Seungho’s POV

We looked at the painting for a little while more before heading back to our rooms to catch a couple more hours of sleep.

‘Thank you (｡♥‿♥｡)’ I texted Minji before falling back into sleep.

Although it was our 3^rd year anniversary, we had to work still. When we finally got to rest, it was night already. I checked my phone to see if there was any replies from Minji, but none. Just as I was about to call her, loud banging on our door startled us.

“What’s with people banging on doors this days?” I grumbled.

“Maybe it’s a new trend.” Mir said as he got up to open the door.

“Are you guys off work?” A familiar voice asked.

Minji.

Her eyes were on me and I could not stop smiling.

“Is that question directed to Seungho hyung only?” Mir teased.

“Aye~ I’m asking all of you!” Minji said as she came over to me.

“Yes, we’re off work. Are you planning on buying us a meal, or something like that?” Joon asked.

“Oh, how do you know?” Minji asked, looking genuinely surprised.

“Are you serious!?” The boys yelled.

Minji nodded. I shook my head at her, hoping she would get my message. The boys are monsters. They will eat her wallet dry.

“You don’t want to eat?” She asked me when the boys were busy cheering.

“Not that. But…” I muttered.

“Come on! Today’s a happy day! We should celebrate!” She squeezed my cheeks.

“Let’s go!!” She yelled, pulling me up.

***
We headed to the barbeque restaurant we frequent often.

“Hey, don’t order too much.” I warned them.

Minji laughed and covered my mouth.

“Order whatever you want, guys. It’s on me. Don’t look at the price! It’s not important!” She said.

My eyes widened.

“What’s wrong with you? They have no shame. You’re going to have to spend a lot of money if you say that.” I said.

“What’s wrong with you?! Why are you so grumpy hmm?” She asked, pinching my cheeks.

“I’m just worried.” I muttered.

“Worried about what? Don’t be! Come on, make your choice too.” She said, handing me the menu.

Not wanting to spoil the mood, I did as I was told. When the food came, the sight of it was shocking enough.

“Did you guys order like 50 portions of each type of meat?” I asked, staring at the waiter put more plates of meat down.

“We didn’t!!” G.O said, stuff his mouth full.

“Come on, it’s not that much after all. Say ahhhh~” Minji said, forcing a lettuce wrap into my mouth.

“It’s our third anniversary, why does hyung gets to be fed only?” Mir asked.

I glared hard at him. How dare he~

“Ahhh~ Alright, alright.” Minji said, wrapping another four lettuce wrap and feeding it to them right in front of my face. How dare she~

They continued chattering as if I was not there while I ate on my own.

“It’s you, right, Minji?” Joon asked.

“What about me?” Minji asked.

“The painting. You sent it, right?” Joon asked.

Minji looked down, but from the corner of her lip, I could tell she was smiling.

“Don’t be embarrassed!” G.O poked her cheek.

So, I am really invisible to them~

“Ahhh~ Yea, yea. Haaa~ So embarrassing. It was meant to be a secret.” She said.

“What secret!? You signed off!” Mir yelled.

“I did!? Oh damn me. I wasn’t supposed to do that!” Minji pouted.

“It’s a habit, I guess.” Cheondong said.

“Guess so~” Minji scratched her neck awkwardly.

“Why do you look so embarrassed? It’s amazing. We love it.” Cheondong said.

“Really?” Minji asked, turning to look at me, finally.

“Didn’t I text you?” I asked.

“Ahh yes~ Hee~” She leaned against me, giggling.

I was about to put my arm around her when Mir started talking, and then she sat up straight.

“The only thing we hated…” Mir said.

“There’s something you hate?” Minji asked, looking worried.

“The delivery timing.” Mir said.

“Was 8AM too early? I’m so sorry.” Minji apologized.

“8AM isn’t too early, but 6AM definitely is.” G.O said.

“6AM!? I didn’t ask for 6AM! I really didn’t!” Minji looked shocked.

“You didn’t, of course. But the delivery guy… or rather, boy, saw it wrongly.” Joon said.

“Ahhh~ Blind~” Minji laughed.

***
“Thank you for dinner.” G.O said, followed by the rest.

“Don’t mention! I hope you guys enjoyed it.” Minji said.

“Of course we did! It has been long since we had fun like this on a work day.” Mir smiled.

“Aww~ Poor things~” Minji said, pinching Mir’s cheek.

What is wrong with her today? Can she not see me?

“It’s late! You guys better head home and rest!” She said.

“Get in. We’ll send you back.” Joon said.

“I got my bike, remember?” Minji said, pointing at her bike.

“Ahh, that’s right. Ride safely!” G.O said.

“No problem. You guys take a warm shower and rest well! MBLAQ fighting!” She said.

They laughed and nodded. I turned to look at her.

“Are you tired?” She asked.

“I’m okay.” I said.

“Are you full?” She asked, patting my stomach.

“Very.” I smiled.

“Wanna go for a ride? I’ll send you back afterwards?” She asked.

“Sure.” I said.

We bid goodbye to the boys before heading to her bike.

“Aren’t we going for a walk?” I asked her.

“You’re not okay.” She said, cupping my cheeks.

I sighed and looked away.

“Are you jealous?” She asked.

“Of what?” I asked.

“Everything. I was too close to the boys, I only talked to them, too much skinship, everything of this sort. Is my Lucky jealous?” She asked, smiling.

“Since you know, then why did you do it?” I asked.

“Lucky, today is MBLAQ’s third anniversary. Not your third anniversary alone. I invited all of you out for food, I couldn’t be just acting lovey dovey with you, could I?” She asked.

“You could.” I said.

“I’m sorry. Fine, punish me.” She pouted.

“Punish you?” I asked.

“Yea, punish me.” She said.

What sort of a request is this?

I pulled her into a tight hug, inhaling the sweet smell of her shampoo and perfume.

“Something is wrong with you, darling.” She said, her cheek leaning against my chest.

“Everything feels wrong.” I said finally.

She pulled away and looked at me.

“Could I ride tonight?” I asked.

She nodded and handed me the keys. I made sure she was seated properly before riding off. With that helmet over my face, no one knew who I was. I could ride to anywhere; busy streets, secluded lanes.

No one would stop me, no one would chase me. I need not hide or walk with my head down. It was freedom, but only partly. I felt like an animal in the zoo. I was loved, I was free to roam around a certain area, but at the end of the day, I am still locked up.

Minji took off the helmet for me when I stopped and helped me smooth my hair.

“Come on, Lucky. Tell me what’s wrong.” She said, arms crossed.

“I… I’m just starting to wonder… how many more years can I do flips… how many more years can we go on stage as MBLAQ and still have fans to cheer for us. You know, being a celebrity, it’s like a shot to fame job. But it will never last. I'm afraid that one day when I wake up, MBLAQ is just gone, like that.” I said.

She looked at me, not saying anything. And then she took my hand and lead me off the bike. We sat down on the grassy area of the park.

“So this is what you have been worrying yourself with?” She asked.

“It just suddenly came into my mind. It’s our 3^rd year today. Yes, we’ve been successful in Asia, but…” I said.

“But it’s not enough, right?” She asked.

I looked at her, surprised at the fact she knew.

“Nothing is enough, Seungho ah. But does it really matter?” She asked.

“Why does it not matter?” I asked.

“Nothing lasts forever, Seungho. But if you keep wanting more, you’ll never see what you already got. I’m not saying you should stop here and be contented. We all want more. It’s human nature to want to be more successful. You’re not the only one. But if you cannot see what you have and appreciate it, then, we’ll just have never-ending wants, no?” She asked.

I smiled and ruffled her hair.

“It’s good to want to excel further, and I believe one day you guys would make it big internationally.” She said.

“But when?” I asked.

“Time is a dangerous thing. It can tell you a lot, but it can also make you overlook a lot.” She said.

I looked at her, not understanding what she said.

“No one ever seem to be contented with the time they have. People always ask things like ‘when is it my turn?’, ‘why is time passing so slowly?’, ‘why are there only 24 hours in a day?’, ‘so many things to do yet so little time’, etc, but instead of wanting more, can’t we appreciate the moments? Instead of thinking when will it be your turn to make it big internationally, why not appreciate the time you have here with your fans, with the boys?” She asked.

“And with you.” I said.

“Yea, with me. When you make it big and have to fly to places on a daily basis, we’ll never have the chance to sit here and chat like this. By then, you’ll be asking yourself things like ‘why didn’t I appreciate the time I had with her?’.” She said.

“I wish there is endless time then.” I said.

“With endless time, nothing is special. With no loss or sacrifice, we can’t appreciate what we have.” She said, leaning on me.

“Now, which book is that from?” I .

“Tsk!” She elbowed me in my chest.

“Oww~” I whined.

“Darling, don’t be scared of what you cannot change or what you cannot expect. You do things for the present after all. We have to think for the future, yes, but isn't present more important? Who knows if there would really be a future or not? And even if you lose all your fans tomorrow, you’ll always have a permanent one.” She said.

“You?” I asked.

“Who else?” She giggled.

“I may not be there with you all the time physically, but know that you’re always on my mind.” She said.

“I wouldn’t want to lose all my fans tomorrow. At least, not tomorrow.” I said.

“Why?” She asked.

Did she just ask me why?

“Because tomorrow…” I muttered.

“OH! Tomorrow!” She exclaimed.

“Yea…” I smiled.

“Tomorrow, I’ll be leaving for Taiwan for a few days. Your fans can leave when I come back.” She smiled.

“You’re leaving for Taiwan tomorrow?” I asked.

“Yea. I didn’t tell you?” She asked.

“You didn’t.” I said.

“Ahh, must have slipped my mind. Sorry, love. It’ll just be three days!” She said.

“Do you know what day is tomorrow?” I asked.

“It’s Tuesday.” She stuck out her tongue.

“Kidding! Of course I know!” She said.

“You do?” I asked.

“It’s Beast’s 3^rd anniversary! One day after MBLAQ’s, right! So excited!” She clapped like a seal.

“Yea. It’s Beast’s 3^rd anniversary.” I muttered, looking away.

This is just 'amazing', isn’t it?

***
Seungho watching Minji being close the with boys.

***
Once again, 3 years with MBLAQ! Congrats! ^^