Pov: Ra Minji
"Good job!" Scarlett boasted, jumping back at my swipe. I didn't stop and ran to her again, jabbing at her sides until I gave her a calf kick.
She shifted her weight to her other foot and slid away from me, the smile growing on her face. As I panted, she ran towards me, landing a kick in my stomach and forcing me back. Just as I recovered, she punched me twice and I blocked, making her giggle.
She stopped the fight and messed up my hair, the sweat sliding down her shoulders and exposed stomach. "There you go. You're not hanging on to just dodging anymore," she said, stretching her arms.
"I'm still nowhere near you. I was.. giving my all while you were.. smiling," I panted, hogging all the oxygen in the room.
"Don't compare yourself to anyone. You're much better than you were a month ago," she said, referring to the day she had given me papers to study from; the same day I'd lived through the biggest humiliation of my life.
"Thank you.." I murmured, inhaling the water and water bottle into my system.
Ahhh!
I'm dying.
My heartbeat!
"Now that you've proven yourself, it's time you go back to being Minho's main bodyguard. Not only is Minhyuk too lazy, but Minho keeps asking about your absence," Scarlett suggested. My heart stopped beating just by thinking of the possibility.
I told Minho that I was injured during Isabelle's attack two weeks ago and used it as an excuse for most of my running away. It had actually hurt me a lot, but not physically. I found it hard to accept that the teammate I had hung out with most was acting this whole time. How did Hyunjin feel? I could only imagine.
I'm so glad I only told her about my crush. If she had known about my illness..
"I don't think I'm ready for it.." I mumbled, taking out towels for us.
"You're more than ready," Scarlett said, drawing a huge grin on my face. Getting acknowledged by her was just.. different. I knew better than anyone else that she didn't give out empty praise. Also, she had been my idol before I'd met her, and I looked up to her. She was only a year older than me and our skills were on contrasting levels.
"You think so?" I asked, sitting down and trying to control my breathing.
"Yup. Go to Minho's side now. Tell Minhyuk he can go back to guarding the front door. He doesn't want too much responsibility anyway," Scarlett said, throwing the towel behind her shoulder and walking out the door.
It's been a month since my drunken mess.. I think I'm calm enough to face him again.
I dried my sweat and waited until my heartbeat normalized. Though I didn't look the best with my sportswear and messy tied up hair, I didn't want to let Scarlett down, so I trudged to the idols' dorms.
It doesn't matter what he thinks of me. I'm over it already.
Olivier opened the door for me and I asked him if Minho was in his room. He said he was in one of the practice rooms downstairs, so I went there.
Minhyuk was leaning in front of a closed door, yawning while playing a game on his phone.
"Boo!" I exclaimed, making him drop his phone.
"AAAAAAAA-ah?" He stopped hugging the door then looked down at his phone, scratching his forehead. "So are you buying me a new one?"
"I should buy you some grit, mister bodyguard," I snorted, glancing at the door as it opened and Aera's head popped out, her worried eyes roaming around.
Oh.
I had forgotten about her.
"What was that screaming? Is there an emergency?" she asked, looking up at Minho who stopped behind her to see what was going on. His brows raised upon seeing me and I glanced at the phone on the ground to shift their attentions.
"Oh.. You broke your phone?" Aera asked, leaning down to pick it up when Minhyuk stopped her and carried the thing himself.
He unlocked it then pointed at the spotless screen. "No. It's perfectly fine. See?"
"Then why did you scream?" Minho asked, looking back at me.
"Minji's sudden appearance startled me." Minhyuk shrugged, then adressed me again, "So what brings you here?"
"We're switching positions. I'm back to my job," I informed, already regretting it as he did a little happy dance and skipped away.
"So you're my bodyguard again?" Minho asked, forcing me to look at his face.
"Yes. My back is fine now."
"I was wondering why I hadn't seen you in a while," Aera voiced, smiling like an angel, "I hope you're doing okay now."
Her outfit is the peak of elegance again.
"Thank you. And I hope your drama is going well. I haven't been able to accompany Minho to them lately," I giggled, pulling the door to me, "I'm guessing you two were rehearsing? Don't mind me and resume. I'll be guarding out here."
"It's okay. We just finished," Minho said, opening the door wider against my pulling.
"Are you sure?" I asked, my focus on Aera.
"Yes. We were discussing the plot of a book," she said, smiling at him, "He's still shocked about the plot twist."
"I see.."
I walked in and sat at the end of the farthest sofa, taking out my phone to read the latest celeb news. Some of my favorite artists were having a comeback and I couldn't wait for them.
"The culprit was right there! How did the author hide him so well?" Minho groaned, tapping on the book in frustration.
"Right?! I had the same reaction!" Aera said, pushing Minho's arm with hers and accompanying his giggling.
Since when can she talk so enthusiastically? Last time I saw her, she was calculating her every step.
Now that they know they're childhood friends, the awkwardness has left the chat.
About an hour later, Aera stood up, excusing herself and carrying her bag. "You're already leaving?" Minho asked, helping her carry her stuff.
"Yeah. Don't forget your promise," she said, going out the door.
So they're making promises too..
"I won't," Minho chuckled, closing the door as she left.
What's worse? Being left alone with him or watching him interact with Aera?
I didn't look up my phone, but heard him stepping towards me. He finally sat down, poking my arm with his finger.
"Hm?" I voiced, turning off my screen.
"You're back," he stated the obvious, still poking me, "Welcome back."
"Thank you? It was just a month break."
"Felt longer."
"Really?" I laughed, bolting my head his way, "For me it felt like it went by too fast. Now I have to follow you around again."
"Ha ha ha. That's a privilege," he mocked, running his hand through his hair. I knew he was doing it as a joke, but it still looked attractive. "Did you stay at home the whole month?"
"No? I was at work."
"How come I couldn't see you?" he asked, not letting it go.
"I had fewer shifts and most of them were guarding your front door at nights. You were asleep at that time," I replied.
"Have you lost weight?"
"Huh? Yeah, I've been working out," I said, flexing muscles that were actually there this time.
He laughed and felt my tiny biceps with his hand, then nodded in approval. "You look happier and healthier."
"I got complimented by the one and only Chu Scarlett today. My hard work payed off," I giggled, wondering why I was so depressed till now. Even if I was going to die, I'd rather live my last days doing whatever I wanted than moping around.
Scarlett and the others were secretly preparing for a battle and she gave me the choice of not joining them. In fact, she strongly suggested I focus on my health and sit this one out. She had a point, and I agreed. The last thing I wanted was to overwork myself or hold them back.
"How's Hyunjin doing?" I asked, finally looking him in the eyes without wanting to run away. If I tried hard enough, I could move on from him.
"He's better. We expected him to completely shut the world off, but he said he wasn't going to let such a dirty person have that kind of effect on him," Minho responded, a proud grin on his face, "He surprised us. Scarlett was most impressed."
"He's much stronger than we gave him credit for." I immitated his grin. "Even I'm not used to the idea yet. Isabelle used to be free-spirited and supportive."
"Hm? Then maybe you're undercover too? Should I even trust you? We both know you're good at acting," he said, poking my arm again.
"Oh no. You caught me," I recited with the most bored tone and expression I could use, "Now I must kill you."
He saw me take out my knife and got into the stance I had taught him and Aera for their action scenes.
"Oooh~ Not bad. I guess I'll save killing you for another day," I laughed, placing the knife back where it belonged, "So what are you doing now? Rehearsing or going back to the dorms?"
"I was planning on going somewhere," he said, getting up and skipping outside the room. I had to rush to keep up with him.
Wait for me!
Ugh!
As we made it outside, he sprinted to the other side of the street, laughing as I ran to keep up with him. He'd look back from time to time to see if I'd caught up or not. If I had, he'd deliberately run faster.
This is why I like him. He doesn't care what everyone else thinks. If he wants to run in the middle of the streets, he will.
"Wait till I get to you!" I warned, ready to catch him as he was forced to stop in front of a road where cars traversed. "And you're it." I tapped his back and ran when it was our turn to pass, using my full speed to stay ahead.
When he finally caught up, he pulled me back by my shirt and stopped me, pointing at a sign. It was a café I hadn't seen before. "I'm sure I've passed by this street before.." I mumbled, wondering how I could have missed it.
"It's a new café. I haven't tried it yet," he said, walking in with me behind him, "They have this special blend my friends have been ranting about. Wanna try?"
I bobbed my head and he walked to the counter while I sat in a corner, taking out a mirror and fixing my hair.
We have come to heaven. The biggest angel is the one who guided me here.
After a while, he returned with our drinks. I asked to split the bill, but he suddenly became deaf.
"Do you like it?" he asked, taking another sip of his drink.
"It's not bad, but I'm too used to my usual order. What about you?"
"Me too. I think my friends were exaggerating," he said, taking out his phone and showing me a video of lizards running around.
"So you found a new reptile to obsess over?" I laughed. His love for all animals was heart-warming.
He giggled and swiped, displaying pictures of insects he'd taken himself. "We were shooting for a music video near a forest, and I found the exact beetle I was reading about the preceding day."
"Its color is bizarre, but I like it," I noted, zooming it in.
"The color is why it caught my eye. Wait, check this one out," he said, pulling the phone his way while trying to find it. His hand was holding the phone which I was holding, which meant he was also kind of holding my hand.
Now if I pulled away, it would seem too obvious, but at the same time, I was afraid he'd start hearing the tea kettle aggressively whistling in my head.
So I just sat there, sweating while drinking an ice cold coffee. Torture was my middle name. This was fine.
He finally found the picture and showed it to me, smiling as he explained the habitat and lifespan of the species. It was just like him to actually pay attention to such details.
I like this. I like watching him from afar. I can admire him without actually being with him. It's not as hard as I convinced myself it would be.
"If you quiz me on all that, I'll fail," I laughed. There was no way I'd ever remember such information about creatures and not mix them up.
"Does that mean you weren't listening?" he teased, taking a sassy sip and sitting back.
As I looked up at him, I couldn't help but notice the table far behind ours. My cup landed back on the table and I couldn't focus on Minho anymore.
"Minji? Are you listening?" he asked, eventually turning around to check what had me preoccupied, "What's so shocking?"
"I.. Um.." I didn't know if I wanted to hide or run away. "Don't look over there so obviously!"
"Is someone you know here?"
I nodded and held his hand, dashing out when I made sure he had paid. As we got to a far enough street, Minho pulled me back by my hand and made me pause.
"Who was it?" he asked.
I breathed hard, my eyes squinting in panic. "My ex," I said, witnessing his face contort in surprise, "Sylvan."