~💮~

Another month successfully passed at the mansion Ren has been slowly been getting comfortable with. He’s still working on socializing more with the housemates, but it hasn’t really been that easy as they were pretty outgoing and loud, something he wasn’t used to at all. It was definitely a struggle for him. He at least had Minhyun and Min Hee to stick with most of the time he’s out of his room. Right, he’s been trying to spend more time out of his room lately.

“Ren?” Minhyun asked at the living room entrance drying off a plate since he was currently doing dishes. It was just him and Ren in the mansion right now as their housemates were out doing things of their own. Nari and Hana went shopping, the guy went to hang out at the arcade for a bit, Mother Hen Minhyun denied their invite claiming he needed to clean the house…

Min Hee had went to the library for some extra studying and to get a few books she needed.

“Yes?” Ren looked over his shoulder to his housemate with curious eyes. He looked so cute right now sitting with his legs beneath him while facing the opposite way to watch the front entrance, like he was waiting for someone to come home and it was obvious who he was waiting for.

“Are you waiting for Min Hee?” Minhyun smiled softly. The blonde nodded his head, the mere mention of the girl’s name also bringing a smile to his lips. Just like a puppy! Minhyun thought with a small laugh. “I think she’ll be home in a few, I just came to check on you.”

“Alright, thank you.” Ren gave a small wave before returning his attention back to the entrance.

And he waited like that for the next hour…

~💮~

“Mom! We’re home!” Aron shouted from the front entrance 2 hours later.

“Is dinner ready yet?!” Nari asked as she and Hana happened to run into the guys on the way home, which is why they all showed up together… though… there was no Min Hee to be seen amongst the tiny crowd at the door.

Ren frowned from his spot on the couch… Where is she? He thought to himself before the girls spotted him and squealed, running over to him.

“Awh, Ren! You look like a cute little puppy sitting there like that! Were you waiting for us?!” Hana gushed.

“Uh…” he stuttered out, he wasn’t but would that be rude if he said no to them?

“Oh, Min Hee isn’t with you guys?” Minhyun came out to greet his friends and quickly noticed someone missing.

“Nope. Do you think she’s still at the library?” Nari shrugged by the couch.

“I wouldn’t be surprise, she always over does it when it comes to studying…” JR mumbled as he hung his jacket up before making his way inside, taking a seat on the couch Ren was sitting on and flipping the TV on.

“True, maybe someone should go get her.” Baekho said with a worried tone. “I’ll go-”

“No! Let Ren go fetch her!” The girls suddenly exclaimed. “He’s been waiting for her all this time, anyway… let him go get her!”

~💮~

Ren stepped out of the cab Minhyun had sent him off in as a small breeze brushed against the blonde’s exposed cheeks and neck, making him shiver just a little at the sudden temperature drop. Even if it was mid May, it was still a bit chilly out this evening while he hugged his jacket tighter to his body after paying the driver. When the cab left, he turned to face the library building. He stared for a second, preparing for himself to enter… public places still bothered him.

There weren’t too many people inside, but all the girls inside that were obviously students stared at him as he passed them, whispering compliments about him to each other. Many of those compliments included ‘he’s so pretty!’. He did his best to ignore it before looking around for Min Hee.

It wasn’t until he made it to the back of the library that he saw a single girl resting her head down on folded arms, a mini mountain of books stacked around her on the table. Min Hee? He thought to himself as he got closer. Once he was in front of the table, he could see it was Min Hee after all. He smiled as he took a few steps forward, enough until he was kneeling at the side of the table to admire her peaceful napping face. She’s so pretty while sleeping! He thought, nearly falling backwards when he was blinded by her beauty like always.

He cringed, hoping his small action wasn’t noisy enough to wake her up and luckily, it didn’t. He stood up with a look of relief before checking the time. It was almost 6pm by now and he knew he probably should wake her before it gets too late. The library would be closing eventually, it’d be better if they left before then.

For a few moments, he took a look at the books on the table. The first bunch seemed school related, but towards the middle he discovered they were book of animals, mostly about cats. That’s when he noticed the book she fell asleep on was one of the animal books and that made his smile grow wider. He thought it was cute! So she likes cats?

Once his admiring was over, he finally summed up the courage to wake her.

“Min Hee…” he tapped on her shoulder gently, whispering her name, “Min Hee… wake up, please.”

She barely stirred in her sleep, his light touch having no effect on her at all. He frowned before tapping her shoulder again. Nothing.

Pouting, he finally tapped her shoulder a bit harder this time and soon enough her eyes fluttered open. She noticed him first and nearly jumped in her seat, looking around the room with a confused expression. “Huh?! Where am I? What?”

“Shhh, it’s the library.” Ren hushed her with a small laugh.

“Oh! Sorry.” She covered quickly. “I guess I fell asleep while studying, huh?” She muttered before noticing the picture book of cats open on the table in front of her. She quickly shut it and pushed it off to the side, giving a sheepish giggle towards Ren who stood their frozen, cheeks turning slightly pink. “Oh yeah, what time is it?” She started to look for her phone. “Oh my goodness! It’s already dinner time!” She frowned, looking at the massive pile of books on the table. “How am I going to put all of these away in time?”

“I-I’ll help you.” Ren stuttered out, grabbing a few books already, just wanting to escape he was afraid his face was going to melt off right now he was blushing so hard.

“Awh, thank you, Ren.” She called after him. He almost tripped turning around the book shelf. Gosh, he’s so cute at times… She thought to herself before gathering up some books to put away, too.

~💮~

“Hello?” Min Hee answered her phone once she and Ren were outside of the library. Minhyun was calling.

“Hey, Studyholic,” he teased on the line, “did Ren make it to you okay?”

“Yes, he did.” She smiled, looking at Ren who was trying to flag them down a taxi, instead normal cars were stopping to offer rides… obviously attracted to Ren’s beauty. “He’s currently trying to get a cab for us but… is appears he’s only getting admirers to pull over.”

By now Ren was trying to politely tell the college girls that he didn’t want to get into their car. They seemed pretty stubborn, trying to pull aegyo on him but he wasn’t taking it.

“Maybe we need to hail a cab elsewhere.” Min Hee stepped in, tugging at Ren’s jacket sleeve. “Let’s go.”

He quickly apologized to the girls before following Min Hee like a little duckling as she returned to her call with Minhyun.

“If hailing a cab is a problem, why don’t you and Ren just eat dinner somewhere nearby. I’m sure you’re hungry and besides… it’s not like Ren enjoys eating with us at the table.” Minhyun suggested.

“Don’t say that, sure he does.” She muttered quietly, not wanting mentioned person to know they were talking about him. “But since you suggested it, we’ll get dinner before going home then.”

“Have fun!” Minhyun chimed before hanging up. She laughed at how excited he sounded before the call ended. What’s up with him?

“Min Hee?” She felt Ren tug on her jacket sleeve from behind and she turned to him, trying to hide the huge goofy grin on her face… that was too cute just now!

“Yes?” She tilted her head.

“Uh, should we just walk home?” He said while watching several cabs passing them, looking occupied. Maybe that’s why they weren’t successful right now.

“No, instead, let’s get something to eat. Maybe when we’re done they cabs won’t be so busy?”

“R-Really?” He looked surprised at her suggestion.

“Oh, but… did you want to go home?” She remembered how he didn’t do well in public places, she wondered why she didn’t think about that before when Minhyun suggested it.

“No! I’ll be okay as long as I’m with you.” He gave a weak smile.

Something about his smile had her smiling right back at him and for once he didn’t turn away and shout ‘you’re so beautiful, I can’t see!’. She started to think maybe they were making some serious progress.

“Alright, then… let’s go eat!” She said excitedly before turning to lead the way, but Ren grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back just as a few high school boys zipped by on skateboards in front of her.

“Careful!” He said worriedly. “Gosh, that was close. You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?” He returned his attention to Min Hee who shook her head, looking a bit stunned at the close encounter. “Thank goodness, I was so worried!” He sighed with relief and it brought another smile to her face. Yes, major progress.

“Oh my, look at you! I’ve never seen such a pretty boy before!” Suddenly an older woman exclaimed behind him. Something about her grinning face made her look like a creep. “Your hair is gorgeous, can I touch it?”

Ren was startled as he backed away, almost into Min Hee who so boldly grabbed him in a protective hold.

“Hey lady, back off.” She warned.

“Oh sorry, he’s your boyfriend, right? No need to be jealous, I just said I liked his hair!” The woman laughed.

“Let’s just go, quickly.” Min Hee whispered to Ren who was shocked that she didn’t deny the boyfriend comment.

Once the two teens were out of sight, the woman pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

“Hae Won, I just ran into them. Your nephew seems to be in really good hands! It was so cute, the girl grabbed him all protectively when I asked to touch his hair! …. well yeah, I guess that would come off as creepy. But it looked so soft and silky! I couldn’t resist! You don’t see a lot of flower boys that aren’t idols around here! C’mon! Don’t judge me! Hello? Hello? Did you hang up on me?! Aish!”

~💮~

“Goodness, what a creepy ahjumma.” Min Hee mumbled after they escaped the situation. “You okay?” She asked, looking over her shoulder to see Ren staring down at their conjoined hands. There was a light blush dusting his cheeks as he looked up at her, looking shy. It was undeniably cute. “Oh, sorry!” She was about to let his hand go, but he held hers tighter before glancing at the swarm of people around them… he was getting nervous, he was getting scared.

There was a moment of silence as they stood there holding hands. She had her eyes locked on their hands, admiring how it looked like this was normal. That boyfriend comment replayed in her head and she felt her cheeks start to warm up. I didn’t even protest to that! Oh my gosh! And now I’m holding his hand! She may have freaked out in her mind for a couple of seconds before snapping out of it when Ren took a step closer to her to make way for other people to pass through. A few people bumped into her from behind and forced her to take a few step forwards towards Ren. They were almost face to face now as they looked at each other… nervous.

She felt him squeeze her hand again, that look of worry on his face as his eyes glance around their surroundings once more. By now, she was sure he just wanted to go home now, screw dinner. But she didn’t want that to happen, run away when things get uncomfortable. When his aunt brought him to the mansion, she didn’t elaborate on what she was really supposed to do other than transform him into a handsome young man. She could see he already had great manners, he was polite to everyone, though… when it came to the public and crowds of strangers, he becomes unstable. He gets anxious, nervous and scared.

“Ren?” She asked, watching his eyes cast down to the ground, he looked overwhelmed just then. “Ren, it’s okay.” She squeezed his hand. That made him look up at her. She gave him a warm smile before stepping forward and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a tight hug. “It’s okay, don’t be scared. I know it must be overwhelming and you don’t like it… but it’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

Hearing her say those words made Ren hug her tighter, burying his face into her shoulder.

Up until now, everyone had always told him he was being ridiculous for getting so worked up in a place full of strangers. People weren’t out to get him, he was being paranoid. But they never took the time to understand how he felt, and for once, instead of telling him to it up or get over it, Min Hee was telling him it was okay and that she understood him.

Growing up, Ren’s parents were always invited to social gatherings and he seemed to always get dragged along. It’s probably when he started to get social anxiety, standing in the corner of the room with countless strangers as his parents chatted up storms with their friends and acquaintances. He was left alone every time and he hated it so much. But he could never say anything, too worried about bringing it up. What if his parents got mad? He didn’t want to upset them, so he kept quiet. That’s probably why he told Min Hee she should talk to her parents, so they know how she feels because he knows what keeping silent does…

There was always that saying, Stranger Danger… that’s something that stuck with Ren a lot growing up, too. It seemed any stranger he encountered weren’t very positive. Especially when he entered middle school. Students picked on him about his hair style and looks, for no reason or out of jealousy. That led him to believe everyone was the same and soon he distanced himself from everyone. His childhood wasn’t great, and it’s probably damaged him a lot. It took him a long time before he could really trust Minhyun and Min Hee.

“No one really truly understands what another feels, but they can at least try.” Min Hee said softly as their embrace continued. “I too, used to get nervous in large crowds when I was younger, so I can sort of relate to you, Ren. It’s not a very pleasant feeling to have, is it?”

“No, it’s not pleasant at all...” His voice was so soft, tone dejected. It nearly broke her heart.

“And so… going home always helps, right?” Ren didn’t reply and his hold loosened. “It’s a temporary fix. And when you finally come out once more, it’s the same thing all over again.” She could tell maybe he didn’t like what she was saying right now, but she was only saying it to help him. “I’m not saying all of this to be mean, honest…” she quickly added.

“I know.” He pulled back to look down at her, he was only slightly taller than her by a few inches. “And you’re right. Going home is only a temporary fix.” He sighed. “I feel really bad though, when you worry about me because I don’t do well in public places. I want to change that.” His eyes fell down to the ground as he thought about what he just said. I don’t want to be scared anymore when I leave that house. It’d be nice to come out to the store with Min Hee and not worry about other people…

“Ren,” Min hee smiled, grabbing his hand into hers once again, “changing might benefit you, but honestly… you don’t have to. I think you’re fine as you are.” She added. He stared at her for a moment, replaying her sentence over in his head. I’m fine as I am?

“I shouldn’t… change?” He asked, confusion in his tone.

“I don’t see why you should have to? I get your aunt brought you to the boarding house to change, but if you changed, you wouldn’t be who you are right now, right? I don’t believe anyone should have to change to please others.” She spoke the truth. He didn’t want to change, but his aunt did. The only reason he was at the mansion now was because of how stubborn his aunt could be… but regardless, Min Hee was right!

“You’re right… I shouldn’t have to please others.” A small smile started to form on his lips.

“Yes! Honestly, I like you just the way you are, Ren.” She gave a cute smile and he felt like his heart stopped. “Ren?” She asked when he froze up.

“You’re too beautiful!” He looked away, covering his blushing face. It made her giggle and he collapsed to the floor.

“Hehe, see, I’d miss those sudden outbursts of compliments. So don’t change.” She knelt down beside him to pat him on the back. “I’ll give you a minute to collect yourself and we’ll go get something yummy to eat, alright?”

“Okay.” He replied, sounding drained like his soul left his body.

Chapter four!

Awwwwwwww~! This was too cute

hahahaha Ren! XD

My semester is finally over and winter break is now here! Hoping I can update a lot more ^^

Until next time!