It was then that Minhui noticed sniffling sounds from her left hand side causing her to turn around, facing Minho who was currently fake crying, looking towards the ceiling whilst fanning his eyes, trying his best to stifle the laugh that had built up in his throat.
"I-I can't believe I've already been abandoned after taking you in," He pretends to hiccup and she had to give it to him, he definitely had the acting chops.
The sight was too hilarious to not laugh at, Minhui cracking up all of a sudden, everybody else utterly baffled when Minho's took down his façade and joined in. Clearly he had managed to fool most people on the table - maybe he should've enrolled in an acting school instead.
"Alright everybody, the real fun is starting now!" somebody shouted out, standing up and clapping at the sight of a certain blonde man manoeuvring his way through the crowd, carrying a tray full of drinks, another person behind him with 2 trays of food.
There was a collective cheer at the sight, a few students breathing a sigh of relief, basking in the scent of the freshly fried chicken. The man carrying the drinks looked around the table, his eyes stopping abruptly when he caught sight of a particular glasses-wearing, black and silver haired individual who was looking back towards him with relaxed eyes
Hana was busying herself with helping the two place the trays on the table, Minho on the other hand glanced between Kibum and Minhui, tapping her shoulder.
"What's with that expression on his face? Do you think he remembers you?" His voice was quiet and was obviously only intended for her to hear. It wasn't after Minho's question that she noticed there was an odd expression on Kibum's face. The edges of his ears were tinted a red and he avoided eye contact at all costs. It was as if he was embarrassed.
"I don't think so? Why is he acting like he's flustered-" she then paused and a thought hits her.
"It couldn't be..." Minho anticipated her answer attentively, hands drumming on his leg, ".. is he still embarrassed after what happened on campus that day?"
"Campus? Which campus? Which day? What happened? Let me in on this Min.. please?" The black haired man darted up, firing questions at you in hope that he could get something to blackmail Kibum with later on. There was a very unflattering photo of Minho on the other man's phone which served for only one purpose - blackmail. He couldn't even count the number of times the his friend had used that photo to get his way and Minho most definitely needed a way out of the never ending cycle.
Looking around the table, Minhui checked that nobody was listening in on their conversation and then scooted up slightly closer to the other man so that she could reach his ear.
"... I'll let Kibum tell you that himself"
The face of utter disappointment slapped Minho in the face and he looked at her, lips parted, unblinking. The cliff hanger she had left him on had apparently affected him because he let out an annoyed huff and turned away with a small pout on his lips. Satisfied at her act, Minhui turned away, grinning from ear to ear.
Hana had sat back down next to the smirking girl, announcing to the table something about a drinking game to which she gained a cheer in response. Kibum had found a seat however he seemed to be uncomfortable, shifting every now and then, glancing occasionally to the girl next to him with brown hair to her shoulders.
"Alright here's the first question: Who on this table do you want to get to know better?"
Snapping out of her train of thought, she focuses on the game, debating between two people and ends up pointing towards a very surprised, blonde-haired individual.
Minhui certainly wasn't expecting the number of fingers pointing in her direction, at first mistakenly thinking they were aimed at Minho or Hana, but as she looked around, 6 or so people's eyes were definitely fixed on her.
"Looks like Minho's attractive friend got the most votes, oh..?" a voice commentated from somewhere, "It seems like she's pointing at - Kim Kibum? Can we ask why?"
With so many eyes on her, Minhui's mind went blank but then she realised that if she were to stop now, she'd never overcome her awkwardness in social situations. Here goes nothing.
"Well, we've met twice already and I've got to say, the stuff he spills when he's drunk is really interesting."
Somebody filled up her cup and she drank it swiftly, leaving it at that and doesn't answer any questions asking for details, knowing that 'Chaewon' was most definitely the girl Kibum was glancing at earlier. Minhui had enough manners to not talk about someone else's love life without their consent but she did think she deserved to say something considering the labour she went through because of him. To be honest, what she had said about picking him was a total lie. Instead, because she was feeling a little sorry for the pitiful man and his tragic love life, she had pointed to him knowing that Chaewon was on the table, hoping for her to notice that the man was doing just fine without her (he really wasn't).
The game continued on, some boring questions were asked and met with disapproving jeers, as well as a couple of the more interesting ones such as "Who here is the closest to your ideal type".
Minhui was stuck between Hana and Kibum and in the end could not make a decision. Hana had gorgeous fox eyes and distinct features, including a sharp nose and red curved lips. Kibum on the other hand had a very balanced looking face. Each feature complimented the other, creating a sort of harmonious union. She was particularly fond of his mono-lids and high cheekbones, deciding that when together with the rest of his features, it gave his face a sort appeal which was hard to find these days.
So she used her (very) underdeveloped ability to deduct what route she should take and came to the conclusion that pointing at both of them was a good idea. Humans were born with two hand for a reason, was her excuse.
Apparently it wasn't permitted though, because Minhui found herself stuck as the topic of a debate not even a few moments later.
"Clearly two people shouldn't be allowed, come on, pick one!"
"Why are you putting so much pressure on them? Just sit down and drink Hanbin,"
"But to be fair, everybody else picked one person"
"Some decisions are difficult, I mean look at who she picked first of all before you say anything!"
"Guys, why are we even making this big of a fuss over this in the first place?
After the last comment, the fire calmed down a little, a few people nodding their heads in agreement, others still with questioning looks on their faces. (Thankfully) the game carried on for not too much longer, and instead it looked like the karaoke machine had become the main attraction of the night. Who knew students would be this desperate to get their hands on a microphone? Some seemed as if they were having the time of their lives, some had a voice crack nearly every time they attempted to sing, some were (surprisingly) pretty good and the others looked as if they had definitely been unwillingly forced and wore the expression of somebody going through an existential crisis.
"Key-ah, there's a mic free over there! You're good at singing, go on" Minho attempted to persuade his friend, nudging the other's back slightly in the direction of the microphone that was sitting next to a basket of fried chicken.
"You call him Key?" Minhui noticed, at first misunderstanding and thinking that this 'Key' was a whole different person, but then (a few seconds too slow) later, she noticed the guy Minho had nudged was most definitely Kibum.
"Oh yeah, I called him that once a couple years ago and it kinda stuck, only a couple people know it so it's not surprising that you got confused."
He then continued, proceeding to tease her, a mischievous smile apparent on his face.
"Ooh~ it seems like you're pretty interested in Kim Kibum, you even picked him as your ideal type earlier, remember?"
"You're overreacting Minho," she sighed,"and by the way, the question was who's the closest to my ideal type so considering that Chansung, Hanbin and you were on the table, I didn't have much to work with. Who else could I have picked?"
"I didn't think I'd live to see the day where somebody out there dissed my face. Thanks Min, I appreciate it."
Minho thankfully took the joke light-heartedly and for some reason, Minhui felt a real sense of friendship forming, the feeling that she'd want to be his friend for a very long time. Just being around him was comfortable and conversations as well as jokes flowed so easily.
"Hey Minho,"there was a sudden change in the atmosphere and Minho turned to look at the girl, "Thanks for coming up to me this afternoon outside of the convenience store and for helping me open up to more people, I owe you."
The man stopped laughing and just looked confused by her all of a sudden, serious tone.
"Why are you thanking me? I really didn't do anything, you should be praising yourself instead"
Simply smiling in response, she rose from her chair and patted his shoulder, letting him know she was going to get a drink.
Nearing the bar, she was about to order a drink before her ears perked up after overhearing a conversation over to her right.
"Kibum, you lost the game, you've got to drink!"
"I seriously can't drink a whole glass you guys, a shot is already more than enough... I've drank way past what I told myself would be my limit today"
"Who cares about limiting yourself, you've got to set an example to the students!"
The group Kibum was with then began urging him on, chanting "Drink! Drink! Drink!" Though his facial expression seemed as if he was alright, it was obvious that he was getting uncomfortable, his eyes darting from side to side, fingers rapidly tapping on his leg and there was a small bead of cold sweat that was forming on the sides of his face.
Was it because she felt bad for him? Or was it because he reminded Minhui of her own experiences a couple months back. Anyhow, what happened next, even Minhui herself wasn't sure how she could explain. The only thing she could agree on was that ever since meeting Kibum, she hadn't been acting quite like herself.