"Why does it attract me so bad?"
Changmin was hesitant. He had been standing in front of the fridge for God knew how long while cupping his waist. Once in a while, his hand would move to the handle but it never succeeded in grasping it. He would retreat his hand away.
He was contemplating which drinks should he buy.
"Ah, I don't know!" Finally, he chose the bottle of drink he had been keeping his eyes on from the beginning. "If it's not delicious then Chanhee can drink it."
Closing the fridge in a swift move, he then turned around for the checkout and that was when he almost cursed.
Sunwoo was standing ever so soundlessly right behind him, and a creepy smile adorned his face. His big eyes weren't cute like what girls had said, they were scary. Though horror was Changmin's favorite, this boy in that state, however, made him want to kill.
"I don't suggest you buy that," Sunwoo took away the bottle from the older's grasp and showed him another drink of his choice in his small hand. "What about this? I heard it's tasty. Just tell me how many you want. I'll buy them for you!"
Sunwoo had overworked himself by clarifying and it was obvious with his heavy breathing. Changmin blinked before a subtle gasp escaped his lips. He seemed to be ready to spit something out or throw a hand but what was seen was him leaving.
"Chanhee, he is weird!" He sprinted along the aisle as if Sunwoo was some sort of zombie he needed to run from.
The boy sighed. It was his fifth attempt only for today to gain Changmin's favoritism but all were in vain. Nothing had worked out. He desperately wanted Changmin to see him as a nice boy who had nothing to do with Juyeon and maybe to have him spread the words to Soobin because Sunwoo simply thought that the girl was affected by what had happened.
Either it was only his feeling or it truly happened - Soobin was avoiding him on the campus.
"I wonder what had happened." It was then that Haechan appeared, curiosity was clouding over him. "Would you tell?"
"You shouldn't know," Sunwoo replied while picking out more drinks from the fridge. "It's not something I would be proud of."
Suddenly, Haechan screamed under the sealed mouth, and both hands balled. It made Sunwoo concerned and startled, unable to break his stare off his weird friend.
"The curiosity is killing me," Haechan said which Sunwoo then rolled his eyes. He was concerned for no reason.
"You two!"
It was then, that another familiar voice was heard from the end of the aisle - the owner whom someone the two couldn't ignore the presence. Or else, it would be a disaster.
"5 minutes more or you two will walk to the destination!"
At that, both Sunwoo and Haechan clumsily grabbed anything they could see and rushed to the checkout. None of them would want to walk and not to mention none of them knew the directions. It was a foreign land away from home.
They currently were at a rest stop they managed to catch while driving to somewhere Chanhee said they would have their short trip at. He never said where was the place but one thing he did say: it was the coast.
Chanhee offering a package of a short trip to all his staff already sounded weird, he would never be this nice. And rumor had it: he was paid to close the cafe and give all of them a few days break.
Well, none of them seemed to care what it was about. As long as it benefited them, that was enough.
"Have you talked to Soobin?" Was the first thing Sunwoo accidentally heard from the back seat of the 7-seater car. Chanhee who was driving was heard humming, confirming the question from Changmin next to him.
"She believes..." Pausing, Chanhee glanced over at the rear mirror, just to make sure that nobody was awake to overhear the conversation. The last time he checked, everyone was sleeping soundly and he almost hit the brake harshly to have them awake. For, it was unfair to have the boss drive. "Sunwoo will never do that."
Do what? - Sunwoo internally thought. He wanted to ignore the conversation that took place but the small part of him was dying to interrupt. Especially when he was included.
"I just don't understand why she trusts him the most." Changmin sighed. "Would you like to see your staff dating your best friend?"
"Shut up!" Chanhee accidentally yelled, then only he realized his mistake and started whispering. "You know that will not happen."
We shall see, Sunwoo thought as he scoffed slightly loud that the two at the very front flinched. So he closed his eyes back, lips apart, and pretended to be sleeping until they reached at the destination.
But, he didn't know that the conversation could affect him so badly. Specifically when the two wore their poker face all the time. They had shared eye contact but surprisingly the older boys were acting like nothing had happened.
It was supposed to be 'Earning Changmin's favoritisms' but it seemed like Sunwoo just added another thing to the list. 'Proving them wrong' agenda.
"What the-"
Haechan rubbed his sleepy eyes as soon as he got out of the car, the picturesque view of the area was mesmerizing. Now, he was doubting his boss even more. How could the older afford such giant expenses to bring all of them here - the luxurious and newly launched chalet?
"See that," he energetically nudged Sunwoo to look at the laid-open coast ahead. But, the boy waved him off. "Why? Don't you find this interesting?"
"Maybe I will..." He shrugged, rummaging inside the plastic bag from the rest stop.
As Sunwoo was about to uncap a bottle of drink, Haechan once again nudged him. "You shall find this interesting."
With scrunched brows, Sunwoo shifted his gaze to the sandy beach ahead where Haechan was chinning.
A girl was looking at them with a goofy smile. A pair of sunglasses was adorning half of her face but it was not a problem to identify that she indeed was a stranger.
"Not there..." Haechan adjusted Sunwoo's head slightly to the right, his eyes as well moving to see the other demeanor. "There..."
Instantly, the corner of Sunwoo's lips moved upwards at the sight of Chae Soobin rising from the sandy ground. The other girl earlier probably was her acquaintance because the two were now talking to each other before the first girl beckoned her in his direction.
Waiting time no more, Sunwoo sprinted towards the beach despite the yell from Chanhee who instructed them to wait at the lobby. He ran - dramatically, and almost sprained his ankle in the sand.
"Hey, boy." Soobin greeted as soon as the boy halted right in front of her. "I've been waiting for you guys."
Panting, the confusion was so evident on the boy's face. His head was working way too hard to decipher why was she waiting. But, the glimpse of Jacob with his guitar approaching them and asking where was Chanhee because he needed to pass the keys somehow made sense.
The siblings were the sponsor of the trip and this new chalet belonged to their family which made them the owners as well.
Gotcha.
The disappearance of Jacob then made Sunwoo's focus waver. He had a lot to say but he couldn't find what should he prioritize first. Her beauty too was blinding even though she had only sunscreen applied on her skin. He was thinking so deeply about how she could look prettier than anyone else in that simple style and high bun of her hair.
And Sunwoo then made a dumb move.
The drink he intended to down earlier was still in his grasp. However, his body seemed to have moved spontaneously as he passed it to the girl.
Soobin giggled - an ear candy in his ears. "I thought no free drinks outside the cafe."
"Take it as an apology." He said which Soobin then pondered.
"Apology?"
"Yes. For... what had happened before?"
"Oh..." The girl was at a loss for words. She never expected that Sunwoo would be taking the incident to heart. "It's not your fault. It's just a coincidence, right? So, why must you feel guilty?"
Because your friend think so, Sunwoo hoped he could say that. But, he didn't - luckily.
However, he glanced over his shoulder and found piercing stares of Changmin and Chanhee from the distance. And he couldn't help but feel cockier.
See... No matter what you guys do, she's still coming to me, he thought alone.
"So!"
It was then, that an unfamiliar female voice was heard, snapping Sunwoo back to reality. The earlier girl with the sunglasses was now standing next to Soobin, hip cupped. The goofy smile was still there on her face and it seemed to be wider as she looked at him.
Instinctively, Sunwoo took a step back. He was scared. Who knew what was hiding behind those sunglasses? Who knew if the eyes would be shooting out lasers or if they would be in weird colors such as red or golden like the vampires in Twilight?
He had to be ready for any consequences.
"You are the cute boy with a weird personality who loves to give free drinks? Kim. Sun. Woo?" She took a guess, slowly removing her sunglasses - they weren't red or golden. "Finally we meet. I heard a lot about you from Soobin."