"Have you seen this?" Jaehyeon asked and showed me an article about the band under DayBreak that had debuted after us, Skyfall. The article that Jaehyeon showed me was talking about one of their members coming under fire because of a controversial statement that he had made during a live show.
"Ah." I looked at the phone and sat down on his bed when he showed it to me. He was lying on his side so I sat in front of him and leaned back against his stomach. "I was shocked to hear about it. He's not going to get away with this that easily."
"I never thought that I would hear something so thoughtless from him." Jaehyeon nodded and turned his phone back towards himself. He then dropped his free right hand into my lap. I looked at him at that but he had gone back to reading. I sighed and dropped my head back, looing up at the ceiling. My hair was still damp from the shower so this act of mine probably caused water to fall on him. He took his eyes off his phone. "That's not fully dry."
"I know. It's okay." I responded. I had been in the middle of drying it when I realised that there was only one more week left before 04:00 am left South Korea altogether. Then, I didn't feel like doing anything anymore. "It's not that wet either. It feels good. It's cool."
"You'll fall ill." He frowned.
"I'll just sit here till it dries up." I shrugged. "I'm feeling too lazy to do anything."
"Do you want me to dry it for you?"
"No." I replied. "I told you, didn't I? It's okay, Hyung."
"Alright." He let that matter be. "But what happened?"
"Hm? Nothing." I looked back at him. "Why?"
"No. Your behaviour just now… Something's definitely bothering you. Tell me." He nudged my arm.
I narrowed my eyes at him. Why was he so good at reading me?
"Is it Changmin Sunbae again?"
"Okay. Now this is not fair." I pushed his hand off and sat facing him properly. "Stop doing that."
"Doing what?" He laughed.
"This… reading into everything I think."
"I've known you too long. So… what did Changmin Sunbae do this time?"
"Nothing." I let out a breath in defeat. "He didn't do anything."
"Then, is it because he's leaving on Sunday?"
I flinched. How does he do this and why?
"Am I right?" He asked.
I averted my eyes. "We've only about 5 days left."
He smirked. "I'll get you all to myself after that."
"What the hell?" I chuckled. He was just trying to cheer me up.
"What? Why can't I be happy about that? You were originally mine." He arched his eyebrows coyly, resting his head on his palm, propped up by the elbow on the bed.
"Stop saying weird things." I pushed him onto his back and folded my legs on his bed. "I've been with you longer than I've been with Changmin Hyung anyway."
"Mm. But aren't you meeting before he leaves?"
"We are. They have a day off before they go. His family's going to be in town and we have work so I won't see him during the day. We're meeting in the evening but…" We still had nowhere to go.
"'But' what?" He asked and sat up.
I regarded him thoughtfully. It was a bit embarrassing and awkward to ask him. "Hyung…"
"Tell me." He chuckled, knowing fully well that I wanted to ask him something.
I smiled apologetically. "Where can we go on a date?"
He narrowed his eyes at me, dropping his smile immediately. "Are you seriously asking me that?"
"You told me to tell you what's bothering me." I shrugged.
"Yes. But I'm not obliged to reply." He stated.
"Ah, Hyung." I whined. "Help me out here~"
"Why would I help you guys set up a date? You should be doing that on your own." He refused. "Ask your Hyung."
"But you're also my Hyung." Puppy eyes.
"Your other Hyung."
I laughed at his genuine disinterest. "You're mean, Hyung. I told you what was bothering me and you still won't help?"
He stared at me, then sighed, caving. "What's there to think about so much? Go for dinner to a restaurant or watch a movie or something of that sort. It's just a regular date, right? Go somewhere to eat, spend some time together and come home." He paused. "Café?"
How do I say this? "We want some privacy. You know? No… people."
"No… Wait. What are you planning on- No. Don't answer that." He planted his palm on his forehead. "Hold on. So… like a… hotel or something?"
"No." Why did it have to be a hotel if not a normal dinner date? "Just… We don't want to worry about being seen together like that. That's all."
"Then… go on a drive somewhere?"
"Without a car. Yes." I gave him a poker face.
"Right…" He thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know. You don't have much time either to rent a car and go somewhere quiet and come back. Just discuss this with Changmin Sunbae. Why must I bother?"
"Fine." I rolled my eyes. I'll just think by myself.
He did not say anything more regarding that matter. Meanwhile, I had lapsed into thought about the still unplanned date. I looked at Jaehyeon only when he spoke again. "How are you going to get through the coming months though? Sunbae's going to be in a different time zone too."
I looked at him helplessly. He made me feel weak by bringing that up. "I don't know."
He flinched. "… That much?"
"It's hard enough as it is." I leaned back against my arms. "Now it's going to be difficult to even call and talk."
"You're going to be busy too. You won't realise time go by."
"Still." I realise time no matter how busy I get. That man was always on my mind. 'If Changmin was here…' 'What would Hyung have said?' 'How would Hyung have reacted?' 'Changmin would have like this.'
I feel time very vividly.
"Ya." He pulled me closer by my shoulder and then ruffled up my hair. "Don't look so lovelorn."
"I'm not… lovelorn."
"Yes, you are." He said, throwing an arm around my neck and pulling me to lie down on the bed beside him as he lay down too. "Don't look so sad~"
I laughed, allowing him to keep me down under the arm over my neck. I was on my back and he was on his stomach, his face turned towards me. "I'm not lovelorn and we'll stop talking about Hyung now."
"Mmkay." He nodded. "What did your Mother say about Europe?"
"She wants souvenirs." I chuckled. "Ah. But it would have been nice if I could have taken them along too. They haven't travelled much."
"You can take them with you on vacation sometime. I'm sure your mother would love that."
"True, but it's so hard to decide. If and when we do get a long enough vacation, I would actually like to go with all of you somewhere. You know? Without having work to worry about. Let's go to Japan."
"Japan?"
"Sapporo."
"Why Sapporo?" He asked, obviously amused.
"I recently saw some pictures. There was a clipping of someone jumping into the snow. It looked beautiful." I mused.
"Just because of that?"
"Kind of, yes." I looked at him. "What would you want to do? Go home?"
"Half the time, yes. The rest of the time, I'd spend with S.T.A.Y."
"What if it's just two days?"
"That's just a break, not a vacation."
"Still. Will you spend one day at home and one with us?"
"Nah. I'd probably spend both with you." He did not even need to think about that answer.
"Oh? Why?"
"Hm… Something like… I've gotten used to living away from my family but I can't get used to being away from you? That kind of feeling."
"Ah. I can relate, I guess." That was why I had chosen to spend my vacation with them too. It would just be too boring without the four of them. They were my daily life, after all. There were times when a change of scenery could have felt good but none of us really wanted to be away for that long. When I thought about it, it brought a smile to my face, "Then, let's all go visit your niece together."
"Hah?" He laughed. "Really?"
"Yes. I want to see her too. Our Han Seulbi." I laced my fingers at my chest. "She's cute."
"Mm. Our Han Seulbi." He looked so happy to hear that that anyone would have mistaken him to have been talking about his own daughter and not his niece. "Oh. And I want to go to Jeju Island, one sauna and at least one horror house with you all."
"Beach." I added.
"We literally just got back from the beach though."
"Doesn't matter. Besides, we had a schedule to follow this time. I want to… sleep in, eat slowly, go around shopping and seeing the sights and then just play in the sea till the sun sets and the water gets too cold."
"Note that down."
"Huh?"
"What you just said. Note it down. It sounds nice. You could use it somewhere."
"Which? Let's play in the sea till the sun sets and the water gets too cold?" That did sound nice, didn't it?
"Mm. That. And remember that it was born out of a casual conversation with me." He grinned.
"You don't get credit. I said it." I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Oh. Come on. Allow me some credit." He raised himself a little and moved in to loom over me. "You're a genius lyricist because you have me.
"No." I smiled.
"No?"
"No." I'm a genius lyricist because I have all of you. And Changmin.
"Yield." He began tickling me rather mercilessly.
"Ah! Ya! Hyung!" I laughed, thrashing around to get free but only getting caught up in his hold all the more. "Stop!"
"Yield!" He laughed along too without showing any signs of stopping.
"No! Ah! Stop- Stop it!" In between kicking out and squirming away, I suddenly felt my centre of gravity shift. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor next to his bed. He was also halfway off it- hip-below on the bed and torso hanging over the edge, held up by his arms planted firmly on the ground on either side of my torso. He had held on on realising that I was falling so rather than having hit the ground hard, I had been lowered onto it.
I gave him a blank look. "Now look what you've done."
"A-Ah. Sorry." He moved away immediately and got back onto his bed, the laughed. "That was your fault for moving around so much."
I sat up. "Ya, Hyung!"
"Okay. Okay. I'm sorry." He waved it off, then added. "You're not hurt, are you?"
You ask that now? "No." I pursed my lips. "Idiot."
"I'm your Hyung."
"Idiot Hyung." I said and got up from the floor, moving to my own bed this time.
"I know." He sighed and lay back down.
I wasn't exactly sure what he had meant by that 'I know' but I just threw him a questioning glance and turned to my phone when he did not respond or clarify.