It was the showcase day. Mae sat backstage, looking at herself in the mirror. Usually, she is very confident before going up on stage. However, today, she couldn't help but feel nervous. She breathed in and turned her heels to search for Min Cheol.

Being the student council president, Min Cheol didn't really have any time to breathe as he had to go through the list and check if everything was perfect. When Mae found him, he was talking to one of the coordinators. She leaned on the pillar, silently waiting for him as her gaze fell on him.

When the coordinator left, Mae stood straight and advanced towards Min Cheol, those high heels clicking on the ground, composing a fashionable melody. She snatched the list away from him as her shawl brushed against his suit.

"Take some rest, president-nim," Mae asserted as she scanned the list, "I will do the rest for you."

Min Cheol raised his brows.

"I am also a member of student council, I know how to get things done," she patted his shoulder, "Just trust me."

Min Cheol's eyes traced her as she left. She was looking gorgeous, wearing a rose gold cheongsam; her hair was exquisitely styled in a vintage fashion. She looked like a socialite from old Shanghai, beguiling him. Then, as if remembering something, Mae came to a halt and turned and playfully simpered at Min Cheol.

"You look really handsome today by the way," she complimented as her eyes trailed down the black suit he wore with an even darker shirt underneath. His pale skin illuminated even more under the lighting.

If Min Cheol was determined to hold onto his poker face, now, however, he couldn't help but broke into a small laugh. He wanted to tell her how she looked beautiful and stunning too but she left even before he could utter a word. He is usually a shy person who wouldn't let out compliments that easily yet Mae seemed to have her own magic that could influence him to do things he wouldn't have done.

Mae wasn't lying when she said he looked handsome. Even though he never used makeup in high school, and even despised the thought of wearing makeup as a guy, he still looked striking. Suits always do wonders to men. When Mae was walking through the backstage, she heard at least four or five people making flattering remarks about Min Cheol. One of her seniors even came up to her and teased her, "Min Cheol is looking extra fine today. I thought you will jump on him."

"Oh, I would but that will scare him away," Mae replied in a deadpan voice, causing her senior to laugh hysterically.

"Okay, I am leaving now, bye!" Mae swiftly moved pass her senior, with an "I am done with this person" look on her face, to get back to work.

When she was done, it was almost Min Cheol's turn to go up on stage. She left everything and paced towards the audience to sit on a chair her friend reserved for her. She had seen Min Cheol practicing and rehearsing to this piece many times, yet it felt different when she actually saw him on stage. He was sparkling under the warm stage lightings, which added some color to his pale skin.

His fingers traced the keys, enchanting the crowd with each and every movement of his. When he was done playing the piece he was supposed to play, he paused for three seconds before pressing the piano keys again.

Mae's mouth fell agape, surprised by his action. She somehow knew in an instant that the melodies that slipped through his fingers were never played by any man before, it was his own composition. She couldn't believe that he would use this chance to let the whole school hear his own work, despite being well aware of how this extension might add extra workloads to other student council members and the volunteers.

The last note still lurked around Mae's ears before she finally forced herself up to applaud for him.

"If you don't applaud after my performance like you did after his, Yeomrim, I swear I am breaking this friendship of ours," Dang Sikyeong grumbled when she sat down after Min Cheol left the stage. He rested one of his arms on the back of Mae's chair, eyes glaring at Mae.

"My performance is right after yours, I won't even be able to see your performance up front," Mae reminded him as she slightly turned to push his hand away from her chair.

"Ugh, aren't you in the council? You could just add a few more performances between ours," Dang Sikyeong groaned.

He has been trying to protest because Mae hadn't been giving him as much attention as she used to before. There is a Chinese idiom "jian se wang you（见色忘友）", which Mae taught him when he kept on ignoring her to stalk his crush. This saying is for the people who neglect their friends when smitten in love. Now that Mae had found her own crush, Sikyeong wanted to say this back to her and, when he did, Mae replied with a sarcastic smile: "This is exactly why we are friends, birds of a feather flock together."

Dang Sikyeong rolled his eyes yet had nothing to make a comeback. After a while, he decided to just stop arguing with Mae and went to the backstage with her to get ready for their performance.

Unlike the stage where everything seems perfect, the backstage is always in chaos. She worriedly searched for Min Cheol only to find him in a corner being scolded by one of the teachers: "Min Cheol ah, you could just tell us earlier. How can you be so reckless? You do know how important your role is, right? If the student council president breaks the rule like this, what will other students do? Do you even realize what responsibilities you have? "

The whole time, Min Cheol kept his eyes on the ground as he slightly bowed, his mouth shut. Mae wasn't sure if he was even listening to the words that came out of the teacher's mouth. She hid behind the curtain, silently waiting for him.

After the teacher left, Min Cheol casually looked at the curtain and uttered, "Im Yeomrim, I saw you." His voice was deep as if his vocal chords are made of metals, pulling Mae's heartstrings.

"Hi." Mae showed herself in front of him, a soft smile on her lips. Being called out like this, she wasn't awkward at all as if she expected him to.

"Is our deal still valid?" Mae asked as she stepped forward, inching closer to Min Cheol.

Min Cheol lightly coughed, rubbing his nose using his finger as he turned his head slightly to avoid her gaze while answering, "Yes."

Mae giggled, eyeing the hint of red that painted his skin.

Min Cheol coughed again and looked at her with a straight face, "I will go to work now, best of luck!"

Then, without wasting any time, Min Cheol paced out of the space, leaving Mae smiling at his back like an idiot in love.

Cheongsam: Also known as qipao (旗袍), a body-hugging one-piece Chinese dress for women.

Mae didn't wear the exact same design, I just added the photos because I felt like the glossary alone wouldn't be enough.