Twelve

Placing the voice recorder on Minah’s desk seemed like an impossible task to Kadence with the teetering piles of paperwork and odds and ends that littered it.  With a sigh she placed the device on the chair, and muttering something to her boss over the radio began sorting through everything.  It would take some time, but at that moment she had no other jobs to do, and she knew that Minah would be thankful for the helping hand.

“So this is where you’re hiding noona,” a voice sounded and she snapped her head up, finding Minseok standing in the doorway.  She offered him a smile and he stepped into the room.

“What can I help you with Seokie?”

“I’m bored Lamb, there’s nothing to do,” he whined and she rolled her eyes, picking at several sheets of paperwork and placing them in the correct tray.

“Are you serious?  I’ve already had Luhan bugging me today.  I ended up sending him down to Yoonhee; she’s probably boring him with all her designs,” she huffed, picking up another large pile.  Or ravaging him, she added as an afterthought to herself.  All at once the papers slid out of her hands to shower the desk and the floor and she involuntarily let out a curse.

“Are you sure you want to send me away too?” Minseok asked as he bent to help her retrieve the sheets.  She let out a laugh, shaking her head as they collected them together and continued to sort through them.

“I guess you can stick around for a bit,” she said, pointing him in the direction that belonged to the several items in his hands.  She had to admit that it made the process much easier and before she knew it they were looking at a clean desk, with another task on hand.

Giving the boy a high five Kadence left the office behind, the boy trotting along beside her as they made their way down the corridor.  She repeatedly threw him sidelong glances, eventually halting and turning to him. 

“You guys are hopeless when you don’t have a schedule.  What on earth did you do before I was promoted to official entertainer?” she asked, her hands on her hips and he poked his tongue at her, trying to imitate her.

“We annoyed Kris mostly, I think he’s glad you’re here to take the brunt of it,” he answered with a shrug and she failed to respond.  For some reason the words affected her, despite her attempts to squash all feelings for him, and instead she merely nodded.  Continuing to their destination she couldn’t help but let Minseok’s happy mood begin to affect her, and it was with a much brighter expression that she turned to him when they reached their destination.

“Alright, you stay in here while I collect what I need to, I don’t want you getting into trouble,” she urged and he nodded, his cheeks puffing up with the grin he gave her.  She shook her head as she entered one of the many offices, being handed several envelopes to mail.  Thanking the staff member she returned to find Minseok pouting at his phone.  “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Luhan, he messaged asking where I was and now he thinks you hate him,” he said, looking up at her in confusion and she furrowed her brow.  “He said you ran out on him the other day, and now you sent him away but you’re happy to have me here.”

With a sigh she held out her hand and the boy placed his phone in it.  It only took her a moment to call the Chinese member, who answered with a whiny voice.  “Do you really think I hate you Lulu?”

“Jie jie?  I feel like you’ve been avoiding me.  First lunch and now today, have I done something wrong?” he asked in a sad voice and she immediately felt guilty, her shoulders slumping.

“Of course not, I don’t think you ever could.  I told you the other day I forgot about an appointment, and I was in a mood today.  Minseok’s only here because he helped me when I dropped something.”

“I would’ve helped you if you dropped something,” he said and she could tell that he was pouting at the other end.  She smiled lightly at the boy, even though he couldn’t see her and fanned the envelopes in the air.

“I know Lulu, if you want we’re going to post some letters nearby.  Did you wanna come?” she offered, expecting him to immediately jump at the chance.  Instead there was a pause before he politely declined.  There wasn’t any hurt in his voice anymore though and Kadence bit her lip as she rung off and handed the phone back to Minseok.

“Is he coming?” the boy asked as he shoved it back into his pocket and she shook her head as they set off.

“I think... he might actually be enjoying Yoonhee’s designer talk,” she replied, slightly stunned.  Minseok burst into laughter that lasted until they were down the stairs and he was clutching at his stomach.

“Aigoo noona, I wish you got time off when we did.  I would invite you over to the dorm all the time, and you, me and Luhan could sit around laughing at stupid things,” he said dreamily as they stepped out onto the street.  She chuckled at the prospect, but inside she was secretly glad that she had to keep working; spending time in close vicinity to Wu Fan would probably drive her crazy.

She looked up as Minseok waved, resisting the urge to smack her hand into her face at the irony of life.  The very boy who had just been on her mind was walking towards them and Kadence just wanted the ground to open up and swallow her.

“Hey Kris, what are you doing here?” Minseok asked as they grew closer and the boy halted in front of them.  Kadence tried to avoid looking at him, dressed in jeans, a plain shirt and a blazer that made breathing become difficult.

“Just heading up to meet Gayun, how about you guys?”

“I’m helping out Kay today, we’re going to post some letters,” Minseok answered happily, shooting a grin in her direction and she managed a strained smile back, holding up the envelopes.

“Well I have some time to waste, mind if I tag along?” Wu Fan asked and Kadence let out an inaudible groan, though she was proud of the fact that she didn’t panic as she had done previously.

“There’s probably not much use, we’re just ducking in and out to post it then I have to do all the other tasks that will have built up in my absence.  Besides, I’m sure Gayun will be waiting for you,” she said and both boys turned to her.  Minseok looked puzzled at her response, obviously wondering what had changed between the phone call with Luhan and now.  She knew that she risked the boy realising the real reason and pestering her for answers.

Wu Fan also looked confused and Kadence bit down on her lip, unsure whether the hurt also apparent was a figment of her imagination or not.  She had tried to be as polite about it as possible, but she had vowed to herself that their interactions would be limited to professional needs, and while she was working, tagalongs were crossing that line.

“Oh, okay then.  I’ll see you back at the building?” he asked, his voice filled with an awkwardness that she had never heard before.  Both her and Minseok nodded, though she knew the boy’s next to her was a lot more sincere.  With a bow she began to walk off, not looking back to see if he was still standing there, or if Minseok was following.