I make haste in getting ready, frantically rushing around like a lunatic. By the time I’m finished, 30 minutes have already passed and I rush into the living room. I give everyone an apologetic look but they brush it off, all of them offering to handle my luggage. I don’t argue and let them, walking alongside Kaituo as we make our way to the parking lot. Us EVO and NCT pool into the parking lot, and I see a large tour bus. It doesn’t take long before our luggage is stuffed into the storage and we all make our way onto the bus. Kaituo and I are the first to enter, choosing to sit in the back of the bus. I claim a window seat in one of the back rows and Kaituo doesn’t hesitate to slide in the seat beside me. Usually I wouldn’t mind him sitting beside me, but to be frank I’d rather have someone else’s company right now. 

I bite my lip and look at him. The others start to swarm onto the bus, bickering over where they want to be seated. Kaituo brandishes his AirPods and looks up to give me a questioning look.

I flash him a small smile, knowing what I have to say for him to do what I want. “Oppa.”

Kaituo jerks up and yanks his earphones out of his ears as astonishment floods his features. “Wha- What did you call me?”

I roll my eyes at him. “Can you do me a favor?”

“No no no no. Ella what did you call me just now? Say it again.” A smile slowly emerges from his face. 

“Kaituo OH-ppa. Can you do me a favor?” I enunciate the word to please him.

“Aish. Finally the day has come! I have been promoted from Hyung to OPPA!” Kaituo whoops, air fiving Min-hyun who has just arrived. Min-hyun sits in the row beside us. 

I strain my eyes around the bus, searching for the one person I want to be around.

Jaehyun is nowhere to be found. And I only want Jaehyun.

 Turning back to Kaituo, I nudge him.

“Do me a favor and sit somewhere else.”

“Why?” Kaituo counters, slumping deeper into his seat. 

“Oppa, please?” I sigh, batting my eyelashes at him like a child begging for candy. 

Kaituo is silent and he doesn’t budge, only sending me another questioning look. “We always sit together on road trips. It’s a tradition. You can’t BREAK tradition.” 

“I know but- Just this once. Please?”

“But I downloaded all our favorite shows and music. We’re supposed to binge watch Gossip Girl together!” He wails. I reach out and tug on his arm. In the corner of my eye, I see Jaehyun hop onto the bus, his eyes scanning the bus. Jaehyun’s eyes land on me and he waves at me with a smile. Frantically, I turn to Kaituo, urging him to move someplace else.

“I promise I’ll do everything you want to do later. Just sit someplace else for this ride. I want to-“ I stop myself before I go on. Jaehyun is a few rows away from us and I push at Kaituo a little harder this time. 

“Hey! Ella, what’s your problem?! We always sit together-YAH!” 

Using almost all my upper body strength I shove Kaituo off the seat and he goes crashing onto the ground. Jaehyun has now stopped in front of us and he looks at the frazzled Kaituo in confusion. 

“Kaituo you good?” Jaehyun asks, the sound of his voice sending waves of the unnamed feeling throughout my body. He extends a hand and helps Kaituo onto his feet. I give Kaituo my best apologetic smile and shift my attention to Jaehyun. Before Kaituo can reclaim his seat, I pat it with my hand and tell Jaehyun to take a seat.

“I thought I was supposed to save you a seat,” he chuckles, sliding to sit beside me. 

“Beat you to it,” I answer simply. Kaituo’s gawking at the sight of the two of us. Jaehyun is oblivious, fussing over the contents of his backpack. Kaituo’s eyebrows are knitted together and I watch as realization dawns on him. He gives me a weird look but keeps his mouth shut, smirking when he glides over to sit in the row in front of us with Winwin. 

Taeyong starts to do a roll call and I divert my attention to him and the sound of his voice calling out our names. After that’s done, I clasp on my seatbelt and mentally prepare for the long ride. The bus ride to Busan is going to be around 5 hours, more or less depending on traffic. At first I didn’t plan to stay awake most of the trip, but I was now with Jaehyun and I turn to him with shining eyes.

“Speak,” I order him. 

Jaehyun chuckles and reaches a hand up to run through his hair. “Always so eager.”

“I want to know more. You have to tell me more,” I tell him, shifting in my seat. 

“I’ve told you everything yesterday. There really isn’t more I can tell you,” he says calmly before adding. “It’s morning, Ella. I don’t have the brain capacity to think about the past right now.”

I make a face but lean back in my seat. It was worth a try. “I trust you,” I remind him. “But I want to know as much as I can about myself.”

Jaehyun is about to reply, but the bus rumbles as it takes a turn. Everyone suddenly slides to the right of the bus and I slam against the window. Jaehyun crashes against my side and he places a hand on the seat in front of him to brace himself. The bus then tilts to the left and it’s now my turn to slam against Jaehyun. I grip the windowsill to brace myself, but my hold isn’t strong enough, and my loose seat belt doesn't do a good job at holding me down. I slide into Jaehyun’s arms. He swiftly encircles his arm around my waist and holds me put, as we wait for the bus to settle down. 

The road is still bumpy and I find myself holding my breath. Jaehyun is unbothered and he naturally tightens his arm around my waist, looking down to smile at me. My eyes immediately focus on his lips and I wonder- No. 

I can’t date. 

I force myself to look away to calm my racing heart. The ride eventually becomes smooth again and I unwillingly move away from Jaehyun, thanking him for the help. A foreign feeling of awkwardness washes over me and I touch my cheeks, aware they’re flush red. Jaehyun notices, reaching out to poke my cheek.

“You’re as red as a tomato,” he says with a small laugh. 

“It’s the sun,” I lie, jerking my head to the window where the harsh rays of sunlight are seeping in, painting my skin. 

Jaehyun watches me, his eyes challenging mine. I stare back. Two can play this game. He concedes defeat by shaking his head and looks away, a small smile on his lips. “Stare at me more and I’ll think you’re in love with me.”

I scoff. “Same goes for you, Jaehyun. By how much you stare at me, I think you’re already madly in love with me.” 

“It’s not my fault. Who wouldn’t want to stare at something so beautiful?” Jaehyun says, quirking an eyebrow at me. I remember saying that to him before.

“So you admit it? I’m beautiful,” I smirk at him.

“Very,” he says a little too fast. My heart doubles in size. 

“Aera, you really are beautiful.” He adds, his voice a little lower than usual. He finishes it off by playfully winking at me before laying his head back and closing his eyes. I watch in silent stupor as his breathing slows and he falls asleep. I lay my head back and watch him.

He’s the beautiful one. 

Sleep slowly creeps up on me as well, whisking me away unmercilessly.

I don’t know what it is, but for some reason I feel a gravitational pull between Jaehyun and I. It’s like I was struck by Cupid’s bow. Or maybe the universe and the Gods had a meeting and they agreed; it’s time.

I guess that’s why it’s called falling in love. Because you don’t force yourself, you just fall. 

And dare I say, I’m falling for him.

Jung Jaehyun, please catch me because I’m falling for you hard. 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I’ve never slept this well before. I’m nudged awake by Jaehyun and I’m informed that we’ve reached. Rubbing my eyes, I force myself up. I slept for the entirety of the trip, and am beyond surprised. I follow Jaehyun’s back off the bus and the moment I hop off, I smell the sea. But I don’t get to  enjoy it for long, because I get immediately yanked to the side of the bus. Min-hyun and Kaituo huddle around me, both giving me unreadable looks.

“What’s going on with you Jaehyun?” Kaituo asks, his voice calm, but I can see the fierceness in his eyes. I shake my head at him, and reply.

“Nothing. He’s just a friend yea?”

“Ella...You have to keep it that way because it might get out of hand,” Min-hyun warns me.

I let out a breath. “Out of hand? What’s going on? We didn’t do anything wrong.”

Kaituo fiddles with his phone and hands it to me, the screen of his phone dim against the strong sunlight. I squint to read the text displayed. 

“JAEHYUN NCT AND ELLA EVO-X SPOTTED AT SUPERMARKET AND EVO DORMS TOGETHER.”

“Are Jaehyun NCT and ELLA EVO-X dating? See below to read the full article and see pictures.”

I scoff at the phone and shove it back at Kaituo. “Why are people so quick to jump to conclusions? It’s nothing really, and Manager Lee will handle it. We should just enjoy