Ara and the rest of our group were practicing our performance of the week. We had been drafted with Gyuvin and Zhang Hao. The four of us actually worked great as a unit and for the first time, I didn't feel the usual nerves. We would be perfectly fine.

"Number one fan approaching," Gyuvin joked, and I didn't even have to turn around to see who it was. Something inside of me did a traitorous jolt of excitement, and I wanted to curse at my own response.

"Jagi," Gunwook drawled in his usual playful voice, stepping in front of me with his hands in his jogging pockets. "How's training going?"

I rolled my eyes while reaching for my pink water bottle and sipping from it.

"Better a second ago," I snapped in our usual brassy banter.

"Auch!" the other guys said while they started laughing. Gunwook gave me an even bigger smile. He liked being tormented by me, and I think the guy saw it as an even greater challenge somehow.

"Wookie, do us all a favor and take your meowing over Giovanna elsewhere. The floor is getting slippery with all that mucus you leave behind." Ara was a straight-up savage, and I loved her for it.

Gunwook gave her a dismissive flick of his wrist. "Oh, shut it, Ara."

They never got along.

"Anyway," Gunwook said after a long beat of awkward silence. "I'll leave you all to it! I just wanted to see you real quick. See how things were going."

Zhang Hao snorted something, which got a punch in the gut from Gyuvin.

As he was walking away back to the crowded backstage, I gave my teammates a fake annoyed look.

"He never learns!"

Gyuvin added under his breath, "I feel bad for the guy, Gio. Give him a break!"

"A break? What am I? A charity provider?"

Zhang Hao let out a bouldering laugh. Ara just stretched her arms further over her head while moving from side to side, warming up.

"No, but I think it's turning into something quite sad now," Gyuvin said, his usual funny banter dimming down as I saw he was serious about this subject.

"I'm not leading him on. I've always told him exactly how I feel!" Liar, a voice from within said. I ignored it.

"Which is?" Gyuvin just couldn't let it die down.

"I'm not interested! I will never be interested! Gunwook has ZERO chance, a zero shot! I would be more inclined to date one of the girls than I would EVER date him!"

I put my arms on my hips firmly, dropping the subject, but my three teammates had someone in view behind me. They had a varied array of shocked and sad expressions painted on.

I turned around, and Gunwook was standing there with a cup of hot jasmine tea in his palms, my favorite. His usual happy puppy expression had dropped to a very sad puppy expression. It slowly ripped through my heart as I realized he had heard everything.

"Gunwook..." I sighed as I approached, but he noped out of my way. Shaking his head and turning around.

"Gunwook!" I said with more emotion this time as I sped after him, but he was damn fast on those long legs. My jasmine tea went in the trashcan, and he had perfect aim because he didn't spill a drop.

"Just wait a second!" I yelled. Billie and Choonhae gave me worried frowns in passing as they saw my distress.

I hadn't meant to hurt him!

I finally managed to get a hold of Gunwook's muscular biceps as he had to wait for Bongcha's group to exit the one door to the backstage area.

He shook me away from him. "Don't," he said with a voice laced with tears. "Just don't. I get it, Gio. Just... let me be!"

And off he went, and I stood there, rooted to the spot, feeling like the worst person alive.