The boys came running in and a few politely bowed to the girls who mirrored their actions. Now as Hwayoung looked at the boys realization hit her. The past few hours she had been focused on meeting Jibeom again she had completely forgotten celebrities were in the house.
Now that this thought had struck her, her eyes widened in shock as she turned back to Siyeon again.
"Fuck.", she cursed.
"What happened? What did you do again?"
"They're celebs. Idols. I'm such an idiot."
"Oh, I know that.", Siyeon laughed. "And stop whispering they're already glancing to us."
Indeed the boys were curious about the other guests but they had no clue what their conversation had been about since they betted on who'd embarrass themselves in front of them first. Unanimous Daeyeol had been chosen and the leader was sulking now.
After a while two more members entered the room. Of course Hwayoung immediately recognized Jibeom who was currently ruffling his red, wet hair, not even glancing at the girls. Meanwhile Jangjun, who noticed them, politely bowed at them with a smile.
Let's say, the room immediately got louder with his presence.
"Woah, this stew is the best I have ever tasted.", Hwayoung heard one of the boys say and figured it had to be Joochan. One could easily recognize his voice.
"Woah, Jibeom, this is the only good idea you ever had. I feel like this holiday is going to be special.", Jangjun said and gave a thumbs up to Jibeom.
Hwayoung was so happy she sat with her back to the boys, still scared about his reaction. It freaked her out that he only sat a few metres away, unaware of her presence. Ms. Lee came into the room again and the boys immediately praised her stew making her smile widely.
"Ms. Lee. Even better than I remembered.", Jibeom said and Ms. Lee came over to him and softly pinched his cheek.
"Jibeom? Darling, you've grown so much.", she said. "How are your parents?"
"Good.", he replied. Then he turned to the boys and smiled proudly. "She basically treats me like her own grandson."
"So, I don't want to stop you guys from eating. If you boys need anything, just ask, okay?", Ms. Lee said and started leaving the room. Before she had reached the door she glanced at Hwayoung who just stared at her plate.
With a sigh she went to the other side of the house where her families private apartment was and entered the room her husband was laying in. His eyes were fixed on the TV screen but as soon as he saw his wife he smiled.
"Look at them!", he said proudly and Ms. Lee followed her husband's gaze who was currently watching a Golden Child stage. Of course they had done research on how to vote and were thrilled when they really won. "Jibeom has gotten really handsome."
"If you want he can visit you.", Ms. Lee suggested while giving Mr. Lee his medicine. "He's downstairs. Hwayoung is here as well."
"Our little Hwa?", Mr. Lee whispered with a nostalgic look on his face. "Did they already talk?"
"Sadly not. I think our Jibeomie doesn't even recognize her."
"What an idiot.", Mr. Lee cursed.
At the same time the girls were cleaning up their plates. Ms. Lee didn't return so they decided to wash the dishes to help her. Hwayoung, after winning rock - paper - scissors, connected her phone to a speaker and turned on a playlist. Together the girls started singing to the songs while cleaning and were laughing loudly.
"Uhm, sorry, but should I put them here?", a voice suddenly said startling both girls. They turned around and faced a boy who smiled shily at them. Of course Hwayoung recognized the Maknae of Golden Child.
"You can just give them to me.", Siyeon offered and took the plates out of Bomin's hands. Just as he was about to leave the room Hwayoung's playlist switched to a song he knew to well. I mean, of course he knew his own song. Meanwhile Hwayoung tried not to let her embarrassment show while Siyeon continued washing the plates.
"This song is good.", she said obviously not aware of the situation. Secretly Hwayoung cursed her friend for not listening to recent songs. As she glanced into Bomin's direction the boy slightly smirked knowingly.
"I'll clean the tables.", Siyeon announced as she grabbed a cleaning cloth leaving Hwayoung alone in the kitchen. When she turned around again she saw Bomin was already gone and sighed in relief. Not wanting such a mistake to happen again she grabbed her phone to skip the song.
"Ms. Lee I didn't know you listened to our songs!", a way too familiar voice shouted excitedly making Hwayoung freeze on the spot. She turned around, ready to face him. When he appeared in the door he stopped himself.
"Oh. I'm sorry.", Jibeom said and wanted to go away but looked at Hwayoung once again. Did he remember her? He stepped closer to her obviously feeling like he knew her. "My name is Jibeom. But, I'm sure you already know."
To Hwayoung's surprise he didn't sound arrogant or anything like that at all. At the same time Hwayoung couldn't help but flinch. He didn't remember her.
"My name is-", she started and for a second she considered telling him a fake name. But as soon as she looked into his eyes she wanted him to know. "Hwayoung."
Suddenly she didn't want to see his reaction anymore. Luckily she didn't have to because just at this moment Bomin came in again.
"Hyung. Are you coming? Jangjun hyung gets annoying when he's impatient.", he explained slowly obviously feeling the tension in the air.
"Yes.", was all Jibeom said as he turned around and followed Bomin. When Hwayoung thought he was already gone she turned to the sink and put her hands in her face not knowing Jibeom threw a last glance at her. His eyes started to water but he knew this was not the moment to talk to her.
"Hyung?", Bomin asked as they walked down the hallway to the living room where most of the boys already prepared for a game. "Are you okay?"
"No. It's Hwayoung. It's her.", he whispered despite knowing his friend had no clue who he was talking about. "I messed up, Bomin."