ON WIKIHOW, THERE ARE SEVERAL STEPS ON HOW TO BECOME A BAD BOY and I wonder if Yuto reads any of them. Basically, to be a bad boy, you have to be a jerk. You have to be a heartless human being who doesn't care about anything or anyone else but yourself. I would never understand why so many of female species find such attitude sexy.
When Mrs. Adachi opened the door for me, I found Yuto and another tall guy running around the house, chasing each other. Yuto had headphones on and he was talking way too loud. "Yah! Yah! Not there! You'll ruin the paint!" he yelled, probably not meaning to. "Come back here."
He was wearing a black shirt and blue pyjamas. Mrs. Adachi turned to me. "He has a friend over. They've been playing around. Don't mind them."
They returned to the couch without noticing me or Mrs. Adachi.
"I AM... GOING... TO DANCE... PPAP... IF I LOSE... THIS... GAME..." The taller guy said.
"WHAT?" Yuto yelled. His friend repeated, and then Yuto repeatedㅡ"I AM GOING TO DANCE B.A.P IF I LOSE THIS GAME!" He said confidently with a dab.
He is failing miserablyㅡto be a bad boy. I shook my head as Mrs. Adachi patted Yuto's back. Yuto removed his headphones. "Chanmi is here. You guys head to your room." she said.
His eyes widened. "What? Already?"
His head turned to me sharply. "Heol," he said and then composing himself. "Hi, Kim Chanmi-ssi!"
"Do you two know each other?" Mrs. Adachi asked.
"Uh..."
"Aren't you the girl on the train?" The taller guy asked.
Yuto elbowed him. "We met yesterday, mom."
"Yeah, we did." I said, giving an awkward smile.
Mrs. Adachi smiled. "Alright, I'll leave you kids here."
"Wait, Yuto will dance PPAP." The taller guy said, grinning.
"What? Says who?" Yuto asked, his eyes wide.
I supressed a grin. "You said B.A.P! I said PPAP!" His friend said.
"Butㅡ"
"What is PPAP?" Mrs. Adachi asked.
Both guys looked at me and I wondered how the hell this conversation turned like this. "Um, it's a popular dance..." I said.
Yuto groaned. The taller guy grinned and scrolled through his phone. "A deal is a deal."
PPAP comes on.
"Really? You guys are watching?" Yuto asked me and Mrs. Adachi.
"Oh, I should get to workㅡ"
"No, no, stay, Chanmi. I haven't seen Yuto dance in so long. He was really good." Mrs. Adachi said proudly.
I looked at Yuto and he was blushing. "Mom! This is not that kind of danceㅡ"
His friend laughed out loud. "Come on, Yuto, just dance!"
P-P-A-P... The music began. Yuto groaned frustratedly before dancing to the song. I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing. He's so mortified.
"Enough!" he said and his friend turned off the music, still laughing.
Mrs. Adachi shook her head. "Why are you my son?" she asked and walked away.
"Wait, momㅡare you disowning me?" Yuto yelled after her.
"Noona, you work here?" The taller guy asked.
Yuto turned to him and elbowed him on the stomach. "Why are you calling her noona so easily?"
"What? She's older than us!"
"He's right." I said, raising an eyebrow at Yuto. He rolled his eyes. "You guys just met and you're already teaming up against me!" he said.
His friend grinned. "Noona, I'm Wooseok, by the way."
I smiled at him politely. "Kim Chanmi. I paint here."
"Ohㅡ" he said as if realizing something. "You painted those flowers? No wonder Yuto is so sensitive about them." He said, frowning.
"Yah! Let's go to my room." Yuto said, grabbing Wooseok with him.
"See you later, Chanmi-ssi." he said.
He won't call me noona.
I shook my head, smiling so unexpectedly again.
•
"So, what is the deal with you and Yanan?" Yuto asked me as he insisted to walk me to the bus stop. This time, he's wearing a jacket.
"I told you, he is my best friend." I said nonchalantly.
"Hm," he breathed. "You're not best friends who-secretly-likes-each-other, right?" he asked.
I let out a faint gasp. "Why are you even asking?" I asked.
He shrugged and as he exhaled, the fog of coldness blew out of his mouth. "Just so I know what I'm getting into."
I shook my head. "What are you getting into?"
His playful smirk was back. "I need to know if I have a chance from the starting line."
"Yutoㅡ" As we reached the bus stop, the snow fell. The first snow of this winter. "It's snowing!" I exclaimed, distracted.
He chuckled. "Stating the obvious, I see."
"Well," I said. "That's my bus. You know, you don't have to walk me hereㅡ"
"Chanmi!" My heart leaped from that familiar voice. I turned and saw Yanan, pedalling his bike towards us.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him, hiding my excitement. Yuto frowned. "Try a bit more." he whispered to my ear, distracting my attention from Yanan. I cleared my throat.
"Picking you up. The night is not safe." Yanan said, eyeing Yuto.
Yuto snorted, and then turned to me with a faint smile. "See you next week, Chanmi-ssi."
I nodded. "Alright."
Yanan was frowning as he watched Yuto walk away. I stared at him beneath the snowfall, and I knew just what to paint next. When he turned to me, his frown became a smile.
"Hop on." he said, grinning.
"I could have taken the bus. It's cold tonight. You shouldn't have bothered, dummy." I said, getting on the back of the bike anyway.
"Gotta make sure my best friend is safe, right?"
"When was I ever in danger?" I asked.
He chuckled. "Don't even make me reminisce."
As he pedalled away, I caught a glimpse of his handsㅡhe was wearing the gloves I bought for him as a Christmas gift. I smiled and looked up at the nightsky where snow came from.
And then I wondered if he's planning to see this with Gain later. I wondered if they're okay now. We didn't have a chance to talk about it earlier.
•
"How are you?" I asked him as I got off his bike in front of my dorm.
He chuckled. "How are you?"
"You know, nothing so interesting happens in my daily life."
He grinned. "Not even recently?"
I shrugged innocently. "No." I turned the topic to him. "How are you? And your heart?"
"You mean, how I'm holding up after that night?"
"Thanks for the translation."
He chuckled and then his face turned serious. He unbuckled the helmet from my head gently. I was holding my breath during the whole time. Yanan is so careful that he wears helmets while riding a bike. He smiled tightly. "I'm sorry for that nightㅡto you and Changgu. I couldn't say no to Gain when she insisted on coming with me."
I sighed, not hiding my disappointment. I'm just too tired for that. "Just like how you can't always say no to her. Nothing new."
"Look, Chanmi, I didn't expect for that to happen."
"I knowㅡit's just that, you should try to make her understand that you have your personal life and she can't always be a part of it."
We were quiet for a while. I knew I might have sounded too harsh. 'Sorry' was at the tip of my tongue when he talked again.
"I want her to be a part of it." He said it softly but the words still stung me. "I guess I couldn't say no to her because I want you guys to know her the way I do. It's been a year and a few months and you and Changgu are still distant towards herㅡ"
"Oh, I'm sorry, but does she want to be a part of our lives? Or does she only want to convince herself that she knows everything about you?"
Yanan ran his hands through his face. "Why are you being like this, Chanmi-ah?"
Something pierced my heartㅡjust like it always does when we would talk about Gain. I bit my lower lip and took a deep breath, calming myself.
"I don't know." I said calmly. "Maybe I just hate change. You won't understand, anyway. I'm sorry. Have a good night." I added as I unlocked the gate and stepped inside.
"Chanmi... come on."
"You should see the first snow with her. She would like it." I said and closed the gate.
×××
A/N: thanks for reading! hope you enjoyed this chapter ~ ♡
you know what they say about seeing the first snow of the year with someone? 👀