The relationship between Bang Yong Guk and I had slowly ceased back to a comfortable friendship after that awkward, yet strangely satisfying exchange in the fields that day. It had taken him a few days before he could look me in the eye again and then another week before he could find the courage to hold a conversation that did not only consist of one-word-phrases. Despite this, we had formed a closer understanding of each other, and were now closer friends than ever. Afraid that he would try to make another move, I had also set down firm rules about flirting and physical contact, getting my message across to him. A sweet but stubborn character, he had argued and disagreed with my terms for days before he finally caved in. While this unfolded, Janice stood her distance, keeping close watch on me. I knew her intentions were to protect Bang Yong Guk’s feelings but there was also something else there, something under that stony expression she kept on her face whenever I spoke to him. It was almost like a deep, long forgotten concern. But concern for whom, I couldn’t tell. Was it for Yong Guk, or was it for me?

None of us had brought up the subject about that day since and so a mutual agreement had formed that we would all forget about it. We went on with our daily lives and soon fell into a routine. We would meet up at the café every day for breakfast, Yong Guk always paying for both of us, then head off to our individual lectures. At the end of the day, we would meet up again in either of our dorms and bring out the popcorn, watching horror movies or chick flicks that would make us cry, laugh or scream. Sometimes, Janice would decide not to join our movie nights and we would be left alone. The first few nights this had happened, Bang had flushed and kept silent throughout the entire movie. When this happened frequently however, he soon realized that acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary was easiest, and most normal. Soon after, we would huddle up under a blanket and share a bowl of popcorn like a pair of best friends. When this happened, Janice had smirked then left the dorm quietly, usually staying in someone else’s room for the night.

Evidently however, Janice obviously still did not trust me. Every morning when she didn’t spend the night with us, she would shower me with questions of what had happened. My automatic response was always the same, a simple “nothing happened”, but it always seemed to satisfy Janice and relieve her of her stress for the day. While Yong Guk and I had grown closer, I felt a slow wall beginning to build between Janice and me. When it was a good day, the wall would be knocked down, forgotten, but on bad days, the wall would build up higher and stronger. Unsure of what this meant for our friendship, and if she felt the same way, I decided not to broach on the subject and kept quiet. The days that passed were still normal, but at night, there was a tension hovering in the air when both of us were trying to go to sleep, tossing and turning. Before this had happened, there would endless chatter between us, sometimes so loud the dorm next door had to come knocking on our door to tell us to shut up. Now, there was only silence.

My worries about this lasting forever were shattered after another week. One morning, Bang Yong Guk come pounding at the door of our dorm. Bleary eyed, I had glanced at the clock and registered that it was only six o’clock on a Sunday morning. Deciding to ignore him, I climbed back into bed. He did not give up that easily however. After several minutes, he started to yell at us to get up and the noise his endless pounding made gave me a throbbing headache. Finally, sighing and groaning and after many complaints from Janice to open the door, I had dragged myself over to the supposedly soundproof door and reluctantly let him in.

“Guys! Seriously! T-this is important!” Bang had yelled as soon as he had stumbled into our unmade dorm, cluttered with unidentifiable objects.

“What is so important that you needed to wake us up at six o’clock on a SUNDAY MORNING” Janice threw back her covers and yelled the last two words. She had a serious case of bedhead and her eyes were red rimmed from crying herself to sleep the night before after an argument between us.

I yawned and headed back to my own bed, its covers so warm and inviting.

“It’s Himchan. I just got the news. He’s been kidnapped” breathless, he blurted out his statement and I froze. Janice, also having frozen in mid-stretch stared at him. Then suddenly, as if someone had hit the play button, the room erupted in chaos. Janice burst into tears and I jumped up, rushing to pull on my clothes, not even caring that Bang was standing right there, watching me change. He was too distracted to notice anyway and for the first time, I noticed the bags under his eyes, realising for the first time how tired he must have been. Grabbing Janice by the hand, I pulled her out of bed and slapped some sense into her. She nodded bravely then glanced at Bang, tears still threatening to fall from her eyes.

“Why don’t you stay here? I’ll go sort this out, alright?” I suggested gently to Janice and she nodded numbly this time, falling back into bed. Grabbing Bang’s hand, I quickly led him out of our dorm and he followed, his steps quickly catching up to my own fast-paced ones. Stumbling into his dorm, I turned toward him and crossed my arms, raising my eyebrows.

so this is quite a long one i guess? 

oh my god...poor Himchan! haha i didn't intentionally choose him to be kidnapped but he seemed the most likely to be and I just wanted the Banghim ship in the story :)

hope you liked this one and thanks again for all the views! keep spreading the word and keep the votes up!

fighting!