Wait (wait) because I’ll go to you right now
Wherever you are, I’ll go
Wait for me, hey, time is ticking faster
Wait (wait) because I’ll go to you right now
I’ll run against time and go to you, Wait for me yeah
So that my heart can reach her

After playing music and singing for a crowd that gathered in less than five minutes, Hayi and Hanbin both decided to head back to Gangnam. Hanbin still didn’t want to go back yet so he bought ice cream for Hayi and took her to Seokcheon Lake instead to pass the remaining time before music class starts.

There weren’t many people around considering it’s still early in the afternoon to hang around so they almost had it all to themselves. A variety of relaxing, lovely trees and shrubs could be seen everywhere, adding to the scenic beauty of the lake.

“This would be prettier if it was spring time,” said Hanbin when they finally sat down on one of the benches dispersed all over. “You can see the cherry blossoms blooming.”

“I know,” Hayi said with a smile, flicking through from tree to tree. “My Dad and I used to come here.”

“Used to?”

She nodded. “He died when I was 12.”

“Oh—I—Hayi, I’m sorry,” he exclaimed remorsefully.

“It’s okay. It’s been five years anyway.” Five awful years.

“My father and I never got to spend time together,” he began, watching his vanilla ice cream melt under the heat of the sun. “I mean, we probably spent time when I was a kid but it just stopped when I turned 10. It was like once you hit puberty or once you’re a teenager, your father isn’t obliged to spend so much time in you anymore. I don’t remember the last time we hung out.”

Hayi didn’t like where this was going. She was all for giving advices whenever it was needed and using a memory from the past to point out a fact, but this was something else.

“My Mom, however,” he continued, “tried her best to just be there for me. Which was great because she became the father I needed. I don’t know what or why it happened but Dad just kind of stopped caring… for us. It wasn’t just me. It started with Mom, and then Seolhyun noona. Jongin hyung. Then me.”

“Stopped caring?” Hayi was—inevitably—curious.

He nodded. “I’m not sure but that’s what I saw. Dad’s indifferent with us. Seolhyun noona said he’s been like since from the beginning so I asked my Mom and she simply smiled. I immediately knew something was wrong. And that Seolhyun noona knew something.”

“Knew what?”

“I don’t know. Seolhyun noona won’t tell me.”

“Maybe because there isn’t anything.”

He shrugged. “I know there’s something wrong. I could feel it.” He consumed his ice cream in one gulp, causing him to wince. “When my mother died in a car accident, Dad went mad. Not mad as in insane, but mad as in angry. He cut all ties with Grandpa and Grandma and his colleagues. We wanted to know what’s happening so we could comfort him but he shut us all out. Says whatever he’s doing and will be doing is for us.”

“Maybe your Dad’s protecting you from someone who wants to harm your family.”

“Maybe.” He cocked his head to the side, sighing. “Maybe not.”

“Hey, have you told your Dad about your dream?” Hayi said, hoping the change of topic wouldn’t drag the atmosphere down.

“I didn’t say anything about my Dad not knowing.”

“Yes, but it was clearly implied,” Hayi said rhetorically. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have said anything.”

Amazed, he stared at her and laughed shortly. “You… you smartass punk.”

She grinned proudly.

“And no, I haven’t,” he said, fiddling with his fingers. “It’s hard to tell my Dad about it. He’s really busy and he always shuts us out.” He glanced at her. “Hey, you never told me why you wanted to become a doctor.”

“Oh.” Startled, Hayi looked down and avoided his gaze. There were things she could tell and things she couldn’t tell, and one of them was why she wanted to become a doctor. But Hanbin was a curious fella and he had said so much about him. “I—well, I wanted to become a doctor so I could save people.”

“I don’t think doctors wanted to become doctors to build hospitals,” he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes in a playful manner. “Why do you want to save people?”

“Because I think they deserve another chance to live,” she answered longingly, remembering the last few days her father had before he passed away. “They deserve one more day to say goodbye, to do anything they ever wanted, before death takes them away.”

He gazed at her, a look of surprise crossing his face.

Hayi inhaled deeply. “People do bad things. And I think death is some kind of a punishment—something that tells them your time’s up in this world. The problem is it’s the good people that get punished.”

“Well, I think death is a privilege,” he said comfortingly, giving her a smile. “When my Mom died, I thought it was the end of the world. Gone was the woman who’s been there for 10 years. But then I realize that the world’s an extremely cruel place—and my Mom deserves to be in somewhere beautiful, somewhere peaceful.”

“Maybe they deserve that,” she said, furrowing her eyebrows. “But what about the people they leave behind? Don’t they deserve a proper goodbye at least?”

And then it became silent between them. The sky was painted with pale blue with no appearance of white clouds, and the sun was already halfway down, providing nothing but warmth and scenic beauty whatsoever. Cold air pranced around and near the lake, causing both to involuntarily scoot closer with each other for more warmth.

Her thoughts were melted away when suddenly Hanbin put his arms around her, with no words spoken, and Hayi struggled to form coherent words—or thoughts or basically anything—inside her head but she couldn’t. There was a rush of somersaults and flips going on inside her stomach and there were tangled, confusing thoughts in her head.

Only because of this boy.

Then, everything was okay.

“Where have you been?”

“I lost track of time,” Hayi said, her tone filled with remorse.

The hug lasted longer than it should have. Right after Hanbin let her go, Hayi still didn’t manage to form the right words in her head. It was unexpected to the point it bothered her. The gesture wasn’t disrespectful or offensive, and that’s the thing. She didn’t know what to make out of it.

However, it was too late when Hayi realized they couldn’t make it for their music class.

“Well, you’re lucky,” Jennie deadpanned, shooting her a drowsy look as she placed her books and other things back inside her bag. “The teacher decided it was time for a group evaluation and she placed you in the same group with Bobby.”

“Who’s Bobby?” Hayi inquired, uninterested.

“A friend of Hanbin,” Joy answered, tilting her head to the side with a worried expression on her face. “And that’s not the only problem.”

“This is a problem?” Hayi frowned.

“Two problems,” Jennie corrected, letting out a huge sigh. “Remember that guy you pushed into the pool?” Goo Junhoe. “Yep. You’re in the same group as him. And the other problem? The evaluation is in two weeks.”

“Sounds like trouble,” Hanna interjected. “I think you’re a magnet for discord.”

Jennie groaned, darting Hanna a critical look. “Discord? Really?”

“What, I learned it from Joy.”

Joy chuckled. “We’re all tired and disoriented but let’s not get mad at each other. Let’s just go home.” They all chorused their approval in unison and walked to the door together. Mindlessly, Jennie placed her arm around Hayi’s shoulder as they both walked—more like stumbled—out of the room.

The gesture made Hayi feel like they were real friends.

“Hey, where’s Jisoo?” was all she said, inwardly hoping that these expectations would go away.

“Her boyfriend picked her up,” Joy replied. “We should introduce him to you sometime. When we get the chance.”

“Cool.”

“So was it true though?” Hanna spoke up, her eyes gleaming with interest. The hallways were filled with lesser students than earlier this morning so it was safe to talk about anything. “The rumor that you pushed Goo Junhoe in the pool?”

Both Jennie and Joy turned to face Hayi with eager eyes.

Hayi nodded flatly. “That’s only because he deserved it.”

“What did he do exactly?” Jennia wanted to know. She had that crooked smile up on her face and God only knows what this girl was thinking.

“Remember yesterday when you met me in the hallway?” Hayi rolled her eyes at the short-lived flashback of the incident. “I told you about a guy who—”

“—pushedyouinthehallway! Oh, my god!” Jennie finished, her tone raised with excitement and curiosity. Exhaustion from the rehearsal earlier was already long gone based on her actions, and now the only thing she appears to be curious about was the dispute between Hayi and Junhoe.

“What do you mean he pushed you?” Joy chimed in, her eyebrows meeting.

“Wait, did you get to talk to him?” Hanna said, her tone nothing less than a curious sarcasm to which Hayi wondered why she was acting that way. Then, Hayi remembered everyone had a rough day from music class minutes ago.

“No.” Hayi shook her head sternly. “I didn’t get to. I didn’t need to.”

“I wasn’t sure about Hanbin,” Jennie remarked reluctantly, shrugging, “but I like to think the Kim’s tomfoolery rubbed off on his friends. Hanging out with Hanbin’s siblings might have something to do with that.”

“It only applies on some of them,” Joy said. “I don’t think Chanwoo would be able to do something mean.” She shot Jennie a pointed, mischievous look.

Jennie scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Don’t even start, Sooyoung. The guy just doesn’t give up.”

“Who’s Chanwoo again?” Hayi inquired, uninterested but she thought knowing this guy might come in handy. And it gave her an excuse to not talk about Hanbin or anything pertaining him.

“Jung Chanwoo’s one of Hanbin’s friends,” Joy explained routinely, her eyes still shooting mischievous signals on Jennie. “He’s adorable and polite—you’d wonder why he’s even a part of them. He’s pretty popular, too, even when he’s one of the two to join the group late.”

“He’s in love with Jennie,” Hanna piped in, her tone teasing with a bit of incredulity. “He sends her flowers every weekend—usually on Saturdays—and greets her loudly whenever we meet them. He had sent her letters, too, on special occasions.”

Jennie groaned. “Let’s not go down memory lane. He’s real cute but he ain’t my type.”

“I think he’s cute,” Joy said teasingly, grinning real big when Jennie shot her a warning look. “And I also think you deserve someone as cute and nice as him because you aren’t one.”

Hayi laughed. “Opposites attract.”

To which Joy laughed, too. “See? Hayi gets what I mean!”

Jennie rolled her eyes, waving her hands in an exasperated manner but there was no hint of anger in her face. “I can’t even believe you guys—my very own friends—are doing this to me.”

“Hold up,” Joy declared, gesturing them to stop. “Let’s not forget to wish Hayi good luck on her team.” Then, she burst out laughing like she had just told the world a joke.

Hayi cast Joy a quizzical look.

“Don’t worry,” Hanna said incredulously, threatening to love but managed to croak out a smile as she watched Joy laugh uncontrollably. “This is one of those ‘drunk but not drunk’ Joy you rarely get to see.”

“Yes, it happens—woah!” Jennie hunkered down, unsuccessfully trying to make Joy stand up straight. The latter was almost laid out on the ground, still laughing over something that wasn’t even funny. Fortunately, there weren’t many students in the hallway to watch it. “It happens when she’s too tired and every single thing she’s said is considered funny.”

“She’ll fall asleep on the way home,” Hanna added, giving Hayi a pat on her shoulder.

The other three were quiet as they helped altogether in helping Joy stand up straight—and to stop her from laughing and stumbling on a straight floor every minute—but Joy accidentally belted out the loudest, strangest laugh ever, causing the three to laugh with her as well.

It was quiet down the hallway, with the sun nearly visible, but there was radiance and warmth of any kind. Oddly, Hayi felt happy, the feeling in her chest light and her shoulders weightless, as if the burden, which she didn’t even know was there, had been wiped out.

She never believed in friendship. Maybe she did, at one point, back when she was a child and when the world seemed safe and pure. She had playmates from nursery school or from the neighbourhood, and they played together from morning till the sun sets. But friendship was only a word—no commitment, no attachment.

Once you get attached, you’re screwed. Hayi thought dryly.

But perhaps now, having friends might be a good idea after all.

“What are you writing there, hyung?” Donghyuk wanted to know as he tiptoed his way trying to see what Hanbin was writing furiously in a piece of paper. Earlier, he rushed inside the music studio right after the students have started departing once the music class was over.

Hanbin asked for any piece of paper and a pen of any kind, looking quite ecstatic and impatient, as he was in a rush when he wanted those things. The other boys were as curious as Donghyuk but they chose to stay back, knowing that Hanbin would eventually tell them what’s up.

A minute later, Hanbin wheeled around and flashed them a full-metallic, satisfied grin with the paper in his hand.

“Wrote some lyrics,” he announced briefly, causing the boys to erupt in cheers and laughter.

“That’s great, hyung!” Junhoe exclaimed happily, clapping his hands and laughing along with the boys.

Jinhwan shot Hanbin a proud, hyung-ish smile but then returned to reading his novel. Yunhyeong and Donghyuk cheered and encouraged Hanbin with a good job! while they trudged closer to read the long-awaited lyrics. Hongseok, Jinhyeong and Chanwoo drop whatever they were doing and tramped from across the room to get a glimpse of it, too.

“This is really cool, Hanbin-ah,” Yunhyeong commented, nodding in satisfaction.

“Hyung, what is it about?” Donghyuk inquired.

Hanbin pursed his lips. “Well, it’s basically circling around the phrase ‘wait for me’. It can be for anyone.”

“Yeah, like my first love,” Hongseok bemused, grabbing attention and earning a couple of oohs and ahhs from the other boys. “I’d tell her to wait for me because we’ll meet each other soon.”

“Yeah, that!” Hanbin chuckled, pointing at Hongseok. “That’s what I mean. Hyung, I’m so glad—you just get me.” Hanbin decided to mock-hug Hongseok dramatically, to which Hongseok responded by hugging back causing the other boys to just roll their eyes and laugh at the two idiots.

“But it could mean other things, right?” Jinhyeong said. “It could also be for my Mom.”

“And why would she wait for you?” Junhoe asked, amused.

“Wait for me to graduate!” Jinhyeong answered, plastering a look of see what I mean on his face.  “The concept of waiting doesn’t usually have to be about romantic love. It can also mean motherly or fatherly love, you know?”

“Since when did you get so theatrical, man?” Bobby teased, putting his and on Jinhyeong’s shoulder as he burst out laughing. “Don’t get all melodramatic on me now.”

“Ey, hyung!” Jinhyeong laughed.

“I think it’s cute, hyung,” Chanwoo shyly remarked. Having been the last one to read the paper, he handed it back to Hanbin himself. “I mean, cool. It’s cool.” He cleared his throat.

Finding it cute, Bobby laughed at the flustered Chanwoo and placed both of his arms around the latter. “How cute!”

Hanbin grinned sincerely, patting the maknae on his shoulder. “Thanks, Chanwoo-ya.”

“Where did you get your muse, Hanbin-ah?” Bobby asked all of a sudden, and then the others became quiet. They seemed to want to know the answer behind the lyrics, too.

However, Hanbin merely chuckled at them and shrugged his shoulders. My muse, huh? Unknowingly, his mind drifted back to the times he spent with Hayi from the soccer field during lunch period hangouts to Gangnam and Seokchon lake date—date?!—these moments may just be the reasons behind it.

Maybe, Hanbin thought to himself, amused. He was still smiling at the thought of Hayi. Just maybe.

(And Bobby’s question remained unanswered.)

Hayi was getting ready for the 23^rd when there was a knock on the door. Opening the door slowly was Soohyun who appeared to be getting ready for bed as she was in her pink pyjamas and a teddy bear in her left hand.

“Come in.” Hayi gestured her to come in, faintly lifting her chin.

Soohyun mumbled a timid thanks and carefully walked towards Hayi, her teddy bear in tow. The atmosphere between them was slightly uncomfortable but only because Hayi didn’t really get so much time in getting to know her ‘new’ sister; Soohyun’s personality didn’t seem to match Hayi’s so it made things harder. Hayi really wanted to try. But it was just… difficult.

Then, Hayi would chide herself for even considering. The fear of forgetting her father was strong, so strong that it could overpower her thoughts, emotions and actions—everything. She thought that if she tried to be happy, even just the slightest of it or for a short period, the fear would turn itself to reality. And she hated that.

“You weren’t at music class earlier,” Soohyun said, plopping down the ground and situating herself across Hayi. “I was worried. I thought something happened.”

Hayi chuckled, apparently feeling quite pleased that Soohyun was worried. It felt nice to have people worry about her once in a while. “Just went out. Didn’t feel like going to class.”

“Alone?!” Soohyun gasped.

“No, I was actually with Hanbin.”

As expected, Soohyun looked surprised, her eyes slightly widening. “Kim Hanbin?” she repeated in disbelief. “As in the Kim Hanbin? You guys are friends? Like real friends?”

Hayi nodded. “Yes. Is there something wrong with that?”

“No,” Soohyun replied, startled. She still appeared like she couldn’t believe it. “It’s not that, unnie. It’s just… wow. I didn’t think you guys were actually friends. I thought that maybe what you had during music classes and the rumors—I thought it was just nothing.”

“It is though,” Hayi said reassuringly, carrying on with her preparing for the 23^rd. She was looking for her guitar case when Soohyun came. “We’re friends.”

“So, that thing earlier… it wasn’t a date?” Soohyun’s eyes narrowed.

Hayi laughed. “Nope. The guy probably doesn’t know how to date. He’s like a kid.”

Soohyun shrugged, her eyes scanning the things laid out on the floor. “Oh, well, as long as he doesn’t hurt you. I’m cool with you being friends with him, unnie. In fact, I don’t have a problem with it. Maybe Chanhyuk oppa does. He and Hanbin go really way back.”

“Really? Why?” Hayi furrowed her eyebrows.

“Long story short, Hanbin’s a really good songwriter,” Soohyun explained, reaching out for a shirt just a couple of inches from her right when Hayi gestured her to. “He’s really talented, I must say. And Chanhyuk oppa’s good, too, but everybody thinks Hanbin’s really better. And given Hanbin’s father as the dean—you get the picture.”

Hayi nodded, twitching her lips. “That’s too bad though. If Hanbin and Chanhyuk were to work together, I think it would be really great.”

Soohyun chuckled, clapping her hands. “I know, right? I told oppa that one time and he just went ballistic!” She waved her hands animatedly, as if she was storytelling, and despite being unrelated, Hayi thought it was adorable. “He told me he couldn’t ever imagine working with him.”

To be frank, Hayi could just imagine Chanhyuk getting angry and saying that, causing her to laugh along. Maybe she hadn’t known him for years but Chanhyuk never really fakes his personality, making it easy for Hayi to figure out what kind of person he really is.

“Anyways, I’m not sure if Chanhyuk oppa would be all too happy for you being friends with Hanbin,” Soohyun continued, resting her cheek against the palm of her hand as she watched Hayi pack up. “But I’m cool with it. Just make sure you tell me if he does something to you, unnie!”

Hayi stared at her, a small amused smile playing on her lips.

Flustered, Soohyun’s cheeks turned red. “Um… I mean, if it’s okay! Y-yeah! You know… uh,” she stammered.

“I was kidding,” Hayi teased with a hearty laugh. Flustered Soohyun was some sight to see; it was definitely funny. “Yeah, sure. You’ll be the first one.”

Upon hearing that, Soohyun couldn’t contain her happiness when a really huge grin started sprawling across her face. Hayi could see it perfectly; it was as plain as day. And if truth be told, it looked quite adorable. It felt… adorable. It was though Hayi had a little sister.

As if.

“Have you talked to any of Hanbin’s friends, unnie?”

Hayi snapped back to reality before getting heavily immersed to any irrelevant thoughts inside her head. The last thing she needed was deep contemplation before sleeping because then it’ll just give her a headache—and that’s not a really good picture.

“No…” she trailed off but then she remembered her hopeless encounter with Goo Junhoe, and it took her a lot of strength to hold back the rants she’s kept since swim practice. “Maybe. I met one.”

“Really?” Soohyun suddenly looked interested. Eager. “What’s his name?”

“A name not worth mentioning,” Hayi said resentfully, rolling her eyes. “He’s too rude.”

“Oh… wait. I think—are you talking about Goo Junhoe?”

Hayi faked vomit, showing ultimate disgust at the mention of his name. “A name not worth mentioning, remember? He’s bad news. Don’t even try to talk to him. And in case you see him, pretend you didn’t. He’s not worth a single hello.”

Soohyun giggled. “Well, he’s the resident bad guy,” she explained, making air quotes with her hands at the words ‘bad guy’. “And he really lives up to it.”

“I think he should just go to hell.”

“Unnie!” Soohyun laughed.

“No, but seriously, I hate his guts.”

“What did he do to make you hate him that much?”

Hayi groaned, rolling her eyes, and decided not to summarize her horrible encounter with Goo Junhoe. Just thinking about it sickened her, let alone talking to someone else about the fact that he just basically pushed her. It was rude and impolite—and most importantly, he’s an A-class douchebag that everybody should stay away from.

“Why did you ask though?” Hayi asked out of the blue.

Soohyun blinked, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. “Uh, nothing! I just wanted to know.”

Hayi shrugged. “If you say so. But hey, you should go to sleep. You still have to wake up early for tomorrow.”

“Okay unnie.”

They both stood up with silence wafting around them, only Hayi felt less awkward compared from the first few instances she was around Soohyun. Hayi ushered Soohyun until they reached the door and exchanged good nights and sleep wells with each other before Hayi closed the door.

It wasn’t so bad, after all.

comments are appreciated! thank you for the feedback guys xxx

(song from the beginning of the chapter is team b's wait for me)