-Sungmin’s POV-

I had just finished my morning classes and was making my way to the park to meet Ryeowook when someone in one of the practice rooms caught my attention.

I walked up to the door and peeked through the small window. It was Heechul and it looked like he was alone. The one thing that caught my attention was his voice which sounded incredible. It was no wonder he made it in. If only he had an attitude as good as his vocal abilities.

I looked around to make sure that no one was looking at me, thinking I was weird for just staring into one of the rooms for a few minutes. Fortunately, there was no one in the hall way, but when I turned around; I was faced with Heechul who had just opened the door.  I didn’t realise he had stopped singing. How stupid can I get?

He didn’t say a word; instead he just stood there waiting for me to get out of the way.

“Oh sorry.” I said as I stepped to the side. Heechul walked past me, closing the door behind him with a loud bang.

I was caught again. This was so embarrassing. I didn’t want to see Heechul ever again, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but become interested in him. I think it was because he seemed like he had no friends, which was kind of like me in the past. Even though Ryeowook was my childhood friend, we didn’t go to the same schools so I basically went through my teen years without anyone.

I quickly remembered where I needed to be and started heading towards the park outside of the building.

I found Ryeowook sitting on the bench talking with someone on his phone. He always sounded so confident when he talked. It made me so jealous sometimes. I walked over and took a seat next to Ryeowook.

“You better come over tonight. I have a wonderful surprise for you.” He was talking to Yesung. I could tell because Ryeowook was only ever this excited on the phone when it was his boyfriend.

“And remember what I said last time... okay, I have to go now. Love you!” Ryeowook hung up the phone and turned to me.

“And how’s my little Sungminnie?” I blushed at the nickname he gave me.

“The usual… you know.” Ryeowook sighed. I could tell he was getting frustrated with my anxieties. He has dealt with me for so long so I don’t really blame him. I never could.

“No really. How are you? What are you feeling right now? Happy? Sad? Angry? Frustrated?” I shrugged my shoulders. How was I supposed to know what I was feeling apart from being nervous.

“And don’t say nervous because I already know that.” He read my mind again.

“Umm… well I guess I kind of feel embarrassed.”

“Sungmin. You don’t have to worry about people looking at you out here. No one is, so just relax.”

“No… it’s not that.” It was about Heechul. I was embarrassed because he caught me staring at him again. And what made it worse this time, was that I was actually watching him practice from outside of the room. He might get wrong ideas or something.

“Do you want to tell me? I’d appreciate it. I love it when you trust me with things.” I looked down at the hands in my lap. Was I really shaking that much? Geez, I have to calm down.

“I was kind of watching someone before…and they saw me.” Ryeowook nodded slowly, looking as though he was trying to imagine how that scene could be embarrassing.

“I see… how did you manage that? You try to avoid looking at people.”

“I was coming to meet you and on the way I walked past one of the studios and inside was the guy who talked to me in my first class. I heard that he had a great voice so I stopped to listen. Guess I got a bit too curious there…” I could barely hear myself talking when I finished.

“What’s his name? I might know him if he’s first year.”

“Heechul… I think.”

“Ah yes. That cocky son of a .”

“Huh?”

“When I was asked to sing a line in a class yesterday afternoon, he couldn’t help but voice his horrid opinion on it. I see what you mean when you said yesterday that he just sits there and does his own thing.”

“You have a great voice.” I said shyly. Ryeowook smiled and gave me a hug.

“You’re getting more confident, do you realise?” Ryeowook seemed a bit too happy. I wasn’t sure how to react. I was still the same as always. But I was glad that we changed the subject from Heechul.

“I didn’t notice…”

“You are. Trust me.” Ryeowook stood up and grabbed my hand pulling me up with him.

“Now let’s go get some lunch!” I couldn’t help but smile. I was so lucky to have Ryeowook as a friend, but part of me wished that he hadn’t already formed a dislike towards Heechul. I’m not sure if these are the right words, but I kind of felt sorry for him. Maybe he didn’t mean to be rude.

Sorry about this being a short chapter. There will be some Sungmin/Heechul conversations in the next chapter and I'm still unsure how to do them, so I just stopped the second chapter here.

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