Five.
Just One of UsThe two guys clinked Soju glasses and gulped down its contents in one shot.
“So,” Sunggyu started. “What’s been troubling you?”
“Girl problems.”
“I knew it.”
“Thing is, I really like her, Sunggyu,” Dongwoo admitted. “But she gets too overwhelming at times.”
Sunggyu refilled both their glasses and gestured for the waiter to bring another bottle of Soju. It was going to be a long night. “Have you tried talking to her?”
Dongwoo shook his head. “Didn’t think it was major enough to bring up.”
“Look, we all realize it’s been affecting you a lot. Especially our youngest one.”
“Yeah I know. She was pretty concerned at lunch a few days back. But I didn’t want her to worry, seeing how she had her date with Hoya and all.”
“The guys were over at her place today. She asked for us. Maybe you should drop a message. Let her know you’re fine. Ask how she is,” Sunggyu suggested and pointed to his phone lying on the table.
“Why me?”
Sunggyu held out the phone to Dongwoo. “Because I already did it. And you know she likes it when she receives such messages from us.”
Dongwoo’s fingers hovered over the touch screen for a moment before he typed a few words and pressed ‘send’.
***
Your phone beeped. You fished into your clutch and saw that it was a message from Dongwoo.
‘Sorry I wasn’t there earlier today. Having fun?’
Odd. The boys tended to send random messages every now and then, but not Dongwoo. He was the type who didn’t like to use his phone much. It wasn’t only till he had a girlfriend that he began checking his phone regularly. Even so, he tended to be extremely selective when it came to replies.
You thought for a while before replying him.
‘Yes.’
‘Great.’
You tossed your phone back into your clutch and hugged your knees close to your chest as you went back to watching the play on the elevated stage in front of you.
“Are you cold?” Hoya asked hurriedly and started to remove his jacket.
“Oh, no. I just like to sit like this,” you explained. “I have my cardigan, its thick enough.”
He smiled and leaned back, propping himself up by his elbows.
The both of you were seated on a picnic mat on a large empty plot of land in Seoul Forest, watching Midsummer’s Night Dream. Shakespeare in the park, Hoya had explained to you. You liked that concept.
After a few minutes, the play paused for the intermission. “So, tell me,” you turned to Hoya. “Are you really interested in Shakespeare or are you just really good with date ideas?”
Hoya laughed. “Is that a compliment?”
You shrugged in reply.
He sat up and dug into the big paper bag of stuff he brought. After a while, he pulled out two bottles of mineral water. He opened it before handing it over to you. “It may be hard to believe, but I would say I have quite an interest in literature.”
“Oh really?”
“Told you it was hard to believe.”
“I was just confirming!” you exclaimed, giving him a playful swipe on his arm. You were careful not to hit him too hard. You were worried that you would come across as too physical and you had to keep reminding yourself he was not one of the boys.
“Dance is my first love. It has always been. But when I don’t dance, I look to books, plays, poems, song lyrics, anything with words.
You nodded attentively. “How did it start?”
He looked you in the eyes and took a deep breath. “It all began when…”
***
“Darling, you’ll be fine,” your mother tried to pacify your six year old self. But you were clinging tightly onto her dress, refusing to let go. “It’s just for a few hours.”
“Don’t want to go.”
Your mother bent down and spun you around to face her. “Listen darling, you’re going to meet many new friends and have lots of fun. Just try it for a day, if you don’t like it, we will stop, okay?”
You looked down at your shoes. “Okay.”
“Come on darling, chin up,” your mother said as she led you into the room.
Slowly, you let go of her dress and looked up. What you saw was a room full of children your age; everyone was happily playing with their own toys. But what really caught your eye was a little boy sitting alone at the back of the room, reading a book. Unlike the other children, he seemed perfectly happy sitting quietly on his own. You felt like that most times, maybe the two of you could be friends.
You smiled and started to patter your way towards the boy when the teacher stepped into the room and clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Children, please settle down. We will start the speech and drama class soon.”
You hurriedly made your way beside the boy and plopped right beside him on the floor. Now that you were right beside him, you realized he looked about a year or two older than you.
He dropped his book, startled by your sudden presence.
“Sorry,” you apologized. “Here is your book.”
A crooked grin graced his lips. “It’s okay. What’s your name?”
You pointed to name sticker on your chest.
“I see. My name is Howon.” He stuck his hand out for you to shake it.
You stared at his hand for a good ten seconds before you cautiously shook it.
He laughed. “I washed my hands. There are no germs.”
You gave a weak smile, slightly embarrassed. It wasn’t the germs you were worried about. You didn’t have many friends and even fewer were as friendly as Howon was. You leant against the wall, crossed your legs and awaited further instruction from the teacher.
He nudged you in the arm. “Do you know why we’re here?”
You shook your head slowly.
“This is a speech and drama class. My parents didn’t want me to play games all holiday, so they sent me here.” Howon put his hands behind his head and leant against the wall, just like you. “Now, why are you here?”
“Oh, mommy said I should learn to speak up. And she said I will make new friends.”
Howon did his crooked grin again. Subsequently as the weeks went by, you realized that he liked doing that a lot and you started to mimic the way he did it, but your smile could never get as crooked as his. He would scold you for trying, saying your smile was sweet enough and should stay as it was.
The teacher started talking again and you quickly turned back to the front, your mother had always told you to listen to the teacher.
“We will be such good friends by the end of the whole thing!” he whispered into your ear and clasped his hand over your tiny hand.
A/N: I'm on a roll~ Haha. Surprising turn of events? I'd love to hear from you guys! Thanks for the comments and subscriptions so far! ♥
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