Safe
Truly Valuable
"Have a safe flight! Eat lots of food and take lots of pictures! Good luck!!!" Min said as happy as she could, trying really hard not to let them see how sad she was.
“We will, Minnie. And thanks for coming to see us off.” Halbeoji said, patting her head.
“Just know that even though we aren't always with you, we’re always with you” Halmoni paused for a moment, "I think I just contradicted myself.” Halmoni said with a confused face.
Min smiled, “No worries Halmoni. That made sense.”
“That’s my Minnie.” Halmoni said proudly.
Halmoni and Halbeoji gave Min their last hugs and goodbyes before they disappeared through the doors. Min sighed and walked away. Feeling a little down, she bought a pack of two coffee-flavored slushy popsicles (crushed coffee ice in tubes) and headed to the elevator. On her way, she stopped and backed a few steps back, facing someone really familiar sitting on a bench. Though he had his face covered with his hands, Min recognized his body structure. "Junhyung?"
"Don't deny it. I know you still have feelings for me."
"Wait, what are yo-" Before a confused Min could respond, Junhyung already stood up, grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to him. He placed his other hand on the back of her neck and gently pulled her in for a kiss. Min tried to escape his grasp but he was too strong for her and his lips crashed onto hers. What seemed rough at first, turned gentle and warm. His embrace was protective and caring. For some reason, Min felt safe. Wow, he must really care for the person he intended to kiss.Though she didn't want to admit it, Min couldn't help but feel a little envious of her. Who wouldn't want someone to love them so passionately? Feeling the kiss to be a little different, Junhyung broke the kiss and opened his eyes. His eyes came in contact with Min's. "Min?"
Min saw how Junhyung widened his eyes, realizing that he just kissed the wrong girl. He let go of Min and took a step back, "Hara."
Min saw his eyes look behind her, so she turned around and found this thin, pretty girl giving Junhyung an intense stare. Min looked back at a speechless Junhyung and back at the girl. Hara angrily walked away and Min immediately chased after her.
She ran in front of Hara, stopping her from going any further and tried to explain the whole misunderstanding. "Wait, I can explain. It's not what it looks like. Junhyung didn't see m-" Min didn’t get to finish when Hara suddenly slapped her. Hara smirked and leaned in close to Min's ear, whispering, “." Hara then walked past her, but not forgetting to bump Min along her way.
The sound of the slap woke Junhyung from his trance and he immediately caught sight of them. He was going to stop Hara from walking away but stopped when Min started to chuckle.
Annoyed and confused, Hara turned around. "What's so funny?"
Min turned back at her, looking very amused, "You. You're funny." Min smirked, "If you really think you can get Junhyung by playing hard to get, then I'm sorry but I think you're an idiot. I mean, you clearly have feelings for him."
“W-Who said?" Hara crossed her arms.
"You keep telling him you don't have any feelings for him and yet here you are, running away because you saw us kiss. If you didn't like him, why else would you be jealous? It's written all over your face." Min said, trying to sound confident in her bluff.
By the look of Hara's expression, Min knew she hit the jackpot. Min walked near her and stood face to face with Hara. Like how Hara did, she leaned in and whispered, "He won't chase you forever, stop running." Hearing this, Hara pushed Min away. "Shut up! I don't need your advice! Certainly not from someone like you!"
Min stumbled back and once again annoyed Hara when she didn’t look like she was bothered by her actions. It ticked her off that Min didn’t even look like mad, not even the slightest bit. “Of course, someone like me.” Min said with a as-a-matter-of-factly tone. She can’t even count how many times she’s heard that phrase before. She rolled her eyes and cut straight to the point, “He kissed me thinking it was you."
A little of what seemed like regret and realization was shown on Hara's face. Man, this is so awkward. The kiss, the girlfriend, the slap. Why do I feel like I’m in some kind of drama here? Min just wanted to go home but Hara here, just had to make a big fuss about everything. Min did not have time for this. Time is precious and she wasn’t going to let Hara take any more of it away from her. No more playing nice, Min. That slap was not okay. “The next time you lay a finger on me,” Hara looked at her, “you WILL regret it.” Min said with a serious tone and walked away. Hara stood there speechless. As much as she didn’t want to admit, she was intimidated by Min. She was already regretting everything she had done to her. Not because she felt bad or anything, but the presence Min gave out was overwhelming. Though she didn’t look like it, she was definitely not someone to mess with. Not wanting to accept what had just happened, Hara quickly turned around to leave, but she didn’t expect Junhyung to be nearby and staring back at her.
"What did you say to her?" He asked.
“What?” You kissed her and that’s the first thing you say to me? Hara scoffed, "Junhyung, she was the one being rude to me."
"What did you say to her?" Junhyung said once again, this time raising his voice a little louder. He was obviously getting impatient.
"N-Nothing." Hara stuttered. He never raised his voice to her before.
Junhyung looked at her disappointedly, “We broke up already and you still want to lie to me?” Hara didn’t answer. "I didn’t think you were that kind of person," He exhaled, “Call me when you feel like apologizing." With that, he left.
Min didn't walk far so it didn't take long for Junhyung to catch up to her. "Min, wait up."
"Oh hey! You want one?" Min said as she opened the plastic and revealed two coffee-flavored ice tubes.
"Uh...sure."
She tore the connected tubes in half and gave the other half to him, throwing the plastic wrap away in a nearby garbage can.
"Thanks."
They sat on a bench to eat their ice cream, and so a friendly yet awkward conversation began.
"I'm sorry about earlier." Min said, "I didn't want to interfere but I also didn't want her to misunderstand."
Junhyung didn't understand why she was apologizing when it wasn't even her fault. "No. It was my fault. I should've went after her. I’m sorry. If I had just went after her, she wouldn't have slapped you. Are you okay?"
"Don't worry about it. I'm fine. It was just a slap." Min said like it was no big deal.
Don't worry about it? She doesn’t look fine! Look at her face! This girl... "I'm sorry. I... never knew she was that kind of person. She didn’t say anything to you, did she?"
"Not really, though she did indirectly confess her feelings for you. But, I'm pretty sure you knew that already." Min pointed out, "Wait, shouldn't you be with her right now?"
Hara? Right now? Why is she worrying about others when she should be worrying about herself? "Ah...she…” Junhyung didn't want to lie, "I left her."
“She needs you."
She needs me? "That's a first." Junhyung mumbled. Thankfully, Min didn't catch it. He cleared his throat, "I mean, I'm pretty sure if she needed me, she wouldn't have lied to me." His eyes wandered over to Min, who was busy trying to shift the ice to the top of the tube, "Can I ask you something?"
Min nodded her head "Mhmm."
"What did she say after she slapped you?" Junhyung asked. There was a little pause in the air, filled with silence. Min took the ice cream tube out of , but didn't look up when she answered, "I... rather not say... I think you should ask her yourself."
"Tell me." Junhyung said, "I wanna hear it."
Min sighed, "Trust me, you don't wanna hear it."
"Why not?"
"Because, if I told you, you wouldn't want to believe it."
"Why not?” Junhyung asked again.
“Because,” Min faced him, "it's not something you would like to hear from the person you like."
"What makes you say that?"
“Well, I think knowing someone is a big part of a relationship.” Juhyung nodded in agreement and Min continued, "When you find out that person isn’t who you thought they were, it’s disappointing and then for some reason, you start to question yourself. I personally don’t think I have the right to say something that might change your image of Hara, also taking the fact that I just met her."
"She slapped you.” Junhyung pointed out.
"She did.”
"She called you a .”
Min looked at him and suddenly realized that he already knew, "She did."
Junhyung didn't want to believe it, but he did. He already suspected it because he witnessed the whole scene. He saw and heard everything. When Hara whispered, he read her lips and he didn’t want to believe it but now, Min confirmed it. Hara lied to him. Min's right. Did I really know her? Junhyung always knew Hara as a good girl. Never had he thought that Hara would slap a person and call her a , all the while lying to his face. It was like she was a whole different person. He didn’t like it. It is disappointing. Sensing the awkward position he just put Min in, he decided to change the subject. "So, where you heading after?"
“Home. I got to deliver a present for an Arabic Prince." Min said, glad they got off that subject.
Junhyung chuckled, "Dongwoon?"
"Yup."
"Let me give you a ride." He offered.
"Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother."
"No bother, I was heading there too."
“Okay, thanks.”
They went to Min's place and she came out with a perfectly wrapped box. It was about as big as the size a wine bottle in it's box. When Min got in the car, Junhyung eyed the box, "What's in that?"
"You'll see." Min said, smiling.
"We're here." said Junhyung as he parked the car. They got out of the car and he looked over to Min, who looked so excited and in awe. “You look like you’ve never seen someone’s house before." Junhyung said jokingly.
Min chuckled, “You can say that."
Junhyung laughed lightly, "Let's go in."
They arrived at the front step and was about to ring the door bell, but the door already opened and beat them to it. "Min! You're here! Co-" Doojoon stopped when he noticed Junhyung, "Junhyung... I thought you weren't coming until later."
"Is everyone here?" Junhyung asked, trying to avoid explaining everything.
Getting his message, Doojoon played along, "No. Kikwang said he'll be late and we're still missing Hyunseung. Have you heard from him?" Junhyung shook his head.
"Oh... okay. Come on in guys."
They entered the house and Min being Min, looked everywhere in awe. She made her way into the living room and found Yoseob on the couch watching TV. He looked over to her, "Oh hey Min."
"Good morning Yoseob!"
Yoseob got up and walked over to her, "Woah, what you got there?"
"Oh nothing. Just Dongwoon's present." She said, grinning.
"He's in the kitchen." Yoseob smiled, pointing towards the kitchen.
"Thanks." Min said and headed there.
“Man, seems like we got to step up our game.” Yoseob said.
“You got that right.” Doojoon said as he and Junhyung sat themselves next to Yoseob.
Min peeked though the door and saw Dongwoon staring into the refrigerator looking for some food. The fridge door was faced to her so he didn't see her. Min took this chance to quietly sneak behind him and tap his right shoulder. He closed the fridge and looked to the right to see who tapped him but he saw no one.
Dongwoon turned to his left and slightly jumped when he found Min smiling all the while holding out a wrapped box. "Happy Birthday Dongwoon!"
"Thanks Min!" Dongwoon recovered, happily accepting her gift. “Wow, I didn’t think I was gonna get anything today.”
“Why not?” Min asked.
“We’re too close for gifts. It really doesn’t matter. Spending time with my friends is more than enough.”
“Well said buddy!” Doojoon yelled from the living room.
Dongwoon laughed at his hyung and examined the box, "Can I open it?"
"Of course! It’s not much but I hope you like it."
He unwrapped the paper and took off the box cover. Speechless, he slowly lifted the action figure he found in the box. "It's Wolverine!!!" Dongwoon exclaimed and quickly hugged Min. Min laughed at the way he was jumping up and down, "Yup! Oh and if you press that little button over there-"
"Woah!" Wolverine's claws suddenly popped up from between his knuckles. Min smiled as she nodded in satisfaction.
"This is so cool! Thanks Min! Can I show it to the guys?"
"Do anything you like with it! It's yours!"
Dongwoon raced out the kitchen and Min followed behind smiling.
While everyone was just chilling around, watching TV or fiddling with Wolverine, Kikwang and Hyunseung arrived shortly after. The whole gang was here and Kikwang suggested going to the amusement park. Sounding pretty good, they did just that. When they got there, it was already mid-afternoon. All the little kids left, which meant the lines were shorter. They were set to play their hearts out today and so they went on all the rides and played all the games at least two times and occasionally, stop and eat some food.
In the haunted house...
"Yah! Stop that!" Dongwoon whispered as he brushed his left shoulder.
"Stop what?" KIkwang asked confused.
"Stop touching me!"
"I'm not! You're the one who keeps blowing me!"
"What? Did not!" They both looked at each other, their eyes widening, suddenly they scooted closer to each other and looked everywhere frantically. In the row back of them, sat Yoseob, Min, and Hyunseung, holding in their laugh because the three of them were messing with them during the whole ride. Behind them, sat Doojoon and Junhyung. Not wanting to let them have all the fun, Doojoon reached out to tap Junhyung’s shoulder but stopped when Junhyung faced him. Doojoon failed his attempt and instead of pretending nothing happened, he put his hands up in surrender.
"Man...these kids." Junhyung could only say.
Near the toy machines...
"Oppa I want that pink cat! It's so cute! Get one for me!"
"Okay."
"Oh my god. I want that." Min said.
"They just got the last pink one." Kikwang watched the couple walk away with the toy cat.
"What?" Min looked over to what Kikwang was looking at, "Oh no, not that," Min pointed at that big chicken leg pillow "that."
Doojoon walked over, "Oh my god. I want that."
"The chicken leg?" Kikwang asked.
"No, I want the cat... of course I want that chicken leg! I can just smell it from here."
"Right!?" Min said.
Kikwang stood in between them confused, "Guys, it's just a pillow."
"A chicken pillow!" they both answered.
"Omo! Min! Someone's going near our chicken! We have to get it before its too late!" Doojoon exclaimed. They both made eye contact and almost as if they had read each other’s minds, simultaneously ran to the booth. Minutes after, Min and Doojoon were seen in a friendly fight, using their chicken pillows as light sabers. Out of nowhere, Hyunseung joined in the playful fight with his light saber, a stuffed giraffe toy. The rest of the gang looked away and for a moment there, pretended that they didn’t know them, and as if it couldn’t get any worse, the three of them started to make sound effects with their hits and occasionally throw in some Star Wars’ quotes like “I am your father” with the deep breathing and all. It was so funny that Yoseob choked on his drink.
"These crazy idiots." Junhyung chuckled.
When it was getting late…
“Last ride of the day! Ferris wheel!”
“Let’s go!”
“You guys go ahead, I’ll just sit here and maybe eat something.” Doojoon said out of nowhere. The others agreed but Min didn’t understand why Doojoon wanted to sit out. Before Min got to protest, Junhyung beat her to it, “It’s okay Min. I’ll stay with him,” he looked over to Doojoon, “Yah, get me a coke.” Doojoon obediently left to buy some food. Junhyung turned back to Min, “He’s scared of heights.”
“Oh.”
“Go have fun. Don’t worry about him, I’ll be here.” Junhyung said as he lightly pushed her to the rest of the gang, who were patiently waiting. Min was then slowly dragged away.
When they got there, they found out that each cabin only fit four people max. Dongwoon, Kikwang, Yoseob, Hyunseung and Min made up to five people. They couldn’t all fit in one cabin so they tried figuring out the seating arrangements. The debate lasted more than a minute and Min seemed bored. She didn't really care about the seating arrangement, she just wanted to get on the ride and enjoy the view. No one really seemed to notice except Hyunseung, the one other person who kept quiet during their debate. So when a cabin arrived, he grabbed Min’s hand and led her into the cabin and followed her in. The rest of them didn’t notice until the worker there, closed the door. Min and Hyunseung laughed inside and waved at them as they began to ascend higher from the ground. Yoseob, Kikwang, and Dongwoon stood there dumbfounded and started to give Hyunseung looks of how unfair he was.
“Wow” was all Min could say. The view was amazing. The sky was a mixture of orange and blue, the clouds were purple, the ocean was deep and dark blue, and the sun was shining so bright. It was perfect.
The ride was quiet and peaceful. It wasn't even awkward. Even though Hyunseung and Min just met the other day, they got to know each other quite well today, both bonding over their love for dancing. It was weird how comfortable everyone became with Min, for Min at least. She wasn’t used to having friends that were actually friendly.
“Min, can I ask you something?” Hyunseung asked suddenly. He just had to get it out of his chest. He knew Min wouldn’t say anything or judge him. She was just that kind of person.
“Sure.”
“Say you were going to meet your boyfriend, but you catch him with another girl. What would you do?”
“Like kissing the girl?”
“Yeah and hugging, smooching and all the other lovey-dovey stuff.” Hyunseung said in slight disgust, trying to forget about last night.
“I would confront him, see how he reacts.” Min said carefully, sensing this was a situation that he might’ve encountered recently.
“And if he didn’t care?”
“Break up with him. Definitely.” Min replied honestly.
Hyunseung looked out, “But what if I still love her?” he subconsciously said, not intended for Min to hear, but she heard it anyway. She poked his knee to get his attention and looked straight into Hyunseung’s eyes, “Even if you love her, you should love yourself too. Don’t hurt yourself because of her. Don’t show her you’re weak without her. Show her what she’s missing.”
Hyunseung nodded understandingly, his eyes looking down at his hands, “You’re right.”
“Yeah I’m right.” Min said confidently, “And here’s another thing I’m right about.” Hyunseung looked at her, "You’re not losing her.” He tilted his head, clearly confused, “She’s losing you.”
He smiled and absorbed all the wise words she gave him, “Thanks Min.”
“For what? I’m just telling you how I would feel if I was put in that situation.” Min said, adding a little wink in the end. Hyunseung opened his mouth to say something but closed it and smiled. Not only did she make him feel better, but she's also keeping it a secret for him. Thanks Min.
Meanwhile… while finishing their food…
“What!? She slapped her?”
“Yeah and then she called Min a .”
Doojoon shook his head of disapproval, “I told you there was something I didn’t like about her. She’s a total hypocrite!”
Junhyung sighed, “What I’m more concerned about is Min.”
“She seems to be cool with everything.” Doojoon said.
“How can she be though?”
“What do you mean?”
Junhyung sighed, “Nevermind.”
“Min is strong and independent. She’s not the type to cry easily.” Doojoon confidently said.
“I guess so.” But how? Junhyung could only question.
“Yah! It’s my birthday today! Shouldn’t I get to decide who I sit next to?” Dongwoon said playfully to his hyungs.
“You guys just took forever. Min was getting bored.”
The rest of them could be heard coming back and they joined the older two in their table. “We should get going so we can grab some dinner.”
“Spicy chili crab!” Dongwoon declared, referring to their dinner.
“Alright birthday boy, let’s go.” Doojoon said as everyone grabbed their things and left.
They had dinner in a well-known seafood restaurant and the six of them bonded very closely with Min. Laughing and listening, they brought up many funny moments they had today and even talked about the future, having Min in the same school. What classes she might be taking, subjects she might be interested in, or any sports or clubs of some sort that she might be interested in. The dinner ended with a birthday cake and a birthday song. When finished, everyone left to disband, wishing Dongwoon the last happy birthdays of the day.
“Good night! Happy Birthday!”
“Thanks Min! Get home safely!” Dongwoon replied as he watched her go in Junhyung’s car and then left with the others.
“Today was fun. We should do this more often.” Junhyung said.
“If you don’t mind me joining you guys, then yes, I would like that.” Min smiled.
“Of course. You’re always welcome to come hang with us or even give us a call.” Junhyung said as he parked his car.
“Thanks.” Min said. There was a slight pause, “Well, I guess I should get going now. Thanks for the ride again.” Min was just about to open the car door but was stopped by a familiar grip on her arm, “Wait, Min.” She looked at Junhyung, “I never got to apologize for kissing you. I put you under a really weird situation today and it's really unfair to you. I’m sorry.”
“Oh.” Min’s face flushed, recalling the memory, “It’s okay, it was just an accident anyway.” She said, avoiding eye contact. Junhyung mentally chuckled, cute. Without thinking, Junhyung ruffled Min’s hair, “Alright, it’s getting late. You should go now. Goodnight kiddo."
“Goodnight. Drive safe.” Junhyung nodded in reply and watched Min make her way into her house safely.
He took a deep breath and thought about what had happened in the airport. He knew that he still likes Hara and Hara still likes him, but the countless times she rejected the idea of getting back together made it hard for Junhyung. Will I ever stop waiting for her? Suddenly he recalled something that Min had said to Hara earlier.
"He won't chase you forever, stop running.”
He put two hands on the wheel and rested his head on them. Min’s right. If she keeps running from me, I need to stop. This isn’t good for me. He took a few deep breaths, but instead of clearing his mind like he wanted to, flashbacks of his kiss with Min suddenly appeared. He got up, unknowingly running his thumb across his lips and smiled. Realizing what he had just done, he shook his head. Did I just smile?
Author’s note: Hey guys! Sorry for updating so late, especially when Dongwoon’s bday was like 12 days ago! omg I really hope I update before Min’s bday…
anyways I want to thank all my up voters, subscribers, and commenters and everyone who were patiently waiting for me to update and still giving this a chance ^.^
MUST READ/WARNING: I’m renaming this story to “Truly Valuable” the next time i update. Sorry for the confusion guys!!!
btw, what do u think about this chapter so far? R u liking the Min/Junhyung scenes? lol…or no? leave a comment below! thanks guys!
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