Third Person POV

“I can’t believe you were watching us!” Sohee groaned as she shoved her face in her hands.

“I wasn’t the only one,” Jisu muttered under her breath. The comment went on unnoticed.

“It was a set up! A set up!” Sohee repeated as she waved her pencil in front of her best friend’s face.

Jisu chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, I guess I should have turned my phone on silent.”

Sohee shot her friend a look then put her pencil down by the scribbles on her desk. She gritted her teeth as she recalled the big incident.

Yesterday, after they had finished eating, Jongup and Sohee has made their way back to where they and Jisu had split up.

“I should call and ask where she is,” Jongup explained as he turned around and brought his phone to his ear. Suddenly there was an abrupt tune playing from behind a nearby column. Jongup’s expression dropped as he crept to the other side of the column.

“Heeey!” Jisu waved with a smug grin on her face, “what’s up guys?”

Sohee popped her head around the corner, a frown falling on her face. Jisu gave her a crooked smile, “how’s it?”

“I really can’t believe you,” Sohee groaned as she finished replaying the scene in her head.

“You can’t hate me,” Jisu replied cheesily. Sohee cringed and began erasing the doodles she had been scribbling all over her desk. She then got up and, leaning over her slanted desk, pushed away the thick dusty curtains that shielded the room.

A soft cooing of sun flooded into the room, draping the desks in its earthly glow. The warmth unfolded around the thick fabrics called uniforms. Sohee hummed as she stared outside. The trees’ branches tangled together. They were decorated with delicate green leaves that splattered blunders of random sunlight on the canvases that dotted the art room. 

“You want to come over after school?” Jisu asked out of the blue. She picked up a paint brush and fluttered its bristles past her fingers. “Yes or no?” she said as she dunked the brush into some paint and lavished a small canvas with a generous helping.

Sohee scratched on the end of her pencil, eradicating the small golden number and letter that defined it. “Sure, I guess.” She replied after some time.

Meanwhile…

Zelo fidgeted anxiously as him and the four other members waited for Jongup. Zelo bit his lip, looking paler by the minute.

“Something wrong?” Youngjae asked as he changed into some sneakers. He got up and dusted his pants. “You won’t stop moving.”

Zelo hobbled in his spot, changing posture every second the clock ticked with no Jongup in the room. “She wouldn’t have told him,” he assured himself quietly.

Youngjae turned to Daehyun, who shrugged dubiously.  

The door creaked open and Jongup walked in, he greeted everyone and slipped into a different pair of shoes—Zelo’s anxious face going unnoticed. 

Himchan hesitantly walked over and tapped Jongup on the shoulder as he pulled off his shirt. He swivelled around and looked at Himchan with a questioning look. “Did something happen?” Himchan said softly.

Jongup frowned, “What do you mean?” he shrugged and pulled on a loose fitting white t-shirt. Himchan turned back to the other members who waited for the answer. He shrugged.

“Clueless as ever,” Yongguk sighed.

“Again.” The leader said firmly, his feet planted on the floor and his gaze piercing the weary eyes of his fellow members.

“Argh!” Daehyun clutched onto his chest and collapsed to the ground, flapping the collar of his shirt.  “It’s too hot!”

Himchan pulled on the hem of his shirt and dabbed the beads of sweat on his forehead and neck. He inhaled and breathed out a heavy coarse breath as he rubbed his aching muscles.

Jongup groaned, sweat leaking out of his pores. His arms drooped by his sides like they could fall off in any moment.

Yongguk took a deep breath in and exhaled, the smell of men remained tingling in his nose, and slightly at the back of his throat. The smell of hard work he concluded. The leader gave in and waved a hand. “We’ll end it here.”

The members not already lying or sitting down collapsed to the ground, covered in sweat after the intensive dance practice. It sounded like sticky tape was on Zelo’s back as he peeled himself off the floorboards. “We still need to practice more.”

Yongguk gave him a shocked look before he tilted his head up and gulped down a river of water from his water bottle.

Youngjae groaned and curled up on his side. “No, I can’t do any more.”

“Zelo’s right.” Jongup brushed his fingers through his damp hair, it stuck up in irregular ways on the sides of his face. “The competition’s soon.”

 There was a chorus of groaning and soft sobs. “There’s no club activities allowed afterschool anymore,” Himchan reminded them.

Someone sighed in relief, the rest stayed silent, too tired too react. Himchan rolled his eyes as the other members sank their bodies to the cool ground. In the morning there had been a notice over the loud speakers announcing all afterschool club activities had been banned because of frequent vandalism.

Jongup pulled himself up, pain drilled through his ankles as he stood. “We can practice at my place,” He suggested, “I’ll just have to move the car out of the garage and we can practice there.”

Yongguk grinned. “Great!”

“Great…” the others groaned.

Afterschool…

Sohee’s eyes flickered across the room. The walls were pure white with carvings of rocking horses that ran across the floor. There was a neat bed in the corner and a bookcase with minimum books. The shelves bore mostly petite ornaments which had not much use but to replace the books, there were also several photo frames. Sohee walked up to the corner of the room, one photo was of Jisu and her dog, another of just her dog.

“What’s your dog’s name?”

Jisu looked up, she had been picking up paper and blankets that were stranded around the room. “Chopper,” she replied. “He’s a boy,” she added.

Sohee nodded and continued looking at the pictures; Jisu with Kai, a baby photo and one of Jisu and a boy. Sohee squinted her eyes, “Is this one of Jongup and you?”

Jisu perked up and walked over to the shelves. She tilted her head then nodded. “Yeah, that’s right.”

Sohee giggled. Jisu was pouting in the photo, her ripe cheeks were puffed up and her faint brows were furrowed. She looked about five years old, Jongup slightly older. He had both hands stuffed in his pockets and a bag slung across his stubby figure.

“Just put your bag down there,” Jisu instructed, pointing at the foot of her bed. “I’ll got get something for us to eat,” she said sweetly as she trotted out of the room. Sohee listened to Jisu’s footsteps down the stairs then obediently placed her bag by the bed. A ray of white light leaked across the room from the crack between the curtains. Sohee peeked outside; there was a veranda and a small area of grass, Chopper doing his business by the tree.

Jisu reappeared by the door with two packets of chips and cans of soft drink. She skilfully kicked the door closed as she walked in and dumped the items on her desk. “So!” She grinned.  

Soon enough one packet of chips had been emptied and the other was being opened. Crumbs scattered the floor like leaves and the books on the shelves had all been looked through. Sohee found out they were Jisu’s past diaries, all revealed haunting rumours, silly romances and lots of meaningless drama. Blankets were sprawled out on the floor and the room was filled with the laughing and whispering of the two girls.

“Hey,” Jisu whispered as she crinkled her toes.

Sohee put another chip in and tilted her head. “Yeah?”

Jisu exhaled. “In all seriousness—do you like someone?”

Sohee burst into a childish fit of giggles.

“You have to tell me!!” Jisu whinged, “c’mon! Who? D.O? Jongup? Zelo—”

Sohee immediately stopped laughing, her head perked up at the name she hadn’t heard in a while. “I wonder how he’s doing…” Sohee murmured.

Jisu blinked. The room suddenly got quieter with the one name. “How’d you guys start fighting again?”

Sohe tilted her head. She pouted and shrugged. Her eyes had grown glassy, she bit on her bottom lip. “I really can’t remember…”

Meanwhile…

Jongup lead the rest of B.A.P to his house. He pulled out the keys from his pocket and began his everyday struggle to unlock the door. The other members looked around the exterior of the house. It was big.

“What do your parents do again?” Daehyun asked his mouth gaping open and his eyes watching the chimes above his head. The doorway was at least two meters high and covered in untainted white paint. There were two shrubs in clay pots that were trimmed into perfect circles by the door. There were wavy glass windows in arches by the door that gave you a small clue as to what it was like inside.

Jongup attempted to unlock the door with another key. A part of his routine was to go through each key until he found the right one, he never bothered to remember what each key was for because there was at least a dozen. “Mum’s a lawyer and step dad’s a surgeon,” Jongup said bluntly as he tried the last key.

“Step dad?” Daehyun echoed. Jongup didn’t look up, quietly he opened the door. Youngjae nudged Daehyun, scolding him with a piercing glare. Daehyun frowned and furrowed his thick brows.

They stepped inside and Jongup put the keys inside a bowl by the entrance. “You guys can just put your stuff in the living room—”

“Where’s the bathroom?” Himchan interrupted.

“Upstairs.”

“Okay!” Himchan threw his bag onto a couch and ran up the stairs.

“I should tell my sister we have people over,” Jongup sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh. Have a seat,” he gestured at the couches as he noticed the remaining members standing awkwardly around the room. “I’ll be back.” He said as he ran upstairs.

“Sister?” Yongguk murmured. “He never told us he has a sister?”

“Or a step dad,” Daehyun frowned.

“Probably a step sister?” Youngjae suggested. Yongguk nodded.

Zelo looked around the room. It was tidy. Really tidy. The walls were plain white, the couches a creamy colour. Zelo’s skinny body sunk into the leather of the couch, it felt silky and gentle and smelt slightly of roasted coffee. There was a small knee high mahogany table in the centre of the living room and a smooth white silk cloth was draped across it. Zelo squirmed in his seat as he sank deeper in the cushions. A gleaming white surface suddenly caught his eye. He hopped up and walked towards the wall where a glossy white piano was. Carefully, and very slowly, he lifted fallboard—revealing the piano’s reversed coloured keys. Zelo was taken aback for a moment as he stared at the typically white, black keys and the ‘what-is-supposed-to-be-black,’ white keys. He the keys softly.

Yongguk, Daehyun and Youngjae had reappeared behind him, Himchan had also returned and they stared in awe at the grand piano. It was truly grand.

“It must be custom made.” Yongguk gaped.

Youngjae nodded.

“They must be rich.” Himchan added.

“They must have lots of good food.” Daehyun said dreamingly. Zelo blinked after hearing Daehyun’s statement.

“Jongup doesn’t play piano, right?” Youngjae questioned. The others hummed with thought. They shook their heads.

“Maybe his sister does,” Yongguk concluded.

Daehyun hopped out of his food dreamland. “Girls are beautiful if they can play the piano…”

The other members nodded in agreement, all except Zelo.

Zelo didn’t speak. His hands lingered over the piano, hesitant to touch the whiteness. He delicately glided his fingers over the white surface, no streaks following his slim fingers. Zelo extended his left hand and gently the keys. A low, mellow note resonated around the room with great placidity.

There was a silence as they listened to the note echo and fade.

“What’s taking Jongup so long?” Youngjae interrupted.  

Jongup steadily ran up the stairs. Barely catching his balance as he tripped over the last step; his left foot fell with a thud and he grabbed the corner of the wall. He shook his head, swiftly flipping hair out of his face as he sighed in relief.

Jongup knocked on his little sister’s door. The door was painted white but was almost covered with panels of photos and paper. The little golden knob clicked and clacked before the door was slowly pulled open. His little sister’s eye peered up at him.

“Sis—” Jongup started.

Jisu gently pushed the door completely open.

“Who’s it?” another voice called from the other side of the room.

“J—Eh—” Jisu exclaimed as her friend peeped up from behind her. Sohee peered over Jisu’s shoulder, her childish expression immediately being replaced by pleasantly surprised expression.

“Wait…” Sohee squinted her eyes and stared closely at Jongup, then at Jisu. They stared almost blankly at her, but their eyes hinted at slight guilt. Sohee pulled back and furrowing her brows she said, “Did you just say ‘sis’? You mean, like, you guys are related?” 

What do you think? Did you see it coming? o0o dun dun duun !!! you did you enjoy the 3x update? I'll do my best to update more reguarly !! -SK out