shares with eunbi.

the memories that have gone bittersweet.

the memories that could have continued growing if it wasn't for-

he shakes his head to rid his thoughts.

he shouldn't be lingering in the past, what is done is done.

the light brunette escapes his mind space when he hears a dolphin laugh erupt on stage, meaning that wooyoung has finally arrived. with that, the male turns around and gathers his members around him and reminds them of the dance positions before dispersing them into their opening spots.

the music cues in and atmosphere in the theater completely changes once the first step is taken; the lights in the audience are dimmed and all eyes are on them now. the charisma of the group is unbearable with their smooth dance moves and their alluring expressions.

when yunho arrives in the middle of the group, never once does he leave his piercing gaze from the camera. his demeanor shown through his movements screams, "look at me, and only me."

but eunbi simply turns her head to the side a little and politely covers her mouth with her hand as she yawns.

after a few seconds of the music has passed, the center of attention changes to jongho, and her expression changes almost immediately. her eyes crinkle into crescents a little while her hand comes up to her mouth once more to stifle her laughter.

the tall male notices the change in expression.

once their practice on stage has ended, the boys rush down the stairs and head toward the girl to see their video.

"eunbi-ah, how was it?"

"did it look okay?"

"were there any mistakes made?"

"was the dance alright?"

"i looked sexy on stage, right princess?"

hearing the last question being thrown at her, the vocalist's face scrunches in disgust. "uh, no."

"but other than that, you guys did amazing." she flashes a smile to everyone.

everyone except yunho embraces her and sway side-to-side as the laughter in the group grows.

the light brunette watches from afar, being too tired to move, and settles himself in a seat nearby. his bothersome thoughts return once again as he runs his hand through his hair, a sigh escaping from his lips.

for some reason, the scene unfolding in front of him is infuriating in his eyes: the way seonghwa and hongjoong ruffle her hair, the way san and wooyoung engulf her in another hug, the way mingi and yeosang high-five her when she raises her hands up, the way jongho teases her to the breaking point...

it makes no sense, he realizes. i was her best friend, the one she supposedly loves...

yet here i am, being replaced by others.