I Hope Love Is... [On Hold]

Third Verse

 Third Verse

You were with me
through the sunshine and rain
sharing the happiness
sharing even the pain...
You're still here with me
This is not a dream...

-translated from “You and Me”
from Future Colors' debut album Future Colors

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After lunch, Bea sat down in front of the computer and opened a paper folder, putting it on the clipboard beside the monitor. She looked up as Minha wandered into the living room and sat down on the sofa, and held out a slip of paper.

“Here's the wi-fi password, if you want to use the internet. I'll be working on my thesis for a while.”

 “Thesis?” Minha queried, frowning.

 “Undergrad thesis. I can't graduate from college without one, you know.” She turned back to the computer.

 “I thought you'd graduated last year.”

 “Well, I wasn't able to. I will be graduating this March, if I get a passing grade on this.” She reached for a headset and put it on, ending the conversation.

 Min-ha sighed and took out his cellphone. After seeing how many missed calls and unread messages he had, however, he changed his mind and put it back in his pocket. I don't want to have to deal with all of that yet. Hm, maybe I should take a nap... 

* * *

Three years ago...

“Hyung?” Sangmin muttered sleepily.  “Aren't you sleeping?”

Minha turned his head and looked up at the upper bunk across from him. He had been sitting up in bed, hugging his knees, and looking out of the window.

“I will in a while,” he said. “Go back to sleep, Sangmin-ah.”

“You can't sleep, again?” Sangmin asked.

Minha shrugged.

“Go back to sleep,” he repeated.

Jungkyu, in the bunk below Sangmin, also stirred and raised himself on one elbow.

“Don't take it too much to heart, what Manager Oh said,” he advised softly. “We have to be up early in the morning, so you should get as much sleep as you can.”

Both boys eventually went back to sleep. Minha went on staring out the window, thinking about the events of the evening.

After dinner, he'd looked around at everyone gradually segregating into small groups. The other boys had disappeared. He couldn't see Bea anywhere either. He shrugged and made his way into the house. A small group of girls were gathered around the computer in an alcove off of the living room; he recognized some of them as the girls who had been helping Bea earlier. They looked up, saw him, and started giggling again. Over their shoulders he caught a glimpse of something on the screen that made him stop short: a photo of the five band members, taken for a promotional poster for their last album. The girls turned back to the computer, chattering excitedly. When they brought up a music video for one of Future Colors' songs, Minha hurriedly went up the stairs.

The other four were discussing something with Manager Oh when Minha entered their suite. Jungkyu was already holding an acoustic guitar.

“Aish,” Minha groaned.