Seventeen plus Sohye sat in a van as Seventeen’s manager drove to the place where they’ll be eating. She sat at shotgun, but due to them having so many members, she was wedged a bit uncomfortably between the door and Joshua.

The reason being: he was the one the manager trusted the most to be well-behaved and not act questionably.

What he meant by that, she didn’t bother to find out.

“Are you still okay there? Is it cramped?” he asked worriedly.

“It’s okay.” she replied with a smile.

“Is there anything you’d like? Water? Candy? Another song?”

“Not—“

“Mingyu, perhaps?” he teased.

“Not agaiiiiin.” she buried her face in her hands. She wanted to tell the manager off that he chose the wrong person to trust.

“Mianhe, mianhe.” he laughed out loud. “It’s just that your reactions are very cute and amusing.”

“That doesn’t make me very happy.” she whined.

“Right. Only Mingyu will.”

She groaned. She felt slightly troubled that Seventeen greatly misunderstood her and Mingyu. Worse is that they seem to ship it. Joshua laughed and apologized again. Then comfortable silence fell upon them.

The boys at the back, however, were rowdy as they always were. They were tossing gags and disses at each other and sang along to every song that came on the radio. It was noisy, but Sohye couldn’t help but laugh at their dorkiness and enjoy the ride with them.

She was greatly touched when Dream Girls came up and everyone began singing and dancing along to it. More so when everyone cheered when her small part came up. She appreciated the efforts they made to make her feel welcome and comfortable around them.

Now she knew why everyone loved them.

---

Wonwoo was seated at the very back and watched the usual antics before him blankly. Instead, his complete attention was on the figure of Sohye in front, never taking his eyes off her. He watched as she interacted with the members, sang with them and laughed along with them. Seeing her so carefree and comfortable made him happy.

But knowing that it was because he wasn’t involved made him miserable.

He couldn’t complain though. He knew that once he made his presence known, Sohye wouldn’t be as cheerful. And seeing her mad or sad is the last thing he wanted.

This was the consequence of his foolishness. But he was determined to set things right.

---

The van parked and the manager hollered at everyone to get off. They arrived at a restaurant that was located within a neighborhood, so it was quiet and free from curious eyes.

Sohye looked up and read the signboard.

“Seafood?” she blurted out. She looked to everyone in confusion. “We’re going to eat seafood?”

“Why?” the manager asked. “You don’t like it? Omo, could it be you’re allergic? Mian! I—“

Sohye became flustered when the manager began bowing. “Aniyo! I’m fine! It’s not me! It’s--” she caught herself and widened her eyes. “…uh…” she trailed off as silence and confusion befell them.

“Me. You guys know I can’t eat seafood.” Wonwoo filled in for her.

Everyone’s eyes rapidly looked at both of them. Then at each other.

“You knew that?” Dino asked with underlying suspicion.

“Um…”

“Yah. It’s not like it’s a secret.” Wonwoo reasoned out. “I’ve said it at One Fine Day and ever since. The whole nation probably knows about it. Manager-nim probably just forgot again.”

“Aigoo. Mianhe, Wonwoo. I didn’t mean to. I just craved for seafood tonight.” the manager said apologetically. “Instead, let’s go eat meat at this restaurant next to it! I’ll pay! Kaja!” he finished cheerfully which everyone cheered in response. They marched up to the entrance.

“Thanks for earlier.” Someone whispered.

Sohye shuddered involuntarily. His voice was so close to her. She could feel his warmth from behind as he held the door open for her. She gulped nervously.

His voice was so much deeper than before. It was… y.

“I-It’s nothing. I just didn’t want to witness death tonight.” she shot back.

“Riiight. Thank you for your concern then.” he smiled playfully.

 She huffed in annoyance and stalked into the restaurant. Everyone was seated besides her and Wonwoo. She was about to take a seat at the end when everyone shouted in unison.

“ANDWAEEEE~!”

She jolted upward. She frantically looked around her and searched for what was wrong. She checked the chair, the table, the floor, and even the ceiling, but everything appeared perfectly fine.

“Waeyo?”

“Sohye-ssi.” Dokyeom stood up and pretended to be a waiter. She blinked in confusion.  “Your seat is this way.” he said with a gummy smile. He gestured to a vacant seat beside Mingyu.

Her brows reached the sky. ‘What for?’ she thought.

“We’re just being supportive.” he wiggled his eyebrows, apparently reading her thoughts.

“Oh… You really don’t have to.” she waved her hands.

“But, we insist.” his smile couldn’t get any wider.

Everyone looked expectantly at her. She pursed her lips.

“You don’t like to sit next to me?” Mingyu asked innocently.

Guilt hit her like a ton of bricks. She looked at his big puppy eyes and her defiance melted.

“…I’ll sit next to you.” she sat in defeat.

Mingyu grinned.

“Yah! Wonwoo why are you sitting there?” Woozi cried out. “We’ve saved you a seat right here!”

Sohye looked next to her. Wonwoo claimed the seat to her left and even scooted closer to her. She looked at him incredulously to which he just shrugged off.

“I can’t?” he raised his brow.

“The girls—“

“They’ll be fine.”

“Think of—“

“I’m sitting here.” he said firmly.

Woozi shut up. The rest of the boys eyed each other and were so tempted to speak out, but were just too scared to.

“Annyeong~!” the door chimed as Nayoung and Pinky walked in. Everyone stood up and greeted them. “Sohyeeee~!” Pinky ran up and kissed her on the cheek. Sohye giggled and hugged her.

“You haven’t started yet? Great.” Nayoung said as she took off her coat. She stopped short. “Care to explain why we girls are so far from each other?” she raised a brow.

“Why, indeed.”

---

Mingyu took some meat, sauce, sesame seeds and garlic and wrapped it into a ball. He smiled triumphantly and offered it to the girl next to him.

Sohye was eating peacefully when suddenly a lettuce ball was shoved in her face. She eyed the tall boy next to her confusingly while he only smiled. She hesitantly opened as he gently fed her.

(A/N: I’m the author and I’m so jealous lmao.)

She chewed it slowly and carefully. She was about to enjoy it when she widened her eyes and coughed loudly. She frantically searched for water but found none near her. Mingyu panicked and grabbed The8’s glass but he was beaten to it.

Wonwoo hurriedly gave his glass to Sohye which she took gratefully. She greedily gulped it down and forced the food along with it. She sighed in relief and calmed her breathing. She cringed at the aftertaste.

“What did you give her?” Wonwoo glared at Mingyu.

“I-I just gave her a wrap.”

“And did you put garlic in it?!”

“A-As usual. Why?”

“She can’t eat garlic. She hates it!”

“What? I didn’t know! I—“

“You should atleast be sensitive before shoving food into someone else’s mouth.” he snapped.

“Hyung, aren’t you over reacting? Why are you the one getting mad here?”

“It’s because you aren’t—“

“Please drop it.” Sohye in between them. “I’m fine. I don’t need boys arguing and spitting saliva on top of me.” She was beyond annoyed. Luckily, she saw nobody else noticed the small scene they were causing. Yes, she felt grateful but Wonwoo was becoming too involved with her and she didn’t like it. She glared at him. “And you can take your hand off my shoulder now.”

“…I’m just returning the favor.” Wonwoo reluctantly dropped his hand. He looked into her eyes. “I was scared, Sohye.”

Sohye’s heart melted at the genuine concern he was showing her. Why was he like this? Why was she like this? She felt a barrage of emotions at the moment and couldn’t wrap her head around it.

“Thank you.” she said sincerely.

He smiled.

“Sohye-ssi. I’m really sorry. I didn’t know.” the other boy bowed and apologized.

“It’s okay, sunbaenim. Let’s continue eating!” she said cheerfully to appease his guilt.

And they did. But Mingyu was distracted. His actions weighed on him heavily and he regretted it. He decided to make up for it by being extra attentive to her. He gave her water, side dishes, meat, and everything. He even placed the garlic far away from her and picked her food once he saw a trace of it.

While Sohye could understand his actions, it became too bothersome. So she sighed and faced the tall puppy. “Sunbaenim. Is there any food you can’t eat?”

“No, why?” She hummed in response and began assembling a wrap.

“Here, sunbaenim, for you. I hope we can call it even and eat peacefully now.” she smiled hopefully as she offered it to him. “Please just forget about earlier.”

 She watched as his face contorted in a wide smile and eagerly let her feed him.

“So it is true~!” Pinky smirked. Their heads snapped to her. “Uri Sohye is grown up now! Having crushes, omo, I feel left behind now.” she pretended to wipe a tear.

“Aniyo, unnie! You’re misunderstanding!” Sohye cried out again, but it was in vain. She didn’t expect all eyes to be watching their interaction intently. They found delight in this, especially the boy involved, who was greatly pleased.

“It really is, noona! She was really red during the whole broadcast and whenever they talked!” Dino said gleefully.

“Plus she kept on glancing at him! I noticed it.” Seungkwan joined in the tattling.

Pinky and Nayoung looked at each other and smiled knowingly. “Aigataaaa~”

“They even acted a skit together and she almost cried! She said she felt like she was hurt for real.”

“Omo? How?”

“Like this!” Seungkwan and DK took the roles of Sohye and Mingyu. They re-enacted their skit although it was greatly exaggerated. They even went so far as to stand and add actions to it. Though she knew she was being made fun of again, Sohye couldn’t help but laugh at the show they put on.

“Ah!” Vernon exclaimed. “Do the one with Wonwoo-hyung! That was so cool and intense and jjang! Noona, you’ve got to see this!” Everyone shouted in agreement.

Sohye stopped laughing.

“Ah, keurae! It almost made me believe it was real!” Seungkwan exclaimed with admiration. “How’d it go, again? Ah, nae.” Seungkwan cleared his throat. “Who is she?”

“Her?” DK responded coolly. “My girlfriend.”

“Then, who am I?”

“Here it comes….” Vernon rubbed his hands in anticipation.

“You’re my girlfriend, too.”

“Woooow~!” Nayoung and Pinky said in unison. “That’s sounds like a pretty heavy story.” Nayoung commented.

“Right?” Seungkwan said. “But you should’ve seen them in person, noona! It was so cool!”

“Why don’t they try it now?!” Hoshi exclaimed excitedly.

Sohye freezed up. Just when she thought she could forget about it. Just when she was finally distracted. She absolutely didn’t want to do it again. Reliving it once was agonizing enough and she couldn’t bear to do it one more time. She might not be able to hold back.

“Mianhe, I’m not really up for it.” she rejected quickly.

“Aww. Don’t be like that!” Pinky whined. “Show us!”

“Yeah, I want to see it too, Sohye.” Nayoung said.

“But…”

“That wasn’t even the whole act yet! Maybe they can make a sequel!”

She bit her trembling lip. “I don’t know…”

“Do it. Do it.” They began chanting.

She felt her eyes water. The sorrow she hasn’t fully released was rising to the surface. She desperately blinked it back but it was persistent. She was at a loss of what to do.

Suddenly, a hand banged the table.

“Yah! Stop it.” Wonwoo said angrily. “Can’t you listen to her for once? She doesn’t want to do it so stop forcing her already!”

Silence fell on the table.

Sohye didn’t know if she should be thankful or furious. Maybe she could be both. Thankful that someone finally spoke up for her. But furious at the person who did.

“Wonwoo.” Jeonghan broke the silence. “Just what is wrong with you today?” he sounded annoyed.

“Jeonghan…”

“Ani, Shua. We can’t keep on pretending to be idiots.” he put his chopsticks down angrily. “You’ve been out of it since this morning until broadcast. Then you’ve been really irate with everyone. I saw you at broadcast, you got mad at Mingyu and you just got mad at him now, too! Plus you keep on defending her! How did you even know that she can’t eat garlic? Don’t think I couldn’t hear you. How did she know you can’t eat seafood when she didn’t even know all our names in the first place?” he took a deep breath. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were both in a relationship! So tell me and let’s just get it over with, are you?”

The air crackled with electricity. The tension was so thick it could probably be cut with a knife. Everyone squirmed in their seats anxiously while Wonwoo and Jeonghan stared each other down.

“No...” everyone turned to her.

“No. We’re not. Wonwoo-sunbaenim is only very observant. I merely received his kindness.” Sohye said quietly. “I’m sorry if I’m destroying the good relationship you have. This is all my fault. But please know there is absolutely nothing between us.”

She stood up and fished money out her wallet. “This is my share and I hope it can also be taken as an apology. I’ll leave now.” she bowed. “I truly and sincerely do apologize. So please stop fighting. Thank you for today. Goodbye.” She walked out briskly.

“Sohye-ah…” Pinky called out weakly.

The next few minutes was spent in silence.

Wonwoo clenched his fists. He was furious at his self. He only wanted to protect her, but instead it harmed her more. He tousled his hair in agitation.

“W-We have to go after her.” Pinky began to excuse her and Nayoung.

“No. Sit down.” S.Coups ordered. They reluctantly did. “Wonwoo.” his voice dripped with authority, “Go after her.”

Wonwoo didn’t need to be told twice.

---

The ones left behind watched as Wonwoo stalked out of the restaurant.

“Seungcheol.” Jeonghan directed his anger at him. “You know something.”

“I do. But I’m not telling you. Because it is not my business. Neither is it all of yours.” he eyed them seriously. “Now shut up and eat.”

-------------------

A bit longer than usual.

Sohye's hatred for garlic is not real. Please don't misunderstand. But Wonwoo really can't eat seafood.

But if you'd like to know, I don't like garlic. xD

Okay, tell me if you liked it! Bai bai~