3.30 PM Wednesday 3 May 2017

“Oh, today’s weather is wonderful!”

Hyein took in a large breath and stretched her arms as we stepped onto the sidewalk. The air was indeed a lot clearer compared to the last couple of days where we were tortured as the Asian Dust phenomenon continued its yearly month-long visit. Clouds shaped like tufty pillows glided slowly across the blue sky. They carried an airy, warm, drizzling rain with them that fell earlier this morning. The roads were still damp but the temperatures were no longer frigid and wearing a winter coat was now a thing of the past. Hello, Summer!

Hyein and I both started work late today and after a late brunch, we left the house, our matching plastic umbrellas in hand.

“Do you like him a lot?”

My steps slowed down upon hearing Hyein's sudden question. Only she knew how deep that question really was for me. I gave it a long hard thought. I knew I was feeling something for Kyuhyun but I've always been afraid to come to a conclusion. 

"Or you're just too afraid to admit that you actually do like him a bit too much?"

I narrowed my eyes at my best friend who was obvlious for she was picking flowers that were growing along the pavement.

"You know you can be fined for that, right? ”

She shrugged her shoulders carelessly. "They're flowers. They'll die in a couple of weeks and the government sends people to plant them again.”

She sauntered towards me and placed a yellow daffodil between my hair.

"You didn't answer my question.”

Pretending to look for an empty cab, I replied as offhandedly as I could. "I might just like him a lot.”

Hyein gave me a gummy smile that could rival Hyukjae's and gave me a playful nudge.

"But what's the deal with you guys? You're not going on dates but he brings you coffee everyday. Even when he's not here, you still get your latte.”

I gave Hyein a look.

"What? There's been that extra Toffee Nut Latte being ordered by them. Heechul Oppa claims that it's his but we've seen it end up in Kyuhyun's hands. And I'm not dumb, only you can drink that diabetic-causing excuse for a coffee.”

Hyein liked her caffeine strong while Americanos not only gave me a headache but could send me straight to the ER.

A cab stopped for us and the both of us entered. While we were in the car, Hyein fumbled with her earphones and offered one side to me.

"Listen to this."

These days, it feels like you’re mine, it seems like you’re mine but that's not it. It feels like I’m yours, it seems like I’m yours but that's not it. What are we? I’m confused, don’t be aloof.

I recognized the soothing vocals of Jungigo and Soyu's hit song. I gave my friend a puzzled look.

"This is the situation you are in. The gray area! The in-between! Neither here nor there! Not a couple but not friends either." She punctuated each exclamation with a tap on my thigh.

Hyein looked at me curiously. "But isn't this treading dangerous waters?"

Both of us fell silent and let the remainder of the song play. The next song that played was all too familiar - Super Junior M's Destiny. Hyein looked at me with wide eyes, her hands in up, in a surrender.

"It's on shuffle!"

I returned her the earpiece and focused on the passing cars outside the window. I wasn't sure what was going on either. But there was just so much things on the line that needed to be considered before either of us could do anything.

Fifteen minutes later, and after paying the driver, Hyein and I entered the building and went straight to Jieun's desk.

"Welcome back!"

"Oh my gosh, you are so tanned. Did you just stay in the sun all day?”

Jieun decided that the cold spring breeze was too much for her and went on a beach vacation with her boyfriend to Bali for a week. She came back looking very sun-kissed and well rested. After receiving our gifts from her and promises of night out together, Hyein and I went to the lift lobby.

Glancing at her watch, Hyein decided that she was early and chose to accompany me to the classroom.

"I was thinking about it in the cab earlier."

Hyein remained silent and looked at me patiently.

"Sometimes, having a label or clear boundaries in a relationship doesn't always work. There's expectations to live up to, promises to keep and that just becomes a burden."

I was still confused but I needed to keep talking, to hear out the thoughts that were being repressed in my head.
 

"That gray area or in-between situation... Neither lovers or friends but something... It can work. It doesn't have to be permanent. It can be a temporary arrangement as both parties just try to figure themselves out. To figure out what they want."

I knew I was not making much sense and I looked to Hyein, who was also deep in thought. The both of us did not speak for a couple of minutes.
 

"You have a point. But as your best friend, the painful responsibility is on me to bring you back to earth, so you don't get hurt."

I pulled my chair next to hers and sat down with a sigh.

"Having a label doesn't guarantee that the relationship will be successful. It doesn't guarantee that there'll be no heartbreak." I grumbled bitterly.

Hyein wrapped an around me and rested her head on my shoulder.
 

"I know. But you should also be careful. I don't want to see you broken again."
 

I turned my head to look at my friend. "You should talk. You're the one who brought me here in the first place. So it's thanks to you that I met Cho Kyuhyun."
 

Rolling her eyes as she disentangled herself from me, she scoffed.
 

"The string of destiny between two persons...Who have the same ending." Hyein sang a line from Destiny and I stuck my tongue out at her.
 

"You can't stop fate if it wants to bring the two of you together. You could have liked so many other groups but why was it Super Junior?"
 

"Going by your logic, then why was it Sungmin Oppa whom I chose and not the Maknae?"

"That's why Sungmin Oppa got married. He wasn't meant for you. And I've said it long during our days in college, your ideal bias should have been Kyuhyun Oppa. Even fate agreed with me."

Grabbing some scrap paper from my table, I scrunched it into a ball and tossed it at Hyein.

"Yah! Hitting me won't change anything. The gods above have decided. Cho Kyuhyun and Jung Mina are meant to be."

She ran to the back of the classroom and I gave chase, armed with several more paper balls. Our game was halted when Shindong and Yesung both entered the classroom. Both men looked stunned beyond words and Hyein and I burst out laughing. While Hyein and I cleared up the mess we made, Shindong and Yesung settled on the tables and began unpacking.

"Your boyfriend said to give you this coffee." Shindong said in perfect English and handed me a cup, his eyes teasing yet kind.

I was in no position to fault him since his sentence made sense. I thanked him and quickly added, "He's not my boyfriend."

"Yet!" Hyein yelled from the back.

The two men looked at the two of us with bemused expressions and I felt myself starting to flush. My cheeks were feeling warm. Hyein soon left the room and I began handing out the new word lists to Shindong and Yesung.

"I was curious about the extra coffee Kyuhyun recently started to order. That boy only drinks coffee as dark and bitter as his soul." Shindong chuckled.

Yesung's phone buzzed and he sighed.

"You know, if the two are you going to start dating, you should at least give him your phone number, right?"

I giggled. Kyuhyun was away on holiday in Jeju Island with his friends and Yesung was the unfortunate member who had daily lessons with me for the past 4 days. My refusal to let Kyuhyun have my number might be probably due to Cosmopolitan's tip #28 in keeping a man interested in you. Playing hard to get wasn't easy when I was seeing Kyuhyun on an almost daily basis. The only leverage I had left was my phone number. Heechul and Sungmin seemed to agree with me and have not disclosed the number to the Maknae, much to his frustration. Hyein and Jieun both took my side thus closing all of his options. And Manager Kim was a no-no. I didn't expect anyone to suffer because of this but Kyuhyun used the class schedule to his advantage.

"He's asking if I'm in class, if you've received your coffee and that he's waiting for his fact of the day today." Yesung read the messages in a listless monotone.

As what he had been doing for the past four days, Yesung handed me his iPhone that already had Kyuhyun waiting on the other side. His hair was a mess on top of his head and he had a towel around his neck.

"Did you go swimming?"

"Hi baby." He greeted.

I flinched. He was only doing this because he knew we had an audience but I was finding it hard to calm my heart. Shindong began snickering while Yesung puffed his cheeks. He probably has had enough of us. I explained the instructions I had for their assignment and quickly left the classroom.

"Yah, I just charged my phone. Don't use up all the battery!"
 

I gave Yesung an 'OK' sign with my fingers and closed the door.
 

"You could have called Shindong Oppa today, why did you choose Yesung Oppa again?"
 

He ran his fingers through his hair and despite his pixelated appearance, I drew in a sharp intake of breath. Such a simple gesture and he made it so beautiful.
 

"Yesung Hyung doesn't get angry at me."
 

"Really? He looked pretty frustrated earlier."
 

"He's just jealous. He always said in interviews he wanted to date a fan. I'm living the life he wants."
 

"Who said we're dating?"
 

Kyuhyun's expression softened and he gave me a wink.
 

"Slip of the tongue, sorry!" He did not look sorry at all.
 

"So what's Mina's Fact Number 11?"
 

Ever since the day he asked me about my favorite colour, Kyuhyun decided that the best way to learn about me was to receive a fact about me everyday, which he will note down in his notebook. Initially, I wasn't that bothered. But it was becoming a task to come up with something interesting to say.
 

"Initially, I wanted to be a lawyer. But my love for language overtook that passion for law."
 

"Did you make that up?" He teased.
 

"You know you can check the facts with Hyein, right? Or better yet, get her to give you daily facts about me since you don't believe me."
 

Kyuhyun began smirking. "You're so easy to tease." He started to write and kept his camera focused on his face.

"Fact Number 11... Almost became a lawyer..." He looked at his notebook before returning his eyes to the screen. "Just like me."

I felt the door open behind me and Shindong called me in, Yesung's face still wearing a frown.

"Yah, Cho Kyuhyun. We need our teacher back and I want my phone back."

Waving goodbye to a laughing Kyuhyun, I returned the phone to Yesung. His face instantly lit up and he broke into a smile, all traces of anger gone from his face.

"He should have fell for it this time, I am quite a good actor. It looked real."

Shindong chuckled quietly and we exchanged a glance.

Whatever floats your boat, Yesung Oppa.