Taeyong 16
Extraordinary?Narrator's POV
A chilling night breeze blew past and Hye Sun welcomed it with open arms.
"You know, you're supposed to shiver and then clutch tightly onto your clothes and then I'll be Prince Charming and put one hand over your shoulder, pull you close to me and then we'll end up together forever." Taeyong romantically said.
She rolled her eyes at him while stretching her lips into a smile.
"Well, that's not going to happen. I'm not Cinderella." She replied, shrugging her shoulders. The rest of the way to the eatery was filled with laughter and teasing.
"Oh! Here we are!" Hye Sun exclaimed, eyes lighting up. Taeyong chuckled at her childish enthusiasm and followed after her into the shop.
"Ahjussi! I'm here! I brought a friend along this time like I promised!" Hye Sun shouted as they settled into a table for two. Taeyong looked around and noticed that the restaurant was empty.
"Oh! Hye Sun! Is Sunji coming later? And you must be her boyfriend! What a fine looking lad!" The owner of the eatery, an old man, walked to their table with a friendly smile and greeted them. Taeyong smiled and bowed at the compliment, secretly liking and not bothering to correct the Ahjussi's comment.
"Sunji is busy practising so she won't be coming!"
"Ah I see. Tell that girl to stop working so hard. She's losing too much weight! Anyways, the normal again?"
"Yeap, and make it two portions please!"
"Coming right up!" The ahjussi gave a smile and walked back to the kitchen.
Out of nowhere, a shout of "Noona!" could be heard followed by a cannonball of a small boy as he attacked Hye Sun with a hug. Hye Sun eyes turned into pretty crescent moons as smiled and ruffled the hair of the child.
"Aigoo, our Jikyung has grown up so much! How long has it been since I last saw you?"
"Noona, the last time you saw me was 2 weeks and 3 days ago! I've been waiting for you to come back! I missed you Noona!!!"
At this, Hye Sun gave a laugh. Had the small boy really been counting the days since he last saw her?
Jikyung pouted and continued, "Noona! How can you laugh? Did you not miss me? Was that why you didn't come and see me? What about Sunji noona? Did she forget about me as well? I'm going to marry you one day remember?" Hurt was evident in his tone. Hye Sun pulled the boy into another hug and comforted him.
"You have no idea how much I've missed you! And Sunji noona couldn't come because she has lessons so cheer up alright? We really didn't forget about you! Yes I remember! I promise we'll come and visit you more often okay?"
It took a little coaxing but Jikyung soon gave in and smiled. Hye Sun then introduced Taeyong to Jikyung.
"Wah! Noona's friend is really handsome!"
"Yeap he really is!" Hye Sun commented in passing. Taeyong's heart fluttered at the unintentional compliment and he reached out to ruffle Jikyung's hair, unable to withstand his cuteness.
"Jikyung-ah! I'm going to marry your Noona! Not you!"
Hye Sun burst out laughing at this and leaned her head on Taeyong's shoulder, "Oh no Jikyung! Looks like you have some competition!"
Jikyung pouted and frowned only to have Hyesun say, "Alright, now go help Harabeoji in the kitchen okay? Noona is really hungry and wants her food."
After Jikyung rushed into the kitchen, Hye Sun explained who Jikyung was.
"He's the grandson of Ahjussi. Sunji and I used to frequent this restaurant after discovering the tasty and cheap food here. Slowly, we grew close to both Ahjussi and Jikyung. Ahjussi always treats us to free food but everytime, both of us would insist on paying. But we've both been really busy lately so now we can only drop by when we have the time to."
Before Taeyong could say anything, dishes of food were laid out on the table.
"Food!" Hye Sun immediately digged in and stuffed on what was served.
"Eat slowly or you'll choke."
"But they're really delicious!" Hye Sun manged to get her words out despite a full mouth. Shaking his head while smiling, Ahjussi also told Taeyong to enjoy the food before bringing Jikyung back to the counter.
Taeyong's POV
"You look really ugly." I teased as soon as Ahjussi and Jikyung were out of earshot.
"Food before looks." Hye Sun shrugged as she continued eating.
My eyes widened slightly. This girl is seriously unlike any other girls I've encountered. All of them always tried so hard to be pretty and caked their faces with makeup whenever we went out on a date and they also deliberately eat very little so as to maintain their figure. Honestly, I hated it. Girls who do whatever they want and are unbothered by society's expectations are the best. Like her.
I've been paying special attention to her during practice since the day Sunji and her stepped into class. She appeared shy initially and it was awkward when I first approached her, but then she gradually warmed up to the other trainees and me. She was always so hardworking in class and even when class ended, she still stayed back in order to perfect her moves.
Most of the other trainees took a liking to Sunji first. I must admit thought that Sunji was smoking hot, extremely talented and really cheerful and nice. So I totally understand why. But people seemed to forget about her equally amazing best friend. Hye Sun might not know it but she's really pretty. I asked her once about the brand of cosmetics she used because it made er skin look really flawless but she shocked me when she told me she never wore makeup unless absolutely necessary. At most, all she did was apply BB cream and concealer. From then on, she only started to intrigue me more.
I've been trying everything to get close to her but she's so guarded and Sunji is so ridiculously protective of her, I do feel intimidated. But it's been so long since I even remotely took notice of someone of the opposite gender and I really wanted to experience a real and loving relationship before I debut and get thrown into the world of scandals. Being rich and (kinda) handsome only meant that I was constantly surrounded by people who wanted to befriend me for materialistic purposes only. I was secretly lonely and shy but Hye Sun completely brought out another side of me.
Looking at her play with Jikyung just made me realise how great of a mother she'd be one day. And although it's extremely early to say, I really hope she'll be the one I wake up to every morning in the future. I don't even understand why she doesn't realise how much I like her when I've tried to make it so blatantly obvious. When I was ill two weeks ago, Hye Sun came to take care of me and ended up staying by my side the whole night in the trainee lounge to ensure that I was feeling okay. That was the first time I told her I liked her but all she did was laugh and say, "You must be really drowsy from the medicine." But the thing is, I wasn't even on any medication.
Hye Sun makes me feel things I never intended on feeling. She gives me goosebumps when she secretly whispers in my ear during lessons and she makes my heart flutter uncontrollably when she just so much as brushes past me. URGH. I don't know what to do. This is going to sound really creepy and stupid but I imagine bringing her out on dates and surprising her with gifts at her doorstep. I fantasise about finally having someone to give flowers to on Valentine's Day and finally having a date to the annual SM Town party.
I also hate how close she is to EXO sunbaenims and I was secretly glad when I noticed that they recently weren't spending as much time with each other. How could I even compare to them? I was a nobody, un-debuted and lame but thank goodness Hye Sun wasn't the kind to condemn based on that. And when she leaned her head on my shoulder just now, I thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest. Does she not realise how much of an effect she has on me? Apparently not.
Then, just now when I said I wanted a date, I wasn't expecting her to agree at all. Well, at least not so late at night and not to even mention having ddeokbokki. She-
"Here, try it. You'll love it!" Hye Sun held out a piece of grilled chicken to me, eyes sparkling. Being shocked out of my reverie, I jumped slightly, only to have the skewer stuffed into my partially opened mouth.
"It's heavenly right? It's probably the best you've ever tasted. Don't even try to deny it!" She blasted as soon as I swallowed the piece of meat.
"Yea yea. It's the best alright." I lamented and she gave me 'I-told-you-so' look. Just as I was about to unleash one of my famous pick-up lines, cheering from the entrance of the shop turned our heads.
"What's this I see hmm?" Chen sunbae knowingly grinned as the rest of EXO approached our table. They exchanged greetings with Ahjussi before settling into the table beside theirs.
"Oppas! What are you guys doing here?" Hye Sun beamed.
"She calls them oppa. OF COURSE." I sighed mentally.
"We just ended rehearsal for our concert and we were so hungry. So we snuck out to get a snack. Don't tell on us, we're supposed to be on a crazy diet now." Baekhyun sunbae whispered animatedly.
"Chen oppa! Where are Chanyeol oppa and Kai oppa?"
"Stalking Sunji obviously, where else would they be?"
I watched intently as Chen sunbae threw an arm about Hye Sun before pecking her cheek in greeting. Knowing how she felt about skinship, I expected Hye Sun to push him away, only to see her giggle adorably and push him away. I scowled instantly in my mind but desperately tried to keep a straight face. No one is allowed to go near Hye Sun except me.
"Back off Jongdae! Can't you see our dear friend here is jealous?" Baekhyun sunbae gestured towards me. I instantly flushed. I'm sure I did. I felt the heat warm my cheeks.
"N-no! I'm n-not jealous! We just came here to grab something to eat as well. As friends. Haha." I stuttered immediately, not wanting to put Hye Sun in an awkward situation.
"Taeyong right?" Suho sunbae asked and I could only nod meekly in reply.
"So rude! You didn't even greet us." Baekhyun joked and placed a hand across his heart, feigning hurt. Panicking, I immediately stood up and did a 90 degree bow.
"Annyeonghaseyo! Lee Taeyong-imnida!"
Baekhyun burst out laughing and I felt even more self-concious. I was sure that I was completely red by now and I hated looking so small in front of Hye Sun.
"Baekhyun!" Suho chided and he waved his hands to ask me to take a seat. "Don't mind Baekhyun. He's just a little playful. You don't have to be so tense around us! But do tell us, what are you and Hye Sun doing here, alone, on this beautifully fine evening?"
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(Co)Authors note: Hello guys! We're back with another chapter! This chapter finally gives Hye Sun some time to shine and hopefully show that Sunji really isn't that bad of a friend! I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll talk to you all soon!
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