ROSIE’S POV

It was a really – really cold day. I sprinted into Jelly building, bowed to the reception then continued walking to the practice room. I was scheduled to have a special training from a ‘special’ trainer today, as how our mentor said yesterday. He said even though I have a proper voice to sing, my whole image would also suit being a rapper most of the time better, so I need to learn how to rap. If rapping suits me, I’ll continue doubling up as a rapper too in the group later. The other members also have this session with other trainer.

I was actually quite excited. People back home had always said I’m a fast-talker slash tongue twisting master,  but I don’t know if it could be of any help in rapping. I opened the door into the practice room at third floor, and noticed that there were no one yet. So I put my backpack down and watched my reflection on a nearby mirror. I styled myself just like how Eunhee told me to. My hair were still dark brown and asymetrically short. I wore a huge oversized black sleeveless t-shirt and dark blue jeans ripped on the knee, along with low black boots. I didn’t look bad, so I smiled a bit. That Eunhee is definitely my trusted stylist.

The door creaked open, and as I turned back, two people came in. First it was my friend, the piano player that always accompany me practicing, Jo. I smiled and bowed to him. Then the second person waltz in and it was... Ravi.

Yeah, Ravi the rapper. Kim Wonshik. My second favorit VIXX member. He came in while smiling. He wore a bright blue beanie along with white t-shirt and jeans jacket and pants. He looked nice. I blushed, then bowed really deep to him.

“Good morning, sunbaenim,” then I beamed a smile. Ravi greeted me back, but somehow he looked a little bit startled, I don’t know, there’s this pinkish blush on his cheeks, I wonder if he has fever or something. He’s only one year older than me, tho.

“Good morning!” he said, while we both took a seat facing each other. “Ready for today?”

“Yes, of course.”

“So I heard you are actually a singer but the company decided to test if you are also capable of rapping because of your image, huh?” he asked directly. I nodded.

“Yeah. I consider this as a nice challenge anyway, big honor to have you mentor me, sunbaenim,” I said.

Ravi, weirdly, blushed again as I looked into his eyes, then he averted his gaze to the papers he had in his hands. It was rap lyrics. I could see Nicki Minaj, Clover, Koonta, Missy Elliot, CL and even VIXX’s songs on it.

“Yap, well—then let’s see if you could do the simple ones. Which one do you want to try? You try first then I’ll evaluate and correct you later,” he said.

I picked CL’s Baddest Female, thinking of the beat that won’t go too fast.

“Oh, you picked the right one,” said Ravi in surprise. I raised my brows. “I do?”

“Yeah, considering your style during vocal training, I already think that you suit CL’s style,” Ravi said. I nodded.

“Alright, I’ll go on this.”

Then I just did it until the first chorus. Rapping in Korean, if you’re not Korean, is one hell of a tongue twisting game. It’s even hard for Ravi who was a pure Korean himself, let alone someone like me. But I did it.

Ravi clapped when I finished and he said wow a few times.

“Are you sure you’re new to this? This is already intermediate level and I have to admit, you did well. Pronounciation-miss are very normal even to those who are already experienced, and aside that, you’re cool. Try something else,” Ravi said. I was still allured by his deep voice.

“Really? I didn’t sound awkward or anything, sunbaenim?” I was surprised.

“Yes, it was perfectly fine. You have your own style, you have your flow, really.”

I smiled, then I presented Nicki Minaj’s Super Bass. Ravi corrected my breathing points, where should I exclaimed, where should I lower down and pushes through. Since Ravi is concerned about my rap performance itself being interrupted by my lacking Korean pronounciation, he asked me to pick an English song to be my forte. I picked some Wiz Khalifa and Eminem’s songs. I also rapped Wiz Khalifa’s Work Hard Play Hard song. Ravi sang along and patted my shoulder whenever I need to take a breath.

Ravi compliments me every once in a while, help me with breathing techniques, corrected my pronounciations. In other word, he’s very attentive. And he didn’t even seem to care about senior-junior thing. He held my arm, patted my back like a bro, high fived with me, and now even moved seat closer to me. He made me feel.. sort of comfortable. Not something you could easily feel when you’re working with your other seniors.

It’s been about three hours since we first tried out. I grab a drink while Ravi scribbles things for me to practice later on a piece of paper. I find it amusing talking to him. He’s smart, quite wise and filled with loads of unique ideas, despite sometimes I do know people snickers at him as his raps is unclear. I never cared much tho, I think his raps rhyms well with VIXX’s songs and I liked his voice.

“Alright, this is the summary for today. I’ve wrote some song recommendation for you at the back and some other techniques you’ll need to practice more. Other than that, I think you’re perfectly fine, Rose-ssi,” Ravi said while grinning.

I nodded deep, then I braced myself.

“Thank you very much, Wonshik-oppa, for teaching me today. It is really an honor.”

There, I finally said it. FINALLY I called someone with that ‘oppa’ thing, which I still consider as a cheesy honorific even after one and a half year living in Korea. Yes, Ravi is going to be the first one I’d call by oppa. No matter how cheesy it sounds to me, I think he suited it. And, his face turned red in surprise again.

“Wow, I-I think that’s the first time you said my name?” Ravi stuttered.

“Umm.. is it okay? I can still call you by sunbaenim,” I said, hesitated. Ravi shook his head eagerly.

“No no, it’s completely fine. Cute, anyway,” he laughed while scratching the back of his head and looked down to hide his smile. I was startled.

There was a slight silence right after he said the cute stuff. I was toying with my t-shirt and Ravi moves his feet a lot. Then, I broke the silence.

“Is calling you Won-ppa okay?” I asked, while grinning.

Ravi looked up to me and laughed his lovely laugh.

“Oh, that’s totally cute. That’s fine to use. Call me that, once,” he asked while giggling.

“Wonppa,” I said in a hushed tone. I blushed, then laughed bashfully while hiding my face and Ravi giggled as well. Oh God...

“It’s really cute, Rose-yah,” he finally ended his laugh. I still covered my huge smile and fanned myself with papers.

“I’ve never been cute before,” I whispered.

“Well, you’re cute now. Super cute, without even trying. I think that is your charm,” Ravi said. I could sense his sincereness. He was serious.

“Thank you.”

Ravi nodded, then he looked at the clock.

“Wow, that’s pass 15 minutes from the actual schedule. It was fun talking to you, Rosie-ah, really,” he said while standing up and picking his belongings. I nodded and stood up too.

“Thank you again, Wonppa,” I said while grinning.

Ravi laughed a little, and then did something I’d never expect. He caressed the top of my head and scruffed my hair a little.

“Good luck on your debut. Oh, by the way, can I call you later?” he said. I was quite shocked.

“Er.. Of course, why not? You’re my mentor anyway,” I said, then I took my phone out. We exchanged numbers. I took a glimpse and saw Ravi labeling my contact as ‘Flower’. I was confused.

“Umm.. Flower?”

Ravi smiled. “Uh-huh. You’re a Rose anyway. I’ll call you,” he said, then he nodded and walked out of the room.

I’m still confused. Isnt it too early to exchange numbers with your senior, let alone your own idol, even before you debut? And why am I smiling like this?

RAVI’S POV

I walked out of the practice room, trying to keep my cool. Goddamn it. What’s going on, Wonshik? I shouted to myself.

She was so pretty. So natural, yet so pretty. Her pretty smile, pretty big eyes with beautiful double eyelids, those polite greeting. I was really moved by her hard work and her politeness. I was saying the truth, she was cute without even trying. She was so shiny.

Damn it, Rose. I want to be your oppa so bad. Your only Wonppa. Why the hell are you liking Leo more than me?

Without noticing, I already fisted both my hands in my pockets.

I almost lose control. I almost lose to her. I was too nervous. So I acted cool by leaving her first, but damn, I want to walk out with her. Hold her hand, pat her head.

At moments like this I wish I’m Leo hyung, who she always looked at with such admiration. I bit down my lips to control the bitterness in my tongue, and walked towards my black van, where N hyung waved from its door. I nodded, then jumped in and sat next to him.

The van moved forward, taking us down the road to our next destination, SBS prism building, to go on some performance. It was only me and Hakyeon hyung because of our individual schedule. The van felt so quiet as there was no Jaehwan or Sanghyuk to make noise out of everything.

“How was the mentoring? I got scheduled to mentor Lee Jihae after this performance,” Hakyeon asked while sipping his cup of coffee, which I suspect he had just bought.

I sighed deep.

“Hyung, I can’t take it anymore. I think… I think I’m in love.”

Hakyeon choked on his coffee. “Wh—what?”

“I think I’m in love,” I repeated.

Yeah, I feel so desperate to tell someone about this heavy feeling in my gut. Hakyeon hyung would understand.

Hakyeon had time to adjust his facial expression before answering to me.

“With.. with who, Wonshik-ah?”

I didn’t even hesitate to tell him. “You know the one I just mentored? Rosie Song,” I said, smiling wide. Just saying her name made me feel so.. alive.

Hakyeon seemed surprised at first, but as he took another sip on his coffee, he sighed. “I know one day you’d say this. Yes, I understand what you feel, Wonshik-ah. She’s a rare, beautiful girl, right?”

“Yeah. She’s polite, talented, cute, everything I’ve ever asked for in a girl,” I said. “I don’t think I could hold this any longer, hyung, what should I do? It’s one year already since I saw her first time, and this is getting heavier, I don’t know if I could continue to hide my feelings to her,” I finished with a heavy sigh.

My head hung down over my phone, looking at her name and her phone number on its screen. I’m trying hard not to push the green button and call her. I shook my head.

Hakyeon hyung chuckled. “Did you say anything to her, hinting your interest in her?”

I remember touching her extremely soft and thick hair, touched her soft hands during our high fives. “I think I did. I said she was cute, but I think she didn’t believe me.”

Hakyeon hummed. I stared at him.

Come on, hyung. You should know what to do, right? I need help on this. I… I want to be her oppa so bad. Come on, hyung, tell me what to do!

Damn, his silence is killing me. But finally, he spoke.

“I think you did well on your first try. At least you did hint you are interested in her. All you need to do is convince her more about your feelings for her. Let her know that you are serious,” Hakyeon finally said.

“Really? Is that okay? Because I think she’s no good with compliments,” I hesitated.

“Don’t just compliment her. Be her friend. Girls would always appreciate a senior friend who could take care of them. Then, slowly, be more affectionate to her. Show everything through action,” he said, patting my shoulder. I nodded seriously.

But then there was something else that made me not so confident over winning Rosie’s heart.

“But, hyung… You do know that she likes Leo hyung.”

There, I said it in a defeated tone. Butterflies in my stomach suddenly gone, replaced with something hot and heavy and uncomfortable just by merely thinking about Leo. Hakyeon hyung seems to realize this. He sighed.

“There comes the matter of taste. Honestly, Wonshik-ah, I don’t know how things would turn out with Taekwoonie, because.. you know him. He’s unpredictable. As long as she doesn’t confess her feelings to Taekwoonie, I think you still have a huge chance. Besides, he is too focused at music now, I doubt he would consider any kind of relationship with anyone seriously,” said Hakyeon.

This actually brought my hopes up. Hakyeon hyung always knows what’s best to say anytime. I suddenly could breathe again.

“Thanks, hyung. For not laughing at me,” I said.

Hakyeon laughed.

“Why would I be laughing at you? Finally, uri Wonshikie fell in love!” He laughed again and patted my back, forgetting his coffee, and actually laughing at me. I laughed embarrassedly with him.

The car ride goes along as we chat a lot on the way. I honestly couldn’t stop talking about Rosie. About her strong figure, her cool style naturally alluring me when she rapped, her sparkly eyes, everything.

How should I start this? How do I get closer to her? Why the hell am I so nervous just by thinking about her?

“You need to help me, hyung, seriously,” I said, finally, when we reached the gates of SBS.

Hakyeon hyung seems like he’s tired of listening to me, but I don’t care.

“Be patient, Wonshik-ah. Be patient, move slowly.”

“But you know I’m bad at being slow!”

“You’re slow when waking up, that’s something.”

“Damn it, you know what I mean hyung!”

“Hahahaha don’t get angry! You’re tense and all, it’s cute,” Hakyeon laughed.

I scoffed, then we got off the van. We rushed walking into the building, boarding on the elevator and finding our waiting room. Soon as I arrived, I saw the other members already there, their make-ups were already done.

“Where have you been? Girl’s Generation just walked passed our room, you’re late,” Ken teased me.

I shrugged. Rose, for me, is thousand times more attractive than Girl’s Generation now. Jaehwan raised an eyebrow. “Oh, the snore monster is angry,” he laughed. This cracked Sanghyuk and Hakyeon up.

“Oh, shut up, hyung,” I said while holding back my laugh. I screened the room for my ‘competitor’. “Where is Leo-hyung?”

“He went to get coffee—oh, there he is,” said Sanghyuk, pointing at the door.

I quickly took a look to the older man standing at the doorstep. Leo hyung stood there quietly, leaning on the door frame while sipping on his coffee, staring at me. He hasn’t done his make-up yet, only wearing a huge black parka, blue shirt and black pants.

 . I gotta admit, throughout all my life, I just realized that he really was handsome.

I stared back at him, frozen. The hot, heavy thing in my gut has made its way back, being heavier and more uncomfortable than ever as I stare at the winter lion.

No wonder Rosie liked him. He always seems so cool, with his wide shoulder, long legs, pale skin and mysterious eyes.

Goddamn it, what’s so good from all that? I’m way more muscular, way taller and way friendlier than this winter lion.

Why the heck are girls love jerks more than good guys? Is this some kind of Bella-Jacob-Edward ? Well in that case, I could fit being Jacob so well. Oh, me.

I averted my eyes and shook my head. I can’t be like this. Leo hyung is a good person. So I swallow the huge bitter pill down and grinned at him.

“Hey, hyung.”

The lion nodded. “You’re troubled,” he said shortly, while walking towards the couch and sat there while staring at me with his usual deadpanned expression.

How the hell can he tell?

I quickly put up a smile, as I noticed Hakyeon hyung staring at me, his seems to be sensing trouble.

“A—ah, what do you mean? I’m normal,” I said. “Hyung, I need to go out for a moment, is it okay?” I quickly asked Hakyeon. I can’t breathe here, not with imaginary thoughts of Leo and Rosie together in one, small, cramped up room.

Hakyeon hyung nodded. “Don’t take too long.”

I quickly nodded, took my phone and sprinted out of the room. I could still feel Leo hyung’s stare as I left.

I ran to an empty hall, then leaned to the wall as I catch my breath. I took my phone out and saw Rosie’s number again. My heart rate went harder, faster, as my thumb finally found its courage and I pushed the green button. I need to listen to her voice, and the need, right after I met Leo hyung, is bigger than ever.

The tone is killing me.

One.. two.. three..

“Good day, Rosie speaking.”

Finally. My heart almost exploded by the sound of Rose’s soft, calm yet y voice through the phone. Her polite manner and warm tone really shot through my heart.

“H-hello? Rose? It’s me, Wonshik.”

I could hear a small gasp through the phone. Maybe she’s surprised I’d call her so soon.

“Oh, Wonppa. What are you doing?”

“Um.. I’m about to perform at SBS now. Are you still at Jelly?” I asked, a huge smile slowly crawled on my face as I heard her cute way of saying ‘Wonppa’. My heart fluttered.

Damn, I love this girl.

“Yes, I am. I’m about to have dance practice in a while. Good luck with your performance then, I’ll try to watch it on tv,” she said softly.

I must held the ticklish will of giggling happily like a giddy school girl and cleared my throat.

“Make sure you watch us, okay? And don’t push yourself too hard. I’m sorry I leave first before, you know, schedules,” I said while smiling widely. People walked pass me, stared weirdly at me. Like I give a , I’m calling my girl now.

I heard Rosie laughing. I laughed too. Her laugh is so warm, like music to my ears, like wind chimes that echoes through the room.

“Of course. I’m your fan, Wonppa. I’ll scream your name with the other Starlights,” she said while chuckling softly.

My heart must’ve been jumping around. I let out a nervous laugh. Her voice suddenly sounded so y in my ears. How I wish she would scream my name in.. some other way. I felt something growing at my lower stomach area. This made my cheeks burning.

The ? She ?

I grabbed the edge of my jacket to calm myself down. Damn it.

“A-ahahah.. I really wish you would do that, Rosie, I really do.” Calm your horses, Wonshik.

Rosie laughed again, and my heart went on a see-saw again.

“Okay, oppa. By the way, I’m going to practice, I should be going. It’s nice to talk to you,” she said shortly.

My heart went to a downfall.

“O-oh.. right. Have a good practice then..”

“Alright.”

“Oh-and, Rose!” she almost hung up, but I still can’t let her go just like that.

“Yes?”

“Er…”

“?”

“I-I really mean what I said earlier, you being cute.”

There was a slight silence. My heart beated so fast. Damn it.

“Oh… thank you, oppa.” She sounds confused.

“Okay then..” I hesitated.

“Alright…”

“Yeah…”

“Good day, oppa,” she finally said, then ended the call.

I slowly let my hand fell down while holding my phone tight. God, did I just have an informal conversation with Rose? Did she just by her laugh? Did she just hang up on me?

God damn it. I… I think I really love her.

ROSIE’S POV

“Oh-and, Rose!”

“Yes?” I stopped my thumb mid-movement when I was just about to end the call.

“Er…”

“Hmm?”

“I-I really mean what I said earlier, you being cute.”

I froze.

Cute? Me, being cute?

Why is he like this?

“Oh… thank you, oppa,” I said, confusedly. I don’t know what else to say or how to respond.

“Okay then..”

“Alright…” Why is it so hard for him to end the phonecall?

“Yeah…” Somewhat, I think, judging from his voice, he doesn’t want to end this. What’s wrong with him?

The girls started to come into my practice room and if they found out who I’m talking with, I’d be dead. I better end this.

“Good day, oppa,” I said, rushed, then I pushed the red button.

The girls finally put their stuff and sat near me. I smiled at them, and quickly hid my phone in my bag.

“Who’s that?” ask Eunhee.

I froze. Damn this is sharp.

“Eh.. a friend. Why?” I tried to put up a smile.

Eunhee raised an eyebrow. “Oh.”

Got out of the lion’s den.

The trainer then finally came, and he started our practice session. We were busy stretching, learning new moves and stuff. I have to admit, I wasn’t on my best performance. My mind still lingers around Ravi’s weird act during his phonecall. I don’t even get why he bother to call me at all. He’s a senior idol anyway.

But it was nice of him, calling first. I put my questions aside and went fully appreciating his thoughtfulness towards me. The only bitter thing is that it’s not Leo who calls me. It’s not Leo who told me that I’m cute. Tch, what the heck? I haven’t even talked to him again. He might even not interested in someone like me.

I sighed, and continued dancing like there’s no tomorrow.

*) I listened to Boy In Luv when writing this particular chapter, and I think the lyrics could explain Ravi’s feelings well. Hohahaha XD WARNING: IS UP NEXT! (is it too early? ._.)

a huge larva has just ruined my bias list.

putting hakyeon's face into good use.