The days went over pretty fast and they had the same scheme every day. I went to university in the morning, after my classes I bought food and visited VIXX at Jellyfish Entertainment. I stayed with them the whole time and studied there while they were practicing for their upcoming concert. In the evening I went out again and bought dinner for all of us and then I studied again. Late at night I drove home with the boys then. Yeah, that described my life pretty well right now. Every day was like the one before but I didn’t get bored. It was always fun to spend time with the guys and also with Lin at university. We’ve become best friends in the last few weeks and helped each other with our classes. The concert of VIXX was in 10 days and tomorrow was finally the day when the exhibition for the last art project would take place. I was so excited the whole day.

“Lin?” I whispered to my neighbor in class and she nodded while she was taking some notes. “What’s up?” I looked on my paper and also took a few notes. “What are you going to wear tomorrow evening?” I asked her. This question was in my head for a few days now and I was so nervous. I didn’t want to be overdressed tomorrow but also I didn’t want to be underdressed. “Well, I think I’ll wear a black short dress. You always look good in a black dress and it looks also noble.” She smiled and continued taking notes. “Why are you asking, Sun?” She turned her head around now and looked at me. “I think I need to go shopping for a new dress.” I sighed and started to draw little circles on my paper. “I could come with you.” She suggested. “Really? You would help me?” She giggled. “Of course. We’re friends, right?”

We decided to skip the last classes today and then we hurried to get into the city. Lin told me that she knew the perfect shop for buying dresses. “This shop is my secret place. I love their dresses. We will find the perfect dress for you there.” She winked at me and I was really excited. “Dresseria – Show who you are” was written on the roof of the shop and you could see many dresses inside. Lin and I entered the shop and she immediately grabbed one dress after another and threw it on my arms. “You should try this, and this..oh and you should definitely try this..” She only grabbed black and dark blue dresses and I was really eager to try them on. She pushed me into a changing cabin and I tried the first on. Oh my god, I thought and went outside. Lin’s eyes widened when she saw me and then we both started to laugh really loud. The dress looked so ugly and I put it off really fast.

We spent almost two hours in the shop and I already wanted to give up but then we found the most wonderful dress I’ve ever seen. It was short, dark blue and little flowers were embroidered on it. “This is it!” We both said at the same time and laughed again. I was really so glad that Lin and I have met. We’ve became best friends in the past few weeks and we always had fun together. When I paid for the dress Lin asked me a question. “Are you coming alone tomorrow?” “No, my cousin and his friends are coming with me. You know, they helped me with the picture.” I smiled at her. “Wow, that’s cool. So tomorrow I will meet your cousin.” She smiled at me. “Is Leo also coming..?” She winked at me and I blushed. I nodded and she hit me on my arm. “Hey, I’m just joking. But you can’t neglect the fact that you still like him, right? And he likes you, too, I think.” I avoided looking her in the eyes. “I don’t think so.” “Hey…just think about the car thing when he kissed your hair. He wouldn’t do that if..” “Can we stop talking about it, please?” I interrupted her.

Lin and I bought ice cream then and spent a few hours together. At around 1:30 we went home. Well, I went straight to the label of VIXX, bought food of course at first and went inside the building (yes, the security man let me pass). I drove to the practice room of the boys and entered it. They didn’t see me and so I could watch a new dance which I’ve never seen nor heard before. I was quite surprised because this time there were also 6 girls who danced with them. The refrain of the song went ‘Say U Say Me’ and the boys got really close with the dancers. The song was about a first love and a girl who turned into a woman now. I really liked this song but I felt a pain in my heart when Leo and his girl danced really close. He was holding her hand and their faces were so close…I had to turn my head away when I saw this. Leo noticed me at that moment and gave me a short look but then concentrated on the dance again. I hoped he didn’t notice the moment when I turned my head away.

I clapped for the boys when the song ended and they all looked surprised when they saw me except for Leo. “Sun. How long are you here?” My cousin came to me and hugged me. “Since the beginning of the song. I really liked it.” I smiled at them but then I got worried because my cousin’s eyes were really red. “Is everything ok with you, Hakyeon?” “N is sick but he didn’t want to miss practice.” Ravi explained to me. “Because I’m fine. Don’t worry.” I rolled my eyes. “Hakyeon, you should stay in bed then.” The girls left the room now but I also saw how Leo’s girl looked at him and smiled at him. Why did it bother me so much? Leo was acting cold like always but I was kinda afraid that he might like this girl. “I bought food.” I whispered and they all got excited now.

“I really liked the song. It was so sweet.” I told them while we were eating. They all smiled and nodded. My cousin had to sneeze more than once and I was really worried. He should stay in bed all day and sleep. “Are you excited for tomorrow, Sun?” Hongbin asked me with his son-in-law-smile and I nodded. “Yes. I hope you’re still coming tomorrow.” I winked at them. We finished eating and the boys started to practice again. Hakyeon was totally fascinated about the dress I bought together with Lin. Well, the practice was great as always but my cousin got more and more sick the longer they practiced. When we drove home he fell asleep as soon as he sat in the car and it was very difficult to wake him up when we reached the dorm. I made him a hot cup of tea and made sure that he went to bed right away.

I woke up early in the next morning and went into the kitchen. My mouth fell open when I saw Hongbin, Ravi and Hyuk sitting at the dinner table covered with blankets. “Are you ok?” I asked them really worried and they just shook their heads. “That’s N’s fault. He was sick yesterday.” Ravi coughed really loud. “I’m sorry, Sun, but I don’t think we can come with you today.” My cousin entered the kitchen also covered with a blanket and sat next to Hongbin. Hyuk coughed and Hongbin sneezed now and I felt sorry for them. “Don’t worry. I’m going alone then.” I sighed and started to make tea now. “Do you want something to eat?” I asked them but they all just shook their head. “I can come with you, Sun. I’m not sick.” Ken entered the kitchen smiling like the sun and we all looked at him. “Don’t look so surprised. N’s bacterias were just too weak for me.”

Well, Leo was also not feeling well (at least that’s what he was saying to us) and so it would be only Ken, Lin and me tonight at university. Ken decided to wear coat and tie and I put on my new dress and high heels. “We’ll take the van.” Ken explained to me before we left the dorm. “Good luck, my little cousin.” Hakyeon came to me and wanted to hug me but I refused to let him do this because he was already sneezing the whole time again. Hongbin, Hyuk and Ravi also wished me good luck. Leo was the only one who was spending the whole day in his room. I haven’t even seen him once. Ken was acting like a gentleman when we went outside. He helped me to get inside the car, closed the door for me and then we started to drive to the university.

“Ehm, Ken? Can I ask you a favor?” “Sure.” Ok, I need to ask him now, I thought and took a deep breath. “We’re going to meet my friend Lin at the exhibition. Can you please not tell her anything about VIXX? I haven’t told her about Hakyeon yet and yeah…” He nodded. “Don’t worry. I’m just your cousin’s friend tonight. A normal guy…” He winked at me and I was happy now. I really wanted to tell Lin about my cousin but I just haven’t found the perfect moment yet and so I was happy that Ken would help me today. “Are you nervous?” Ken was really trying to help me to calm down. I had to get on stage later and talk in front of hundreds of people and say something about my picture. I was so nervous. Ken started to sing all of a sudden and I had to laugh because he was so funny the whole time. Trying to make me stop thinking about this stressful situation and trying to calm me down. It was so sweet of him.

We arrived just in time at university. Lin was waiting outside. “Hey, Lin.” Ken and I went over to her. We hugged and then she looked at  Ken. “Oh, is that your cousin?” She asked me with a big smile on her face. “No, I’m Ken. Sun’s cousin got sick just like our other friends. Nice to meet you.” Ken hugged Lin right away which made her speechless. We went inside and Ken left us alone for a moment. “He seems nice.” Lin whispered. “Is Leo also sick?” “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him all day. And stop talking about Leo please when Ken is around.” I didn’t notice that he came back with 3 glasses of sparkling wine and sadly he caught up his name. “Hey, what are you whispering about me.” He laughed and gave both of us one glass. “Cheers.” He said and we clinked our glasses.

The exhibition started and the president of the art committee held his speech. Lin, Ken and I were standing pretty far away and were waiting for my name to get called. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ken texting on his phone. I was wondering if he was texting with Leo but then I scolded myself. I was so stupid. Why was it so hard for me to forget Leo? And why did I wish that he was here tonight? It was so crazy.

“And now it is time to honor our first place…the picture which surprised everybody. “The Color of Friendship” “ All the people clapped and Lin pushed me forward. “Good luck.” I heard her and Ken saying when I made my way through the crowd and went on the stage. The president shook my hand and gave me the microphone. Now it was my turn to say something. My hands were shaking and sweaty and I didn’t find any words. I looked at all those people staring at me and my heart was beating so fast. I looked to Lin and Ken…and Leo?! He was standing next to Ken and looked at me. He wore a black suit and a black tie. It looked so good on him. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and then I started to speak.

“How can you draw friendship?” I started my speech and just looking at Leo made me brave enough to continue. “That was a really hard question. I am living with my cousin and his friends at the moment and there I found the answer. Friendship is not just a word or a feeling. Friendship is way more than that. It’s the way you act in front of certain people..the things you do…the way you speak with them…the moments you share. Friendship can be as different as day and night or as colorful as my picture. Different persons, different characters…different colors…but one picture. That is friendship for me.” The people started to clap and Ken and Lin were smiling at me while Leo was just staring at me. After the clapping stopped I wanted to say one more thing. “I am so thankful to have those wonderful persons in my life and I wanna thank them for being my friends. Two of the persons who helped me with the picture are also here tonight with me. Thank you so much for everything. Thank you for being my friends.” I ended my speech and the crowd started to clap again.

The president gave me my prize (it was a little trophy of the art committee) and then I went back to my friends. Lin hugged me really tight and Ken looked at the trophy I got. “We should put it in our dorm. What do you think, Leo hyung?” Leo was just sending Ken a death stare. “Do you know where the toilets are?” Ken suddenly asked. “Yes, I need to use it, too. Just come with me, I’ll show you the way.” Lin said and they both went away really fast. Now I was alone with Leo. We both didn’t say a word and I just looked on the ground. “Congratulation for the trophy.” I heard him saying and looked in his face. His brown eyes were staring at me and I tried to ignore my stupid heart which started to beat faster again. “I liked your speech. So, we are officially friends?” He asked and I didn’t know if he was serious about it. Hakyeon, Ken, Hongbin, Hyuk and Ravi….yes they were my friends…but Leo? I liked him..it was more than a friendship between us. He was way more than just a friend to me, I had to admit this to myself now. “Taekwoon, I…” I wanted to start but Ken and Lin came back at that moment. “I understand.” I heard him mumbling and soon he was acting like always. What the…? What did I do now? I didn’t say anything wrong.

At the end of the exhibition Ken decided to drive Lin to her house. The three of us talked the whole time in the car while Leo was texting on his phone. He was ignoring me again and I didn’t know what I did this time? First he is acting cold and distant the whole time…then he shows up at university…then he’s being sweet and is talking to me…and then he’s ignoring me again. What kind of game was this? I couldn’t ignore my feelings for him any longer but I also couldn’t stand his stupid behavior the whole time. I need to forget him although I…I think…I think I fell in love with this cold and distant guy…