Chapter 13: Kidnapped

Seohyun saw the van appear out of nowhere just as Sooyoung hung up on her. It came to a halt in front of them, the van lurging forward slightly from the driver slamming on the breaks. When the door popped opened, Minhyuk leaped out, surprising them.

Seohyun grabbed her chest and exhaled. She remembered the wig and yanked it off her head. Yonghwa took off his glasses and hat.

“Are you kidnapping us?” she exclaimed, happy to see the face of her friend.

She and Yonghwa approached the van to get in. When she stepped up, she saw that Jonghyun was driving and Hyoyeon was in the front passenger seat. They, again, had left the very back open to she and Yonghwa.

“Kidnapping? More like searching for missing people,” said Minhyuk. “You guys were gone for almost two hours.”

“Wah! You’re holding hands. Are you dating?” Sooyoung bounced in her seat next to Jungshin whose hair was now swept up into a bun. He had his arm around her in the van.

“Annio,” Seohyun made a face and let go of Yonghwa’s hand. It wasn’t that she didn’t like it, but she didn’t want to show this side to her unnies or to the CN Blue chingoos. The idea of dating also scared her no matter how nice it was spending time with him, allowing him to like her and allowing herself to like him.

Yonghwa laughed at her expression and told everyone in the van, “Idols can’t date.”

“They can’t hold hands either,” added Jonghyun. “Or kiss.”

“Yes, they can,” replied Hyoyeon. “They just can’t get caught.”

“Take care of our Maknae,” said Sooyoung. “She’s the purest, you know.”

“Take care of our Maknae,” Yonghwa poked Jungshin, who turned a shade of red. Seohyun turned red too. “He looks cooler than he actually is.”

They settled in the back, and Jonghyun drove off away from the river. In the darkness of the van, Yonghwa reclaimed her hand. She glanced over at him shyly. A long time ago, she hadn’t had an ideal type. The only men she had thought about caringly were her father and Ban Ki Moon. Now, there was Yonghwa. Dancing with him at the indie club and talking about personal things with him in the park made her heart flutter.

She was a practical person, but everything he had said about families and about music, she couldn’t help but feel excited by his words, how he imagined their family would be like. Of course, she couldn’t really show it at the time. She didn’t want to appear too eager for something she didn’t know would even happen. She loved his playfulness and passion. She loved his determination and dedication to his band. She loved his warm hand in hers. She loved a lot of things about him, but she wasn’t sure what to do about it. Her practical side still held her back.

Either way, tonight had been a lot of fun. It was rare, getting to experience the city differently than moving schedule to schedule, restaurant to restaurant, and secluding oneself in the dorm to pass out. But now, that was all she wanted to do. She was exhausted.  

Right when she checked her phone for the time (4 o’clock in the morning!), and Jonghyun turned up the song playing from Hyoyeon’s CD (Tonight, we are young…), Hyoyeon turned around in her seat excitedly.“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. We’re going to the beach!”

“What?!” both Seohyun and Yonghwa shouted simultaneously.

“Unnie, it’s really late, and the drive takes forever. We should go home.” Seohyun was aware that her professor voice had kicked in, but her unnies were taking things too far.

“I’ll get us there in an hour’s time,” said Jonghyun confidently, which made Seohyun’s brain go crazy. He’d be speeding and breaking the law. He could get everyone into a car accident. She exhaled through her nose.

“Hyunnie, loosen up. It’ll be fun to sneak away and see the ocean. Just a few minutes. Maybe we’ll catch the sunrise,” said Sooyoung. Jungshin smirked at her.

“I’m with Seohyun. I say we go home,” said Minhyuk.

“Annio, it’s been decided. We’re going to the beach,” Hyoyeon wiggled her finger at everyone. “If you’re tired, sleep on the way there. We’re done playing when we’re done playing.”

Yonghwa looked at Seohyun, squeezing her hand. “We have been kidnapped,” he smiled charmingly. “This is all your fault.”

“My fault! How?” she went along with his exasperation, trying to lighten her own mood.

“You set up this whole night. Calling me and convincing me to step away from my music.”

“Your bandmate is the one driving, Oppa. Who really set things up?”

Yonghwa leaned closed and whispered into her ear, sending goosebumps up her spine. Apparently getting by him wasn’t completely behind her.

“Maybe I did. Either way, I have you longer,” he told her.

He let go of her hand and put his arm around her, pulling her closer toward him. He was being bold now, even if front of everyone. She wanted him to continue to because she couldn’t.

“Are you guys behaving back there?” Hyoyeon’s voice cut through.

Everyone in the van except Jonghyun turned around and smiled at them. Seohyun froze, feeling guilty in Yonghwa’s embrace, but she didn’t want to move.

“Just make sure Jonghyun gets us to the beach quickly so we can come back home,” said Yonghwa, shooing their eyes away.

……………………

Seohyun told everyone in the van about their trip to the indie club, running into her friend, and the band playing “One Time”. Sooyoung and Hyoyeon were impressed that Yonghwa had managed to talk Seohyun into going somewhere so cool, and his dongsaengs expressed jealousy of not being able to join them. Jonghyun was making excellent time on the highways. No one had anywhere to go at 4 in the morning. It was simply them and the open road. Eventually everyone in the van fell silent, and Yonghwa saw Seohyun’s head bobbing back and forth. She snapped awake eventually as if sensing his eyes on her.

He and Seohyun gazed at each other for a long time. He took her head, feeling her soft hair under his palms, and gently pushed it to rest on his shoulder. She grinned up at him, settled in comfortably, and closed her eyes to sleep.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered before placing his head against hers. Soon, he was asleep too.

Every once in awhile, he’d hear whispering or a chuckle. Everyone was asleep, but Jonghyun and Hyoyeon continued to have a quiet conversation on their own. Jungshin was sleeping with his head back against the seat, and both Sooyoung and Minhyuk on opposite sides were using each of his shoulders for a pillow.

He looked down at Seohyun, still resting contently against him. So many things ran through his mind in the quiet of the van as he was drifting back into sleep, but there was one main thought that followed him into dreamland. He loved her. Yonghwa loved Seohyun.

A/N: I’m getting bad with these updates, huh? There will be a 16^th chapter, but the 14^th and 15^th chapters will be very short.  I don’t want to make you guys wait as long as I have been. I’m going to crank these chapters out faster, I promise. Thank you for reading and enjoying my story. It means a lot :)