𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒 [𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐜]

7

Chanhyuk drummed his hand against the wall, standing up properly when he noticed a figure walk out of the building, trailing after her. He kept silent, a smirk on his face as he crept closer, slamming his hands down onto her shoulders and spinning her around.

Yoonmi screeched, hand automatically coming to slap Chanhyuck, the boy catching it effortlessly. "Chanhyuk you asshole! You scared the hell out of me!"

"That was the plan," he quipped, dodging her kick. Yoonmi was scowling at him, dark hair loose around her shoulders, dance practice bag in her hand.

"What are you doing here anyways?"

"I came to walk you home," at her surprised expression, he rolled his eyes. "I'm an asshole, but I'm not going to let a girl walk home in the dark alone. Especially not a girl as pretty as you," it was Yoonmi's turn to roll her eyes, but she wrapped her arm around Chanhyuck's, leaning on him as they walked. It really was dark, and she shivered at the eeriness of it all. Her stomach growled and she smiled sheepishly when he shot an incredulous glance at her. "You didn't eat?"

"I had practice!" he sighed, grabbing her arm and dragging her to the convenience store, before freezing when the light hit him. Her mouth dropped open when she caught a glance of Chanhyuck's face. "You-" now under the light of her store and not covered in the darkness, she could make out the bruises on his face. "You had another fight, didn't you?" Yoonmi huffed, shaking her head and muttering to herself as she stalked across the store and gathered up bandages. "Get some ramen!" she shouted over her shoulder, rummaging for the first aid kit. She paid for it, meeting him outside. She set the supplies down onto the table, frowning and tsking as she cupped his face, gazing concernedly at him. His lip was split, and the scattering of purple and blue made her feel for the person he had fought with.

"I won," he piped up after a few seconds of silence, and she shook her head.

"You're an idiot," he hissed as she pressed a cotton soaked in ointment against his cheekbone. She muttered a soft apology, continuing to clean his bruised face as much as she could before sitting back. "Have your noodles," he gestured to the cup, and she let out an excited noise before digging in. Her company has really been pushing her to be slimmer, and she'd been annoyed at the amount of diets she and the other trainees were being put on. "Is it good?" Chanhyuck asked, watching her eat with fond eyes. Yoonmi smiled brightly, some color returning to her cheeks.

"It's the best thing that I've had,"

"Are you serious? They must be putting you on some diet," she hummed in agreement.

"I'll do anything to debut," she said after chewing. "I need to prove to everyone that I'm more than my family," he nodded absentmindedly. The Veritas Club were the only ones that really knew about her father since their families all tended to move in the same circle.

"You'll do it," his voice was sincere. "You're the best dancer out of all of the trainees," she blinked at him.

"Really?"

"Of course. You're a hundred times better than them," Yoonmi flushed under his gaze, picking up her bag and strolling back. "Goodbye," she could hear him laugh at her flustered state, and shrugged him off as he tried as he left. She would forever deny the smile on her face.

˗ˏ𖥸ˎ˗

"Ah Soobin. What are you doing here?" Lee Joonki looked in surprise at Park Soobin, the son of his family's secretary and his daughter's secretary.

"I'm so sorry to be bothering you at such a late time, but there's something I needed to talk to you about,"

"Are you here to ask for Keni's hand in marriage?" the older man joked, smile dropping when Soobin didn't react to his teasing. "Soobin-ah?"

"I'm afraid it's more serious than that Mr Lee. You see, Keni has been acting odd lately,"

"Odd?"

"She switches from being sweet to harsh, seems to forget certain things she likes or hates, the list goes on," Soobin said, wringing his hands nervously. "Do you think we should have her go to a therapist?"

"There's nothing wrong with my daughter,"

"But-"

"There is nothing wrong with my daughter!" he said, voice raised and Soobin flinched. "Thank you for your concern Soobin, but the only reason as to why Keni is acting odd is because she's stressed. I'll take her to a nice place this weekend. Jeju maybe. But for now, let her rest," Soobin nodded, bowing slightly as he left the room, not noticing Keni hiding behind the door.

˗ˏ𖥸ˎ˗

"Wrong," Luna pursed her lips, staring angrily at the piano in front of her. She tangled her fingers in the white dress she wore. Chanel, the 2019 collection. She'd been the first one to get it before it sold out in a manner of minutes. Even Keni didn't own one. So why was she, Song Luna who had everything, struggling with something as stupid as trying to convey her emotions through a piano? Her mother sighed heavily, frowning at the teacher.

"How can we make her improve?" Lee Yubin asked. Her dark hair was pulled up into a bun, powder blue suit fitted to her slim frame perfectly, gold bangles sliding against her wrists.

"Luna is at the skill level of a professional Lee-ssi, but she seems troubled,"

"Why would she be troubled? My daughter has everything she could ever need,"

"I meant mental wise. Maybe she might be going through a certain phase-"

"Thank you," Yubin interrupted frostily. "That'll be enough," the woman bowed, leaving the room. The older woman's face completely changed as Jinho entered, looking more pleasant as she spied the flowers in the boy's arms. "Oh, Jinho-ah! What are you doing here?"

"Hello Ms Song," he greeted, letting her tug him into a hug. "I just wanted to see you Luna, ask if she wanted any tips for her piano recital, but I knew I had to come when she mentioned you were here with you," he handed her the bouquet. "These are for you," Yubin smiled brightly, taking them.

"It looks like you're just as charming as your father was back in his days," she missed the slight dimming of Jinho's smile at her words.

"Can I take Luna with me for a walk? It's a lovely night today," Luna looked at her mother hopefully, beaming when she nodded, running over to join Jinho.

"Thank god you came. I was about to go crazy with how she's stressing me out," she sighed gratefully as the wind blew against her face. People walked through the streets, families swinging their children between them, couples sharing patbingsu. "I love the piano, but it's exhausting to go over the same thing again and again,"

"That's what happens when you love doing recitals," he teased, and she elbowed him.

"I'd do anything for them to go well. To bask in the applause to-"

"Be the center of attention, to have everyone's eyes on me," he continued, voice pitched high to mimic her and Luna kicked at him.

"Yah! I do not sound like that!" Jinho laughed, and Luna spotted people shooting discreet looks at him, probably whispering about his good looks and wide smile. Being the son of Hwang Young-jae, up and coming politician with amazing ideas and an earnest personality, did end up with Jinho getting looks, but he was famous on his own as well, being everyone's celebrity crush due to his various appearances on tv. Luna wrapped her arm around his, smiling at him sweetly. "Can we get ice cream please?" she asked.

"Sure. Vanilla sundaes?"

"Ew, no. You're the only one who likes vanilla. I want something more flavourful. Do you think they have new flavours?" their voices faded as they walked away.