June 5, 2013 ❝ rainy days – part one ❞ ❀❀❀❀❀❀ * absolutely nobody expected this weather *   Sehun and Minhi stood at the entrance of the hotel, looking through two pairs of automatic doors to the outside, completely baffled and a tad bit annoyed. They really didn’t want to be near each other, let alone work together, but if what they were seeing was actually happening, they had no idea what to do. They flinched when they saw Kai run up to the hotel and through the doors, stopping just in front of them and shaking his head like a dog.   “Gross, Jongin,” Sehun muttered as he tried to fling away the stray water droplets that fell on him.   “Is it really that bad out there?” Minhi questioned next, watching as Kai tried to wipe the water away from his forehead with his soaked shirt.   Sehun and Kai rolled their eyes at the obvious answer. “Tell me, panda,” the former sarcastically asked, “Do you not see that torrential downpour out there?” He winced when she suddenly turned and hit him on the arm. “Ow!”   “Of course I see it, but like,” she suddenly trailed off, watching as Kai suddenly took off his shirt and was handed a couple of towels by Gongchan before smirking at her and walking off. She grimaced at the act. That devil best friend.   Sehun waited for the comeback as he watched Minhi’s gaze trail over to Kai’s body instead. He rolled his eyes, shifting their attention back towards him. “So, are we working today?”   “Doubt it,” Kai muttered, draping the towel around himself to try and warm himself up, “Noona made me put up a sign outside Pleasure Pier saying that we’re closed for the day due to the weather.”   “I wonder where Zelo is then,” the other mumbled back, frowning as he thought about it.   “Oh my God!” someone suddenly exclaimed, running into the hotel while trying to cover her head, “The weather wasn’t like this this morning!”   The other three turned to face the new addition to the little crew, and Kai smiled, handing the woman a free towel. “Here, Minhee.”   Minhee looked up at who was talking to her and saw Kai’s small smile directed towards her. She blushed lightly, trying to fling off stray droplets as she reached for the towel. “Thanks, Jongin.” She heard the other’s hum as she tried to dry herself off the best she could.   “What were you doing running through the rain?”   “Lay-oppa told me to come back here and that Meilin would follow after a few minutes. I think he’s trying to close down the restaurant for today,” Minhee mumbled out, draping the towel over her head and looking up at him, “I don’t know why though. People are still going to go out and eat and everything.”   “Oh!” Minhi suddenly exclaimed, remembering something but questioning herself in the act, “Sunli-noona said something about opening something around here instead?”   “And thank you, Minhi, for your splendiferous explanation about what’s going on.”   “Who the hell says ‘splendiferous,’ idiot?”   “Apparently someone who has a wider vocabulary than you.”   “What did you say?!”   “Point proven!”   “No, it was–!”   Kai and Minhee sighed, watching the duo bicker in front of them before walking around to go back up to their rooms and shower. They walked in silence, an odd mixture of comfort and confusion between them as they waited for the elevators to come get them. They watched as the lit numbers slowly moved to the left to the next lower one until the elevators finally opened in front of them. They stepped in and Kai pushed the button for the 23rd floor. He looked over his shoulder questioningly.   “It’s the same floor,” Minhee responded back quietly, Kai nodding as he took a step back from the panel and stood there quietly.   It was silent for the first few floors before Kai broke it, his anxiety getting the best of him. “I missed you, Minhee!” he blurted out, eyes wide as he slapped a hand over his mouth.   The other looked at him shocked, not expecting those words, before she laughed slightly, a fond smile on her face. “I missed you too, Jongin.” Her gaze softened when she noticed the other’s intense stare towards her. She immediately moved when he opened his arms out for her.   Despite the cold air blowing over their wet figures, they stayed warm in each other’s grasps. She laughed when he started singing that one song they sang together the summer before at their first date at the karaoke place down the street. When the elevators dinged, signaling their stop, they let go of each other and got out, walking towards the same direction curiously. They didn’t know their rooms were so close to each other’s.   “I really didn’t know you’d be back,” Kai said softly, trying to take his card key out of his wet wallet on the way to their rooms, “We shouldn’t have lost contact with each other.”   “How are Monggu and Jjanggu?” she asked instead, remembering the little fluff balls who had stolen her heart, “Are they still good?”   “Oh!” he suddenly exclaimed, stopping to turn and face her while scrambling for his phone, “I got a new puppy since then! Let me find her picture!”   “A ‘her’?” Minhee repeated back excitedly, trying to wait patiently for a picture to come out, “Is she small? I bet she’s really cute!”   “She’s my angel!” Kai happily exclaimed back, showing her the picture, “Look at how cute and small she is!”   Minhee squealed, taking the phone out of his hand to enlarge and look at the picture. The large smile refused to leave her face. “What’s her name?”   “Jjanggah!” he stated proudly, puffing out his chest some, “My baby girl who will never get married unless approved by yours truly.”   Minhee snorted at his words but nodded approvingly. “Good. Protect her at all costs!”   “What are you guys doing up here?” Chen suddenly questioned, walking into the hallway to see the two down the hall, “Why are you guys soaked?”   “We went swimming,” Kai sarcastically said, taking his phone back from his friend, “Why are you up here?”   Chen shrugged, going to his room and opening it. “Getting my speaker headset deal. Noona’s relocating half of the staff into the ballrooms downstairs to continue our businesses.”   Minhee sighed, taking out her card key to enter her room as well, ten rooms down from Chen’s and three rooms up from Kai’s. “She’s still the same weird boss.”   “You know it!” Chen happily exclaimed before the door shut behind him.   They both watched him curiously as he disappeared, wondering where he even got those techie equipment. Kai continued to think more about it before he noticed Minhee moving again and followed her quickly. “Wait, Minhee.”   “What is it, Jongin?” the other questioned, looking back at him and keeping her door open. She looked down at his hand curiously as he held a pinky out in front of her. She smiled, her heart lurching because they used to do this all the time when they dated last summer. She stuck her hand out, interlocking his pinky with hers, before looking back up to him. “We’re still friends, okay?”   “Let’s find better people to date this summer, spoiled Minhee.”   Minhee laughed, shaking the other’s hand as she did so. “Keep her this time, poor Jongin.”   The other rolled his eyes, both of them letting go of each other’s hands at the same time. Kai watched as the door shut in front of him before he turned to go to his own room, small smile on his face.   Chen watched the ending exchange quietly, incredibly happy that they both finally had some kind of good closure between them, before he went back to the elevators to go down and manage his temporary shop. He hummed, thinking back to the duo on the 23rd floor. Even he could tell their relationship last summer was an odd one. They were always dancing between the fine line of great friendship and great relationship. He was surprised they ended it after their jobs ended. His brow rose in curiosity as his elevator stopped on the 21st floor, and he was pleasantly surprised to see Sena standing out there looking just as surprised. They smiled at each other.   “Hey, Sena.”   “Hey, oppa,” the other greeted back, entering the same carriage as the elder.   “What are you doing?” they asked at the same time, causing both of them to laugh.   Sena shrugged, looking over to the other, “Oppa told me not to leave the hotel this morning and that he’d tell unnie about it. I didn’t think it’d start raining that hard.”   “I know, right?” Chen answered back, hooking the microphone around his head and ear and connecting it to the little speaker he hooked onto his belt, “Now we’re trying to keep businesses going today inside the hotel so nobody has the need to go out.”   “That’s pretty cool,” Sena trailed off before taking a step closer to the elder after a minute of internal deliberation.   Chen flinched at the large step she took towards him. He glanced at her out of the corners of his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. When it didn’t come, he flinched again, tentatively asking, “Yes, Sena?”   “Has my brother mentioned anything about liking any females here?”   “Uh–”   “How about you, oppa?”   “Well, you see–”   “Because I’m pretty sure Junmyeon-oppa might like someone here, but then again–”   “Sena–”   “–I’m not sure.”   Ding!   “Oh, look!” Chen suddenly exclaimed, briskly walking out of the elevator contraption, “We’re here.” He saluted to Kris who was standing there in front of the other elevator, completely confused at his friend’s outburst. “Hi there, hyung!”   “Hey?” the other asked uncertainly, watching as the other practically ran off. He turned to his side to see Sena watching Chen run off in confusion. “Hey, Sena. What’s up?”   Sena looked up to him and shrugged, following him instead. “Hey, oppa,” she greeted before asking another question, “So, what are you doing today since I don’t think you can manage the outdoors park?”   The other shrugged, looking around swiftly before making his way down the hall to one of the two banquet rooms. “Daehyun and I set up some small games the kids could play here in the hotel instead of going out into the storm.”   “That’s cool,” Sena responded back, looking up at the tall man curiously. She always liked observing him simply because he always tried to act like something he wasn’t half the time. She stifled a laugh when he almost tripped on thin air. “What’s really your favorite park ride?”   “I told you, Sena. It’s–”   “No, no,” the younger waved off, grabbing his arm and stopping him from going anywhere. “Your real favorite ride?”   “How do you even know?” Kris frowned down at her, watching as she just smiled back up at him.   “Oppa.”   It took a moment, but then the frown on the elder’s face deepened. “That little–!”   “Oppa’s not little!”   “That’s what you think!”   “But really!” Sena exclaimed, looking up at him with eyes full of curiosity. “What is it?”   Kris bit his lip, staring down at her for a few minutes, before he whispered, “The Ferris wheel.”   “What?” the younger asked, partly surprised, “Why?”   A red blush made its way up Kris’ neck to his cheeks as he tried to dip his head low in embarrassment. “It’s romantic,” he mumbled out, Sena barely able to hear it. Her eyes widened at how cute he sounded.   “What?”   “Don’t make me repeat myself! I need to go finish setting up the prizes. I’ll see you later, Sena,” Kris all but blurted out before he ripped his arm away from the younger and stalked his way into the ballroom where Chen was busy testing out his microphone at the other side of the room.   Sena watched him walk away, amazed, before she felt someone come up next to her. She looked next to her to see Jaemi, and she winced when she realized how drenched the other was. She tilted her body around hers to see Amber in the same state as well. “Hi?” she tentatively greeted, earning two ‘hi’s back, “Are you two okay?”   “It’s raining cats and dogs out there,” Amber answered back before looking over her shoulder to see Xiumin and Daehyun heading their way, laughing about something or another. She hummed in thought, shifting her gaze back and forth between the duo and her best friend standing between them.   “I know. I’m glad Youngjae told me not to go out to the shop. He made it back just in time right when the rain started to pour,” Xiumin happily said, causing Daehyun to laugh and sling an arm around his shoulders.   “Man, you’re lucky. Kris-hyung and I got soaked before we managed to bring some of the toys back from the park. At least they were in plastic bags.”   Amber and Sena watched as Jaemi slightly froze right between them and scowled.   “Oh. Hi, ladies!” Daehyun greeted, used to any stiff posture from women courtesy of Yue, “What brings you outside our banquet room?”   “Hey, Jay!” Xiumin singled out, smiling brightly at her. He was determined to get her attention one way or another. He still had no idea why she wouldn’t talk to him at all.   Everybody noticed the way Jaemi stiffened even more. She turned to stare him down. “Why did you call me that?”   “Why haven’t I thought of that?!” Amber exclaimed out, hi-fiving Xiumin in the process, “I like it!”   “Well, I don’t!” Jaemi exclaimed out, glaring at the other before stalking off to make her way to her room, “I’m going up, Amber.”   Amber looked between all of them before quickly running after her friend. “Keep it up, hyung. You’re cracking her little by little!” she harshly whispered out, flinching when she accidentally back-jo