Taste | Changbin

Chapter Twenty-One

The moment that Chan glanced at his phone, the past excitement was sucked out of him. The band had just finished playing on the bumper cars. They had been laughing and screaming nonstop while plowing into one another. They instantly headed over to the built-in-cafe afterwards. 

They had just gone through the lines and gotten food. Chan figured that Lennon would meet them at some point. Han had mentioned something about her not using up all the points on her card. He figured she was still playing arcade games. She'd come over to hang out with them when she was finished. 

"Why do I have a feeling that you had something to do with this?" He shot a glare towards Changbin. He slid his phone across the table to him. 

"Chan, thank you for the day at the arcade. My anxiety was starting to be too much to handle. I didn't want to freak anyone out, so I left. Tell Lee Know that I'll wash the clothes I borrowed from him and return them to him on Monday. Please don't worry about me, I have a ride home. I'll see you guys again Monday morning!!" 

Changbin's eyes scanned over the text. "I don't know what you're talking about." 

"She went to find you after we left for the bumper cars! She was having the time of her life until she went to find you. Suddenly, you show up only after Han finds you and Lennon is nowhere in sight." 

"I thought you told him that she left because you two got into a fight," Han spoke up. 

Changbin shot him a glare. Han quickly looked back down at his food and began eating it. "Sorry, pretend I didn't say that." 

"You did what?" Chan's voice started to raise. "Are you being fucking serious? We brought her along, so we could get to know each other better. Was it really that hard to pretend you like her? For our sake, was it that fucking hard?" 

"Wait, what happened?" Hyunjin interrupted. 

"Lennon left because of Changbin. The two of them got into a fight and she stormed out of the arcade, apparently," Han shrugged. "At least, that's what he told me." 

Felix frowned, "I thought we were all having a good time." 

"I don't know why everyone likes her so much! She's annoying and clumsy! You two don't even know her that well and you were wrapped up in her arms this morning! She's just our makeup artist and you're acting like she's the greatest person in existence. She can just be our makeup artist. We don't have to pretend like we like her and we don't have to make her our best fucking friend!" 

"Why don't you like her?" Chan asked. "She's nice, she's funny, she's good at her job. She's easy to talk to and she gets along with everyone besides you. Somehow, I don't think she's the one causing issues between the two of you." 

"Are we seriously going to have this conversation right now?" 

"It's because he has a crush on her," Lee Know pointed at him with his chopsticks. 

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" 

"No, think about it! Changbin does this with every girl he likes. He even briefly did it to Hana at first. He didn't like her, so he was mean to her. It was an easy way to deflect his feelings because he didn't want to be vulnerable. He was mean to Hana until she told him that she was engaged. He realized he had no chance with her and that's when he started being nice to her and they became friends." 

Changbin's face heated up. He was embarrassed because Lee Know was right. He had gotten it exactly right. He did have a crush on Lennon, but he wasn't going to admit it. It was easier to be mean to her and hurt her feelings than care about her. If he was mean, there was no way she could like him. He'd make her hate him, so she wouldn't develop feelings for him. 

"He's blushing!" I.N grinned. "It's true, you have a crush on Lennon!" 

"No, I fucking don't! I'm mortified that you guys are jumping to this conclusion while I'm trying to eat my fucking food! We came here to have a good time and you're all ruining it!" 

"Chan, give us Lennon's number, so we can tell her," Seungmin joined in on the fun. 

"Wait, that explains everything! That's why you kept following the two of us around from a distance! You were watching her every move. I thought it was weird, but I thought you were stewing in your hatred!" Han bounced up and down in his seat. "That also explains why you saw Hyunjin and I with her this morning and you stormed out of the dorm." 

"That's no-" 

"Changbin..." Chan started. 

"I don't have a cr-" 

"Okay, this is embarrassing for you. We get it, really, we do. None of us are interested in pursuing her, so she's all yours," Seungmin spoke up. "We literally talked about this earlier this morning." 

"Wait...you guys don't have a crush on her? But Hyunjin was..." 

"I was cold and nobody gave me a blanket. She was on the couch with Han and the two of them were warm. I was just using her for body heat," Hyunjin shrugged. "Plus, she was really comfortable sleeping on." 

"And Han?" 

"I like cuddling with people. Lennon's cool, but I don't think of her as a romantic interest. If we keep it up, I think we might become best friends, but not romantically involved. She's attractive, but I don't have a crush on her." 

"See? You have a crush on her. That's fine, just stop being a dick to her. For our sake, stop being a dick," Chan finally got out. "You should apologize to her or something." 

"Okay, maybe I do have a crush on her, but that's none of your business." 

"I wouldn't have to make it our business if you'd stop being a dick." 

Changbin grumbled under his breath and stabbed a fork into his salad. There was no way he could let Lennon know how much he liked her. She had captivated him when he walked into the makeup room. When she spilled her coffee, it was the perfect opportunity to be a dick. 

"Whatever guys, just stay out of my love life."