It's been some time since he had last seen her.

Was it three months? Or was it four? He's pretty sure the last time was at AKMU’s. And even then did he barely get to talk to the girl.

Chanhyuk was bragging about some brilliant song he had been able to cook up in the spur of the moment at home and was willing to give it to iKON since he doubted that the sound would fit well with their own style. Hanbin and Bobby didn't need much convincing to head on over to check it out.

He never realized that Hayi was in the other room. Well who would? Suhyun’s door was closed shut and between the sound of Chanhyuk’s strumming on the guitar to the rustle of cars heard from the windows cracked open, there was no sign.

It was only after he had taken care of his business in the bathroom that he had seen her.

The petite girl was by the foyer, already busy tying up her laces from a pair of Converse, heading out the door. He snuck up behind her and with a playful push, startled the singer who just barely saved her phone from falling onto the marbled floor.

Sorry-he mouthed as he rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed, noticing that she was actually on a call.

She drew up a fist at the boy, teasingly threatening to beat him up for his actions before pointing at her mobile. Sorry-she mouthed back. “I'll see you later?” She whispered surely at him, thumb blocking the audio entrance.

“Yeah sure. Whatever,” he played coolly.

It would be a lie to say that he wasn't disappointed. Because he was. It would have been nice to catch up. And from the past experiences, see you later never really had a secure time frame. It could be as little as tomorrow or as long as next year.

When he returned, he was confronted with a bombardment of poop jokes from the two younger guys. Coming up with their own conclusions as to why it took him so long to come back. All on which Bobby would have laughed at the stupidity of them all if it were some other day.

But right then and there, he wasn't having it.

“Hayi was here…” He stated once the duo’s laughs died down.

“Hayi?”  The mention of the girl immediately got the leader's attention almost immediately.

Chanhyuk on the other hand wasn't really fazed, “Didn't even realize she was still here. She and Suhyun have been locked up in the room doing god knows what…they wouldn’t even let me in.”

He was obviously annoyed, sharing a close friend with his sister always caused such a dilemma.

“It would have been nice to say hi,” Hanbin regretted. To which the guitarist could only smirk at, knowing of how hard the other desperately tried to befriend the same aged soloist.

“I bumped into her just now before she left,” Bobby proclaimed as he lazily spun his chair in circles, head dipped upward noticing the childish slew of stick on glow in the dark stars that the AKMU boy had decorated on his ceiling.  

“Chanhyuk, what the hell? Are you like 5 years old or something?” he laughed.

~

Back then, he always thought of her as that of a little sister--with tangled hair pulled back in a ponytail, hidden underneath baggy clothes, with just the necessary sunblock on.

Seeing her now, she was different.

She had chopped off her locks, her hair pinned stunningly straight cutting off just at the perfect length an inch or so beneath her more defined chin. The ashened gray tone gave way to only heighten an aura that only she could quite possess. Her pearlesque skin peeked through teasingly in an outfit more risque than what he is accustomed to seeing her in--the skirt and heels being a major upgrade from the usual sweatpants and sneakers. He cannot help but to practically gawk at how fine she had gotten in these past months.

Not to take away from just how pretty she already was back then either.

There’s a sea of people backstage. A ton. But she grabbed the attention of those around her. She's tiny, but was gifted with curves in the right places. And the new shining aura of hers was making even Bobby himself quite hesitant to say hi.

She pranced around the waiting area with more strut than he could quite remember.

She was bickering with Seunghoon, the other boy who competed for Hayi’s ‘hate’ aside from Junhoe. He could only imagine how life was back then when the three of them had no choice but to hang out during the kpopstar days.

Their strange love-hate relationship was something that everyone always pondered about. Bobby somewhat only hoped that he could be as comfortable with her like how the hyung was. It was as if this new change in her barely had any effect on the WINNER member.

Then again, Bobby hadn’t seen the girl in a while. And so this whole look was a lot to take in.

He kept his hands in his pockets, sighed as if mentally preparing himself, before casually striding over.

“You two should get married,” the iKON rapper teased at the two, sarcasm dripping from the tip of his tongue, “all you ever do is argue like an old married couple.”

“That’s the last thing I’d want,” Seunghoon had let go of the girl from his bear hug, now pushing her with fake disgust, wiping his fingers as if afraid he caught the cooties.

Hayi rolls her eyes at the image, “Puh-lease. You’re not exactly my type anyways,” She swatches her prints all over the tall boy, testing his patience because she enjoyed annoying him  as much as Seunghoon enjoyed caused havoc.

Bobby looks on, still feeling a tad bit salty that they were still somewhat cuddled up as a pair, with him on the sidelines, almost waiting to be included. It wasn’t as if Hoon or Hayi knew what they were doing anyway. Any outsider would think nothing of their actions as being intimate, but probably more concerned with whether or not they were going to throw fists at each other.

She soon grows tired of the sparring with the tall one. And as always, he too is fast to reciprocate the desire to stop. Drained from exhaustion by the amount of energy used to vex the small girl, Hoon departs from the area--not before tugging at her hair in order to get the very last shot. He runs away before she has a chance to retaliate.

“I don’t know why I’m friends with him,” she conveys, watching the goofy oppa descend into a crowd of staff, chattering them up with compliments that he’s too stingy to offer her an ounce of.

Bobby can only smile, for he’s unsure of how to respond.

She notices the silence--of the lack of words that the usual talkative boy has. There's this awkwardness about him, one that she can't quite pinpoint, but it's definitely there.

Hayi decides upon herself to ease the strange atmosphere. Because even if it isn't killing him, it was surely bothering her. With careful footsteps, she approaches him, almost as if he was a stranger. Thankfully he grabs her hand and they exchange their casual handshake that comes second nature to the two.

It's absolutely stupid, but even the way her hand fits into his is different. That is what Bobby thinks at least. His teeth peek through the slight smile that graces his lips. Everything is new, yet still the same. He pulls her down to the empty seat beside him. Eyes still on her.

“You look differe