They say that a friend’s eye is a good mirror. They also say that the eye is the mirror of the soul. There are countless other sayings on the internet in cringy fonts and backgrounds about what the eye beholds, most of them talking about the truth that lies in them. But that’s weird. Because at this moment, all you can see from Wonwoo’s eyes is yourself.

Or maybe, that’s because your face was just inches from his.

“Y/n.“ His low voice pierced your thoughts, like being abruptly woken up from a dream you weren’t sure was really happening. With it, you felt Wonwoo’s breath against your fingers. His gaze switched from you to your finger that was about to poke his eye. “What are you doing?” he said, his voice laced with both confusion and amusement.

You swallowed realizing how dry your mouth has become. Too near, you thought looking at his face. Too dangerous, you thought realizing what you did. “T…touching your lashes,” you said confidently although your tone said otherwise.

“Why?” he blinked, his lashes brushing ever so softly against your fingertip.

“I was checking if they’re actually soft.”

His warm breath against your hand was replaced by the warmth of his own hand as he held yours away from his eye. He leaned in, his eyebrows scrunched together, your reflection in his eyes growing clearer, as though you really were looking at a mirror. “Why?” he asked again.

You looked at his hand, the one holding yours. What started as a simple and normal warmth of another living thing spread like fire from your cheeks to your ears and then your whole face. Suddenly, you were aware; how close he was, how gentle yet true his grip is, and how weird the situation is. There were butterflies all of a sudden in your stomach. Your heartbeat hummed in your ears.

“I had to check, ,” you scoffed pulling your hand away and facing your laptop once more. You glanced briefly at the A/C above to check if it was working. It was.

You heard him sigh as the edge of the bed dipped. You looked over briefly. His head rested on his arms. His eyes were on you. “What for?” he asked.

You shifted uncomfortably on the bed and you swore you were sweating. Not able to take it anymore, you scramble to get up and closed your laptop. “Why do you keep on asking me stuff? I’m going home.” You packed your things back in your bag and hurried to leave. 

Meanwhile, Wonwoo stayed seated in his spot even more confused than before. “What did I do?”

"How is he so…so…”

You didn’t even bother switching on the light in your room and dumped your bag on the floor. You placed a hand on your chest. Then your cheeks. Lastly, your ears. Your hands flew to cover your face as you flung yourself on your bed with a groan, rolling from side to side while practically strangling your pillow.

“What’s wrong with me?”

You sat up and took deep breaths. You crawled to the edge of your bed, peeking through the window curtain before ducking back down. His lights were still on. He could be anywhere in the house right now. Maybe even looking at your direction. Maybe–you shook your head and laid back down with an arm over your eyes. 

“This is bad. This is so bad.”

And it was. Kinda.

Morning came as fast as night passed. All was normal. The sun still annoyed you. The cars on the street still woke you up. Your mom nagged you for waking up late. School was the same. Even getting random text messages from him at random hours…

random topics...

...the usual. It was like nothing happened at all. And you started to think that maybe, nothing did, that it was all in your head.

But somehow, the days passed as though you were walking through a landmine without a mine detector with him as every landmine; you started tiptoeing around, watching your every step, careful not to set off anything as your brain madly searched for solutions or anything that would help prevent it, or maybe have an excuse for when it goes off. It was tiring. You even wanted to block his existence even just for some time. But the fact that he’s participating in your project and that he lives next-door meant no escape; running into him was not difficult at all.

You opened the door slightly and looked around. Empty road. Still house. No sign of Wonwoo. You stepped out and took a deep breath. How long is this supposed to go on for? You went down the steps when you heard the sound of a door opening. Immediately, your eyes went to his door, your heart beating crazily against your chest. But his door was closed. False alarm.

You sighed in relief before stomping your feet. "Why am I so nervous?” you whined.

Just then, his door opened and there stood Wonwoo adjusting his jacket. Your eyes turned wide and your body started acting on its own.

“Ah! I forgot to eat breakfast!” you laughed heartily before turning back towards your house, shutting the door behind you loudly.

Wonwoo stood watching at his front door with a mild look of confusion on his face wondering just what was going on.

“Sweetheart?” your mom called. “You have two spoons.”

You looked down. In your left hand was a spoon. And in your right hand, you guessed it, was another spoon.

A fork was placed on your plate. You looked up to see Wonwoo getting up from his chair and when he got back with his own fork, he just smiled at you and started eating like always. Of course, you thought. Of course, you have to follow and suggest eating breakfast together. Great timing, Jeon.

“Honey, are you okay?” your mom asked. “You’ve been looking more and more pale like you’ve been seeing ghosts.”

“Me?” You forced a laugh, your fake amusement echoing in the large kitchen and bouncing back to hit you in the face. You cleared your throat and concentrated on your food. You looked up to see their looks of concern. “That was a weird analogy you used, mom.”

You planted your feet firm on the floor while the bus minded its own business and swayed at every turn. You had your back against the pole. Wonwoo stood holding on to the handle. You stood inches from each other but you acted like he was not even there. With the number of people in the cramped vehicle, you did not worry much about stumbling or tripping, not even getting squished. If anything, you worried more about getting questions, questions that needed some explaining.

“Filming later?” he asks, breaking the silence.

You nodded. “As scheduled.”

The voice of the driver came through the speakers, announcing the arrival at your stop in a few minutes. Some passengers looked up and started preparing their bags, some already started standing up from their seats and walked near the doors.

“Oh right.” Wonwoo rooted inside one of his pockets and pulled out his tie. “I forgot to ask you earlier.”

He gave you a sheepish smile and all you can do was shake your head in defeat as you set out to work. “Are you never going to learn how to do this?”

“I don’t have to,” he said softly. “I have you anyway.”

You tried hard to concentrate on the tie’s plain black design, beating away his answer and the nagging question you had in your mind since this morning. However, curiosity won. “Why are you taking this bus again?”

You waited for his answer only to have him give you a shrug.

Wonwoo looked down at your concentrated face as you looped the end through the knot, pulling it down gently before patting it flat on his chest. “Thanks,” he smiled.

“Question unanswered, Jeon.”

“You know.” A few passengers walked behind him towards the doors, prompting him to move and switch from holding the handle and on to the pole instead. “I wanted to eat home-made breakfast.”

“And be late?”

He shook his head and his voice was light and teasing. “Homeroom teacher’s absent today from what I heard.”

“Oh.”

“Are you okay?”

“I told you already. I’m fine,” you said meeting his eyes before realizing that he leaned closer when you weren’t looking. You shrank back and turned away.

The bus pulled over and the door opened, letting the passengers get off the bus. You began to go after them when he spoke again.

“Are we okay?”

You stopped in front the doors, cursing in your head. Three steps left and you would’ve been free from questions. Three steps! “What do you mean ‘are we okay’?” you asked looking back. “We’re okay. I’m okay. Are you okay?”

For a few moments, the two of you just looked at each other. You hoped for him to not ask anything weird but all you could concentrate on is the knot of worry in your stomach.

“It’s nothing. It’s just that…these days…” Wonwoo kept his eyes steeled on you that you could feel your heart pumping hard again.

“Anyone else getting off?” came the driver’s voice.

Finally, Wonwoo shook his head. “Never mind. See you later.”

Suppressing a sigh of relief, you nodded at him and went on your way. However, his eyes stayed glued on you until you got off, his look of concern etched in your mind for the rest of the day.

You turned the camera on and panned through the school yard scenery, taking mental notes of the angles that looked best for the next scenes. There were props being carried in and out of the set. Some dancers were rehearsing and chatting in another. A few more cameras on tripods and some lighting at the middle and at the very end was Wonwoo.

He stood chatting with one of the hair stylists while he got his hair fixed. You turned the lenses and zoomed in for a while when he turned towards you sending an electrical jolt through your body. "Act normal, act normal,” you muttered to yourself, adjusting the lenses again before panning him out of view as smoothly as you can. But the look that he had, the same one he gave you earlier this morning, swam in your mind. “Act normal.”

Filming commenced as scheduled. Even the growing uninvited audience with their stubbornness were present. But your mind was too occupied to be bothered by their presence. You did not even take notice of a certain someone who’s been silently observing and watching the whole time. Your mind has been busy trying to refill your jar of excuses, preparing for anything unexpected just in case it happens again. But somehow, the excuses weren’t enough. Not to mention, Wonwoo was everywhere.

“Y/n. I need you to review the scenes with Wonwoo and his partner.”
“Hi y/n. Can you ask Wonwoo if it’s alright to take a picture with him?”
“Y/n. We need to re-shoot Wonwoo’s scenes with…”
“Hey y/n. Can you give Wonwoo…”
“Y/n? Wonwoo needs…”
“Y/n! We’re filming Wonwoo’s part in…”
“Y/n–”
“Y/n–”
“Y/n.”

“What??” you answered in frustration before seeing that it was Wonwoo himself this time. His name has been chasing you all afternoon and it’s been driving you nuts.

“Are you okay?”

He took a step forward out of the sun to the shade of the tent and reached out only for you to withdraw yourself. You looked around you, ignoring the flash of hurt and concern on Wonwoo’s face. Everything was packed away from the heat and everyone’s on break, resting under the other tents.

You glanced briefly at him and turned away. “I’m fine. Just tired.” You shifted the papers on the table, trying to find the imaginary script you were going to study. “What is it?“

"You should rest. You look tired.”

“I am growing tired,” you admitted before hearing someone’s footsteps.

“Hey,” Mingyu greeted you both with a wide smile. “I brought snacks.” Bundled up in his arms were assorted juice boxes, chips, biscuits and a few sandwiches. You saw his eyes shifting from you to Wonwoo but you chose to focus on neither.

Wonwoo cleared his throat and waited but he was met with silence–crippling and awful silence. “I’ll be going then…to uh…yeah.” You heard him walk away until Mingyu called out to him.

“Hyung? Where are you going? I have lots of snacks here.”

You turned to see Wonwoo who had a scowl etched on his face although it was probably due to the searing sun. “Uh, no thanks. I–”

“–oh, come on.” Mingyu dumped the snacks on the table and walked over to where Wonwoo was standing, placing an arm around his shoulders and directing him back to the tent. “Don’t act like a stranger. Let’s enjoy this break before going out back to the sun again.”

Wonwoo stood reluctantly while you and Mingyu sat next to each other already opening the snacks. You peeked at him and nodded towards the chair in front of him to sit down.

And all at once, the trees rustled, the neighboring students in their tents laughed heartily, the sound of snacks being opened and the holes on juice boxes being punched with the straw filled the silence. But it all seemed unreal, like watching it on TV from afar. And you wanted it to be. You wanted to be away from this suffocating scene. You wanted to not have anything to do with it even just for a little while. But you can’t. You are part of the scene.

“Want some?” Mingyu asked offering you a piece of his snack.

You shrugged and reached out only for Mingyu to draw his hand back. “Uh uh,” he said wagging a finger. He opened his mouth before offering you the chip again.

Your eyes went from the chip to Mingyu to Wonwoo and back. Mingyu nodded at you encouragingly. You leaned close with your eyes still on him and ate the chip. Mingyu’s face lit up with a smile of pure joy.

While he was busy doing his signature happy shoulder dance and continued opening the other snacks, your eyes caught a brief glimpse of Wonwoo. Somehow, it looked like he just ate something bad.

Oblivious to it all, Mingyu grinned. “How does that one taste?” he asks nodding at the pack of popcorn you were holding.

“Sweet,“ you said simply. But the look on his face was something else. So you offered the packet to him. Instead, he shook his head and opened his mouth, pointing at it with his finger.

“Gimme one.”

You reached in the packet and pulled a piece. “Okay.” He leaned in for you to toss the popcorn into his mouth and munched on it contently with what seemed to be a permanent smile on his face.

“Hey.”

Great. What does he want now? But the moment you thought of it, you wanted to take it back. That is because Wonwoo had his mouth open, imitating what Mingyu did.

“Gimme some.”

You scoffed and shook your head in disbelief. Grabbing a small handful of popcorn, you threw them his way. One hit his eyelid, two bopped his nose, and most landed on his shirt with one narrowly missing his mouth. You laughed. “You have your own, Jeon.”

Wonwoo brushed off the bits from his face and clothes. “Stop wasting food,” he said chucking a piece towards you.

Mingyu his lips. This wasn’t what he had in mind. He stared at his juice box in silence when he got an idea. “Hey Y/N. Wanna taste this?” he says, offering you his drink.

“Sure,” you said. “Ugh. It tastes good but it’s too sweet. Or maybe that’s the popcorn.” You gave him back the juice, washing the overwhelming taste down with your own.

Mingyu suppressed a grin and was about to take a sip of his drink when someone’s head came into his view. It belonged, as he saw when he recovered from his surprise, to Wonwoo. Wonwoo took a sip of the juice and sat down with an unimpressed look on his face.

“I see what you mean,” he confirms. He grabbed a box of biscuits and snacked on them, seeming to ponder over its taste.

“Right? It goes better with your chips, Gyu.”

Mingyu sat in silence as he stared at the straw, oblivious of the faint smile of triumph displayed on Wonwoo’s lips.

For the second time today, you didn’t have to worry about getting squished in the bus. Why would you when there were two towers that made a mini wall in front of you? Two really silent walls to be specific.

An announcement over the loudspeaker had just told you that the bus would be arriving at your stop in a few seconds. The bus engine grew softer until it came to a stop. The doors creaked open and passengers started to get off. Wonwoo walked down the steps and to the waiting shed.

Back on the bus, you held out your hand towards Mingyu who held your backpack but he was looking at something else.

“Mingyu,” you said taking a step in front of him. “Bag, please.”

In a monotone voice, the driver asked if anyone else is getting off. Mingyu turned to scan the bus. No one else was getting off and Wonwoo stood waiting outside. Mingyu shifted the bag from one hand to another and smiled at you.

“Mingyu. Come on.”

To your surprise and a certain someone who’s been waiting impatiently outside, Mingyu took your hand and held it tight in his.

“Let’s go somewhere and play.”

“Doors closing,” came the driver’s voice again.

Before you knew it, the doors have closed and the bus was moving again. You turned around, the words ‘wait’ and ‘stop’ stuck in your throat. You felt Mingyu’s hold on your hand tighten and it was enough to get your attention.

“Just somewhere near. There are some things I need to know.”

The bus already passed the neighborhood by now and getting off at this moment would only earn you a scolding from the driver. With your body and mind working nonstop all day, you didn’t need nor want additional stress. You looked back at Mingyu’s hand that held yours and sighed.

"Fine.”

Wonwoo stood unmoving in his spot. He watched helplessly as the bus he was just in drove away. "What...just...happened?"

A familiar sound went off in his pocket. Wonwoo reached for his phone and saw Jeonghan calling.

"Hyung?"

"Wonwoo. Is y/n with you? I forgot to tell her about Hyein's–"

"She's with Mingyu," Wonwoo said, his voice faltering when he said the other's name.

"What do you mean? Mingyu's with you?"

"No," Wonwoo answered impatiently. "Mingyu took her. He didn't let her get off the bus. I don't know where they're going."

"Oh."

"What's the matter?" a voice, Seungcheol's, asked in the background.

"Mingyu went off somewhere with y/n," Jeonghan answered.

"Ah." Wonwoo heard the phone being taking from Jeonghan and heard Seungcheol's voice. "Good luck, kid. I heard Mingyu's been restless these days. Says he's worried or something."

"What are you? A spy?" Jeonghan asked in the background before taking hold of his phone again. "So," he said redirecting his voice towards Wonwoo, "What're you going to do?"

Wonwoo closed his eyes and placed a hand on his hip. All he could do right now, he thought, was wait. "I don't know. Him being restless is making me restless. And y/n's been acting weird too."

"Uh huh."

"Hyung. Should I just...Should I..." The words were all caught up in Wonwoo's mind. Should he? Should he not? What should he do?

"I don't know what you should do, Wonwoo. But remember, Mingyu is also your friend."

"I know," Wonwoo sighed as he leaned back against the pole for support. But with his heart and mind in shambles, he needed more than a physical one. He looked back at where the bus was with the image of Mingyu’s hand holding yours in his mind. "I know."