Ryujin, Yuna and I: A high-school story

Chapter 2 (A dare with a crush?)

Chapter 2

I was sitting on the bus, heading to the studio. To be fair, the weather was good--quite sunny with a light breeze. But even with such cooling weather, and the air-conditioning of the bus, I was still feeling really hot. I tried to look out of the window to distract myself, and try to force myself not to look the other way, but I couldn't help but resist.

Sitting beside me was Shin Yuna, visual and maknae of ITZY, but I couldn't care about whether she was an idol or not. She had been my childhood crush since we were in primary school, and although she never knew it, I always tried to help her in whatever way possible. I always dreamed of sitting beside her in class and who would expect that the opportunity I have been dreaming for, would be bestowed through a crowded bus?

Yuna turned around, facing me. She was 1 year younger than me and Ryujin so she always addressed us as "Oppa" and "Unnie". It was really cute when she said that and she's the baby of our dance and everyone loves her for her cute and bubbly personality.

We reached the studio's bus stop, alighting together before heading in. We were a bit late and as we scrambled in, Yuna almost bumped into Ryujin at the door. She was checking the attendance and she saw both of us running in. She looked at Yuna, then glared at me.

Was that jealousy? Or just plain anger that we were late and nearly bumped into her? I could sense a tinge of jealousy within her but as you would expect of her, she quickly regained her cool composure.

"Just go line up in the formation, today we'll be doing Loona's So What, it's a tough choreography and we all know they are so good they have really high expectations of this dance cover."

Why did she seem so tired? Was learning the choreography too difficult? After all, not everyone can be as good as Loona, the best girl group of 2020...

The 2 hours passed by in a flurry of activity, with us stopping regularly due to miscommunication or just poor timing. Ryujin seemed really tired and at the end, just said,

"It's been a tough day guys, go home and rest well..."

Was she okay? Everyone packed up their bags and was about to leave, Yuna tugged at my sleeve and said, "Do you want to go get an ice-cream at the convenience store? Together?"

When she said that, I was ecstatic! A date with Yuna, even if it's just ice-cream, was fantastic, it was something I've always been dreaming about. I never thought it would actually be happening!

"Yes, of course, why not?" I was so nervous but excited, I couldn't even form sentences properly. With that, we held hands and headed to the 7-11 across the road. I was really happy and excited.

Unbeknownst to me, Ryujin was still packing up her stuff. Seeing me and Yuna hand-in-hand, she lay slumped on the floor, completely tired. She wanted to cry, but she didn't have the energy to. She wanted to shout, but she knew that if anyone saw her in this state, the company would have to face it.