Four

 

 

 

Kyungsoo isn’t sure whether bringing Bomi along with him would do something good to him. He never brings any of his friends to visit Minseok (Well, it is not that he has friends of bffs or whatever they call that bromance thingy because he just had a few close classmates and after graduation every strings attached are just completely cut off and they are back into strangers).

 

Kyungsoo can hear chatters from inside the room and he frowns as he recognises the owner of the voices inside the room.

 

“What’s wrong?” Bomi asks at him from behind.

 

“No, nothing.” He mumbles before knocking the door. He hears someone shouts from inside the room, letting them in. He slides the door open and he is right; his noona, Do Chorong, is there with Minseok's and Chorong’s best friend, Kim Junmyeon.

 

“Oh, Kyungsoo.” Chorong smiles brightly and is ready to run towards him when she notices Bomi trailing behind Kyungsoo. “Who is she?” She asks slowly, looking at Bomi curiously.

 

“She’s my classmate. Her name is Yoon Bomi.”

 

“Oh! So, you’re Bomi!” Minseok exclaims.

 

Bomi bows and says politely, “My name is Yoon Bomi. Nice to meet all of you.”

 

Chorong beams. “Hey, I’m Chorong. Kyungoo’s elder sister and nice to meet you too. This guy is Kim Joonmyeon, he’s our friend” She says as she points out at the guy who stands beside Minseok’s bed and has the most dashing smile Bomi has ever seen in her whole life.

 

“And I’m Minseok.” Minseok waves his hand at Bomi whom smiles brightly at him.

 

“It’s so unusual of you to bring your friend along with you, Kyungie.” Chorong smirks.

 

Kyungsoo wants to protest that Bomi isn’t his friend. They’re just classmates for god’s sake but he chooses to let it off just for today. “Well, it’s a long story. And stop calling me Kyungie, noona. I’m not ten.” He mumbles.

 

“We have a lot of time, don’t we guys?” Chorong turns around at her two guy friends whom only smile at Kyungsoo.

 

Kyungsoo sighs, glancing at Bomi whom just smiles at him.

 

“Why don’t you guys take a seat first?” Joonmyeon offers and takes two plastic chairs from the corner of the room. Kyungsoo walks towards him and helps him before settling the two chairs beside Minseok’s bed.

 

Kyungsoo frowns when Chorong jumps on Minseok’s bed and sits there. “Noona, you can’t sit there. You’re making Minseok hyung feels uncomfortable.”

 

Chorong scoffs. “Shut up, Kyungie. Minseok doesn’t mind, do you Minseok?” Chorong quirks her eyebrow at Minseok.

 

Minseok rolls his eyes. “Even I said so, you’d still sit there anyway.”

 

“Anyway, why are you here with Bomi, Kyungsoo? It’s very unusual of you to visit Minseok during weekends.” Joonmyeon immediately averts their attention to another topic.

 

“Oh, yeah, that.” He clears his throat before proceeding in telling them the story why he ends up in Minseok’s private room with Bomi and by the time he finishes telling them, Chorong burst into laughter while Minseok and Joonmyeon are pursing their lips, trying to stifle their laughter.

 

Kyungsoo frowns and looks at Bomi whom also try to supress her laughter. “Why are you guys laughing?”

 

“Because you’re so cute! I mean mostly guys would purposely bump into her but here you are, hiding from her. Why don’t you just agree to have with her or with that Jongin dude? This kind of thing won’t happen twice in your life, Kyungkyung.” Chorong laughs and Kyungsoo frowns when Chorong calls him with his other pet names that she made for him when they were little kids.

 

“Stop calling me Kyungkyung!” Kyungsoo groans in annoyance that only makes her laughs even louder.

 

She pinches her cheeks. “Aww, my baby boy is so cute.” She coos in adoration.

 

He swats her hands away from his cheeks. “You’re so annoying.”

 

She only giggles and ruffles his hair. “But, you love me, Kyungkyungie.”

 

He groans loudly. “You .”

 

 

####

 

 

 

“Well, your elder sister is really nice and bright.” Bomi comments when they are walking at crowded street in one of the most famous place in Seoul. They’re going to have lunch together after visiting Minseok. Kyungsoo wants to stay longer but too bad the visiting hour is over and he promises Minseok that he’s visiting him on Tuesday like usual because on Tuesday he only has morning class.

 

He rolls his eyes. “You mean she’s very loud and has no shame.”

 

Bomi giggles, “No, she’s really kind and I like her.”

 

Kyungsoo just frowns and mutters quietly under his breath. Bomi looks at him and grins widely. “And you like her too.” Bomi mumbles.

 

He scoffs, “Yeah, right.”

 

Bomi only smiles and walks inside the restaurant with him leading them. They sit at the table that is assigned by the waiter at the corner of the restaurant. They look at the menu and order their food to the same waiter before both of them fall into silence.

 

Kyungsoo just drums his fingers on the table, looking around the restaurant even though that isn’t the first time for him to eat there.

 

“Minseok oppa is very kind too.” Bomi suddenly says, her elbows prop on the table with her chin the back of her hands.

 

Kyungsoo smiles brightly with the mention of Minseok and Bomi notices it. “Isn’t he? He’s the most wonderful person that I have ever met. I mean, Joonmyeon hyung is also amazing and a great hyung but I knew Minseok hyung before Joonmyeon hyung. So, I kind of closer to Minseok hyung than Joonmyeon hyung but I like both of them. Well, I like Minseok hyung better but don’t tell Joonmyeon hyung that, okay? I don’t want him to think that I hate him or something because I like him, it’s just that I adore Minseok hyung a little bit more.” Kyungsoo doesn’t realise that he is rambling. Bomi smiles at him and her smile encourages him to continue so he does.

 

“I already told you before that I’ve known Minseok hyung my whole life, didn’t I?” Bomi nods her head. “Minseok hyung is the son’s of my mom’s best friend therefore our families know each other really well. Chorong noona and Minseok hyung are the same age. They grew up together, went to school together and in the middle school they met Joonmyeon hyung. The three of them became this inseparable three musketeers.” He takes a deep breath remembering the time when the four of them sprawled on the floor in Minseok’s bedroom playing console game together. “The three of them always asked me to join them together even though I’m younger than them. The four of us would play console game togerher, play hide and seek together even though they’re already thirteen years old. The moments that I spent with them when we were younger are the happiest moments in my whole life.” Kyungsoo’s smile radiates across the whole restaurant and it livens up Bomi’s mood instantly.

 

Kyungsoo continues, “And then…Minseok hyung is diagnosed with Astrocytomas. Everything fell apart instantly. I guess the persons that got hurt the most aren’t his parents but rather…Chorong noona and Joonmyeon hyung. Minseok hyung’s parents are rarely home. They’re busy working. Even now…they’re still busy working even though not as busy as it was then. My mom scolds Aunty Kim so many times for neglecting his son and there were many occasions when my mother had to attend parents’ meetings for him as well. My parents already see Minseok hyung as their own son and I already see him as my own elder brother.” He lets out a deep breath. “Anyway, Chorong noona and Joonmyeon hyung are always there for him even at his weakest point. There are things that they understand about Minseok hyung better than anyone, including me.”

 

His speech cuts off when the waiter brings their food. Bomi quietly thank the waiter while Kyungsoo remains quiet.

 

“And?” Bomi asks.

 

“And then after Minseok hyung was told that he couldn’t pursue his study anymore, their dreams of forming a band together fell apart. Joonmyeon hyung and Chorong noona are just graduated from Medical school and are now interns at the hospital where Minseok hyung is admitted. Even though they never discussed it openly, I knew that Minseok hyung was so angry and refused to talk to them for a while when he found out that Chorong noona and Joonmyeon hyung changed their university application from Art and Music to Medical. I’m guessing that Chorong noona and Joonmyeon hyung wanted to help Minseok hyung. You know…even though they can’t help Minseok hyung, they’re hoping at least they could help other people that I think quite weird decision.” Kyungsoo sighs, picking up his chopstick.

 

Bomi just nods her head and chews her food quietly, trying to digest everything that Kyungsoo just has told her.

 

“They wanted to form a band?” Bomi asks, breaking the silence after a few minutes.

 

“Yeah. The three of them like singing and you know…music in general. They said that Minseok hyung would play guitar, Joonmyeon hyung would play the piano and Chorong noona would sing because noona and can’t play any instruments.” He chuckles quietly.

 

Bomi looks at Kyungsoo is eating quietly. “You wanted to join them, didn’t you?” She asks softly and it makes Kyungsoo stops his movement for seconds but he still remains calm.

 

“Kind of but I don’t really like Music. I’ve been wanting to be a businessman like my dad. Besides, being a singer doesn’t guarantee a steady life. You’ll get a lot of money if you’re popular and if you don’t, it’s lucky enough that you have enough money to survive each day.”

 

“You’re so realistic.” She mutters, looking at him.

 

“I am. I have seen so many things and I think being realistic is a good thing.”

 

And Bomi chooses to keep quiet.

 

 

####

 

 

Kyungsoo watches TV with a bowl of ice cream on his lap quietly. He doesn’t look away from the screen when he sees Chanyeol sits beside him on the couch.

 

“You dare to eat this ice cream and we’ll see what’s going to happen to you.” Kyungsoo mutters nonchalantly, still not tearing his eyes away from the screen.

 

Chanyeol chuckles and throws his arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulders. “Minah was looking for you.”

 

Kyungsoo nods his head. “Yeah?”

 

“Yeah. Where were you?”

 

“I was out to the city.”

 

“Where about?”

 

“I was visiting someone I know in Gangnam hospital.”

 

“Oh, is that person alright?”

 

Kyungsoo shrugs. “Hopefully.”

 

Chanyeol just nods his head and watches the program on the TV quietly. Chanyeol starts fidgeting after a few minutes and Kyungsoo starts feeling annoyed by it even though he tries to ignore it.

 

“Chanyeol, stop fidgeting.”

 

“Oh, sorry.”

 

That only lasts for ten minutes even less than that.

 

“Chanyeol.”

 

Chanyeol sighs. “I’m sorry. I was just…thinking about something.” He smiles faintly. “Hey, Kyungsoo. Can I ask you something?”

 

“Yeah.” He says before scooping the ice cream into his mouth.

 

“How did you know Bomi?”

 

Kyungsoo frowns. “We have classes together.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Silence engulfs both of them but it doesn’t last really long.

 

“I knew Bomi for the first time during our first year of high school. We were in the same class but we didn’t talk each other for the first few months until our English teacher assigned us in the same group for a project that I can’t remember now. Anyway, we became really close until the second year of high school. Both of us were in different classes and then we were back into strangers. I thought it was so funny back then how in a span of a year, things could change so much. How a person was so close to you and how you thought that living without them would be very weird but then a year later, both of you didn’t utter a single word to each other.” He laughs bitterly.

 

“We still remained as strangers until right before graduation. We met at this post-exam party, a few weeks before graduation. The things that I could remember were loud music, endless bottles of soju and cans of beers, stuffy dance floor, and her addictive lips.”

 

At that point, Kyungsoo can sense where this conversation is going. (kind of one-sided conversation because Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything and he doesn’t really care what Chanyeol is talking about)

 

“We ended up in a motel and I remember that I had to rush to a 24/7 convenience store to buy a pack of . Good thing that I was pretty drunk and the worker was a younger guy, I think he was the same age as us, So, at least I wasn’t so embarrassed. We had and even though I was drunk, I still can remember every single thing.”

 

“I’m going to kill you if you’re going for the details, Chanyeol. Because I never intend to listen to this in the first place. I’m listening because I’m kind enough.” Kyungsoo remarks, his eyes are still glued on to the screen.

 

Chanyeol chuckles. “Okay, fine. Baekhyun was so eager to know about it though. Anyway, we’re back as…friends until now. I was surprised when I found out that we’re going into the same university even though we study different things. But, we’re still together.”

 

Kyungsoo sighs. “What’s your point, really?”

 

Chanyeol looks at Kyungsoo with a smile that Kyungsoo can’t really understand the meaning behind it. “Both of us know each other way back, Kyungsoo. We have history together.”

 

Kyungsoo frowns. “Okay?”

 

Chanyeol pats his back. “Well, I just want to tell you that.” He smiles before walking off of the common room, leaving Kyungsoo with a deep frown on his face.

 

 

####

 

 

Kyungsoo looks up from his note when someone taps his shoulder. Bomi is smiling at him and pointing at his backpack on the seat beside him. Kyungsoo takes his backpack away and puts it down under his legs. Bomi happily squeezes herself towards the seat and she starts babbling about things that happen to her on her way towards the campus.

 

Kyungsoo listens to her and nods his head occasionally, telling her that he is listening and sometimes he mumbles out something when she asks him something. She stops talking when she sees their professor walks in to the lecturer hall.

 

Kyungsoo listens to their professor and notes down some important stuffs from the slides.

 

He glances at the girl beside him and he remembers what Chanyeol told him the other day. He doesn’t understand the reason why Chanyeol had to bother telling him that.

 

Bomi is just someone that happens to have the a few classes together with him and they just happen to sit beside each other unknowingly. It is not that Kyungsoo asks her to sit beside him, it’s just that Bomi always shows up, taps his shoulder and tells him to take off his backpack so she can sit beside him.

 

He also just happens to share something that he never tells anyone in his life about his Minseok hyung.

 

Bomi is just someone that he knows from the party that Baekhyun and Chanyeol hosted. He never learnt her name until he caught her and Chanyeol had at the janitor room. Even after that incident (that disturbed him so much because it was so disgusting to him) he still remained indifferent towards her.

 

It is just that she was the one who talked to him first, the first one who yelled at him and left him in confusion until he had to ask Minseok hyung about it and ended up with him asking her what Minseok told him. It is really confusing and he also doesn’t even understand why and how they can have something to talk about everyday.

 

It is just strange and that is definitely not something he is planning when he starts his days in the university.

 

 

####

 

 

“How did we become friends?” Kyungsoo asks Bomi whom is highlighting something on her textbook. The word ‘friends’ even sounds foreign in his mouth but he guesses that that is the correct term.

 

Bomi looks up from her textbook and raises her eyebrow at him, “What do you mean?”

 

“Well, I didn’t know that we would sit at the library and study together for the quiz that we’re going to do tomorrow.” Kyungsoo mutters.

 

Bomi giggles. “I don’t know. It just happens.”

 

Kyungsoo frowns and continues reading his notes.

 

“Why? You hate it?” Bomi asks almost inaudibly.

 

He shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know. It’s just weird. I mean…we never talked to each other before and here we are sitting beside each other in the library. Usually at this time, I’d be at my room and memorising important things while eating my ice cream.”

 

“So, you’re telling me that I’m ruining your plan?”

 

His frown goes deeper. “I wouldn’t say exactly like that.”

 

She smiles at him, very amused watching him frowning and looking so confused. “And then?”

 

He scrunches his nose and groans. “I don’t know. It’s just weird.”

 

“Well, I don’t think it’s weird. I mean… this is how you make friends, isn’t it? You somehow ended up talking to me and then we’re just friends. Why do you think about how did we become friends? Why don’t you just enjoy of us being friends? I like being companied by you and I hope you do too.”

 

Kyungsoo frowns and just shrugs his shoulders.

 

“Anyway, do you want to eat Chinese food later?” Bomi asks.

 

Kyungsoo contemplates for a while. He doesn’t really feel like eating Chinese food and he already plans to eat fried chicken tonight.

 

“Okay.”

 

 

####

 

 

 

“You’re neglecting me quite often these days.” Jongae remarks as he flips through the channels on TV.

 

Kyungsoo looks up from his phone but not before pausing the game. “Huh?”

 

“We rarely hang out together these days.” Jongdae murmurs.

 

Kyungsoo frowns. “Says someone who is spending most of his days at the library. You’re the one who is neglecting me.”

 

Jongdae frowns. “Uh, I’ve been hanging out with Baekhyun and Chanyeol a lot these days. I couldn’t find you.”

 

“Oh, really?” Kyungsoo asks, continuing the game that he is playing.

 

“Yes! Where were you? I thought I’m your friend!”

 

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and groans when he loses the game. “ this stupid game.”

 

“What are you playing?”

 

“Flappy bird.”

 

Jongdae widens his eyes. “You knew flappy bird?”

 

Kyungsoo frowns, “Uh, yeah?”

 

“How?” Jongdae shrieks.

 

“What’s wrong with me knowing that game? Everyone is talking about that.”

 

“Come on, Kyungsoo. I knew you since the first day you stepped in into this flat in this dorm. I really know how apathetic you are, okay? Even the whole world is talking about something, you would still have no idea about that. What’s with the sudden change?”

 

Kyungsoo shrugs. “I don’t know. It just that I happen to know about this game.”

 

“Is this because of Bomi?”

 

“What?” Kyungsoo frowns deeper.

 

“Everyone knows that you’re very close with Bomi these days. I heard Minah is quite angry that you’re hanging out with Bomi. Heck, I’m even upset that you’re neglecting me for her. Bros over girls, Kyungsoo. That’s the ethics!”

 

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “Bomi and I are just happened to have a few classes together and we just naturally become friends. It’s not weird that we end up hanging out more often that before, isn’t it? We study the same after all.” Kyungsoo deadpans.

 

Jongdae whistles. “Dude, Hyunsik has been your classmates so long as you and Bomi become classmates but you rarely hang out together. Both of you only say hi to each other!”

 

Kyungsoo sighs. “I still don’t understand where this conversation is going.”

 

“Do you like Bomi?”

 

Kyungsoo looks at Jongdae weirdly. His eyes are as big as a saucer that Chanyeol managed to break the other day. “What the are you talking about?”

 

“Just answer me.”

 

“No, I don’t. I’m honestly questioning how in the world did I become friends with Bomi, okay? It just happens!”

 

Jongdae pouts. “That’s not fun. But, you owe me lunch, okay?”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because you’re hanging out with her more often than with me! I know you longer than her.”

 

“Shut up, Jongdae. You make me dizzy.”

 

“Hey, I’m serious!”

 

“Okay, fine. I choose the place.”

 

Jongdae snorts. “You always choose the place.”

 

Kyungsoo ignores his remark. “I’m thinking to eat Japanese curry this Friday. Are you free that day?”

 

“I have morning classes and evening classes. So, I’m free during lunch break.”

 

“Okay then.”

 

 

####

 

 

 

“Kyungsoo, are you going to visit Minseok oppa tomorrow?”

 

Kyungsoo nods his head. “Yeah.”

 

“I want to come with you but Eunji asks me to come with her for blind dates.” Bomi frowns, spinning her pen with her fingers.

 

“Okay.”

 

“I don’t really want to come with her though but I guess it might be fun. Say hi to Minseok oppa for me. Oh, to Chorong unnie and Joonmyeon oppa too, if they are there.”

 

Kyungsoo nods his head before continues reading the worksheet that their lecturer just hand in. He sees from the corner of his eyes that Bomi are now talking to some of their classmates that sit behind them.

 

There are a few things that Kyungsoo realises after becoming friends with Bomi. She laughs really often and she would always scrunches her nose when she laughs and not to mention that the way she laughs is not very lady-like. She smiles to almost everyone and he asks him one time how does she know everyone and she simply answers him that she doesn’t know everyone. He frowns at her in confusion and she tells him that there is nothing wrong in smiling at everyone who you see everyday. It isn’t killing her anyway. And he just nods his head in understanding.

 

Because of Bomi too, Kyungsoo begins to know a lot of people (not exactly know them, he just knows their names and their majors). Bomi is a social butterfly and she always tells him about a lot of people and he always asks him how does she know and she would just shrug her shoulders and answers in the ladies bathroom there would be tons of hot and fresh news than on Naver.

 

There are also a few things that Kyunsoo realises about Bomi and him. The two of them are very different. Bomi would always try things that Kyungsoo would never ever try in his whole life. He then concludes that Bomi is a very spontaneous person; she lives a free-life.

 

There is this one time when Bomi runs towards a little kid who is running after a butterfly and doesn’t see that someone with a bicycle is cycling towards him. Bomi just jumps and rolls around and she ends up with a few scratches, and cuts in her arms and knees but it’s a good thing that the little kid is safe even though he cannot stop crying.

 

He often thinks that Bomi is like a sun; sometimes he’s annoyed with sun because it makes the weather becomes really hot and sometimes he likes sun because he likes sunny day than rainy day because it means he doesn’t have to use the umbrella and his shoes won’t get dirty faster. It’s totally like Bomi. Sometimes he’s annoyed with her for being so loud and sometimes he enjoys her companion.

 

It’s just really strange to him and he thinks maybe he should ask Minseok hyung about it.

 

 

***

 

Author's note:

Yup, my break is over. Monday is the start of new semester and I already can see the bright future that lies ahead of me (note the sarcasm). So, yeah. This might be the last chapter that I can update for this week and the upcoming weeks. I don't know when will I post the new chapter, so yeah I just want to give all of you a heads up. 

I'm not sure about this chapter honestly. It just I wrote everything that came into my mind (I didn't write recklessly of course). It might be really confusing for all of you and feel free to drop any questions and I'll answer them! :-)

Oh, yeah. I'm also planning to write Minseok-Chorong-Joonmyeon story. It's just going to be a three-shots :-) I'm going to post them after I pass a scene on this story because I don't want to give any spoilers and also because that particular scene is an important scene and a crucial and turning point in Kyungsoo's life. I hope you anticipate that! :-)

I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter. Thank you! xx :-)