Surprise! (1/1)

Gwiboon watched from a distance as Minho played soccer with a young boy. They had slowly made their way to Central Park and after sitting on a bench in comfortable silence a runaway soccer ball had bounced against their legs. It didn’t take long before Minho was kicking the ball back to little boy with curly red hair and a bright smile. Catching her staring, Minho winks at her, yelling at her to join them but she only shakes her head. She may be a person with many skills, but soccer is not one of them. Her phone vibrates endlessly in her pocket, but she continues to ignore it. After weeks of being glued to a blank screen that filled her with disappointment and heartache, Gwiboon has had enough moping. She is in New York to live it, not let it pass her by. It’s amazing how content she feels now, watching Minho and observing the other people in the park. Even in a place so far from home that’s filled with so many unfamiliar faces, sights, and smells, her heart is at peace and she feels comfortable just being herself, just being in the moment. No matter how much she loves and misses her home, Gwiboon honestly can’t remember ever feeling so whole.  ~ Minho passes the ball to the little boy, happy to see him smile and hear that little tyke laugh. The boy can’t be older than five but he seems perfectly fine playing soccer with a complete stranger. Although his mother is watching from a nearby bench, he’s happy that in a city so big, the park is still a place of community. He catches a glimpse of Gwiboon staring idly off into the distance. Minho had hoped that she would be busy staring at him, but he is glad to see that she seems happy, more herself. Whatever had been on her mind for the past few weeks had been driving her slowly off a cliff, making her unapproachable and moody. Jinki had refused to say anything, but Minho wasn’t stupid. He knew that Gwiboon had ties back in Korea, but the rational side of his brain couldn’t stop his heart from beating every time her heard her laugh or his heart from stopping whenever he accidentally caught her staring at him. There was nothing lovelier than the faint blush that spread on her cheeks or the dimple that graced her mouth when she was caught red handed and he wouldn’t apologize for the way it made his heart soar. Minho wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew that he couldn’t let Gwiboon slip through his fingers. ~ Jinki paced the length of his dorm room, taking turns between staring at his phone – which was proving to be useless – and Taemin, who was still sitting patiently at Gwiboon’s desk. “Dammit, Gwiboon,” Jinki muttered under his breath, willing the girl to just answer her damn phone. She had been glued to the device for days trying to get a hold of Taemin and now that he was here, literally in her own room, she had suddenly gone MIA. Seeing no other choice, he finally dialed Minho and waited for his best friend to answer. He had wanted to avoid this conversation – who wanted to be the one to tell their friend that the girl he had a crush on had an unexpected visitor, especially when that visitor was her boyfriend, or whatever Taemin was? Not Jinki, that’s for sure. “Hyung!” Minho crowed into the phone, a little out of breath from laughter.  Gwiboon could be heard in the background, grumbling about leaves in her hair or something, but Jinki didn’t have the time to try and figure it out. “Put Gwiboon on the phone!” “Uh….okay…?” Minho’s confusion could clearly be heard in his hesitation but he followed Jinki’s directions because soon an agitated Gwiboon was snapping in his ear. “How can I help you, old man?” Taking a deep breath to give him strength, Jinki plowed through it without trying to overanalyze exactly what he would say to explain the situation. “Gwiboon-ah, you have a visitor. I really think you should come back. Now.” “A visitor?” she reflected back, drawing out the syllables as if she was waiting for Jinki to say something else. “Yes, a visitor. A special visitor. Please come home!” “OH MY GOD!” Gwiboon yelled into the phone before disconnecting the line. Jinki stared at his phone as it returned to his home screen not sure what just happened. “Is she coming?” Jinki jumped five feet in the air, spinning around to find that Taemin was now standing right behind him. “I- uh, I don’t know…?” A hurt look crossed Taemin’s face before he once again sat down, crossing his arms and leaning back in the chair. Whatever she was doing, Jinki sure hope she got here quick. ~ “I’m sorry, but I have to go!” Gwiboon thrust the phone into Minho’s chest, all but sprinting away from him in the direction they had come. Minho waved goodbye to his little pal, smiling warmly at his mother, before he followed after Gwiboon. He didn’t know what Jinki had said but it had definitely brought the fire back to her eyes. “Gwi, what’s going on? What’s the rush?” he panted, finally catching up with her. “Jonghyun’s here!” she squealed, skipping a step in excitement as continued walking at a brisk pace. “I just knew he would visit – I knew it!” Silence settled over them as they made their way back to campus. Gwiboon was itching with anticipation, no doubt wanting to see her brother after so long apart. Minho knew how special he was to her and was glad that she would be happy again. Maybe this was just the distraction she needed after worrying about that guy. The more petty, selfish side of Minho was glad that she wouldn’t be dwelling on her past relationship, but he knew that it wouldn’t be that easy. Maybe he was a great guy, maybe they were perfect for each other, who knew? But maybe, just maybe, Minho was too. ~Gwiboon’s heart was beating rapidly in her chest, her elation at getting to see her brother after so long was too almost too much for her to handle. She threw open the main entrance doors to her residence hall and halted at the long wait for the elevators. “Screw it,” she cursed, turning toward the stairwell and bounding up the stairs. Five flights up she felt like she was dying but it was worth it if it meant she got to see Jonghyun faster. She heard Minho clambering up the stairs behind her until she finally reached the seventh floor and pushed through the door. Her side ached and her breathing was heavy, but none of that mattered. She just wanted to see her brother, her person. After what felt like ages, she finally reached her door and, taking one last deep breath, swung the door open, screaming, “Jonghyun-ah, you jerk!” Jinki was standing in the middle of the room, staring at her with wide eyes and his eyebrows reaching almost to his hairline in shock. She bypassed him to search for her brother, only to see- “T-taemin-ah?” Taemin rose slowly from his seat, a determined look on his face as he walked toward where she was standing still in the open doorway. Minho had finally caught up to her but Gwiboon couldn’t focus on what he was saying as Taemin gently placed a hand on her cheek and ran his thumb across her lips. Gwiboon gawked at him, not sure if she could believe that he was actually here, in her bedroom, in New York City. “Taemin-ah, w-what’re you doing here?” Their gazes locked at the question, and the familiar feeling of desire and hurt and love tore through her abdomen as he leaned forward until their noses were brushing against each other and his breath ghosted over her lips. “I couldn’t stand the thought of being away from you for a second longer…” he trailed off, moving his hand to tangle in the long silky strands of her hair before his grip tightened on the back of her neck and he crushed their lips together in a desperate kiss.