Phone Call.
Virtual Friend.
Sungyeol and Yuna conversed until the sun set and the other members had arrived.
Sungyeol ranted about how he had nothing productive done that day, while Yuna complained about how she had to visit three different places in five hours for her job.
Sungyeol never knew what Yuna's job was. He just knew that it involved a lot of going around the city and a guy Yuna calls 'senior'.
Meanwhile, Yuna also had no idea that Sungyeol is in a band called Infinite, or acting in a sitcom. All she knew was he did a lot of memorizing and tolerating and pleasing a lot of people.
Once Dongwoo and Hoya arrived at the dorm, Sungyeol started to bid goodbye to Yuna.
Dongwoo was his roommate and he didn't want him to pry and about his cyber activities again.
It was worse with Myungsoo around.
Before Yuna could log out, Sungyeol sent him a last minute message.
yeol1991: can I have your number?
---
Sungyeol stared at the number saved as Nana on his phone.
He was contemplating whether he should text or call her first.
But since he just got her number, he thought about taking it slow. So he decided to text first.
"Hey. This is Yeollie."
He didn't want to send the message, yet. Thinking there might be something wrong with it. But of course, what wrong could there be with four words? But heck, Sungyeol doesn't know that.
But his thumb was excited and pressed the button by itself.
Sungyeol let out a horrified groan.
And then, did a double take as a new message from Nana blinked on the screen of his phone not long later.
"Hi Yeollie! So, tell me again, why are we texting instead of chatting? You know typing on the computer is easier, right?"
Sungyeol didn't realize he was grinning toothily at his phone, staring at the message.
Even though he hasn't seen Nana in person, he already liked her.
Not the kind of I-want-to-be-his-boyfriend like. But more of I-like-her-personality like.
Nana was easy to talk to. And funny. And witty.
He just wanted to meet her in person already.
And he bet she was pretty. But if she wasn't...well, he'll get to that later.
Sungyeol hastily pressed the reply button and began to type his response.
"My roommate just arrived and you know how nosy he is."
Sungyeol tapped on the send button and rapped his fingers in an irritating beat on the hardbound book on his bed.
Dongwoo, who was skimming the songs on the iPad, shot him a look, annoyed by the constant drumming of his fingers. To which Sungyeol didn't notice, as he waited impatiently for Nana's reply.
Finally, when his phone beeped, his drumming stopped and he urgently opened the message, not even reading who the sender was.
He let out a growl and glared at the other guy inside the room.
"Funny," he mocked Dongwoo.
"Stop with the drumming. You're no good at it," his hyung said. "And who are you texting? Yah! Don't tell me. Is it a girl?"
Sungyeol just rolled his eyes at him and continued to glare at his phone.
Just in time, when he was about to irritate Dongwoo again with his finger tapping, his phone beeped with a new message. This time from Nana.
"Oh. Is he that scary roommate? Or the pretty one?"
"The scary one," Sungyeol immediately replied.
Sungyeol sighed at the conversation stopper reply he sent. He didn't expect a reply anymore.
He pondered again. Should he call her now? Or should he ask first?
He decided to man up and text her he was going to call.
He's been cheesy around her before, so what's stopping him from being cheesy again? This time, in a text message instead of an instant message.
"Hey. I want to hear your voice. I'll call you. Okay?"
He didn't wait for a reply.
He was curious. Really curious on what her voice sounded like.
So he searched for her number from his contacts and immediately pressed the call button.
He was surprised to hear GNA's Top Girl as the callback tone.
Not even two seconds later, a soft voice muttered a questioning 'hello' and Sungyeol just thought he heard an angel's voice.
It sounded so melodic and soft.
"Hello?" the female voice repeated.
Sungyeol shook his head to snap out of his daydream and cleared his throat before replying.
"Hello, Nana sshi~" Sungyeol said cheerfully, being his own self.
"Hello, Yeollie sshi~" Nana sang back.
Sungyeol felt Dongwoo look at him, so he got off his bunk and ran out of the room and locked himself inside Sunggyu and Woohyun's room.
"Sorry 'bout that," he apologized for the noise ruckus he made and for not answering back immediately. "My roommate was being nosy again."
Nana let out a musical laugh.
"It's okay," she replied.
"You have a pretty voice, Nana sshi," Sungyeol blurted out.
Now he has heard her voice, his image of Nana was almost complete. All he needed was her face. And maybe her body, too.
"Thank you, Yeollie sshi," she replied. "You have a manly voice. I thought you'd sound like a cute person, since you're really cute when we message each other."
"Eh, really?" Sungyeol felt flattered. "I can be cute!"
Nana let out another laugh.
Sungyeol was about to compliment her about her laugh when she spoke.
"Don't, Yeollie. Just be yourself."
Sungyeol's heart just missed a beat.
He didn't know why. But it had something to do with the three last words she said.
Nobody has really said those words to him.
He had to be cute and mischievous in front of the camera. Nobody has really told him to be just himself in front of the camera.
His facial features were too cute to be manly, they say.
He could only act charismatic when performing.
But that wasn't completely him either.
The real him was the person that didn't want and try to raise his voice a bit too high to sound cute. The real him was shy at times but can be honest and frank if he wanted to. The real him could be slicker than Woohyun and his aegyo if he wanted to. The real him was the one talking to Nana.
"You know, you have a really cute voice," he said.
"Thanks," Nana said after giggling. "I think you said that before. Or was it 'pretty'?"
Sungyeol released an embarrassed laugh. He was so mesmerized by her voice that he wasn't listening to himself talk.
"Nana sshi, how old are you?" he found himself asking.
It would be nice for someone to call him 'oppa'. But if he's younger, then there's totally nothing wrong calling her 'noona'. Noonas liked being called noonas.
Not unless they were ageist. Or those kinds that wanted a dongsaeng for an oppa as they couldn't get a good enough oppa to call them as they are.
"I'm 19 and turning 20 soon," she replied.
Sungyeol pumped his fist in the air and mouthed a "yeah!".
"Call me 'oppa', then," he said, hiding his elation.
"Hmm, okay, Yeollie oppa."
Sungyeol's eyes rolled at the cute voice that uttered his name.
Sungyeol cleared his throat, ready to ask another question.
"So, Nana sshi, we've been chatting for a while, and I still don't know your name. Don't you think it's time to reveal our names?"
Sungyeol heard her hum in thought.
"Sure!" finally came her reply. "Now that I've heard your voice and I'm quite convinced you are not an ajusshi pretending to be a high schooler with a part time job—of course!"
Sungyeol's mouth hung open at Nana's assumption of him.
But instead of getting angry, he laughed. He laughed at her funny conviction.
But he had to admit, he thought of her that too.
"My name is Shim Yuna," she said when he stopped laughing.
Sungyeol ooh'd.
So that's where she got the 'Nana'. He had been expecting the 'Nana' to come from her name. But he had been expecting Hana, Mina, Dana, Lina, Jina.
He palmed his forehead for not including Yuna in his list. Of course. It had to be Yuna. How could he forget such a common name?
"How about you, Yeollie oppa? Is it Heeyeol? Myungyeol—?" Sungyeol silently laughed at the guess. It just had to be his couple name with Myungsoo. "—Daeyeol—?" he laughed again. It was his brother's name.
Before Yuna could utter another guess, Sungyeol spoke out his real name.
Yuna fell silent for a moment.
Sungyeol was about to reveal that he was, indeed, that member from the boyband, Infinite, when Yuna aah'd and blurted out, "like the tall guy from Infinite? Wow, you share a name with someone famous."
Sungyeol thought she was joking. How could she possibly not get it?
Did he not sound like himself when he's on broadcast and different when on the phone?
Sungyeol was about to answer 'yes' when a loud knock stopped him.
"Open up!" he heard Woohyun yell from outside.
He knew he'd be in trouble if he didn't open up.
"Yuna sshi, I have to go. I'll call you later," he said urgently and ended the call before Yuna could reply.
He'd apologize to her later. But first, he had to open up.
It was, after all, Woohyun's room.
"Who were you talking to?" Woohyun asked as soon as Sungyeol unlocked the knob and opened the door. "Seemed private."
Sungyeol smiled sheepishly.
"Just a...friend," he said, still with the silly grin on his face.
Woohyun didn't buy it, but ignored it anyway.
"Get out. I'm going to change," Woohyun shooed him.
Sungyeol was about to exit when he turned back to a now topless Woohyun.
"Hyung," Sungyeol mumbled.
"Mm?" Woohyun hummed, not looking at Sungyeol as he looked for a fresh shirt.
"Do I sound different when I talk on the phone?" he asked.
Woohyun stopped searching and looked at Sungyeol with a raised brow.
"I mean, does my phone voice sound different from my voice in broadcasts and songs?" Sungyeol rephrased.
"I guess. Your song voice seems like a whisper though and almost like Sungjong's. Try rapping. And your broadcast voice seems a little higher on the pitch," Woohyun answered honestly. "Why are you asking me?"
Sungyeol straightened himself and coughed.
"Nothing~" he chirped before exiting the room, leaving Woohyun half and baffled.
---
Listening to: 샤이니 - 누나 너무 예뻐 (Replay); 비스트 - 니가 제일 좋아; 유기스 - 니가 좋아 (Remix)
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