Chapter 26: Can't Stand... TPOV
Meeting Each Other
I let out a relaxed sigh as hot water cascades down my body. Just like yesterday, I stayed in my room the whole time. I know that Jiyong doesn’t like her the way I do, but I’ve been kind of worried the whole day. And I’m not even sure why. I thought a nice, hot long shower would take the worry away. I felt more relaxed, yes. But all my worries were gone when I heard Jiyong’s voice in the living room. If Jiyong is there then Charlotte is there.
I shut off the shower and step out. I’ve taken a 1-hour shower. I think I’m relaxed enough now. I wrap my towel around my hips and look at myself in the mirror. I sigh. Even if I’m relaxed, my dark circles haven’t left yet. To be honest, I don’t see why Charlotte was making a big fuss about it. I, and the rest of the members, have had worse when we’re on tour. At least, this isn’t visible much. I shake my head and put on my clothes.
After that, I make my way out of the bathroom. That’s when I hear loud laughter in Jiyong’s room. I open the door a bit and see Jiyong on his chair laughing his head off. I look down and see Daesung on the floor holding on to his sides. I go in the room and close the door silently behind me. They didn’t seem to hear me. I tiptoe behind them.
Jiyong was holding his phone in his hand with a video playing. I peer over his shoulder and narrow my eyes as I try to make out who was in the video.
“YoungBae!” Jiyong exclaims next to me. Jiyong quickly turns his phone off. “What are you doing here?”
“What were you watching?” I ask instead of answering him.
“Nothing, hyung.” Daesung smiles as he got up from the floor.
I raise my eyebrow at him. “Really?”
Daesung nods while Jiyong smiles at me.
“Where’s Charlotte?” Jiyong asks Daesung this time.
“She’s with Seunghyun hyung.” Daesung replies in a confused voice. He stares at the door in silence. Jiyong and I share a glance. My heart beats louder. I thought she was here. Jiyong slowly stands up from his chair and places a hand on Daesung’s shoulder. Daesung just as slowly turns his head to Jiyong with his eyebrows furrowed.
“What’s wrong, Daesung?” Jiyong asks him softly.
Daesung shakes his head and his smile was back. I’m still not buying this.
“You’re kidding, right? She’s not…” I choke. I clear my throat. “She’s not in his room, right?”
Daesung just looks at me, his eyebrow still furrowed. I stare at Daesung. After a moment in silence, I feel a hand on my shoulder this time. I slide my eyes to the side. Jiyong looks between Daesung and I in confusion.
Daesung sighs, breaking the silence. “I was going to put her in your room, but Seunghyun hyung was passing by. I told him to put her in your room, but he told me you were taking a shower. He insisted that he’ll just put her in his room.”
Just when Jiyong looks at me, Daesung mouths “Sorry”.
I see Jiyong shakes his head rapidly. Then he walks out of the room. Daesung and I share a confused look and follow Jiyong out. Once in the hallway, I see Jiyong knocking on Seunghyun hyung’s door. Daesung and I stop just outside Jiyong’s door and watch from there. Three minutes passed and there’s no answer. I unconsciously ball my hands into a fist. I stare at the door as if it’ll burn a hole.
Jiyong continues to knock on the door after 5 more minutes. No answer. My heart starts pounding against my chest. Jiyong continues to knock rapidly and soon after the knocks begin to match the beat of my heart. Why isn’t he answering back? And if Charlotte really is in there then why isn’t she answering? Actually, it’d be better for me—and my heart—that she would be the one who would answer. What are they doing in there?
Suddenly, the door opens. Seunghyun hyung walks out. He quickly covers Jiyong’s mouth and closes the door behind him silently.
“Shh!” Seunghyun hyung says. “Charlotte’s sleeping. You almost woke her up.” Then he takes his hand off Jiyong and rubs his eyes.
I widen my eyes as I take in Seunghyun hyung. His hair is all messed up and his clothes are all wrinkled. Then his words seep into me. Charlotte is sleeping…on his bed, in his room. My heart, which was once pounding wildly, has stopped beating for a few seconds.
“Why are you knocking anyway?” Seunghyun hyung yawns.
Jiyong was too in shock at the sight of Seunghyun hyung. He stutters a reply, “J-just looking for C-Charlotte.”
Seunghyun hyung nods. “Well, you found her. We should eat dinner without her. Let’s go. I’m hungry.” He rubs his eyes again. He walks towards the living room without another glance.
I clench my fists tighter. How can he be so nonchalant about this? Charlotte, my Charlotte… My heart squeezes. I mentally sigh. She’s not yours, YoungBae, my mind whispers to me. My sight fades away as I go to my thoughts. She’s not mine. But she’s not Seunghyun hyung’s either. So far, I’ve never seen her show any interest towards Seunghyun hyung. But… what if something happened when they were alone in his room? Seunghyun hyung’s clothes and hair were all messy. I push the thought away instantly.
No. Charlotte isn’t like that. I know she isn’t.
“Hyung.” Someone’s voice snaps me back. I turn my head towards Daesung, not meeting his eyes. He places a hand on my shoulder. I see him open his mouth then close it shut. He sighs. “Let’s go eat.”
Jiyong slings his arm around my shoulders as we walk towards the kitchen. “I hear Seungri made dinner tonight. Let’s see what poison he made us this time.” Jiyong smiles weakly, trying to lighten the mood.
“Aye~ I hope we don’t get sick like last time.” Daesung adds. He nudges me. “Right, hyung?”
I slightly nod, keeping my eyes trained to the floor. I hear both of them sigh next to me.
“Jiyong hyung! Guess what I made this time!” Seungri jumps in front of us.
“Pork-chops again?” Jiyong answers.
I see Seungri’s shoulders slump. “How’d you know?”
“Lucky guess.” Jiyong smiles a little. I see Daesung roll his eyes.
Every time Seungri has a chance to cook, he’s been trying to make the same thing over and over again. He’s very determined to improve his pork-chops. So far, everything’s got us sick. But, as his hyungs, we all decided that we should at least support our maknae’s cooking skills. And that means we have to eat his cooking even if it does get us all sick later on.
We all sit down to eat. Seungri and Jiyong next to each other while Daesung, Seunghyun hyung, and I across from them. Surprisingly, Seungri stays quiet tonight, which means the tension in this room was extremely heavy. A butcher’s knife couldn’t even cut this tension. For me, I feel like killing myself with a butcher’s knife. I can’t stand this silence. I can’t stand sitting next to Seunghyun hyung, knowing that the girl I have feelings for is sleeping in his room. Without thinking at all, I shove all the food down my throat.
I unconsciously slam my chopsticks down on the table. I gulp down the food in my mouth. I stand up, making the seat screech. “Excuse me.” I mutter, not meeting their eyes. “I enjoyed the food this time, Seungri.” I add before I leave the room with a heavy heart.
I shut off the shower and step out. I’ve taken a 1-hour shower. I think I’m relaxed enough now. I wrap my towel around my hips and look at myself in the mirror. I sigh. Even if I’m relaxed, my dark circles haven’t left yet. To be honest, I don’t see why Charlotte was making a big fuss about it. I, and the rest of the members, have had worse when we’re on tour. At least, this isn’t visible much. I shake my head and put on my clothes.
After that, I make my way out of the bathroom. That’s when I hear loud laughter in Jiyong’s room. I open the door a bit and see Jiyong on his chair laughing his head off. I look down and see Daesung on the floor holding on to his sides. I go in the room and close the door silently behind me. They didn’t seem to hear me. I tiptoe behind them.
Jiyong was holding his phone in his hand with a video playing. I peer over his shoulder and narrow my eyes as I try to make out who was in the video.
“YoungBae!” Jiyong exclaims next to me. Jiyong quickly turns his phone off. “What are you doing here?”
“What were you watching?” I ask instead of answering him.
“Nothing, hyung.” Daesung smiles as he got up from the floor.
I raise my eyebrow at him. “Really?”
Daesung nods while Jiyong smiles at me.
“Where’s Charlotte?” Jiyong asks Daesung this time.
“She’s with Seunghyun hyung.” Daesung replies in a confused voice. He stares at the door in silence. Jiyong and I share a glance. My heart beats louder. I thought she was here. Jiyong slowly stands up from his chair and places a hand on Daesung’s shoulder. Daesung just as slowly turns his head to Jiyong with his eyebrows furrowed.
“What’s wrong, Daesung?” Jiyong asks him softly.
Daesung shakes his head and his smile was back. I’m still not buying this.
“You’re kidding, right? She’s not…” I choke. I clear my throat. “She’s not in his room, right?”
Daesung just looks at me, his eyebrow still furrowed. I stare at Daesung. After a moment in silence, I feel a hand on my shoulder this time. I slide my eyes to the side. Jiyong looks between Daesung and I in confusion.
Daesung sighs, breaking the silence. “I was going to put her in your room, but Seunghyun hyung was passing by. I told him to put her in your room, but he told me you were taking a shower. He insisted that he’ll just put her in his room.”
Just when Jiyong looks at me, Daesung mouths “Sorry”.
I see Jiyong shakes his head rapidly. Then he walks out of the room. Daesung and I share a confused look and follow Jiyong out. Once in the hallway, I see Jiyong knocking on Seunghyun hyung’s door. Daesung and I stop just outside Jiyong’s door and watch from there. Three minutes passed and there’s no answer. I unconsciously ball my hands into a fist. I stare at the door as if it’ll burn a hole.
Jiyong continues to knock on the door after 5 more minutes. No answer. My heart starts pounding against my chest. Jiyong continues to knock rapidly and soon after the knocks begin to match the beat of my heart. Why isn’t he answering back? And if Charlotte really is in there then why isn’t she answering? Actually, it’d be better for me—and my heart—that she would be the one who would answer. What are they doing in there?
Suddenly, the door opens. Seunghyun hyung walks out. He quickly covers Jiyong’s mouth and closes the door behind him silently.
“Shh!” Seunghyun hyung says. “Charlotte’s sleeping. You almost woke her up.” Then he takes his hand off Jiyong and rubs his eyes.
I widen my eyes as I take in Seunghyun hyung. His hair is all messed up and his clothes are all wrinkled. Then his words seep into me. Charlotte is sleeping…on his bed, in his room. My heart, which was once pounding wildly, has stopped beating for a few seconds.
“Why are you knocking anyway?” Seunghyun hyung yawns.
Jiyong was too in shock at the sight of Seunghyun hyung. He stutters a reply, “J-just looking for C-Charlotte.”
Seunghyun hyung nods. “Well, you found her. We should eat dinner without her. Let’s go. I’m hungry.” He rubs his eyes again. He walks towards the living room without another glance.
I clench my fists tighter. How can he be so nonchalant about this? Charlotte, my Charlotte… My heart squeezes. I mentally sigh. She’s not yours, YoungBae, my mind whispers to me. My sight fades away as I go to my thoughts. She’s not mine. But she’s not Seunghyun hyung’s either. So far, I’ve never seen her show any interest towards Seunghyun hyung. But… what if something happened when they were alone in his room? Seunghyun hyung’s clothes and hair were all messy. I push the thought away instantly.
No. Charlotte isn’t like that. I know she isn’t.
“Hyung.” Someone’s voice snaps me back. I turn my head towards Daesung, not meeting his eyes. He places a hand on my shoulder. I see him open his mouth then close it shut. He sighs. “Let’s go eat.”
Jiyong slings his arm around my shoulders as we walk towards the kitchen. “I hear Seungri made dinner tonight. Let’s see what poison he made us this time.” Jiyong smiles weakly, trying to lighten the mood.
“Aye~ I hope we don’t get sick like last time.” Daesung adds. He nudges me. “Right, hyung?”
I slightly nod, keeping my eyes trained to the floor. I hear both of them sigh next to me.
“Jiyong hyung! Guess what I made this time!” Seungri jumps in front of us.
“Pork-chops again?” Jiyong answers.
I see Seungri’s shoulders slump. “How’d you know?”
“Lucky guess.” Jiyong smiles a little. I see Daesung roll his eyes.
Every time Seungri has a chance to cook, he’s been trying to make the same thing over and over again. He’s very determined to improve his pork-chops. So far, everything’s got us sick. But, as his hyungs, we all decided that we should at least support our maknae’s cooking skills. And that means we have to eat his cooking even if it does get us all sick later on.
We all sit down to eat. Seungri and Jiyong next to each other while Daesung, Seunghyun hyung, and I across from them. Surprisingly, Seungri stays quiet tonight, which means the tension in this room was extremely heavy. A butcher’s knife couldn’t even cut this tension. For me, I feel like killing myself with a butcher’s knife. I can’t stand this silence. I can’t stand sitting next to Seunghyun hyung, knowing that the girl I have feelings for is sleeping in his room. Without thinking at all, I shove all the food down my throat.
I unconsciously slam my chopsticks down on the table. I gulp down the food in my mouth. I stand up, making the seat screech. “Excuse me.” I mutter, not meeting their eyes. “I enjoyed the food this time, Seungri.” I add before I leave the room with a heavy heart.
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