"Aira, here!"

Aira scanned the crowded street trying to find the owner of that familiar voice. Her face lit up when he saw two hands waved excitingly across her and she made her way to get to the small group of people she didn't know.

She didn't intend to come when she received Seunghoon's message this afternoon, but after what happened she couldn't get herself to face Seungho again let alone watching him practice all night long. She needed an excuse to decline his invite to their practice and thankfully Seunghoon gave her one.

"Guys, this is Shin Aira. Aira, meet my band mates." Seunghoon pulled her to his side and looked at his friends.

"So you're the girl Seunghoon keeps on talking about. It's good to finally meet you, I'm Byunghun." One guy with a big built introduced himself.

"Finally?" Aira asked, "Seunghoon talks about me? Why?" She looked up to the guy besides her.

"You made it sound like I'm obsessed with her! No, Aira, I just told them that I know someone who write songs and that we should meet you." Seunghoon defended himself.

"But it's true that you always go 'Aira, Aira' every time we met. Anyway, I'm Sohee, I'm younger than everyone so I guess I should call you unnie? You're the same age as him right?" A petite girl greeted her with a cheerful tone, pointing to Seunghoon. Aira nodded and immediately feel that she wouldn't be able to keep up with the younger girl's bright personality. After that two other guys, Junki and Kiseop, also introduced themselves to her.

It was dinner time, so they went to a ramyun shop to eat before heading to the club. Still feeling uncomfortable with new people, Aira just kept within herself almost all the time. Sohee never stopped trying to make her joined the conversation but she just gave short answers, sometimes with a smile so that they didn't think of her as rude

.

She still the same girl I met that day, Seunghoon thought amusedly.

The day where he did his brother a favor by going to Aira's apartment never really left his mind. Aira left too big of an impression for him to just forget her. And it felt like fate when he bumped into her again the other day when he visited his brother. It was true that he talks about her every now and then, maybe too much to his friends' liking. But he couldn't stop himself everytime Aira came into his mind.

And she came into his mind almost everyday.

But his friend was wrong though, Seunghoon wasn't attracted to her in that way. It wasn't a romantic feeling. What he felt wasn't really anything special, Seunghoon didn't think of it as nothing much than a trait of his that he always had since he was a kid.

Curiousity.

The way Aira talked, the way she looked at her surrounding, the way she seemed as if she was inside her own thoughts almost all the time; everything about her made him curious, especially with that stone cold expression she always puts on. Seunghoon was intrigued by what could possibly make her interested and smile.

The clock showed that it was half an hour before ten, it was time for them to go to the club to prepare their performance. After paying the bill, they exited the ramyun shop with Aira and Seunghoon as the last ones in the shop.

"Unnie! Hurry!" Sohee popped her head back into the door and called Aira. Aira smiled at her and followed the bright girl outside.

"Yah.. wait for me." Seunghoon protested. Aira turned back and saw he was somehow having a difficult time zipping his jacket.

"Let me.." She stepped forward and helped him with his zipper. Seunghoon was taller than his brother, so Aira's head just reached an inch above his shoulder and she didn't realize that his eyes were on hers the whole time she fixed his stuck zipper and zipped it to his chest, "There you go."

She turned around to exit the shop and he followed her with a stronger urge to find out more about her. The first thing on his list was who is this girl which my brother seems to care so much about?

By the time the two reached the intersection, the traffic light turned green, allowing cars to pass in front of them. They waited on the side of the road, with Aira raised her hand at Sohee who was waving at her from across the road. Seunghoon pulled out his vibrating phone, checking a message that was just came in.

From : Seungho

Hey, you're playing tonight? Practice finished early, I'm coming okay? Text me the address

"Aira, did you tell my brother that you're going to see me tonight?" He asked Aira.

"Uhm. Why?" Aira answered shortly.

"I think he's coming. So, what d–" He stopped when he saw Aira's face turned sour. She didn't want to see my brother, why?  "Aira, something's wrong?" He asked her in confusion and she turned her head with a distress look on her face. 

"Can you..can you tell him not to come? Ah, nevermind, I think I'll just go home. I'm sorry." She turned around to walk to the opposite side of the road.

"Aira, where are you going? Wait here." He grabbed her hand and pressed the call button on his phone to connect it to his brother's.

The line went unanswered in the first try, making him somehow worried that his brother was on his way already. He looked at Aira once again and she still had the same look on her face. It was the first time that night that she showed a sign of emotion to him and it intrigued him even more.

When the dial tone on his phone stopped, he shifted his mind back to the person across the line.  "Hyung, where are you?" 

"Still at the company, why?"

"Ah.. you don't need to come here, hyung. There are so many people here, it's more crowded than usual. There's more chance that you'll get recognized." He lied, "I don't want you to have all the attention instead of us, it's our first time playing in this club."

"Aish this brat, how can you say that to me?"

"Hyuuung~" Seunghoon let out his weapon, an aegyo. No matter how his brother told him that it was disgusting, he would always found it cute.

"Yah! What's with the sudden aegyo?" Seungho laughed at his brother's act.

"You can come next time, I promise I'll tell you when I'm going to play again." He assured his brother.

"....arasso." Seungho gave up, "Anyway, is Aira there? I want to speak with her."

"She's with my friends, why?" He lied again, looking at Aira who was now having her head hung low.

"She's not answering her phone. Just make sure she gets home safe, okay?" Seungho said finally and hung up.

Putting his phone back to his pocket, Seunghoon turned towards Aira, "Can you explain?"

"About what?" She asked half-heartedly, she knew he was asking about her sudden weird behaviour at the mention of Seungho.

"You're fighting again with my brother?" He guessed, that's the only thing came into his mind right now. Aira shook her head weakly and he asked again, "I even lied to my brother so that he won't come because I think that you somehow don't want to see him. Can you do something back for me?"

"What is it?" She asked.

"Tell me everything about yourself." He said with determination in his tone.

Aira sighed. She knew this was coming. She couldn't expect him to just hang around with her without asking anything, but was it has to be now? Her heart was already a mess as it was.

"Or should I call my brother and tell him to come to ask him myself?" He offered, ready to pull out his phone again.

"No, please no." Aira raised her hand to stop him, she didn't have the strength to face Seungho now, to be reminded how low she really was compared to him, "What do you want to know?."

The street light turned red and let out a beeping sound, letting them know that it's safe for them to cross the road. Seunghoon let go of his grip on her hand and put his hand around her shoulder, smiling widely.

"Everything about you. But first, let's enjoy this night!"

♦ ♦ ♦ 

Throwing his phone back into on his bag, Seungho sighed and walked inside the dance studio he just exited minutes before. Every other members were resting on the floor and frowned slightly in confusion when they saw their leader joined them after he proposed to cut the practice short for tonight.

"I thought you said you're leaving?" Joon asked in confusion.

"Yeah... but I'm not going anymore. So, how about we continue practice?" He put his bag on the floor.

"Aish hyung.. I already change my shirt." Cheondung protested.

"You're going to say no to me?" He raised one of his eyebrow. He felt slightly disappointed that his brother told him not to come and it seemed like his dongsaengs would be the ones to deal with his unpleasant mood.

"Arasso, arasso, but can we have fifteen minutes break for now?" Mir, who always try to avoid any conflicts, proposed.

"Yeah, sure." Seungho said half-heartedly and went to the couch on the corner of the room and laid down with his hat covering his face. G.O who was across the room noticed his friend uneasiness and approached him. 

"Hey."

"Oh, Byunghee. What?" Seungho answered without removing his hat from his face. G.O sighed and grabbed it to see his face, which greeted him with annoyance, "Yah!"

"I thought you're going to see your brother. Why are you here?" He asked.

"I change my mind." Seungho sat up and rested his back against the mirrored wall.

"Then why are you upset?"

"I'm not!" Seungho said defensively.

"Tch. Is it that hard not to see her for one night?" G.O said, hitting the bulls eye. Seungho looked at him as if he couldn't believe what G.O said and G.O laughed, "Why don't you just admit it, seeing your brother is only a reason for you to see her."

Seungho rolled his eyes and looked away, G.O knew him too well it scares him. 

Earlier that night, he could only bear two hours of night practice before he couldn't contain his uneasiness without Aira's presence somewhere in the building, especially because he knew that she was out there doing things he didn't know with total strangers. Of course she was with his brother, but Seunghoon didn't know a thing about her so he still counted him as a stranger for Aira.

It was the first time since the day he met her that she was away from him, and he didn't like it.

Not even one bit.

"Do you think it's time to stop bothering her? She needs time for herself, you know.." G.O's words pulled him back from his thought. 

"I don't think you have a say in that. Aira herself never said anything."

"I think you know her better than I do. I would be surprised if she voiced out her thought." G.O sighed, remembered how hard it was for him to understand his new manager.

"You really think she feel bothered by me?"

"Well, of course not." G.O shrugged. Actually, I think she might likes you.. "I just said that she needs time for herself, to do her own thing, everyone does.."

"Her own thing.." Seungho mumbled, pretty much saying it to himself. Her own thing? I never thought about that.. but she doesn't have anything else besides us..

Whatever it was, it made him even more uneasy. If G.O was right, would someday Aira decide that she didn't like to be with them anymore? Would Aira leave him? Like she did tonight?

No, she wouldn't..

"Byunghee, do you think I should ask her to be my girlfriend?" Seungho asked, telling his friend his thought. He didn't really think about it before, it was enough for him to be always around her like now. But if there was a slightest chance that he might lose her, he would do anything to avoid it.

"What makes you think she will say yes?" G.O chuckled, but on the inside, he agreed with Seungho. 

"Ah..you're right.." Seungho's shoulder fell in disappointment, realizing that he didn't know if she likes him back. 

"Hey, it never stopped you before, why don't you just do it?" G.O advised him.

"I'll think about it."

"So, tell me.." G.O moved forwad in his seat, facing the leader, "What did exactly happen that you ends up not going?"

"My brother, that kid is being disrespecful! He said he doesn't want me to steal the attention! I bet he only wanted to show off to Aira his guitar skill. Aish." He threw his hat to the floor.

"Hahahaha I'm sure that's not the case. Anyway, how did he knows Aira in the first place?" G.O asked.

"It was my fault, I guess. I introduced him to her that day, because I couldn't really call you or anyone else.." He remembered, but he never thought that they would actually become friends.

"Ahh... I see." G.O nodded calmly, but several thoughts immediately came up in his mind.

He looked at Seungho who was already got up from his seat and dragging everyone to start practice again. G.O wanted everything to go well between him and Aira, but he also knew that it wouldn't be without any obstacles. He knew Seunghoon, and he could be very charming without even trying, even more than his older brother.

The fact that Aira left to see him tonight was already a prove that he somehow managed to slip past her wall and get him acknowledged as her friend. Even if she only went because she needed a reason to avoid Seungho.

Be careful, Seungho. You might have a competitor..

AN:

Is it even right for me to use Seunghoon as a character? It's not a breach of privacy or anything, right? I mean, he isn't a celebrity and all..

Well, it's not like he would read this anyway, lol.