Chapter 53

"Hongbin," Wonsik said sternly, forcing his brother to a stop when he refused to let himself get dragged inside the café. "Hongbin, I can't go in there, I really can't." His voice sounded desperate to Hongbin's ears and it only piqued his curiosity more. His brother seemed fine and chipper earlier on and more than him, Hongbin thought that he should be the one who is more agitated because his ex literally avoided him when he did not even do anything. "Please, Binnie..." Wonsik cried, tugging at his hand with hopes that Hongbin would let him go. This, however, caused the opposite effect and Hongbin only hauled him inside the café by force.

"I don't know if this has to do with your dislike towards idols, but I assure you that Ken-hyung is completely harmless," Hongbin said, taking a gamble at what might be making his brother act up. When he took notice of the slight change on Wonsik's face from urgent to shocked, he immediately knew then that he hit the bull's eye. "You could literally just pretend that he is like any other normal person – I mean, he's kinda weird, but he's okay? There's really no need for you to not see him, alright? So let's –"

Wonsik shook his head hastily; this time, he was actually pulling his hand back and as a consequence, made Hongbin take a couple of steps back. "You don't understand – I absolutely cannot meet him or –"

"Or what?" His brother asked in a taunting tone. The thought of Wonsik's text mate and the high possibility that it was Jaehwan crossed his mind. Hongbin ought to ask Wonsik about it when he had the chance but he doubted that his brother would actually give him a proper answer if he just asked out of nowhere – especially if it was like their current situation. And since it had taken more than a couple of seconds for Wonsik to give him a reply, Hongbin chose to not wait for him any longer and used all his might to completely drag his brother to where N's table was located. Wonsik kept whining and even cursed at him, but he just disregarded them. "Hello, hyung," Hongbin greeted N with a smile before turning to Jaehwan to do the same thing.

When Hongbin realised that Jaehwan had his eyes glued on his brother, he glanced at Wonsik and said, "Ah! By the way... This is my brother, Wonsik. He would rather go by his nickname, 'Ravi,' though –"

Straightaway, Wonsik's hand flew over Hongbin's mouth to cover it, but the latter spoke too quickly for Wonsik to even have the chance to stop him. Groaning, he stomped his feet childishly and finally turned to face both N and Jaehwan. His eyes first met the idol's and even when he opened his mouth, he did not speak. He just nodded at N when he forced himself to look away from Jaehwan.

"Do you two want to drink smoothies? I don't think we would be staying here for long since I'd be going soon," N said, smiling at Wonsik as he watched him take the seat nearest to the window, across him, and dump his bags next to his chair. 

Hongbin shook his head. "No, we're fine," he answered him and let his eyes fall on Jaehwan next. The idol seemed to be standing up and stretching his arm in front of him towards where Wonsik was sitting.

"I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable," Jaehwan told Wonsik, eyes never leaving him. "I have put my mask on as you were coming in so I think... I think we should be fine..." Wonsik eyed the idol's hand and raised his head that their gazes met once again. "I'm not sure if you know who I am, but it's nice to meet you. I'm Jaehwan, but if Ken is easier for you, feel free to call me that! You're... You're Ra... Ravi, right?"

Wonsik his lips and hoped that Hongbin would speak for him when he turned to him for help. He also glanced over at where N was, but the latter seemed clueless about his signals so he returned to seeking aid from his brother. Hongbin, however, simply urged him to speak up and to take Jaehwan's hand despite his many useless attempts to avoid touching or speaking to the idol. Wonsik swallowed the lump in his throat when none of his back up plans seemed to work. It also did not help when Jaehwan called for his name again, sounding worried, "Ravi-ssi...?"

"Y-Yeah," Wonsik finally said, choked up. "I'm... I'm Ravi..." He was looking out through the window when he reached out to shake the idol's hand. Had Wonsik actually faced him properly, he would have seen the surprised look on Jaehwan's face. But all that ran inside his head was how his already sweaty hand was still being held. His entire body and mind were already in full panic mode and Jaehwan was not making things any easier for him.

"R... V...?" Jaehwan whispered quietly, but as N spoke up at the same time as him, N drowned out what he was saying, "How long are you guys going to shake hands for?" N asked, giggling on his seat.

Realising what he was doing, the idol retracted his hand back and sunk down on his seat in embarrassment. "I'm sorry!" He cried, his words muffled because of his mask. "It's 'cause... Your brother just reminded me of someone that I'm close to..." Jaehwan explained to Hongbin who was watching the two interact the entire time. "More like... He just seemed to fit what I thought my friend would look like – I know! I... I-I don't even know what I'm talking about! Forget about it!" Jaehwan looked over at where Wonsik was and said to him, bowing his head, "I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to stare too much – I've always had people stare at me, but I think that this is the first time that –"

"We get it, we get it, Ken-ah," N said, chuckling and patting his thigh to get him to hopefully calm down. The latter whispered another soft apology, his hand falling on top of N's and intertwining their fingers. "Did you think that your text mate looks like Ravi?" N brought up innocently.

It, of course, caught Hongbin's curiosity and he looked at the two instead of his brother who seemed to need his comfort. "Text mate? You have a text mate that you haven't met before, hyung?" A smirk formed on his lips. "Isn't it just a stalker then –" Wonsik pinched Hongbin's side and made him yelp. His brother immediately retaliated by hitting his arm. "Don't get caught up with the wrong people, hyung!" Hongbin said, fending off Wonsik's attacks. "You're still a rising star and it's important that you keep up your current good image!"

"No! No!" Jaehwan denied in an instant, smiling at the thought of his text mate. He has not really talked about him before besides with N. "He's not like that! We've been speaking even before I auditioned and he's really nice! His voice sounds really deep and y too!"

Wonsik who was trying to distract himself by drinking from the glass that N prepared for him earlier almost blew the water out of his mouth. Hongbin instinctively handed him some tissues that he grabbed from the table while also rubbing his brother's back that seemed to be struggling with the water that he almost choked on. N g