After losing in the final battle, team B members were given a week rest before proceeding back to practice. They had a heart to heart talk with each other and understood that they were not entirely prepared for debut yet as well. They accepted the result and supported team A, now Winner members fully. They were now more determined than ever to polish their skills and work harder as a whole.

Bobby was called in to have a talk with the CEO and was granted a chance to visit his family in States for 2 weeks. He was more than delighted and thankful, also promised to work even harder. He broke into a small run when he was out of the office and practically jumped onto Hanbin upon entering their practice room.

---------------

His flight was arranged on December 9. A week left till he would be departing from Seoul. He had prepared most of the things he wanted to bring over to the States, not forgetting the kimchi and some gifts from his aunt and grandmother. After packing those into his luggage, he made a swiping gesture with his hand, swiping of invisible dust off his forelegs.

He stretched his hand to grab the note and pen on his bed, ticking off the items he had on the list he wrote not too long ago, feeling satisfied that most were already being packed into his luggage. He rechecked the items to make sure he had everything but furrowed his eyebrows when he saw one item left un-ticked. He had that circled it multiple times.

Jinhwan and Hanbin walked into the room to see a troubled Bobby with his open luggage. Both sat to his left and right, while checking what Bobby had decided to bring along to States.

“Have you got everything?” Jinhwan smoothened out the jacket that was in the luggage and looked up at Bobby.

“Almost.” He lowered his hand to show them the list he had in hand.

Hanbin and Jinhwan both moved closer to him to get a full look of the list.

A heavily circled “Gift for Raein” caught their attention right away. Jinhwan moved back to his seat and tilted his head to look at his troubled friend.

“What should I get?” He let out a loud sigh and fingers rubbing circles on his closed eyes.

“What does she like?” Hanbin retrieved a packet of biscuit from the drawer in which they usually kept their snacks in the room.

“I don’t know.” Bobby rubbed his face and let out a frustrated grunt.

“Well, ask her if she wants something.” Hanbin suggested as he munched on the biscuit, offering the packet to Jinhwan who gladly took some.

“She said she doesn’t want anything.” Bobby supported his head with his hand on his knee and eyed lazily on the untouched biscuits Hanbin were offering him.

“Let’s go back to basic. What does she enjoy the most?” Jinhwan took more of the biscuits when he saw that Bobby had no intention of eating any.

Bobby bit his lips as he attempted to recall. At times like this, he couldn’t help but felt like he failed as a boyfriend. With 3 years of not being by her side, he had little knowledge of what was regarded as her favourites and he felt too embarrassed to ask as well.

“ …Cakes?” Bobby looked at his friends with guilt before chuckling to hide his embarrassment.

Jinhwan had his mouth slightly open before pressing his lips into a firm line.

“This is going to be harder than our practices.” Hanbin pressed on his temple and closed his eyes.

---------------

The long awaited day finally came. He was so excited that if one observed carefully, one could see small bounce in every step he made. He texted his brother regarding his arrival time for reassurance. With his backpack in one hand, he entered the airplane with a small video camera in one hand.

He smiled at the camera.

“I can’t wait any longer. I’ll be home soon, mum. Bye.”

He waved at the camera and turned it off, tucked it safely into his bag. He released a contended sigh as he looked out the window. A few more hours to home, to family and to her. He smiled.

Finally he would get to see her in person.

No more barriers in between.

He could finally hug her after 3 long years and do what a boyfriend should eventhough it was just for 2 weeks. He would make sure to make things memorable for both of them.

Upon the thought of spending time with her, he felt warmness spread from his chest to the peripherals. Gleefulness was evident on his face and the end of his lips just curved upwards unconsciously. His hands started to sweat a little and he wiped it off on his pants. Hopefully everything went well.

---------------

His arrival was warmly welcomed by his friends. He felt like he was that normal Kim Jiwon again before having the ‘showbiz’ burden on his shoulder. When hanging out with his friends, he thought he would feel out of place since they had not really talk in a while, but it was the opposite. His friends made sure to make things comfortable for him and they had a good time catching up.

His family members especially his mum had been so happy that every meal was a feast and he wasn’t complaining. He had missed his mum’s cooking for so long and he thought he would never get bored of the taste.

It was a Saturday morning. Parents were out at work and would only return at noon. His brother was busying with who-knows-what in his room and he was left alone in the living room. He had already met up with most of his friends and the next hangout was scheduled next week. Thus, he decided to just stay at home in the morning, enjoying the comfort of his house.

The television was but Bobby wasn’t paying attention. He just needed some background sound to fill the tinge of loneliness he felt.

“So when is the date?”

Bobby looked towards the source of the voice and found his brother standing in the doorway, wearing a playful look on his face.

“Aah. She’s busy today.” He let out a disappointed smile before turning his attention to the floor.

“But this is day 6 already since you’re here. I didn’t know you can actually hold your feelings in that long.” His brother chuckled before sitting next to Bobby.

“She just came back from Canada yesterday.” Bobby played with his mobile phone as he explained. She had to fly to the country a day before his arrival and they had yet to speak or meet, but text messages were exchanged between them.

“Well, what about meeting her today?” Knowing how a workaholic bis brother's girlfriend, Raein could be, he was prompting Bobby to initiate the meeting instead of waiting for her to do so.

“She is busy today…” Bobby sighed as he told his brother he did try to ask her out.

His brother made a face before shrugging at Bobby who only laughed at that antic.

“Well…I actually feel nervous to meet her.” The latter played with his fingers as he sighed.

“Why?” His brother knitted his eyebrows but found it amusing that his confident little brother actually had this side of him.

Bobby shrugged. “I don’t know. 3 years is a long time.”

His brother nodded in agreement.

“Well, you shouldn’t be. I am not sure how much has changed but you are her boyfriend. I’m sure nervousness will subside once you are with her.” His brother smiled encouragingly at him before patting his head like how he always would do when both of them were younger.

Bobby moved away from his brother’s action, telling him that he was no longer a child.

“Yea…maybe.”

He flipped through random channels and found nothing that was of their interest. His brother snatched the remote off him and turned off the television.

“Hey. Where is she right now?”

Bobby sent his brother a confused look before answering.
“She said she’ll be in her university.”

“Want to go there?” His brother rose to his feet and rummaged for the house key in one of the drawers.

Bobby sat up and could not catch what his brother was trying to do. “Huh?”

“Come on, if she can’t come to you, go to her. Plus you get to see where she studies.”

He dragged Bobby towards the door and urged him to wear his shoes.

“Wait…wait….I’m not rea…” He struggled from his brother’s grip and tried to step back into the living room.

“You’ll be ready when you see her.” Not taking no as an answer, his brother dragged Bobby out in full force and locked the door with the fastest speed he could.

Bobby groaned and slapped his face multiple times, feeling nervous about their inevitable meeting.

---------------

The moment Bobby saw Raein turning into the auditorium, he ran to the window where he could see his reflection and fidget with his look and clothes, doing a double take to make sure he looked presentable. He mentally scolded his brother for making everything so impromptu that he had forgotten his snapback. His hair wasn’t even styled and his hair fell flat against his forehead. He didn’t like it at all.

“Seriously? Come on!” His brother threw his arm at him and dragged him away from the window and towards the auditorium.

They had been following Raein for a while now after locating her in the university cafeteria. Bobby was instantly captivated by her beauty; she looked different from the image he had of her in his head.  He was standing there, mouth wide opened for a few minutes until his brother dragged him towards her. Bobby had tried everything to stop his brother from calling her. He was not ready to meet her yet. Instead he convinced his brother that he really just wanted to observe her from afar, after missing so many chances of having to see what she had grown up into.

Staying in the background and observing from afar, wishing he could be confident enough to approach her, but after taking a few determine steps towards her, he chickened out and hid behind his brother who could only laugh and teased his brother’s antics.

His brother lifted his brow as a smile played at his lips.

“You’re blushing.”

Bobby looked at him defensively. “I...I’m not.”

Both had quietly made their way into the auditorium and made themselves comfortable at one corner of the place which was dimly lit. Making sure that they would not be spotted, they sat down on the abandoned benches laid out there.

He fondly looked at her doing her work. It seems like there would be an event soon. The hall was crowded with students. They were seen in groups, working on flyers, ribbons, some weirdly cut wood and there she was, holding out a large piece of paper before setting it down on a round table. Some of the students gathered around the table and a heated discussion was conducted.

He took out his mobile and started taking pictures of her. Of course, he would never give up the chance to record multiple videos of her. He smiled when she did. He laughed quietly when she did. Every action she made was just so precious and adorable that Bobby could not take his eyes off her. He could not help but just sit there, smiling to himself, being mesmerized by her. She had grown so much and her beauty had exceeded the memories he had of her.

“Stalker much?” His brother voiced out beside him.

“What…she’s my girlfriend.” He pouted but then it changed into a smile once his attention was back at her.

When she started to pack her bag, he knew the preparation of the day had ended. He glanced at his watch, feeling alarmed that he had been watching her for nearly two hours now. They quickly stood up and turned their backs towards her, trying to avoid being seen. Once she left the auditorium, he followed suit along with his brother, making sure to keep a distance between them.

He looked at her back and noted how confident her stride was but also how lonely she appeared to be. He suppressed the urge to walk beside her and carry her bag, hold her hand or anything just to make her look less lonely. He was mentally rehearsing what to say to her but he could not concentrate much when she was just within his reach.

A male student suddenly ran passed him and threw his arm casually over Raein’s shoulder. She stopped in track, trying to catch her balance due to the sudden force. She turned her head slightly and Bobby stayed still, wondering if she had noticed him.

To his charin, she didn’t but seemed to be engorged in a conversation with that guy. She was shrugging her shoulder and raised her hand to hit his hand with the back of her hand. The male student ignored the action and he jokingly put more weight on her shoulder, leaving her glaring holes in his face.

Bobby furrowed his eyebrows. “Who’s that?”

His brother had both hands in his pocket and nudged his chin towards the male student.

“That is the guy I mentioned to you before. I heard he had been courting her for two years now.”

Bobby furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the male student from head to toe, before looking at her. She didn’t look too pleased as well. He quietly and carefully moved closer, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

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Thank you for taking interest in my story. Am working on making it more presentable so if there's any mistakes in the text itself, please forgive me =D.