After eating, HyeRin volunteers to wash the dishes but I insisted. All of them are in the living room now, chatting and laughing like there's no tomorrow, and I'm here, being the group's EOMMA, washing the dishes. They are so noisy that they can't even notice that the TV is switched on!

Sigh.

They really missed her so much.

"YoungBae."

“Oh, Hyerin. Wae?” I asked without looking at her.

“Uhm…” She trailed off.

I waited for her to speak.

“D-do you do these things often?”

“Not really. We take turns.”

“I’ll help you.”

“Nah. I’m about to finish. Just go back there at the living room. I’ll follow after this.”

“Yah. We haven’t talked so much since we got here inside your dorm. And now that I want to talk to you, you’re pushing me away.”

“Do we have to? I mean we already talked for a long time going in here.”

“What I mean is that you became quiet. Is there something that bothers you?”

“Yes.” I said as I close the faucet.

“Oh? Tell me your problem then. I might be of help.”

“How can the problem be the help?”

She didn’t reply. I turned around only to see her shocked expression.

She chuckled. “What?”

I scoffed.

“I’m not trying to be funny.”

“Neither do I. I just asked what’s bothering you and you answered like that.” She said, walking toward my side, putting the dishes in the cupboard.

“But it’s true.”

I expected a shattering-of-plates scenario from her, but it didn’t happen.  I guess it only happens on TV.

“So, what are you trying to say? That I am bothering YOU?”

“Ung.” I nodded.

She looked at me. No. She STARED at me. She’s ‘reading’ me, perhaps.

The fuzzy feeling in my stomach is here again. It’s like, my tummy is having Goosebumps. :D

I looked away as soon as I felt my cheeks heating up.

“How do I bother you? Since when do I bother you?”

“I don’t know and I don’t know.”

“HyeRin-ah.” JiYong suddenly appeared. “You don’t have anything to do today, right? If you like, you can come with us there at YG.”

“Oh? Uhm..” She glanced at me and then looked back to JiYong. “Maybe I’ll BOTHER you guys.”

“No. You won’t bother us, right, YoungBae?”

And he just has to ask me that.

* * *

”Stop.” JaeWook hyung commanded and we stopped.

Aw. Thank God for hearing my prayers. We’ve been practicing since we came here. It’s already 2PM and everyone’s hungry and exhausted.

“Yah, YoungBae. Are you sick?” JaeWook hyung. “You move like you haven’t danced for ages.”

“Ani. It’s just that…” I roam my eyes around to find HyeRin. “Oh..?” Where is she? I last saw her there sitting at the bench with BoHyeong noona.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Fine. Guys, have your lunches now. Be sure to be back at 4PM. Ahrasso?”

“Neh. Komawo hyung!” Almost all of us jumped in joy.

We left the dance studio after changing clothes. We headed to the cafeteria and there I saw HyeRin sitting alone with her head resting on the table and an empty glass beside it. Yeah, of course I recognized her because of her clothes.

“HyeRin! Since when did you go here? I didn’t notice you go out of the studio.” Daesung asked her as he and SeungRi ran toward her.

She immediately raised her head upon hearing her name.

“Ah. I just arrived.” She sat straight.

“Eh? You seem like you’ve been here all along.” SeungRi said as she sat in front of her and Daesung sat beside him. JiYong, of course, sat beside her and I sat beside him. SeungHyun hyung sat beside Daesung.

“Did you eat already?” Seunghyun hyun asked.

“I don’t want to eat alone, you know..”

“So you waited for us? Oh.. How sweet.” JiYong pinched her cheeks in both sides.

I.CAN’T.LOOK.AT.THEM.

Aish. Is it right for me to get jealous this way? Or is this even jealousy? If not, then why do I feel like hurting when I see these two being sweet and all? Even when they’re just talking, I feel like exploding. Aigoo.

Should I talk to Jiyong? Because, guys, if you remember, he told me he’ll HELP me and that he gave up on her. But why is he still like this?

Sigh.

“Yah. We came here to eat.” Thanks Seunghyun hyung for stopping JiYong.

So yeah, we ate lunch and chat for we have much time before going back to the dance studio. As for me, I don’t directly talk to HyeRin. Except if she’s the first one to talk to me or open the conversation which is about me. After some time, we decided to just go up at the dance studio and spend the remaining time there.

“Wait, I’ll just go to the wash room.” I excused myself and went to my own direction.

After taking out some unnecessary liquids from my body, I went out of the cubicle and went to the sink. While I was washing my hands, the door opened.

“YoungBae-ah.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, did I take so long?” I spoke without looking at him

“Ah. Ani. I just… No.. It’s Hyerin actually. She wanted me to talk to you.” I stopped and closed the faucet.

“Wae?” I looked at him through the mirror. “What’s wrong?”

“I should be the one asking you that.”

This time, I turned around to look at him. I scrunched my eyebrows.

“She told that me you’ve been acting weird towards her.”

Okay since he is the one who started this conversation, I think it is now the right time to talk to him.

“JiYong-ah, tell me. How should I act normal when my heart, brain and body don’t?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know either. I’m feeling something abnormal in my tummy every time I talk to her.”

At first, he looks like he is confused. But a little later, his confused face turns to a grin.

“But then, I don’t understand myself. And you. I thought you told me you’ve given up? I thought… you’ll help me in SOMETHING I don’t know yet.” I sighed. “To be honest.. I feel something burning inside of me every time I see you talking to her, or you touching her… it’s like..”

“You’re jealous.”

I stared at him.

JEALOUS?

I then scoffed.

“Jealous? Me?”

“Yes.” He grinned even more. “You like her, don’t you?”

What’s this? I can feel a sudden fast movement inside my chest. A fast BEATING movement.

Yah, Dong YoungBae.

DO YOU LIKE HER?

DO YOU LIKE JUNG HYERIN?

No.

No. I don’t like her.

I ... I don't know..

Maybe, yes? And that’s what explains all those weird feelings I am feeling when I’m with her?

But… why can’t I say it?

I can’t answer him for an unknown reason. And that makes him blurt something out.

“Don’t tell me, it is LOVE?” He gasped. “YoungBae is in love!?”

“YAH! Don’t shout. They might hear.”

“So it’s true?”

I can feel the heat going up to my cheeks.

“Aish. I don’t know!”

“What did you feel then when I was beside her and we cooked together, when I sat beside her, when I pinched her cheeks…”

“Don’t forget the one at the dining table where you held her hand.” I added with an annoyed voice, looking away from him.

Silence filled the whole comfort room.

“Yeah. Those… but I did not intend to do THAT thing you just said.” He whispered.

WHAT?

Of course I heard what he said. But.. Does that mean he still has something for her?

I asked him to repeat what he just said to check if I really heard the right one, “What?”

 “Uh.. Nothing. Err.. To tell you the truth, I actually tested you if you’ll get jealous so I did those things because, as what I have told you, I’ll help you find out what love is. So yeah. All of that was just an act. But HyeRin didn’t know about that.”

“You mean, you think if I’ll get jealous after you doing those things, I will get know what love is?” I asked him.

“Of course. You won’t get jealous. If you don’t love her, right?” He said, wriggling his eyebrows.