Whoever said that the thing you were eating was an “American hotdog” has clearly never had an actual American hotdog before. You weren’t picky when it came to trying new foods in Korea. In fact, there were many foods here that you preferred to the foods you ate back in America, but some attempts at western food were just that; attempts. The college you were going to usually had good meal options but, every once in a while, they had what they called “western cuisine day” and everyone tried to eat off campus. Today was one such day.

You were already in your second semester in Korea and you had no intentions of leaving. The group of idiots you met your first day at the party in Kyung’s dorm were now your group of idiots. One said idiot was walking your way right now.

“______-ah,” P.O called in a really deep, sing-song-like voice. He paraded around the tables as if he was dancing and held a plastic bag in the air like a trophy.

“You are a life saver,” you said and opened the instant Ramen P.O had just set in front of you.

“I thought you were going to puke last time this was served,” P.O chuckled as he pushed your “American hotdog” out of the way and sat down across from you, “so I got something slightly better.”

You looked up at him, mouth already full of noodles. “Believe me,” you mumbled, “this is like a feast.”

P.O shook his head, still laughing. “Weirdo.”

You swallowed and flicked P.O’s shoulder. “Says you.”

“Oh please,” P.O scoffed, “You are at least as weird as, if not weirder than, me.”

You scrunched your nose and flicked P.O’s forehead, causing him to flinch back in exaggerated pain. “You love me and you know it,” you teased.

Suddenly all signs of playfulness left P.O’s face. It was almost as if there was a different person sitting across from you. “I, uh,” P.O stuttered and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “I have to go, uh… help Kyung… with… something.” He stood abruptly, nearly tripping over his chair in his haste, and walked away quickly without looking back.

“What was that?” you mused and watched P.O’s retreating figure. It had been months since you’d met him and yet he would sometimes revert back to how he was when you were first introduced; awkward, stiff, unfamiliar. You slid your cup ramen away, not really hungry anymore, and thought about it. Sometimes you would catch him looking at you and his only reaction was to look away, get red in the face, and not talk to you for five minutes. Other times you would tuck your hair behind your ear, something you only did when you were focusing deeply, and you would notice him tense up and play with his fingers, not looking at you until his face cooled down. It was the weirdest thing. It was almost as if…

You shook yourself, physically and mentally, and stood up. No use thinking of impossible things and get your hopes up. P.O and you were just friends and that’s all you would ever be.

“______!” You turned around and saw Kyung and Jaehyo running towards you with huge smiles on their faces, with Min and Suzy following close behind. “Drop whatever you’re doing and come with us now!” Kyung ordered when he came to a stop in front of you. He had stopped so suddenly that Jaehyo smacked into him and Min and Suzy had to make last second changes in direction to save themselves from the same fate.

You blinked at them. “So you want me to leave my trash here?” you asked, gesturing to the “American hotdog” you had taken only one bite of and the empty cup ramen container.

“Uh,” Kyung looked at the table, “Ok clean up after yourself, ya nasty, and then drop whatever you’re doing and come with us now.”

Using the speed, skill, and accuracy that came with being friends with a couple idiots for a few months you reached up and flicked Kyung square in the forehead before he knew what was happening, causing him to jolt back and smack into Jaehyo. “Ya nasty? Pfft. Says you!” you smirked and grabbed the garbage off the table and threw it into the trash can that stood nearby.

Kyung pouted and rubbed his forehead. “You don’t love me anymore,” he dramatized.

“Nope,” Min shook her head, “she doesn’t. Now let’s go.” She linked her arm around yours and pulled you towards the door.

“Where are we going?” you asked to nobody in particular as you left the cafeteria.

“We’re going on an adventure!” Suzy answered cryptically and linked up with your other arm.

You snorted. “Ok, Bilbo,” you said, earning a laugh from Min and a play glare from Suzy. “No but seriously. What are we doing?”

Jaehyo ran ahead of the group and started walking backwards so he was facing you like a tour guide. “Since the whole squad is done with classes for today we decided to go out and do something.”

Kyung joined Jaehyo and spun around to face you too. “So we’re going to go visit Taeil’s family.”

“And by family they mean fish,” Min whispered in your ear.

“Oh…” you nodded in understanding. Taeil’s love for fish was not a new thing to you and so you put the pieces together. “So are we going to a pet store or an aquarium?”

Everybody turned and looked at Kyung, who just smiled innocently at them. You didn’t think your question was that difficult but then Suzy answered. “Kyung hasn’t told us yet and for some reason we’re letting him drive The Bus.”

You looked at Kyung with your eyebrows raised. “That’s the scariest thing I’ve heard all year,” you teased.

Kyung smirked back at you. “You’ll thank me when this is all over,” he replied.

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

Kyung’s eyes laughed with something you couldn’t quite place and his smile got wider. “You’ll see.” Ok now that was the scariest thing you’ve heard all year.

The five of you walked the rest of the way to the parking lot, stopping at your dorm to drop off your backpack, joking with each other the whole way and met the rest of the squad waiting next to The Bus.

The Bus wasn’t actually even a bus. It was the name you all had given to Taeil’s van. It wasn’t a mini van or one of those creepy white vans with sliding doors, but a huge, full-sized Dodge Ram Van that looked like it could be used as a camper. It probably has been. There were the two front seats with an addition between them to seat a third, two middle seats that could comfortably, albeit illegally, fit two people each, and the huge backseat that could fit five people if they weren’t big on personal bubbles. The back seat could even lean back all the way to make a bed. Suffice it to say the entire squad could fit in The Bus if you wanted to. It saved you all the hassle of who’s riding with who and such.

“Alright everybody,” Jiho took lead, “let’s get in get out of here!”

Everyone scrambled for seats, though nobody minded sharing with anybody in the squad because you all were basically family, but it was fun and exciting to “fight” for the best seats. Here’s how it ended up; Kyung was driving, Taeil (who pulled out the “I’m oldest” card) sat in the passenger seat, Jia was stuck between them, Jiho and Fei shared one of the middle seats while Jaehyo and Min tried not to look too comfy in the other, and Minhyuk was smashed against the rear, left window, Suzy was next to him, then Yukwon, then you, and then P.O. You were practically sitting on P.O’s lap.

“Thank you for choosing The Bus as your mode of transportation today,” Kyung said in a perfect tour guide voice, “If there is an emergency please note the closest exits to you and plan accordingly. No loud music, inappropriate jokes, or making out for the whole duration of the trip. I’m Park Kyung and I will be your driver today and, once again, thank you for choo-”

“Start driving already!” Fei called from in front of you, making everyone else let out the laughs they’d been holding in during Kyung’s speech.

“And here we go!” Kyung stepped on the gas and The Bus rolled out of the parking lot. “Please keep your arms, legs, hair, clothes, and significant other inside the vehicle at all times.”

Kyung maneuvered The Bus onto the highway and kept a steady speed barely above the speed limit, making good time.

“So how’s your week been, _____?” Yukwon asked you, turning his body so he could face you better.

“Pretty good,” you said, “no complaints. You?”

“Well I think my Psychology professor wants to kill me but besides that all’s well,” Yukwon replied with his blinding smile. 

You chuckled. “That sounds fantastic,” you said.

Yukwon shrugged. “It’s a cruel world out there for innocent cinnamon rolls like me,” he sighed and swung is arm around your shoulders in a brotherly way. P.O tensed up next to you but you didn’t really notice.

Suddenly The Bus hit a bump and you went flying off the seat. You would have hit the ground if two strong arms hadn’t slipped around your waist and caught you and pulled you back onto the seat. You turned to thank P.O and suddenly noticed how close you two were. If you moved in just a few inches your noses would be touching. His breath ruffled your hair and you could feel his defined muscles through his shirt. P.O seemed to notice how close you were as well because he went stone faced and blushing in two seconds flat. He loosened his grip around your waist and pulled back slightly but you noticed that he kept his hands where they were.

“Um, just in case, you know, you fall again,” he muttered, looking down.

You smiled at him, though you weren’t sure he could see you. “Thanks,” you said.

“Excuse me, Mr. Pyo Jihoon and Miss ______,” Kyung called from his place behind the wheel, “need I remind you of the third rule of ‘No Making Out during the trip’?”

You rolled your eyes and play glared at him. “Need I remind you that you are an idiot?” you retorted.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Jiho started chanting.

From his seat in the front, Taeil turned around to face you all. “No bloodshed in my bus!” he ordered and the rest of us laughed. Kyung and you would just have to kill each other later.

You settled back into your seat and remembered how close you and P.O were sitting. You glanced at him out of the corner of your eye and saw how ridged he was. Maybe he didn’t like being this close to you. You looked forwards again and glued your eyes to the dashboard, a sinking feeling settling in your chest. P.O just didn’t like you. The rest of the squad went back into their normal conversation, filling the air with jokes and disses and flirtatious comments but it didn’t seem to reach you. The tension between you and your seatmate was so thick you could cut it with a knife. You tried not to notice how warm his hands were where they still rested on your waist. You tried not to feel the way his breath tickled your neck. You tried not to think about him at all but you couldn’t. You were in too deep and you didn’t have a chance. Wonderful.

“Alright humans,” Kyung said over the noise, “we’ve made it to our destination.” The Bus pulled into an empty parking lot and acquired a spot right next to the door.

The conversation ceased and everyone looked out the window. You did too but it was hard to focus on the scenery when your cheek was almost touching P.O’s. What you managed to see out the window confused the heck out of you and, judging by Jia’s next comment, everyone else in The Bus as well.

“Kyung, why is the parking lot empty?” Jia asked in an ‘Am-I-going-to-want-to-hurt-you-because-of-your-stupid-idea’ voice.

Kyung just smiled at her innocently. “Didn’t we say this was an adventure?” he asked back.

“Park Kyung,” Jaehyo started with a voice tinged with warning, “what are you planning?”

“Well we wanted to go see the fish,” Kyung answered honestly. “Turns out, the only aquarium in town is closed because they’re painting the entrance tomorrow.”

“Then why are we here?” Minhyuk, ever the voice of reason, questioned.

Kyung smiled his mischievous smile and you knew you all were in trouble. “We’re still going to see the fish.”

“No…” Yukwon breathed out.

“You can’t be serious,” Jiho stated.

Kyung sighed and shook his head like he was disappointed in us. “Come on, guys,” he turned around completely and faced all of us, “we’re in college. We’re stupid young adults who are supposed to be doing stupid things to make memories while we’re still young adults.” Then he smiled at you in a way that wasn’t sneaky, wasn’t mischievous, wasn’t hiding anything, but simply a real smile. “Don’t you want to say you had the guts to do this? We’ll be talking about this for years from now. What story do you want to be able to tell?”

Taeil looked at Jiho. Jiho looked at Fei. Fei looked at Min. Min looked at you. You looked at everyone in The Bus. Then you smiled.

“Let’s go make some memories,” you said. Instantly everyone was smiling and jumping out of The Bus. You suddenly felt cold at the absence of P.O’s protective hold but you shook it off.

The twelve of you ran from The Bus to the side entrance at the side of the building.

The boys all crowded the doors and began discussing the best way to get in. Jia looked at you, rolled her eyes, and pushed her way through to the door. “Step aside, ladies,” she said and slipped two bobby pins out of her hair. She knelt down in front of the lock and began fiddling with it and everyone held their breaths. The door unlocked. Jia stood back up, turned to the astonished group of boys and smirked at them.

“How…” Jaehyo began.

Jia shrugged. “Pinterest.” Then she spun around and opened the door. You were in. It didn’t take long for you all to find the fish. The tanks illuminated the dark walkways, casting a bluish glow over everything. It was beautiful. The fish swam by and you found yourself entranced by them. A little ways away P.O was entranced too, but not by the fish.

“Taeil hyung, look,” Jiho pointed out a group of brightly colored, tropical fish passing in front of them, “It’s you!”

Taeil smashed his face up against the glass. “My brethren,” he said wistfully in a comical voice.

“So ______,” Kyung sidled up next to you, “which one do you like best?” He was standing very close to you. “This one?” he swung his arm around your shoulder and pointed at a fish swimming past, effectively locking you between him and the glass. “I like this one,” Kyung went on and went from pointing to just resting his hand against the glass, which brought you even closer. P.O looked away, seething inside, but you didn’t know that. 

Meanwhile you were blushing like crazy. What the heck was Kyung doing. You turned to him, almost regretted it because you could have kissed him you were so close, and deadpanned, “You know I still want to fight you, right?”

Kyung chuckled but didn’t pull away. Instead he grabbed your shoulders and turned you around so your back was against the tank and his arms here on either side of you. “Well I think you should date me instead,” he said. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Kyung and you. What? There was a slight hint of teasing in his voice but there was none in his face. Well he was smiling like normal but it wasn’t a joking smile.

You couldn’t say anything. You just stared at him and blinked. Date him? Uhhh…

“Come on, _____, it’s not like you like someone else, right?” he went on. Your eyes flicked to where P.O was standing, just a few feet away, but you didn’t say anything. You couldn’t tell but P.O’s fists were clenched and turning white at the knuckles. He was mad. Really mad.

Suddenly Kyung was pulled away from you and Jaehyo replaced him, with one hand against the glass by your head and the other on his hip in a truly diva pose. “I think you should date me,” he said. You continued to stare and blink. Was every guy in the squad high right now? “After all, I am much better looking and I-”

Jaehyo never got to finish his sentence. P.O had shoved him away his such a force that he would have fallen to the ground if Kyung hadn’t been there for him to run into. Again. And then, in the sight of everyone, P.O grabbed your wrist and pulled you away, down the corridor, and out of the room.

“Yah, Pyo Jihoon!” Taeil called after you two but P.O didn’t answer. He just kept leading you away from the group.

Meanwhile Jiho walked up to Kyung and Jaehyo and smacked them both upside the head. “What were you two idiots thinking?” he demanded. “You know how much P.O likes her.”

Kyung and Jaehyo exchanged smiles. “Exactly,” Kyung answered.

“Wait,” Yukwon held up his hand, “I don’t get it.”

“We knew P.O wouldn’t make his move until he felt threaten him so we gave him a hand,” Jaehyo explained.

Suzy squinted at the two. “So you planned all of this out?” she asked.

“Yup,” they both answered. The Kyung looked down the hall in the direction P.O and you had left. “Now the rest is up to him.”

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“Yah, P.O,” you said for the nth time, “what are you doing?” By now you had left the group completely behind and you could no longer hear their voices.

Suddenly P.O stopped and pushed you against the tank behind you. This was getting oddly familiar. Both of his hands were pressed against the glass on either side of your head, leaving you nowhere to go. His face was mere centimeters away from yours. His breath played with your hair. His eyes were staring into yours. You couldn’t breathe.

“You’re not dating them,” he stated in his deep voice. “You’re not allowed to. You can’t date anybody but me.” Now you ceased blinking as well as breathing. “You can’t like anyone but me. You can’t hold anybody’s hand except for mine. You can’t kiss anyone but me.” Somewhere in the middle of his rant P.O’s hands slip from the glass to around your waist and he stepped closer so his body was pressed up against yours. “You can’t like anyone but me,” he continued, his voice barely above a whisper and his forehead resting against yours, “because I can’ like anyone but you. I can’t hold anybody’s hand except for yours… and I can’t kiss anyone but you.”

You were breathing again but barely. Your mind was reeling. P.O… liked you. He liked you. Once the thought took root in your mind it didn’t stop. A small smiled inched it’s way across your face and your hands found there way up to P.O’s waist. “Then don’t,” you whispered.

P.O smiled back and closed the distance between you two. His lips were soft against yours and his hands were warm against your back. It was deeper than what you were expecting your first kiss to be but you weren’t complaining. You smiled into the kiss and your hands slid up into P.O’s hair.

Finally you two broke apart for air. P.O kept his forehead against yours and chuckled. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that for,” he said between breaths.

“So does that mean we’re dating?” you teased.

P.O let out a real laugh this time and pulled you into a hug. “I wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble for anything less,” he admitted.

Suddenly the sound of applause filled the air, startling you and P.O apart, and Kyung, followed by the rest of the squad stepped into the light of the tank. “I think I speak for the everyone here when I say, it’s about freaking time!” he exclaimed.

“How long have you guys been standing there?” P.O asked in distress.

Kyung shrugged. “Not long. Just the ending bit.”

Then Min stepped forward. “Um, not to diminish the moment but, the reason we came this way guys?”

“Oh, right,” Kyung remembered. Then he looked at you and P.O rather sheepishly. “We might want to get out of here before the guards come this way,” he said.

“Guards?” both you and P.O exclaimed.

“I think we can all agree that Park Kyung is an idiot,” Jiho stated and we all started running down the hall towards the way we came in. Somewhere between where you had been standing and the door P.O’s hand found yours and held on. You smiled.

At approximately 2:47 P.M. on Friday the 7^th, twelve stupid college students burst out of the side door of the aquarium, ran across the parking lot, piled into the huge Dodge Ram waiting there, and drove away.

“I can’t believe we made it out of there,” Fei admitted, still breathing hard from the dash. She was now the one squished between Kyung and Taeil in the front seat.

“I can’t believe we let Kyung talk us into this,” Yukwon added. He was still in his spot in the back. Actually, the entire backseat was the same as it was, with one minor difference. P.O had his arms wrapped tightly around your waist and his chin was resting on your shoulder.

“Hey lovebirds,” Kyung called from the wheel as he pulled back onto the highway, “my rule of ‘no making out’ still stands.”

You rolled your eyes. “You’re ridiculous,” you said.

Kyung shrugged. “That may be true, but hey,” he winked at you through the mirror, “I was right, wasn’t I?”

“Huh?”

“That you’d thank me later,” Kyung reminded you. “Any time now would be great.”

You laughed but gave in anyway. “Thank you,” you said in a comical voice, but meant every word.

P.O tightened his grip and leaned closer, his lips brushing your ear. “No, thank you,” he whispered. You sighed in contentment and leaned back against P.O’s chest, his strong arms enveloping you in a warm embrace. Today was a day for making memories indeed. 

A/N

Well here's the second part! I hope you all enjoyed it. I had so much fun writing this story. Continue to give them love and commenting what you think! I love hearing from you all.