Twenty-two

Eunwoo's POV

I looked between the two outfits; the blue jacket and white dress shirt, the red and white cardigan, silently contemplating. Did I want to come off as dashing and sexy?Or handsome and chic?I bit my fingernail, unable to decide. The dance was only in thirty minutes and all of this was stressing me out. I was going to the dance with Lee Soohyun, the girl who had lost so much, who been hurt so much, and the girl who's heart I had vowed to fix. Slowly, piece by piece.

"Eunwoo!" I heard the small voice and turned to see my younger sibling, Youngjae. He bounced on his toes, one sock on and one sock off,

"Can you take me with you? Pleaseee??" His eyes stretched wide as he tried to be cute,

"I promise I'll be good! I promise Eunwoo!" He started jumping and tugging on my shirt, giving me puppy eyes. I laughed and ruffled his black locks,

"Sorry Youngjae-ah, I have to take someone else." I smiled and leaned down on a knee, holding his chubby hand in mine. He pouted, crossing his arms and looking pitiful,

"Awww. You never let me go anywhere fun."

I laughed and gave him a hug to comfort him,

"That's not true baby, remember when I took you to the amusement park?" I pulled away and held his shoulders, smiling into his watery eyes. He stuck his bottom lip out,

"That was a long time ago..."

Gently, I wiped away the tear that escaped his eye,

"Hyung will take you somewhere fun when I get back, okay?"

He nodded silently, then his eyes lit up as he saw the two outfits on my bed.

"Which one are you going to wear?" He jumped up and down in front of the bed, his black hair flopping up and down. I played with it lovingly,

"I don't know, which one do you like?"

Youngjae chewed on his sleeve as he looked between them, bouncing on his toes for a better view.

"This one Eunwoo! This one!" He pointed to the gray jacket and white dress shirt. His big eyes sparkled,

"Can I try it on?"

I laughed again and tapped my brothers small nose, shaking my head.

"Sorry,  I have to leave. I'll let you try it on later."

He just frowned at me as if I was denying him candy, which probably would be the only solution to his fit when I would return.

—————

I was stiff with nervous anxiety as I rode the bus, playing with my hands in my lap and scanning the scenery occasionally. Would Soohyun think my outfit was too tacky? Would she enjoy the dance? Would I be able to make her smile and keep her tears from falling? My stomach felt unsettled, as though I'd just gone on a roller coaster. To say I was nervous was an understatement.

My phone vibrated as I got a message from Sanha.

Cutemaknae(4:55): You're going to the dance?? Without me? TT

I shook my head with a smile, replying to the text.

Me(4:56): sorry sanha, I'm taking Soohyun

A split second later he replied,

Cutemaknae(4:56): REALly?! Omg are you guys dating? It took long enough.

Me(4:57): No, we're going as friends.

Cutemaknae(4:57): She asked you to go to the dance and you're still just friends??? Wow man

I read the text, feeling an aching in my heart. I knew Soohyun was still getting over Rocky, and just the mention of being more than friends would probably ruin our friendship. Then what would happen to Soohyun? She'd be alone and upset, and I didn't want that. I'd rather her be happy, even if sometimes my heart yearned for more than that. I could wait.

I texted Sanha once more telling him I didn't have time to talk, for the bus had stopped. Shoving my phone into my pocket, I left the bus and stepped out into the cool misty air.

The one familiar figure was seated at the bus stop, a black hoodie nearly covering her dark hair. Yet it escaped somewhat, small ringlets bouncing in the chilly wind. She was hanging her head, arms wrapped around herself. I felt my heart beating quicker, warming my chest even in the cold air. It took me several moments to collect myself and walk over to her.

"Soohyun?"

She looked up, her big brown eyes meeting mine. I felt my heart stop almost altogether, my breath hitching. She'd put makeup on? Her lashes were long and dark, the mascara enough to notice if you knew her but not enough to be overly obvious. Her lips were a dark shade of red, contrasted against her pale skin. She shone in the dim light and I didn't think I'd ever seen a girl more beautiful.

A smile lit up her face when she recognized me, and she jumped up immediately.

"You're here!" The excitement in her voice made me equally excited. I loved when she smiled at me. My stomach was all fluttery again.

"Sorry I'm kind of late, how long were you waiting?" I stared anxiously at her, shivering at the moist cold that was already sleeping through my jacket.

"Not long. Fifteen minutes maybe." She smiled again, blinking dewdrops from her eyelashes. She sounded unconcerned but I saw her shiver, holding her arms around herself as if she was trying to hide it. I sighed, slipping my jacket off and draping it over her shoulders.

"Here, you're going to catch a cold."

For a moment she stared up at me in surprise, my heart soaring at the sight of pink blush coating her cheeks. She dropped her eyes,

"But you're going to get a cold too.." I saw her pouting silently, and it made me smile.

"Don't worry, I'm not cold." I felt bad for lying but I didn't want her to worry. Tonight, right now, it was more important that she was happy.

Once we stepped inside the school the music was so loud we could hear it from the lobby. I helped Soohyun out of her jacket, once again getting all fluttery when I saw her outfit. She was dressed in a white flowery dress that barely reached her knees. Her hair was swung up into a messy bun and damp black ringlets fell around her rosy cheeks. I swallowed and forced myself to look away, finding my mind again.

In the back of my mind, I felt a little anxious about going in with Soohyun. Would she be uncomfortable about people thinking we're a thing? But when I looked back from hanging up our jackets there was only excitement shining from her face. I felt a breath of relief slip from my lips.

"Lets go!" She grabbed my arm and pulled me quickly down the hall to the cafeteria where the music was coming from. On our way we ran into MJ and JinJin,

"Hey! What are you doing here?" MJ smiled and looked from me to Soohyun (who dropped her hand from my arm) then back to me. I shook my head at him,

"As friends." I mouthed, but he just smirked and leaned back, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Looks like the iconic couple is finally doing something right." He stroked his chin in fake thought,

"I'd say they're a good match."

I felt my ears burning with both embarrassment and anger,

"Hey! We're not-" I was interrupted as Soohyun tugged at my shirt gently,

"It's okay Eunwoo, he won't believe you anyway." She glared at MJ and gave a warm smile to JinJin before dragging me away again. I looked behind my shoulder at MJ and gave him a death glare, silently swearing to kill him later. He just grinned back stupidly.

Baeksoon and Moonbin were sitting eating at a table inside the cafeteria, both of them looking shocked at the sight of me and Soohyun.

"Soohyun-ah!" Baeksoon jumped to her feet,

"I thought you said you weren't coming." She looked offended, happy, and a little confused all at the same time.

Soohyun shrugged, smiling bashfully,

"I decided to go at the last moment."

Moonbin blinked up at me, eyes flicking between us. He smiled a smile which told me he, like many others, had assumed we were in a relationship. Yet this time, I didn't say anything to correct him.

Soohyun and I found a table in the back of the room and I sat beside her, feeling awkward and nervous. Without realizing it, I found myself slowly looking over at her, smiling at the excitement in her eyes as she watched people dancing, a snack hovering in front of her lips, her head nodding slowly to the music. I felt the warmth spread from my pounding heart to my cheeks just at the sight of her.

Would it be it okay if I pretend just tonight she's mine?

I was so tempted to take her hand, to feel her fingers intertwined with mine and just look into her eyes. Cautiously I moved my hand over towards hers, but she pulled it back just at that moment and stood up. She smiled at me, holding out a hand,

"Let's go dance Eunwoo!"

I clenched my fingers into a fist, angry at myself for even thinking of making her uncomfortable. This night was only for Soohyun, she deserved to be happy. I didn't want to ruin that. I loved to see her like this, her face shining with her smile, I wanted her always to be this happy.

"I- I'm not good at dancing.." I said quietly, embarrassed. To be honest, I didn't quite like the idea of dancing in front of so many people. Plus I really wasn't a good dancer.

"Aw come on~" she grabbed my wrist and pulled my to my feet.

"It'll be fun!"

I sighed and rolled my eyes, letting her drag me out into the middle of the cafeteria. At the same moment a slow love song came on, changing the mood immediately as the lights faded to pink. I glanced around, seeing the other couples slow dancing with each other. In response, I felt myself blushing as I turned back to Soohyun,

"I really don't know how to dance!" I whisper shouted in frustration, panicking. Soohyun just giggled and took my hand, putting it on her waist. I felt another wave of heat flood my face.

"Then put your other hand.. here." She took my hand and put it on her other hip so that my hands were holding her small waist.

"There!" She reached up and set her own hands on my shoulders, smiling. My heart was beating so fast and my mind was spinning so wildly I thought I'd faint. I didn't know how to respond to her body between my arms.

"Now, step back with your right foot..." she went on, teaching me the steps.

In that moment it was as if time had stopped. It was just me and her, alone on the dance floor.

In all of it, I tried desperately to understand what she was trying to teach me,

"Am I doing it?" I laughed as I failed at following her directions, my moves a mess and resulting in me nearly stepping on her foot. She just laughed and shook her head.

"Wait, wait!" I swung her around, rehearsing the moves in my head as I stared at my feet. I was determined to get this right.

Left, right, left...I'm doing it!

"Look, I'm doing it Soohyun! See?" Exuberant happiness flooded me as I felt the rhythm of the music match my feet. I looked up in excitement, expecting to see Soohyun smiling back at me, matching her soft brown eyes with mine and making me blush.

But instead, I was surprised to see she had stopped dancing at all, and her face had changed completely. It was no longer happy and excited, but now sad and angry, riddled with unreadable emotions. She was staring hollowly at something behind my shoulder.

"Uh...Soohyun?" I stepped back from her and hesitantly turned around, suddenly worried of what I would see.

Behind me was a couple, dancing together with their arms around each other. Two familiar students, who's faces I knew all too well.I took in a sharp breath as I recognized them.

The one and only Minhyuk; with his partner, Minji.