Chapter 9: Hold my hands

The 2 guys sat in their seats, frozen upon hearing Jihyo’s last words before leaving.

They both have the same thoughts, ‘Is noona crazy?’

Donghae was already feeling awkward as it is so he avoided any eye contact and prayed that Hyukjae would just throw away Jihyo’s idea and suggest both of them to head home instead. Unknown to him, Hyukjae was thinking the same thing too but he could not simply cancel the dance rehearsal tomorrow. As he stole glances at Donghae who was focused on finishing his ramen, he thought of abandoning this boy but he did not want to be mean to him since he was Jihyo Noona’s buddy teacher.

“Why is your name Donghae?” he suddenly asked.

Surprised by the question, Donghae looked up from his bowl of ramen and found Hyukjae staring at him.

“My dad gave me this name.”

“Doesn’t that mean East Sea?” Hyukjae asked again.

“Well…yes.” Donghae was not sure the point of this question. Is Hyukjae making fun of his name?

“It must be because you are fishy! Why on Earth would you suspiciously knocked into me and appeared in my studio yesterday? You are fishy! I shall call you fish from now on.” He mocked and laughed aloud.

Donghae clenched his fist below the table. He was angry and wanted to retort back but he knows that it will only make matters worse.

He finally said, “Whatever. Are you going to bring me to the store or not? Its YOUR rehearsal tomorrow not mine. If you refuse to show me the way, you will have no music tomorrow.”

Realizing that Donghae was right, Hyukjae was not left with much choice. He had to bring this fish to the store and it was getting dark.

“Fine. Hurry up and finish your food you fish! Why are you eating so slowly?! We will go once YOU finish your food.” He could not understand how Donghae had to nibble his food thus taking a long time to finish a bowl of ramen.

When they were both done, they called for the bill and split the bill. Donghae was relieved that it was the first thing both parties had agreed on. Hyukjae stood up and started walking and Donghae followed him from behind. He did not know the way so he thought he might as well walked behind him. Hyukjae did not even turned back to check on Donghae, he kept walking.

“Yah! We shall walk there since its only 10 minutes away. Waiting for the bus will take a longer time.” Hyukjae turned around to inform Donghae and without waiting for a response, he turned back and continued walking.

As Donghae walked behind Hyukjae closely, his eyes were roaming around the area. He wanted to make sure he could recognize the place so that he can travel there independently next time. As he walked, something caught his eye. A shop selling scented candles! Donghae has always loved scented candles, he never fails to light one up every night. It helps him sleep better.

Wanting to stop over to the shop, Donghae lightly tapped on Hyukjae’s shoulder and said “Wait.” He then darted towards the shop.

He could smell the scent of lemon grass in the air as he approached the shop. He loved this scent as it reminds him of home. His mum loved this scent too. He placed the sack with the stereo down onto the floor and began choosing some candles. He quickly picked the candles he wanted and rushed to the cashier. He did not want to make Hyukjae wait for too long. After all, they were still not on very good terms.

After making the payment, Donghae walked out of the shop expecting to see an impatient Hyukjae but he was not in sight. His eyes roamed around quickly looking for a skinny red haired guy but it was pretty crowded and he had difficulty spotting Hyukjae.

‘Perhaps he is waiting for me where I left him.’  He assured himself while walking to the point where he last saw him. His eyes still roaming around, he suddenly found the shops around him unfamiliar. He did not recall seeing a ‘Hollys Coffee’.

He had lost his way.

Scolding himself, ‘Ah! I am really a fish brain! I should have asked him to wait for me specifically. Perhaps he did not hear me asking him to wait.’

Donghae stood at the sidewalk wondering what to do. He finally decided to continue walking. Perhaps the shops further down the road will appear more familiar to him and he will be able to find his way. He also realized that he does not have Hyukjae’s cell phone number, thus he was not able to call him for help.

After 15 minutes of walking, still nothing looked familiar to him. Losing his ways and getting lost in the city is a norm for Donghae. He takes a longer time to recognize places and roads, which is also the main reason why he dislikes driving. He cannot seem to remember the way to places and it took him a long time to get used to being comfortable driving around. He often cursed himself for this; he used to worry both his mum and elder brother a lot whenever he lost his way home.

“Aisshhh! Where could he be? Its getting late and the store will be closed soon!” he said aloud, much to the surprise of strangers around him. He continued walking slowly, praying that his eyes will bump into a familiar building or shop that may help him find his way.

As Donghae was busy figuring out his way, he felt someone from behind grabbing his right wrist. Shocked, he turned around to find a frowning and furious Hyukjae.

“Where the hell have you been? Are you playing hide and seek with me?!” he barked.

“I am sorry! I thought you heard me when I told you I will be visiting a shop! I did not know you went on walking without me! You should have turned back to check!” Donghae was apologetic but he has had enough of Hyukjae barking at him for 2 days. He did not realize he was raising his voice at Hyukjae.

“You went shopping?!” Hyukjae’s jaw dropped.

“Not shopping, I just stopped by for a few minutes, I tapped your shoulders, I thought you heard me!”

Hyukjae heaved a loud sigh. He was angry at this fish but for some reason, Donghae’s eyes appeared apologetic. It was the end of the day and he was tired. Glancing at the sack that Donghae has been carrying, he figured that Donghae must be tired too.

“Aish, fine! From now on you hold onto my hands so you will not get lost anymore! You silly fish! Let’s go!” Hyukjae grabbed Donghae’s right wrist once again and started walking and pulling him.

The astounded Donghae could not respond except to follow Hyukjae. In his heart, he was surprised Hyukjae did not continue barking at him or even punched him.

‘He is not that mean after all.’ His thoughts were relieved as he obediently followed Hyukjae. 

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Sorry for the late update! Work is crazy and I think it will get crazier this week! Yikes! Feel free to leave comments! I actually love reading all your comments! Stay tune for next update! Thank you!