Silence in Between
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Andrei's POV
We finally started practicing, beginning with our runway walk and blockings.
While we were rehearsing, I still couldn't take my eyes off the two of them—especially Rayver.
Every movement I made, my gaze couldn't help but drift toward him.
"Last round! Then water break!" he shouted as he wiped his sweat, until Bianca walked over and handed him a handkerchief.
They exchanged glances and even smiled at each other, and the way they looked at one another was so sticky, so intimate.
I immediately walked away and quickly headed backstage.
I was frowning, unable to erase the scene I had just witnessed from my mind.
Because of my lack of focus, I didn't notice where I was going and accidentally bumped into Kristine.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked me, and I looked at her.
"Sorry, I'm just sleepy!" I lied, then went back to walking the runway.
Kristine didn't say anything more, just patted me on the shoulder before continuing her turn on the runway.
I scratched my head, still thinking about what happened earlier.
After a few more minutes, I sat down on the floor from exhaustion—physically, emotionally, and mentally drained.
I let out a deep sigh, my eyes once again unconsciously drawn toward Rayver.
"Water break for 5 minutes, then we'll continue later. We'll also finalize our dance later!" he announced, then sat on the speaker in front.
"Don't you really have any plans of talking to me?" I muttered softly under my breath, still staring at him.
Until Kristine came over and sat beside me.
"Talk? Who are you planning to talk to?" she asked while drinking water.
"No one—you're such a gossip!" I snapped and grabbed the bottle of water she was holding, taking a drink from it.
"Hey! Stop it, I won't have any water left for later!" she scolded, hitting me lightly and snatching her bottle back from me.
"You're so stingy!" I teased, then turned my gaze back to Rayver, who was still sitting on the speaker.
And then Bianca approached him again, even offering him water. Rayver immediately took it and smiled at her.
I couldn't do anything but glare at them, especially at Bianca.
"Who are you staring at over there?" Kristine asked me as she looked in the direction I was watching.
"Girl, look!" she added.
"What?" I asked briefly, glancing at her.
"Am I the only one annoyed with her?" she replied.
"In my head, I said—me too."
"Look, instead of talking to his partner, he's busy with someone else," she continued, glaring at Bianca.
"Maybe they just know each other," I replied, still staring at Kristine.
"No, I really smell something fishy ever since before!" she insisted, drinking her water.
She couldn't take her eyes off them, barely even blinking.
"Hey!" I suddenly said loudly, tapping her shoulder.
She finally tore her gaze away from the two, looked at me, and asked,
"What? Have you made your account already?" she asked out of the blue.
I was caught off guard by her question. I thought she had already forgotten about that.
"Not yet!" I answered shortly.
"Hays!" she sighed and suddenly grabbed my cellphone.
"Why?" I asked while trying to get my phone back.
"I'll just make one for you!" she said as she tried to unlock my phone.
Good thing I managed to snatch it back.
"Okay fine, I'll make my account tonight!" I told her.
"Alright then!" she replied.
But honestly, I didn't know if I would really do it—should I make a new one or just reopen my old account?
I scratched my head again and let out another sigh. I grabbed the water bottle beside her and drank.
After a moment, Rayver stood up and walked to the center.
"Everyone, come here!" he called out to all of us.
Kristine and I quickly stood and walked toward the center.
"We only have two days left to prepare, so we need to polish our dance. If someone makes a mistake, they'll have to dance alone in the center. Is that clear?" he instructed us all.
Everyone responded; after all, we had no choice but to obey.
"Alright, go back to your places!" he added.
"Wow, this Rayver is so strict!" Kristine whispered.
We walked back to our positions for our production number.
We were already in place, just waiting for the music to start.
But then the speaker malfunctioned. They tried fixing it, but it still wouldn't work.
"Here's what we'll do instead—do the countings for now. I'll check the storage room if there's another speaker we can use," he said, standing and glancing at me.
I couldn't handle his gaze, so I just looked away into the distance.
Then he spoke again.
"Andrei! Can you come with me?" he asked, still staring at me.
"Huh? Me?" I exclaimed in surprise, pointing at myself while looking at him.
He just nodded.
Kristine suddenly pushed me forward. I turned to glare at her, but she only whispered,
"Go on!"
So, with no choice, I started walking toward him.
He began to walk, and I had no choice but to follow him.
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While we walked side by side, the awkwardness between us still lingered. The only sound filling the silence was the rhythm of our footsteps echoing through the hallway.
We kept walking toward the storage room, but neither of us said a word.
I also had no idea why he chose me to accompany him. He had just been talking to Bianca earlier—why didn't he ask her instead? Why me?
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"Some distances aren't measured in steps, but in everything left unsaid."
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