May 2007

"Look who came?" Jonghyun spotted a very dear friend that he didn't expect would come.
"Surprise!" Jinki cheered before he hugged his friend.

They were backstage. Jonghyun was in a band and it was having its biggest gig yet. It was only a small public event and they're opening for it but that was already big for the band since they were still very new. Jonghyun invited his friends and one of them was Jinki but he said he wasn't sure he could come but then he came so they were all happy.

"I have to get ready, guys. Stand in front, okay? So I can see you. All of you!" Jonghyun told his friends before he ran off.

They all stood in front so close to the stage.

"Oh, Jinki. You haven't met my sister, right?" Sooyeon asked Jinki while they were waiting for the event to start.
"You have a sister?" He wasn't asking sarcastically. He really didn't know.
"Yup. This is Soojung. She's still in middle school." Sooyeon put her hands on both of her sister's shoulders. Soojung was still small, just nearly five feet tall.
"Nice to meet you, Soojung. I'm Jinki." He smiled with his eyes and she just slightly bowed and hid behind her sister again. Jinki knew Soojung was as cold as her older sister with the way she acted but he also knew she'd change when they get to know each other.
"Don't scare her, Jinki." Kibum elbowed him.
"Guys, ssshh! The show's about to start." Taemin, the youngest among the guys who was also a middle schooler hushed them.
"You're gonna love this, Soojung." Sooyeon whispered to her little sister's right ear.

"Good evening everyone! We are the Stop Light and we are opening this show. We are still new but we really hope you'd enjoy our performance. Here it goes. 1-2-3!" The band started playing an original song. It was a rock song and everyone jumped up and down with the beat. It was catchy and it kept the audience's energy high. They played two more songs. One is another upbeat and the other is a ballad. They wanted to let the people to know that they didn't stick to one genre and that they were very flexible.

"You guys are the best!" Taemin's energy was still very high that he hadn't stopped jumping even if they were backstage again to see Jonghyun.
"If there were only talent agents here, they'd probably take you. Right, Soojung?" Minho looked at the little Soojung and she nodded with a smile.
"Thank you, guys. After the show, let's all have dinner together. Lee Jinki, don't leave, okay?" He pointed at Jinki.
"I won't."

That was the first time they met—Jinki and Soojung. It was just a normal day for them. Well, maybe not so normal for Soojung since it was the first time she met all of them but in general it was normal.

After that encounter, Sooyeon would always bring Soojung with her when she hang out with the boys. Sooyeon started dating Jonghyun two years later that's why she was always with the boys. She couldn't leave Soojung in the house because she would be alone. Their parents were working overseas and Soojung was still too young to stay at home alone. But even after 5-6 years, she kept coming with(and without) her sister because she became very fond of her sister's guy friends.... apart from Jinki. She was close to Jonghyun since he was dating her sister and he was always around. She was close to Kibum because he had this fun personality and he always approached her first. She was close to Taemin because they were only a year apart and he always made her feel that she wasn't so young for the crew. She was close to Minho because she always tried to be close to him. Well, she kinda had a secret crush on him. She was NOT close to Jinki because, unlike Jonghyun, he was never around. That was his thing. He didn't like to socialize much because he always wanted to be alone. He would only join them on special occasions or whenever Jonghyun begged him to come.

A year ago though, Sooyeon had to leave for the States with her parents and so Soojung was left alone. She could've come with them but she chose not to. She didn't want to live abroad because she was perfectly fine there and she was sure they would come back in a few years.

Present

"Kibum just called. He said he'd be late." Jinki told Soojung as they stood next to each other in front of the cinemas.
"He's always late. Especially after he started dating Amber which is since two years ago." Soojung rolled her eyes.
"He's in love. They're in love. Just let them be for a while, okay?" Jinki tried to calm her down because he knew she was getting angry. It wasn't the first time that they'd waited for their friends alone. But it was just always awkward. They didn't know why. Soojung was pretty much like her sister, personality wise and Jinki got along with Sooyeon. In fact, they were very close but he just couldn't get close to Soojung. He couldn't break the ice between them.

"So..." Jinki started.
"So..."
"How's life?"
"Awful," Soojung whispered.
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
"Soojung, you know you can tell me anything. If you need help on anything, just ask me, okay?" Jinki was trying to act as gentle as he could. Well, he was really gentle.
"Sure," soojung sighed.
"I can see that you have a problem. Tell me."
"I'm not in the mood right now. Maybe, next time." Soojung didn't want to sound rude with her response but she completely sounded rude with the cold tone she used.
"I'm just trying to be nice here. I really want to be your friend but you keep acting that way towards me. What is wrong with you?" Jinki was not gentle anymore. He was getting angry at her. She was always so cold to him and he kinda hated it.
"Why are you yelling at me? I didn't do anything wrong!" Soojung got carried away with her emotions so she started yelling herself.
"Watch your tone, miss. I am older than you." He was scolding her.
"You started it!"
"No, YOU started it."
"Ah, whatever. I'm going." She dusted her jeans and started to walk away. She didn't want to deal with any of those nonsense that day.
"I'm walking away too." Jinki stomped his feet and did the same.

"I'm here... Where-where are you going?" Kibum had just arrived as the two walked away in separate ways.
"I'll just call Amber." He shrugged and took his phone from his pocket.

...

Jinki threw himself on the couch and lied on his stomach with his face buried on the pillow cushion. He really didn't know why Soojung acted that way when he was the one who was always trying to befriend her. She just always acted like she didn't care. Like she never wanted to be his friend. Sure, he wasn't always around but he always tried to talk to her whenever they were together.

"Jinki, you're home early. Weren't you going to watch a movie with Kibum?" Jonghyun just entered their flat. They had been living together for 4 years. Taemin was also living with them but only for two years.
"What happened?" Jonghyun asked since he wasn't answering. He sat on his .
"Soojung happened." He mumbled with his face still on the cushion but Jonghyun still managed to understand what he said.

Jonghyun stood up and pulled Jinki's arm to sit him up before he sat next to him. He looked at Jinki and waited for him to start telling him the story. Jinki adjusted a little before he started talking and telling Jonghyun what happened.

"Maybe she was just really not in the mood. Maybe she was having a bad day." Jonghyun said after everything Jinki had told him.
"But like I said, she has always been like that to me. Only this time she was colder and a little meaner."
"She's not mean. She may be cold like her sister but I know she's nice. Maybe she does have a problem and she didn't want to bother you. Come on, hyung. Try to understand her." Jonghyun Jinki's back trying to calm him down.
"Should I apologize then?" Jinki asked raising his eyebrows and looking t the younger man.
"That would be the right thing to do." Jonghyun patted his shoulder before he stood up and walked to the kitchen.

"Hey, you're cooking, right?" Jonghyun shouted from the kitchen and Jinki just smiled. Jonghyun was so dependent but he didn't mind.

...

Soojung didn't go home but she went to a friend's house. She wanted to complain about Jinki so she went to her best friend, Jinri. She lied beside Jinri on her bed and told her what happened. Her friend listened patiently, watching her mad and frustrated face expressions. And after a five-six minute talk, she finally stopped. It took that long because it wasn't just about Jinki but everything else that was happening to her. But she was still a bit annoyed because of Jinki and his childish actions.

"He did say that he was only trying to be nice PLUS  he also said that he wanted to be your friend. I mean, Soojung, even I'm closer to him than you are and I've only met him a few times." Jinri said when they finally got to the Jinki topic. It was true, what she said. She first met Jinki a year ago and every time they met, it was always the time that Soojung hung out with the boys. She personally thought he was really nice even if he was a bit awkward at times and she never really understood why her best friend wasn't fond of him.
"It wasn't just his fault." Jinri quickly added.
"I know, I know. I guess I should say sorry." Soojung sighed and pouted.

"Are you okay though?" Jinri looked at her worriedly.
"I'm fine as long as you're with me." Soojung was acting all sweet. She even wrapped her arms around Jinri's body and hugged her very tightly.

They stayed quiet for a while before Jinri cleared to talk about something that they had not talked about for a while.

"About you know who. You're really gonna tell him how you feel?"
"Yup. And you can't stop me."
"I won't. You've made up your mind anyway."

Then it became quiet again.

"Just... good luck." Jinri looked at her friend with fear in her eyes.

...

The next morning, Jinki, Taemin and Jonghyun had breakfast happily. They were all going to work and they wanted to start their day positively so they joked around during breakfast. Well, the two old men were only teasing the youngest. They heard he was courting a cute new girl in his Philosophy class.

"Stop. Stop, you two. I'm leaving." He finished his milk and stood up from the table.
"Oh, gosh, Jinki, our baby is all grown up." Jonghyun was standing by the sink drinking his coffee and so he messed up Taemin's hair.
"Introduce her to us ASAP!" Jinki shouted as Taemin ran to the door.
"You guys are crazy! I'm going to work!" Taemin hurriedly put on his shoes before he went out and slammed the door.

"So, Jinki. Now that he's gone, tell me. Are you really going  to confess to her this afternoon?" Jonghyun sat down in front of Jinki. He nodded.
"You have quite the guts. Too bad I won't be here till Monday." Jonghyun wasn't actually going to work, but his band was going for a 2 days and 1 night retreat by the sea. Jonghyun really wanted to be there for Jinki whether he gets rejected or not. He might need Jonghyun's comfort if he ever did.
"I won't tell you about it till you come back." Jinki stuck his tongue out and stood up and put his tumblr in the sink.
"You wouldn't mind washing the dishes for me, right?"
"Not at all." There was sarcasm in the way he said it because he did mind.