~ Alayna's (left) and Joshua's (right) POV ~

 

What do I tell him? How do I tell him without hurting him? Why did I fall into this trap? Why me? Why not one of the others? I don’t know what to say. This is so frustrating! I do kind of like Joshua  but I kind of like Mingyu and Jeonghan. Who’s it gonna be, Alayna? Well, Mingyu and Jeonghan all had their tries. Maybe I should just give Joshua a try to, just so I won’t make him feel as bad as letting him down. But what about Mingyu and Jeonghan? What are they gonna say? What if Jeonghan gets into another coma? What if Mingyu becomes suicidal? Just go with who your heart tells you. But how? My heart tells me all three of them. “Um, I know that you like me.”

 

Well, yeah it was kind of obvious. “Yeah, I-I do…”

 

“But, I’m sorry, Josh. I’m not ready to be in a relationship right now. I don’t know how I feel about Mingyu or Jeonghan. I don’t know how I feel about you either. I just arrived her a few months ago and I’m still getting used to Korea. I’ve been really busy lately and I--I don’t know what I’m trying to say…”

 

I understand. I guess I wasn’t thinking enough. “Okay, I understand. But can you promise me you’ll think about it?”

 

“Yeah, I’ll think about it, Josh. But really, I’m really sorry.”

 

“It’s okay, I-I wasn’t really thinking straight anyway.”

 

No. I don’t want to friendzone him either. He’ll only feel bad and want me to be with him even more. “Thank you for understanding.” I hug him again. I didn’t know what else to do. He becomes stiff again.

 

“Your welcome, Alayna.”
 

“And thank you for the charm bracelet.”

 

This is too awkward. I better get going then. They probably already saw that I left my phone and S.Coups is going to explode if I don’t show up soon. “I better--I better get going. The others are probably worried about where I went.”

 

“Okay. Oh, and if you ever need anything,” I grab a piece of paper and a pen and I write done my phone number. “Just give me a call or text me.”

 

“Okay. I’ll see you soon.” I wave back before she closes the door.

 

“Bye, Joshua.”

 

I sighed.

 

So much has been happening today I feel like I’m drowning.

 

I thought she actually liked me. It hurts inside but I know it’s for the best. I was rushing through too fast.

 

I don’t know who to choose.

 

I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what I’m feeling.

 

~ Jeonghan's POV ~

 

  “Jeonghan, are you okay?”

  I feel someone shake me. I look away from the window and look to who shook me. “Huh?”

  “I said, are you okay?” Woozi asks.

  “I’m just...fantastic…” I stare out the window again. The weather is so nice today.

  “You guys are cute together.”

  “Huh? Who?”

  “You and Alayna! I’m guessing you remember. You’ve been staring out that window forever! Just smiling and staring. So...are you guys, uh, dating now?”

  “No, should we?”

  “I say yeah! But Mingyu likes her too. If he finds out, I don’t know what he’ll do. If you guys do start dating, your secret is safe with me.”

  “Thanks, Woozi, but I don’t know if I’m ready yet.”

  “It sure looks like you guys are ready.” Woozi laughs.

  “Yah!” I feel my face getting really hot.

  “Okay, okay. But if you finally have the guts to ask her, there’s still the company rules.”

  I sighed. The company rules always get in the way. “I know…”

 

*******

 

  We arrive at the studio and the Vocal Team and I start practicing for our new comeback in April. “Oh! We sound good!” Seungkwan compliments.

  The door opens and Joshua walks in, “Sorry, guys.”

  “Joshua! Where did you go?” Woozi asks.

  “He probably went to go see Alayna too.” Seungkwan says.

  “Yah! Let him explain,” DK scolds.

  “No, Seungkwan’s right. But! I didn’t ask her out or kiss her or anything. I just gave her a present for being such a good friend to all of us. And to thank her for helping Jeonghan get his memory back.”

  Woozi looks back at me. “She sure helped him alright.” My face starts to feel hot again.

  “Oh? He’s blushing too!” DK exclaims. “What did she do? How did she do it?”

  “Nothing that concerns you,” Woozi answers. “Thank you for doing that, Josh, but you can’t just run off like that. What if PD-nim found out that you went missing? What if he went over too Alayna’s and saw you there?”

  Another barrier for us. PD-nim. We’re all really close to PD-nim and he’s like a father to us but sometimes we need our space and secrets too.

 

~ Mingyu's POV ~

 

  The guys and I take a break from practicing. I unplug my phone and I text  Alayna. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” She texts back.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Nothing much. You?”

  “The guys and I are taking a break from practice. Hey, maybe you can watch us some time?”

  “Sure just call me whenever you want me to come over.”

  “Okay, sounds good. I had something else to ask too.”

  “What’s up?”

  I think about what I’m about to say first. “Actually never mind I’ll ask you next time.”

  “Okay.”

  I can’t ask her out now. Jeonghan remembers her so he probably remembers everything else too. I can’t risk it because if he finds out it might be worse next time.

 

*******

 

~ Joshua's (left) and Alayna's (right) POV ~

 

“Hey.” I text Alayna.

 

  “What’s up, Josh?” I text back.

 

“Nothing. I was just wondering if you wanted to get bubble tea?”

 

“Sure! The girls and I are in the studio right now but maybe later?”

 

“Okay. Just text me when you guys are done.”

 

“Okay.”

“You ready?” Alexis mouths.

I nod as I put on headphones. Alexis counts down to one with her fingers and the music starts.

 

*******

 

“So what flavor do you want?” I ask Alayna.

 

“Um…” I read  the menu above the counter.

 

“You’re very lucky.” An elderly woman at the cash register says to me. “You’re girlfriend is very pretty. Are you two on a date?”

 

“Oh, no, no, no. We’re--It’s not like that.” We say at the same time.

“Are you sure? You two sure seem like it.”The woman says smiling.

“Yes, we’re sure.” We say in unison again.

  The woman laughs to herself. “Are you ready to order?”

 

*******

 

Joshua takes me on a walk around Seoul. It’s not much to see but at least we have some alone time to talk.

 

I hope I’m not making this awkward for her. “So, how are you liking Korea?”

 

“It’s great! I love the feel of Seoul and the people here are so friendly. And the markets are wonderful, crazy, but wonderful. They’re so convenient and cheap.”

 

“I’m glad You’re loving it so far. Look, I’m really sorry about the incident a couple days ago.”

 

I knew this would happen. I knew he was going to feel bad and he’s not going to forget. “No, no, really that’s okay, Joshua. You don’t have to feel bad. It’s in the past, it happened. Let’s just forget about it.”

 

Forget about it? It’s kind of hard to forget embarrassing myself in front of the girl I like. “Okay. You’re right. It’s just…”

 

No please don’t do this to me Joshua. God, you’re an idiot.

 

“I like you, okay. I…”

 

And I like you too, you cute idiot. I didn’t even realize what I had done until I pulled away.

 

Did she just...kiss me? But I thought she doesn’t like me like that. I kinda, to be honest, liked it. “Alayna...Um…”

 

Oh...my...God! Did I just--huh? Why did I do that? “Oh my God! I’m so sorry I--”

 

“It’s okay.” I pull her in to kiss me again.

 

My heart is racing. No one has ever made me feel this way before.

 

“Is it still too early to ask you out?”

 

My cheeks start burning up. “No…”

 

Yes! Finally! “So, is it a yes?”

 

I flash him a bright smile. “Yes, Joshua, it’s a yes.”

 

Haha! I can’t stop smiling. “Let’s go then!” I grab her wrist and hail a taxi.

 

He lets me sit in the cab first. “To where?”

 

“To the Namsan tower, please.” The taxi driver nods.

 

 

“The Namsan tower? What’s that?”

 

“Really? You’ve never heard of the Namsan tower?”

 

I shake my head. “What’s so special about it?”

 

“You’ll see.” I hope there are still locks available.

 

*******

 

“Thank you,” I tell the lady selling locks.

 

Locks? What do we need locks for? “What are the locks for?”

 

“I’ll explain when we get to the top of the tower.”

 

When will he explain all of this?

We reach the top and there’s so many locks locked onto the railing of the tower. “Wow, that’s a lot of locks.”

 

“Yeah, there are. There’s this special tradition for couples to come here and ‘lock’ their relationship at the top of this tower.” I hand her a key and the lock. “Go ahead, choose a spot.”

 

I chose a spot and locked our blue lock.

 

“Ready?”

 

“Ready? For what?”

 

“To throw the keys.” I hold her hand. “On the count of three.”

 

One. Two. Three! We laugh and throw our keys off the edge at the same time. It’s official now. It’s going to be hard to keep this a secret.

 

I lean my head on his shoulder as we watch the sunset.

 

“Hey, promise?” I hold out my pinky.

 

“I promise.”

 

We pinky promise and push our thumbs together. Our eyes lock. “사랑해.” Our lips lock again.