Han and Minho gave you a lift back home that day. You wanted to talk to Minho, and ask him if there was something bothering him, but the mood didn't feel quite right. Han was happily chatting away about something or other and you and Minho simply went along with it.
You had hoped to talk to him when you'd arrive home, but as soon as you entered the house the commotion of daily life with the boys instantly swept the thought from your mind.
'Han, you've got post!' Jeongin called out as the three of you kicked off your shoes and hung your coats.
'Post? For me?' Han spoke, sounding pleasantly surprised. He walked into the kitchen where the Jeongin's voice was coming from. You followed him curiously, walking in on Jeongin holding a giant bouquet of bright-coloured flowers, which was so large that it obstructed most of his features.
'Wow,' the word slipped out of your mouth at the sight of the bright pink, orange and yellow petals.
'You can say that again,' Felix said with a chuckle, walking past you carrying something that closely resembled a large bucket. He put it in the middle of the dining table and turned to Han. 'I couldn't find a vase large enough to fit the bouquet so I guess this'll have to do for now.'
'Holy hell, who'd send you this big a bouquet?' Minho asked surprised as he too stepped into the kitchen. Your attention shifted from the boys to him, remembering in that slight moment the scene from earlier that day.
Han simply chuckled, breaking you from your thoughts again and walked over to Jeongin.
'You can hand them to me now, I'll put them in,' Han offered.
'Thank god, I swear, these are heavier than they look,' Jeongin puffed as he handed Han the bouquet.
'Am home,' Hyunjin's voice shouted from the hallway. All of you made a noise to greet him.
'Wow, who's got a new suitor?' Hyunjin huffed when he saw Han struggle slightly to get all the flowers into the bucket as he walked into the kitchen.
'It's not from a suitor,' Han said as he finally managed to put everything back in. 'Can't you see what these are?'
You took a few steps closer to study the plants but other than them being pretty and colourful flowers, you had no idea. Apparently, neither did the others as they all looked at Han with raised brows. Han sighed.
'They're Zinnia's,' he spoke as if it made absolute sense and explained everything. Han clicked his tongue as everyone still stared at him. 'You guys never listen to me whenever I tell you stuff about plants and flowers do you?' He grumbled.
'Not really,' Jeongin said with a shrug.
'Nope,' Hyunjin said, shaking his head.
'Not at all,' Minho remarked. Felix simply smiled guiltily.
'Ugh, alright Zinnia's are a very resilient and adaptable plant. There are about fourteen different types and-' Han started to explain as he fondly looked at the petals of the flowers.
'Yes- but what do they mean?' Jeongin interrupted impatiently. Han gave him a destructive look but then spoke.
'Thoughts of an absent friend,' He said simply. 'I got them from Hoseok,' he added, pulling a card from between the flowers that none of you had noticed before and showing it to you.
You all nodded understandingly now which only made Han roll his eyes before he started to play with the positioning of the flowers, admiring them like they were made of glass and carefully rearranging them.
'Oh, right, there's something for you too Hyunjin,' Felix suddenly remembered. He walked over to the kitchen counter and picked up a heavy and canvas textured envelope, their address embossed in gold foil and handed it to Hyunjin.
Hyunjin looked at it frowning and unpacked it. There was a matching themed letter inside and he read through it quickly. You couldn't help but watch Hyunjin's expressions to try to get a feeling of what he was reading.
'Guys?' Changbin's voice sounded from the hallway.
'Kitchen!' You, Minho, Jeongin, Han and Felix called out simultaneously. Changbin came walking into the kitchen, raising his eyebrows at seeing you all gathered there.
'Wow, is someone getting married?' He asked when he saw the gigantic bouquet of flowers.
'Han got them from Hoseok,' you explained to him quickly.
'Ah that happy fellow,' Changbin said with an understanding nod, sitting down on one of the dining table chairs.
'Oh. My. God,' Hyunjin said suddenly.
'What?' Felix asked quickly, rushing over to stand next to Hyunjin and read the letter with him.
'Namjoon invited us all to the opening of the Still Life exhibition!' Hyunjin exclaimed excitedly. He turned and grabbed Felix's cheeks and squished them before kissing him on his forehead.
'Erm, how nice of him?' Felix said, looking and sounding perplexed while Hyunjin was basically dancing through the kitchen.
'He said he would, but honestly, I didn't think- Anyway, do you know how hard it is to get tickets?' Hyunjin almost sang, seemingly overcome with joy.
'No,' Jeongin said simply, sounding quite uninterested.
'It's impossible! You can only go there if you're invited! I can't believe we've been invited. This event was predicted to be the biggest and most important art event of the year! Art connoisseurs from all over the country will be there, important businessmen too, not to mention all the possible clients,' Hyunjin said with a dreamy glow in his eyes. You couldn't help but grin at the sight of him. You hadn't seen Hyunjin this happy with something for a while, and seeing him making all kinds of aegyo faces, there was no way your heart wouldn't melt for him. And the way his lips pouted as he danced around made you want to just kiss those plump pillows of his.
'When is it?' you asked him, walking over to stand next to him and Felix, reading over his shoulder at the invitation
'It'll be on the 25th, so soon! Oh my, I have so many things to prepare for it. I'll have to get a new suit too. You guys should all probably buy new suits as well since-' Hyunjin said, directing himself to the other guys.
'Erm, I'll be too busy with the exams then,' Han said quickly, scurrying off and out of the kitchen.
'Me too,' Minho said, quickly following his mate.
'Oh, erm, sorry Hyunjin, I have a vets-conference then,' Felix said, looking slightly uncomfortable and quickly walking away too.
'I got a fundraiser I'm hosting for the fire brigade,' Changbin said dismissively, waving his hand before getting up and walking towards the living room.
Hyunjin's face started to falter and he looked hopefully at Jeongin, who suddenly realised he was the last of the guys left, and quickly mumbled something about having to knit a new bed sheet for himself before running off too.
Hyunjin's face looked like one of a beaten puppy and your heart broke for him.
'I'll definitely go with you,' you said quickly with an encouraging smile, looking up at him with reassurance.
'Really?' He asked, his face instantly lighting up again.
'Of course! Sounds like fun,' you said genuinely.
'So who sent those Zinnia's?' Seugnmin asked during dinner. You looked up at him, surprised he'd know what kind of flowers they were, and for a moment you could've sworn you saw his eyes flicker at you, but it was gone too fast to be sure.
'Hoseok sent them to me!' Han said enthusiastically. He was about to say more but Seungmin interrupted him.
'How nice,' he said, but his voice was slightly dull and uninterested.
'Oh, Chan,' Hyunjin interrupted the conversation, looking up with a slightly hopeful expression on his face. 'That reminds me, Namjoon sent us an invitation to come to the opening of the Still Life exhibition at his museum. It's on the 25th and-,'
'He'll be assisting me with the fundraiser,' Changbin spoke, putting his arm around Chan's neck and pulling him into a weird sort of half hug half headlock.
'Oh,' Hyunjin said, his face dropping once more. 'I thought you just said that as an excuse,' he mumbled under his breath.
'I'm sorry Jinnie,' Chan said, genuine regret sounding in his smothered voice as Changbin was still holding him in a headlock he was trying to free himself from.
'And what's your excuse?' Hyunjin sighed, looking over at Seungmin dully.
'I don't need an excuse,' Seungmin said, taking a sip of his glass of water. For a moment you could see a slight sparkle in Hyunjin's eyes, but then Seungmin spoke again. 'I'm simply not interested. So, no thanks,'
Hyunjin was already opening his mouth, his face looking annoyed and hurt, but without really thinking about it, you quickly put your hand on his thigh. Hyunjin closed his mouth and looked over at you. You met his eyes with a soft smile, carefully squeezing his thigh lightly. He sighed softly and nodded almost imperceptibly, shutting his mouth again and putting his and on yours.
'I swear Lino, if you ever decide to quit teaching, you should really start your own restaurant. This beef Wellington is excellent,' Jeongin spoke, not at all seeming to notice what was going on around him.
'What do you think y/n?' Lino asked, suddenly directing himself towards you. Everyone instantly looked up at you at the mention of your name and the sudden shift in attention caught you by surprise, quickly letting go of Hyunjin's hand under the table and withdrawing it.
'Would you like to taste more of my meat??' He said with a playful grin. The double innuendo made your ears grow pink instantly.
'Adam?' You whispered at the blonde scarfaced boy sitting across from you.
'Hm?' He hummed, not looking up from the book he was reading.
You looked around you, trying to talk as quietly as possible since you were seated in the library.
'Do you know anything about art?' You continued. Adam simply hummed again vaguely, clearly not at all listening to you. You kicked him under the table and he quickly jolted upright.
'What?' He hissed, looking startled and confused.
'Art,' you repeated. 'Do you know anything about art?'
'Erm, a little. But most of what I know is on European art. Why?' He spoke back in the same hushed voice.
'I erm,' you began, hesitating for a second, and trying to think of how you wanted to explain the situation to him.
'Wait, don't tell me,' Adam began, a playful grin on his face, 'you're going on a date again, aren't you?'
'Shut up,' you hissed, but you couldn't help but pout.
'You know' he began, still with that playful grin on his face, 'I have to admit, as your friend, I'm still kinda curious as to which one of your housemates you like. I mean, I guess they're all equally good-looking, but regarding their characters, I can't help but be curious as to-'Before he could finish his sentence you kicked him again underneath the table. Adam hissed angrily as he rubbed his painful shins and you snarled at him.
'Fine! Fine,' he added in a softer tone, as some students looked over annoyed by the noise he was making. 'I won't ask anymore,'
'But what do you know about art?' You repeated. Adam gave you a sour look, still rubbing his shin annoyed but when you pouted again and batted your eyelashes at him, he gave in.
'As I said, not much.' He whispered with a shrug. 'I'm only familiar with the old European painters. But art, it's such a broad concept. It's not just paintings.'
'Right,' you said, thinking for a moment. 'Then what do you know about still life art?' You decided to ask. Adam frowned, thinking for a second. He had stopped rubbing his shin, although his leg was still drawn up.
'They're mostly paintings of fruit bowls and vases, right?' He said unsure, then shrugged, 'Sorry I don't know much about it,' he shook his head, 'art never really had my interest,'
You hummed and tried to return your interest to your book, but it was of no use. As the art exhibition was creeping nearer and nearer, you were steadily becoming more nervous about it. The truth was, you didn't know much about art at all. You had always loved to listen to Hyunjin telling you about it, and although you did not always quite get what he was trying to explain to you, you did understand why it was so important to a lot of people. There had been some pieces in the past that he had shown you that you had liked very much or even made you feel things. You also knew a little about the different styles, painting techniques and forms of art, but you were quite sure that in the face of a true art exhibition, you'd be completely clueless. Since you were the only one going with Hyunjin, it was very important to you that he would enjoy his time there, have someone by his side who'd understand what he was saying or why he liked something. You wanted to make him happy. Besides, he had also said that there'd be a lot of important art connoisseurs and business people there, and you did not want to make yourself or Hyunjin look like a fool.
'Speaking of interest,' Adam said suddenly, pulling you out of your thoughts and making you look up again. Adam wasn't looking at you but at a point slightly higher, somewhere behind you. 'Your housemate seems to be very interested in that one particular page. He's been staring at it for ages.'
You turned around in your seat and looked. It took you a second before you spotted him, but Minho was standing half-hidden behind one of the bookshelves, staring blankly at the opened book in his hand, his eyes unmoving.
You had never before seen Minho in the library before. Just like with the cafeteria, Han and Minho used to avoid these public places as much as they could, so as to not draw too much attention to themselves. Sure enough, similar to when he had entered the cafeteria, a small group of girls were standing looking at him. But since this was the library, this time they did not approach him and their giggles and whispers were stifled behind their hands.
'Lino,' his name left your mouth in a whisper. As if he was able to hear it, Minho's eyes left the page and met yours. For a moment his piercing dark eyes locked onto yours and once again, you had this strange feeling that something was going on, that there was something bothering him, or something he wanted to say to you. But before you could even take another breath his eyes tore away from yours and he closed the book shut, putting it back on the shelf. Without saying another word, or even indicating that he had seen you, he left the library. You got up from your seat, half wanting to go after him.
'He's an unusual one,' Adam's voice said unsure. 'Did you two get into a fight or something?'
Adam's question pulled you back and you sat down again, still staring at the door where he disappeared through. You tried to think back, see if you could remember if you had fought with him, but nothing came up. Nor could you remember saying something that might've hurt him. What on earth was going on?
'No,' you said, but still feeling unsure.
However unusual Minho had been acting previously, he didn't show it at home. His behaviour at home was not at all different or unusual, and that look he had given you before seemed almost like you had imagined it. You were still hesitant to talk to him about it, especially since he acted so normal at home. Had you simply imagined it? Maybe it had been a coincidence that you had run into him twice before at unusual spots, or maybe you had imagined whatever that look had been.
He seemed so calm and cheerful at home, and you were afraid that talking to him about what you had thought you had seen made you look like you were imagining things.
'So I talked to Namjoon and he asked me if I wanted to submit a piece for the exhibit!' Hyunjin said eagerly as the two of you cleaned up the table after dinner.
'Hm,' you said, still too much in your own head to really hear what he had said. Suddenly you felt a hand on your shoulder and you have a slight start.
'Y/n, are you alright?' Hyunjin asked softly. You looked up at him, the pink locks of his hair falling in front of his face as he looked down at you with a slight crease between his brows.
'What? Oh sorry, yes I'm fine, just school stuff,' you lied, waving your hand and pushing the thought of Minho out of your head. 'Wait, what did Namjoon say?' You asked.
'He wanted me to submit a piece for the exhibit,' Hyunjin said with a happy grin.
'Oh my, Jinnie, that's wonderful!' you said excitedly, genuinely happy for him.
'Thank you Y/n,' He said softly, 'It's going to be difficult though, finding the right piece. I don't even know if I have something that he'll like. Maybe I shouldn't use my own paintings, but just find something fitting instead, seeing that the deadline is so soon already,' he pondered aloud.
A weird itch inside you, clawed at you, leaving you slightly unsettled. It wasn't hard to know what it was though, you knew exactly what your problem was. Deciding to be upfront about it you took a deep breath and spoke.
'Jinnie?' you began, piling all the dirty cutlery you had collected onto one of the plates as Hyunjin collected the empty glasses.
'Yes honey?' he said casually, but the sweet nickname never failed to give you butterflies.
'I... I don't know much about art,' you began hesitantly. Hyunjin stopped collecting the glasses and looked at you. 'It's just- it's such an important event, and there'll probably be many people there, and...' you stammered.
Hyunjin put the glasses down and cupped your face with his hands, his face soft as he looked at you.
'You don't have to go if you don't want to, my love. If you're just going because the others-' he began but you interrupted him quickly.
'I want to go!' you said quickly, you didn't want him to get the wrong idea. 'I do, really,' you repeated, trying to make him understand. 'It's just... I don't want to look dumb,' you whispered the feeling that gnawed at you. For a moment Hyunjin looked at you in surprise as he raised an eyebrow. Then he chuckled softly and kissed your forehead.
'Don't you worry about that y/n, half of the people that go there don't know anything about art either,' he tried to assure you, but it didn't work.
'But you know so much, and I'll just be by your side, having nothing to say and looking dumb,' you pouted, looking at the ground.
'There's nothing wrong with being a sexy piece of arm candy either, you know,' Hyunjin whispered in your ear. Although his words made your spine tingle, you still weren't convinced, but this time Hyunjin knew. 'But if you insist, how about I give you an art crash course before? Would that help you?' he suggested sweetly, letting go of your face and putting his hands on your shoulders.
Your ears instantly perked up at the idea. You weren't sure how much Hyunjin would be able to teach you in such little time, but anything would be better than nothing.
'You sure you have the time for that?' you asked, thinking about how he had just been saying time would be tight in finding the right piece for the exhibit. Hyunjin shook his head and chuckled, drawing you into his arms and hugging you tightly.
'Baby for you, I will make time,' he whispered in your ear. You quickly buried your reddening face into his chest, hoping he wouldn't see.