Hyekyung

“So, idol group, huh?” It was surprising that Hansuk was the one to bring this idol thing up. I look from him to Jiyong and Taeyang. I purposely fell a step behind, allowing the three boys and Hana to walk ahead of me. Hana didn't even notice what I just did. She kept in stride with Jiyong, her hands clutching the straps on her backpack. Hansuk was walking beside her while Youngbae and Danny walked ahead of them.

It was usually Danny who made all the trainee and popstar jokes to annoy Jiyong and Youngbae. Hansuk would just laugh along or ride on the current mood. Today, however, he seemed to have really thought about what Jiyong and Youngbae said earlier.

“That's what Hyunsuk hyung told us.” If Jiyong found Hansuk's question surprising, he didn't show it. “Six of us are going to live in a dorm and train. You guys already know Seunghyun hyung right?”

I nodded and so did the others. We sometimes hang out with Seunghyun oppa when they bring him along to noraebang. He was quiet at first but later on, he became a really good friend of ours, too.

“Him and Jiyong will be the rappers and me and the other three will be the vocals.” Youngbae answered, looking at the ground as he took careful steps. Hansuk nodded, as if understanding something.

“So, you'll be like H.O.T. or Shinhwa?” Hansuk asked again, a playful smile on his lips. “You'll be getting all the girls then.” He hit Youngbae on the arm jokingly. “You'll be cured, man!” The other boy merely smiled, looking down on the ground again.

“Nah,” he said, “I'm still really wary with girls.”

“Except for these two over here.” Jiyong said, cocking his eyebrows at Hana and me. “But then again, they're not actually real girls.”

“YA!” Me and my best friend shouted almost simultaneously, hitting Jiyong on the head. The boys laughed, nodding their heads to Jiyong. Hana looked at Hansuk beside her and raised a fist at him. He stepped away, chuckling.

We laughed and joked around for a while as we walked. But I still felt like there was still something bothering me about the idol setup.

“I thought the both of you were going to debut as a duo?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

Youngbae looked over his shoulder to glance at me. “We did, too. But well, Hyunsuk hyung thought it would be good to put all six of us in one group.” He smiled, a little too wistfully. I looked at Jiyong.

“I don't really think much of it. We'll still be pursuing music.” Jiyong shrugged, digging his hands into his jacket pocket. He sure knows how to act like he didn't care.

“Right...” Hana snorted. “So you didn't mope and bite your nails into oblivion? You didn't come home all upset and stay up all night thinking about it? How it was so unfair and that you worked so hard but you just end up being a leader of an idol group?”

“Aish! Shut up, babo!”Jiyong glared at her, then ran his hand over her face earning him a kick in the shin. Yelping in pain, Jiyong stopped walking to kneel down and rub the spot that Hana kicked. He looked up at Hana and sent her a death glare any normal person would have cowered and hid from. Of course, Hana was not a normal person. She just stuck her tongue out at Jiyong. Everyone laughed, already expecting this violent interaction.

I laughed as well, but I couldn't help but notice how personal Hana's words sounded. Like they were something Jiyong actually told her and only her. Hmmmm... Interesting.

Jiyong finally recovered from the pain, stood up, and started chasing Hana who had realized the danger and tried to run away from it. Of course, Jiyong was faster. In a second, he had her in a headlock.

“YA! Stop it, Jiyong!” Hana shouted, trying to reach Jiyong's face to hit him but Jiyong just pulled out of reach. “YAAA! I'M A GIRL!”

“Let her go, Jiyong-ah.” Youngbae scolded him, but he was chuckling himself. Jiyong grinned and dug his knuckles on the top of her head before letting her go. I couldn't help but notice how his arm lingered around Hana's shoulder though.

Hana tried to hit Jiyong with her fists again, but he just held onto her wrists. They walked like that for a while. I smiled to myself, seeing the blush creeping up to Hana's cheeks. I bet Jiyong's hold on her is making her too weak to retaliate.

Letting out a little giggle, I skipped forward to follow them towards the noraebang. Suddenly, I felt Youngbae nudge my shoulder. I looked at him and saw the knowing smile on his lips as he stared at the couple in front of us. I grinned back.

HA. I have an ally.

This is going to be fun.

Jiyong was still holding on to Hana when we finally reached the noraebang. This a celebration of sorts for Jiyong and Youngbae's good news so they were treating us.

As soon as we got into a room, I announced that I needed to go to the bathroom and dragged Hana out with me.

“But I don't need to go to the bathroom.” she complained, already trying to get back in the room.

“Yes, you do.” I told her, holding on to her arm firmly.

“Wae?”

“Cause you're going to tell me the exact details of your relationship with Jiyong.”

Hana stopped struggling suddenly, her face resembling that of a tomato. I opened the bathroom door and she quickly followed me inside. Leaning on the sink, I crossed my arms across my chest and settled my gaze at my supposed best friend.

“So, when were you going to tell me?” I started.

“Tell you what?” she squirmed.

“That you and Jiyong are dating.”

I swear Hana's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. Her eyebrows scrunched up together and formed a perfect “O” shape.

“Ani! Ani! We're not dating! I swear!” She spoke frantically. She even put her right hand up and made a cross over her heart. I remained suspicious. I raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Hyekyung-ah, we're not a couple. I'm telling you we're really not.”

“Then why are you so... close? Like you know stuff about him that are supposed to be private? And your skinship is not awkward at all.” It was almost like an interrogation as I asked her all these things.

Taking a deep breath, Hana looked down at her shoes and whispered, “He – He calls me when he's upset or stressed. He kind of confides in me. That's all.” she finally looked up to meet my eye and I see all the emotions she felt in those dark brown orbs. “And I don't think hitting each other is skinship.”

Shaking my head, I uncrossed my arms and stepped forward. I put my hands on her shoulder and looked straight into her eyes.

“But you like him, don't you?”

Her eyes filled with tears as she bit her lower lip. She was shaking when she nodded her head.

“De, so much,” she said, so softly that I almost didn't hear her. “I've liked him since last year.” And with that she told me about how Jiyong had stayed by her side the whole time she fell sick in class that one day last year. She loved his smile, too. Oh, and apparently, he sings to her sometimes when he calls.

I hugged her tight, too stunned but honestly happy for her. As I crushed her in my embrace, she leaned her forehead on my shoulder being a tad shorter than me.

I was about to tell her to confess to him just for the heck of it, when she suddenly spoke. “But Hyekyung-ah, he doesn't like me that way. He only sees me as another best friend. Just one of the guys.” She stepped out of our hug and smiled sadly. “You know all those pretty girls flock around him. Those popular girls always try to flirt with him. How would I compare to them?”

“Ya!” I hit her arm, annoyed. “Why are you being insecure? You're the one he's calling almost every night. You're the one who knows him the best. Besides, you're way more beautiful than those girls who throw themselves at Jiyong's feet!”

“Right,” Hana said, smirking. “And you're Won Bin's girlfriend.” We both laughed like lunatics in the bathroom for a couple of minutes.

“Besides,” she added, as our laughter died down. “He's going to be an idol. He's going to be freaking famous. More girls will chase him. Ottoke?”

“Now that,” I told her, raising an eyebrow and chuckling lightly, “I still have a hard time accepting.”

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A/N

I'm so sorry I just updated now. I needed some time to recover from MAMA. LOL CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR BOYS!!! :))

Anyway, here's a different character's POV. I'm also doing another side character POV in the next updates.

Oh, oh, and I already wrote the "falling away" chapter. HAHAHA I'm just that excited. ;)