Once the elevator doors shut before us, the silence swallowed us again. Josh stood a little further away from me, while Jiho stayed close. He didn’t hold my hand anymore (he had let go once we had entered the party again), but the back of his hand was brushing against mine.

Honestly speaking, I was beyond scared. I was terrified.

I was afraid that he would disappear, just like the planes in the sky, or the smoke into the air. I had this tickling feeling all over my body, urging me to grab his hand again, to feel that he was actually there.

I didn’t know how people acted around someone they hadn’t seen in years, but who they had missed so much that it physically hurt to even think about them. I didn’t know how I was supposed to act.

Could I hug him?

Could I tell him that I’d missed him?

Or would that be out of question?

The elevator made a sound to inform us that we were at the ground floor. Josh was the first to step out of the lift, then Jiho. He had called us a taxi.

I followed the two into the lobby and looked around. I had never seen a high-rise entrance so big and marvelous. It had to be one of the most expensive ones.

Josh tried to build up a conversation with Jiho, but it always ended from Jiho’s half. He would get distracted and look at me with his eyebrows lifted, as if asking if I was okay.

I always smiled at him.

It felt so good to genuinely smile.

The taxi took us to our address and stopped by the entrance.

Jiho got out of the car. He walked to the driver and knocked the glass as a sign to roll down the window. I took my time climbing out of the big vehicle. The heels were killing my feet and I desperately wanted to kick them off.

Josh stared at Jiho, as he paid for the ride and waved the driver good bye. Josh couldn’t even open his mouth, before Jiho explained himself.

”Oh! Would you mind if I stayed for a bit?”

This wasn’t the Jiho I knew.

This was a mature Jiho, who could handle his liquor. He was polite and didn’t turn everything into a joke. Oh how I wished that he had just stared at Josh until he had gotten the wanted words out of his mouth. That would’ve been the old Jiho. He would’ve laughed at Josh, who was both extremely drunk and extremely confused. He would’ve made fun of him the entire drive here.

Josh shook his head with a frown. He looked at me with a confused expression and then made a whole turn. ”Am I on some reality show right now?”

Jiho made a husky sound, I wasn’t sure if it was a snort or a chuckle. ”Naah, you’re good.”

”Then… what the ?” Josh asked amusedly. ”Don’t tell me you and Miranda go way back.”

We walked through the lobby and towards the elevator once again.

”We went to the same school”, I mumbled when I finally found the courage to talk again.

”Yeah”, Jiho joined my explanation, nodding his head slowly. ”She was my neighbor.”

I don’t know why the word neighbor brought the tears back. They burned my eyes but I managed to keep them away.

”Holy ”, Josh chuckled. ”You know, I’m actually a huge fan of yours. I’ve listened to you since you first started recording your mixtapes.”

Jiho quickly glanced at me, sending a new set of shivers rush down my body. Then he turned back to Josh. Their conversation carried on ’til we reached our little flat.

”You live together?” Jiho asked immediately when he stepped inside.

”We’re roommates”, Josh clarified instantly. I didn’t know if he meant to say by that, that he didn’t date me, or that I didn’t date him. Still, it made me chuckle.

”It’s actually a nice place.” Jiho walked to the window and looked at the view. ”Must cost a fortune?”

”My dad’s a bank manager”, Josh explained. ”It’s his share, so…”
”So she doesn’t have any money?” Jiho asked boldly. His eyes found mine and I could see the stages of him realizing that his question had been a little too straight forward. He opened his mouth to correct himself, but nothing came out. He was waiting for my answer.

”My job doesn’t pay that well”, I managed to say. ”But I manage.”

Jiho slowly nodded while walking through the tiny living room. The old Jiho would’ve fit the picture perfectly, but this new, celebrity-like Jiho looked like a swan in a puddle. However, the movement of his shoulders seemed a