Hyunwoo stared at the word ‘orange’ on the white paper in front of him.

“Orange,” he said to himself as he looked up at the car ceiling and sighed. He was writing down the answer for Ask Monsta X for Monbebe’s 2^nd Anniversary. And he met this question about what color does the members represent if Monsta X were rainbow. And here he was, in front of the word orange.

He had answered the obvious ones like Wonho for Red, Yellow for Minhyuk, Green for Jooheon, Blue for Hyungwon, and indigo for him along with the reasons. There were still orange and purple left. There were still Changkyun and Kihyun left. Orange was absolutely not Changkyun. So Kihyun? But why?

Hyunwoo leaned his back on the back rest and thought about the color orange and Kihyun again. Well, Kihyun was called Kirange for his hair and everything but he wanted to give every members and color the good meaning instead of writing down because Kihyun is Kirangi.

Hyunwoo thought about what does orange reminded him of. Well, first, orange as a fruit which was a food and he liked to eat. But then what? Kihyun liked to cook food and was quite good at it but it wasn’t that Kihyun cooked orange nor he did want to eat Kihyun like he wanted to eat orange.

Well, first, he thought about the taste of an orange. It was sour and sweet. It tasted fresh and juicy. It was small and had pulps in it. But if it was something fresh, it was represented by green that represented by Jooheon already. There was no pulp in kihyun and… juicy? Sour and sweet? Kihyun? Juicy? Sour and sweet? Hyunwoo shook his head to erase any odd and improper thought in his head.

If it was orange then, it was…. Energetic? But if it was about something energetic, and funny, it was the loud yellow Minhyuk, of course. So what were orange and Kihyun?

Hyunwoo frowned.

He skipped orange and went to write down the answers the purple color as Changkyun, along with the reason. And then he stared back at the word orange. He looked up at the answers again and thought if someone else fitted orange. But everyone was already in their best fitted color.

Hyunwoo sighed as he really couldn’t find the reason why Kihyun was orange. Looking for inspirations, he turned his head to Kihyun.

He was there, out of the loud conversations and jokes between Minhyuk and Jooheon. Maybe just for a while, but there he was, staring out of the car window and just breathing calmly. Hyunwoo didn’t find the answer but he was getting inspired, Hyunwoo looked out at the car window next to him, staring at the dusk sky that was orange and golden.

Something hit Hyunwoo in the inside. If it was orange like the sky at dusk, then orange wasn’t energetic. The dim silhouette of the soft clouds, that hid and escorted the golden sunlight to sleep. It was time when there was a lot of heavy traffic jams. Those cars on the road, the ties that was loosen, those tired faces. But there was this relief, the sigh of finally this day is over, the expectation of the night. Because when the dusk came, it was time for most people to go home. The favorite loose t-shirts, the laughter of the children, the warm welcoming words from wives, husbands, even moms and dads. The preparation for the dinner and familiar heart-warming conversations. A soft and comfortable bed, soft slippers, and even maybe a room to be alone. A calming warm shower and faces without make ups and messy hair.

 The laughters from the back seats snapped him out of his thought. Minhyuk and Jooheon was conversating and insulting Kihyun who was staring at them, embarrassed, smiling, annoyed, but then laughing and shouting out of desperation.

The crescent eyes and the dimples, the smiling curvy lips and that chubby hands tried to stop Minhyuk from impersonating him doing whatever absurd and exaggerate thing he was trying to do. Those short chubby fingers that clutched onto Minhyuk’s warm sweater because it was October just before the winter. Just before the snow fell. It was the autumn.

The warm Halloween when children wore their costumes and had some fun. When the leaves turned orange and brown and red, left the tree, and scattered on the road. When the sky showed between the empty branches of the trees on the roads. Saying good bye to the summer, preparing to say hello to winter. Leaving the heat of August and welcoming the chilling December. It was fun like summer but it was calm like winter. It was warm and chilly, it was bright and calm. Of the comfortable sweater, and comfortable socks. The autumn was another orange, and it was yet again, another warm and soft orange.

And if it was Kihyun…

Hyunwoo blinked as all he could remember was Kihyun’s full of fighting spirit when he sang on vocal classes and those shouting of ”Chae Hyungwon, wake up!” which were nothing soft and warm.

So Hyunwoo trailed his memories of what Kihyun did after he woke Hyungwon up.  

The small figure will go outside, threaten Hyungwon that he will not wake him up anymore. He will walk out of the room to the kitchen or roam anywhere to tidy some things up in the dorm because there will always things to be tidied up. As he finished showering, he will find Kihyun in his room again, try to wake Hyungwon up, this time will be fiercer.

But that back he always saw in the kitchen, along with some nice smell of meals or coffee or things he will bring to the living room and let the members enjoyed them. The cocky and happy smile as they compliment and even insulted his cooking, because either way, everyone continued inhaling the meal. That back that some other times, companied with those clinking sounds of plates or cups as he washed the dishes. The feet that were busy walking here and there just to nag or bring things to their rightful places just like a hamster on its wheel. The familiar, famous, sometimes, annoying and threatening voice as he told Minhyuk to place his shorts and socks in the right place, or simply to tell him to wash the mug he used to drink juice. Those busy hands that were wiping the table clean even vacuumed the room clean.

All of that, all of that even with tired face that turned into serious one when he tried to reach those high notes. Those high notes that seemed to be effortlessly caught even if he felt like dying. Just like another members who were practicing the dance moves to its very details. Even after those all, in the late of night, roaming around and placing socks and even jacket thrown away by the exhausted members to the rightful places.

“Stop it, you can clean up later,” Minhyuk told him once.

“Then one day, you won’t be able to sit on that couches, even to see the floor— Just stay there. I’ll clean things up,” Kihyun answered.

“I told you to do it later, not to stop doing it at all,” Minhyuk snorted with mischievous smile.

“Just shut the heck up, punk, here drink this up,” he said again as he gave Minhyuk the cold big bottle of mineral water he just took from the kitchen and walked out of the scene.

Hyunwoo scoffed.

Those fierce glare and sometimes, words, from those curvy lips and small body that doesn’t seem to be afraid of anything in this world at all. Not a thing at all. Although Kihyun’s head just reached Hyunwoo’s eyes without those soles. Although when he tried to push Hyunwoo away, he was the one who was thrown away. Even if that lonely back on the kitchen looked tired and those sighs were so long. Even if those chubby fingers got some dry skin peeled off as he did the laundry and dishes. Although the tiny figure screamed (and laughing at himself) everytime the boiling oil on the pan was jumping out to his pale wrist, surprised him(, amused him). Even when every member tried to prank and insult him just because he was small and angry and was fun to be laughing at.

Hyunwoo looked down at the empty space on the paper and wrote the name Kihyun and the reason with a gentle smile on his face.

*

“Chae Hyungwon, wake up. Right now”.

Hyunwoo opened his eyes and sighed as he heard that loud voice such in early morning again.

“Wake up. Wake up, hey,”.

Hyunwoo shoved away his blanket as he turned his head and found those pale thighs in shorts and that hanging chubby left hand.

“Hyungwon-ah, come on, get up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up. Gosh,”.

Hyunwoo took his glasses and put it on as he sat himself up, watching Kihyun flicked Hyungwon’s foot’s sole.

“Yah, yah, yah, yah!” he said in every flick that was getting harder.

Wonho was there, sitting on his bed with a very sleepy face, while Changkyun was watching Kihyun waking Hyungwon up from the door way, laughing.

Then there came Minhyuk with his loud mouth and that loud heavy metal songs he put on speaker into the room, sat next to Wonho and start doing things to him.

“Wake! Up!”.

But even then Kihyun’s voice stood out.

“Yaaaaaahhhhhh!!” Kihyun shouted again in even more annoyance as he now hitting Hyungwon’s with his palm.

“I’m awake, I’m awakeee,” Hyungwon said as he shoved Kihyun’s wrist away from his butts.

“Then come down, come here, come down and go shower,” Kihyun said sternly. “Yah,”.

Hyunwoo saw Kihyun sighed as Hyungwon just answered with some murmurs. He saw Kihyun looked around, looked for things he could use to wake Hyungwon up because he forgot the water spray he usually used to wake him up in his room.

The chubby hand reached up to his already messy bed hair to make his hair even messier. His eyes were still puffy from all the lack of sleep and even there were still sleeping marks on his cheeks and temple. There were this crumpled marks on his t-shirt and shorts. Even his voice was still groggy as he shouted.

Hyunwoo smiled.

“Chae Hyungw—“.

The name was cut when Hyunwoo reached his hand to hold Kihyun’s hand like they were about to shake hand. Compared to Kihyun’s hand, his hand was warmer, well he always had more warmth compared to anyone there.

“Good morning, Kihyun-ah,” Hyunwoo said with his low sleepy voice as he stood up and so Kihyun’s eyes followed him up.

“Yea?” Kihyun answered.

Hyunwoo could see that surprised, amused and restrained smile on Kihyun’s face.

“I said, good morning,” Hyunwoo said as he started to realize those stares from everyone even Jooheon who was entering the room to lay down on Wonho’s bed, and even Hyungwon who opened his eyes up and froze on his spot.

So, Hyunwoo chuckled groggily as he scratched his head in embarrassment.

“Did you have a good sleep?” Hyunwoo asked again to avoid the awkwardness and embarrassment and amusement that already filled in the air.

And there he was, the first smile bloomed on Kihyun’s face this morning, along with some embarrassed and very amused high pitched laugh from him and everyone else there.

“I did, ajjusshi, I did. I don’t know what happened but thank you for asking,” the shouting and annoyed voice turned into a very gentle tone. Kihyun stared straight to Hyunwoo’s eyes in amusement and expectation of what will come out of Hyunwoo’s mouth. He flashed him those crescent smiling eyes, showing off his dimples. “How about you?” he asked again and Hyunwoo could feel Kihyun’s hand held his hand back.

So, Hyunwoo smiled even wider.

“I did,” Hyunwoo said as short as he could. “T, thank you for asking back,” he said shyly as he swayed the hand was holding, out of embarrassment, shying away from Kihyun’s gentle eyes, welcomed by those amused laughter from everyone there, even Hyungwon was completely awaken and started his unstoppable laugh.

“Uh… W, what is this?” Kihyun asked softly as the crescent eyes went even crescent and those dimples were even obvious after the shy answer. Red cheeks even ears, Kihyun covered his shy and amazed smile with his other chubby hand. He looked around, laughing along with everyone else there with mixed feelings of embarrassment, amusement, surprised, and some peaceful warmth just like the orange color on the dawn sky outside the windows.

“Orange: Kihyun, warm and soft”.

***

End