Chapter 13: “Not all those who wander are lost- JRR Tolkein”

Kibum, holding his laptop by his arm, hurriedly tied his Converse shoes as he ran towards Studio Seven, for his free period, thinking he could talk to his professor about the script he was suppose to present the next day since it needed two girls to act out. Expressing sadness was this week’s lesson plan. The sun was very hot today, he felt like taking off his sweater. Undecided, he eventually went withthat option as he entered the theatre, surprisingly empty as it is.

Busily memorizing her lines Yoona was on the stage alone, holding her breath to control the tears. He closed the door, and off he went forward. He yawned loudly, sighing.

“Kibum-oppa!” she called with a smile, but he simply ignored her and sat by one of the red seats up front. He eyed his laptop lazily when he waited for his script to load.

“Oppa, why are you avoiding me?” she said, feeling worse for the past few days. “Ever since I changed partners, you’ve been pissed off with me.”

He sighed, glaring. “You didn’t tell me. I couldn’t forgive you because of that.”

“Oppa, I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Let’s be friends again, please.”

“We are friends,” Kibum walked up the stage, now standing stand side by side with her. He snatched her script from her hands and read it pleasingly. “Since I’m your friend, let’s act this one out. Do you like that? I need to work out this part of the story too, so if this isn’t just your win, but mine as well.”

She stared at the scene Kibum pointed out, gasping and giggling and blushing. It took another minute before she could even come up with a reply. “Do you want to kiss me that bad, Kibum-oppa?”

“Gross,” Blushing, Kibum quickly denied, rubbing the bridge of his nose to stimulate his blood circulation all over, praying the redness wasn’t that obvious. “I’m only helping you. This is business, Yoona. And I really am not interested in going beyond that. This is to help me cope up too, since I’ve been missing a lot of practical presentations that involve kissing.”

“Oppa,” Yoona shyly squeaked. “I really am not good with kissing scenes.”

He turned his head around, back and forth, left to right. He twitched his neck a bit, getting exercise.

“Try me,” he suggested. “I can take it. I’ve never really tried one either. Every time the professor gives me an assignment, I skip the class on purpose to avoid romantic set-ups. I knew I had to face my fear too.”

“You’re going to fail drama class if you continue with that habit,” Yoona told him.

“That’s why I need to practice.”

They both shared the piece of paper, as their distance from each other decreased. His hear thumped crazily, she was coming a bit too close now.

“Oppa, why did you leave me?” she sadly spoke as she read the script, eyes filled to the brim immediately. She was very good at getting into the feeling instantly.

“I...I had to,” Kibum stuttered, unable to get into the right emotion. “I had to leave you. You...didn’t love me remember? I was the one who kept on waiting.”

“But, oppa,” her eyes were leaking; he couldn’t help but feel so engrossed in the scene because of Yoona. “I do love you! You...were too blind to see. The only thing that mattered to you was yourself!”

Reading the next directions, he was to pull her in his arms as she struggled under his strength and desire of needing her. Slowly he gave Yoona the signal that he was going to begin doing it. He pursed his lips, touching the girl he had been dreaming about all this time. As expected, she pushed him away, but now totally and personally absorbed by the feeling, Kibum couldn’t let her easily go. Yoona acted out perfectly, giving him throbs on the chest as if begging to release her at once. Forgetting because how romantically Kibum held her, Yoona went what she too had been worrying about, sweetly repaying him with a price worth a million won.

“Oi, break it up,” shouted an outside force.

Conscious now, Kibum slowly freed her, that people were bound to come about and take notice at the two of them passionately getting themselves carried away. Yoona, taking time to grasp reality, still pulled him back when he thought a second sooner, and so they were again lip locked tightly.

“Yoona!” called the familiar voice from below. “Come down from the stage. Let go of the boy.”

She did what she was told, realizing it was her Yuri-unnie; Yoona was entirely embarrassed that she bowed her head, saying ‘Sorry, oppa’ and walking passed him, fixing her hair as she went down.

Panting for air, Kibum was thunderstruck, he turned around to follow her but something else greeted him in mockery. Yuri eyed him in disgust that he couldn’t take it----he felt his tummy turn more somersaults than it did when he was kissing Yoona. The two girls headed for the exit.

“So, what were you two doing?” Key smirked at him, running his hands through his hair. He stared at what Kibum held in his hands and read the lines. “Oh? How long did the kiss last? Three minutes or five? It seems you two got carried away by the feeling, right?”

“Please do not misunderstand, Key-sshi,” Kibum remarked, as he too got off the stage. “I only did it for Yoona.”

Key threw a friendly smile at him as he followed the girls out of the studio, whispering, “I was first. So until then, you can’t claim her. But that’s going to take you forever before you can win her from me.”

“Yoona is not a trophy,” Kibum stated. “I am not into her so you have nothing to worry about.”

“Is that so?” Key answered sharply. “Just stay away from her because you’re barking at the wrong tree.”

“Kibum-sshi,” grinned a lovely Yuri, running back towards them. “You did great. Yoona says you were good for your first kiss. You should do it more often! Let’s go have coffee, then. You too, Key-sshi. Yoona needs your company.”

“Should I come?” Kibum asked her, a little awkward.

She smiled brightly. “Aish. Don’t be embarrassed at all. You should see Yoona and Key doing it. Trust me, it’s a lot worse than what the two of you up there did.”

Key hastened his pace, getting ahead of the two and putting his arm around Yoona. The girl smiled at him, Yoona pecking his cheek as a sign of greeting. Kibum’s temperature boiled higher, but he cooled off when Yuri treated him to free caffeine ice cream. He could have really needed this kind of relaxation when Key was giving him evil glares the whole time.

Ryeowook, after two years of silence, decided to go on a date with Luna (surprisingly she agreed) that night, getting nervous for the first time because he had asked a girl out.

“Just breathe, kid,” Eeteuk gave him a word of advice when he saw Ryeowook puffing his cheeks in apprehension, uneasy even in his seat.

“Where are you guys going out?” Donghae asked who himself was busily fixing his sweatshirt.

Ryeowook smiled. “I guess at Chi-hoon Restaurant.”

“Whoa, that’s one expensive place to dine in,” Eunhyuk commented.

The young boy just shrugged, “She’s one special girl.”

“And where are you boys going?” Heechul wondered. “I don’t remember you guys sticking a note on the fridge about having an appointment tonight.”

“No, because Donghae-sshi and Eunhyuk-sshi are going on a date,” Hangeng added. “Just the two of them. I don’t know who the gay one is.”

“Eunhyuk-sshi’s gay,” Donghae chuckled, laughing at the idea. He looked at his watch and immediately pulling Eunhyuk’s shirt since it was already 6:30. “Come on, they’re waiting for us.”

Hyukjae held a fluffy teddy bear, white with a ribbon on its neck. He smiled meekly---geeky it was that Donghae grinned at him, likewise giving him a strong pat on the back. Donghae had a box of chocolates, Sica’s favorite brand and a bouquet of white daises. Most of the boys were in the living room that night: Siwon and Yesung playing chess; Eeteuk writing a script for the play he was tasked to present on the next week; Heechul busily sewing back a stuff animal’s head to its body. On the other hand, Kyuhyun was at the kitchen cooking dinner for all of them---his turn this time to serve his hyungs. Hangeng, Kibum and Sungmin were enjoying a good conversation about their experiences with tyrant teachers.

“Donghae-hyung!” called Kyuhyun in an apron by the kitchen, a spatula at one hand. “Leave some chocolates for me too.”

“You big self-indulging maknae,” Heechul shouted actively. “You always want things you can’t have!”