Chansung nudged Junho who in turn, nudged Junsu, who nudged Taecyeon who lastly, nudged the blur Wooyoung. And they stared with smirks on their faces.

Hushed whispers enveloped the backseat.

“I bet she falls in love with him.”

“Me too!”

“Nah, she’s not Nichkyun’s type.”

“He has a type?!”

“NO!? He has no interest in girls!”

“Exactly!”

“Let’s bet!”

“You mean you’re ready to lose, er?”

Their whispers died down as the girl turned behind, her eyes full of sorrow that they stopped all at once.

“Can I sit behind?” She murmured softly, as if she was talking to herself.

“ Everyone stay in your seats! Rocky area ahead!” Manager Park’s voice rang out.

Sa-eun’s eyes widened, as big as saucers.

BRUMP!

 “OOF!” The bus had steered sharply to its right and Sa-eun, unable to keep her balance, caught hold of the first thing on her right-Nichkyun. She grabbed his black leather jacket and squeezed her eyes, frightened. Nichkyun, due to the commotion and the sudden tug of his jacket, woke up.

“Fireworks!” Chansung chortled. Nichkyun was famous for his phobia of girls and having a girl clutching would probably be too much for him to bear. The rest of the band started exchanging bets on Nichkyun’s reaction.

Nichkyun, alarmed that there was a GIRL within a 1m radius around him, immediately pushed her off with great force, causing Sa-eun to let out a small shriek.

All these happened in seconds but what really stunned the rest of the band was what happened next. Sa-eun stood up instantly and glared at Nichkyun, feeling imminent bruises all over. Nichkyun, amazed that such a “rowdy” girl existed, one that actually dared touch him, looked at her.

Their eyes met and their gazes locked.

“Sa-eun?”  Nichkyun stumbled to his feet and gaped.

The rest of the band was too astonished at the sudden change of events that they forgot to collect the cash bets.

Sa-eun, embarrassed, said, “Um… Hi?” She managed a sheepish smile but her heart was beating very quickly.

Nichkyun’s heart was about to leap out of his chest but he succeeded in suppressing it. He was feeling all sorts of mixed feelings. Happy, shocked, upset, at a loss…

What should his next step be?

He was never that good with girls. Never the girl type. Uh-uh, that was more Taecyeon.

They sat through the whole journey after that in silence, each gathering their thoughts.