“Shh,” Raein put a finger to her lips to shush Kahee, who had accidentally stumbled over a table leg. Kahee nodded apologetically, and the two suspicious figures continued their journey to the kitchen. Closer and closer they crept, mischievous grins plastered onto their faces. It was around 1:16AM, and their hunger was getting the best of them. Who cared if they had to get up in a few hours to continue filming? The most important thing for the leader and the maknae right now was to satiate their grumbling stomachs.

“Almost there…” Raein whispered. Her particular goal in this endeavor was to reach the freezer where a pint of vanilla ice-cream was waiting for her patiently. Kahee’s target was situated next door to the ice-cream, but also in the freezer; her beloved frozen pancakes. Raein gestured for Kahee to do the honors, since she was taller, and so Kahee reached for the freezer door and slowly pulled it open, careful not to make any unnecessary noises this time. Their eyes widened in anticipation, and their mouths were already salivating at the thought of their midnight snack.

“Busted!” said a voice, and the kitchen lights were suddenly , blinding the two hooligans momentarily.

The two quickly shielded their eyes in defense, emitting agonizing sounds and muttering not-so-innocent phrases out of pain and defeat. After giving herself a couple minutes to recuperate, Kahee eyed their captor menacingly. “So it was you, Sarang,” she spat out.

“Yes, it is I,” Sarang replied diabolically. “Stay here,” she commanded the trouble makers after a beat, and she left the kitchen — though not before directing a threatening glare and a chastising finger at Raein, who had still been trying to sneak her ice-cream out of the freezer. She returned a little while later with a disoriented Julsu, who was rubbing her eyes to wake herself up.

Sarang sat down the MAKIKO members and waited a couple minutes before beginning her lecture.

“What’s going on, Sarang-unni?” Julsu asked with a yawn.

“Why don’t you ask those two over there?” Julsu glanced at the guilty-looking duo, Raein and Kahee.

“We tried to sneak some ice-cream and pancakes,” Raein admitted.

“We were hungry!” Kahee exclaimed defensively.

“You guys,” Sarang started off. “You know you’re still filming. Our deal was: diets until filming is over.”

Raein and Kahee both bowed their heads in shame. Sarang continued.

“And you know what? You’ve all been doing such a great job keeping up with this diet so far, and you deserve to snack.”

Raein and Kahee immediately perked their heads up in excitement.

“But that has to wait until after filming is over,” Sarang continued seriously. Again, the heads were bowed, though this time in disappointment. “On the bright side, filming will be over soon. But until then, no extra snacking! I was really disappointed tonight. I have been keeping watch on the kitchen every night since the diet started, and this is the first time you guys broke.” Sarang shook her head to emphasize her disappointment. “Well, everyone back to bed.”

“Ne~” the three chorused.

“Sorry we got you in trouble, too, Julsu,” Kahee whispered. Julsu simply walked back to her room and shut her door without a reply. 

——-

“Nan niga saenga na, nae gaseumi apa~”

The camera panned around to capture the emotional performance Raein gave through facial expressions and hand gestures as she sang along to MAKIKO’s single, “Telephone.” She brought her right hand to her face as she brought her left toward her chest, her eyes pained and pleading. To her sides, Julsu and Kahee mirrored each other’s choreography to complete the symmetry. Once Raein’s line was finished, the three girls switched formations so Julsu was in the middle.

“Dangsineun hangsang malsseum~”

Again the three switched formation so Raein returned to the center.

“’Jega dasi geolgetsseumnida~’”

“Cut! That was great, girls,” yelled out Director Im. “Now let’s get ready for Kahee-ssi’s rap…”

The girls replied with their thanks, faces flushed from recording; they were pretty much half-way through recording their “Telephone” music video.

“Great job, guys!” Gayoon called out when the MAKIKO trio approached.

“Yeah, you seem to be getting a hang of filming now. I remember when we visited for your first MV… you all seemed so nervous, and now you’re all pros!” Jihyun reminisced, tapping a thoughtful finger on her bottom lip.

“You guys are way too nice. We’re nowhere near pro like you guys,” Julsu replied bashfully.

“We brought you snacks!” the 4Minute maknae said, holding up a bag filled with food.

“Thanks! I’m so hungry!” The excitement was apparent in Kahee’s eyes.

“Aigooo~ I’ve been practically starving with my diet. Once this MV is over, the first thing I’m going to do…” Raein began, grabbing one of the containers in the bag and bowing at her sunbaes to show her thanks.

“Ice-cream!” Jihyun clapped, and Raein nodded excitedly with smiling eyes.

“You’re not going to eat, Unni?” Sohyun asked Julsu, who shook her head in response.

“Nah, I’m not that hungry yet. Thank you very much, though!”

This time Sohyun shook her head. “It’s no problem! We’re all really excited to see how your MV turns out!”

“Ah, look who’s here,” Hyunah said coyly. Jiyoon nudged her jokingly before everyone’s attention turned to the door.

“Oppa!” Kahee exclaimed, running towards Kikwang, her fork still in her hand.

“You’re just in time, they’re about to film my rap.”

“Ah, really? That’s great! I’m glad we made it on time,” Kikwang said happily. In a more bashful tone, he brought out a flower and added, “This is for you.”

“Awww, thank you! You’re really the best, Oppa~” Kahee gushed.

“Where’s Junhyung-oppa?” Julsu inquired after thanking Dongwoon for the flower that he handed to her. She craned her neck to see past the tall boys, but failed to spot the rapper.

“I’m not sure,” Hyunseung answered. “I thought he was right behind us…”

“Oh, I see. What about Doojoon-oppa?” JulSu asked next.

“He’s… uh, he’s home, uh… sick,” Dongwoon replied, a little bit uncomfortably.

“Oh… I see…” Julsu replied as nonchalantly as she could, but everyone unintentionally placed their attention on Raein, who – as she suddenly felt their eyes on her – nervously grabbed some japchae with her chopsticks and stuffed it into .

“So how’s the filming going?” Yoseob said changing the subject before things got more awkward.

“It’s great! I’m really excited for it,” Julsu replied.

“Mmhmm!” Kahee agreed, unable to talk since was full of noodles. “But I’m more excited for it to be over. I’m really tired.”

“I’m here!” yelled a voice and Junhyung followed soon after, panting.

“There you are,” Dongwoon said punching him playfully on the arm. “We were wondering where you went.”

“Sorry,” Junhyung replied. He cleared his throat before sticking an arm out to present Raein with a gift of her own.

“I was wondering where my flower was,” Raein teased. She accepted the flower and thanked her suitor in a more serious tone.

“We’re really glad you guys got to visit us today,” Julsu thanked their sunbaes again.

“Of course we visited! We’re sorry we weren’t able to make it before,” Jiyoon apologized on behalf of the two senior groups.

“Kahee-ssi!” one of the staff members called out.

“Aw, man!” Kahee said reluctantly putting down her eating utensils and Tupperware. “I’ll be back, guys.”

“Good luck!” everyone called out as she walked away.

“Wait, I’m going to watch!” Kikwang jumped up and scrambled after, inciting laughter and playful hoots from the rest of the group.

“Hey Junhyung,” Hyunseung called out, though his eyes were on his watch. “Don’t you have to be back to meet up with Tiger hyung soon?”

“Ah, you’re right.” Junhyung looked at Raein apologetically. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to stay and watch.”

Though disappointed, Raein shook the feeling away as to not worry Junhyung.

“Don’t even worry about it. You go ahead! We’re fine here.”

Junhyung looked at Raein unconvinced, and she merely smiled and shooed him away playfully. “Go,” she said again. “I don’t want you to be late!”

Junhyung smiled. “Thanks for understanding.”

“Of course!” Raein replied. And on that note, Junhyung turned to leave.

“Aren’t you going to hug her first before leaving?” Hyunah blurted out.

“Wow, chance!” Dongwoon hooted.

“Das right, das right, man!” Yoseob added.

“Oh, right, uh…” Junhyung returned his attention to Raein, a small blush creeping on his cheeks. 

“Aw, look who’s shy!” Gayoon called out.

“Yeah, don’t be shy, girl!” Sohyun chimed in.

“I meant Junhyung, though,” said Gayoon, and Jiyoon snickered.

“Er…” Junhyung held out his arms in a welcoming gesture. Raein, who once again felt everyone’s eyes on her, revealed a slight tint on her cheeks as well.

“Could you guys not watch?” Raein muttered as she returned the gesture and gave Junhyung a hug, albeit a hesitant one.

“Awww,” the rest of the group chorused, teasingly, causing Raein to suddenly let go. Junhyung’s face was completely red now, and he gave a flustered wave before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking out the door. 

——-

When the three girls and their manager walked into their dorm room that night, the first thing they heard was a pop from Sarang’s side. Now, confetti covered the foyer.

“Congratulations on completing your filming!” Sarang cheered, pulling out another popper and letting more confetti scatter to the floor.

“Thanks, Unni!” The girls said, hugging Sarang one by one.

“You know what this calls for?” Sarang said in a sing-song voice. She walked into the kitchen, and after a bit of rummaging, she called the girls in too. There were four places set up at the table: a bowl of ice-cream, a plate of pancakes, a plate of cookies (with a cup of milk)…

“… and the bacon is for me!” Sarang said smugly with her arms crossed. 

“Waaaah!” Kahee cheered, immediately making her way to her plate of pancakes.

“Thanks, Unni!”

“Ahh~ I’m so glad the diet is finally over!” Raein stretched her arms before practically collapsing on the chair designated to the bowl of ice-cream. “The MV, too!”

“You’re telling me,” Kahee replied, already working on her pancakes.

“Wait!” Raein said suddenly.

“What?” Kahee whined, already chomping on a mouthful of pancakes.

“We should celebrate by going out for barbecue!” Raein suggested excitedly.

“Yeah!” Sarang agreed automatically. “Save this stuff for dessert! Let’s get barbecue! Manager seconds this motion!”

“All right!” Kahee said, regaining excitement. She turned to Julsu. “Julsu, let’s go!” 

“Actually, I’m fine. You guys go ahead.”

“Really?” Sarang asked skeptically. “You didn’t even touch the milk and cookies! Are you sure?”

“I’m actually not that hungry, but you guys go ahead and have fun eating out!” Julsu reassured with what seemed to be an air of feigned perkiness.

“Oh… okay then.” Sarang said. When Julsu left to her room, the remaining girls couldn’t help but feel disappointed that Julsu wasn’t going to join them for dinner.

——- 

Dongwoon peered into the mirror, making sure every strand of hair was in place — quite reminiscent of the way his hyung fixed his hair. Once everything was perfect, he grabbed his cologne.

“Hey, where do you think you’re headed to?” Doojoon asked teasingly, joining the maknae in their room.

“No where special,” Dongwoon replied, dodging the question like a true celebrity. 

“Seems to be pretty special if you’re getting this dressed up.”

“Come on, Hyung, I’m not that dressed up,” Dongwoon said turning to look at Doojoon.

“Okay, so you’re not that dressed up, but I don’t usually see you spend this much time getting ready.”

“That’s true,” Dongwoon nodded in agreement.

“So where are you going?” Doojoon asked again, grinning. “Big date, huh?”

“No where, it’s nothing,” Dongwoon repeated stubbornly. Finally, Doojoon gave up, much to Dongwoon’s relief. However, Dongwoon noticed that Doojoon seemed a bit distracted. He noticed Doojoon pick something up from the floor. He took a seat next to his hyung and noticed that Doojoon was actually looking at a polaroid taken of Raein and Junhyung.

“When was this taken?” Doojoon asked, though not necessarily wanting an answer.

“A couple days ago during one of MAKIKO’s filming days,” Dongwoon answered. 

“Hmm,” Doojoon hummed to himself pensively.

“Hey, sorry if this is too forward but,” Dongwoon paused, still a little bit unsure of how he would word his next question. “Are you okay with this?”

“Yeah, I got that shirt from some International fans for my birthday, but I’ll let you borrow it just for today,” Doojoon said nonchalantly, standing up and leaving the polaroid behind.

Dongwoon sighed, a little frustrated. “You know what I mean.”

Doojoon looked at Dongwoon with an unreadable expression. “Yeah, I’m okay with it.”

“You’re taking this well. Better than I would have expected,” Dongwoon replied in genuine surprise. When Doojoon didn’t reply, Dongwoon spoke again, though mostly for his own comprehension. “So you’re really okay with Junhyung-hyung and Raein-noona being together…”

“Well, I’m not exactly okay with it,” Doojoon finally admitted. “But there’s nothing I can do about it anymore. I messed up too much.”

“But…”

“All I can do now is smile like there’s nothing wrong. I can’t really just ask her to please come back to me.”

“But…” Dongwoon tried again.

“And who am I to get in the way of her happiness?”

“So that’s it, then? You’re not going to try to win her back?” Dongwoon asked when Doojoon finally left him room to speak.

Doojoon smiled at Dongwoon, though he did not look happy at all. “Have fun on your date or whatever you’re doing today. Don’t get my shirt dirty!”

——

“Hi, Julsu! How was your schedule?” Raein asked as Julsu walked into the kitchen.

“It was all right,” Julsu replied, opening the fridge and scanning its contents before closing it and instead grabbing a couple crackers from a box on the counter.

“Oh, Julsu, save room! I’m cooking dinner tonight!” Kahee called out, happily putting on her apron.

“Ah, actually, I’ll have to pass on the dinner tonight. Sorry, Kahee.”

“What? Why?” Kahee asked sadly.

“I’m not that hungry,” Julsu replied coolly.

“But you’re eating crackers,” Raein observed suspiciously.

“Yeah… I’m fine with these. I’m actually feeling kind of stuffed already!” Julsu giggled before leaving the two in the kitchen. Raein and Kahee exchanged worried glances as she left them.

“I’m getting pretty worried,” Raein said. “I haven’t seen her eat anything at all since MV filming ended.”

“She said she’s not hungry, so I guess we can’t force her to eat. I’m sure it’s nothing,” Kahee said, returning her attention to gathering the ingredients and materials she needed for kimchi chigae. However, from the tone of her voice Raein could tell that she still felt disappointed that Julsu turned down yet again another meal.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Raein halfheartedly agreed, though she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different with Julsu. She just hoped the actual cause of Julsu’s odd behavior wasn’t because of the reason she was thinking; her imagination was making her think of the worst.

“On another note,” Kahee said as she reached for the top-most cabinets, breaking Raein from her thoughts. “How are you and Junhyung-oppa?”

“What? Oh, we’re fine,” Raein replied matter-of-factly.

“Is that so?” Kahee said, only a little bit distracted by her cook book. “So how far have you two gotten already?”

“What?” Raein exclaimed, aghast. “That’s… that’s, er…”

“Come on,” Kahee prodded, her curiosity overflowing.

“Er, well not exactly far,” Raein admitted. “We haven’t even held hands yet.”

“What?” This time it was Kahee’s turn to be horrified.

“We’ve hugged though!” Raein said defensively. “Once…”

“Once, aigoooo!” Kahee shook her head in disappointment. “Unni, what’s going on with you? When you and Doojoon first started dating…” Kahee quickly caught what she had just said and froze.

“I know, I know,” Raein said, and Kahee finally breathed again, relieved that Raein let her mention of Doojoon slide. “Does that make Junhyung and me weird? What should I do? I mean, it’s not like we’re actually dating yet… What if… what if he thinks I don’t like him anymore? What if he doesn’t like me anymore? Should I try to hold his hand, then? Ahhhh~” Raein grabbed at the sides of her head in frustration.

“Ah, Unni. Shhh~ Shh~ it’s okay,” Kahee said, abandoning her post to comfort Raein, wrapping her arms around the small leader.

“Thanks, Kahee.”

——-

“Well, I talked to her,” Kahee said, her phone resting between her shoulder and her ear.

“And?” Junhyung prompted for Kahee to continue.

“And nothing, really,” Kahee replied, causing Junhyung to sigh. “Well, she said can’t tell if you’re ‘dating’ already or not.”

“I see.”

“Are you? From your perspective.”

“I don’t know, Kahee,” Junhyung started, though his voice was already coated with defeat. “I was the silent one who said that I was never going to have a one-sided love in my life. That I was going to meet someone who loves me. But she broke all of that, and how sad is this – I leave messages on her phone using emoticons that I thought were so corny. She’s the first girl to change me this much.

“But then, whenever I try to hug her or hold her hand, something goes wrong. Either that or she jumps away. What if she doesn’t like me anymore?”

“Oh, Oppa,” Kahee said comfortingly as she stirred the contents of the pot in front of her. “Shhh~ Shh~ it’s okay.”

“Er, yeah, not awkward at all.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Kahee laughed. “But you two are really silly. Unni reacted in a similar way. Don’t worry, she likes you. And you like her. Just go with the flow.”
Kahee continued stirring despite the pause on the other line.

“So I should buy her a giant bear, huh?”

“Yes,” Kahee agreed immediately. “That is exactly what I said. Buy her a giant bear.”

——-

“Julsuuu~ I need to talk to you.” Raein stood whining at the door of Julsu’s room. She had been playing with her accessories, and was currently trying on different rings.

“Sure, what’s up?” Julsu replied, taking a quick glance at her guest. “Or rather, what’s wrong?”

“Kahee brought something up with me earlier… about Junhyung-oppa and me.”

“Oh? What did she say?” Julsu said, replacing a couple rings on her fingers and holding her hand up to examine how they looked.

“She just got me thinking about how fast Junhyung and I are going.”

“And how fast is that?”

“Not fast at all!” Raein said, collapsing onto Julsu’s bed in distress.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“We’re actually really awkward together,” Raein confessed. “I feel scared to even hold his hand, let alone how hesitant and embarrassed and awkward I feel when I hug him…”

“You just really like him, and so you’re shy,” Julsu stated.

“I guess so,” Raein replied, unconvinced. “But with Doojoon…”

“You shouldn’t compare your relationship with Doojoon with yours and Junhyung’s, though,” Julsu warned. After having decided on her rings, she now brought out her bracelets. 

“What relationship?” Raein sighed. “You’re right, but with Doojoon and me…Actually,” Raein hesitated. “There was something else I wanted to bring up that I wasn’t able to bring up with Kahee.” 

“Hmm?”

“I don’t think I have peace with the whole Doojoon thing yet. I think that’s part of what’s holding me back from getting too comfy with Junhyung: closure, or the lack of.”

“That’s plausible,” Julsu agreed.

“You know, when I look back on everything now, it kind of seems like a waste.” Julsu looked at Raein curiously, and motioned for her to continue. “I mean, you’d think he’d fight harder for me or something.”

“Unni,” Julsu started. “That just goes to show who the better guy is — no offense to Doojoon-oppa. But what you two had… it definitely wasn’t a waste of your time.”

Raein sighed again, feeling helpless now. “But my thoughts are so jumbled, and I don’t know what to do with Junhyung… I mean, it’s not like we’re actually dating or anything either, so I feel very confused.”

“Don’t worry about it so much. Just because you’re moving at a pace you’re not used to does not mean you should force yourself to speed things up. Keep calm. These things happen naturally,” Julsu reassured. Raein stayed quiet a moment to ponder over this advice, and found that she did in fact feel much better.

“Thanks for talking to me, Julsu,” Raein smiled.

“No problem!”

“Hey, I’m going to treat you out to ice-cream for your services!”

“Ah, that’s okay.”

“No? Mm, well I don’t mind cookies and milk either…”

“That’s okay,” Julsu refused again. “I… have to go right now, actually.” Julsu grabbed a random necklace and placed it around her neck. “But if you need to talk again, just let me know! I’m always around.” And with that, Julsu was gone.

“Oh… All right then,” Raein replied to nobody in particular. 

——-

“Hey, come outside.”

“All riiight!” Kahee said giddily, before quickly skipping down the steps. She opened the passenger seat door to the car waiting outside and found a giant, white bear with a red bow around its neck.

“Is that for me?” the maknae squealed excitedly, hugging the bear from the outside.

“It’s for Raein,” Junhyung said, peeking from the driver’s seat.

“I know,” Kahee said suddenly emotionless. She dropped the bear’s paw and crossed her arms. “Whatever, I have Kikwang anyway.”

“Can you bring it up to her for me?”

“Bring it up yourself!” Kahee scoffed before adding, “I’ll let Unni know you’re coming up.”

After begrudgingly carrying the gigantic bear up to the MAKIKO dorm, Junhyung found himself looking at a wide-eyed Raein.

“… What is this?” She asked, dumbfounded.

“That Kahee,” Junhyung muttered.

“This is for Kahee? She actually just left with Julsu literally a few seconds ago…”

“No!” Junhyung exclaimed more enthusiastically than intended. “I mean, this is for you.”

“Oh, thanks!” Raein gushed, quickly grabbing hold of the bear (which was almost bigger than herself), and dragging it to the couch. She sat down next to it and hugged it. “Soft and fluffy~” Junhyung couldn’t help but chuckle in adoration.

“Hey,” Junhyung said after clearing his throat. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.”

“What’s wrong?” Raein asked.

“How do you feel about me?”

Raein laughed. “What, seriously? Why do you bring this up?”

“Yes, seriously. And just humor me.”

“This is so awkward,” Raein said giggling as she felt the heat rush to her cheeks. “Well, I like you.”

“And I like you, too,” Junhyung replied.

“This is so random!”

Junhyung ignored her last statement and continued. “I have another question. In your perspective, what are we right now?”

Raein gave a nervous laugh. “Well… Truthfully, I’m not exactly sure.”

“All right, then what do you want us to be?”

“I…”

“Because I like you, and you like me. And I already talked to Doojoon. So…” Junhyung left no room for Raein to respond. “Because I’ve been wracking my brain for days, and I can’t seem to figure it out, and I just want us to be on the same page about what we are.” Junhyung paused, but again before Raein could reply, he continued.

“You think I don’t notice, but I do. You’re not comfortable with me yet, and I respect that. As much as I want to hug you, and as much as I want to hold your hand… if you’re not ready for that, then it’s okay. And it’s the same thing with whether or not you are my girlfriend and I am your boyfriend. If you’re not ready for that, then it’s okay, too. But you have to tell me because I can’t keep guessing.

“Instead of some awkward relationship between love and friendship, it feels stuffy like a road full of traffic. It isn’t too far or close, but I think it’s about time we got closer. The distance between you and I… I’m a little impatient, but I’m not being forceful. I’m the one who loses you after hesitation. I just want to escape the nervousness and uncertainty of losing you. I want to walk with you on a bright, sunny day.”

Raein was standing up now, absorbing all that Junhyung had to say. He had to admit; he already felt better just by getting these thoughts out in the open. But he was ecstatic when he felt Raein’s arms wrap themselves tentatively around his torso, as her head hesitantly rested against his chest.

“I am not ready for us to be boyfriend and girlfriend,” Raein admitted. “It wasn’t too long since Doojoon and I broke up. But I really like you. And I like that you like me. So I want us to keep liking each other until I’m ready to be in a relationship again. Is that okay?”

“That’s perfectly okay,” Junhyung murmured, wrapping his arms around Raein as well. At first he felt her tense up a little, but he was soon relieved to feel her relax and hold onto him tighter. “I’ll wait. For you, of course I’ll wait.” 

I already know what you’re going to say.
I want to keep it away.
I don’t ever want to let you go.