Chapter sixteen: Second Thoughts

Kiseop and I walked back to our dorm in an awkward silence. Both of us caught each other glancing at each other a couple of times on our way back.

When we arrived to our dorm, Kiseop opened the door and let me in first, I blushed and nodded politely as a sign of thanks. I was about to enter my room when Kiseop called out.

“Uh wait here for a minute… I’ve got something else to give you…”

I nodded and waited, Kiseop went into his room and came out with a medium size canvas; it was the painting that I’d seen a few months ago when I snuck into his room. I had forgotten about it, and surprised that he would give this to me.

“Kiseop-shi, did you paint this?”

“….” I saw the colours in his cheeks rise. I smiled.

“Thank you so much! It’s lovely! This is the best birthday ever!” I hugged Kiseop tightly without realising what I was doing. He stiffened.

“Ah I’m sorry… I guess we should sleep now huh,” I laughed awkwardly and went into my room. I was exhausted. I went to grab a towel, a baggy tee and shorts and took a quick shower. I returned to my room feeling refreshed. I looked at the lovely pink bag on the table with the dress in it and smiled to myself, and went to bed.

Kiseop’s P.O.V

I woke up to the vibration of my phone on my table. I grabbed it and read the caller ID, it read Hye Ri. I looked at the time 6:00am. Geez, why was she calling at this time… She should have known I wouldn’t be awake until 6:30. I answered, “Hello?”

“Oh, Kiseop!” I heard on the other side of the phone call.

“Mm, what’s wrong Hye Ri?” I asked, wondering why she had called me this early.

“N..nothing.  Where were you yesterday? I didn’t have a chance to congratulate you, for the play. You weren’t at the party I heard…”

“I came back to my dorm and took a rest. Why?” I lied.

“Oh, really?” She sounded unsure.

“Yes, really. Is that all you wanted to say?” I asked.

“Yeah. Well, congratulations. See you in class today.”

“See you…” I heard her hang up.

I put my phone back onto the bedside table, and lay back down. A flash back of last night shot in my head. I felt my lips. And remember the feeling of _____’s lips; they were soft and sweet from the cake. I blushed then a slight smile spread across my face. The smile soon faded when I remembered the principal’s words; “I will not allow you guys to have any type of romantic relation or any explicit contact what so ever. Those who break those rules will be immediately expelled and will not get the chance to debut, EVER.”

I’d wanted to pursue this dream of becoming a singer all my life… I couldn’t let anything get in the way now, not when I had just a few more months left before I debuted.

Kiseop’s P.O.V end

My alarm rang at 7:00am. I struggled to wake, as I was scared that if I open my eyes yesterday’s events would really be a dream. I slowly opened one eye and peeked at the table where I had left the pink bag. It was still there. I hit the alarm button and got out of bed. I walked over to the present Kiseop had given me and examined the dress once again. It was very beautiful. I smiled to myself.

“Oh I should get ready now.” I grumbled.

I arrived to class and there was a buzz of chatter.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!” A chubby female student waved at me.

“Ah, good morning.” I smiled and waved back. Most of my class greeted me and congratulated me for last night’s performance.

I finally arrived at my seat by the window and looked to the side. But Kevin wasn’t there. That was odd, Kevin was usually early. I looked out of the window, when I felt a soft tap from behind. I turned around. It was the makeup artist from yesterday.

“Hi _____!” She smiled.

Oh, she was a transfer student from Australia. She had a foreign accent, I faced palmed in my head. I was probably so nervous last night that I’d forgotten that she was in my class. She was assigned to sit next to Kevin, since she didn’t speak much Korean, Kevin helped her translate. I searched around in my head for her name, C…cin? Cindy! That’s right, her name was Cindy. She had long black silky hair, nice big eyes and a pretty smile.

“Ah, Hello Cindy.” I smiled. “Oh, have you seen Kevin this morning?”

“Ah, no I haven’t. I was just going to ask you.” She had a puzzled, worried look on her face.

I looked up and Kevin walked in. “Oh, here he is!” I beamed, glad that he wasn’t sick or anything.

“Good Morning Kevin!” Cindy said excitedly.

“Morning!” I greeted him as well.

“Morning you two.” Kevin gave a gentle smile. He seemed tired.

“Is –“ I was about to ask if he was alright but he cut me off.

“Oh _____, I forgot to give you something yesterday.” He handed be a small box. “Happy late birthday.” He smiled.

I opened it; it was the heart locket that caught my eyes yesterday. “Kevin, you didn’t have to! You treated me to breakfast yesterday. But thank you so much.” I gave Kevin a hug.

“No problems.” He laughed weakly.

“Oh _____, it was your birthday yesterday? Aww I didn’t know! If I knew I would’ve gotten you something as well.” Cindy whined.

I smiled at her, “It’s fine. I had fun yesterday. Thanks for making me all pretty.”

A smile spread across her face. “Let’s have a make-up session sometime! I enjoyed applying make- up on you.” She clapped her hands together.

I nodded, “Haha, alright.”

“Alright class, settle down now.” Our homeroom teacher came in. All three of us turned to face the front.

“Normal classes have resumed, the play was fantastic yesterday. I’d like to congratulate all who participated in it, and our lead actress.” She turned her attention from the class to me. “Well done, you did exceptionally well for a non voice or dance student.” She clapped and the class joined in.

My cheeks started to burn and I looked down on my desk, Kevin patted shoulders and whispered “You did great!” He shot me his wonderful warm smile. I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Okay, now that’s over and done. I have a new project for you guys to do. It’s a solo. Everyone must write up your own songs, about a past experience or present using the theme emotion, whether it’s happiness or sadness, and perform it to the class. This is worth a lot of marks towards your reports so please take this seriously. You have a month to prepare this piece. So use your time wisely.”

At lunch the class was buzzing with chatter once again. I was deep in thought, “Hmm, a song piece with a theme of emotion….”

“Ahhhhhh! Song writing is not my talent.” Cindy whined. I turned around, I realised that I hadn’t asked what she was studying at this school.

“Oh, Cindy what are you studying at this academy?”

“Oh, I’m studying as a rapper and a dance student.”

My eyes lit, “Wow, so talented.”

Cindy smiled, “But not as good as you. You can compose music and sing and dance.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m good at singing or dancing though.” I laughed sheepishly.

“Hmm, I’m going to get some food, do you want to come with me?” Cindy asked.

I shook my head “No it’s alright. I’ll go later.”

“Okay! Hey Kevin, do you want to come with me to get some food?” Cindy asked smiling.

“Hmm, not today. Sorry Cindy. I don’t feel like eating today.”

“Aww, alright then.” Cindy’s smile faded. “See you!” She wore a smile again and waved at Kevin and me. I waved back and she walked out of class.

I turned to Kevin, “Kevin, are you alright? Are you feeling sick?” I put my hand on his forehead to feel his temperature, but it wasn’t hot. Kevin then put on a big smile.

“Yeah, I’m alright.” He nodded.  “Oh let me put the necklace on you!” Kevin beamed.

I smiled and nodded “Alright.” I took the box with the necklace out of my desk, giving it to Kevin. While he was getting the necklace I lifted my hair up for him. He gently put it on for me.

“There.” He finally said.

I looked down at it, it looked really nice. I smiled, “Thank you very much Kevin.”

“Let’s have lunch together okay? This time it’s my treat.” I smiled at him.

“Hmm, okay.” He agreed with a smile.

Later that night I returned to the dorm a bit later than usual. I spent most of the evening with Kevin in the school garden admiring the summer flowers until they closed. Kiseop was already there sitting and reading a book. I greeted him with a smile. “Hello, Kiseop-shi.”

He didn’t even look at me. “Yah… I’m talking to you Kiseop-shi.” I said feeling a bit offended. Looking up from his book, he gave me a glare. He stood up from his seat and walked into his room.

“Wah…Kiseop-shi, you’re so scary.” I whispered to myself. “Did I do something wrong…? What’s wrong with him? He would usually at least nod…” Not wanting to think about it anymore, I walked into my room. “Class assignment, a solo… I don’t have any inspiration…” I said frustratedly messing my hair, and flopping on my bed, with my face buried in the pillow. Without realising I fell asleep.

Kevin’s P.O.V

I looked at ______’s present sitting on my desk. Tapping on the top of the table, I thought of what I saw yesterday. I looked at the time; 8:45am. With a sigh, I grabbed my books and _____’s present and headed to class. I walked into class, it was buzzing with chatter, and people greeted me as I came in. But the only person I looked at was ______. She saw me come in and gave me a wonderful smile.

“Good Morning Kevin!” Cindy greeted me, she was a foreign student from Australia. She was very nice; Cindy was assigned to sit near me so I could translate what the teacher says since she wasn’t that good at Korean.

“Morning.” _______ smiled.

Seeing _____'s smile lifted the heaviness in my heart for a bit. I smiled weakly. “Good morning you two.”

_____’s look quickly turned to worry, like she knew that I wasn’t my usual self. “Is –“

I quickly said something first. “Oh _____, I forgot to give you something yesterday.” I handed her the box with the necklace in it. “Happy late birthday.” I smiled.

She opened it and her eyes widened, “Kevin, you didn’t have to! You treated me to breakfast yesterday. But thank you so much.” She hugged me.

Our homeroom teacher came in and told us all to take our seats and to be quiet. She congratulated _____ for yesterday’s play, on how well she did. She was excellent I thought, and beautiful as well… The class applauded her; I saw how uncomfortable she was. I tapped her softly and gave a reassuring smile and whispered, “You did great!” She gave a soft smile.

The school curriculum had resumed and we were given another assignment to do over the month. A solo project. Emotions… Past and present experiences…  I took out my song writing book and started to scribble the title of the piece, ‘Because we’re Friends’…. Hmm, that sounded good enough.

It was lunch, I didn’t really feel like eating, Cindy invited me to eat with her, but I rejected. Her smile faded, I felt bad. “Aww, alright.” She said cheerfully, waved good bye and excited the classroom.

“Kevin, are you alright? Are you feeling sick?” _____ put out her hand onto my forehead. I gave a forced smile.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Oh, let me put the necklace on you!”

She nodded and gave a relived smile, “Alright.” She handed me back the box. Gently taking the necklace out, I put it on _____.  “There.”

She looked down at the necklace with admiration, “Thank you very much Kevin.”

“Let’s have lunch together okay? This time it’s my treat.” She offered with a huge smile. I couldn’t reject ______. As long as I got to spend time with her.

“Hmm, okay.”

After lunch we had a free period so ____ and I decided to go to the garden. We were walking side by side on the path, ______ admired the flowers with a cute dazed look. As if she was off in her own little world. I looked at her hand, I was about to grab hold of it. But I stopped. We weren’t lovers… we couldn’t hold hands right…?

“You look bubbly today ______. Anything special happen?” I asked and she turned around. She was thinking how to respond, “Hmm, I guess.” She giggled.

“Kevin…”

“Yeah?”

“Have you fallen in love before…? Or do you have someone you love?” She asked tilting her head to the side.

I was deep in thought, thinking of how to respond to her question. I finally nodded, “Yes…I have. I’ve fallen so deeply in love with that person. But that person doesn’t know.” I gave her a worn out smile.

“Why don’t you confess to her?” she asked casually.

“I’m afraid… I’m afraid of losing our friendship.”

“I see. You must really care for this person.” She smiled. “I’m envious.”

“Do you have someone you love?” I asked her back… I was being stupid, this would be enough to wound myself again. Knowing the truth hurts.

She blushed, “I think so…”

I chuckled bitterly, “Who could this person be? Kiseop-shi?”

She looked up, with widened eyes, “How do you know?”

I pinched her cheeks softly, “Just a hunch.”

“Kevin… you can’t tell anyone okay? You know the rules too right?”

I nodded. “My lips are sealed.”

We spent the rest of the evening together; I listened to everything _____ said. Mainly just about Kiseop… at least I got to spend time with _____. It didn’t matter what topic we were talking about; even if it hurt me so much.

Kevin’s P.O.V End

Chapter 16 end: Second Thoughts

A/N: Hello! It's been a week and I've finally the chance to upload this chapter, sorry for being so late, Exams are finally over. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I feel so sorry for Kevin. SInce I didn't want him to be forever alone, I've added a new character, I hope you like her, she's named after a friend of mine. ♥ Hehe enjoy! :'D