_ flustered

 

She was gone. The seat beside his was startlingly empty. He glanced over at the clock with a frown. She was always at least ten minutes early for class, so what was going on here? With a worried sigh, he slid down into his seat.

 

He sat through the droll lecture with a scowl etched on his face the entire time. Even when it came time for him to pack up, all he could do was glance over-and-over again at the door. Of course, it would make no sense for her to show up when the class was over, but for some reason, he was hoping for it anyway.

 

For the next couple of days, he found himself glaring at the empty seat beside him. He caught himself a few times too many – shuddering from the lack of warmth at his arm, leaning over to try and double-check his notes with hers. It was frustrating.

 

“So what ever happened to that girl you were telling us about, Junhong-ah?” Himchan asked as he watched Junhong hang his uniform up.

 

“She hasn't been there,” he muttered, trying hard not to show his disappointment about it.

 

“Oh, is she sick?”

 

He wheeled around with the realization, feeling extremely stupid for not having thought of it himself. “Oh.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Th-that makes sense, doesn't it, hyung?”

 

Himchan's eyes narrowed in confusion. “Umm... I don't know... Does it?”

 

Junhong couldn't help the grin that spread on his face. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

 

She was gone again for the next few days, which made it a whole week since he last talked to her. It made him really antsy, for reasons he wasn't sure he could explain, but it did give him some time to think over what he wanted to say when he finally did get to see her again. Namely, about how to ask her to come to a practice. So he started writing it down. At first, it was just little scribbles, mostly because it was helping him stay awake for class. Then, he realized that it might actually be helpful. So he started putting some thought into it.

 

On the edges of the pages in his notebook, he fumbled through the words. Maybe you could come to practice with me one day... Then some furious scratching out. I think it would be fun if you could come watch us practice some time... More furious scratching.

 

He wasn't sure when it started progressing, but after a while, even he was surprised with what he read on the notebook, interspersed with his meager notes. I think I like her... There were some confused scribbles he couldn't manage to discern, but he was pretty sure it was all along the same lines. I like you. I think I want you to be my girlfriend. Maybe we should go out on a date. Eventually, he started scratching out the 'I thinks' and 'maybes'.

 

I like you. I want you to be my girlfriend. We should go out on a date.

 

“Hyung.”

 

“Hn?” Yongguk, who was sitting on the couch working on some new lyrics, glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

 

“I like her.”

 

That caught the older man's attention. He sat up straight, ogling him in shock. “What?”

 

“I like her...” Junhong glanced down at the notebook in his hand before flipping it shut. “I-is it okay to like her?”

 

Yongguk's bright, gummy smile was indicative enough, but his words were reassuring anyway. “Of course it is, Junhong-ah.”

 

She was back on Monday the next week. Back to smiling brightly at him, even though it was slightly weaker than usual. Back to stealing his attention from anything and everything else that might require it, although he didn't really mind as much anymore. He all but skipped to their shared desk, beaming as he slid into his seat. “Hey! You're back!”

 

Tucking her sweater closer around her form, she sniffed. “I am. How are you, Junhong-sshi?”

 

“I should be asking you that, shouldn't I? You were gone for a whole week. My hyungs told me you were probably sick.”

 

She giggled lightly, and it made his chest explode with warmth. Apparently he'd missed her even more than he thought. “I was. I didn't want to miss so much, but my mom wouldn't let me out of the house.”

 

“Oh,” he said slowly, sinking down against the back of his chair. “W-well, how are you feeling now? Do you need anything?”

 

“N-no,” she said, sounding surprised. “I'm fine now. I'm getting over it. I just need to tough it out for a little longer. But thank you.”

 

He caught her smile from the corner of his eye, but for some reason, it made him feel even guiltier that he couldn't do anything. “Are you sure?”

 

“Well, there is something you could help me with, if you don't mind.”

 

He sat up straight and squared his shoulders. “Sure, anything.”

 

“Do you mind if I look at your notes? I know I've missed a lot, but if I can at least get some of the notes from you, I know what I'll need to look up in the book, you know?” She tilted her head. “Is that okay?”

 

His face blanched. He was pretty sure he felt the color leave his face, as a matter of fact. His notes – well, typically it wouldn't be a problem. After all, whenever he missed notes in class because he was out of school for a performance or something, he would turn to you. You were always more than willing to share your notes with him. What kind of ungrateful person would he be if he didn't say yes to you now?

 

Except he had one huge problem – the random scribbles of his confessions, his ways of asking you to go to his practice, go on a date with him, be his girlfriend. Oh, no. He imagined your reaction and had the sudden urge to run out of the room.

 

Instead, he just sat there, feeling the color rush back onto his cheeks in the form of a hot blush. “Uhh...”

 

“Did you not take notes?”

 

“I did.” His answer came out before he could even think about it. It would've been easier if he just lied. “B-but umm... I don't know if you'd be able to read them.”

 

She laughed quietly, hiding a cough behind her sleeve. “It's okay. Anything will help, really.”

 

He made a show of opening to a random page in his notebook, panicking all over again at the messy little bits all over the edges. “Umm...”

 

“Junhong, I'm sure it's great.”

 

He looked worriedly at her, bringing the notebook to his chest. “No!” The widening of her eyes made him wince. “No, wait! That's not what I meant!”

 

Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. “Do you just not want me to see them? I mean, it's okay if you don't-”

 

“No,” he interrupted, finding himself holding the notebook out to her and then snatching it back again frantically. “But it's not like your notes. They're not really all that good.” He tucked the notebook behind his back. “How about I just read them to you? I can even help you find the information in the book.”

 

She raised an eyebrow. “But that'll take longer. Don't you have practice after school?”

 

He just shrugged.

 

“Why don't you want me to borrow your notebook?”

 

“What?”

 

“Are you hiding something from me?” A small, mischievous smile slipped onto her lips. “Why can't I see it?”

 

She started leaning towards him, one hand reaching for the notebook behind him. A loud drumming built up in his ear as he inched away from her slowly approaching form, leaning back as far as he could on the edge of the seat. “No!”

 

“No?” she said with a smirk. “Is it love notes or something?”

 

“It's not like that!” he argued weakly. “I just don't like people looking at my notes.”

 

“Oh, c'mon, Junhong-ah. We've been sharing notes since the beginning of the year! I promise, I won't judge anything.”

 

He straightened at that, and it made her retreat back against her own seat. “Yes, you will.”

 

Pouting, she held out her hand. “Please?”

 

Hesitantly, he moved to give the book to her. She needed the notes, so there was really no point in being stingy about what little help he could provide her. Besides, she was going to find out eventually anyway. All he had to do was do it the proper way first. Too bad she didn't give him the chance when she snatched the notebook from behind him. “No, wait!”

 

His words hit deaf ears as she opened the notebook and her eyes roamed over the writings all over the pages. “See, there's nothing wrong with...” She drifted off, eyes narrowing. She brought the paper up closer to her face, turning the notebook in her hands to read what probably looked a lot like cramped chicken scratch.

 

He slapped a hand over his overheated face, groaning. “You weren't supposed to look at it yet! I wanted to explain first!”

 

Her lips were moving, just barely, reading the words to herself on a mumble like she usually did when she really wanted to understand something. When she finally looked up at him, her eyes were round and her cheeks were blazing just as badly as his. “Junhong?”

 

Taking a deep breath, he took the notebook from her hand and tossed it on the desk. “I like you, ___.”

 

She sniffed, and he wasn't really sure if it was leftover from her sickness or something else.

 

“I was gonna ask you if you wanted to come to one of our practices one day, so we can hang out. You know, outside of this class...” He swallowed thickly, extremely aware of the fact that she was still just staring at him with those big, pretty eyes. “And then I started thinking that might be weird, and I want to be with you without my hyungs around anyway. So I should take you on a date...” He had to look away when he said it. “Maybe...”

 

There was a really painful moment of silence, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to get himself to look up at her. Then to his massive relief, she slipped her hand over the one clenched on his leg, squeezing lightly. “I like you too, Junhong-ie...”

 

He looked up at her, a little overwhelmed at her response. “Really?”

 

Her smile was shy. “Yes, really.”

 

“Then you do want to go on a date?”

 

She nodded, then exploded with laughter when he hopped up from his seat with a loud shout that echoed all over the classroom. He sat back down with a deep bow after catching sight of the teacher's raised eyebrow. He took hold of her hand with a satisfied, accomplished grin, and despite the fact she looked pretty flustered, she held his hand tightly. “I can't wait to tell the hyungs it worked.”

 

“What worked?”

 

With his free hand, he pushed his notebook over to her side of the desk. “Oh, nothing.”

 

---

 

end note: (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ Seriously, this one took for-freaking-ever. I'm so sorry, I kept pushing it off. I find it hard to work with Zelo because he's still . xD Hope you enjoyed! And thanks so much for all your support~ ◕ω◕