Do I really want to do it to prove my love? Or is this just lust taking over?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

“I love you,” Jonghyun whispered as we walked behind the others on the way to the snorkelling hub. His hand was around my shoulder and he brought his face closer to whisper to me. I smiled and lifted my head to look at him. “I love you too,” I said.

“You know, it’s been a while since we had some alone time.” He started. I stared at him curiously, waiting for what he had to say next. “Do you…want to sleep with me tonight?” He asked almost shyly.

I couldn’t help but to smile at how cute he was being. “You want me to?” I asked back. He nodded his head in response and I giggled, wrapping my arms around his waist as he kissed the top of my head.

We continued walking in that position till we reached the snorkelling hub which was just a short walk off the coast of the beach. It was white and small; no bigger than a house. As soon as we reached, Key went up to the counter to confirm our registrations while the rest of us stayed close by.

Facing us was a great view of the whole place. The sun had just risen an hour ago, leaving the place still moving in slow motion, trying to catch up with the time. There weren’t much people on the beach, nor were they as many cars passing by just yet.

On my right, I heard Taemin sighing to himself. So I moved away from Jonghyun and made my way to him. “Is everything okay?” I asked. The wind was subtly blowing his hair in different directions and the sun shined on his face, lighting it up in a shade of orange.

“Not really,” He replied, turning his head halfway to look at me.

I furrowed my eyebrows together. “Is it Luna?”

He nodded slowly and his lips formed a pout. I shook my head with a smile and looked around for Luna. She was seated on the ground a few metres away with Onew, absorbed in the amazing view. “I think she knows,” Taemin suddenly said, bringing my attention back to him.

“Isn’t that good?” Jonghyun said from behind me as he stepped closer. I looked at him and then back at Taemin who hung his head backwards, looking up at the sky. “No it’s not good because she’s avoiding me.” He mumbled.

I chuckled. “She’s not avoiding you, she’s just shy.” I shoved him playfully. “You’re shy too,”

Grinning, he rubbed the back of his head and let out a nervous chuckle. “Well maybe you’re right,”

“She is,” Jonghyun said. “From now on it’s smooth sailing. All you have to do is just be there for her.”

I gave Taemin a smug look and winked. “Alright.” He said to Jonghyun before sticking his tongue out at me. It feels weird to see my best friends falling in love with each other. It’s like I’ve known them for a long time and who knew they’d end up being made for each other.

“Guys,” Aeri called out. “Let’s go change. There are lockers by the side to keep our belongings.”

We nodded and watched her go before following behind. Luna and Onew got up as well, followed by Minho who walked close by. His eyes glanced at me for a second, watching as I walked with Jonghyun before they turned away.

“Here, let me help you get out of your dress,” Jonghyun said seductively. I was frozen for a moment, staring into his brown eyes as his hands moved to my back to undo the zipper.

“Oh god please,” Taemin gagged. “Spare me,” He said before jogging off towards the rest.

Everyone else was either already in their swimwear or heading towards the changing rooms. I was already in my swimwear underneath this sundress I was wearing outside. Jonghyun circled and stood behind me, undoing the zipper of my dress with one hand on my waist for support.

“Um, Jonghyun I can do that by myself,” I said, turning halfway to stop him.

“I know,” He said smugly. “I just wanted to tease you,” He tapped my nose lightly and walked off towards the changing room leaving me standing there speechless. I looked at him in disbelief as he left. He turned back for a second and winked, making my heart leap.

I shook those thoughts out of my head and slipped out of my sundress, careful not to lose my balance. After which, I shuffled over to the nearest locker and folded my dress before placing it in the small, dark blue locker with its key hanging on the lock.

Just then, Minho stepped out and took the locker three rows down mine. “Hey,” He greeted, nodding his head. “Hi,” I said, trying to avoid eye contact for too long.

I drowned in the smell of his Adidas cologne; the same one which my brother uses but somehow it doesn’t smell so bad when it’s on him. Or maybe it’s the idea of it coming from him that makes it less unbearable. Trying to hide the fact that I’m enjoying the smell, I hid my face behind the door of the locker and pretended to be doing something that wasn’t as creepy as smelling his cologne.

But the next moment I peeked out, my eyes went wide and a lump formed in my throat causing me to almost choke on it and expose my stalkerish behaviour. So smoothly, he pulled his shirt over his head to reveal the muscular body underneath. I just had to stare for a while.

He wasn’t as tanned as Jonghyun nor was he as big, but by the looks of it his training is definitely working out well.

“Are you stealing glances?” His deep voiced broke through my thoughts and made me jump in place.

I blinked several times and realised how he close he was standing. While I was absorbed in staring, he had already closed shut his locker and took a few steps closer. His eyes wandered down my body and I looked down, only to be reminded of how I was also half-.

I felt my cheeks burn and his did too when he noticed what he was doing. “At least I did it subtly,” I defended myself, half smiling. His muscles tensed as he crossed his arms in front of him and smiled at me handsomely.

“So you’re admitting to it?” He asked.

I rolled my eyes, pretending that I had no interest to continue this flirty conversation. It had to stop. “Whatever,” I said.

He walked off shaking his head with a satisfied smile planted on his face. I bit my lip and watched him go. At the same time, Aeri walked out of the changing room and stuffed her things inside the locker before running off after Minho. Those two have gotten real close during this trip too.

I sighed and sat by the lockers while waiting for Jonghyun to come out. One by one the others came out and walked towards the beach where Minho, Aeri and a guy in a full-bodied swimsuit was waiting for us. Key ran towards Aeri while Onew strolled along behind him, smiling at me for a second before continuing.

Luna and Taemin came out bickering over something. At least they’re back to normal now.

“Let’s go,” Jonghyun yelled, appearing out of nowhere and grabbing my hand, pulling me along with him as I stumbled over my own feet. He tugged harder so that I was next to him. “Someone’s excited,” I panted, still trying to catch my breath.

“Why were you talking to Minho?” He suddenly asked, changing the mood.

“You were spying?!” I cried, pouting and punching his arm.

“I wasn’t spying. I was just secretly watching.” He mumbled cutely. I giggled and hugged his waist. “That is spying you idiot,”

“Fine,” He pouted and patted the top of my head. “So why were you talking to him?”

“Nothing really. He just caught me staring,” I said quickly.

Jonghyun’s arm tensed around me and his voice grew soft. “Don’t stare anymore,” He whined and brought his hand up to cover my eyes. “You can only stare at me.”

I smiled to myself. He’s being really cute, even when he’s jealous. Pushing myself off him, I started to walk backwards facing him and holding his hands. “Okay,” I said. “I’ll only look at you. And you can only look at me. Or else I’ll get jealous,”

I winked teasingly and he bit his lip. “Deal.” He said as he ran his eyes over my body which made me heat up.

“Will you two hurry up? We don’t have all day you losers,” Key yelled from a few metres behind me, covering his eyes from the rising sun shining its rays on the island. We quickly jogged over to where the rest were already trying on their gear. “Here,” Key shoved us the last pair of mask and fins.

“Is everyone present?” The guy whom was standing with Minho and Aeri earlier suddenly spoke, in english.  “So I’m going to explain a few rules…”

Taemin listened closely with a confused look on his face and so did Jonghyun. The both of them looked at each other and shrugged, not even attempting to comprehend the English being spoken to us. “Do you understand?” Taemin mouthed to Jonghyun. He shook his head from side to side with a blank look on his face.

I bit back a smile. Other than those two, everyone else’s English was fine. Even if we aren’t as fluent as a native speaker, it’s still bearable. Key’s English is probably the most fluent out of all of us since he had gone to America to study before. As for me, well…I manage. At least I’m better than Jonghyun and Taemin.

“Okay!” The man clapped his hands once he was done with the short briefing. “Now I need all of you to split into pairs.”

All of us looked at each other. Or, at the person we want to be paired with. I already know I’d be with Jonghyun. Eveyone else though was glancing around the circle we were in, trying to decide who to be partners with.

“Easy,” Key said. “Jonghyun with Jinhee, obviously. Taemin with Luna, Aeri with me, and Minho with Onew!” His cheekbones showed very visibly as he grinned from ear to ear.

“Why am I with Onew? No offense or anything hyung,” Minho asked unsatisfied.

Key shrugged. “Well who else do you want to be paired up with? Everyone’s taken.”

“Why can’t I be with Aeri or something? Why do you get her?” He asked thoughtlessly and from beside me, Aeri tensed and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear almost as if she was shy. Unexpectedly, Minho walked up to her and stood beside her. “You’re with me.” He said.

Aeri was taken aback but didn’t say anything. I wonder why. She seems more intimidated by him than before.

“No!” Key protested. “She’s mine,”

Aeri looked really uncomfortable under all the attention she was getting. But I did notice how she would constantly glance at Minho every now and then. It was pretty obvious, to me anyways. They continued their fight while the rest of us started putting on our equipment, ready to enter the water.

“Done fighting yet?” Luna asked impatiently.

We started doing some stretches to avoid getting muscle cramps while swimming. Aeri then gave up and yelled at the two guys to stop. “Enough,” She breathed. She took one last glance at the two of them before storming off towards Onew who was already moving into the waters. “You two can be partners. I’m going with Onew,” She said over her shoulder. “Onew, wait up!”

“This is all your fault!” Key yelled and crossed his arms, backfacing Minho.

“Whatever,” He mumbled in his deep voice while his hand grabbed on Key’s elbow dragging him along. “Let’s just get on with this .”

Jonghyun and I held hands and we waddled towards the water. Taemin and Luna did the same, bumping into us as they lost their balance. “We look like silly ducks!” Luna giggled while she held on to me for support. “By the way,” She whispered. “Did you notice what I did?”

“I think I did,” I replied. Of course Luna would notice it too; how Aeri was acting towards Minho. “Is it what we think it is?”

“I think it is,” She smirked.

“Okay let’s stop with the thinking,” Taemin said, pulling her away from me and into the water.

The water was cool against our skin and it felt refreshing at this time of the day. All of us walked underwater which was slightly difficult due to the fins we had on. The water level was up to our waists where we stopped and waited for the guide to give us further instructions.

“Basically if you can’t handle the depth, do not go further into the deep water. And please, stick with your partners,” He said. “I will be around this area on standby along with my partner who will be arriving shortly. If there’s anything, look for us. Okay?”

Key took a while to explain what he had just said to Taemin and Jonghyun before we were all set to go. Luna and Taemin were the first to go under. Their hands were intertwined and even with Luna’s inability to swim, she wasn’t afraid at all. Her fear was easily overcome with Taemin by her side.

Onew and Aeri went in next, swimming after Taemin and Luna. We decided to stick close by just in case anything happens. “Quick confession. I don’t know how to swim,” Jonghyun suddenly whispered to me. I stared at him with a gaze that would’ve burnt holes in his body. He only smiled awkwardly and kissed me on the cheek as an apology.

“Let’s just stick close by to the others then,” I sighed as we put our masks on and started to swim.

The water was clear and with the light from the sun shining down; it made the water a shade of orange. Surprisingly, there were many schools of fishes already up and swimming. There were blue, orange, yellow, and other weird looking animals swimming around below us.

We were swimming further into the sea where it was deeper and the seabed was covered with coral reefs. Lots of fishes swam around it, completely ignoring us as we swam over them. Anemones filled the empty spaces on big rocks of the coral reef and within the area we spotted a few clown fishes which reminded us of Nemo.

I pointed to one baby clown fish which was making its way towards us, probably wondering what we were doing there. That one was definitely Nemo.

Jonghyun started to swim forward and pulled me along. I wondered why; we were headed towards deep water and didn't he say he couldn't swim?

Resisting his pull, I stopped swimming and popped my head up above the water. He did the same, looking at me with a confused face as he lifted the mask off his eyes. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Didn't you say you can't swim?" I panted slightly. "Why are we going deeper?

"The others are going deeper too," He said and turned to watch as the others swam further away.

"So? We can stay here. I don't mind. What if something happens there and you can't swim?"

His expression changed into one that I couldn't read. He looked down for a second before mustering up his courage and wearing his mask again. "If Minho can do it then so can I."

So that's what this is about. Does he think this is a competition between him and Minho? "Jonghyun, why are you even comparing yourself to him?"

"I'm not. Now hurry before we get left behind," He stopped me from saying anything else and fixed my mask properly over my face before pulling me into the water once again, trailing behind the others.

I couldn't focus after that. Why was he comparing himself to Minho? He has never done so. And it's not like I am either. But all those thoughts faded once I saw something that made my eyes almost pop out of its socket.  

Just a few metres below us, were a bunch of jellyfishes. I panicked, but did nothing. It could be fatal if I did one wrong move which attracted the attention of the jellyfishes. Jonghyun looked at me and nodded his head to tell me that it would be fine. But I could tell he was nervous too.

Jellyfishes were rare in these waters. The rest must have not spotted them because none of them stopped to look. The ones before us weren't large, thankfully, but they were colourful. Almost too colourful for a normal jellyfish.

The rest weren't too far ahead, but I really didn't want to go any further. I was scared. The water was getting darker and thicker; not really what I would call fun to swim in. Jonghyun and I simply swam slowly, not wanting to get too far.

From where we were I could see Taemin diving into the waters toward the seabed, to grab something. Must be a starfish again. He swiftly grabbed it and stared at the creature in his palm for a while before swimming back up looking pleased.

Something caught my eye just then. I saw something shiny fall into the water below us. It was oddly familiar. I squint my eyes to take a better look. Was that...

Jonghyun waved his hand in my face to get my attention. His finger then pointed to my neck area and then down to the shiny thing which was sinking further down. My necklace!

I watched with wide eyes as it sunk further down and finally landed onto the seabed just missing the jellyfish by a bit. My necklace must have frightened them because they started to swim away slowly, it’s umbrella-shaped bell blobbing up and down.

Letting go of Jonghyun’s hand, I took a deep breath from the mouthpiece before attempting to dive under. Unfortunately, Jonghyun stopped me by pulling on my elbow. “Are you crazy?” He asked as our heads surfaced from the water.

“What?” I breathed. “How else am I supposed to get it? You gave me that necklace, it’s precious to me.”

“You don’t.” He replied sternly. “I can buy you a new one. I can’t swim; what if something happens and I can’t come after you?” His arms reached for my waist and pulled me close.

That’s really sweet. But the necklace is really precious to me. I love it so much. “It’s not that deep…” I mumbled.

“Not that deep? Not that deep?” He repeated himself twice, making his fear obvious. I laughed and pushed the wet stands of hair off his face. “It’s deep for someone who can’t swim. Look, it’s almost three metres away!”

“It’ll just take a sec and I’ll swim back up. Please?”

Curiosity got the better of me and I poked my head into the water again to roughly estimate how far I had to swim to get to the seabed. Okay…maybe I underestimated the depth. Now that I’ve really taken a look, it’s really deep. I lifted my head again to Jonghyun giving me a knowing look. “It’s deep isn’t it?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“Told you,” He said again. “Hmm. If you really want it, we can go get it together?”

“Really?”

He nodded but cautiously took another look down and gulped at the depth we were about to explore. We locked our hands together and took one deep breath before going underwater and inverted ourselves so that now our legs were near the surface, paddling as we went further down. Something inside told me that this was a bad idea. But it was too late. We were already halfway there.

A little more and the necklace would be mine again. Jonghyun stepped on the seabed, with eyes already squinting and small air bubbles coming out from his nose. I know his lung capacity is much much better than mine considering all the vocal trainings he’s had.

He reached out for the necklace that hung on a small baby anemone and handed it over to me. I wasted no time and grabbed it from him, then proceeding to swim back up. His hand let go of mine halfway as he followed behind me. Or at least I thought he was.

I gasped for air as soon as I reached the surface. My face must have been red from holding in my breath. With a satisfied smile, I brought my hand up to look at the lovely necklace. “We got it Jonghyun!” I said, oblivious to the fact that there was no Jonghyun aroundme. There was no reply. I turned in a circle; there was no Jonghyun.

No. Quickly, I put my mask back on and looked underwater. My eyes widened in shock. Jonghyun was still down there, his leg caught in a tangle of seaweed. He was trying his best to untangle it but he was losing breath. I went back up to take in as much air as I could before diving to help him.

As I reached him, I gave him a mermaid kiss hoping that it would help him hold on till his leg is free. Then I swam down to help get the seaweed off his leg. They were thick and messy which made it even more difficult to do so. Jonghyun kicked his leg and pulled on it but the seaweed wouldn’t budge. He was losing more breath. And so was I. My hands went faster trying to untangle the algae.

At that moment, I thought Jonghyun was going to die. I thought I’d have to watch as water filled his lungs and kill him.

Unbelievably, another pair of hands accompanied mine in untangling the seaweed. Minho. He didn’t look at me; concentrated on freeing Jonghyun’s leg. He did a way better job with his big hands and he was using something to cut the seaweed. It was a penknife, a rusty one but one that did its job. Soon enough Jonghyun’s leg was free but he had almost no strength left.

Minho and I went on either side of him and paddled hard to bring him to the surface. He choked and breathed in like he never did before; breaths coming out in short pants.

“Is everything okay? What happened?” Key’s voice appeared in the midst of everything. He was swimming towards us now; curious to why Minho had swum off in a hurry. But at that point, I couldn’t hear him. I just wanted Jonghyun to be okay.

I pulled him close and let him rest his head on my shoulder as I rubbed his back. “You scared me,” I whispered.

We swam back to shore once Jonghyun regained his strength. He even thanked Minho before we left. His right leg which was the leg that got stuck was slightly red around the ankle. He dragged his self onto the soft sand where he lay on his back, still panting in short breaths.

The guide from before ran over once he saw us and assumed something went wrong. “Something wrong?” He asked in english, running his eyes over Jonghyun. I shook my head with a smile and attempted to reply him in English. “No. Nothing is wrong.” He looked at us sceptically before nodding and running back into the water.

“Cute English,” Jonghyun said. I knelt next to him and sighed, placing my hands on my knees. “You can still joke when you almost died?” I asked.

He opened his eyes to look at me. They were red and watery, making me feel even worse because I’m the cause of all this. “I’m so sorry,” I said, bringing my face closer to kiss him. I sat cross-legged and lifted his head to rest it on my lap. “It was my fault. I should’ve just let the necklace go…”

I gasped. “The necklace!” My hands were empty, so was my neck. I must’ve dropped it again while I was trying to save Jonghyun. Bad luck; that’s what I am. Burying my face into my hands, I started crying at my own stupidity. Dropped my necklace, went underwater to retrieve it, caused my boyfriend to almost die and then lose the necklace once again.

“Hey hey hey,” Jonghyun said softly, getting up from his position on my lap and sat facing me, pulling my hands away from my face. “I’ll buy you a new necklace okay? Don’t worry about it,”

“No,” I sniffed. “It’s not that. I was just…why do bad things always happen? You almost died and—“

“That was not your fault. It was seaweed!” He said as he hugged me and pulled me into his chest. “Now let’s get back to the hotel and have our alone time.”

That did sound nice. I’m already tired from all the panic from before and we still have plans for tonight; plans which I hope wouldn’t turn out bad like this one.

__________

“You smell nice,” He scooted closer to me on the bed and started kissing me from my cheek to my jaw and then my lips. Pulling away ever so slowly, he whispered to me. “I love you,”

“What are you trying to do?” I giggled under his kisses as he went lower. It was only us back at the hotel. The others were still at the beach where they decided to have lunch at as well. Luna called to make sure we were okay before telling us they’d be back before sunset. Jonghyun and I had already showered and changed into clean clothes. I was actually wearing one of his.

“I’m trying to show my girlfriend how much I love—is this my shirt?”

I smiled and nodded. “Yes, it’s big on me but I like it.”

“I like it too,” He kissed the bridge of my nose and then moved lower to my lips. “You look so y; I could just eat you up right now.”

I’m not sure if he meant that literally or figuratively but either way, I blushed. He sent butterfly kisses all the way down to my collarbone; my weak spot. For weeks, I’ve been trying to hide it from him, making sure that there wasn’t yet another weakness of mine he would use on me to get what he wants. Right now though I’m pretty sure whatever it is that he wants, is what I want as well.

Lifting my arms off the bed, they crawled and hooked themselves over Jonghyun’s, around his muscular biceps. I had a secret over his arms; they’re big, strong and y, not to mention comfy too. His attention moved back up to my neck, kissing and nipping at that area, making me squirm with desire. The desire to have him; it’s growing and I have no idea how to stop it.

But just like that my fantasies were cut short, when he suddenly stopped his sweet kisses and stayed motionless with his head resting on my shoulder. I could feel his breath on my neck every few seconds when he exhaled. “Are you asleep?” I asked carefully.

Chuckling at my question, his breath tickled my neck making me writhe subtly. “No. Just thinking,”

“What about?”

“Us,” He shifted, brushing his soft lips against my skin. “I…I think I want to marry you.”

Thinking he was joking, I laughed making the bed underneath us shift as my body shook. For a second, I thought he had been jokingly imitating the lyric of a song but when he kept silent and the only respond I got was silence, I knew he was being serious. But how could he? We’re barely through with school. Marriage is definitely not something we should be thinking about, not now at least.

“You know that’s not possible.”

“Why not?” He asked as if he didn’t already know the answer to it. I shifted under him and turned us over, allowing me to be on top this time. As I sat on his tummy, the look in his eyes told me he was waiting for a reply to his question. “I think you already know the answer,” I said.

“Still, tell me.”

“First; we’re still young. And schooling. Don’t you think it’s a little too quick to be getting married?” I titled my head to the side and raised my eyebrows at him. His lips formed a small smile, lightening the dark expression on his face before. “Secondly…I don’t think your parents would approve of it. They would never.” I murmured.

Abruptly, he sat up and cupped my face in his hands trying to look me in the eye. I avoided his gaze, not wanting him to see the sadness I felt whenever I think about how his parents aren’t even giving me a chance but instead, going with their biased impression and giving Aeri one. “I don’t care if my parents don’t approve. This is my life.”

I felt better hearing him say that. But of course, I wouldn’t want to be with him without his parents’ consent. What would people think? I placed my hands over his and finally looked him in the eye, falling weak once I saw the pleading look in his eyes. “We still have a lot of time to think about this. Right now, shouldn’t we focus on your showcase?”

He snapped his fingers at the mention of his showcase; the one where there would be company representatives present to scout for raw talent, and also the one which his parents disapproved of him taking part in. “Almost forgot about that,” He said. “Contrary to my parents’ decision, I’m still going to sing at that showcase,”

My face lit up with happiness and relief at his decision to do so. I clapped my hands in excitement, already knowing that he would do well and get the chance to be scouted by the entertainment agencies that would be present. “And I want, no—I need you to be there. Here’s your official invitation to the showcase,” Leaning in as his hands gripped my hips, he kissed me passionately and lovingly, melting away all the negativity I felt just a while ago.

“I love you baby,” I whispered once we pulled apart.

“You called me baby,” He chuckled. “I like that. And I love you too baby.”

__________

“Nice dress!” Aeri said across the room as she took out a pair of maroon heels to match her stunning red skin tight dress. “Thanks. Jonghyun bought it for me,” I said. “Yours is nice too!”

“I can see why Jonghyun bought it for you,” Luna giggled. “For his own personal desire.”

“Hey!” I smacked her arm and laughter filled our room, lightening the mood. It was almost eight and after dinner, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the club. I still felt like this was a bad idea but everyone else thinks nothing of it. Plus, Onew and Minho will be there so I guess we’ll be safe cause there’s no way I’m trusting Key, Taemin and Jonghyun to even notice if anything goes wrong since they’ll be drinking.

“So what did you guys do earlier? Alone…in the hotel,” Luna nudged me from the side while combing her silky blonde hair. “Surely something happened,” She said.

“ on the floor? by the window?” Aeri asked and gasped when she thought of the last one. “ in the shower?”

We squealed and I covered my eyes at the last one, cringing just at the thought of having in the shower. My face turned red making them assume that it did happen.

“Sorry to disappoint you guys but,” I started. “We didn’t do any of those.”

“So I’m supposed to believe you two were here alone and didn’t have ? Right...” Aeri murmured, nodding her head in unison with Luna, mocking me. I rolled my eyes ignoring their continued teasing. Grabbing my belongings and placing them nicely in my small sling bag, I hung it over my shoulder and put on a pair of flats ready to get going.

Aeri and Luna were right behind me, switching the lights off and grabbing our room key from its slot before exiting our room and meeting the boys outside. We were greeted by Minho first who seemed reluctant to be a part of this outing, but just like me he was dressed nonetheless

“All of you look nice,” He commented, looking at both Aeri and Luna then at me, locking his eyes with mine for a split second. From the corner of my eye I could see Aeri fidgeting with her dress as if trying to fix it, but it was already perfect on her. I’m pretty sure she was waiting for a compliment from Minho. Too bad Minho was being totally oblivious to the whole thing.

“The party don’t start till I walk in,” Taemin sang while he struck a diva pose at the doorway along with Key who followed suit.

“Just hurry up,” Onew whined from behind them, pushing Key and causing the both of them to trip on their feet. He then turned to where the three of us were standing. “Oh, you girls look so pretty.” He said.

“Thanks,” We all said simultaneously.

“Wow baby…” Key gasped, getting up on his feet and scurried over to Aeri as if he were hypnotised by her red dress. His arms slid around her waist but the look she was giving him was enough for him to pull them back to his side. “If you’re a good boy,” She said, tracing a finger down his face. “And manage to stay at least two feet away from me till we get to the club, then maybe, I’ll dance with you.”

“Deal,” He breathed and took exactly two steps away from her with a smug look on his face; one that was filled with determination to get on the dance floor with her.

Scent of strong cologne filled the air once Jonghyun stepped out, closing the door behind him and walking right up to me. “We can go now,” Onew said looking around to make sure all of us were present.

“So, who’s going to lead the way?” Minho asked, sticking his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

“That’ll be me.” Aeri said.

Jonghyun looked at me and smiled a bit, then interlacing our fingers as we walked with the group. He was wearing blank skinnies with a white v-neck t-shirt and a black leather jacket over it. He looked amazing; I could’ve sworn a few girls that we walked past at the hotel lobby were sending him flirty winks. “Someone please tell those girls I’m not sharing my boyfriend.” I thought aloud, making him turn to me with a grin on his face.

“Don’t be jealous baby,” He kissed my cheek which made the girls turn away almost embarrassed. I know he’s not that type of guy anymore but I can’t help to feel insecure. Especially when we’re going to a club that’s going to be full of half dressed women.

A long black limousine was parked at the entrance of the hotel, waiting to bring us to the nightlife of this town. “VIP treatment,” Aeri said to us over her shoulder. I stared with my mouth agape, taking in the sight of the shiny car.

One by one we slid into the back seat of the car and marvelled at the sleek of its interior. But once the car drove off, what was inside didn’t matter as much as what was outside. Nothing much was happening until the car took a turn to the right; that’s where everything changed and suddenly it seemed like we had just left the previous one and entered a whole new town, new city.

Didn’t take long for us to reach the club nor was it that hard to find it since there was a long line which went on for at least one and a half blocks. Of course being VIPs, we got to skip the queue having the bouncers lift up the red ropes for us to enter once we got out of the car.

Stepping into the club was like hell at first. I felt claustrophobic, nauseous and I couldn’t hear anything except for the loud music blasting from the speakers. “You good?” Onew asked, leaning closer so I could actually hear him. I nodded and gave him a small smile.

Aeri got us up to the VIP area upstairs where it was much, much more bearable than the place before. The music was softer here or at least it was soft enough for me to hear myself think. There were still people dancing here, mostly girls, but it wasn’t as crowded as it is downstairs and I could actually breathe.

“Shots for everyone!” Jonghyun said, slamming his hand on the table in front of us.

I glared at him. “I thought we agreed no drinking?”

“I thought we were joking?” He replied, looking around at everyone else. “We’re in a club. Who doesn’t drink at a club?”

“Me.” I folded my arms and scooted away from him and closer to Luna seated on my right.

“Fine.” He said in a slightly annoyed tone. “Who is going to drink?”

Aeri raised her hand slowly followed by Key and surprisingly, Taemin. I looked at him questioningly but he only gave a sheepish grin in response. I knew this was going to happen; they were going to drink and they’re going to get drunk and we’d end up going back to the hotel in a mess.

Five shots appeared on our table and one by one they took their shots, wincing after it went down their throats. There was one shot left and everyone turned their heads to Luna, the most vulnerable one out of the four of us who didn’t want to drink. I held her hand and squeezed it lightly.

“Luna,” Key took the last shot and placed it in front of her. “The last piece. Come on, you know you want to,” He teased and the others followed suit, pressurising her to drink it.

“You don’t have to Luna,” I said to her making sure that the rest didn’t hear me. Unfortunately I think she didn’t either.

“Well,” She bit her bottom lip which told me she was already on the verge of going for it. “I guess I could give it a try…”

“Yeah!” They cheered her on as she took the glass and tipped it over, angling her head backwards as she drank it.

More drinks were brought to our table including a few more shots which Jonghyun and Aeri gladly took. I was worried of course; he was taking shots and drinking alcohol at the same time. By the end of this night he’d be too wasted to even remember his own name.

Onew got us non-alcoholic containing drinks from the bar handed one to me and the other to Minho. I don’t mind drinking but only if it’s in small amounts. What Jonghyun is taking in are definitely not small amounts.

Aeri was already high from the drinks; I could see it from the way she swayed to the music. Key took advantage of this situation to persuade her to dance with him which she agreed to since he had been a “good boy”. Taemin and Luna joined them on the dance floor as well. Thankfully neither of them were as drunk.

I turned to my boyfriend who was bobbing his head to the music and sipping on his drink. Moving closer, I placed a hand on his arm to stop him from drinking anymore. “What?” He asked, already high.

“You’re drinking too much.” I said, searching his eyes for any sign of sobriety.

“No I’m not.” He pulled his arm away from my grip. “Stop being such a wet blanket.” He rolled his eyes at me, and got up to dance with the strangers there. I sat there in shock over what he had just called me. A wet blanket? Was I really stopping him from having a good time? I thought we could have a good time without all the alcohol…

“Don’t worry about him Jinhee,” Minho said, taking a seat next to me. I could feel the couch move under his weight. “He’ll come back to his senses soon.”

“Yeah soon, more like tomorrow.” Suddenly, sitting here next to Minho while watching the rest drown in music and alcohol, I felt so thankful that he didn’t decide to join them. Onew had gone off to explore the club so I was left with only Minho. “Thanks,” I said.

“For?”

“For sticking with me. What would I do if you decided to get drunk too?” I glanced to my right and found him already looking at me. He smiled a little before taking a sip from his drink. “I’ll always be here for you,” He said, making me feel all tingly inside. I couldn’t stop staring at him then, trying to absorb the words he’d just said. They were sweet and they made me feel happy, just like how sweet nothings from Jonghyun made me feel.

Forcing myself to tear my eyes away from him, our attention then shifted to the dance floor where Key and Aeri were heating things up. They were touchy and dancing ily which made it really awkward to watch from next to Minho. “They should get a red card and get sent off the floor.” Minho scoffed at the embarrassing sight of our friends almost as if he were jealous. Bet he was.

I giggled. “This isn’t soccer Minho. You can just throw someone out of the game when they play dirty,”

“Speaking of playing dirty…” He muttered and nodded his head in the direction of somewhere on the dance floor. Raising my eyebrows, I followed his gaze on to the dance floor. It was dark and because of the smoke, I couldn’t see very well; until I squinted my eyes across the dance floor where Jonghyun was.

He was absentmindedly dancing with a stranger. A girl; who was half dressed and looked like the typical kind of girl that would come to clubs and sleep with any guy that she ends up going home with. I was boiling with anger. How could he dance with her when I’m right here? My fists and jaw were clenched and even Minho was frightened by the look he saw in my eyes.

“She can’t even dance well,” I muttered to him and leaned back onto the couch, with my arms folded.

“Well then you should get out there and teach her,” He said. I side glanced in his direction; he was sipping his drink and kept his gaze forward. “Go. Duty calls.”

“But what about you?” I asked, suddenly feeling a bit reluctant to leave him here by himself.

“What about me? I’m sure Onew will…” He words drifted off mid-sentence. “Come back soon…with a girl.”

“What?”

He was no longer looking at me but behind me. I curiously looked over my shoulder and saw what he was focusing on. It was Onew, with a girl following behind him. And she didn’t look foreign at all; or actually, she did look foreign, just like us.

“Guys! Look who I met,” Onew said excitedly as the girl walked up to our table behind him. We sat there staring at them, slightly confused. Have we even met her? Her skin was pale and she had light golden brown hair with blonde highlights. I admit, she was really pretty and her smile was gorgeous. She wasn’t wearing anything skimpy or revealing but instead something simple and classy. “Guys?” Onew asked, as he awkwardly stood next to her.

I nudged Minho who was staring at her distractedly. He snapped out of it when my elbow hit the side of his tummy and he gave me a glare before turning back to them. “Excuse us,” He said to her. “But have we met?”

“No, you haven’t. Duh.” Onew said. “This is MinHyun. I tripped on the stairs and bumped into her. She’s Korean!”

I knew she was one of us. Smiling, I stood up and bowed, introducing myself. Minho did the same. She seemed nice; I kind of like her already. I wanted to know more about her and I was tempted to stay and chat but when my eyes landed once again on Jonghyun, I knew I had to get on that floor.

I stood up almost too quickly and knocked over Minho’s drink in his left hand. Thankfully, it didn’t get on his clothes. He glared at me again and I returned it with an apologetic smile, but then gestured at me to go so I took that as my cue to leave before I knock over more things.

“I’ll be back,” I said to Onew and MinHyun. “Have a little problem I need to get rid of.”

 It was smoky and hot, and there were more people now on the floor than before making it really uncomfortable for me. Trying not to fall, I squeezed my way through everyone who was standing in my way. Most of them were intoxicated and dancing really hard to the music; it was louder now than back at our table. I could hear the bass booming from the speakers and naturally I just felt like dancing. I know Taemin’s probably killing everyone with his dance moves.

But now’s not the time to think about Taemin. I managed to reach to where Jonghyun was without throwing up from the smell of alcohol. He glanced up from the girl, whom he had his hands on, and did a double take finally realising my presence. Guilt showed on his face and I stood there with a blank expression wondering what he would do next. The girl however, wasn’t so happy that their private dance party was interrupted.

She folded her arms and stared down at me. Yeah, she was taller and I was scared. But I put on a brave front. This is my boyfriend; she has no right in this. “You’re dancing with my boyfriend.” I said, yelling slightly so she could hear over the music.

“What?” She asked with a confused look on her face. “I don’t understand.”

Oh right. I spoke in Korean. Wrecking my brain for the proper words, I put it in the simplest way possible. “He…he is my boyfriend,” I said, pointing to Jonghyun.

“Oh,” She replied and shrugged. “Sorry.” Her face was expressionless and I doubt that it was a sincere apology. But thankfully she backed off and turned away to find someone else to dance with. As I watched her go, Jonghyun’s hands grabbed my waist and I soon felt his body pressed onto my back. He moved to the song, making me sway along with him.

“I knew you’d get jealous,” He said into my ear.

I turned and faced him instead, looking him in the eye. “You really want to die, don’t you?”

He started laughing although I really didn’t find it funny. Then he crashed his lips onto mine and slipped his tongue in, overwhelming me with a deep kiss. One that tasted like alcohol, but I didn’t mind. As long as it is me he’s kissing instead of another girl.

“You’re drunk,” I said, pulling away.

“Yeah but I’m not wasted.” He smartly replied.  I giggled and kissed him again. He knows how to turn the situation around whenever he’s in trouble and I just can’t stay mad at him for long.

“You broke our deal though,” I said. “Remember this morning? We agreed that we could only look at each other and no one else,”

“Well I didn’t really look at her so…”

I laughed again, playfully hitting his chest until he kissed me once more. “Sorry I called you a party pooper,” He said as his lips brushed against mine. I shook my head and smiled with our lips still touching. “It’s okay.”

“Although,” I continued. “You could’ve at least chosen a girl that can actually dance, to make me jealous.”

“The girl before couldn’t?”

“She was real bad. Just like you,” I poked his chest and proudly smirked. His smile grew and I knew he liked my teasing. He pulled me closer and moved his hands lower, touching my . “Then show me what you can do,” He said.

And I did. The music was getting to me; it was just about time before I’d lose myself into it. Just as Jonghyun had intended, I was dancing real hard to the beat of the music. I wasn’t drunk but it felt like I was. His arm was around my waist and his chest was pressed against my back as I moved my hips against his.

At some point, Minho joined us on the floor as well, getting it on with a random girl. But at that time, all my attention was on dancing and Jonghyun. I could hear his strong breathing against my ear and it drove me nuts. Leaning my head back onto his shoulder, we eagerly indulged in a French kiss and I rolled my hips slower while we did which made him groan and pull away. “,” He breathed. “Baby, don’t do that.”

I gave a satisfied smile and bit his bottom lip. That was the first time he had ever cursed at me…and I liked it. We were unconscious to everything; I didn’t even notice how hard we were dancing until a group of people started cheering and chanting at the bar. Probably over shots.

“How long have we been dancing?” I asked over my shoulder.

He shrugged and looked at his silver Gucci watch. “About an hour?”

“That’s really long,” I said and turned around again to meet his eyes. Just as I was about to say something, a guy came up to us and asked if Jonghyun wanted to join them take the shots. He spoke in English but I knew Jonghyun understood, and I also knew he wanted to.

“Don’t,” I said, running my hand over his chest. “Stay here with me.”

He tilted his head and pressed his lips together. “Come on Jinhee, just one?”

“No,” I shook my head. “You’ll end up taking more and then—“

“You’re not the boss of me,” He suddenly said, interrupting me and pulling his hands away before nodding to the guy who then placed his arm over Jonghyun and cheered. “That’s the way, my man.”

I frowned and stood there by myself feeling disappointed that my boyfriend abandoned me for drinks. Well, I kind of expected that anyway. When I turned to return to our table, I realised that Onew, MinHyun and Minho were already there as well; faces red and bodies sweating just like me.

“It’s hot out there,” I said as I sank into the couch.

“Yeah, I’m sweating like a pig.” Onew agreed, fanning himself with his hand.

“What time is it now?” Minho asked. “Shouldn’t we be heading back to the hotel?”

Onew looked at his watch and nodded his cute head, his hair bouncing slightly as he did. “It’s almost midnight. We really should go.”

“Agreed. Let’s just say, this place really isn’t the safest after midnight especially for foreigners who don’t know their way around.” MinHyun said, giving me goosebumps all over myself. Minho and I glanced at each other and we were certainly thinking the same: we need to get back to the hotel.

“I’ll call the driver to pick us up,” Minho said as he took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts looking for the number which Aeri had given us earlier. Onew and I were in charge of gathering the rest. It wasn’t that hard to find Aeri; she was on top of the bar table, dancing ily for the group of guys from before. That’s when I realised Jonghyun was there too, whistling and cheering.

I knew I’d be dead if I were to bring her down from there by myself, so I got the help from one of the bouncers to bring her down. She didn’t resist, thinking that it was a guy that wanted to give her some love but her expression changed when she saw me. “Oh. You.” She muttrered.

The guys were already complaining that their source of entertainment had been taken away and if we didn’t move fast, she’d be up there again in a second. “Jinhee,” A voice suddenly called out. I turned and saw Jonghyun walking to us, eyes half open and a strong alcohol smell coming from him. “What do you think you’re doing? She was dancing!”

“I know,” I said, quite annoyed with him. “But we’re leaving now. So let’s go.”

“Jinhee, I have to puke.” Aeri mumbled, falling onto me and resting her weight in my arms. I lifted one of her arms over my shoulder and placed my arm over her waist, dragging her to the restroom where she stumbled her way to puke into one of the sinks.

I wiped her face with water, cleaning off the residue of her insides that were thrown up. Then I left her there for a second, telling her to stay while I went out to see if I could find Onew to help me with her. I looked around the area and finally located Onew across the room with Key, Taemin and Luna. Seems like Taemin and Key were drunk too.

It was too risky to leave Aeri there and get Minho. What if someone—

“Jinhee!” Aeri’s slurred voice came from behind. For a second I thought she could walk by herself. Unfortunately, someone was with her; a man that seemed just a few years older than me had carried her from the bathroom. “Hey Jinhee, meet my new friend Carl. He’s sending me home,” She said happily.

I laughed awkwardly and tried to fight the uneasy feeling in my chest. “Um, thank you.” I said in english. “I will take her home now,”

Of course, did I think it would be that easy? He laughed and shook his head. “No no, it’s okay. I can take her.” He said, tapping me on the cheek before walking off with her. I circled them and tried to stop him again, this time pulling Aeri away from him. But he was too strong, and with just one hard shove, I fell to the ground and landed on my hip. I was hurt, but I needed to save Aeri.

Trying my best, I got up and went up to Jonghyun hoping that he would believe me. “Jonghyun!” I cried. “Help, some guy took Aeri and he pushed me and and I—“

“Go bother someone else.” He said harshly, and then turned back to a girl who stood in front of him. Unbelievable, he kissed her…right in front of me. Tears were b in my eyes but there was no time for this!

I wiped them off and headed straight for Minho only to bump into Onew halfway. “What’s wrong?” He asked, in a deep voice.

“Some guy took Aeri! We have to save her! Quick, get Minho!” I cried, grabbing onto his jacket as if my life depended on it. Well, Aeri’s life depended on it. “I’ll stall him the best that I can okay, get Minho!”

“No Jinhee, it’s dangerous. Let’s get Minho together and—“

“There’s no time!” I yelled. “Quick!”

I ran off in the direction where Aeri and the guy left after that, hoping that they were still nearby. There were too many people and I couldn’t exactly see where I was going but somehow, I managed to locate Aeri’s bright red dress. He was headed for the back door which led to a dark alley.

I was scared; he could hurt me but if I don’t take the risk, Aeri will…she will…I don’t even want to think about it.

When I looked up to the second level, I could see Minho sprinting and heading down the stairs with Onew and MinHyun following behind. That made me feel more confident, so I squeezed my way through everyone and caught up to the two just as they made it out the back door.

“Stop!” I yelled and ran up to them.

“Jinhee!” Aeri’s cries echoed in my head. She knew. She knew that he wasn’t a ‘friend’ that would take her home. But she was too drunk and weak to fight for herself.

“Let her go,” I said as I approached him slowly.

“No.”

I ran straight towards them, and fought my best, trying to pry Aeri away from him. From a distance, I could hear footsteps approaching and I knew it was Minho and the others. The guy was strong, but with Aeri pushing herself off him as well, she managed to free herself and stumble backwards landing straight into Minho’s arms.

He reached his arms out to catch her just in time. I was however in a really bad position. When Aeri stumbled back, I hadn’t moved from my position and when I turned back around, I knew I was in trouble. “If I can’t have her, then it’s you.” He said as he lifted me bridal style and started running.

I started panicking and slapping him but his grip on me was strong and he was fast. Tears rolled down my face as I punched him over and over again. “Minho!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping that he’d rescue me.

“Jinhee, hold on!” It happened in a split second and I wasn’t sure if I was even conscious to what was happening; everything felt like a blur. I felt myself fall from his arms as Minho caught up and tugged on his hair, causing him to fall backwards and throw me in the air.

Onew and Minho started fighting with him, and when he was too weak to fight back, Onew ran over to me and pulled me into his arms. “Are you hurt? Can you hear me? Jinhee?” He asked repeatedly. I nodded my head in response and held on to him as he helped me get back on my feet.

Two men were running down the alley in our direction and they had walkie-talkies in each of their hands that buzzed every now and then. They went up to Minho and gave him a pat on the back before lifting the beaten up man and brining him to custody. One of them spoke to Minho before leaving.

As soon as he left, Minho turned to me with a look of horror on his face. I ran straight up to him and cried in his arms. He lifted me off the ground and rubbed my back, relieved that I was safe. “I thought…I thought I was going to…” I stuttered, before bursting into tears again, not being able to say anything.

“Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe now.” He whispered to me. And I believed him.

He carried me back to the direction we came from where Aeri lay unconscious in MinHyun’s arms. I’m really glad she’s okay. But most of all I’m glad I’m okay; and I have Minho to thank for that.

“Let’s get out front. The car should be here any minute, right Minho?” Onew asked, lifting Aeri off the ground and off MinHyun. Minho let me down and nodded in response. MinHyun hugged me as I stepped on the ground. “Thank God you’re okay.” She said, pushing a few strands of hair off my face.

Only now did the others come running out. Luna first, followed by drunk Taemin and Key stumbling behind. “What happened?” She cried. “I tried to come faster but those two are too drunk!”

“It’s okay,” Onew said. “We got everything under control. Aeri’s safe, and so is Jinhee.”

“Oh my god Jinhee,” She called out, running to me and wrapping her arms around me. I nuzzled in her embrace, burying my face on her shoulder.

We all walked out to the front where the car was in fact already there and waiting for us. The driver came out from his seat to help with Aeri. I looked around and only now did I notice Jonghyun was missing. I bit my lip and turned to Minho.

“Jonghyun…” I said. He sighed and nodded before going back into the club to look for the older boy. Yes, I am angry with Jonghyun, and disappointed. But we couldn’t leave him here. Everyone else had slid into their seats except me. I sat by the pavement next to the car, waiting for Minho and Jonghyun. There was still a line outside the club and I ignored the dirty looks I got from people in line. At this point I couldn’t care less.

Minutes later, Minho finally came out with a very drunk Jonghyun in his arms. “Someone must’ve drugged him.” Minho suddenly said to me. My lips parted in shock but I said nothing. I helped him bring Jonghyun into the car and I sat next to him and Minho next to me.

None of us said anything during the ride. There was nothing to say, for us sober ones at least.

“Hey!” Key suddenly called out, breaking the silence. “Has anyone seen my girlfriend?”

I giggled silently. Key is funny even when he’s drunk. “You don’t have a girlfriend.” Taemin mumbled.

“I do!” He said. “Her name is…is…Ae..something,”

I giggled some more, biting my bottom lip. From beside him, I could see Onew trying to stifle a laugh himself.

“She doesn’t like you.”

“Oh yeah? Well what about you huh? Luna doesn’t like you either!” Key yelled.

My eyes widened in surprise. Key had just exposed Taemin. Luna was awake and she was right next to Taemin; though I’m not sure they realise this since they’re too drunk.

“She does okay! I know it.” Taemin said. “Where is she anyway? I had a dream that I was dancing with her.”

“I don’t know,” Key replied.

Luna turned to me, eyes asking me if it was true and I confirmed it. Although, she already knew. She just wanted to confirm it. “You like me?” Luna asked him.

Taemin turned slowly and looked at her with half-lidded eyes. “Who are you?” He asked. “I don’t like you. I like Luna. If you see her, tell her I said hi.”

This time, Onew and Minho laughed as well. Drunk Taemin is definitely the best.

Speaking of drunk, the one beside me suddenly moved, groaning and sighed. “All your girlfriends are nothing compared to mine,” Jonghyun suddenly said.

I watched as he shifted and tried to open his eyes as best as he could. “Jinhee is the best,” He said. My heart melted like ice-cream on a hot day. They say when someone is drunk; they’ll say the truth right? So if that’s the case whatever Jonghyun is saying is how he really feels. I felt like hugging him and cuddling him…but then I got reminded of what happened in the club, and all those thoughts vanished.

“Is that you Jinhee?” He turned to me and weakly lifted his hand, placing it on my arm. I shut my eyes and shoved it. “Go away,” I said, tears welling up in my eyes again. I turned to my right and embraced Minho wrapping my arm around his and burying my face.

“You’re not Jinhee,” He mumbled and eyes falling shut. “Jinhee would never say that to me. She loves me…”

Oh Jonghyun.

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