The practice room was everything you expected and more. There were huge speakers to one side and opposite to them was a huge mirror covering the whole wall. On the left was another room which held lockers for their spare clothes. The right side hosted a big couch where you seated yourself.

Everything from then on went as per their schedule. They practiced the choreographies for Warrior, No Mercy, Bad man and Skydive, taking a good long break between each. Lots of mistakes were made but to your surprise they did not lose their composure. Instead they supported and encouraged each other on. You took long notes and recordings as you spoke to each of them during the breaks, except one.

Since it was getting late you sent Jackson away as he lived a little far away from there. Plus he was only an intern. Through all this you forgot that you did not eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You weren’t really hungry, till now. Unable to tell anyone you kept pressing over your belly where your stomach is and drank about 10 liters of water from what you remember. Though, your hungry mind could be exaggerating.

After 4 hours of intense dance practice and singing practice by the lead vocals, it was finally time for the two main vocals to practice their solo songs and end the day.

“Miss clumsy can I sing a song for you?” Youngjae teased you earning the reaction he craved.

“This is all going on the article BTW! Be nice to me Mr. !” you sneered at your teaser.

He picked a sweet melody and sang it all the while making flirty gestures at you. Apart from glaring at him from time to time, you kept busy analyzing his vocals and rhythm. Until, your gaze reached Daehyun’s. He looked so uncomfortable as he constantly shifted his sitting position on the ground. Maybe he felt the wrath coming his way as the other boy was about to finish his song.

Youngjae finished with a wink at your direction and you did a sarcastic head turn.  Your stare followed Daehyun’s body till he replaced the former boy’s position on the temporary stage.

“Play the music for Shady lady hyung” he half whispered to Yongguk.

“Hold on a minute,” began Himchan “Youngjae sang us an English song, you should do the same”

He did not need to speak to let the crowd know that he did not want to.

“Come on it’s for the article. Aerum will write nice things about how beautiful her best friend’s voice sounds to the words of an English song. Come on! Isn’t Ed Sheeran you’re favourite?” Himchan said with a slight giggle.

Danger. Before the devil form could make him sing a ‘specific’ song, Daehyun raised his hand up and said “I’ll sing Happier..from the new album”

You couldn’t manage to look up the entire performance. Unlike during the other songs and choreographies, your brain couldn’t man up to an analysis. Your ears turned hot as Daehyun’s voice whispered sweet loving words into your ears. Plenty of times he had sung for you but it had never felt so personal. This was a bitter sweet moment you wished could be sweeter.

As he finished the song with one of his trademark high notes, your stomach made the loudest growl you could imagine grabbing his attention. In a moment of hesitation his voice cracked earning a laugh from the younger boys.

“Okay good job everyone. It’s really late so Daehyun go ahead and drop Aerum off to her apartment and then join us at the dorm” ordered Yongguk. “we’ll wait with food”

“Sure hyung” Daehyun slowly worded his statement “I will get changed, pack your things.” He said the last few words looking at you as your stomach did a slight yank.

It’s just the hunger Aerum.

He changed back into his white t-shirt and dark grey hoodie paired with his black sweat pants. You saw him wear this every other day. But today he looked exceptionally good with his gorgeous brown hair falling on his forehead drenched in the sweat he collected during practice.

You said your goodbyes and thank-yous to the boys and they returned the gesture. Finally reaching Youngjae, you reached out your hand to punch his chest but instead he grabbed your wrist and pulled you in for an almost hug. Your torsos were inches away from each other’s.  Your ears turned red as you found yourself screaming at him.

“Yoo Youngjae WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!”

He let out a little chuckle. “Relax. I thought you needed saving again”. There he went with that wink again. You let yourself free from his grab and punched his chest harder than you initially would have. He recoiled signaling the pain he felt.

“Good bye !” You turned your body in the opposite direction and froze at the sight.

Daehyun was staring right at the both of you, his right fist clenching on to the belt of his bag. His eyes bore such coldness that it sent a shiver down your spine. He could have burned you down to ashes with his icy stare if he wanted and your body suddenly felt guilty even though it shouldn’t have. You wanted to speak but unsurprisingly your mouth betrayed.

“Bye bye Ms. Clumsy” the voice from behind you broke the silence as you turned to look at Youngjae.

“Erm..I’ll just wait outside. “ Daehyun said as he lowered his head and swung towards the door.

“No! Wait! Bye Youngjae I’ll see you tomorrow!” You stopped him from exiting without you as you ran to join his side. “We’ll go together Dae, like always.”

 

Both of you stepped out of the building together. In the distance Youngjae’s lips curved into a smile as he shook his head.

This is going to be fun.

The roads were empty except for an occasional car passing by, flashing their headlights your way. There wasn’t much noise coming from the surrounding so your foot-steps sounded clearer than ever. You tried to stop yourself from skipping up and down on one foot and then the other so that your excitement does not surface. But, how could you help yourself? The person you were longing to be all day was now with you all alone, walking you home, like always.

This walk was different from your usual. Usually there wouldn’t be distance between you two, there wouldn’t be silence and there would be a fight for the food in your hands. Food, you thought as your stomach grumbled.

At the end of the road as you were about to turn, you felt a hand right in front of your face, blocking your way. You bumped into Daehyun’s long lean arm and flinched bringing your fingers to your forehead.

“Why did you do that for!” you complained.

“Let’s go left.” Daehyun calmly stated.

“Why? My house is to our right.” You asked confused by his sudden action.

“Yeah but the..erm..dumpling stall is on the left, let’s go” he turned and walked away leaving you to half skip and half run in order to catch up.

“Are you hungry? Yongguk said he is going to leave you dinner though” you said.

“Did you eat breakfast?” he asked you before you could finish your sentence.

“No” you sulked.

“Did you have lunch?” he asked again almost immediately.

“No..I was going to at the café but then..er..I forgot” you said under your breath. How could you remember to eat when you saw him walk out of the room without any warning?

“You remembered to text me to eat but forgot your food.” He did not for once look at you while speaking.

An alienated feeling rushed over you. You weren’t sure if it was happiness or sadness or plain confusion. As the both of you neared the stall more and more thoughts formed in your mind. Why was he being like this? Did he just show care or was he annoyed that you had texted him? It’s like you couldn’t recognize the person you had known all your life. He seemed to care but was aloof at the same time. You were so deep into your thoughts that you stopped moving.

Daehyun looked back and saw you were left behind while he had walked all the way to the benches. He called out once or twice but you paid no attention. After the failed attempts,  he walk back to where you were standing and bent down to meet your vision.

But you couldn’t pull your head up as tears started to form in your eyes. You kept looking downwards till you could see Daehyun’s shoes right in front of yours.

Without thinking twice you grabbed his jacket and pulled him into a hug. You needed to. Your forehead rested on his chest while tears rolled down your eyes. Little sniffs left your nose as you tried to stop yourself from bawling.

Daehyun’s arms did not move from his sides. Maybe he was taken aback by the sudden attack but he did not move for a while.

After what felt like lonely hours, Daehyun lifted his arms and put them around your waist. He pulled you close to his body and you let go of every last remaining strength in you. He brought his face down to your neck and you could feel his sniffs as well, and your whole body quivered to the motion of his breath. Not letting go on the hold of his jacket, you inhaled his smell, craving it more and more as you did. As time seemed to come to a halt, you forgot your hunger, your worries, everything. You were in your Nirvana, your very own Utopia.

“Don’t cry” he whispered slowly nuzzling your cheeks as you hugged him viciously. But, it made you cry even more.

“Don’t you ever stop talking to me again.” You managed in between sniffs and tears.

He loosened his grip from around you and freed his hands. Cupping your face in the palms of his soft hands he tilted your face upwards. Your gazes met and locked, burying all your sanity twenty feet below the ground.

Every cell in your body wanted to drown him in kisses but the fear of last night still hung around. You should have prepared yourself for the possibility that one day you would fall for him but you didn’t, you couldn’t. How could you? How could you ever tell him that every time he looked at you with those eyes, he was stripping off any chances of you ever being with any other man? How could you tell him that every time he held you, your body sent signs of insanity all the way to your head? How could you tell him to give up all those years of friendship just because of your selfish desires? You couldn’t, so you didn’t.

“You are my best friend Dae and I don’t ever want that to change.” You lied to the both of you.

He shifted his gaze and hugged you again, almost as if he couldn’t meet your eyes.

“Yea…you are my best friend, and I should always remember that.”

His words felt like thorns in your heart of roses.

We are best-friends.