“OH MY GOD JUNG!!! REALLY???”

 

“Choi Jinri! Lower down your voice please!" Jung Soojung whispered-shouted to Jinri as she looked around the cafe they were in, and as she expected, people were looking at them. Giving them a shy smile, and mouthed an apology, she looked back at her best friend who was looking at her with sparkling eyes.

 

"SO-- oh, sorry," she chuckled when Soojung glared at her for she was about to talk in loud voice again. She scooted closer to the shorter girl, "How did he react? Did he get mad and asked you to go out? Or did he... accept your love and ask you out with him instead? What? What?? What???"

 

Heaving out a sigh and sipping from her coffee, she looked down as she recalled what happened.

 

"Nothing... Right Soojung-ah?"

 

She can feel her racing heartbeat. Eyes that were staring at her made her so nervous and now, adding her Nini bear's lovely eyes that were also looking at her, anticipating her answer didn't help in making her heartbeat go back to normal.

 

"That was--" after minutes of finding courage to finally answer, her words was disrupted.

 

"Yeah. She just said that she likes you the most amongst all of us. You have yet another fangirl here adding to the numerous ones you already have, Jongin. Congratulations." Sehun said, as if it was just normal and nothing to worry about then walked out the room.

 

A minute or two had passed before Eunhyuk broke the silence... the awkward silence rather. "Well... Jongin. Thanks for coming but we already finished practicing. I'm going. Clean the room, that's your punishment for being absent." And with that he stepped out the room.

 

One by one, the others left as well, not after giving Soojung a last glance and sending her a smirk. Which she might say, so weird and creepy?

 

"But I'm not absent though, just late..." Jongin started to clean up anyways, picking up the empty bottles the others left behind.

 

"Soojung..." Taemin finally snapped her out of her frozen state. "I think we should go now..."

 

"Huh?" She blinked her eyes then looked at the guy in front of her, "Um... yeah."

 

Nodding and walking ahead, expecting that the girl would be following her, "I'll walk you home tonight, Jung."

 

"Alright," just as she was about to take a step to follow the milky skinned boy...

 

"Soojung...ssi" a low mumble called her name and when she looked at the guy that was left cleaning the remains, she found out that he was looking at her, smiling. "Thank you..."

 

"..." she was left speechless, didn't know what to do nor say for never in her life she knew this day will come.

 

"Jung Soojung, what's talking you so long?" Taemin called from outside even before she could answer him.

 

"Go," said the tan-skinned guy. "Taemin's an impatient person. I'm telling you."

 

"Yeah." Chuckling softly in agreement then walked out the room with an idiotic smile plastered on her face, which gained a 'you look stupid' remark from Taemin.

 

"KYAAAAAAA~" they both squealed after she told Jinri the whole story. And with that, they gained every single person in the cafe's attention, some were throwing them an annoyed look, some were mumbling words they didn't care on even paying attention to what.

 

Looking at each other and giggled, “Oh my god, you're so lucky, Soojung."

 

"I know right!" Cupping her cheeks which were now as red as a tomato, "You should've seen his smile, but of course that's just for me." She let out another giggle, "I swear Jinri! He never smiled at his other fan girls like that before! That's--" letting out a long, dreamy sigh, she just put her head down on the table for she couldn't take the feels anymore.

 

"You're being a delusional now but I'll support you..." Jinri whispers, half-wanting half-not to let the girl in front of her to hear. "I'm so happy for you. He must be really thankful that he's the one who you like."

 

Abruptly getting back up to look at her friend with an are-you-kidding-me-expression, "Of course he's the one I like. He's so amazing. He's so handsome. Have you seen someone as perfect as his face? Like... he looked like a god Jinri. He is so talented--"

 

"Stop." Rolling her eyes, "I know that already, okay? You like... told me 88394260 times already how perfect he is. How talented he is. So please... just stop, okay?"

 

"But... you sounded like he doesn’t deserve my love for him, Jinri." She frowned.

 

"I didn't say that." Heaving out yet another sigh, she shook her head. "You're impossible, Jung Soojung."

 

-

 

"So, why do you like Jongin instead of me, Soojung?" Taemin asked her, with lips slightly pouted when they were eating lunch together one day.

 

She looked at the sulking boy and chuckled, "And why would I like you then?"

 

"What? You're asking that to me??"

 

"Uh, yes?" Tilting her head to the side in confusion as she couldn't find a reason what was wrong with her question. "Well, compared to you, Jongin looked more manly and--"

 

"Excuse me."

 

"You're excused. So just as I was saying you--"

 

"Do you want me to prove to you at this very moment that I am manly?"

 

"No thanks. I'm not interested. So what was I saying? Ah yeah, that--"

 

Again, she was cut off by the guy, but this time, he stood up and shot her a glare before turning back and walking away from her.

 

"Yah, Lee Taemin..." She just chuckled as she watched his retreating figure.

 

-

 

A month has already passed since she started to be the club’s manager and like what the guys told her, they become more and more famous even to other schools in their town, making her quite busy, making schedules and talking with other clubs’ manager and president, not that she was complaining, in fact, she was loving her “job” now though she was not earning money from it for what she earned was more than that… friendship. She became closer to the members, just even more close to Taemin in that matter and Jongin as the least guy she was close to.

If she would be honest, that made her a bit sad for Jongin was the main reason why she was in there in the first place but she eventually accepted that maybe, they were not meant to be close… not that she was saying that she was closing the door… there was still a bit hope in her.

 

Fate must be in her side because the day that she has been waiting for ages had finally come one night.

 

She had no other choice but to go back to school that night because she forgot to put her coin purse back to her bag. She could get it the next day but she wouldn’t since her flash drive was in there and she needed to proofread and edit her thesis because she has to pass it the next day.

 

It wasn’t hard for her to get inside the campus since she was quite close with some of the guards so after telling them about her forgotten purse, they let her in without hesitation.

 

Humming a song that she heard on her way to the school to fight the scary aura that she could feel, with just the light emitted by her phone screen as her source of light, she headed straight to the practice room.

 

She turned the knob and opened the door, “OHMYGOD!” she exclaimed when she saw a figure sitting on the floor, back leaning on the wall.

 

“Soojung…ssi.” A voice that she memorized by heart muttered.

 

Hand on her chest as she lets out a deep sigh in relief, “You scared me. I almost had a heart attack.”

 

“Oh. I did? I’m sorry.” Jongin said in low voice.

 

“Why are you still here? And why are the lights off?”

 

She was about to turn the lights on when, “Don’t!” the guy stopped her from doing so which she frowned.

 

“Why?”

 

“The guards will know that someone’s still here… why are you here anyway? You went home with Taemin a while ago, right?”

 

“Oh. I came to get my coin purse…” she trailed off while she tries to recall where she last saw it.

 

“Here.” She looked at him and was shocked when she realized that Jongin tossed her coin purse to her, thanks to her fast reflexes she caught it. “I thought of giving it back to you tomorrow so I kept it with me.”

 

“But… how did you know that it’s mine?”

 

“Well… because you’re the only one who would have a strawberry shaped wallet?”

 

“Oh… right.” She was thankful that the lights are off or else the latter would have seen how her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. For a moment there, she thought he knew something about her… she even thought about the guy stalking her or something.

 

A moment of silence passed… none of them said a word. Soojung remained standing with head hung low while Jongin sitting on the floor.

 

“Perhaps you want to stay for a bit and sit down?” Finally, Jongin broke the silence, asking with a hint of hesitance in his voice.

 

She looked at him, perplexed, thinking if she really heard it right. Jongin’s asking me to stay with him, oh my god. Am I dreaming?

 

“Well if you just don’t mind staying, I’m not forcing you to. I just don’t want to go home yet so…” he trailed off as he looked back at Soojung, waiting for the girl’s answer.

 

“S-sure. I don’t feel like going home yet as well.” Stupid. You have thesis to review Soojung.

 

She sat down beside Jongin, but leaving few spaces in between them, and leaned back on the wall, looking ahead.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

“So…”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Why are you still here? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking… I was just—“

 

“I was practicing. If you don’t notice I usually stay after group practices are done. And hey, of course I won’t mind you asking. Like… you’ve been our manager for more than a month so anything you wanna ask is fine.” He chuckled lowly and looked at the girl beside her.

 

“Oh… yeah. I’m sorry.”

 

“That reminds me… they say you like me?”

 

Her heart almost dropped. If sitting here beside him was still unbelievable for her, what more getting asked by that. She looked back at him and tried to act normal. “H-huh? That… that was—“ But stuttering wasn’t normal, so apparently she failed.

 

“I actually don’t believe them because you seem like don’t like me. You never even talked to me.” He pouted his lips slightly and Soojung swore if she wasn’t with the guy right now she would probably be spazzing on how cute that look he just pulled off.

 

She looked ahead again, knowing that answering would be harder if she was looking at his face. She bit her lower lip before opening , “They’re not lying. I do like you… I like the others as well but let’s say you are my favorite?”

 

“More than Taemin?”

 

“Hm, honestly… you’ve been my favorite member even before I got in here. I’ve been admiring your dancing skills… yes, Taemin’s technically better than you, I admit…”

 

He nods his head in agreement, “Yeah. He is. Everyone in the club knows how great Taemin is as a dancer.”

 

“But I swear, there’s something with you when you dance… like as if… you are one with the music? I don’t know… I can’t find the right words… I just… admire you.”

 

“Thank you,” he gave her a genuine smile, “I guess I already said that before?”

 

“You did… but it’s nothing. Really. You deserve all the love you receive from your fans, and you deserve more for you are one of a kind—“ she covered when she realized what she just said, “Oh my god did I just—“

 

“Fangirlled.” Jongin chuckled and pinched her cheek, “You’re cute, Taemin’s right.”

 

“Stop it. I am so embarrassed right now.” Soojung fanned her flushed face with her hand.

 

“Wait… if you like me the most? Why are you avoiding me then?” the guy has been wondering about that once he heard that the girl admired him.

 

“I am… shy?”

 

“Shy?” once again he chuckled; Soojung was interesting more than he thought she was. “Didn’t  you fangirls want that? To talk to your ‘oppa’?”

 

“Oppa?”

 

“Yeah. Most of them are calling me oppa even when majority of them are just my age and even older than me? Who does that?”

 

“Oh… yeah. But I don’t call you that though…”

 

“What do you call me then?”

 

Never in her life did she imagine that Jongin would want to know what her own personal nickname for him was.

 

“Um… Nini Bear.” She whispered, hesitating if she should really tell her Nini Bear that, but too late, he heard.

 

“What?!”

 

“Sorry!” she exclaimed then bit her lower lips. “I… it’s just that you’re cute like a bear I wanna hug you tight sometimes you are—oh my god, I should really watch my mouth.” She covered her face for she couldn’t handle the embarrassment she was feeling at the moment. She wanted the floor to eat her up and just disappear.

 

Then suddenly, she heard a laugh that was like melody in her ears. Slowly, she put her hands down and looked at the only person that was with her in the room.

 

“HAHAHAHA. Sorry, sorry. I should’ve feel bad since you just gave me a very cringe-worthy nickname and for calling me cute, which I tell you, I don’t quite like hearing that from other people for I don’t think I’m cute but… hahaha, Jung Soojung you are so funny… and cute.”

 

Once again, her cheeks were all red, she wasn’t sure if that was because she was angry at Jongin for making fun of her or if because her Nini Bear just called her cute.

 

“Yah! Stop it you’re embarrassing me!” cupping her flushed cheeks once again as she send a light kick on Jongin’s leg. “Yah. Stop.”

 

His laugh died down to chuckle and then eventually he calmed down, but the mischievous and teasing grin never left his face.

 

Soojung stood up and threw a glare to Jongin, which he find very cute though. “I’m going home. Bye.”

 

Jongin stood as well and followed the flustered fangirl of him, “Your Nini Bear’s walking you home.”

 

The blush on Soojung’s cheeks hasn’t left yet after the cute remark by the guy before so she didn’t know how her cheeks got even redder.

 

“You’re blushing again, Soojung.”

 

“Stop it, will you?”

 

But in all honesty, she didn’t want him to stop. They both knew.