**********

At some point in the night I woke up and couldnt sleep afterwards. I couldnt help but think about my conversation with Kibum - and Kibum himself (or Key, as he was often called).

 

I was tired the whole day. I just couldnt stop thinking of him and I didn't know why. Everytime he was present I couldn't help but just look at him. But why?

 

We talked on and off after that. A week later at lunch I sat with Taemin and some of the other athletes. We were joking around and stuff when I focused on Key and his friend - Nicole I think her name was - at a table on the other side. Key said he and Nicole were just friends so I didn't worry. But then a rather short man I didn't recognize walked up to their table and hugged Key, which caught me off guard...

 

*******

"Hyung!" I shot up and walked to him with a big smile on my face. "What are you doing here?" I asked as I hugged him. 

 

"I wanted to see my little dongsaeng of course!" Hyung said. 

Jonghyun Hyung isnt my biological hyung. I've know him for years to the point where he's practically a brother to me. 

 

He went to hug Nicole. "So how are my two favorite hoobaes?"

 

Nicole replied, "We're doing great actually. This school really is something. So unique."

 

"It's the best right? Oh yea, I forgot to mention the good news!" Hyung said with joy as he held up his left hand, showing us a silver diamond ring on his ring finger. 

 

"Omona!" I exclaimed. "You're engaged!?" 

 

"You got it! Shin Sekyung said yes the minute I proposed. We'll be married in a few months."

 

Nicole congratulated him with glee. "That's wonderful! We should celebrate!"

 

Hyung pointed at her. "And THAT's why I came here. To treat you guys. Is tonight a good time?"

 

Nicole stopped smiling. "Sadly, no. I'm busy tonight."

 

"That's too bad. I'm only here for three days. After that I have to leave. This is the only time i have to myself before we plan our wedding." 

 

"Aww I'm sorry I can't make it tonight. I'll make it up to u later, Jjong oppa. How about you and Key go out tonight?"

 

"Are you sure?" I asked. 

 

"Yea it's fine. I'll talk to u guys later." She hugged us both and left."

 

*********

It felt so good to finally go out without any girls. Tonight it was just me and Taemin. No girls to impress. No need to try to dress "nicely". Just us hanging out. 

 

"It's been a while since it's been just us, hasn't it, Taemin-ah?"

 

"Yea. I miss these times. Finally no girls nagging."

 

"Yea." I agreed as we both laughed in relief. 

 

"You know, Taemin, there's nothing wrong with being single."

 

"I know, but I just feel so lonely. I see so many happy couples and I wanna be like them."

 

"But why? When you're single you don't have to worry about impressing others. And you don't have to spend money on other." I reminded with a chuckle. 

 

Suddenly Taemin's gaze turned elsewhere. "Isn't that Key from school?" he motioned towards a bench in the mall. Key and that guy from earlier. Immediately Taemin started going over. "Hey! He's with Jonghyun sunbae!"

 

Oh THAT's who he was. Jong graduated from our school a while ago. He's a really popular sunbae(senior). Even the teachers loved him. But what was he doing with Key?

 

"Sunbaenim! Annyeonghaseyo. I'm a hoobae at Genie." Taemin greeted and bowed down. I showed up behind him and bowed my head. 

 

"Oh? You two go to Genie? Kibum-ah! You know them?" Sunbae looked towards Key and asked. 

 

Key looked at me. He seemed to hesitate a bit before looking towards Jonghyun Sunbae to answer. 

 

"Yea. They go to my school. Minho's my roommate and Taemin's in my class." 

 

"Roommate, eh?" he scanned my physique. "You look like an athlete. What do u play?"

 

I nervously answered, "I mainly play soccer. But i like all sports."

 

"Really? That's nice." he said. He must have noticed I was looking at Key becuse he looked from me to Key, then back to me. 

 

Then he surprised us all. "You know, Kibum-ah? I'm feeling generous tonight. Why dont we all grab dinner? My treat."

 

Seems like Key didn't like the idea because he complained. "Hyung, it's supposed to be just us-" I was gonna reply no because he was being too kind but Taemin piped in. "Really? Thank you so much Sunbaenim!"

 

"Let's go! A new restaurant opened up not long ago. Let's go there!" Sunbae motioned us to go. And we left the mall. 

 

Taemin dragged me along (no, literally, he tugged me by my arm) most of the way. I tried asking him why he so quickly agreed to dinner. 

He answered, "It's the most popular Sunbae in our school! Plus I dont have to pay this time. Which MEANS, more free food!" Oh Taemin, he loves his food, especially when it's free. It must have been torture for him to pay on every single double date we went on. 😅

 

So there we were. In the restaurant. Jonghyun Sunbae and Key sat on one side of the table and Taemin and I on the other. Sunbae and Taemin talked a lot about school and their favorite artists and whatnot. Key and I didn't talk much. I couldnt help looking at him but he avoided eye contact. Not just with me but everyone at the table.

 

At one point Sunbae and Taemin started talking about sports. 

 

Taemin started boasting about how good I was. "Seriously, this guy is known for his soccer skills. AND his dad's the coach of the national team."

 

This apparently got Key's attention. "Really? Your father coaches the national team!?" I nodded. "No wonder you keep talking about soccer."

 

"I guess you could say that. I've always liked it. I've been playing since I was little."

 

"Why do you like soccer so much?" Key asked. He seemed immensely interested now. 

 

"I just liked being outdoors. I guess since it just felt so liberating and relaxing." I thought about why I loved it. "I guess when life gets tiring and you lose motivation it feels liberating to be outside with a goal in mind. To score. To dodge all your opponents on the other team to kick the ball in the net." I realized I was getting pretty passionate about my love for soccer. "Also, it's something I'm already good at. I dont need people telling me I'm not good enough and I should put effort and all that crap because I already do that. It's the one thing i both love and excel at."

 

I started to think that Kibum and Jonghyun Sunbae were bored from my talk about soccer so I apologized. "Sorry, I get really passionate about these things." Honestly I think I was passionate because it's the first time someone's ever asked me about something i love. It's not everyday I get to share my reasons with someone. 

 

Key smiled at me as he replied, "Don't be sorry. It's great that you love something so much. Besides, I get passionate about things I love too, like fashion design."

 

Taemin seemed surprised by this. "You like fashion design?"

 

I defended before Taemin could go further. "Yah, there's nothing weird about it. So what if he does fashion?"

 

Taemin mumbled quietly, "What? I wasnt being mean. I just didnt know he did fashion."

 

I looked back at Key. "So why do you like fashion so much?"

 

Key took a sip of his drink and responded, "Well, I just think it's cool how you can express yourself in many different ways. You can design outfits that match your mood exactly. Same for makeup. There are just sooo many ways to express yourself. Your creative side, emotional side, fun side... and the list goes on." 

 

"Ahh~ our Key-goon loves his arts. You know he's working to be a makeup artist too? He's gonna work for KBS Music Bank and put makeup for all the idols and all. Our Key's the best there is."

 

Key seemed to blush at this compliment. "Hyung~ stop it" he whined. 

 

We all laughed. It was nice knowing that someone was just as passionate about what they love as I was. With that, all four of us kept chatting about what we love and other things. I'd say this was the best night I've had in a while.