The next Thursday, Chanyeol nervously walked into the auditorium to meet Jongin there. He knew that the theatre club was busy rehearsing for Miss Saigon and the dance group was sharing time with rehearsal as the play’s intermission number.

He momentarily watched from the sides and saw his friend moving expertly through the music at the center with his group mates. Chanyeol grinned. Jongin always was an impressive dancer.

Chanyeol’s eyes subtly wandered, hoping to get a glance of the star of the show. He easily located her, as that of a radar. She was pacing at one corner, running lines with Sehun, who was cast to be her leading man. Chanyeol knew because he was informed through email by the director about the inscriptions of the poster. A few moments later, as though satisfied with their delivery, Kyungsoo smiled at Sehun and seemed to have excused herself. She stepped up to the balcony and turned her eyes to the stage.

Chanyeol watched her as she tapped her foot to the rhythm. Soon after, her body was slightly moving to the music. She didn’t seem aware that she was doing it. It appeared as though she was enjoying watching Younique do their thing.

After the dance group’s rehearsal was over, Jongin congratulated his group mates for performing well and then grinned when he saw his friend was already there. “Hey, Chanyeol! Give me five minutes, okay?”

Chanyeol was startled at the attention, but nodded at Jongin.

Kyungsoo turned around. He was only a few feet behind her. “Hello, Chanyeol,” she greeted, smiling sincerely. “How long have you been there?”

Chanyeol looked away, his face feeling warm. “Uh... not long. I... was waiting for Jongin.”

“He’s an excellent dancer,” Kyungsoo remarked. “I’ve been watching him everyday.”

Chanyeol agreed. “Yeah, he is. He’s been dancing ever since I could remember.”

Kyungsoo nodded, grinning, and watched Jongin gather his things. She turned to Chanyeol again, a bit hesitant. “Chanyeol, can I ask you something?”

His eyes widened as he looked at her hopefully. “S-Sure. W-What is it?”

“Does Jongin have a girlfriend?”

Okay... Where did that question come from? “Uh...” Chanyeol racked his brain to answer immediately. This was not even remotely what he was expecting. “No... Not at this time.”

“Oh,” she replied, her grin broadening. “I guess I’m kind of surprised he’s not dating anyone. He seems like a great guy.”

He swallowed. So she was curious about his friend, not him. “Y-Yeah, he is.”

Kyungsoo laughed, mostly out of embarrassment. “It’s just that he asked me out tomorrow night and—”

“W-What?”

Her smile faded slightly, startled at Chanyeol’s somewhat staggered reaction. “He... asked if I could have dinner with him and maybe play mini-golf... Is... there a problem?”

Chanyeol’s heart seemed to have plunged in his stomach and must have stayed there because he couldn’t feel it beating. “N-no...” He tried to smile. “Jongin’s...” He pretended to laugh—and darn it—what a lousy job he did. He sounded as though he was in pain. “Jongin’s really cool, you’ll have fun.”

Kyungsoo smiled in relief. Thank God, Jongin wasn’t just a shallow charmer. If there was one person to ask about Jongin, then it should be his good friend, Chanyeol. “Well, thanks. I thought you were going to say that he’s a playboy and he’s just going to ghost me or something.”

Chanyeol shook his head vigilantly. “No. Jo