프니엘: “A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to each other.” My lips move without my voice as I read the quote. Subconsciously, my head turns to where a red-haired girl stands; she’s grinning widely while she talks to someone. We’re just in the same room but it feels like I am miles away from her.

I would lie if I say I don’t miss her.

Before getting too deeply rooted in my distraction, I set the book aside and leave it on the table. I don’t know whose it is.

“Kaja, people, kaja! Samgyupsal is our meal!” Eunkwang-hyung cheerfully invites with his arms in the air, and the others begin to flock around him. Turning my head to the book, I wait for someone to claim it but no one does. I hesitate. I can’t just leave it here in the set. What if someone else gets it? And the owner will end up looking for this? I think I’m the one who’s going to be held responsible for that.

“Fine,” I mutter to myself before snatching the book and stuffing it inside my bag. Probably one of the PDs or stylists owns this.

Later that night, we’re at the office again in our “play-room” (as how it would be best called). When I come in the first spectacle that meets my eyes is Se Na playing around with Minhyuk-hyung’s hair. She’s tied a standing group of hairs at the top of his head and this hairstyle is what everyone knows as “apple hair”. When hyung sees me he just pays me a defeated smile that says let her be. I just smile and sit a bit far from them.

Jung Ilhoon and leader seem to be generating much fun from what they’re playing. I watch silently, trying to experience as much fun as one can while spectating.

“Lookie, oppa, you look adorable!” she cheers, when she’s done playing.

“Really?” he gets his phone and checks his reflection on the dim screen. “Nice work, sweetie. I look really pretty!” to even prove his point he puts both his hands on his cheeks and bats his eyes.

Se Na laughs.

“Ah, Se Na-ya,” Sungjae calls. The pair turns. “Shouldn’t you go home?”

She time-checks. “Omo. You’re right.”

“Alright then,” Minhyuk-hyung readies himself to rise from his seat. “Let me take you home,”

“Ah it’s okay, oppa,” the girl shakes her head. “Actually, I was planning to ask Hyunsik-oppa…”

Sik-hyung turns, his eyes rounded along with his mouth. “Me?” this is quite a shocker, actually.

She timidly nods. “That is…if you don’t mind,”

To be honest, and as how the seven of us ourselves would admit it, Hyunsik-hyung and Se Na are not that close. He and Changsub-hyung actually, but thanks to the latter’s wacky nature, he’s gotten himself a bit closer to the serious dongsaeng. Sik-hyung is, well, just himself. He and Se Na would exchange a word or two, but that would be the end of it. Talking about beyond checking out how each other is—that’s just impossibility. “Why, sure! I’d love to,”

I catch the look on Sungjae’s face that looks like it wants to ask Se Na, are you mad at me? But before the question comes out his best friend says, “I just want to ask oppa something,” clearing up.

“Alright then. Good bye. See you tomorrow,” we all bid. “Sweetie, there’s a meeting tomorrow, okay?” Minhyuk-hyung says.

“Ne, oppa,” she smiles at him, opening the door. “Good night, everyone!”

“Hyung, take care of Se Na, okay?” Ilhoon says.

“Of course I will,” Hyunsik-hyung waves at us, and promises to come back later. And with that, the two go out.

By 3AM we’re finally back home and we immediately go lights-out. While I’m checking out the contents in my bag I remember that I still have the book that I don’t own. Hoping that maybe one of them knows, I ask my mates, “Do you know whose this is?”

Eunkwang-hyung is the first to turn. “Lemme see,” he comes near me and I hand him the book.

“Is it yours, hyung?”

Slowly answering, he examines the book. “Uh…no. I don’t really get to read books. Let alone this. It’s a classic,”

“What’s that?” maknae lets his arm dangle from his bed.

Minhyuk-hyung, who resides on the bed underneath mine, gets the book from leader. “Let me see,” he reads the front, the back, and then scans the pages. He reads from the end to the beginning, and then suddenly he interjects, upon reading what seems to be the first chapter. “Hey, isn’t this familiar?”

“What’s familiar?” says Ilhoon who’s just entered the room. He climbs his bed, wiping his face with a towel.

“Here, here. Listen. I’m sure you know this. ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us—”

“—‘we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period,” maknae recites as if his own mouth is just doing it itself, with his brows knitted. “’…That some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.’” He chants the words slowly, probably also finding himself being rode on by the same sense of intrigue.

After about a five-second pause, someone finally speaks up about our unified thoughts. “Isn’t that on The Lunch Box?” Hyunsik-hyung says.

We all agree with hesitation, which lasts for a couple of seconds, until this eases us up— “Oh, wow, what a coincidence! Someone else in the set is reading that book!” exclaims Changsub-hyung.

“Yeah,” we all say. Sungjae’s phone beeps, which I hear from where I am. Maknae reads and I see his expression shift from a monotonic one to a surprised, almost-pale face.

“Uh, hyung…”

We all turn to him.

“Look,” he shows us the screen of his phone. Eunkwang-hyung and Minhyuk-hyung are the first ones to read the message.

Leader-hyung brays. “Changsub-goon,”

“Ne, hyung?”

“It really is a coincidence.”

“What? Why? Let me see,” Sungjae hands me his phone.

Jae, have you seen my book? I think I left it in the set.

It’s called “A Tale of Two Cities”. I can’t find it here >_<

I read, and I find it weird—really weird, because, of course, subliminally, we all have suspected, for once, that Se Na is the author of The Lunch Box. And now here it is, a book she owns, which may be—there’s a really big chance about this—that she used it as a reference. All I could do is blink, as Sungjae withdraws his phone from me, an uncertain, hesitant smile hanging on his lips. “Whoa…”

“What was it, hyung?” Ilhoon looks at me.

“That book,” I say, eyeing what Eunkwang-hyung is holding. “Is Se Na’s,”

“Oh my…gosh,” Ilhoon then sort of sinks in his bed, this shocked expression on his countenance.

“Oh, and remember also the last time we had our meeting? When the e-mail was sent to the author, Se Na’s phone rang!” Sik-hyung says.

“But there’s an easy way to know if Se Na is, you know, pna502,” chimes Minhyuk-hyung.

“How?”

“There’s a meeting tomorrow, right? And the writer-noona said tomorrow will be the deadline for the next chapter. Let’s keep an eye on Se Na for the whole meeting and then for the rest of the day. If ever we see her holding her laptop, and then it’s simultaneously followed by the receiving of the next chapter, then it’s her,” he chuckles. “Duh,”

“Why, you’ve really got a point there, hyung,”

“Yeah.”

“He’s right.”

“So much for that,” Ilhoon says, or maybe he snorts. “Let’s turn off the lights. I’m sleepy,”

“Okay then,” Leader-hyung flips the switch. “Good night guys,”

“Good night,”

Although we all resolve to sleep, tossing and turning in my bed can’t get me any. When I close my eyes I get to gain some sleep, but only very shallow. I get shaken out of it easily when Ilhoon gets down from his bed to go outside of the room. I start to overthink about Se Na being pna502. What if it is really her? But wait. I think that idea is contradictory in itself. Because, if it is her, then it sure as bright as sunshine that she would make a story about Sungjae. Don’t get me wrong, but—that’s the thing most possible to imagination. And besides, by the time when she had made The Lunch Box we still were not friends, let alone close. So why would she—? Thinking about Se Na making a story about me gives me a weird sense of importance, actually.

Okay. That’s it. I’m going too far.

I turn on my phone, and that’s when an idea strikes me. I compose the message—

Se Na?

And it surprises me, when she replies, almost instantly,

Yes, Penpen?

I reply—

Your book’s with me. I’m sorry; I didn’t know it was yours.

I found it in the set today.

She’s not angry or anything, thank goodness.

Aigoo, it’s okay. I’m glad it’s with you. Just return it tomorrow.

Thanks! Sleep well! (￣‿￣)

And that makes me happy, honestly, although it’s a little mingled with remorse. These past few days I haven’t been conversing with her because…there’s a reason. Resolving that tomorrow—or perhaps later, I shall renew this, I answer for one last time—

Alright. Good night too. Jaljayo ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

And before proceeding to sleep again, I get down first, and go out of the room because I feel thirsty. Upon my exit, I immediately hear mumbling coming from the centre of the dorm—where the living room should be. There’s Ilhoon, talking to someone over the phone. I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but I can’t help it.

“You don’t believe me?” A pause. Here I close the door of the fridge and Ilhoon turns. At the sight of me he seems startled; he even turns slightly pale. “I—uh…”

“Who’s that?” I mouth.

“Ah…?” his attention is torn between me and the one he is talking to. “Uh…” he mouths the word, my noona.

I nod, and chug down the water in my glass.

“Yes, it’s true Se—er, yes. Just trust me, okay?”

I wash the glass I’ve used and put it carefully back in the dish-rack. I make my way back to our room and get in. When I close my eyes, I fall asleep without difficulty.

The next day, the plan is at hand. Se Na tells us that she’ll drop by the dorm first and then we’ll all go to the company altogether. She takes her breakfast in our home. Although, before the meeting Ilhoon excuses himself because he needs to go somewhere, with the promise that he’ll catch up on the meeting. We take his word and go to the office.

“Ah, Se Na-ya,” I open my bag, and take out the book to give it to her. “Here,”

“Thank you,” she smiles upon receiving it. “Wait. Did you read it?”

“Oh, that? Well I didn’t get the chance to. I think even with the Korean translation the words are still heavy,”

She seems to have heaved a sigh. “The story’s cool. You should read it. Ah, omo. Did the other guys see this book?”

“Uh…they have.”

“They read it?” the voice of the question goes a tad louder.

“Yes; why?”

She blinks many a time before changing the panicked expression on her face and reverting to its old state. “Ah…it’s…nothing…” she shakes her head. “Anyway, thank you,”

“Sure.”

In time, the car pulls over for a stop. We all get down and make our way to the meeting room.

With her sharp nature and all, Se Na easily detects that everyone has been throwing her weird looks ever since this morning. However she doesn’t talk about it in front of us, so she asks Sungjae discreetly, while we’re seated around the table waiting for the meeting to start—“Jae, why are they all looking at me like that?”

“Oh?” he deadpans. “Well…”

“Do I have something on my face?”

I can hear their conversation clearly because I’m seated just next to Sungjae. “Um, no,” he just sweeps a misplaced tress on her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Why do you ask?”

She puffs her cheeks. “I don’t know…everyone’s looking at me weirdly.”

“Alright, let’s start! Is everyone here?” the writer-noona clasps her hands. “Director won’t be here today so I shall preside over the meeting,”

“Ah, noona, Ilhoon’s not here yet,” Eunkwang-hyung says, slightly raising his hand.

“Where’s he?”

“He said he needs to go somewhere…but he’ll be here in a minute. He messaged me,” answers Minhyuk-hyung.

“Ah, it’s alright then. We can start. I’ll just review you all about the flow of the story,”

“What’s with the projector?” I ask, seeing that the noona’s assistant has turned the projector on, flashing a picture on the wall.

“Oh, that? I don’t really know why Minhyuk-ssi asked for that,” she turns to him. “Why?”

Hyung chuckles, with much mischief. “We just want to try out something…what time does the author usually submit her chapter update?”

Noona blinks. “Um. She doesn’t have an average time actually. The times when she submits are mostly random. Sometimes it’s the middle of the day; sometimes it’s in the dawn; sometimes at night. Why?”

“Today’s her deadline, right?”

“Yes.”

“Has she submitted the latest chapter?”

“No.”

“Fire it up, hyung,” Minhyuk-hyung suggests to the assistant beside him. “Open the e-mail where pna502 submits.”

I carefully lean back on my chair, to take a peek at Se Na’s face. She seems to be wearing the same face of anticipation as we all are.

“Ah, here.” Assistant-hyung says. “No new mail, though.”

“Oh,” we all nod.

“What’s with you guys?” the meeting’s president her brow at us. “Why are you so interested in it all of a sudden?”

“Nothing, nothing,” leader-hyung waves his hands in dismissal. “We’re just curious about something,” and he takes a secret, naughty glance aimed at Se Na, which the latter doesn’t notice because she’s reading a book.

“Hyung, can you send an email to her?” Changsub-hyung recommends, leaning in on the table.

“Oh? Why?”

“Tell her that we need to update, urgent, and then ask her about where she got the excerpt from the sixth chapter,” he giggles.

Is it just me, or my hyungs sound …evil, today?

“Alright then,” noona’s assistant starts typing away, and we could see the message he’s composing as it is being shown on the wall by the LCD projector.

I want to stand up and ask, I thought you treat Se Na as your little sister? Why are you doing this? But what they’re doing is forgivable, yes? After all, I myself am curious whether Se Na is the author or not. And judging from what my hyungs are doing, they’ve clearly abandoned logic—they’re enjoying the feeling of playing detective instead of just asking for the truth from Se Na herself.

I’m curious about what the best friend’s stand is about this, though.

“Sungjae,” I nudge him, my voice small. “What do you think about what they’re doing?”

He leans towards me. “Hmm? Eh…I don’t really know, hyung; I don’t see Se Na freaking out or anything so maybe it really isn’t her.” He whispers.

“You really think so?”

“Yeah.”

He’s right. Besides, more than anyone here, Sungjae knows Se Na.

“And—send!” assistant-hyung says, and right after that, all of us, in synch, turn our heads to Se Na, waiting for her phone to beep—or any sign, at all. We’re looking at her intently—oh so intently. Not a single sound could be heard in the room. After about an eternity of silence, Se Na finally notices why it’s so quiet. She looks up from her book and, realizing that everyone’s eyes are aimed on her, up goes one of her brows and she asks, “What?” in an evidently annoyed voice.

None of us answer. They steady their gaze on her, and the tension is so suffocating inside the room that I feel like my palms are sweating.

“Ah!” the door bursts open. A lot of us yelp. There’s Ilhoon, finally having arrived, and he’s panting. Seemingly he ran his way here. “Sorry I’m late,” he puts his hand on his chest and slumps to the nearest vacant seat, which is next to Minhyuk-hyung, right across Se Na.

“Good! So we can start now?” noona claps her hands once.

“Oh, look, pna502 has replied!” the assistant-hyung exclaims, a little too loud. When he realizes he’s interrupted something, he bows. “I’m sorry; go on, go on,”

We all turn our heads to the reflection on the wall, and we see that there’s a new message in the inbox; there’s a file attached to the message:

Sorry it took long! I hope you enjoy!

Fighting! ^^

And the disappointment in the room is so loud.

“Oh, well!” Eunkwang-hyung throws his head back, leaning on the chair. “We got it wrong, didn’t we?”

Minhyuk-hyung follows the same movement. “Ah, yeah…”

“What? What did I miss?” Ilhoon blinks.

“Something really important, hyung.” Sungjae laughs. “But, glad that you’re here.”

Ilhoon looks at me next. I shrug my shoulders.

Hyunsik-hyung starts to laugh. “Oh my gosh,” then it’s followed by Changsub-hyung, until we get infected, and we follow their example. Laughter now fills the dead-silent room of a while ago.

“You guys are weird,” Se Na snickers  with a smile.

“You weirdos,” scriptwriter-noona snorts, fighting the urge to laugh at what she doesn’t understand. “Let’s start the meeting now, really!”

***

“I can’t believe you actually thought I was pna502.” Se Na sneers as we walk side by side under the starry evening sky.

I chuckle. “I’m sorry; it was my hyungs’ idea,”

“What made you think it was me, though?”

“Well, you see…there was this…book, you gave Sungjae, right?”

“Ahuh.”

“I—I happened to read that while we were in Singapore—”

“—you what?”

“I’m sorry! I know I wasn’t supposed to but—ya, come on. I’ve seen your writing a lot of times,” I snort, nudging her lightly. “It wasn’t a big deal, right?”

“Actually it is,” she rubs her nape lightly. “But…well, it’s you, so…I’ll make an exception…?”

“Glad of that,” I laugh. “Anyway, when I read it I just thought…well, you and pna502 were quite similar with the sentence patterns and your words seem familiar so…haha. And then I found your book, right? My hyungs saw it and they read the part of the excerpt that was in The Lunch Box; also, you seem to be overprotective when it comes to your laptop so…”

“…that makes me pna502?”

“…yeah.”

I don’t know which part in the conversation Se Na finds funny but she laughs; a small chuckle that almost instantly swells into raucous chortle.

This embarrasses me slightly that I just laugh along, and rub my head. “I know, that was stupid of us,”

“Aniyo! Hahaha!” then she pauses for a breath. “It happens! It’s okay! Seriously!” she slaps my arm. “You guys are just so…hahaha!”

“What? We’re so what?”

“Funny!”

“Aigoo, I feel uncomfortable having you laugh at us,” I pout.

“I’m sorry,” Se Na fans herself with a hand, earning her breaths. “That was rude of me. Well, I didn’t know you were thinking of me that way,”

“That’s why I’m sorry,”

“Oh, you don’t have to be. But that issue’s dead now, right? All clear?”

“Uh…yeah. You’re in no way pna502 so …case closed,”

She smiles. “Thank you. On another note, though,”

“Hmm?”

“Why were you not in the mood these past few days? You didn’t want to talk to me,” she says, and it doesn’t take her long to notice that I’ve stopped in my tracks. “Penpen?”

I take a mute, long inhale. It’s tempting to tell her why, really. “There’s a reason why,”

She walks towards me. “What reason?”

“It’s…” I gulp. “Let’s just say I wasn’t really in the mood,” I gesture her to continue walking.

“I know that you were not in the mood. I’m asking for the reason why.” Pyo Se Na. Curious, sharp, stern. Just some of the reasons why I like her. She holds my wrist to halt me. “I was thinking that maybe you trusted me more.”

I do trust you. But how am I supposed to tell you when you yourself are the reason? “Yes. I trust you.”

“Malhaebwa, Penpennie.” Her grip goes tighter. There’s fused reproach and concern in her voice and face.

“It’s,” I breathe. This is not the kind of thing you would tell someone forthrightly immediately once they ask for it. “It’s hard to explain,”

“It’s about Zelo, isn’t it?”

My breath is suddenly pitched short in my throat. It’s like she hit the arrow on the bulls-eye with a blindfold on. “What—”

She snorts loudly through her nose. “Really. You’re jealous of him? We’re like friends. What’s the malice in that?” I want to speak but her speech overflows. “Look, I know I look like this terrible flirt but no­, okay? He’s just a friend. We’re just friends. And even if there’s still another guy there inside your mind that seems otherwise, no. You guys have been paranoid all this time. Sungjae, you, Minhyuk-oppa—geez, give me a break,”

“Uh…I…”

“Besides,” she grins, and she steps closer to me. I nearly die of heart attack when she encircles her arms around my neck all of a sudden, and says, “I’ll always like you better,”

I don’t know how long it takes for me to react. But slowly, slowly, I return the embrace, starting with my right hand being put on her back, and then my arms are around her. I lay my hand on the back of her head and slowly, I caress her hair. Being in Sungjae’s shoes must be heavenly. Se Na’s hair is so soft; it smells pleasant—it has this flowery smell that you’d gladly sniff forever if you could. This is the first time I’ve ever shared a genuine hug with her. I get so overwhelmed by the feeling that I forget how to speak. The longer the embrace lasts the warmer my face gets, and before I could get a word out of my mouth…Se Na’s phone rings.

“Oh,” we jump apart, and laugh. Before Se Na answers her phone she mutters a short, but clear “Dammit, Yook Sungjae,” she puts her phone on her ear. “Yeoboseyo?” there’s a pause. “We’re on our way. And that was a really nice timing you got to call, Jae.” She sneers. Afterwards she exclaims, “What? No! we were just talking! Ah? Yeah right. Yeah-yeah-yeah-I-know-okay-I-love-you-too-good-night,” she mutters and ends the call immediately. Se Na turns to me. “Let’s go?”

I smile. “Let’s go,”

And I take her home that night, a tad happier than I ever was before.