Face-off. (1/1)

November 27/HyunMi’s mind We fell in line in front of the bus door. I was about to step in the bus when something tugged my backpack. I glanced over my shoulder.“Sit beside me.”“No.” I snickered.“Hop in guys~” someone from behind said.I went in, thinking where to sit. Suddenly Kibum pushed me into an empty pair of seats.I hissed. I placed my bag on the vacant space, but he placed it on the floor next to my foot and sat on the chair. “What, you don’t like it there?”“No I don’t.”“You can sit on my lap,” he offered flirtingly.I slapped his arm. “I’d rather sit on the roof.”He chuckled, and put his head on my shoulder. For the nth time, this terrible flirt.“Ya I didn’t give you my permission,”“I don’t need it,” he took my hand and started clapping it against his, playing with it. “So, HyunMi-ya, you enjoyed the outing?”“Um…it’s okay…I had a good time collecting seashells with Changmin-oppa.”He stopped and glared at me. “What?”“You heard what I said,”“Say it again.” he poked my belly. And again. again, again, and again, until he was tickling me.“Ow! Hey stop! Ya—Ki—Kibum-ah! Cut it out!” So Eul-unnie’s head popped up from the seat in front of us. “Get a room you guys,” she teased, then disappeared as fast as she showed.I slapped Kibum’s hand.“Ow!”The engine started, and that was when we stopped.“Won’t you sleep?” I asked him.“Now that you said it, guess I will. ‘kay, night.” He put his head on my shoulder and made it his pillow.” Before I could protest he added, “Stay still.”“Fine…” I snorted. Then off the bus went, back to Seoul. Key’s mind“Hyuuuuuung! How was the trip?” Taemin was the one who greeted me first when I got to the dorm.“Hi.” I greeted them. “It was fun.”Jjong-hyung snickered. “Any moment?”I laughed. Of course I knew what he meant. “I’d be lying if there was none.”“Kibum-ah, you know, isn’t HyunMi annoyed with your flirting with her?” Minho asked.“Oh, of course it does,” I rubbed my nose. “But it’s okay. What’s wrong with flirting anyway?” I went to the room to settle my things there. But then Onew-hyung called—“Nothing, really; but the matter will be, if you’re falling for the one you’re flirting with.” Then they chuckled altogether. I closed the door with a bang. I threw my bag in the air and I landed together with it on the bed. I rested the back of my hand on my forehead and looked up blankly at the ceiling. Later, the view transformed into a dark sky, and fireworks exploded across it, splaying dusts of different colors.“Kibum-ah!”HyunMi’s voice called out.“Kibum-ah!”“Kibum-ah!”“Kibum-aaaah!”……………………… “YA, KIBUM-AH.”I snapped back to reality. Something overshadowed the view, and it was Minho. “Hey, you’ve been sleeping with your eyes open,”I blinked.“What’s wrong?”I blinked again, and shook my head. “N-nothing.”Minho gawked at me.“I said nothing! And stop looking at me like that!”“Fine… I was just going to tell you that we’ve got snacks. Go outside if you want to eat,” then he marched out of the room. I got up, and then looked around the room.I admit this only occasionally, but now it hit me, with a very powerful impact. This thought. This denial. This feeling.I wouldn’t be daydreaming about her for no apparent reason now, would I? I stood up and smugly shrugged my shoulders. “I’m not the only one; she does, too,” November 28; HyunMi I stared at the rough white surface and slowly caressed it. The moment next I looked at a bundle of hair clutched in my hand, and then at the small pool of colors in their respected indents that were altogether grouped in one plate. I looked at the white, rough board in front of me again.I tilted my head in sudden interest as I looked at the surface. I imagined having swirls on it, of bright and different colors. I imagined it with a landscape-view on it. I imagined everything else, anything under the sun that could possibly be applied on this empty slate in need of extreme imagination. But nothing. Nothing came. No idea came at all.When I had enough I threw my head backwards and exasperatingly, “AAARRGH, ARTIST’S BLOCK!” I donned out my apron and hung it on the canvas. I set aside my mixing plate and returned the thin brush on the canister. I stomped out of my room. “Why does it have to be so hard? Darn it, why I can’t I think of anything else?” I grumbled while I took the steps down. “It’s not like I—yikes!” I almost skidded on the step and fortunately avoided breaking my neck. I could still remember the pain from the first time I had an accident on these stairs, and hopefully it would be the last.But today, it wasn’t because of a tube of ochre paint I left on the flight of stairs. Now, rather, the cause of my slide was because of what I saw. “HyunMi-ssi!” Kikwang-oppa waved. “Hi!”“Uhh…hi…” I greeted back, but was not able to wave back because my arms were tightly holding on to the handrails. One of my legs was curling itself on the baluster. I probably looked like a koala.They, at first, stared at me with their mouths agape, but as soon as I made my awkward reply, they laughed.I stood up straight to regain my dignity. I got down the stairs with my face warm, and the room fell silent as I did my march and stopped beside the chair So Eul-unnie was sitting on.“Hyung, this is HyunMi, Key’s partner!” Kikwang-oppa introduced me.I looked at the boys who oppa was with. One of them as familiar, but the other four were just…wait, what were their names again?“Hmm-mm.” I cleared my throat with a ball of my fist on my mouth. “Annyeonghasseyo, Moon HyunMi imnida,” I bowed. “It’s n-nice to m-meet you…” I looked at Dongwoon. I gave him a telepathic signal that said, help me.He just nodded his head once, giving me confidence. It’s alright, they don’t bite.“Nice to meet you, HyunMi-ssi!” The one closest to where I stood grabbed my hand and shook it. His face was like that of a child, and it looked so squishy but I almost forgot that he was an oppa. “Hi! I’m Yoseob!”“E…hehe, anyeonghasseyo, Yoseob-o…oppa.”“And, HyunMi-ssi, meet the rest!” he pointed them one by one. “That one’s Dujun-hyung,”“Hello,” the guy with slightly big eyes did a little wave.“Hyunseung,” the one sitting beside him informed me. “How are you, HyunMI-ssi?”I nodded slowly. You see, I turn anti-social when I meet famous people.“Junhyung.” The one sitting beside oppa jerked his head up once. “’Sup.”“Well, you know me,” Dongwoon was sitting beside Junhyung-oppa. He greeted me like that, a bit abashed. “It’s nice to see you again, HyunMi-ssi.”“Yeah.” I felt relieved that he was there, a familiar face that I know. Sure, Lee Kikwang was present but I don’t consider him counted. And together, who were they?A six-man boy band whose maknae may be mistaken for the leader, BEAST. “So!” Yoseob-oppa clapped his hands once to call our attention. “So Eul-ssi, how is Kikwang as your partner?”Kikwang-oppa and So Eul-unnie stared at each other. “He’s…um…fine…” unnie answered without taking her eyes off him. They both laughed.“Huh? Really? He’s fine? No, really! So Eul-ssi, fear not, I am here to protect you! Don’t you know this guy’s a really conceited person? Yes, yes he is! Now tell the truth! This is inquisition!” Yoseob-oppa was pawning over unnie. We had to laugh at the way he was saying it.As unnie told them stories of their partnership, I caught Dongwoon looking at me. Have a seat. He mouthed.Everything’s occupied. I mouthed back.He flapped his right hand to my direction and patted the space beside him.Trying to do it secretly, I approached it and sat beside him. And, well… “Oooooh~ look, ya, Dongwoon-ah stop hogging HyunMi all to yourself! HyunMi-ssi, c’mere, the space is bigger here!” Yoseob-oppa caught me.“No, not there—here, HyunMi-ssi, you can take my seat!” Dujun-oppa offered next.Both of them gave Dongwoon a look that meant like they were taunting him.Ruckus reigned on the lobby for a while as the boys went on a riot on whom I should sit beside with.Only one of them didn’t really care. The one who had the air of a cool guy, Junhyung-oppa. As the other four argued while standing up (Kikwang-oppa didn’t join in and was just talking to So Eul-unnie like they were hearing nothing) Junhyung-oppa closed in to my direction and tapped my shoulder twice. “Sit beside me instead; let’s taunt these guys.” He smiled.I chuckled. “Sure,” I moved closer to him and he assisted me. “AWW, JUNHYUNG-AH, HOW COULD YOU?”“HYUNMI-SSI, WHAT DID HE BRIBE YOU?”

They all protested. “Ya, for your information I didn’t bribe her; she voluntarily sat beside me ‘cause she doesn’t like riotous boys like you!” oppa answered for me. He turned to me. “Right, HyunMi-ssi?”I just chuckled. “Come on, guys, stop fighting!” Sometimes, it’s really better to hang out with boys. They’re more chaotic in an amusing way, and most of all, they make you laugh.Afternoon came and we were still not tired of each and every one’s antics. In the middle of our group chat an idea finally struck me; my artist’s block went away, because of these guys. -KEY-I heard laughter before my hand even touched the doorknob.  “Key!”“Hi, Key~”“Oh, Key! Hello!”My right eye twitched.“Kibum-ah!” So many people… “Annyeonghasseyo,” I greeted them formally.“Just in time for you to come, Key, dinner is ready,” So Eul-noona smiled.HyunMi rose from her seat beside Junhyung-hyung and approached me. “Come, come! Say hi to them!” she pulled my arm with both of her hands.“Yeah, yeah, I’ve met them before you even did,” I stated in a bored tone, holding one of her wrists.“Hehehehe~” HyunMi chuckled like a kid. “Let’s go to the dining room,” she invited as she walked backwards. Obviously she was hyper as of the moment.“Ah, HyunMi—“ I wanted to tell her something but I was interrupted by—“Heyyy, HyunMi-ssi! Sit beside me now!” Yoseob-hyung grabbed her arm. “I wasn’t able to a while ago you know,” he eyed Junhyung-hyung. The latter just rolled his eyes.“Um, sure.” HyunMi answered timidly. She gazed at me with the look don’t get mad.Fine. I responded with a nod of the head once to ward her off, sighing at the back of my mind. During dinner HyunMi sat in the middle of Dujun-hyung and Yoseob-hyung. I was sitting beside Dongwoon. We had a jolly dinner, because of the endless chattering of those people.“Key,” Dongwoon called me under the noise.“Yeah?”“Look at HyunMi.”I did. The usual dork was there, and I was glad to see her like that again after HyunJi-noona almost took her. HyunMi…she…looked…okay, nice. It was nice to see her being all sunny again.The thing I didn’t like this time, I was sharing the view with someone else.  -          - - - - - - -“WHAT?” my jaw dropped.“Key, please? My hands are still tired from cooking. Can you and Dongwoon do it?”“Why…sure, noona,” my mate answered.I sighed. “Well, if… if he agrees, okay, I will wash the dishes too.”  “How was your outing, Key?” Dongwoon asked while rubbing the sponge on the bowl.“Hmm. It was fun. Hyunmi and I fought again,”“Oh? How? Why?”Because of you. “Secret. Past is past, never discuss.”He just laughed. The moment next we were silent, and it was awkward. Both of us knew something was up. Something that could potentially damage our friendship.“Dongwoon-ah,”“Yes?”“Tell me something, and I want the truth.” I put the spoon under the running water to rinse it.Was it just me? Or he gulped? “What is it?”

“You’re hitting on HyunMi, aren’t you?” I put it as a question asking for confirmation, to make it sound more… I don’t know. cool?He took a while before replying, I had to look at him.“At first I wasn’t…” he smiled with sweet dreaminess. “But she’s…she’s funny. Talented. Unique.” If he said pretty I would have laughed out loud. “And about hitting on her? Well, more or less.” He turned to me. “Why’d you ask?”I snickered.“Eh?”I wiped my hand on the apron to dry my hand. I then held it out to him. “You know…let’s have a deal,” HYUNMIIIIIII :D“Yo wazzu—“ I almost slid on the floor when I saw the two of them. “AHAHAHAHHAAH YOU GUYS WASHED THE DISHES! OH MY GOSH! THIS IS GREAT!” I laughed at them. “You look so girly with those aprons!”“Shut up,” Kibum wet his hand and sprinkled water at me.“Ow, ya!” I shielded myself.“Leave us alone will you? Geez,” he grunted.“Fine, just wash this for me,” I handed Dongwoon my empty glass. “Thanks in advance,” I started to make my march out but— “Ahh, HyunMi-ssi…” Dongwoon grabbed my wrist.I was flabbergasted for a while. “Um, yes?”“Can I…talk to you for a moment?”I peered at Kibum over Dongwoon’s shoulder. He was just folding his arms and pretending nothing was happening. He seemed like he was okay with this.I don’t know how I did it, but I caught his attention just by looking at him.We had a quick telepathic conversation. Can I?Duh. He rolled his eyes. I looked at Dongwoon. “Sure, come on. Let’s go to the garden.”