“Hi Heejin,” he says with a big smile on his face. I can’t believe he is here. For the last couple of days I have wanted to see him more than anyone but now that he is here I don’t know what to say or do. He is the person that I care about the most in this entire world and I have missed him so much.

Without realizing it I reach out my hand and caress his cheek. He leans against my hand and I smile.

“I’ve missed you,” I say and he puts his hand over mine. “I’ve missed you too,” he says and removes my hand from his cheek. Then he pulls me in for a tight hug and I cuddle up against his chest. I enjoy his familiar smell and the sound of his steady heartbeat. It feels like coming home after having been away for a long time.

Suddenly I hear footsteps on the stairs and I pull a little away from Sehun. I still have my arms around his waist because I don’t feel like letting him go just yet. After a few moments Minhyun’s face appears around the corner from the living room. His eyes are almost closed and he yawns.

“Did someone come to visit?” he asks with heavy satoori. Minhyun’s family is originally from Busan and he grew up there. Because they have lived in Seoul for a few years now he speaks with Seoul accent. But his satoori comes out every time he is nervous, angry or sleepy. And it’s the third reason that’s the case right now. He probably just woke up and isn’t fully conscious yet. He tries to focus his eyes on Sehun and I clear my throat to get his attention.

“Minhyun this is Sehun and Sehun this is Minhyun. He is one of my classmates that live here temporarily,” I introduce and Sehun bows. Minhyun bows too and looks a bit more awake now.

“You’re the best friend Heejin has talked so much about,” Minhyun says and his satoori still isn’t completely gone. “That’s me,” Sehun says and Minhyun nods, “and you’re the basketball star that Heejin used to follow around.”

I look at Sehun with a shocked expression. “Yah Oh Sehun!” I exclaim and he just chuckles. “I’m joking, relax,” he says and I pout. “Not funny,” I mumble and Sehun smile. “I had fun,” he says and I roll my eyes. “Good for you,” I say and finally let go of him. Instead I take his hand and drag him into the living room. Minhyun follows and suddenly Aron also appears. Apparently he was in the kitchen and when he sees Sehun he raises an eyebrow.

“Who is this?” he asks and I introduce them, “so you’re Sehun.”

Sehun bows and Aron tilts his head a bit while watching him closely. He looks at our hands and smiles amused.

“When you said he is your best friend that wasn’t completely true right,” he says and I’m not sure what he means. Aron points at our intertwined hands. “He’s your boyfriend right?”

My eyes widen and I immediately let go of Sehun’s hand. “No he’s not! He’s a boy friend. A friend who is a boy,” I say and Aron chuckles. Sehun also looks like he is struggling to hide a smile. “No matter what he is he knows things about you that we don’t and I’m going to make him tell us everything,” Aron says and pushes Sehun down on the couch. At that moment another person enters the room and looks surprised to see us all here.

“JR this is Sehun and Sehun that’s JR,” Aron introduces as if Sehun is his friend, “and you’re just in time JR. Sehun is just about to tell us all Heejin’s secrets.”

“Oppa!” I say but Aron ignores me and sits down next to Sehun. Minhyun sit down in an armchair across from the couch and I expect JR to leave because he doesn’t care about my so called secrets. But he walks over and sits down on the armrest of Minhyun’s chair. I can’t hide my shocked expression but JR isn’t looking my way so he doesn’t see it.

“Tell us something about Heejin,” Minhyun says and when Sehun looks at me I shake my head. With my eyes I’m asking him to keep quiet. But I should know better. Sehun likes to mess with me and this is a perfect opportunity.

“When Heejin was 10 years old she took a soju bottle from the fridge and drank it. When her parents realized, she was lying on the floor completely drunk,” Sehun says and all the boys laugh, “and at the age of 8 she went to the supermarket with me and my mom. She felt sick and ended up throwing up on the floor.”

They laugh again and I feel my face turning hot and red. “Oh and by the way,” Sehun says and looks at Minhyun, “she had a crush on you during our first year.”

“Yah Oh Sehun!” I exclaim and he looks at me with an innocent expression. “What? I said you had. Past tense. Besides it’s not the first time Minhyun finds out that a girl has, or in this case had, feelings for him,” Sehun says and I look over at Minhyun. He is looking at the floor with a troubled expression.

“Look now you made him uncomfortable,” I say and Sehun shrugs. “Since you don’t have feelings for him anymore I don’t see why it’s a problem,” he says and I’m about to yell at him. But Aron says not to talk more about it and I keep my mouth shut.

“Instead tell us something about Heejin that is not embarrassing,” Aron says and Sehun thinks about what to tell them. I don’t even want to try stopping him because I know I won’t be able to anyway. Sehun has been my best friend since we were 6 years old and I know him better than I know myself. But unfortunately he knows me better than I know myself too.

“Heejin can’t answer phone calls from an unknown number,” Sehun says and looks at me, “she doesn’t like talking on the phone in general so if she answers a call it means the person is special. And if she calls the person they have a special place in her heart.”

I look away and bite my lip. Sehun always used to answer my calls if it was an unknown number. Because he hasn’t been with me I haven’t been able to answer my phone that much. It’s only recently that I started answering Minhyun and Aron’s phone calls but I still haven’t called them once. On the other hand JR has never called me, but I have tried calling him once. I was worried about him because some of his classmates saw him leave with a guy from third year. I called him and asked if he was okay. Apparently the guy just wanted JR’s help with something and then left. I never thought that it actually means something special. That it’s a huge deal if I call someone besides my parents. Is JR special to me? Does he have a special place in my heart?

I turn my head and gaze at JR. He looks into my eyes and I can’t read his expression. Is he thinking about the same thing as me? I look away and realize that Minhyun is also looking at me. The way he looks at me makes me confused. It looks like… affection? But it can’t be. Why would Minhyun look at me with affection? Impossible.

Suddenly the front door opens and then closes again. I hear my parents’ voices and then they appear in the living room. When my mother sees Sehun she squeals and runs over to hug him tightly.

“Sehun-ah why haven’t you visited us until now?! I’ve missed you so much!” she says and it looks like she is going to crush him. “I’ve missed you too ommoni,” Sehun says and pats my mother’s back. Finally she lets him go and smiles widely. “You’re staying for dinner right?” she asks and Sehun looks at me for approval and I nod. “If it’s not too much trouble,” he says and my mother giggles like a teenage girl. Sehun has always had this effect on my mother. I never understood why and I don’t know if I want to. I just accept it and so does Sehun.

“I would love to cook for you again,” my mother says and drags Sehun to the kitchen, “so what do you want to eat?”

I look over at the boys who are all watching me with mixed expressions of confusion and curiosity. “Don’t ask,” I mumble and walk out to save Sehun from my mother.

When Sehun leaves later that afternoon I already miss him even before he has left the house. Being with him for a couple of hours just reminded me how much he means to me. He is like a bonus brother, but better than my real ones. I never told them that though.  

I wave as Sehun walks down to the road where his father is waiting in his car. I hear the car drive away and sigh heavily. I hope he comes back soon. I enter the house and close the door behind me. As I walk into the living room I see that Minhyun is the only one left. He turns his head and glances at me.

“Can I ask you a question?” he asks and I nod, “is it true what Sehun said? About you not being able to call someone unless they’re very special?”

I bite my lip and look at my feet. “I have always been like that,” I mumble subdued but I know Minhyun can hear me. I hear him get up from the couch and walk towards me. Then I feel his arms around me and I’m confused. What is he doing?

“Heejin-ah,” he says in a soft voice and rests his head on top of mine, “why don’t you try calling me one day? I really want to receive a call from you.”

I frown and pull a bit away so I can see his face. “What do you mean?” I ask and Minhyun doesn’t answer. He just leans forward and gently kisses my forehead. I forget how to breathe and just stare at Minhyun with surprise.

“I’ll be waiting for your call,” he says and pulls away from me. He smiles at me before he leaves the living room and disappears upstairs. I don’t really know what to do or think about this. I’m not even sure what just happened. But something about Minhyun is definitely different. I can’t really figure out what is but something about him changed. But why is he acting like this towards me? I can still feel the kiss burn on my forehead. I have been kissed on my forehead before. Sehun and my brothers have kissed my forehead and cheeks but Minhyun’s kiss is different. Because he is not my best friend or a family member it feels weird. It doesn’t feel like a friendly kiss like the ones Sehun gives me. But if it’s not a friendly kiss and Minhyun didn’t do it thinking of me as a friend. Then does that mean… can he be… in love with me?