사실 참 기뻤어 언제나 날 지켜봐 줘서
i was so happy because you always looked at me

The day escaped the two and they would have stayed longer if it hadn't been for Soonyoung messaging incessantly while Jihoon made Jeongmin do some vocal sampling in the studio. The call is what broke their little happiness and it shouldn't have bothered him that she shot up from her seat at the first ring from her best friend but it did.

"Hey, Soonyoung!" She exclaimed into the phone as soon as she grabbed her device. Jihoon paused their setup and stepped outside where their things were.

"No, I'm still here with Jihoon...Yeah, Woozi-yah!...You want us to come home as soon as possible? But what for?...Kwon, we're just working. Well, actually, there's a little more that we're doing but I want to tell you in person...It's a little late, though, you're right...I'll tell Jihoon...Thank you, Soon. Talk to you later!"

Jihoon found himself pacing in a circle near her at the mention of his name frequenting her supple lips and jumped when the call ended. How could someone have such a hold on him so quickly? His heart palpitated, sweat beaded his forehead as it all fell down like some kind of morning side windshield on a rainy day but none of it could truly describe just the way she made him feel.

He had never even had a girlfriend, let alone a girl who was his friend. (Well, those acquaintances were never friends.)

Jeongmin scooped her the hood of her sweater onto her head before twisting the apex of her hips, stirring a melody of a series of pops in her spine. Jihoon said nothing as he watched her mouth curl, the shade of rose stretching warmly and so naturally.

"So, Soonie said we should go back. They ordered some food and it just so happens to be my favorite food," the light in her eyes collided with his dreamy ones as she snickered softly. "Or, at least I should go. I'm sorry I've taken up your time today. If you want, I could could and bring you some, huh?"

Kindness. His airways waned. How could someone be so kind to him?

Too flustered with how Jeongmin...simply existed, Jihoon merely shook his head, threading his fingers through the strands of hair beside his hot ears. He even physically shooed the idea with a flap of his sleeve.

"Jeong...min...it's alright. You're fine," His lips were sewed back, on the verge of spilling the core of reassurance. You've done more than you can possibly understand. "You should eat. Your brain can only do so much without eating."

He noticed that his curt accent that typically laced his tone somehow seemed to dissipate when it came to her; it may not be so consistent but considering the incessant pattern that had dragged on for nearly two whole days, Jihoon found his heart being further left with an impression of her.

The rubberlike edges of her rose-colored mouth pinched as she nodded resolutely.

"So, I bring you food later or —" Twenty five years seemed to transition between the swift maneuver that took place within the minimal yet cosmic-sized actions: first, the mere steps forward, all instinctive, before his knees zipped into the other, knocking forward as if gravity took itself back, her stubborn stance broken by this awkward yet quick action, all before, ultimately, Jihoon and Jeongmin collapsed into one another, resulting in their folded and entangled limbs.

All it took was two seconds for the two of them to crash into each other, like the tidal waves that they were, inevitably surging more waves. But the inherent blue betrayed the waves as the only ocean that existed seemed to be the thickness of embarrassment and scarlet.

So grand and mysterious! Oh, how it scared him underneath the immature infatuation he was feeling.

To make matters worse, Jihoon trembled too much that he knocked their sitting position down until he had to hold himself up by his own palms, hovering over her like some pained artist over a sidewalk masterpiece: something that she was.

Something bubbled in his throat, perhaps it was a few words that were trying to cope with the scene before them, but Jeongmin beat him to it upon an accidental,

"Well, Jesus Christ."

This comment of comedic relief allowed the atmosphere to soften as Jihoon, boiling hot as ever, helped her up, internally collapsing himself as her hands molded into his: holding an even part of himself, all of his mind and all of his heart.

As they stood around, feet angled into themselves, sheepishly processing the remnants of their conversation. It was revealed that this wasn't the first fall she had involved herself in, she described while laughing into her palm and shouldering her bag. (They were going home together.)

Jihoon held the door open for her as she continued her story.

"Yeah, everything happens to me. I'm the outlier who has always brought the grade average down. I'm the one who always spills her coffee," they both chuckled a cloud of hot air into the cold atmosphere around them, but even in the darkness, Jihoon could see the allegorical pause in her laugh. "I'm the one who ends up with..."

It faded into nothing but a button of a grin as she bowed to the row of old ladies walking past her on the street. He perked at the melancholic moment as he had his fair share and could almost decipher what was and what wasn't. But his...thing...for Jeongmin? That had to be the hardest thing yet.

"Honestly, you'd be surprised how much everyone thinks that and how much evidence you can argue with. Many of our members feel like that. I do, too," he took the lead as they waddled out of the sidewalk towards the other one. Perhaps they wouldn't need a Kakao Taxi. "I always somehow seem to interject just when everyone stops talking. With the other guys, it's like a verbal group chat but everything is at six thousand decibels."

They shared a laugh as someone honked from a block away, crossing together. Jeongmin struggled with the huge textbook in her book bag, huffing greatly behind him.

"That sucks." She finally managed. Conversation seemed easy with her but the moment's refuge seemed to be underlying due to an unspoken issue. Dig. She looked up into his eyes. Dig it up and make it go away.

"Well, at least I'm not alone." Jeongmin genuinely replied, smiling slightly, which didn't sound like much but it somehow lightened the knot in Jihoon's heart. He hated skinship, didn't seem to mind it when it came to his carats, but man, did he wholeheartedly deeply desire, more than the heated hunger boiling in his stomach and electric headache racking his head, to give her a hug.

He dimpled at her, holding the door open for her yet again. How did the distance seem to decrease when he was with her?

"With thirteen boys, you'll find that you never are." The light in her eyes didn't seem to wane, like the rising moon tonight, and though he wished for more, this would suffice.

"Hey, hooligans, we have cake!" Soonyoung barked from the sofa before throwing himself to lunge at Jeongmin, who almost instinctively moved out of the way, but the wrong way, it seemed, as she mistakenly shoved herself into Jihoon's chest.

"They're finally home!" Jeonghan exclaimed from the kitchen. It seemed everyone was presently in there.

"You both look like you just came back from university." Seungkwan added, while peering through the fridge.

Yet, it all fell silent to Jihoon as he opened his eyes to find Jeongmin's radiant pair directly gazing into his own. Her eyelashes possessed a small curl as they flitted smoothly with its long curtain.

"Thought you could get away from me?" Soonyoung accented, initiating a brisk gang leader and lifting himself to point his finger gun at her.

"Gosh, not right now, you fiends." Wonwoo commented from the sofa, shoveling some snack in his mouth.

Jihoon felt himself melt into the background of everything, watching Jeongmin play with Soonyoung with the accompaniment of the addition of Seokmin, Mingyu, and Seungkwan, updating the elders and youngers about his progress and whatnot.

"What's the cake for?" He asked Hansol, who was scrolling through his Instagram feed mindlessly. The younger cleared his throat and beamed gently.

"Just because." He answered.

So, they all watched the scene fueled with childish ire and energy dissipate, and even as Soonyoung dragged his best friend towards the coffee table to eat some cake, within a split second, half a centimeter of a second — maybe she'd know— Jeongmin managed to turn back towards him.

The moonrise couldn't compare nor some pitchy song. He could melt into mercury for all he cared; nothing could beat the genuine warmth her gaze brought him. Nothing.