-Project Friendship: Sunggyu-

Level 8

            Friday soon arrived and Yeri had not even realised the days went by so quickly since she did not have a reason to leave her apartment for the rest of this week. She remembered what Myungsoo told her about their company event and also that she should speak to Sunggyu about it if he does not invite her by today… so far he had not even mentioned it. Yeri sighed as she rolled over and reached for the phone from where she was lying on the sofa, like she thought there was not one message (it was expected, he was still busy after all) and she wondered why Myungsoo had even brought it up. She would not have minded if she heard about it after but he had emphasised so that she had to think about it.

“I just don’t think I can live like this anymore.”

            Yeri smiled slowly when she played Sunggyu’s audio message, the lyrics of the song she made him sing on a whim surprisingly corresponded well with everyday feelings and she started laughing every time she thought about it. Over the past few days she has played it a total of six times, once when her mother called her, twice when she got bored, and three times when she was looking up new part-time job listings (she had quit her previous one).

            “I just don’t think I can live like this anymore.”

            She could not stop giggling when his voice played again, she played it over and over, each time it made her even more gleeful… that was until she realised how weird this whole situation was. Yeri sat back up straight and placed her phone back on the coffee table calmly, she tried to regain her composure almost as if someone had caught her amidst an embarrassing act.

            It seems like it was going to be another night of music and reading again, she found the small remote to the wireless speaker tower and began playing her playlist containing her favourite songs. As she reached for her book on the shelf next to the sofa her phone buzzed and she picked it up immediately, and to her delight it was actually Sunggyu. She opened his message excitedly, wondering if he was going to invite her to the party Myungsoo had mentioned… but she opened it only to find him asking her to turn on the TV since he was on…

[No… why are you so excited anyway… you’re always on TV these days]

[It’s important! They’re doing a re-run of my solo weekly idol!!!]

            Despite saying she would not Yeri was already reaching for the TV remote after pausing her music (the book she was going to spend the evening with already forgotten). Yeri has only seen a handful of their programmes, she tried watching some when she had the time but she was not particularly good at navigating the web so it was hard for her to find anything. She has seen a few episodes of ‘Weekly Idol’… she did not really understand the appeal of the show but it seemed to be really popular and INFINITE had a lot of episodes with them.

            From the episodes she has seen before she already had an idea of what kind of silly games they would make him do but even so she found herself laughing. She thought so before when she accidentally came across a broadcast Sunggyu guested on, and she definitely thinks so now, Sunggyu was a very good entertainer and he was very likeable both on and off screen.

            Yeri cringed at the sight of Sunggyu in lipstick, it was unflattering and she wondered why he would even want her to see this; it seemed more like something he would want to keep secret than recommend to your friends only to be embarrassed after. Yeri relayed her sentiments through messages the whole time she watched and she even mentioned she felt sorry for their manager who seemed to always get abused by them on TV.

[You’re watching??

Don’t worry about him just wait for my cool bit]

[Hul… you’re such a bad guy.

It probably isn’t that cool if you have to say it…]

            Yeri snorted at his obnoxious messages but carried on watching anyway actually now a little curious about what his supposed ‘cool’ bit was going to be since he raved about it so much. The rest of the episode went by quickly and she was confused at which part she was supposed to be impressed over, in fact if she did not already know Sunggyu her opinion of him would probably have gone down drastically.

When she did not respond Sunggyu took it upon himself to message her first and asked what she thought about his strength, it was only then when she realised he had wanted to show off the moment he broke the tiles. She was reluctant to say but she gave her honest opinion and simply said it was not all that impressive breaking plastic tiles and it was embarrassing for him to be so proud of it. Sunggyu immediately argued back and through some twisted logic she finally gave in and agreed with him but not before pointing out that everything else in that episode has ruined his image to the point that even breaking twenty tiles could not save him.

            They continued to message each other as the night progressed on, since completing their goodbye stages Sunggyu has had more free time but the hours were still irregular so they have not been able to meet up yet. At least they were still able to chat and Yeri did not mind all that much anymore, she has pretty much gotten used to it talking to him through chat or hearing his voice over the phone. At around eleven Sunggyu said he had to sign off and she asked if he was going to sleep, his response was vague but he mentioned Sungjong and getting dinner… she had an idea of what he meant and asked him not to bully their youngest.

            He signed off just like that and Yeri sat back on the sofa, feeling rather unsatisfied since in the end Sunggyu never even mentioned this amazing company party of theirs and she thought she was overthinking it but the more she tried not to the more it bothered her. She realised it was all because Myungsoo had told her about it, she silently cursed the handsome visual because she would rather not know about it than have to dwell upon it. She wondered why she did not just call Sunggyu and got it over with… it was embarrassing but it was better to get if off her chest so she decided to call him.

            “Hello?” Sunggyu finally picked up on the sixth ring, it sounded loud on his end and she could make out the voices of a couple of the members. Sunggyu was speaking quite loudly and he seemed to have trouble hearing. “Hello? Yeri?”

            “Yeah, it’s me,” she said. “Are you busy right now?”

            “The members are having shabu shabu but I can talk,” he told her but he was apparently staying at the table since she could still hear the loud voices. “So what’s up?”

            Yeri took a deep breath as she gathered her thoughts, she was just going to blurt it out, everything at once and she was not expecting anything just hoping that her head would feel lighter after telling him what was on her mind. So she did, reminding Sunggyu of when she ran into Sungyeol and Myungsoo, and telling him how Myungsoo had told her about their company event. She rambled so quickly that she was sure Sunggyu was struggling to follow and after she was done there was only silence from him… well except for the occasional shouts from one of the INFINITE members in the background.

            “… Oh, were you worried about that… sorry I forgot about it…” Sunggyu finally said quietly, like he was ashamed especially after hearing her concerns. “This time I asked my family and they were actually busy so I was going to ask you but I completely forgot… do you still want to come?”

            “… You forgot?” she repeated and he hummed back slowly with another small sorry. “… So you want me come?”

            “Of course,” he was laughing now and she could imagine the way he was smiling. It took Yeri a moment but she agreed to it, she could not believe she had been so caught up with it and while she was thankful he had only forgotten she was also embarrassed that she thought he was avoiding the subject because he did not want her there. She was reminded of their first win and her revelation about her own selfishness when it came to Sunggyu, now that she was more conscious of it she was also more surprised by herself.

            Sunggyu said he would message her the details when they were confirmed and she apologised for bothering him about it but he only laughed at her again before reassuring her and saying goodbye. Yeri stared at the phone in her hand after he hung up and she felt a strange feeling coming over her, there was anticipation but there was also excitement. It still amazed her that Sunggyu trusted her enough to want to invite her to his company’s events and she wanted to support him all she could.

-

            Woollim’s evening of celebration came a week after on the last day of July, almost exactly a week before INFINITE’s first concert in Seoul. Yeri had already returned to university but thankfully it was a Friday night and she was able to get home early from her classes to get ready, she spent extra time on her hair and makeup but she spent the longest picking out something appropriate to wear; Sunggyu had said semi-formal but honestly she was having difficulty choosing a dress out of her collection. In the end she chose a light half sleeved maxi dress that she thought looked somewhat casual and pinned her hair up into a high messy bun.

            When Sunggyu gave her the details he mentioned that it was going to be at a hotel and that he could pick them up on the way if she did not mind, apparently most of the other members were making their own way there with their own families and friends so he had planned to just take a taxi himself anyway. He said he would come get her at half past six and he was just on time as the doorbell rang on the dot, she rushed to get the door and held up her long skirt as she ran knowing that she would definitely trip if she left it down.

            Yeri’s eyes widened when she saw him on the other side of the door, she felt herself go breathless and she felt so flustered when she saw Sunggyu standing there wearing jeans and an oversized graphic t-shirt. “… Oh god.”

            “What’s wrong?” he did not seem to realise her troubles. “Yeri?”

            “Sit down, I’m going to change.”

            “… But why? You look fine,” he followed her inside and closed the door behind them. She disappeared inside further inside the apartment and even though Sunggyu was confused he did not follow her further in since he’s only been in her living room all the times he’s visited her, instead he sat by the kitchen counter and waited as he called out to her.

            “You’re such a liar, is that what you call semi-formal?” Yeri said as she popped her head out of the corridor, the pink lip-gloss previously on her lips now wiped off and she was in the process of undoing her hair as she stepped out to survey at his outfit again. “I feel so overdressed.”

            “No way, you look great,” Sunggyu looked at her properly and reached his hands forward to hold her wrists, stopping her from untying the bun. “You’ll fit right in, don’t worry about it.”

            “… I don’t believe you,” she sneered at him as she gestured at his lazy outfit. “Let go, I’m changing into jeans too.”

            “No, you’re not, you’re going to wear that dress,” he said and she looked at him in surprise, he looked sincere and for a moment she felt her cheeks go hot and she felt shy by the way he was holding her so unusually. “… The staff are going to get a big shock when they see you with me, the guys that don’t respect me will have to now.”

            “… You… I-I don’t even know anymore,” she sighed with a small roll of her eyes and before Sunggyu could begin whining she pulled her wrists free and nodded. “Fine, let me get a few things then.”

            Sunggyu seemed pleased that she listened to him and he was glad that he managed to convince her, it was obvious the only reason why she got anxious was because of him after all and he did not want her to go through so much extra effort just for his sake. Plus what she was wearing was just fine, in fact, she looked really nice and he was sure he was going to scare off the trainee boys and male staff that would no doubt try to approach her tonight. He hummed to himself as he waited for her and he looked up when he heard the doorbell ring, there was a quiet call from inside and Yeri asked if he could get the door for her.

            He checked through the peephole first and saw a middle-aged couple, he could not see very well but if he had to guess they were probably Yeri’s parents… and they must have come unannounced seeing as she did not mention this at all. Sunggyu wondered if he should inform Yeri first but the doorbell rang again and he began panicking, at this point Yeri walked out with her purse and she asked what he was doing. “What’s up? Who’s at the door?”

            “I think it might be your parents,” he said quietly and her expression grew perplexed, she stepped past him quickly and took a look herself before sighing and placing her purse on the counter. She looked at Sunggyu apologetically and without an explanation she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, she opened a door she assumed that led to her bedroom and she shoved him inside, the last thing he heard from her was a quick ‘stay quiet’ before she shut the door.

            As difficult as it was for him to admit Sunggyu felt nervous in her bedroom, it was not the first time in a girl’s bedroom but the timing and suddenness made him feel uneasy. He glanced around with mild curiosity, taking in the surprisingly feminine décor and plushies he would not expect her to own. He hesitated but he eventually walked towards her bed as he wondered if she would allow him to sit seeing as it was the only place for him, there was a stool that