Chapter 13!          On The Balcony With You

“Let’s play another round again!”

Noisy excitement filled the connecting rooms as another round of games ensued, resulting in loud cheering and laughter as the next victim was picked.

“Dongwoon-ah! You’re out! Pali, pali! Go out!” Doojoon laughed, pushing the maknae on his feet while the rest of the members just laughed.

“Wae! Wae! Why am I out again? What did I do wrong this time?” Dongwoon protested, trying his best to stay seated in his position in the circle.

“You lost means you lost! Now just go out so we can decide your forfeit!” Yoseob laughed, glad he wasn’t the one doing the forfeit.

“Yah! If you don’t go out! We’ll have to drag you out!” Junhyung added.

“But… But, I need to go to the toilet!” Dongwoon said desperately, not wanting to face the punishment awaiting. Doojoon’s forfeits were something to be feared.

“Aish, just go out!” Hyunseung said, giving Dongwoon a push towards the door.

Defeated, the downcasted maknae made his way out of the room. As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, the rest put their heads together to decide on the forfeit he would have to face. All four heads looked up as the door opened.

“What are you guys doing? Dongwoonie looks like he’s going to pee in his pants out there.” Kikwang said, casually walking into the room.

“Oh really? Yah guys, I have an idea…”

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“Aish… what’s taking them so long! Hyung shouldn’t need so much time to come out with the forfeit… he always has so many up his sleeve!” Dongwoon muttered, pacing outside the door.

“Aish!” he hissed in frustration.

Kikwang had already went passed him ages ago, he had been pacing the corridor for ages. The guys still showed no sign of finishing, of opening the door for him. At this rate, it would be better to face Doojoon’s forfeits then to be left waiting like this… Wait… don’t tell me…

“Yah! Hyung! Hyung! Open the door!” Dongwoon yelled, banging on the door. When that didn’t work, he frantically rang the bell. “Hyung! Open up!” Don’t tell me the punishment was to leave me outside!

The door finally cracked open, Junhyung’s face appearing in the slit. The metal chain prevented the door from opening any further.

“Hyung, are you all done yet? Can I come in now?” Dongwoon asked, hopeful, trying to use ageyo. Aish… Why must it be Junhyung hyung who answer the door? He can always keep a straight face when seeing my ageyo…

“Anni. You’re not done with your forfeit yet!” Junhyung told him.

“But hyung! Just let me in! I really need to go!” Dongwoon pleaded, as laughter floated through the opening crack.

“And I need to get back to my game.” Junhyung joked, closing the door on the maknae.

“Hyung! Hyung!” Dongwoon banged the door in vain. Aish! I should have known… the hyungs always like to bully me… Now what should I do…

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It just has to rain again… Nicolette sighed, staring through the glass as the elevator moved down. It keeps raining today…

Stepping out of the lift, she made her way down the corridor, oblivious to her surroundings. She hesitated as she realized a slump figure sitting on the floor blocked half the corridor. Just as she was about to move around it, she realized why that figure seemed familiar.

“Dongwoon… ssi?” She asked nervously, not expecting to see him here.

The figure looked up, that familiarly handsome face greeting hers, his brown orbs lighting up with question and pleasant surprise at the sight of her.

“Why are you here?” Dongwoon asked, getting up.

“I’m going back to my room, it’s just down this corridor… Why are you here?” And sitting on the floor of the corridor too…

“I’m stuck outside my room.” Dongwoon replied, pointing to the door. “The other hyungs locked me out. We… we were playing a game.”

Awkwardness filled the silence between them.

“Erm… Would you like to see my room then? Or are you waiting for them?” Nicolette finally asked, the fangirl within her screaming as the words left . Omo… where did that just come from!

“Can I? Is it okay with you?”

“Yah, it’s fine.” She smiled. At least I think I should be…

Dongwoon followed her down the corridor till they reached her room, room 9552. Slotting in the card key, Nicolette opened the door to a new world to Dongwoon. Her room differed from his, for one, it was larger. After the toilet and the cupboards, a queen sized bed filled the area, an extra mattress in the space beside it. Shelves and small drawers were beside the cupboards, holding a television facing the beds. At the corner of the room, a dressing table sat, a huge mirror gracing it. Light filled the room through the glass doors leading to the balcony, the curtains pulled to one side. Two deck chairs sat on the balcony, a small table in between. Dongwoon could see the sea stretching out to the horizon through the glass.

[this is the closest pic that i could find... just imagine where there's another bed where the sofa is]

“I’m sorry. Is it too weird to ask you to come into my room? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Nicolette’s apologetic voice broke into his thoughts.

“Ah… No, it’s not that. I was just thinking the room is really nice!” Dongwoon quickly explained, stepping into the room. “Erm… it’s kind of weird to ask this… but do you mind if I borrow your toilet?” Dongwoon asked after briefly looking around the room again.

“Eh? Sure.”

Dongwoon quickly disappeared into the bathroom to relieve himself. Done, he stepped out to see Nicolette standing at the balcony, looking out to the sea. He made his way towards her, standing beside her on the balcony, leaning against the railings. Watching the waves was calming, the silence between them, peaceful. But Dongwoon did not want to waste this opportunity with her alone.

“So… so, you’re here with your mother?” He asked.

“Mmm. With my mother and grandmother. My mom’s friend got a free room so she gave it to us while she used her credits to get another room. She’s a regular on this cruise, gold card user. They’re probably at the casino now… not that my mom usually plays…”

“Oh. We got a short break from our schedule, so the management arrange this cruise for us. We obviously got the cheapest rooms, just what the agency can afford. Hmm… so can you speak Korean? Or you can’t? Because when you were speaking to us sometimes it felt like you knew Korean…”

“Oh. I’ve never learnt Korean. I just picked up the basic expressions from all the Korean dramas and variety shows that I watched…”

“Oh… You’re not bad then.”

“Kamsahamnida.” Nicolette replied, biting back a grin.

Silence filled the space between the two again, as Dongwoon struggled to find another topic to talk about.

“So what are you doing now? Still in high school? Wait… your country is different right?”

“Yup, it’s different. We go by primary school, secondary school and such. I graduated out of junior college two years ago, and took a one year break to work. I’ll be going to university later this year.”

“Wait… So you’re around my age?”

“I’m the same age as you, internationally. Born on 12 January 1991.”

“Omo… That means you’re my noona! And I thought you were younger than me too! Noona! Can I call you noona?” Dongwoon asked excitedly.

“Erm, sure, I guess…” Nicolette blushed.

“So noona, what are you working as?”

The two passed their time on the balcony happily talking and finding out more about the other party.

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“Yah, don’t you think it’s really quiet now?” Yoseob suddenly brought up.

“Maybe Dongwoon left to find a toilet somewhere…” Hyunseung lazily suggested.

“True, true.” The guys agreed, leaving it as that.

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“Hey, don’t you think you should be heading back? Won’t the other guys be worried if they can’t find you?” Nicolette asked, leaning comfortably on Dongwoon as the two looked at the picture they just took.

“Nah, they wouldn’t be bothered. Besides, they were the ones who locked me out!” Dongwoon dismissed her concern, wanting to spend more time with her.

“Come on now.” Nicolette said, slipping out of his grasp. “Be more matured will you. Besides, my mom might come back soon, and it’ll be weird if she finds you here… I’ll go with you back to your room, okay?”

“Fine. If you say so, noona.”

Dongwoon smiled as he willingly let Nicolette pull him out of the room by his sleeve. The two walked till they reached his room. Pausing, Dongwoon rang the bell, not saying anything like how Nicolette had instructed him to do. Knocking the unanswered door, Dongwoon felt a pulling on his sleeve, as Nicolette indicated for them to return to their room, grinning in excitement as she did so.

keke... next chapter is up! xD what has Nicolette got in mind?? o_o find out more (hopefully) soon!! xDD

comments? <3