“I’m sorry.”

I like to think of myself as a person who finds it difficult to apologize at anyone about anything, even the smallest most unnecessary things, because I’m a stubborn little who puts her pride on top of everything.

But when it comes to Minseok, I surprised even myself with my out of the ordinary word vomit.

Minseok, in all his beautiful glory, looks at me with surprise. His eyes are wide and he freezes in his steps.

“What are you talking about?” Minseok’s voice sounds raspy, like he went to meet me straight up after getting out of bed. Doing a double take, seeing Minseok standing there in a blue t-shirt with dark red training pants and his hair sticking out in every direction means that my theory is probably right.

It’s not everyday you see Kim Minseok dressed to the brim without a hint of black mixed into the outfit.

“I’m sorry,” I say again, voice smaller after losing the spark of confidence my adrenaline had provided me the second I take sight of Minseok’s face. “I was selfish. I shouldn’t have said the things I said to you that day, and I definitely shouldn’t have ignored you and stopped talking to you just because things didn’t go my way.”

There is a beat of silence as Minseok absorbs the implication of my words, then he takes a few steps forward to lessen the distance between the both of us.

“I’m sorry,” his eyebrows are furrowed, his gaze so intense that I have to look away for a couple of seconds so I don’t blush.

I’m sorry. It’s simple. He doesn’t say that he’s sorry too, and he doesn’t say something along the cliché lines of “no I’m sorry”. He doesn’t say why he’s sorry, and he doesn’t question me any further either. He just accepts the situation, and moves on to get his point across.

“Well I’ll forgive you if you forgive me first,” I shrug, leaning backwards with my arms crossed under my chest. Minseok raises his eyebrows, and after a few seconds, finally flashes his infamous gummy smile that generates warmth inside of me.

“I missed you.” he says, and closes the gap between the both of us with a well deserved hug. My arms are immediately wrapped around his neck tightly, my smiling face buried in the crook of his neck.

Minseok smells like coffee, love, and something else altogether that always had a calming effect on me.

It’s a long, lazy hug, contrary to the short and minimal exchange of words Minseok and I just had. I let go when I feel like I’ve gotten enough of his warmth to make me feel a lot better, and Minseok flashes me one of his rare smiles yet again.

I needed this.

Then Baekhyun is staring at me from behind where Minseok is standing. I squint, surprised that Byun Baekhyun would show up in a café conveniently located close to Minseok’s apartment where Minseok and I usually frequent for quick bites, factoring in the fact that he was supposed to be in the library and that he lived at the other part of the city.

I blink, and then he’s gone. I could have sweared that I saw him standing next to the street pole just outside the café, but Minseok snaps me back into reality.

“Brunch is on me,” Minseok says, waving his hands in front of my face and turning his head around to see what I was looking at. “What are you looking at?”

“It’s nothing, I just thought I saw someone,” I brush him off, grabbing him by his sleeve to the nearest table I can get to. “I’ll just text Jongin to inform him that I’ll be late for unavoided reasons, and I’m good.”

Minseok looks at me weird, and asks, “Who’s Jongin?”

I laugh a little as I press send. Finishing my quick text to Jongin, I put my phone back into my bag.

“We have a lot of catching up to do,” I state, and Minseok props his chin on the palm of his hand, a soft smile etched on his handsome face.

It’s always easy with Minseok, and I missed easy.

***

Minseok gets acquainted with Somi fairly quickly, and they bond over sarcastic banters and weird jokes no one really gets but the two of them.

The first time they talk, Somi sends me a two thumbs up when Minseok isn’t looking, mouthing me the words “I approve of him” with a sly smile on her face. The teasing never stopped ever since.

Jaehyung seems to have jumped on the bandwagon lately, and I have to blame Minseok too because he finds it amusing to play along with their teasing, shamelessly flirting with me from time to time.

Not a lot of things have really changed, but if anything, it is the most I’ve been happy for the past few weeks.

***

Something is wrong.

I look at the Jongin’s reflection on the mirror as he dances slowly, going back on the new dance routine we’re both learning for the meantime. He looks innocent and childlike, which throws my suspicions off a little bit.

“Jongin,” I call out, trying not to frown as I do so. “Yes?” he replies immediately, and I wait for him to finish his routine before continuing with where I wanted the conversation to go. He ends his dance with a spring in his step, and turns around to face me with an unsuspecting smile.

“Shoot, noona,” he says as he walks past me to grab a bottle of water placed at the back of the room, a term he’s been using lately to tick me off. I roll my eyes.

“I don’t recall ever telling you about my relationship with my parents,” I start, and I zero on the stutter in his steps by the end of my sentence as he walks towards his water bottle. “How did you know that I had a bad one?”

Jongin takes a few huge gulps from his water bottle, and wipes takes his sweet time to wipe his perspiration away before answering my question.

“I just assumed,” he answers calmly, an unreadable look on his face. “With you being broody and all, that it must’ve had something to do with your parents. Why do you ask?”

My mouth itches to ask all the other things Jongin somehow knew about me that I never recalled ever telling him, but something else inside of me keeps my mouth tightly shut, pressed into a thin line mimicking a poor excuse of a smile.

“You’re really good at reading people, then,” I send him a teasing smile, walking over to where the speaker is. I press play and the music starts before he can say anything.

“Come on,” I call out to him with our gazes locked through our reflections on the mirror.

Gingerly, he stands up, but I don’t miss the way his face pales just the slightest bit.

***

“I think it’s just a coincidence, Min,” Somi responds to my theory, making my furrow my brows in frustration.

“I’m telling you it’s the weirdest thing ever! I didn’t tell anybody about my feud with my parents and Jongin just comes by knowing every little thing about me?” I pout, upset at Somi’s inability to sympathize with me.

She rolls her eyes. “It’s not exactly that hard to figure out, really,” Somi reasons, looking at me with a chiding look that basically translates how much I looked like a little child in her eyes.

“Then how does that explain him knowing that I smoked cigs for two years before finally stopping and all that? That’s not something you just guess, even you don’t know that,” I demand, exasperated.

“Have you really never told anyone about those things?” Somi asks, like something had seemed to click inside of her head. Suddenly, s