Unsurprisingly, she had assumed that I would come and had already packed an overnight bag for me! Dr Oh’s car pulled up outside our house about 5 minutes later and my mother led me outside. Dr Oh gets out of the car to load or bags into the car boot and we greet each other.
My mother then climbs into the passenger seat as I quickly jumped into the back seat. Without looking up, I turn to put my seatbelt on and I hear a high-pitched squeal.
“EEEKK! Omo, it’s really you! Oh, how I’ve missed you, dongsaeng!” a voice squeals as a pair of arms suddenly wrap around my waist and squeeze the breath out of me. My eyes have doubled in size in alarm and I look up to see my mother and Dr Oh laughing at me from the front seats.

“Yoseob, down. Sit.” Dr Oh says, as though commanding a dog.

The boy next to me slowly pulls away from me and turns to look out of his window, looking sad and dejected. Within seconds, it’s as though he has forgotten that he was just scolded and suddenly remembered I was there because he whips back around to face me and looks like he is about to burst with excitement.

“I can’t believe it! My baby has grown up so much!” he cooes.

“Seobie-ah, you’re creeping her out! She doesn’t remember you!” Dr Oh scolds in a mock angry tone. It’s hard to act angry when you can’t stop laughing though.

His mouth drops open in shock and he turns to look at me and then continues to repeatedly look between me and Dr Oh, as though trying to figure out if that was a joke or not. He then pouts, realizing that it wasn’t a joke.

“Why not?” he whines.

“Because Yoseob, Jinyoung was very young and it was a long time ago.” Dr Oh reasons with him. I just stare awkwardly at the ground, not knowing what to say.

“Also, Seobie, I did keep you up to date with Jinyoung’s life as you insisted, but we didn’t have any pictures of you to show her!” my mother adds.

He looks like he is about to cry for a few seconds, before his eyes light up once more and he grabs a hold of my arm.

“Then, let’s get reacquainted and become best friends again! I miss having a little baby sister!” he says.

I just slowly nod, unsure of how to act around him.

Our mothers start their own conversation as Yoseob drums his fingers against his chin in thought, trying to think up a conversation topic.

“Sooo,” he begins, “do you still like taking naps?” he asks.

“Uh, I guess I do enjoy sleeping.” I say awkwardly.

“Me too!” he says enthusiastically.

“And… do you ... still wear nappies?” he asks.

“Occasionally.” I say, jokingly.

He bursts out laughing, clearly forcing himself to laugh harder.

“HAHAHAHAHA, you’re so funny!” he says, holding his side as he laughs.

I sigh. He is clearly trying really hard to make an effort, so I try to help move the conversation along.

“What are your hobbies?” I ask.

“Well, I love, love, LOVE singing. And dancing. And I’m a rather good painter. Also, I love to read and watch TV!” he says quickly.

“Wow, you sound rather artistic!” I say, impressed with his passion.

“You could say that. Actually, YOU can say whatever you want, I don’t mind! And you’re REALLY artistic! I know that! Auntie … uh, your mother, sent us a few videos of you singing and dancing before. You’re so talented! Maybe we could perform together soon!” he says again, shaking my arm in excitement.

“Well that’s… an idea!” I say, not wanting to commit to anything.

“OOH! You could come and see me and my friends perform and rate us! We’re always looking for someone to critique our performances! Yeah! I’m meeting up with my some of my group members now for dinner, you should come!” he says, rapidly formulating a plan.

“Umma!” he whines like a child once more, “can Jinny please come to dinner with me and the boys tonight?”

“Seobie-ah, I think you may be overwhelming her a little bit. You didn’t even ask if she would like to go to dinner with you!”

“Jinny, would you like to come to dinner with my friends and I tonight? I promise that you will have lots and lots of fun – more fun than you would have if you stayed with the adults!” he says smiling at me.

“She would love to - right, Jinyoung?” my mother asks me.

I can tell from the way that she looks at me that she thinks that I should go, so I slowly nod my head and return Yoseob’s smile.

He claps his hands in joy and then grabs his bag.

“Umma! We can just get out here! We’ll meet the guys here soon!” he says to his mother.

She pulls the car over to the curb and parks.

“Bye umma! Bye aunty! Thanks for letting me take Jinny away!” he says, jumping out of the car and swinging his bag onto his back.

“Thank you very much, Dr Oh! I will see you later! Goodbye eomoni!” I say, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek.

“Honey, remember to listen to Yoseob and you still don’t have a phone so don’t separate from him, okay? We will see you later! Have a wonderful time!” she says, my cheek.

“Yes, eomoni! Enjoy your dinner!” I say, stepping out of the car to join Yoseob.

“Why is your hair so short? Is that a wig? Yay! You're wearing my shirt! It looks so much better on you! Do you like dancing? What’s your favorite type of food? Are you still allergic to shellfish?” he asks, without taking a breath.

He finally pauses, waiting for me to answer all of his questions.

I’m unsure of where to start and he takes my moment of hesitation as an opportunity to jump back in again.

“I’m sorry for all of the questions, but I have so many years to catch up on! I wouldn’t see your mother often, but when I did, she would tell me all about you. You see, being an only child, you were like a sister to me. But I wasn’t there to watch you grow up ... but now that you’re back in my life, I solemnly swear to you that I will be the best big brother you’ve ever had!”

“I’m very sorry that I don’t remember you, Yoseob-ssi!” I say, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

“Please, call me ‘oppa’ like you used to!”

I must have made a face when he said that because he then adds,

“Uh… when you’re comfortable, that is.”

“Yes, Yoseob-ssi.” I reply with a small smile. “Well, in response to your questions: yes, this is a wig. I enjoy all types of dancing, but I really only have experience in ballet. I love almost all types of food but yes, I’m still allergic to shellfish! Oh, and thank you very much for your clothes!” I finish.

“It's my pleasure! Also, we can go to the dance studio later and I can teach you a few moves if you would like?”

“That sounds like fun!” I say, smiling at him.

“YAH! ANSWER YOUR PHONE NEXT TIME!” a voice suddenly yells.

Two guys that look around Yosoeb's age, approach us. One looks rather menacing while the other is a typical pretty boy.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear it, hyung! I was busy! By the way, this is Jinyoung. Jinyoung this is Hyunseung,” he says, gesturing to the pretty boy who smiles warmly at me, “and Junhyung.” He says, gesturing to the guy who was angry just a moment ago but now just looks shocked.

“Wait, the Jinyoung?” he asks, looking at Yoseob for confirmation.

Yoseob nods proudly and Junhyung suddenly smiles at me and steps forward to embrace me.

“It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you! I feel like we’ve known each other for years! This guy never shuts up about you!” he says, pulling away and punching Yoseob’s arm.

Hyunseung just stands there looking dazed and confused, his eyes darting between the three of us.

“Wha--?” he says, confused.

“Dude, this is Jinny!” Yoseob explains.

Hyunseung stares at me for a few moments before his eyes slowly widen and then he becomes excited, jumping up and down and squealing.

“Omo! Jinny? Wow! I can’t believe we’re finally meeting you! Will you be joining us for dinner?” he asks, bringing me into a bear hug.

I stiffen as he pins my arms to my sides while hugging me. For such a skinny guy, he is super strong! The amount of skinship that has already occurred has officially made me uncomfortable, I don’t even know these guys and they’re acting like we’re long lost friends!

“Um, I’m not sure…” I break off, not knowing whether these were the friends Yoseob was talking about.

He nods subtly in confirmation, and I subconsciously nod in return.

“…yeeesss, I will be!” I say, smiling.

I have so much fun at dinner, I almost feel like I’m with Big Bang! The three guys talk to me as though we’ve known each other since childhood, which I guess they feel like they have! Apparently they all met when they were about 6 and Yoseob used to constantly tell stories about me and now they know so much about me… which, to be honest, I find kind of alarming.

But they are so nice and they joke around the whole time, picking on Yoseob and teasing one another. We share three large pizzas in between us – well, they inhaled the pizzas whereas I was full after one slice!

Just when I think the night is ending, Junhyung gets a text and quickly finishes his coke before reading it.

“The others are on their way. Do you want to order another pizza or meet them at the dance studio later?” he asks Hyunseung and Yoseob.

“I could do with another pizza!” Yoseob muses as Hyunseung nods in agreement.

Junhyung orders another pizza and more coke for the table.

“More coke? You’ve already had like 12 glasses tonight!” Yoseob scolds.

“Shush, don’t you dare try and come between me and my coke!” he says, poking out his tongue.

“You know, when I first saw you Junhyung-ssi, I thought that you would be a total badass! But you’re so adorable!” I coo.

He narrows his eyes and death glares at me, sending shivers up my spine.

I worry that I have offended him, but then he cracks and starts laughing.

“See? I can be a badass! I just don’t feel like being one in your presence!” he says, smiling and winking at me.

“Here is the large pizza,” the waitress says, laying the pizza in the centre of the table, “and the coke.” She says, putting the coke down.

“YAY! More coke!” Junhyung says, clapping and doing a little dance.

I burst out laughing and laugh so hard that my sides ache.

“Nawww, did I miss the joke?” a voice interrupts.

I stop laughing and look up at the stranger before me. He looks like a foreigner and has a huge grin across his face. His eyes lock onto mine and his smile becomes even wider.

“No way. Jinny? I can’t believe it’s actually you!” he says, holding his head with both hands as though to keep it from exploding.
“Oh, uh, Jinny, this is Dongwoon, our maknae!” Yoseob introduces him.

“Maknae? How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Almost 20! And if you don’t mind me asking, why do you look like a dude?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Yah!” Yoseob scolds, “Don’t be rude to Jinny!”

I laugh awkwardly. “It’s a long story.” I say to Dongwoon, patting Yoseob consolingly on the shoulder.

“We have plenty of time!” another voice interrupts.

“Yah! Hyung, why do you always listen to other people’s conversations?” Dongwoon asks the newcomer.

The others shift around to make room for him in our booth, so I guess that we were waiting for him!

“Uh, Jinny, this is Doojoon, the Leader. Doojoon, this is-” Yoseob is cut off by Doojoon as he stands up next to me, takes one of my hands and bows, kissing it.

I look at him like:

“Miss Park Jinyoung, it is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.” He says, bowing deeply once more.

“Yah! Don’t creep her out! Why are you acting so weird?” Yoseob asks him, ruining Doojoon’s moment.

“Whatever are you talking about? I always act like this!” Doojoon says, tilting his nose up in the air and sitting back down with a very straight back.

“Dude, are you feeling okay?” Junhyung asks Doojoon, touching his forehead as though to test if he has a temperature.

Doojoon just smiles at me apologetically and I smile in return.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Leader Doojoon!” I say politely, making him giggle.

Wow, I can honestly say that I did not have him down as the giggling type!

I try to hold in my laughter and slowly scan the pizza parlour.

“Shut up, you guys!” Doojoon hisses quietly, “not in front of her!”

I smile at this, but then try to pretend I didn’t hear and continue looking around until I see someone about to come through the door.

Kikwang.

I’m not ready to see him again! If he sees me, he might yell at me! Then what would my new friends here think?

I don’t know what else to do, so I turn to Yoseob and whisper to him that I need to use the restroom and then I quickly sneak off to the ladies' room without being spotted by Kikwang. I know, my mother told me to stay by Yoseob, but he knows where I am and he will come to get me when we’re leaving! But what do I do until we leave?

I see a chair in the bathroom and I consider sitting on it when there is a knock on the door.
“Jinny? Are you in there?” Yoseob whispers.

I open the door, confused, and he stands there as though there is a invisible barrier preventing him from entering the bathroom.

“Are you okay? I noticed you rush in here.” He says.

“Yes, I’m very well thank you, Yoseob-ssi!”

“No ... uh, food poisoning?”

“No, I feel fine thank you!” I say, grossed out that he thought I was rushing to … take care of business. “I actually just saw someone that I think it would be best if I avoided for now!”

“Really? Well, you can borrow my jacket to cover your face and join us back at our table if you want! Our last member has finally arrived and is looking forward to meeting you!” he says cheerfully.

I poke my head around Yoseob, trying to get a better view of our table when I notice Kikwang almost in front of me, making his way to the men’s room.

Without thinking, I pull Yoseob into the ladies’ room with me and shut the door.

His eyes are wide as he takes everything in.

“Ha, I forgot that your bathrooms don’t have urinals!” he suddenly says.

We laugh together and he tells me that if I don’t want to go out there, then he will wait in here with me.

We spend the next twenty minutes in the ladies' room, talking about anything and everything and getting to know one another better. Apparently my mother has asked him to keep an eye out for me and she wants us to spend more time together, so I figured that I may as well make an effort to become closer with him!

He graduated from high school 3 years ago and is currently 21 years old. He is studying medicine to be a doctor like his mother and in his spare time, he likes to dance and sing. He says that he is conflicted because he really wants to be a doctor so that he can help people and he wants to volunteer for Doctors Without Borders, but he also wants to desperately become a recording artist. He and his friends are hoping to be signed to a label soon! That’s so exciting!

“You know, my best friends were recruited by an agency almost three years ago and they have formed their own group, to debut at the end of this year! I’m sure that you will be recruited soon too, you’re an amazing singer!” I tell him, trying to encourage him.

He starts laughing, confusing me.

“What’s so funny?” I ask.

“I know that you’re just being nice, but you haven’t even heard me sing before!” he says, still laughing at me.

“Well, can you sing something for me now to give my beliefs some base?” I ask, batting my eyelashes.

Eager to demonstrate his talent, he quickly tries to think of which song he should showcase.

“Okay,” he cries out cheerfully, clapping his hands, “I wrote this song for my friends and I to perform as a group. It’s called “You”.” He says with pride.

 I nod and smile encouragingly, eagerly waiting for him to start.

“I’m gonna make you love me neol sarang handago

Nan niga isseo haengbokhae ounjaena neoppun in geol.”

He suddenly stops singing and looks down shyly, slowly peeking back up at me to see whether I liked it.

“You have the voice of an angel, Yoseob-ssi!” I coo.

He thanks me, but I can't help but notice the disappointment in his eyes.

"I'm sorry! Did I say something wrong?" I ask, concerned.

"No, it's just that... well, I've been waiting to meet you again for so many years and I guess I just kind of planned the way everything would go in my mind. I just... I think I just set myself up for disappointment." He says with resignation.

"I'm very sorry Yoseob-ssi!" I say, feeling like a huge disappointment for not being able to live up to his expectations.

He flinches as I say this, and I realise why he is disappointed, even before he explains it.

"Please, Jinny, - can I call you Jinny?" He suddenly asks.

I nod, and tell him that he can call me whatever he would like to. He smiles at that.

"Well, Jinny, I know that you aren't comfortable calling me oppa and that you don't really remember me, but I would really love it if you could be more informal with me. I know it's a lot for a stranger to ask, but I feel like we've been friends for our entire lives and it kind of hurts when you speak formally with me." He mumbles quickly.

I was about to reply, when there was a sudden knock on the bathroom door.

“Yes?” Yoseob calls out.

The door opens and Hyunseung pokes his head into the bathroom whilst shielding his eyes.

“I don’t know what you guys are doing in here and I don’t really want to know, but we’re leaving now!” he says.

Yoseob and I laugh at his cute behavior and then Yoseob calls out:
“Okay, we’re coming!”

He holds his hand out for me and I place my hand in his as he leads me out of the bathroom. The others have already left so he leads me to the parking lot where they are waiting in a van.

“Is the person you were avoiding still here?” he asks.

Rather than scanning the pizza parlour and being seen by Kikwang, I just keep my head down and say, “I don’t know”.

Yoseob notices this and, with his free hand, he brings my head to rest on his shoulder, subtly shielding my face from the other pizza eaters.

“Thank you ... Seobie!” I whisper gently.

He doesn’t reply, so I sneak a glance at his face from behind his hand to see that he has the biggest grin plastered over his face.

I swear, that grin is contagious because I can feel an identical one spreading across my face as I watch him.

We reach the van, the door slides open and Yoseob gestures for me to climb in first.

All the guys from before plus one new addition are already seated inside the van. The seats face each other, like in a limo so I’m confronted with five guys … scratch that, make it six as Yosoeb just climbed in after me… six guys beaming at me and watching my every move.

It’s unnerving to say the least.

“Welcome to the Love Machine, Jinny!” Dongwoon says, winking at me.

“Hey, I thought I was the Love Machine!” the new guy says.

“No, Jonghyun, this is the love machine because it’s where babies are made!” Dongwoon explains.

“How can babies be made in here if Jinny is the first girl to be allowed in?” Hyunseung slowly asks, confused.

Dongwoon and Jonghyun give him an “are you serious?” look and it suddenly dawns on him.

“Ooooohhhh! You guys were just pretending that you were real ladies’ men in hopes of impressing Jinny!” he says, excited that he understands the situation.

I struggle to suppress my laughter as the others all facepalm.

“Dude, sometimes I don’t know whether you’re trolling or you’re actually that slow!” Junhyung says, shaking his head at him.

“So, Jonghyun, is it?” I ask the newcomer, just to confirm.

He nods and smiles happily at me.

“Are you a singer and dancer as well?” I ask curiously. I feel like everyone I know happens to sing and dance!

He nods eagerly, “I LOVE dancing and while I’m just mediocre at singing, the guys here let me join their dance practices and afterwards they help improve my singing!”

“Wow, you’re all so passionate about singing and dancing! It’s so amazing! I can’t wait to watch you dance!” I say, clapping my hands in excitement.

“It’s hard to believe that I’m finally meeting you, Jinyoung! We’ve all heard so much about you!” Jonghyun says.

“What kind of things?” I ask, curious and a little suspicious of what Yoseob has been telling them.

“We’re here!” Yoseob suddenly announces.

“Huh? When did the car start moving?” I ask, confused, as the others are getting up to exit the car.

They start laughing at me and Jonghyun calls me “the female Hyunseung” as they hop out of the van.

Hyunseung, who is the last to leave and extends a hand to help me out of the van, whispers seriously to me “I didn’t realise the car was moving either!”.

I look up at him, his eyes wide as though we’re discussing a conspiracy theory, and I smile warmly at him.

“I think that we should stick together!” I inform him, and he nods, smiling in return.

The others have already entered the building, so we run after them and Hyunseung leads me to the dance studio.

For the next hour, I attentively watch them practice and offer praises whenever I have the chance. As they dance in formation, almost perfectly synchronised, with fluid-like movements, I let my mind drift off as I recall all the events of today. It’s really no wonder that I feel exhausted after everything that has happened.

I finally snap out of my reverie and notice that they’ve stopped dancing. Checking the clock on the wall, I notice that it’s already 10 o’clock!

I look at Yoseob, wondering whether we will be heading home anytime soon, but he is in the middle of conversation with Doojoon.

“-never comes on time! He can be so frustrating sometimes!” I catch Yoseob saying.

“Give him a break, Yoseob! He’s had a rough day. He just needed some more time alone! He explained it all before!” Doojoon defends.

“But he comes late to practice ev---” Yoseob angrily retaliates, breaking off when he notices me watching him.

“Hey, Jinny, would you like to demonstrate your exceptional dancing abilities to us now?” Yoseob asks, dropping his conversation with Doojoon.

“Sorry, I’d rather not, Seobie! And I’m really not an exceptional dancer!” I say, not wanting to humiliate myself in front of everyone.

“Yeah, you are! We’ve seen videos of your ballet recitals and your ballroom dancing competitions and you were so fantastic!” Dongwoon says.

“I don’t do ballroom dancing anymore.” I inform them, but not wanting to be a party-pooper, I add: “I’m a fast learner when it comes to dances though! I copy my friends’ dances all the time and practice with them!”

They’re all very excited about this, Yoseob the most.

“I copy dances too! It’s so much fun!” He cries out in excitement.

“Well, you’ve watched several of our dances today! And as we choreographed them ourselves, we will be the best judges! You should choose one of the songs and we can sing while you dance!” Yoseob announces, getting everyone else excited.

I mull it over and it sounds like fun, so I agree!

I stand up in front of them as they applaud me and I bow, thanking them.

“What song would you like to dance to?” Doojoon asks.

“Uhmmm,” I think, tapping my chin, “OOOH! Which song was it that had that move that was like... ” I say, demonstrating one of the many moves that I happened to memorise.

“That’s Shock!” Yoseob says proudly. “That’s an excellent choice as I choreographed it by myself! Would you like me to demonstrate the moves once more before you copy them?” he asks, about to stand up.

“No, it’s okay thank you, Seobie!” I say, fairly confident that I have it memorized.

They press play on the backing track that they created themselves and that’s my signal to start. I keep in time with the music and perform each move as I remember it. I’m about halfway through the song when I hear the door shut and a voice announces this person's presence.

A voice that only this afternoon was yelling at me.

I stop dancing and freeze with my back turned to the door.

“I know I’m late, but you don’t have to have auditions to replace me already!” he jokes.

“Kikwang, this is Jinny.” Yoseob says, clearly not pleased with him.

“Wow! The Jinny? Really? I’m sorry, I thought you were a guy! Your dance was flawless by the way!” he says, his footsteps drawing nearer.

I know that I’m being rude by not turning around, but I don’t know what else to do.

Yoseob is sitting almost directly in front of me and he looks at me with sudden comprehension.

I send him a pleading look and he thinks quickly. Kikwang is almost right behind me and I have no idea what to do!

Yoseob suddenly jumps up and hugs me tightly.

“Jinny! You danced so well! I’m so proud of you! You performed the choreography perfectly! I knew you could do it!” he says, keeping my face buried in his shoulder.

“Oh, would you look at the time! Jinny, I have to take you home now! Let’s go!” he says, leading me towards the door, hiding my face from Kikwang until he is behind us.

“I thought you wanted me to drive the two of you?” Kikwang asks, suspicious.

“Nah, it’s fine thanks, I’ll drive. You only just got here anyway, you should probably spend more time with everyone else! And you missed practice so you may as well stay to catch up!” Yoseob replies in what I assume is the cattiest tone he could muster.

“But I’ve been looking forward to meeting Jinny for so long! ... And you don’t even have a car!” Kikwang whines.

“I’ll drive you.” Kikwang says firmly.

I hear footsteps rapidly approaching and before I realize, I am once again face to face with Lee Kikwang.

“.”