THANK YOU // DEX

7.

Siyoung just sat on the bed, waiting for her manager to call. Three hours had passed since the nightmare, but she couldn't bring herself to fall asleep again. She was afraid the dream might return. She didn't want to experience that pain again. She wanted pleasant dreams, not this. That's why she decided to stay awake.

Just as she was losing hope, her mobile phone started ringing. It was 7 AM. Siyoung picked it up with a smile and told Namgil that she would be there in half an hour, just as they had planned.

She took a quick shower and then dressed in black shorts and a loose white T-shirt. She didn't need to look nice; she was heading to the salon where they would make her look however they wanted. Her manager had messaged her yesterday, saying the theme was "Scary Saturday" and that she should let him know what she wanted to be transformed into so that her team could prepare for it. She chose to become Coraline.

~•~

Siyoung looked really good. She was given a blue wig that suited her well, to the point where she started considering cutting her hair like that and even dyeing it. She also got a yellow raincoat and the doll that Coraline had.

She greeted the others who were excited that Siyoung was the one replacing Taeyeon for this episode. They also complimented her costume.

And then the guests arrived. They were the only ones Siyoung didn't know who will they be. They hadn't told her. So she was surprised when she spotted three guests she knew.

"Oh, Siyoung!" exclaimed DinDin when he saw the girl. Siyoung smiled. She had met DinDin a few times before, and they even had a song together, so she was glad to see a familiar face. She liked DinDin and had even done a cover of his song "DinDin is DinDin" for fun. She didn't take it seriously; fans wanted it, so she made a little joke out of it.

"DinDin, my friend!" Siyoung also exclaimed and gave the older guy a high-five. He was older, but they were quite similar in height. Siyoung used to tease him about his height - well, who doesn't... everyone teases him about it.

"Kang Siyoung, your name. Now just the number," another voice chimed in, a voice Siyoung recognized even though she didn't want to. Dex. He was dressed like a character from the series "Sweet Home" - it suited him. And he looks really good.

"You won't get it," she stuck her tongue out at him. Maybe it was because the others are around or maybe she was just having a good day (even after that nightmare), but she didn't feel any different in front of Dex. Suddenly, her palms weren't sweaty, and her breath wasn't quickening. Either they had met so many times that Siyoung's mind decided to let it be, or the others around them were influencing this.

"One day. One day," he replied and walked past her, going to introduce himself to the others.

"Hi, I'm Tsuki from Billie," Tsuki bowed when she saw her sunbaenim.

"Hi, Tsuki. I'm Kang Siyoung," Siyoung also bowed, "I've heard a few of your songs. You're really amazing, and you? You're incredible."

"Thank you, I'm really glad to hear that from someone like you," Tsuki smiled, "Can I hug you?" she asked. Siyoung nodded and extended her arms so Tsuki could hug her.

~•~

"Dex wrote something interesting here," Boom interrupted the conversation that had been going on after introducing Tsuki and showing her expressions during the song.

"What did he write?" Narae asked.

"His goal for today's episode is to get Siyoung's phone number," Boom read. Everyone first looked at Dex and then at Siyoung.

"Explanation?" Key asked.

"For the last three days, I keep running into Siyoung. We first met in a cafe, and I didn't know she was a singer. She looked pretty, and it occurred to me to ask for her number. But she left before I could ask, and as we kept meeting again and again, she keeps refusing to give it to me," Dex explained.

"You have to earn my number," Siyoung stuck out her tongue at him childishly.

"If I become a hero today, do I get that number?" he asked.

"I'll see."

~•~

They were playing the dessert game. Siyoung didn't feel comfortable during this game, as everyone around her was raising their hands violently.

Dex must have noticed it because when Nucksal raised his hand abruptly next to her, she jerked and hit the chair, which fell to the ground. She turned to pick up the chair, but Dex was already kneeling beside her and picking it up.

"Try closing your eyes, take a deep breath, and exhale. If that doesn't help, try focusing only on your breath and ignoring the surroundings," he advised her. Siyoung couldn't say anything to him at that moment.

But it worked. She really tried to focus only on her breath, and it helped. Even though Nucksal was raising his hand abruptly next to her, she didn't jerk anymore. She also managed to answer correctly.

"Thank you," she mumbled towards Dex, who smiled at her and nodded.

~•~

"So, Siyoung, does Dex deserve your number?" asked Boom as everything was winding down and they were having their final meal.

"I don't know about the number, but if he will be where we met the second time at five tomorrow, then we'll see," she smiled and looked at Dex.

"Deal."

"Did you just arrange a date on television? Aren't you an idol by any chance?" laughed Key and placed his hand on Siyoung's shoulder. Suddenly, all the muscles in her body stiffened, and she couldn't manage a response. Dex noticed it and discreetly removed Key's hand, as if he was helping him tidy up some mess (he pretended there was something there and he was helping him sweep it away).

"That's not a date. If you know what the second place we met was, you'd know that it's far from being a date," explained Siyoung.