Them

“Doojoon-ssi?”

The blonde girl questioned as she saw the male immediately turn around from her call and at the same time, she was confused as to why he had asked to meet up behind the school in the middle of the day.

“Y-You remember my name?” His face automatically brightened from being able to hear her speak to such a dorky guy like him.

“Of course,” She smiled. “You’re in one of my theory classes.”

“R-Right! Well,” He began to stutter as a shade of pink formed on his face. “I think you’re a really awesome girl Hyoyeon-ssi … friendly, positive and a great dancer too! That’s why I … I … I really like you and hope that you can be my girlfriend!”

“What?!” She accidentally exclaimed, not meaning to be rude or offensive to the boy as his face fell into disappointment. “I mean, I – well, I—“

“—Sorry,” Eunhyuk suddenly appeared as he swung his arm around her shoulders. “She’s already taken.”

Flushing in embarrassment, Doojoon had apologized and ran away quickly.

“W-Wait Doojo—“

Before she could chase him, her boyfriend had pulled her into a back hug and covered with his hand, resting his head against hers.

“Yah, I don’t want you to call out any other guy’s name besides mine.” He whispered into her ear.

It was all settled that the two were finally able to like each other without worrying about having to be trapped in the friend zone. Maybe it’s the newlywed stage of their relationship, but now the spark within both of them grow greater than before when they see each other. Their hearts would always call for each other as they drum madly in their chests, and while Hyoyeon was the only one that was blushing in these situations, Eunhyuk couldn’t get rid of her in his thoughts as he still found it unbelievable that she was finally his.

“Now,” He spoke as he released his arms and clutched her hand. “Let us show the world the greatest couple that had been formed of all time.”

“You’re such a corny person now,” She chuckled and tightened her grip into his big hands. “It’s so disgusting.”

“You know you like it Little ert.”

Later on in the day, when everyone in the school had found out that the two had shown their relationship, everyone had different reactions. Most were asking for the story, the usual, “who, what, when, where, and how,” not forgetting the common loud whispers, gasps, and pointing fingers. Some weren’t even surprised, as if they “knew all along.”

“You,” Donghae wept as he hugged his friend. “You finally did it you fool!”

The rest, they couldn’t care less, seeing at as culture for people to date in school.

However, Hyoyeon hadn’t expected that people would take the ‘news’ as a form of gossip until she arrived at the female toilets.

“Can you believe that Hyoyeon and Eunhyuk are dating?” She heard one girl ask as she hid behind the corner of the entrance.

“I don’t know,” The other female replied. “Everyone’s calling them the ‘dancing machine couple’ or something.”

“Tch,” She scoffed. “Aside from her dancing skills and pretty face, she doesn’t really have much else don’t you think?”

Hyoyeon felt her heart sink as she heard those words, but continued to listen.

“Yeah,” The other laughed along. “I kind of feel bad for Hyorin who had known Eunhyuk for a long time apparently, and I thought that they’d be the new school couple.”

Then there was Hyorin. Why hadn’t she thought of it? She was too caught up with the fulfilling emotions with Eunhyuk that she had forgotten to ask what happened to him and Hyorin. Her heart sank a little bit further as a guilty feeling lingered within her.

“Hi girls,” A familiar husky voice spoke.

“O-oh Hyorin!” One of the girls nervously replied. “I – I didn’t think you were here.”

The tall brunette smirked as she looked at the two restless girls who were trying to evade eye-contact.

“Why?” She questioned. “So that you guys can continue to badmouth Hyoyeon and I?”

“W-we’re on your side Hyorin!” The other girl anxiously remarked.

“You’re funny,” The brunette feigned a laugh and stepped forward to them. “How old are you to be taking sides and backstabbing other people?”

The girls bit their lip but didn’t want to give up the fight yet.

“I can see why Eunhyuk’s not dating you now!”

Hyorin couldn’t handle it anymore as she had slapped the wall behind them with both her hands so that the two frightening girls were trapped in her arms. She inched herself closer to them as she sent another smoldering smile.

“And you think that Eunhyuk would be dating you guys?” She retorted. “I’m glad that he’s out with Hyoyeon because she’s better person than you girls. You think you’re suddenly better than someone just because you talk behind their backs? Ha, you know what we call you people?” She dropped her arms and glared at them with fierce eyes. “Pathetic.”

The girls couldn’t take it any more and nudged each other to leave the toilets. To their surprise, they saw Hyoyeon had been standing out there.

“H-Hyoyeon!” One of the girls yelped, but both felt awkward to stay any longer and were caught up with the angered emotions lifted from Hyorin so they had run off.

To that call, Hyorin had heard and stepped out to see the little blonde girl standing there in surprise and guilt. Unknowingly, they both suddenly found themselves in front of the school garden again, looking out to the green gas to which the sun was shining brightly as ever in the flowers had finished blooming for spring was about to end and summer was going to begin.

“So you’re dating Eunhyuk oppa now hm?” Hyorin began. “Congratulations.”

“… You okay with it?” Hyoyeon asked and immediately, the brunette turned to her.

“And if I weren’t,” She replied and made sure that the blonde girl was looking at her. “Would you break up with him?”

“No!” Hyoyeon answered immediately. “I – I mean, it’s just—“

“—that’s good,” The brunette smiled satisfyingly, as if Hyoyeon had passed the test of meeting her mother in law. “I don’t want oppa to be dating some girl who gives up so easy and be crying like a baby when you hear those comments like before.”

Hyoyeon had become quiet at this, as the two looked back at the scenery in front of them, both reminiscing over the past three month and finally realising of how time flies by so fast. The spring that began and welcomed Hyoyeon to the school to which all her opportunities for different life experiences started to bloom and Hyorin was finally given a challenge in which she wanted to conquer over. The brunette had originally thought of the blonde girl as an annoyance, someone who would ruin the relationship between the trio and the blonde girl had thought of the brunette as weird at first, but was captivated by her beautiful singing. Yet, through the claimed “rival relationship” that they had, the separate paths that they were walking on merged into one, and they didn’t know when, but they knew that they had become friends.

Meanwhile, Donghae and Eunhyuk had finished their classes early today and decided to eat out out at convenience store whereby the two cooked up some three-minute ramen.

“Today I will be shouting,” Donghae grinned from ear to ear as he brought out the two delicious bowls of hot and spicy noodles. “Since my best friend is now officially dating Kim Hyoyeon.”

“So annoying,” His friend replied as he removed split his pair of chopsticks into two. “You make it as if we’re getting married or something.”

The childish man laughed before he began digging into his bowl.

“What about you and Hyorin?” Eunhyuk questioned as he slurped the dangling noodles from his chopsticks.

Donghae had stopped chewing and took a chugged down half his drink before speaking.

“Ever since I told her, she’s just been avoiding me.” He sighed. “Did I make a mistake to confess too early?”

“Yeah you did.”

“Yah,” Donghae scolded as he dunked his chopsticks into the noodles to let it stay. “You’re meant to say, ‘no Donghae, of course not.’”

The other man simply continued to calmly eat.

“Whether she rejects you now or not, it doesn’t really matter.” He replied. “It’s the question of whether you’re going to give up or whether you’ll keep fighting for her.”

Donghae smiled happily again as he grabbed his best friend’s arm and rested his head on it.

“Of course, the moment that you would give up is if Hyorin goes out with a guy she likes so—“

“—I’ll catch her now before anyone else can!”

Both friends smiled as they continued eating their ramen, knowing that their path of friendship will continue and that even if they do separate as they grow old into the future, if they’re still able to be normal when they come together, then that is the true meaning of friendship.

Later in the late evening, Hyoyeon was strolling home as she was told to meet Eunhyuk at the park after her classes had finished. To her surprise, he was already there and like usual, he would be sitting on the bench with the light shining down on him, but this time he was showing off his gummy smile as he waved her over.

Hyoyeon never knew the feeling of having a boyfriend, but now she acts like a giddy child around him, wondering whether he’d hold her hand, what he would say, when he hugs, their first kis—no! She was thinking too far ahead, the fact that their side by side now thrills her just as much.

Although not noticeable, he too was just as nervous, wondering what to do and what to say when around her, not wanting to sound like a corny and cheesy person but wanting to say something that’ll make her blush and go all cute.

The couple was simply sitting on the bench to talk over how their days were and the situations they came across after publicizing their relationship. After a lot of laughing and teasing, the two found themselves to sit there quietly as they find themselves in their own thoughts until Hyoyeon had seen Eunhyuk squirming in his position as he kept looking in a certain direction.

“What’re you doing?” She asked as she tried to follow his eyes.

“I think I see a playground.” He says as he stood up to get a clearer view. “There is! Over there!”

“It is a park for a reason, idiot.”

He ignored her comment and started to head out to the playground and Hyoyeon chuckled at the five-year old that reminded her of something that Donghae would do.

“Look!” She pointed as she arrived. “There are monkey bars that are perfect for you!”

“I’m too tall to be a monkey.” He sighed as he reached the bars but his feet remained on the ground

“Maybe you’re a gorilla then.” She muttered as she stood in front of him, face-to-face, while trying to reach the bars without lifting her feet but only felt the strenuous muscles aching in her arms as she failed to do so.

“Shorty,” He sniggered. “I guess you’re the monkey.”

She huffed out an angry breath that made him see how cute she was as she jumped up to reach the bars, despite that her feet were off from the ground.

“At least I’m flexible.”

He smiled at the adorable blonde girl in front of him and couldn’t resist it any longer. Hyoyeon’s grin gradually faded away as she was surprised to see that his eyes were piercing into hers. Slowly, he let his hands grab each bar so that he would move closer to her with each step adding the spark to his flaming heart. Finally, his hand had grabbed the bar that Hyoyeon was holding onto and their bodies were pressing up against each other having locked their eyes.

His eyes were almost hypnotizing hers as she was lost in the dark-brown chocolate color. He wrapped his arm around her waist while drawing his head closer to hers and he was mesmerized by her glossy pink lips today. For the second he was biting his lips, she let her eyes close as her heart was waiting in anticipation and soon, both of them felt each other’s moist lips pressing softly against each other. It was a strange electrifying spark that exerted once the warmth of the lips connected, and a burning thrill was sent to each other’s hearts, thumping greater than before.

They found themselves breaking away from each other although both wanted more, and she had dropped her arms from the monkey bars as she slung her arms around his shoulders and he held a tighter grip onto her waist so that she wouldn’t fall hard. They stared into each other’s eyes again and both of them could see their reddening cheeks.

She already had fallen hard, and it was a great feeling that he too, knew very well of.