Days went by fast. Many notes and pens got used and abused; many frustrated moments for Mir and sighs from Cheondoong.

Mir really tried his best; Cheondoong admired him for that. And regardless of how dismal he was at studying, both of them tried their best at making the lessons easier to understand. The more determined Mir was to study, the more Cheongdoong wanted to help him. If only their schedules were more accommodating for them, they could have advanced Mir's studies. But with both of them having full schedules, they could only touch the basics. At least Mir became more familiar with basic English sentence patterns; and Cheondoong had drilled him on some vocabularies and basic conversation skills. As for Mir's pronunciation, well, suffice to say, it was beyond Cheondoong's capabilies.

In Cheondoong's opinion, Mir's English wasn't really that bad. He just needed time to practise and appreciate the language. He thought Mir was just like him. He was not really that good in English, compared to some of his classmates when he was at school. But he can understand the language probably better than the other members. Cheondoong thought Joon and Seungho could actually be better than him. He initially thought they should be the one teaching Mir and not him; but then he remembered their hectic schedules and thought otherwise. Aside from that, Mir and he have more overlaping schedule than the others, so he was actually the more likely teacher than the two.

In any case, at least Mir seemed more confident with his English; and Cheondoong got to polish his skills. He hasn't been practising his English a lot and it has been getting rusty. The lessons were good for the both of them.

It was a few days before their much awaited fanmeet with international A+. Cheondoong and Mir just got out from a guesting. GO was with them awhile ago but he had another schedule to attend. GO has been having a lot of appearance in singing shows which wasn't really a surprise. He deserved it and so much more. Cheondoong was really happy for him. Every time GO got recognition from other people, Cheondoong felt like he was the one being praised. He was really proud of his hyung, and he sincerely wished for GO's success.

The two maknaes had nothing to do for the rest of the day. After packing up and saying goodbyes to the staff and people from the show, the two decided to grab some drinks and snacks at a nearby cafe. Mir spotted a Starbucks cafe and they went in together with their manager. Mir was hungry; and Cheondoong was craving for coffee.

"I want sandwich, many sandwiches. Many many sandwiches. Do they have a horse? I'm hungry, hyung!" Mir chirped noisily.

Cheondoong smiled as he scanned the coffee menu. "I don't think they have a horse, Mir. I don't think you'll want it even if they do." He wanted hot black coffee. It was strange because he wasn't really a hard coffee drinker. He didn't even like black coffee until a few weeks ago. Before, he would usually order iced cafe lattes or cold tea drinks, the usual sweet-toothed and milky mixes. But these past days, he has been avoiding milk, sweet creamer, sugar, and cold drinks like they were poisons. There was only one choice for him as he eyed the brewed coffee label up the menu board.

Mir was already chatting up the cashier and asking his opinion on which sandwich to order. Their manager came up from behind and reprimanded Mir for being noisy and taking up too long to order. Cheondoong laughed silently and shook his head. He was distracted though by a sound that came from the shop's speakers. It was a sweet song actually, the intro sounding like that of a classical piece. When the voice of the singer came through, he was startled by how he immediately knew the person singing. "Ah, Josh Groban," he whispered to himself. He usually listens to western music, but those were mostly R&B, hiphop, and pop. So it was a little strange for him to immediately recognize Groban's voice, though he had known him vaguely and could barely remember the one song he knew Groban popularized.

"Hyung! What are you standing there for? Aren't you going to buy something? I'm done here," Mir shouted over the counter.

Cheondoong absent-mindedly nodded and got to the counter to order his hot brewed coffee, grande with two packs of honey, and tomato and cheese sandwich.

He barely caught the cashier's comment on being a health buff.

"I'm working out, " was his distracted reply. He was trying to listen to the background music.

"Didn't peg you for a black coffee type. Thought you'd like something sweeter," the cashier went on, giving him that weird look he would usually get from some of the girls and a few guys he met before. He had an inkling as to the meaning behind those weird stares before, but since guys also tended to give him that look, he decided not to think too much of it and take it as something people normally do without thought. It made his life simplier that way.

"Well, we're MBLAQ so black it is," he smiled at the guy, wishing for the conversation to end and careful not to sound impatient or rude.

The cashier guy laughed. "I guess you're right. Here's your change."

He didn't comment when the guy touched him lightly and unnecessarily while giving his change. It was one of those things people unnecessarily do at times, he thought. He just couldn't help but notice how it didn't seem to happen to the others as often as it did to him or it never happened to them at all. It was one of those things that unsettled him at times, and which he was too shy to discuss with the others.

"Thanks," he calmly said and headed immediately to where Mir and their manager were sitting. Just as quickly, his mind focused again to the music being played inside the store.

Mi mancherai
Mi mancherai
Perche vai via
Perche l'amore in te si e spento
Perche, perche..
Non cambiera niente lo so
E dentro sento te

He didn't understand the lyrics, but he didn't need to understand to know the song was beautiful. He closed his eyes and listened intently at the calming melody and voice of the song. He felt time slowed down, and a surge of unknown emotion, something tinged with sadness, flowed from deep within him. It baffled him; it saddened him; but he did not dislike it. Instead, he welcomed it, because he was sure it was something... good, despite the melancholy feeling. The song ended but the unknown emotion he felt settled in him.

"Hyung!" Mir's voice startled him. "They're calling you."

"Cheondoong-ssi, are you alright?" Manager Kim looked at him worriedly.

"Ah, I'll get my order," Cheondoong said, standing up and ignoring the worried looks of his companions. He quickly went for his food and gave a quick smile at the cashier guy who was still giving him odd looks.

"Hyung, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Tired maybe." He took a sip of his coffee, and felt good. He mentally took note of listening to Groban's music once they got home. It's not the usual type of music he listens to but it would be nice to try out something new.

"How come you drink black coffee now? You usually don't like it." Mir was thinking out loud. Cheondoong could always tell when Mir was actually asking or saying something out loud, or when he's thinking out loud. Mir was not always aware when he's speaking his thoughts in public, which was why he would get startled whenever people would answer him. Cheondoong was contemplating whether to answer or not. People often tease Mir whenever he would slip; more often, Cheondoong let Mir off the hook, mainly because it's not in his nature to tease people; and honestly, it gets boring after a while.

In the end, he answered. "You're thinking aloud. It's nice to change once in a while." Which he honestly believed.

Mir, as he expected, was startled and smiled sheepishly at him after. Before, Mir would apologize profusely to Cheondoong at the slightest mistake; but after Cheondoong got annoyed with him, Mir changed and would just stop, smile apologetically, and stay quiet for a while. Because among his seniors, Cheondoong rarely showed anger.

"So, Mir, how's your English? Are you ready to meet you international fans?" Their manager's eyes twinkled in glee.

"Good. Very good!" Mir babbled in his usual Engrish. "I'm good, right?" And flashed a cheeky smile. Their manager laughed at the maknae's antics; while Cheondoong smiled as he silently sipped on his coffee. He loved how Mir sounded confident. Honestly, it didn't matter if his English sounded funny; he's decent enough to communicate.

Manager Kim burst into hearty laughter. "That's good. But you still sound funny. Doongie, can't you do something about this?"

"I'm not Superman, hyung," was his short reply.

Their manager just chuckled. "That's true. How about you, Cheondoong? Are you excited? You've been quiet all this time, neh."

Mir nodded his agreement. "You look like you don't care. You're excited too, right, hyung?"

He was a little surprised that his manager noticed. It's not that he wasn't excited. He just had nothing to say about it. Aside from that, he was waiting for something to happen and he was expecting it during the fan meet. So what's not to be excited about? He was just as eager as the others. But then, knowing his lack of expression and quiet nature, it was not uncommon for people to judge him as snobbish or unfeeling.

"Of course, I'm excited. Actually, I'm wondering if there's anyone from the Philippines coming over." He has been thinking about that since the beginning. He hasn't heard anything about where the fans would be coming from.

"Hm, I think they haven't confirmed yet. It would be nice to have a delegate from there, no? Someone you can talk with, right, Cheondoong?"

Cheondoong smiled. Yes, it would be nice. Aside from communicating with his friends via the internet, it would be nice to talk with someone from the country he basically grew up in.

"I hope there would be at least one." For a few seconds there, he felt slightly nostalgic and a little bit lonely. But Mir's cheerful noise made him forget. The maknae was actively worrying about the fan meet. He clearly wanted to make some friends and entertain people, which Cheondoong was sure Mir wouldn't have problems with. He knew Mir was among the more famous among the MBLAQ members. He's probably the second or third most popular, with Joon obviously getting the top spot.

As for him, he was very aware of the fact that he was the least popular in the group. He wasn't complaining though. He knew that regardless of what he did, he won't be as popular as any of the other members. He was satisfied and happy though that he had a few fans. Honestly, he was the type of person who would rather have a few good friends rather than a thousand of fawning fans whom he wouldn't be able to appreciate and interact with equally. So it was better actually to have him as the least popular member than the others. He at least didn't mind being ignored or criticized. If it were any other member being picked on, Cheondoong would probably be depressed. He knew how great the others were, and didn't think they deserved any thrown at them.

But of course, there were times that he wished he had more fans or that he was more popular. It was only natural to want attention, particularly when he thought he did something good. However, he wasn't the type to appreciate too much unnecessary attention. Regardless, he still thought himself the best among MBLAQ. He knew he seemed haughty to people at times. But he was satisfied with himself. A person can't be content with himself without thinking the best of himself. Besides, it's fun being haughty at times. He didn't feel anything wrong with it, other than when people do it to offend others.

"I wish there will be many pretty girls," Mir mused loudly.

"All girls are pretty," Cheondoong replied without thought, only to pause afterwards. He really didn't mean to say that out loud; he usually doesn't say his thoughts out loud which was why he was startled with himself.

"Only you would say that, hyung," Mir commented, obviously not noticing Cheondoong's slight tensing. Mir continued to babble on about what he would like to happen during the fan meet through the course of their stay at the cafe. But Cheondoong wasn't listening to any of it; althought, he made sure to interject his 'ohs' and 'ahs' at some points where he deemed he should. He was still bothered by his slip. Though what he said wasn't anything incriminating, more than the words he spoke, he was more concerned with the lost of control. He rarely slip, preferring to stay silent and keeping his thoughts to himself unless when he really wanted to. He's the type to think things through before saying them. And the sudden blurting of thoughts just bothered him a lot regardless of the simplicity of the words. Mir must be getting to him, which was something he thought as scary. After a few minutes of mulling things over, he willfully shrugged the bothersome worries out of his mind. He wanted to enjoy his cup of coffee and think about listening to Josh Groban later. He just needed to be more aware of the things that passed his mouth. With that in mind, he finished his sandwich and drink with relish. He would listen to something new tonight.

***

One of the things I like about writing this story is my own characterization of Sanghyun. Personally, I don't know him; but it's quite nice to think about his reactions and thoughts. As a person, I never considered him to be without flaws which is probably one of the things I like about him. And aside from his cuteness, I have no idea why I like him a lot. 

In any case, if this fic DO get random, which undoubtedly it will be in the future, always remember that I've warned you from the very beginning. I tend to get random and confusing, particularly when I have a lot of ideas in my mind which I usually dump in one chapter, then conveniently forget on the next. Well, that's me, your author unfortunately. 

Until next chapter. Keep wondering. Because I am as well.  

P.S. Will be busy for a week and update late because of it. Ja~!  ^_^