Seven.

You had said good bye to the trio after the bunch of you had a really satisfying breakfast of waffles, courtesy of your well-stocked kitchen and Noeul’s admirable cooking skills. You made your way to your mother’s room where you witnessed a chaotic scene of clothes being tossed in all directions.

You suddenly remembered that your mother was taking off on her annual relaxation retreat at a tropical resort with some of her female friends… Which probably meant your questions would have to wait.

As you watched her pack her bags in the master bedroom, you bit your lip, unsure if you should slightly touch on the topic.

She stopped tossing things into her suitcase and turned to you with her hands on her hips. “What’s wrong, dear?” she asked.

“Nothing! What made you think something was wrong?”

“You’re biting your lip,” she said as a matter-of-factly.

You threw yourself onto the huge king-sized bed and let out a huge sigh. “I was just wondering… What was I like as a kid? How was I like in kindergarten? Nursery?”

Your mother gave you a puzzled look. “Why the sudden question?”

You waved your hand. “Just curious.”

“Well… You were very quiet. It took you about a year in kindergarten before you opened up, before you made friends. We sent you for some class, what was it…”

“Speech and drama class?”

“Yes, that’s right. Your teachers in school had recommended it. It was a new initiative. We tried it and you seemed to like it. I still remember how brightly you smiled after your first day there. You told us you made a new friend. Do you remember his name, darling?”

You nodded. “Howon, wasn’t it?”

Your mother smiled as she reached out and tucked your fringe behind your ear. “You liked that boy so much. Every time we fetched you after class, you wouldn’t let go of his hand.”

“But mom, what-”

Your mother’s phone rang suddenly and she whipped around to pick it up. “Yes, I’m leaving my house in a few minutes. What’s that, you’re downstairs already? Okay, in a minute.”

You bit your lip yet again. You decided that you should probably keep your questions for another day. As you helped her pick up her clothes and stuff them into the luggage that was already bursting at its seams, an inaudible sigh left your lips.

***

You waved good-bye to your mother as the car drove away from your house. Your father came up right behind you and put his hands on your shoulders.

“Looks like it’s going to be you and me only for the next two weeks,” he commented. “I have to warn you though… My cooking hasn’t improved since the last time your mother went away.”

“Dad, I can cook, leave it to me,” you told him and turned around to face him. Behind him, you realized a familiar silhouette was walking in your direction. It took you a while before you made out who it was.

“Myungsoo!” you exclaimed, mildly amused that since this whole thing started out with Hoya, the boys were making such frequent visitations to your house. You couldn’t help but wonder why it seemed like everyone had made their way there, but Dongwoo was nowhere to be seen.

“Nope, this isn’t the one you like, but I’ll be inside the house if you need me anyway,” your father said as he went back into the house.

“Dad!”

Your father shrugged and closed the door behind him.

Myungsoo jogged up to you and ruffled your hair, causing you to realize you hadn’t brushed your hair since getting out of bed this morning. “How were things yesterday?”

You ran your fingers through your hair consciously. “Good. He’s really nice and sweet. And you know we’re childhood friends right?”

Myungsoo nodded. “Yeah, heard it from Sunggyu and Sungyeol a couple of days back. Hey, I’m meeting my girlfriend at the café by the main street in five. Do you want to come with me and meet her?”

“Sure! Just let me…” You bent down to tighten the laces on your sneakers. And before Myungsoo could say another word, you sped off. “Last one there has to treat the other to coffee for the next month!”

“You know you’re not going to beat me even though you have a head start!” Myungsoo warned. But you were already too far ahead to hear him.

***

You were about twenty metres away from the pale red building which housed the café on the second floor when you turned behind to check how far Myungsoo was. He was getting closer. You picked up your pace with your eyes on the main street in front of you.

As you leaned your body to the left to turn around the corner, you found yourself veering too close to the wall. You shut your eyes tight and braced yourself for the impact of banging into the wall.

Instead, you found yourself crashing into a muscled, warm being and falling onto the hard sidewalk gravel, with the person cushioning your fall. You froze, afraid of the string of expletives that would probably emerge as a result of the collision.

Behind you, you heard Myungsoo’s footsteps. “Are you two okay?” he asked worriedly.

Slowly, you opened your eyes and found yourself staring right into Dongwoo’s grimacing face. You gasped and jumped to your feet, off him. “Are you okay?! Are you hurt?!”

His eyes were still tightly shut, but he nodded slowly.

“What? You’re hurt? Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Dongwoo!” You started to fuss over him and poke him randomly. “Are you injured here? Here?”

Dongwoo chuckled and sat up. “I meant I was okay, not that I was hurt. I just got winded for a moment.”

“Thank God!” you exclaimed and hugged him tightly.

Myungsoo cleared his throat tersely. “Um, you two are making quite a scene…” he mumbled. You looked up and realized that about a dozen people were now looking in your direction, some across the road, and some inside the café.

You hurriedly helped Dongwoo up and the three of you rushed into the café.

In the temporal state of chaos, what you failed to realize, was that Dongwoo was trailing behind, smiling as he watched you fan your flushed cheeks.

A/N: Sorry for the long~ absence, I was away at camp and I was so tired when I got back on Sunday night! Anyways I'm really happy now cos' I just received my Inspirit package in the mail! It has this amazing photobook and I could stare at it all day long. (And get distracted from writing.) Thank you everyone who has suscribed, read or commented consistently! <3