//Chapter Five

"S-sesang?" I asked, confused. "International fans?"

"Not sesang, sasaeng," Hyunseung corrected. "They're the hardcore fans."

"Some might even call them stalk--" Kikwang started, but the girls interrupted him.

"Oppa!" a girl with loud bangles repeated as she made her way towards Doo Joon. "How are you?!"

Doo Joon just stayed there, unmoving as she hugged him. Whoa, wasn't that a bit too close to his personal bubble? I would have been thoroughly freaked out. If he was freaked out, he was pretty good at hiding it.

“We saw you guys come out of the movie theater. Did you watch a movie?” the second girl said, her ponytail bouncing up and down as she went to go cling onto Yoseob.

What kind of a question was that? Of course we watched a movie! No, we totally went into the theater to mooch popcorn off of people. This girl wasn’t exactly the brightest candle on the Menorah. It showed too; she grinned up at my cousin like a ditz. Her stare was totally creeping me out too.

The third girl, who was my height, stepped forward. She let out a huff of breath as she stepped in between me and Kikwang, causing me to step backward. What the ?! She slipped her arm around him as she eyed me up and down. I did the same, and whoa, did this girl have some height issues or what? Her boots were about five inches tall! I bet that if she wasn’t wearing them right now, she’d be shorter than my neighbor’s Chihuahua. Hah, give me a break.

“Who’s this, oppa?” she sneered as she stared at me in disdain. “Is she a trainee? A fan, maybe?”

FAN?! Who was she to call me a fan?! How dare she! She was so lucky that I could control my temper. If not, someone would have ended up in the hospital. I’m no Doo Joon when it comes to hitting people, but let me tell you: I am not someone to mess with. Oh hell naw, this girl has just crossed the line.

“Relax,” Yoseob interjected. “She’s my cousin Min Ah.”

“Cousin? Oh really, now?” Skyscraper Heels and her lackeys assessed me once again.

I stared back at her with no emotion. These girls were really asking for it. They could stare at me all they wanted too; I would continue to stand my ground. In my head, I was imagining virtually all the ways that I could physically inflict harm on someone. Watching all those Saw movies with Yoseob really did pay off. Hm, who knew?

“So, it looks like you guys are going shopping,” the one with the bangles said. “Why don’t we accompany you?”

“Or maybe we’ll even buy you boys ice cream! You’ve worked SO hard…” Ponytail said. “C’mon, Yoseob-ah!”

Boys?! Last time I checked, I was a female. Plus, they were really informal. Yoseob-ah? Come on. Even I don’t call him that. There were so many words I could call these girls. Dead was one of them. Potential roadkill was another. Breathe, Min Ah, I told myself. Imagine yourself in a room filled with unicorns and puppies. Seriously, though. I’ve met some of the boys’ fans back when they debuted and they were nothing compared to these es. At least the ones back then were sweet. Oh, if only assault and battery weren’t crimes….

“Erm, we were—yoboseyo? Ne…ne, arasseo. We’ll be there. Bye.” Junhyung smirked. “Looks like Manager Jiyong wants us back home ASAP.”

“We’d love to stay and chat, but we gotta get going. We’ll see you soon, bye!” Dongwoon said, already making  break for the exit.

“Oh, I’m sure we’ll see you soon, Dongwoon-ah,” Skyskraper Heels replied as Kikwang tried wriggling out of her grasp. “I’m sure we’ll see you all very soon.”

“Let’s go, Min Ah-yah,” Hyunseung muttered to me, grabbing my wrist as he tried steering me towards the exit.

Doo Joon and Yoseob managed to free themselves from the girls’ grips and were following Dongwoon. I heard one of the girls say the word ‘hoe’ from behind me and I turned around to find them glimpsing at me. They continued to converse in hushed tones, then Hyunseung put his arm around my shoulders as he directed me towards the exit. I had a feeling that I will, indeed, be seeing these girls again, whether I wanted to or not.

We got into the van and sat there for a good two minutes. Well, until Yoseob had another one of his bright ideas.

“You know what, I really could go for some ice cream right now,” he suggested. “Who’s with me?”

“Me!” I agreed, trying to get my mind off of the recent encounter. “Let’s stop by an ice cream parlor! An ice cream parlor like—”

“BASKIN ROBBINS!” Me, Dongwoon and Yoseob chorused.

“Wait, I thought that Manager Jiyong wanted us back home,” Kikwang brought up.

“Uh, no, I just did that to save your sorry butts from those sasaengs,” Junhyung said. “You’re welcome.”
“Ohhhh, okay. Well, I don’t think they sell protein shakes at Baskin Robbins,” he pouted. “I can’t be unfit.”

That was Kikwang for you. This boy couldn’t go a day just eating like a normal person. What a health freak. I’ll bet my left arm that he would take WEEKS to finish those five cookies I gave him. Maybe when he visits America, I’ll take him to In N’ Out and buy him a large burger, fries and chocolate shake. (When the boys came to California for the Korean Music Festival, I was away on a church camping trip that my parents forced me to go on. Lame, I know.) Yoseob’s heaven was like Kikwang’s polar opposite.

“Yah, don’t you want to go home?” Junhyung complained, but I gave him my best puppy eyes. “Aish, Min Ah-yah, why do you do that? Fine, fine, we’ll go. Yoseob does the exact same thing. I’m only caving because it’s you. If Yoseob did it, I would’ve been unfazed. I guess I’ve grown accustomed to his ways.”

“But hyung,” Yoseob pleaded. “Don’t you love me?”

“Exhibit A,” muttered Junhyung.

Prior to this trip, I had no knowledge about the boys’ driving abilities. I always assumed that they knew how to drive. Hyunseung and Yoseob drove perfectly fine. Junhyung, however, did not. We fishtailed across lanes, stopped abruptly as we were going 130 km an hour (about 80 mph) and witnessed his road rage. In my nineteen years of living, I can honestly say that being in a car with Yong Junhyung driving is the most traumatic ordeal I had ever gone through. Soon enough, we exited. The sight of Baskin Robbins was a haven. As soon as the car was parked, you can guess who the first one out of the car was. Me.

“LAND!” I cried. “SWEET LAND!”

“Who even agreed on hyung driving here? I think I’m gonna be sick,” Dongwoon moped.

“I heard that!” Junhyung snapped. “I can drive perfectly well, thank you very much. We all got here in once piece, did we not?”

“Oppa, I still love you!” I said, giving him a quick hug.

“Me too, oppa, me too!” Dongwoon fake-shrieked in a girly voice, earning a glare from Junhyung.

Yoseob was very eager to go in. We both reached the door at the same time, but he didn’t hold the door open for me, therefore I nearly ran into the door. Twitching in irritation that I nearly faceplanted into the door, I rolled my eyes before trying to open the door again before I realized that someone had already opened the door for me. Hyunseung was smiling at me as he gestured for me to go inside. Beaming at him, I walked in.

“Yang Yoseob, what’s up with you today? You could have at least held the door open for Min Ah,” Hyunseung scolded.

“But hyung,” Yoseob whined as he pressed his face up against the glass. “Food!”

“Gwenchana, oppa,” I assured him as I went to pick a flavor.

“First, he lets Doo Joon hit her in the face, now this…really…” Hyunseung shook his head.

“Yah, let’s not bring that up again, arasseo?” Doo Joon frowned.

Hyunseung grinned. “Whatever you say, Yoon leader.”

“Hi-yeom! Do you guys have any protein sh—” Kikwang started, but Yoseob cut him off.

“Kikwangie~” Yoseob begged. “Live a little!”

“Aish, why do you want me to be fat?” complained Kikwang.

“You’re not even fat! Kikwangie-ah…” Yoseob persuaded.

“Alright, alright! One small vanilla cone, no toppings. Happy?” Kikwang glared at Yoseob.

“Yes. How about you, Min Ah-yah?”

“Let’s see…one double scoop chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate sprinkles, hot fudge, chocolate chunks and extra chocolate chips, please!” I said cheerily.

“So much chocolate…” Dongwoon said in awe. “Make that two, please!”

“Same for me!” chirped Yoseob. “I LOVE CHOCOLATE!”    

“Yah, Yang Yoseob, don’t shout in here. You’re an adult, remember?” Doo Joon reminded him.

“Did I say that Yoseob singing karaoke was the greatest human disaster on earth? No. I take that back. The three of you with this much sugar and chocolate will be THE greatest human disaster the world has experienced,” Hyunseung shook his head.

“Oppa, don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it,” I sang as I accepted my ice cream and held out a spoonful. “Here, taste some!”

“A-are you sure? I have my own ice cream…” Hyunseung worried, holding up his own cup of orange sherbet.

“Go ahead; it’s not like I have herpes or anything,” I said sarcastically.

He agreed and had a taste. Pulling a shocked face, he pushed my hand away and shook his head, saying it was too sweet for his liking. I just called him a chicken and shoved a spoonful in my mouth. Dongwoon burst out giggling.

“What’s so funny, Dongwoon-ah?” I asked, curiously.

“It’s just…you totally shared spoons with Hyunseung hyung, which means you traded spit. You guys practically kissed.,” laughed Dongwoon, much to mine and Hyunseung’s embarrassment.

Great, this just got even more uncomfortable between me and Hyunseung. Leave it to Dongwoon to make a situation even more awkward. Of course, he probably doesn’t know about what happened this morning, but I felt my cheeks reddening. I swatted Dongwoon’s arm playfully (as if that really made a difference; the kid looked skinny but he was so ripped) and rolled my eyes. Hyunseung ate his ice cream at a faster pace.

“Hey, hey, hey, no one’s kissing Min Ah!” Yoseob said protectively as he pretended to hit Dongwoon. “Son Dongwoon, just stop talking, okay?”

“Hey, uh, we should probably get home because…uh…Manager Jiyong is probably waiting…and stuff…yeah…” Kikwang spoke up suddenly.

“Kikwang-ah, it’s only four PM,” Doo Joon stated. “Are you in a rush or something?”

“No…I just wanted to get back home…” he said lamely. “I’m watching a show…yeah, that’s it.”

“Lemme pay for this and then we’ll go home, okay?”

“Oops, sorry for ordering so much, oppa. I’ll pay for you guys,” I volunteered as I took out my wallet.

“No, no, no, it’s fine!” Doo Joon said. “Just wait in the car, alright?”

“Ne!”

“SHOTGUN!” screamed Yoseob as he ran for the car.

“Hey, no fair! Jakkaman~” I wailed, following him.

He had a head start, so I had to settle for the middle seats with Kikwang and Dongwoon. Leaning my head back, I sighed in relief as I saw that Doo Joon was going to be the one driving us back today. Safe at last. I was about to doze off when I felt someone playing with my hair. Turning around, I saw Hyunseung smile shyly at me as he lowered his arm.

“Mianhae, your hair’s really soft and fun to play with,” he apologized, sounding like Yoseob after getting caught eating someone else’s slice of cake.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, I just wanted to see who was doing that. Figures it was you; Junhyung would never do something like that,” I thought out loud. “Continue. It feels nice.”

Hyunseung obliged and I felt the sensation of his fingers running through my hair once again. I love it when people play with my hair. It’s like when you a cat and it purrs. When people play with my hair, I am as content as that cat. I smiled to myself like a crazy person, then Kikwang started fidgeting in his seat. Was he having a seizure? Nope, he was just jittery. It was interfering with my Min Ah relaxation time. He also kept sneaking glances towards the back. Hmmm. Was Kikwang jealous or was I on crack? In an attempt to stop him from moving so much, I closed my hand around his wrist. That seemed to stop him. He still felt tense, however, as Hyunseung made no motion to stop touching my hair. Ughhh, seriously, Kikwang? Why must this boy make me use my brain so much?

We finally reached the dorm and I couldn’t even believe how tired I was. I promised Dongwoon that I’d play Mario Kart with him today, though, so I couldn’t leave until later. Of course, being me, I nearly tripped exiting the van. Once again, it was Kikwang to the rescue! My luck was really impeccable.

“Thanks, oppa. You saved me from squashing my face into the ground,” I thanked him.

“No problem! Anything to help!” he replied happily.

“You should really wear a caution sign or something around your neck,” Junhyung suggested as Hyuseung followed.

“Haha, very funny. I’ll take that into consideration,” I told him.

Kikwang offered me his arm. “Here. In case you trip going up the stairs. Knowing you, you probably will.”

I narrowed my eyes at him but took it anyway. Aw, what the heck, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Before entering the building, however, I saw something through my peripheral vision. As I walked into the building, I noticed an unfamiliar white car park right behind the boys’ van.

---

Thanks for the comments, guys! I really appreciate it(: Mianhamnida for the wait; I was very busy over these past few days. Here's a longer update, thought! Please continue to comment; once again, they motivate me. Who's in the car? Is it someone you know? Maybe...(; Time will tell. Until next time, annyeong!