I don’t know what it is about me and Jongin, but somehow, we always seem to be at the same place at the same time on the wrong situation. It’s as if an invisible string pulls me towards him whenever my presence is the last thing he’d want. But when already in that situation, it’s inevitable to ignore it.

            “Do you wanna stop by a coffee shop?” I broke the awkward silence between us startling him from his trance. Bewildered, he nodded absentmindedly as I patted him lightly on the shoulder in an attempt to comfort – I doubt I did though.

            Walking along Hongdae with Jongin is definitely not a part of my itinerary for today nor is it planned by any means. Fate seems to be playing a funny trick on us and now here I am walking next to someone who probably doesn’t want my company – or so I thought. But there is a noticeable difference in the way Jongin looks today compared to our past encounters: he isn’t wearing his usual stoic mask but looking rather dazed and blank as if his soul had just left his body.

            I was walking on my own in Myeongdong after finishing a half day shift from my part time job. I work part time as a Hotel Housekeeper at Pacific Hotel in Myeongdong. It may not be such a pretty named work but it’s better than nothing. Since I’m still a student with no proper qualifications, job opportunities are slim therefore I just grab whatever comes my way. As I glide through the busy streets, I can feel my smile almost reaching my ears, if it's even possible. Today seems to be a good day; the weather is good, I just got paid, and it’s the last day of our 3 day off training. Nothing can ruin it for me; not for today.

            I scurried through the crowd wanting to get home so I could treat the others a nice meal. But that plan was changed when I saw a familiar figure standing frozen on the other side of the road with a grim expression as if he was standing in the middle of the Arctic in front of a wild boar.  

It’s Jongin.

             His gaze is fixed on something and although I couldn’t see his expression clearly, I can make out the sudden paleness and stiffness of his face like he had seen something terrifying. I grimaced at the scene and followed where Jongin’s eyes were looking. It’s the girl and the boy whom I recognise from the Music corridor the other day; the ones Jongin was spying. With my rather new and distant relationship with Jongin, there is one thing I am certain about him:  he has tendencies to freeze when caught in an awkward situation, especially involving his now ex-girlfriend whom I still don’t know the name of.

             I stood at the edge of the sidewalk waiting for the roads to clear so I can cross. Impatiently waiting while agitatedly tapping my left foot, I eyed him tensely as if he would disappear if my gaze diverted in the slightest bit. I’m going to approach him. Although I don’t really know why I will or how I will act when I’m there or what I will say, I’m just going to do it. Improvising has been a good talent of mine after all. My instincts never fail me just like how I guessed he had heartbreak the first time I met him at the bench a month ago. 

            Jongin remained rooted on the floor; I can see his lips move slightly forming probably a word or two, but his expression unwavering. Just in time, the road cleared and I ran across with my heart pounding and the anxiety making me uncertain whether this was a good decision. Well, I’m here, an inch away from them; there’s no turning back now. Here goes nothing.

            “Hey…” I greeted confidently although I was secretly hoping that the sound of the cars passing by overpowered my voice; but apparently not when three pair of eyes darted towards me, drilling holes through my body.

            Jongin grimaced upon seeing my presence, confusion sketched visibly in his eyes. Well, that’s expected I guess. I mean, I just popped up like a mole in that Whac-a-mole arcade game after all.

            “What are you doing here?”

            Hello to you too – I wanted to say but obviously didn’t. I grinned shamelessly, “I’ve been waiting for you!” I tried to make it sound casual to conceal the fact that our relationship is a little less than what you can consider friendship.

            “Why?” He said with his threateningly low voice and piercing eyes. He’s definitely succeeding in making me feel so unwelcome, if that’s what he’s trying to do.

           “Junmyeon set us up with his two friends remember? And we’re supposed to be meeting them in 20 minutes,” At least this way, he wouldn’t seem so pitiful in front of the girl he love who is now standing next to some other boy. Tragic, I thought.

            It took Jongin a few seconds to decipher the information thrown at him and I could see the two momentarily forgotten figures in front of him curiously listening to our conversation. Finally getting a grip of my stunt, he relaxed his tensed self and faced the other two who were patiently waiting to be acknowledged.

            “Gotta go. Nice meeting you.” I could hear the discomfort in every word he spoke towards the boy, “Nice seeing you around too Sulli,” he said sounding like a talking machine as he break the eye contact almost immediately.

            Sulli, so that’s her name.

            Undoubtedly, she is pretty. Probably one of the prettiest amongst the girl trainees in SM. She has a shimmering round single lidded eyes, full pink lips and radiating smile. It’s no wonder Jongin is madly in love with her. But then again, Jongin’s good looks are comparable to her beauty.

            And that is how we ended up here in Hongdae together. Myeongdong is too classy for me it makes me stand out and feel out of place. Almost everyone wears fashionable designer clothes whereas the plain top and jeans I’m wearing are bargained from the cheap street shop near our apartment. I had to get away from that place – dragging Jongin with me.

====================

            Fifteen minutes of complete silence didn’t seem to bother Jongin. His mind is probably too clogged up with thoughts that I would never ever know of. On the other hand, silence was never my forte, it’s much more deafening than Tao’s full blast singing in the shower every morning. I know I have to make a sound soon or else it’ll drive me insane.

           “Okay, this isn’t working very well” I spoke calmly as he finally lifted his head to face me. We are sitting by the window in Starbucks with him lazily stirring his drink for fifteen minutes.

            He stared at me like I’m some kind of a freak show, “What?”

            “We need to go out there and have some fun! You’re sulking too much and I don’t like it!”

            “You dragged me here and I don’t like it, do you hear me complaining?” he spat back almost immediately with a low and calm tone. Damn, the boy has quick wits. But he seemed pretty relieved when I dragged him away from the awkward situation earlier though.

            “Just be thankful okay? Today, I’ll show you how to have fun!”

            With that, I dragged him out of the coffee shop leaving my half-finished latte and his untouched Americano.

            “Arcade!” I grinned with my arms spread open presenting Jongin my great solution. The bright yellow neon lights that reads ARCADE flashes on our faces as the noise of people grunting and cheering inside are heard loudly by the entrance.

            Arcade, yes. A lot of people find it peculiar because I apparently look like a sissy, but I do like arcades.

            “A good way for two dudes to bond, right right Jong?” I tried to sound friendly but it came out sounding nauseatingly cutesy.

            Although he didn’t reply, I felt the accomplishment as I see a slight smirk forming on his lips, “You sure you can beat me?”

            “Don’t underestimate me, I was known as the king of arcade in my hometown,” it’s a lie, but it wouldn’t hurt.

            “We’ll see about that.”

====================           

            “Go up to anyone and dance Wondergirl's Nobody to them,” instructs Jongin as I silently prayed I somehow dissipate into the air to escape further humiliation. This happens to be the 9^th dare I had to do and counting. Out of all the 12 games we played (4 shooting games, 3 racing, 2 basketball, and 3 DDRs), I have only managed to win 3 which was either by cheating or pure luck.

             An additional data I should add in my About Jongin mental note is that he is an arcade beast.

             “Jong, let me off just this once” I begged.

             “No.”

             Oh, and another one: he is merciless. He didn’t even hesitate in giving me the most outrageous and ridiculous dares such as to stand in the middle and do a monkey dance with a matching monkey noise. I mean, who the hell does that?!

             “Fine,” I grunted as I walked up to a decent looking girl giggling and whispering gossips into her friend’s ear.

              Run, Luhan, run.

              My feet were itching to escape but I can feel Jongin’s sharp gaze burning circles on my back. I quickly did what I had to do which gained me fangirl squeals from the two girls I’m dancing to, a few amused laughs, and definitely judging eyes from some onlookers.

              I ran back to Jongin almost as quick as a blink of an eye. He’s clutching his stomach in sheer laughter, “Epic!”

              I playfully punched him on the shoulder, laughing my embarrassment away. During this momentary arcade mania, I was able to see expressions and emotions that I never thought Jongin was capable of doing or feeling. The most adorable one is his whining expression whenever he misses a person in that shooting game or when he crashes onto another car in the racing game. But my favourite amongst all is when he is smiling and laughing. It’s truly mesmerising and puts one into a reverie. I wish he would smile more often; it’s one of the best scenery I have seen.

               “Let’s go, I don’t want to humiliate myself any further,” I said as his laughter subsides. I check my watch: 3:45pm. We've been here for just over 2 hours.

               “And I thought you were the king of the arcade?” he teased.

               “Well, obviously I was lying,” I gave him a slight playful glare, “I was just trying to cheer you up.”

                The side of his lips curved up into a smile.

                He’s smiling at me.

                Directly at me.

                Not because he just won a game, but because he acknowledges me.

                Kim Jongin is smiling at me.

           “Thank you,” he murmured, and all I hear is sincerity in those two words. He turned around and head towards the exit and I didn’t even realize I was standing like a statue till then. His smile is electrifying making me unable to make a move or sound.

            I didn’t think a simple smile would have this much effect on me. Maybe it’s because this short time I’ve known Jongin, he always had this rather callous façade and never hesitates to show his hostility towards me. But today, he openly showed me the other side of himself.

            Maybe, just maybe, we can actually be close friends.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

It's 2:15am here and my mind is not working properly to write notes. But, IM SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING FOR SO LONG!

I'm extremely happy tho I managed to reach 60 subscribers! 8D

I don't know how I did! pahaa!

We'll there's a second part to this chapter as suggested on the title.

I shall post it up tomorrow, I promise~

For now, Goodmornight to you all<3

Enjoy reading!

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! =D

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