Step By Step

Fifteenth Step

"Why am I only hearing this now?!" Yuna asked me with a concerned look on her face. We decided to go for some drinks before my dance class started and went to a small cafe near D'Academy. I just told her about Ayumi's apology and the incident that happened at the convenience store.

 Several weeks passed and ever since it happened, it has been quiet. I hadn't seen Ayumi during the dance classes or anywhere else. I hadn't seen Ye-jin, the girl from the store either. It wasn't too surprising that Ayumi didn't show up. Rumors were spreading and some of them even concerned me. People would stare at me as I entered the studio and whisper or give me nasty stares. Some even came up to me and asked me if the stories that wandered the halls were true. I didn't want to make the situation worse for the people who the rumors were about and that included me. So I neither confirmed nor denied them. And if they couldn't get any information from me, they would go straight to Hyunjin. Unlike me, he did confirm one of the rumors and that was the breakup rumor. That's all the information he would give out. People were shocked by the news, they never expected them to break up. They linked the break-up with me because the day I stepped into D'Academy, I'd already caught the couple's attention, which apparently caused tension in their relationship. Luckily, Hyunjin added that I had nothing to do with any of it, but of course, that made people more suspicious. 

"Why would he mention her name? She sure had something to do with it. Why would he defend her like that?"  is what I heard them whisper. 

I took a sip from my coffee and placed it back down. 

"I don't know, it was just all too much back then and I needed some time to recover from it I guess. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier." I said and finished my drink. I suggested that we should head to D'Academy and Yuna agreed. 

On our way, we talked some more about the things that happened in our lives. I mentioned how uneasy I felt going/being at D'Academy nowadays. 

"Don't mind those people, they don't know what happened. They weren't there." She comforted me. She had a point. They weren't there when Ayumi broke down in front of me. They weren't there when I got smashed into the shelves at the store. 

"On a positive note, how are things with Hyunjin?" She asked me. I sighed and wasn't sure if everything was positive. 

He texted me a lot in the weeks that had gone by and even asked me to hang out a couple of times. I couldn't help but feel guilty whenever  I was around him and I think he noticed whenever I felt troubled at times. But then again, I enjoyed keeping him accompanied. 

"Things are good," was my final answer. We arrived at the entrance and gave each other a last hug before separating our ways. I entered and made my way to the elevators. I pressed the button and waited for it to come down. 

"Hana!" someone called out my name. I turned my head and saw a smiling Hyunjin walking towards me. I greeted him. 

"Are you ready for class?" he asked excitedly and by the looks of it, it seems like he was in a good mood. I nodded my head and we continued to wait for the elevator. As we were waiting, we heard some people getting in line behind us. The elevator opened up and Hyunjin was the first to enter. 

"I hope you gonna enjoy today's class." he said as his smile reached from ear to ear. I raised my eyebrow and stepped into the elevator along with the people behind me.