I giggle as Hoseok tickles me again. As soon as breakfast was placed on the table, he sat on my right and had every conversation that came to his mind. Since then, he’s been touching my cheeks with the tips of my hairs in an effort to make me laugh.

“Ya, why do you keep bugging her?” The muscular one from earlier asks, and I now know him as Hyunwoo.

Hoseok pouts innocently, but doesn’t let go of my hair, as he replies, “What are you talking about? Who said I was bugging her?”

“You’re right, Hoseok,” the one to my left, Minhyuk, starts. “You’re not bugging her; you’re hogging her.”

The boy on the other end of the table laughs under his breath before he glances up at me. “I feel sorry for her.”

“Hyungwon, that’s rude to say in front of her...” Kihyun says with a frown.

Another person leans over the table in my direction and smiles so large, his eyes disappear. “Should I save you?”

At this, Hoseok stops his motions and frowns. “Ya, she’s perfectly fine where she is. You just eat more.” He picks up his chopsticks with his right hand and stuffs some rice in the boy’s mouth.

Hyunwoo smiles as he adds, “Jooheon, I think someone wants to keep all of her attention to himself.”

“Yeah, no kidding. We still didn’t get a chance to ask her how she knows Kihyun.” The last boy, Changkyun, says with a knowing smile.

“Oh, that? We actually met over ramyun.” Kihyun answers with a laugh. He looks over at Hoseok and laughs even harder at his expression. I turn to look at Hoseok and stifle my own laugh. He looks like a kid that found money in between the cushions of the couch. His eyes are sparkling as he turns to me, and he removes his hand from my hair. I watch as Hoseok moves to grab my hand above the table, but Minhyuk moves faster. Minhyuk has a wicked smile on his face as he pulls me by the hand towards the living room and sits me on the couch. His hands remain on my shoulders as he leans down and whispers in my ear.

“Do you wanna play a game?” He leans back and smiles once again.

“Ya! Minhyuk!” Hoseok yells from the kitchen.

Minhyuk giggles as he sits next to me and covers my view of the kitchen. “Truth or dare?”

“Oh hell nah.” Jooheon exclaims in English as he stands from the table.

I laugh behind my hand as the rest join us on the couch. Again, I’m sandwiched between Minhyuk and Hoseok. Kihyun catches my eyes and nods reassuringly. I look to Minhyuk and answer, “Truth.”

“Tell us all about you. Why you’re in Korea, how old you are, etcetera.”

“Well, I’m 23, and I came to Korea to teach English to elementary children.” All of them smile at the mention of children. “I love music, and I hope to incorporate that in my teaching here.”

“Oh ho, you love music, you say?” Changkyun says with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Who do you listen to?” Minhyuk asks.

“Nope, you’ve asked your question. Now it’s my turn.” I glance at everyone. “Hmm... Hyunwoo.”

He focuses his attention on me. “Truth or dare?”

He automatically responds, “Dare.”

I point towards the kitchen. “I dare you to drink an entire gallon of milk.”

Everyone’s eyes widen, but Hyunwoo obediently rises from his seat and heads for the kitchen.

“Now I know never to make you mad.” Hyungwon mutters. I laugh lightly as Hyunwoo returns with a full milk carton. As he chugs it, some of the boys watch with horror-stricken expressions. Hyunwoo burps once he’s finished the carton and throws it away.

Once he sits down, he tosses me a big eye-smile and says, “That was a good dare.”

“It’s your turn now.” Jooheon tells him.

“Oh,” Hyunwoo looks around us and his gaze lands on Hoseok. “Truth or dare?”

Hoseok smiles confidently as he replies, “Dare.”

I swear, if it was possible, Hyunwoo’s smile grew even more. “I dare you to...” His gaze shifts slightly to my direction. “Show our new friend here your music.”

Hoseok’s eyes widen at the dare, and he quickly turns to gauge my reaction. I blink a few times, not quite understanding why this was a dare. Then, Hyungwon asks politely, “Would that be alright?” I nod, not seeing the big deal in hearing Hoseok’s music. They were singers anyways, so he was probably going to play some of their songs for me.

Hoseok stands from the couch and extends his hand to me. He offers a shy smile as he says, “Come.”

I place my hand in his as I rise. I glance behind me to see all six of them smiling before Hoseok tugs on my hand. He leads me to a door a ways from the couch and reaches for the door handle.

“Aren’t you just going to play some music from your phone? What’s in here?” I ask before he opens the door.

He looks over his shoulder and throws me the same small smile from before. “The music Hyunwoo wants me to show you isn’t the music we all make together. This is what I make alone.” He twists the doorknob and tugs on my hand again.

“Welcome to my room.”

Hoseok leads me inside of his room and clicks the door shut behind me. He tugs on my hand again and sits me down in a desk chair. After turning the computer on, Hoseok leans over me to reach the mouse with his right hand, and he places his left hand on my other side for support. His soft breaths ghost over my ear as he stares at the screen in front of us. I keep myself from moving in the slightest, afraid that I might bump into him accidentally.

A few minutes pass until Hoseok selects the file he wishes for me to hear.

“I would show you a song I recorded with the others,” He begins as he reaches for a pair of headphones. “But I would much rather you hear my voice alone for the first song.” He places the headphones on my head gently and resumes his position behind me. As soon as he clicks the play button, a soft melody fills my ears.

It’s a ballad.

Hoseok’s soft voice wraps me in a comforting embrace, and I quickly lose myself to the song. One verse makes me hold my breath because of the raw emotion behind it.

I’m waiting. I need someone to hear my words.
I’m waiting. Can you be the one to hold my hand.
I’m waiting. Will you be the one to explore my heart.
I’m waiting for the moment that your lips release the pain I’ve been harboring, waiting for your arrival.

As the song finishes, a tear slides down my cheek. Hoseok takes off my headphones and sees this, his expression quickly showing surprise. He scrambles to place the headphones on the desk and stop the next song from playing.

When he crouches in front of me, I see his surprise is now replaced by worry. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it would make you cry...” He slowly uses his thumb to wipe my stray tear, but he doesn’t remove his hand from my cheek.

“No, it’s not your fault...” I look down in embarrassment and laugh despite the obvious mood change. “It was a lovely song. I didn’t mean anything against it. It’s just...” I bite my lip before finishing. “It was very relatable.”

Hoseok slowly nods and offers me a sympathetic smile. “I’m glad.”

“Huh?”

“I’m happy that you felt something. That’s why I make music. I wish for people to express what they’re feeling instead of holding it inside, hence the song.”

I look up and meet his earnest gaze. “Thank you.”

He smiles brightly this time and says, “I think you’ve got it reversed.” Hoseok leans forward and places his other hand on my vacant cheek.

“I need to give Hyunwoo my thanks.”