Chapter 6: Anxiety
Seven Things
Youngmin was watching football on TV when he heard the door flung open. He turned his head, only to see his twin entered the bedroom with a big smile plastered on his face. He looked at the clock and found that it was already past 10 p.m.
“You’re quite late today,” Youngmin commented.
“Uh-huh,” was all that Kwangmin said. He began taking off his jacket and hung it behind the door.
“So, how was the movie? Was it good?” Youngmin asked again.
“Yeah, it was.”
“Umm, did you go with Minwoo?” Minwoo was a trainee from the same label and they were going to make a debut in a group together.
“No, I didn’t go with him,” The brunette answered as he took off his socks.
Youngmin began to feel bad because he didn’t accompany his brother to the cinema. Judging from Kwangmin’s short responses, the blonde assumed that his brother must be somewhat mad at him. “Kwangmin, look… I’m sorry for not accompanying you tonight. I felt so tired and I just wanted to rest a little bit longer. You’re not mad at me, are you?”
Kwangmin lifted his head, only to see Youngmin looked at him with a worried gaze. And then he chuckled. “No, it’s fine, really… I’m not mad at you! I had a great night and I really enjoyed it.”
Youngmin blinked his eyes a few times. “…Oh, really? That’s good, then!”
“Yeah,” Kwangmin smile grew wider. Suddenly there was a loud shout of ‘GOAL!’ coming from the TV, followed by cheers of thousands supporters. “I’m going to take a bath now… Enjoy the game!” Kwangmin winked to his brother before disappearing behind the bathroom door.
The blonde raised one of his eyebrows at the strange behavior of his twin. “Did he hit his head or something?” he muttered silently before averting his eyes back to the screen.
Kwangmin looked at his reflection on the mirror and smile. Okay, he was feeling stupid now because he couldn’t seem to get rid of those creepy smiles. He had been feeling excited for the whole night for a reason he didn’t understand. All he could think about was Minyoung. The scenes of their ‘date’ kept playing themselves in his head like a video.
A warm and pleasant feeling filled his chest. This feeling was new and unfamiliar, but it was exhilarating and he definitely enjoyed it. He didn’t know what it was, but he got the feeling that he was going to find out soon. And he wanted to keep this to himself, which means that he wasn’t going to tell Youngmin about what happened tonight. No, not yet.
***
“Good morning!” Minyoung was startled by the sudden greeting and turned around. Kwangmin was standing a few meters away while waving his hand in her direction.
“Hey,” Minyoung replied and waved back. “Good morning!”
The brown-haired guy walked closer to her. Both blushed lightly when their eyes met. The memory of their first date made them feel somehow awkward and embarassed to face each other.
“...So, how was your weekend? What did you do on Sunday?” Kwangmin decided to break the silence.
“I went shopping with my mom... You know, woman’s stuffs,” Minyoung said. “What about you?”
“I played basketball with my younger brother in the morning, then Youngmin and I stayed until late in the studio to practice our dancing.”
Minyoung’s eyes widen in delight. “You have a younger brother? I thought that Youngmin is your only sibling…”
Kwangmin chuckled. “So we haven’t told you before, huh? Yes, we have another sibling… A younger brother called Hyunmin. He’s two years younger than us.”
“Wow… Does he also look like you two?” Minyoung joked.
“Well, he does, indeed,” Kwangmin said.
“Really? Whoa… How can three siblings look so alike? I’m curious to see your little brother.”
Kwangmin raised his eyebrow. “Isn’t it normal for siblings to look alike?”
“Well, yes… But, you know, some siblings I know don’t really share physical resemblances. Beside, I never have one myself, so I’m kind of fascinated by the fact that Jo Brothers look so alike to each other,” Minyoung explained.
“Oh, I see. I’ll let you meet Hyunmin some other time. He’s a really nice kid.”
“Really? Does he behave more like Youngmin or you? I hope he’s like you, because I don’t want to meet another awful guy like your twin…”
Minyoung’s joke had successfully made the brunette laugh. “Oh, come on…! My twin is not that bad. Besides, I’d rather say that Hyunmin is unique. He has his own personality, so your question is kind of hard to answer. You’ll know when you meet him.”
“Yes, I can’t wait to meet him,” she enthused. “By the way, I should be heading to my class now. See you later afterschool, okay?”
“Alright. See you!” Kwangmin smiled once more before Minyoung left.
***
“What’s with you and Kwangmin?” Jooeun asked her friend when they were having lunch.
“What do you mean?” Minyoung asked nonchalantly as she swallowed another bite of fried sausage.
“Well, it looks like you two have been hanging out quite often lately… I also saw you chatting with him in the locker room this morning. Are you guys dating or what?”
Minyoung laughed at her friend’s question. She tried so hard not to choke on her food. “What? Of course not! Well, Kwangmin is a really nice friend and I get to know him better thanks to the dancing class we have… But that’s all. We’re not dating or some sort, so please don’t try to spread a rumor unless you want to see your friend get killed by those fangirls of the twin.”
Jooeun rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, they’re not going to kill you! Maybe they’re just going to rip your heart from your body or take your eyes from its place…”
“Aww, I’m afraid…!” Minyoung made up a scared voice and then they laughed in sync.
Jooeun was the first one to regain her composure. Her face suddenly became serious again. “But, are you sure nothing’s going on between you two? I mean, we’re best friends, right? You can always tell me everything… I just don’t want you to keep secrets from me.”
Minyoung sighed. “Okay, I will confess… It’s true that we had a date last Saturday night, but that doesn’t mean anything, okay? It’s just a simple date for me and I’m pretty sure that Kwangmin also thinks the same, so I won’t make a fuss over it.”
Jooeun lips parted open in disbelief and her eyes widen in pure shock. “You guys… WHAT?!”
Minyoung could feel people started staring at them and began to panic. “Shush!” She motioned the other girl to keep it down. Jooeun, who had just realized how loud she was, placed both of her hands in front of .
“Geez… You didn’t have to yell, Jooeun! We’re at the cafeteria, for God’s sake!” Minyoung sighed.
“I-I’m sorry,” Jooeun stuttered. “I was so surprised, I couldn’t help it! But, really, how did you two end up having a date on the same day we hung out?”
“After you and Hyemi left, I was planning to go home as well… But then I stopped on my way because I was feeling thirsty. Kwangmin happened to be at the same stall. We were both surprised. He was alone and said that he was going to watch a movie. He didn’t feel like coming alone, so he asked me to go with him. That’s how it was.”
It took Jooeun a while before she could speak again. “…And then? Did you two only go to the cinema or did you go to some other place afterwards?”
“Well, we both felt hungry after the movie, so we had a dinner at one of his acquaintance’s restaurant. Then he sent me home.”
“Wow…” Jooeun couldn’t believe what she had just heard. The shorter girl couldn’t stop staring at Minyoung in wonder.
Minyoung giggled at her friend’s silly expression. “Why do you keep staring at me like that?”
Jooeun opened to say something, but then closed it again. “N-nothing,” she said as she averted her gaze.
Minyoung looked at her watch and realized that the lunch break was almost over. The dining hall was almost empty. She then picked up her plates and stood from her seat. “Let’s go! We’ll be late for the next class.”
“Wait, one more question!” Jooeun insisted. “…Do you think that Kwangmin might have feeling for you?”
Minyoung thought about it for a while. “…I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I don’t think so. He’s just trying to be nice, that’s all. It’s too early to say that he likes me.”
Yeah, that’s right. Minyoung didn’t want to have further expectation. She enjoyed the date they had, but she didn’t think that Kwangmin had a crush on her or some sort. It was too early to say that.
But, what about her? Did Minyoung like Kwangmin more than a friend? Had she started to see him as a guy?
***
Minyoung looked around her seat, trying to find the tiny item. Jooeun, who noticed her friend shifting uncomfortably beside her, whispered, “What are you doing?”
“I’m looking for my phone strap. I think it fell off somewhere, but I can’t find it,” Minyoung started to get panic.
“Let’s look for it later, okay? You better pay attention to the lesson for now.”
Minyoung sighed. “Okay.” She reached for her phone under the table and began typing a text message to Kwangmin, saying that she would be late for practice because she needed to find her phone strap.
Finally, the last class for the day was over. After greeting their teacher, the class was dismissed. Minyoung began to search the whole classroom, but the strap was nowhere to be found.
“I’ll try to look at the library… We went there this afternoon, right? Maybe you dropped it there,” Jooeun said.
“Okay. Thanks!”
After Jooeun left, she continued looking for her phone strap. Sweat was forming on her forehead. Half an hour had passed, but she still couldn’t find it. That was when she realized that she might have dropped it at the cafeteria. Minyoung then rushed out of the class.
Meanwhile, Kwangmin was heading to Minyoung’s classroom, only to found that it was empty. He decided to help her to find the strap, so he began look around. He started by checking every desk drawer until he stopped at Minyoung’s desk and lowered his head. There was something inside. Kwangmin then reached out his hand and saw a teddy bear strap when he pulled it out.
“Finally!” he chuckled. “It must fell off when she put her phone inside the drawer… How could she not realize it? Clumsy girl!”
Kwangmin didn’t know where she went, so he decided to go to the dancing room. Maybe she was there, already gave up on the strap. But when he went there, the dancing room was also empty. The brunette took a deep sigh and decided to leave the strap on the small table beside the music player. He then went out again to look for her.
Minyoung had already given up. She tried to look in every nook and cranny, but it was useless. She felt bad for losing the symbol of her friendship with Jooeun and Hyemi. She treasured the strap a lot. It was important for her, and besides, she really liked the strap, so she was feeling a bit depressed.
“Never mind… I’m going to apologize to them and go to the shop again. Maybe they still have some stocks left,” she said to herself and decided to go to the dancing room. The twin must be waiting for her.
She slowed down her steps when she thought she heard music flowing from the dancing room. The door wasn’t closed, so she sneaked a peek. Inside the room, a blonde-haired guy was moving his body with every beat of the music. His gaze was fixed on his own reflection on the mirror wall in front of him. His T-shirt was soaked by his sweat; some dripped from his long bang which was stuck to his forehead. Minyoung was fascinated by his amazing body roll—the moves seem so difficult, but he did them in an attractive and powerful way. It must consume a lot of energy.
Finally, the music stopped and Youngmin sat on the floor. He used the towel around his neck to wipe away the sweat and grabbed the water bottle standing nearby. The blonde drank its contain with a loud gulp and the bottle was empty within seconds. Then he closed his eyes and panted heavily. Minyoung couldn’t help but thinking that the scene before her eyes was y. Her heart beat a little faster at the sight.
Youngmin stood up, ready to continue his practice, when he noticed Minyoung standing at the door frame. “How… long… have you been standing there?” he asked, still running out of breath.
Minyoung blinked her eyes. “For a while,” she admitted. Her face blushed because she was embarrassed by her previous thought. How could she think of Youngmin like that? She shook her head to get rid of the thought.
“Where is Kwangmin? Why are you two late today? I’ve been waiting for the two of you, but you didn’t come, so I practiced on my own.”
“Sorry,” Minyoung felt guilty for not telling him that she would be late. “By the way, the dance you did earlier… It was really cool!”
“Oh,” Youngmin could feel his cheeks heated up because of her words. “Thanks. I was practicing for our performance this weekend. Kwangmin and I are going to perform as K.Will Hyung’s back-up dancers on a variety program.”
“You mean K.Will, the ballad singer? Wow! I don’t know that you’re under the same label as him,” Minyoung stared in admiration.
“Yes, we are,” Youngmin said as he took another bottle of water and drank it up. “I don’t know where Kwangmin is. I think he’s going to join us soon. Shall we start the practice now?”
“But, aren’t you tired? You looked exhausted…,” Minyoung sounded worried. “Kwangmin told me that you guys stayed late at the studio to practice last night. And you’ve been practicing on your own for a while, right? I think you should take a break first.”
Youngmin thought about her words for a while. Minyoung was right; he was actually really worn out now. He didn’t think he has the energy to carry on. A short break was all he needed to recover his stamina. “Okay… I think I’ll sit here for a while. You don’t mind, right?”
“No, it’s okay,” Minyoung quickly said.
She then sat next to Youngmin and leaned to the wall. They didn’t say anything, but somehow she didn’t find the silence awkward. In fact, she enjoyed it. Sometimes Minyoung would steal a glance to Youngmin’s reflection on the mirror. She began to scrutinize his beautiful figure. The shining golden hair that stuck to his forehead… The long and thick eyelashes that framed his round eyes… The sharp nose that was carved perfectly… The plump and red pair of lips that were parted open, breathing for air… The sweat-covered pale skin that glowed under the light…
“How can a boy look so pretty like this?” she murmured under her breath. It was true that Youngmin and Kwangmin looked alike, but their faces were actually slightly different. Kwangmin’s jaw line was sharper than Youngmin’s, making him looked manlier, while Youngmin has more feminine features. Both of them looked attractive in their own way.
Youngmin was startled when Minyoung suddenly stood up. “Do you want me to buy more water? You’ve drunk them all, right?” she offered.
The blonde stood up as well. “No, I’m good. By the way, is that yours?” He pointed at the tiny black teddy bear sitting on the table next to the music player.
Minyoung eyes widen in glee when she recognized it as her phone strap. “Yes, that’s mine!” She grabbed it and immediately put it on her phone. Then she sighed in relief. “I’m glad it’s back! I thought I’ve lost it somewhere! Thank you, Youngmin! Where did you find it?” she asked excitedly.
“Umm, actually I…” Before Youngmin had the chance to finish his sentence, the ground underneath shook heavily. An eerie sound was heard from the glass windows that were trembling. It took them a while to realize that it was an earthquake.
Minyoung started to get panic. She could hear people screaming hysterically along the hallway and the loud thumping sound of hastening footsteps.
“Let’s run!” Youngmin said while dragging her out of the room. Once they were in the hallway, Youngmin yelled to her, “Get out of the building, quick…!” Then the blonde went into the opposite direction.
“Youngmin! Where are you going?!” Minyoung shouted to him.
“I’m going to make sure everyone has escaped… Don’t stay here, the walls might break anytime! Get out, quick!”
“But what about you?!” Minyoung yelled at him, but Youngmin was too far to hear her. The building is still shaking and Minyoung became even more terrified. She had no choice but to escape from there as soon as possible. Her legs felt weak, but she managed to drag herself out of the building. Once she was outside, the earthquake stopped.
“Minyoung!” Jooeun was frantic when she saw Minyoung walked out from the main door. She ran to her friend and they hugged each other tightly. There were hundreds other people gathering outside the building. Yells and sobs could be heard among them.
“Youngmin! Youngmin was still inside!” Minyoung exclaimed.
“What?! Are you sure?” Jooeun’s face turned into the same horror expression.
Fortunately, the next second, they saw the blonde-haired guy came out of the building. Minyoung spontaneously ran to him with Jooeun following behind her. “Oh my God, Youngmin! I was so scared!” she yelled. Tears were flowing down on her cheek. “Are you injured? Did you get hurt somewhere?” She swore her heart had stopped beating when she saw him walking out from the building.
“I’m alright,” Youngmin calmly said. Minyoung began to examine his body and gasped when she saw a wound on his right cheek. “You’re bleeding!” she said.
Youngmin touched his cheek and saw a little amount of blood on his fingertip. “It’s just a scratch… Don’t worry.”
“Babo!” Minyoung yelled at him in a high-pitched voice, causing everyone else to look at them.
“Hey! You don’t need to yell that loud, you hurt my ears! What’s your problem?” Youngmin protested.
“You called me stupid, but you are even more stupid than me! You’re an idiot! What do you think you were doing inside, huh? Why didn’t you escape during the earthquake? Are you trying to be a hero? What if you get trapped in the ruins and can’t get out? What if you get hit or something? And who do you think you are, a superman? Or a spiderman?”
Youngmin’s eyes widen in disbelief. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “…I just wanted to make sure that everyone has evacuated. Is that wrong?”
“Yes, it is so damn wrong!” Minyoung snapped back at him. “And why did you need to do that, huh? Don’t you care about your own safety? Why were you acting like a superhero? Trying to impress someone?”
The blonde narrowed his eyes. “No, that’s not my intention… Why are you so mad, anyway?”
“Because you scared the hell out of me, Jo Youngmin! For a brief second there, I thought that something bad was going to happen to you! Screw you!” Minyoung turned her face from him and began to sob, while Jooeun tried to soothe her.
Suddenly Kwangmin came up to them. He was panting heavily. “Thanks God, I’ve found you! I’ve been looking for you guys everywhere… Is everyone alright?” he asked in a worried tone.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Youngmin said. “How about you, Kwangmin?”
“I’m okay… What happened to your cheek?”
“Oh, it’s just a scratch. Nothing much.”
Kwangmin nodded in relief. Then he turned and saw Minyoung was cyring in Jooeun’s arms. “What’s wrong with her? Is she okay?” he demanded. Negative thoughts started to fill his head. His heartbeat fastened. “Nothing bad happened during the earthquake, right? Minyoung, are you alright?”
“She’s okay,” said Jooeun. “I guess she’s just having a trauma. She was so scared that something bad might happen to Youngmin.”
Kwangmin was confused. He turned to look at his twin, asking for explanation. Youngmin sighed and explained, “We were together when the incident took place. I told her to escape the building as soon as possible, but I didn’t get out myself.”
“What? What were you doing inside?” Kwangmin asked.
“I just went upstairs to make sure that no one was left behind… After convinced that the building was already empty, I quickly got out from it. But Minyoung thought something bad happened to me and she was so scared.”
The younger twin was left speechless. He took a deep breath and said, “Of course she was! I would have been even more scared if I were there, too! You’re crazy, Youngmin!”
“Calm down, Kwangmin… I’m totally fine, you see?” Youngmin sighed. He then moved closer to Minyoung and touched her trembling arm. “I’m sorry for scaring you… I didn’t mean to, really. I realize that what I’ve done is probably stupid. I’m sorry, okay? Please, don’t cry again… Everything is alright now.”
Youngmin didn’t know why, but seeing Minyoung crying like this made his chest tighten in pain. Moreover, he was the reason behind it. He regretted his action. Maybe he had gone too far. The blonde didn’t know that it would scare her like this. He had put her in a terrible state and now he blamed himself for that. He sighed again and thought that he would do anything to make her stop crying. Youngmin then decided to pull her into a hug. Minyoung didn’t object, much to his surprise.
“Y-you’re so… stupid… Youngmin… I really hate… you!” she spoke incoherently between her sobs.
“I know… I’m sorry, Minyoung. I’m really sorry,” he ran his fingers through her hair, trying to calm her down. “I promise you that I won’t do this kind of stupid thing again, okay? Thank you for worrying about me. But it’s okay now.”
Minyoung tighten her grip on Youngmin’s back. For a second, she even thought that she was going to lose him. It sounded strange, indeed, but that thought nearly brought her a heart attack. She didn’t know why… It sounded silly and ridiculous, but she was afraid to lose him. She couldn’t stand the thought of Youngmin getting hurt. Now that she was convinced that everything was okay, a hug is all she needed to regain her composure again.
Kwangmin found it hard to breathe when he saw his twin cuddling with Minyoung. He knew there was nothing romantic about the hug—it was just a way to calm the girl down. But still, he couldn’t deny the sting in his heart, especially when he knew that Minyoung worried that much about Youngmin. If it were him instead of his twin, would Minyoung feel as concerned?
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