Woohyun’s POV

Over the next few days, Kasumi would come to my house and I’d tutor her in her weak subjects from four to five, sometimes five-thirty. She was a good student and her teacher told me that she had improved a lot in her work. I was pleased to hear that, not because I was the one who taught her, but because she seemed really happy whenever she would come to me and tell me she passed her tests. She was determined with her work and I was glad to see she was so dedicated.

I wished I could say that our friendship had improved, and that she began to open up to me and the other members of Infinite, but sadly she was still very quiet and shy and doesn’t talk much. At least, she would not talk about her family or about herself, that is. Honestly, I didn’t try, either.

I didn’t know how to.

But I had noticed that although she doesn’t say much, she was getting used to Infinite being around her all the time. How I noticed? She would acknowledge us in the hall, and would even nod her head at us when she saw us. Sometimes, if she were in a good mood, she would wave at us. She would let us touch her shoulder and Sung Jong was allowed to put his arms around her shoulders as he dragged her away to class after breaks. She even let us drop the formalities and we were allowed to call her by her name without adding ‘-sshi’ after her name. She was used to us. But she was still alone in school.

She doesn’t hang out with anyone, and when she does, it was with us.

I wonder why she was so quiet, like what made her to be like this. Did something happen in her life that made her so quiet like this? Apart from her being in the same class as Sung Jong, needing me as a tutor, that she’s very polite, shy and quiet, and going to our school, I didn’t know anything else about her.

Kasumi was a mystery.

And honestly, I was finding myself attracted to her. I don’t know, there was just something about her, I guess. I always find myself smiling whenever I see her, and whenever she would actually talk to me (usually about something she wasn’t so sure on about her work), I would feel pleased that she would talk to me. And whenever she would look down and smile shyly, it made me smile as well.

She was so cute, smiling so prettily like that.

But I still had no idea what she felt toward me.

Sunggyu’s POV

One hot and what seemed to be a long day, I walked up to Woohyun’s room and saw that he was tutoring her in science, both their heads bent down to the book, when he looked up to see me by the doorway. “Hey, do you guys want any snacks?” I asked them. “You guys should take a break.”

Woohyun looked at Kasumi who looked back.“Do you want to take a break, Kasumi-sshi? You did quite a lot already today,” he told her.

She hesitated. “I . . .”

“Why don’t I go take the snacks up while you continue on with your work?” he suggested helpfully.

She nodded, looking grateful. “Kamsahamnida, sunbae,” she said politely. She turned back to her work.

I smiled and turned to walk back down.

“I’ll be back,” I heard Woohyun promised before heading downstairs to make snacks and she nodded. We went inside the kitchen and he opened the cabinet, grabbing a packet of microwave popcorn before popping it into the microwave. The others were in the living room, playing video games.

“Hyung, I want a drink!” Sungyeol called from the living room. He smiled brightly at me. “Can you please get me one while you’re inside?”

“Go get it yourself,” I told him.

“Hyung, I want a drink too!” Sung Jong piped up.

“Me too!” Hoya, Dongwoo and Myungsoo chimed in. “Can you get a drink for me too, hyung?”

“Get it yourself!”

“Thank you, hyung!” they all chorused together.

I sighed, muttering darkly under my breath, and walked over to the fridge. How I managed to end up doing things for them, I seriously have no idea.

I glanced at him. “How’s the tutoring going so far?” he asked Woohyun. “Kasumi looked really dedicated with her work. You should be glad to have someone who is willing to learn.”

He drummed my fingers on the counter, hearing the popcorn ‘pop’ inside. I could even smell it already. “Progress in her work improved,” he replied. He went to the fridge, took out a bottle of orange juice and poured it in two cups. “But progress in our friendship? Non-existence.” He sighed. “Am I weird?”

I raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Am I weird?” Woohyun repeated. “I mean, she doesn’t try making small talks and when I try to talk to her, I clam up and go blank. I don’t know what to talk to her about. It’s just so weird. I mean, you know me; I always have many things to say to girls. But with her, it’s just . . . different.”

“Maybe it’s because you like her?” Sungyeol offered, coming inside the kitchen to hear the last part of my sentence. He turned back to me and frowned. “Hyung, what was taking you so long?”

I threw a bottle at him. “Take it.”

“Yay!”

“Where’s mine?!” the others called from the living room as he went back out to show them he got the drink before he returned, beaming.

I sighed.

Woohyunwas frowning at Sungyeol.

I looked expectantly at my best friend. “Well, do you?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I’ve been thinking about that, honestly, and I really don’t know if I actually like her or not.”

The popcorn was done.

He took it out and poured it into a bowl. He was just putting it in a tray when Dongwoo came inside. His eyes lit up when he saw the popcorn and made a move to grab a fistful when Woohyun swatted his hands away.

“Owww, Woohyun!” he pouted.

“That’s for Kasumi and me to munch on,” he retorted and I hid a smile. “Don’t you dare try to eat any, you pig. You’ve eaten quite a lot already. My cabinet and fridge are going empty because of your bottomless pit.”

“Someone’s defensive,” Hoya cracked up, coming inside the kitchen as well. “I think you really do like her.”

“I do not like her! Stop saying that! I really do not like her like that.” Woohyun blushed, not seeing Myungsoo sneaking up behind on him.

Myungsoo poked his cheeks and cackled with laughter. “Hey, hey, you guys, look! Nam Woohyun is actually blushing!” he exclaimed gleefully.

Woohyun yelped, startled by his sudden appearance. “Where the hell did you come out from?!” he exclaimed. “You weren’t there a second ago!”

His eyes twinkled. “I’m a ninja.”

“More like a psycho,” I muttered and he grimaced at me instead. I shrugged at him. “It’s true. Isn’t L from Death Note a psycho?”

“No, he’s very intellectual and very smart,” he shot back. “Have some respect for him, please.”

“I’m sorry,” I rolled my eyes.

“He loves eating sweets, too,” Dongwoo chimed in.

“Well, Myungsoo does eat a lot,” Hoya reasoned, eyeing the younger boy who just smiled and shrugged.

Woohyun took the tray up and our attention was diverted back over to him and Kasumi. But he was glaring at us. “If any of you disturbed us, I swear I will come down and —” he started to say.

“Oooh, hyung was going to say a bad word,” Sung Jong blinked.

Sungyeol gasped. “Hyung!”

I raised an eyebrow at Woohyun. “Language, young man,” I said, acting like I was the father of all of them.

“Yes, grandpa.”

I caught his patronizing tone and didn’t like it. “Yah! I may be a grandpa but doesn’t mean I will accept that tone of yours, young man.”

“Now you’re the dad. Make up your mind, sheesh.” He was gone.

I shook my head.

I have such nice friends.<