Aera spent her weekend looking over the music sheets she was given. She was quick to learn the first few without any breaks. She dismissed any social events to stay in the music room practicing the songs. She made sure to wear headphones to block any prying ears from listening. Now it was the start of yet another week to which the girl found herself walking into the SM building yet again.
Something about finding herself in the building so often felt weird. She had purposely passed the building various times before. Now she was quick to hop on the bus to get to it.
Aera sat in the recording studio by herself a few minutes after one of the staff had left her. She finished recording the piano parts for the first song in the album. Thankfully she had successfully not made any mistakes and received only impressed compliments to which only caused the excitement to course through her.
Unfortunately Sunny had to tend to other schedules so they didn't get to meet. Now Aera made her way through the company towards the practice room in search of her brother.
She had expected to see more of him but instead being at SM seemed to not only occupy his time but hers as well.
She stopped when she caught a glimpse of the members of NCT as they stood around panting heavily. She recognized Mark's back as he talked to Jungwoo who instantly met her eyes.
Through the glass Aera motioned for him to tap his brother. Mark turned around confused and stared through the glass at his twin sister. His face beaming with happiness as he jogged towards the door.
"Why don't you come in?" He held the door half-open leaving enough room for her to walk through.
Aera shook her head. "I don't want to interrupt,"
Mark dismissed her reply with a wave of his hand before pulling her inside. The girl placed her feet against the ground refusing to move and he only continued to pull her.
At the sound of protest, the rest of the members looked towards the door witnessing yet another banter between the Lee siblings.
"Ara they won't mind," Mark said through gritted teeth as he put effort into pulling her. The girl was already inside the door as she continued to try and escape his grasp. Once she saw everyone was staring she gave up and sighed. Her cheeks instantly turning red in embarrassment.
Everyone moved towards the girl to greet and congratulate her. Everyone except Haechan who shyly stood behind. He was unsure of how to approach the situation. Just three days ago they had both agreed that they could be more civil but it felt like a figment of his imagination.
Aera saw the boy over Taeil's shoulder. She couldn't help but feel somewhat shy. She instantly averted her eyes to avoid making eye contact. For some reason, the girl couldn't help but think back to their conversation in the store.
"We're going to record a practice video so you can sit over there if you want," the girl nodded and followed her brother's instructions as she took a seat in one of the couches towards the back of the practice room. She stood relatively in the center where she could perfectly see their dance.
She watched them all take their place as soon as the music started playing. The playful aura instantly turning serious as they all stopped smiling.
Taeyong started rapping in the center and the rest of the members followed the rehearsed choreography perfectly. The girl couldn't help but stare in awe as they flawlessly moved their bodies in sync.
Aera's eyes unknowingly seemed to wander towards the maknae of the group as he moved. She stared in awe as he performed every move with accuracy and precision.
Everyone seemed to move flawlessly but something about him caused her to not take her eyes off. She was only more amazed when he moved to the center to sing his part. The high vocals he effortlessly sang made it look almost easy.
She always knew he was talented but seeing it up close only proved that he truly deserved the nickname of an ace.
They all managed to finish the song perfectly. Instantly a few members laying in the ground as they breathed heavily. Mark instantly walked towards his sister with a proud smile.
The girl was staring at a certain boy as he sat against the wall and drank water hungrily.
"Ara!" Mark snapped his fingers in front of her face to get her to focus. Her eyes instantly shifted away from the boy to meet her brother's eyes.
"I was asking you, how do you think we did?" He still carried a proud smile obviously happy that his sister got to witness his dance. She barely attended his events because of her busy schedule so he was excited at the opportunity of her watching him live.
"You guys did great," Aera's mind seemed to be somewhere else as she complimented her brother. Mark didn't seem to notice as his smile grew bigger.
"How's recording going?" He wiped his neck with a towel. The girl grimaced at the sight of his sweating figure.
"It's going well. Everyone's really sweet," her eyes couldn't help but briefly look over at him. He was laughing loudly at something Johnny had said. His head fell against the older boy's shoulder with a bright smile.
"Are you okay?" Mark looked at his sister worriedly while placing a hand on her knee. He noticed her distant behavior and he feared that her working at SM would only bring her more stress.
"What?" He tried analyzing her.
"Mark I'm fine. I'm just thinking about my upcoming performance," she lied through her teeth and smiled to cover her guilt.
"You have a solo coming up? When?" Her concert wasn't until winter so she was still left with enough time to prepare.
"I'm not sure the date yet," he could only worry she had more on her plate than she could handle. Aera could tell what he was thinking. She put her hand on top of his to reassure him. Both sat in silence but could somehow communicate through minor movements and looks.
"They do that and it's always scary." Johnny stared at the twins. Haechan looked up to see them sit silently. He never believed in twin telepathy until he met them. Even though they spent so little time together, they stilled seemed to know what was going on just by looking at the other.
"I'm jealous," Yuta could only sulk in the corner as he stared as well. Not only did he have to share Mark with his members but also a whole other person who shared a uterus with him. How could he compete against that?
Mark got up to join the rest, he pulled his sister along. They made eye contact as soon as she approached them. Both of them seemed nervous to talk.
"I thought I told you not to come so often" Haechan feigned annoyance as he stared up at the girl. Johnny discretely nudged him as a sign for him not to start.
"I won't listen to you," Aera mirrored his expression. To the rest, this was normal. Nobody seemed to catch the hint of a smile on either of their faces as they playfully shot dagger at one another. Haechan was the one to look away first like always and Aera smirked happily.
Something about their newfound interactions caused Haechan to feel his heartbeat against his chest in excitement.
Aera on the other hand could feel her cheeks burn. Her hair helping to mask the redness.
-
"How was the recording?" Haechan made sure that all of the members were far away so he could talk to the girl.
Aera couldn't help but feel grateful that he seemed to want updates on her new job.
"It actually went great. I made no mistakes so it finished fast. They even said I was a natural-born player," something about talking to him made her spill everything.
"Ehh I'll have to hear it from them," she playfully shoved the boy away in a teasing manner. He laughs lightly but immediately pointed a finger at her.
"We agreed no hitting!" Aera couldn't help but laugh at his serious face.
An unknown figure appeared around the corner to which they instantly jumped away from each other. Aera coughed to mask her laugh and Haechan stuffed his hands in his pockets and started to whistle. They watched the staff member cluelessly walk away.
"Do we have to hide that were civil now?" Aera wondered the same thing as soon as he asked.
"It may seem weird that we're talking out of nowhere," the boy nodded in agreement seeing the truth behind her words.
"We can slowly start to show that we don't completely hate each other now," she said as she saw him start to think deeply. Both couldn't help but feel odd at their predicament.
They had just started to get their friendship back but couldn't openly show that they don't hate each other anymore. They knew it wasn't forbidden for them to be civil but things would surely be weird. Nobody just stopped hating each other from one day to another.
One thing they both failed to see was their past feelings. Did they even actually hate each other?