|Jiyoon's POV|
Wednesday
"Oppa! Are you ready?" I yelled from downstairs while fixing up my scarf.
"Coming!" Just then, he came running to the living room with an excited smile on his face.
Mom walked towards us and sent her signature sweet smile. "Be careful on your way to Soo-ah's. Okay?" She said with concern, before engulfing us into her warm embrace.
As we broke apart, I replied, "Thanks mom."
"We'll get going now mom." MJ-oppa added, smiling back. Mom nodded in reply as we made our way outside.
"Bye kids! Don't stay out too late!" She yelled as we waved our hands.
The both of us hurried to the bus stop. "Yah, can you call Soo-ah? What if they're already waiting for us?" Oppa worriedly asked.
"Oh, okay." I nodded my head in reply and took out my phone from my pocket, I was about to dial Soo-ah's number when Bin called.
I hurriedly slid the green button, plastering a smile on my face and answered the call. "Hello?"
"Where are you now? Are you already at Soo-ah's house?" He asked over the phone.
I shook my head and replied, "No. We're still waiting for the bus."
"Oh really? Just wait there and don't ride the bus."
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as oppa sent me a questioning look. "What's wrong? Oh! There's the bus!"
"Aish! Just don't get on the bus."
I was about to ask him why, but we heard horning. A red car approached us and a smile quickly crept up my cheeks. "Jiyoon-ah, the bus is here." Oppa stated, pointing to it.
I didn't listen to him as I kept my gaze on Bin's car pulling over. I grabbed oppa's wrist and ran over to Bin's car. "Hey! Where are you going?" He exclaimed.
Bin got out and opened the middle section door. "Oh! It's Bin." He happily said.
"Hi noona! Hi MJ-hyung!" Sanha greeted with a wide smile on his face, waving his hand.
"Get in." Bin said with a smile. Oppa thanked him and hurriedly hopped into the back.
"You should've told me. I got confused over the call." I said as he chuckled in reply.
I was about to hop into the back when he grabbed my hand. I turned my head as he dragged me to the front seat and closed the door.
He ran over to his side and sat on the driver's seat. "Yah! Why are you guys leaving me alone here at the back?" Oppa whined, making Bin and I laugh in reply.
"Hyung, let them be. Besides, I'm here." Sanha replied, hanging his arm around oppa's shoulder.
"Buckle up." Bin said as he fastened his seatbelt. I fastened mine, just then he started to drive.
"Soo-ah's isn't that far from here, right?" Oppa asked as I hummed in reply.
"Tell me guys. Is there something between you two?" I choked on my saliva as I glanced at the smiling Bin. I shook my head and sent him a 'no' look.
"What do you mean something hyung? We're best friends." Bin replied, making me sigh in relief.
"Oh, okay." Oppa replied. Sanha laughed at Bin's statement, making me shoot a glare at him.
"You didn't tell him, didn't you?" I whispered, leaning closer to his ear.
Instead of saying yes or no, he shrugged his shoulders in reply and glanced back at me with a teasing look.
•••
"We're here." The four of us unbuckled our seatbelts and got off the car. We then headed to Soo-ah's front door and Sanha pressed the doorbell.
Soo-ah greeted us with a smile as she opened the door and stepped out. "You ready?" I asked with a smile.
"Super ready! I was even dreaming that today was really exciting, and the best winter break." She exclaimed. The four of us laughed at her silliness as we led her to the car.
"Where's Rocky?" Bin asked. "Oh, he said he'd be a bit late so we'll just go first." She explained.
"Ooh, you really know what he's up to, huh?" I teased, hanging my arm around her shoulder. She then shyly smiled in reply, her cheeks turning red.
"Hey noona. I think someone's missing." Sanha said.
"Huh? Who is it?" MJ-oppa asked, eyeing us all.
I turned to face them and counted each one of them. "Okay. There's me, Bin, Soo-ah, Sanha, MJ-oppa, Rocky's late and.." My eyes widened as I realized the person I totally forgot. My neighbor.
"Eunwoo!" All of us exclaimed.
Suddenly, we heard a car beeping. We turned our attention to where the sound was coming from and saw a white car. It was familiar. The window from the driver's seat opened as he showed his head to the side and waved his hand.
"Oh? It's Eunwoo!" All of us exclaimed in unison, again. He then got off the car and walked over to where we were standing.
"Hey guys. Am I late?" He asked with a smile. "Nope. You're just in time." Soo-ah replied.
"Now we're complete! Yey! I'm excited!" MJ-oppa and Sanha exclaimed.
"Where's Rocky?" Eunwoo asked.
"He'll be a bit late, so he said we'll just go first." Oppa explained as he nodded in reply.
"So, there are two cars.. why don't we split up?" I asked, glancing to the cars and back to them.
"Since there are six of us, why don't we split into three?" Soo-ah suggested.
"The driver gets to choose his company." Bin and Eunwoo said in unison, eyeing each other.
"Okay. So, to be fair.. why don't you guys play rock-paper-scissors? The winner gets to choose first." I said as they both nodded their heads in reply.
"Rock-paper-scissors!" They both yelled. Since Eunwoo threw paper and Bin threw scissors, the winner's pretty obvious.
"Yes!" Bin exclaimed. He then quickly hung his arm over my shoulder and said to Eunwoo, "I'll have Jiyoon."
Eunwoo smirked at me and gave Bin a sad look. "Aww, if I was the winner, I'd totally choose my sister."
Bin turned to me and gave me a questioning look, and turned back to Eunwoo. "Sister?"
"Nah, it's between the two of us. Right Ji?" Eunwoo replied, sending me a teasing wink.
"Ji?!" Bin exclaimed, furrowing his eyebrows. I chuckled at his reaction and shrugged my shoulders in reply.
"Hey! I gave her that nickname first!" Soo-ah argued, making Bin send her a teasing chuckle.
"Okay. Then I'll choose, Min Soo-ah." Eunwoo said, hanging his arm around her shoulder, just like what Bin did.
"Yah! How could you imitate me? She's taken dude." Bin exclaimed.
"Taken? Me?" Soo-ah asked in surprise while pointing to herself. I nudged Bin for having such a big mouth and sent him a glare.
"O-oh.. I mean, she's Jiyoon's! They're sisters!" Bin stuttered, defending his mistake. Right. Just right.
"Jiyoon's taken too. How could you do that to her? Besides, Soo-ah's my sister too." Eunwoo replied in a mocking tone.
"Taken? Jiyoon? She's only mi-" I quickly cut him off, giving him a pinch on his side to shut him up.
"Okay. Since you get to choose first earlier, why not switch? I'll choose MJ-hyung." Eunwoo said, pulling oppa to his side. "And that leaves Sanha to your car."
"No!" The younger argued, putting himself to oppa's side. "I need to be with MJ-hyung! I can't live without him!" Sanha exclaimed, giving him a hug and making oppa release a disgusted look.
All of us chuckled at his childish act. "Okay. That leaves Jiyoon to be my only company. Let's go Ji." Bin said, giving them a playful bow and quickly dragged me to the front seat's side. He then opened the door as he led me inside.
"Bye guys! We'll go first!" He exclaimed, quickly running to his side.
On the other hand, Eunwoo and the others hurriedly ran to Eunwoo's car and got in. "Buckle up, if you don't want me to." Bin teased as I sent him a sharp glare.
"I know okay?" I quickly replied and fastened up my seatbelt. "Why do you like to ask that question everytime I hop into your car?"
He then turned to me after buckling up and wiggled his eyebrows. "Because I like teasing you. Now let's go!"
"You're so silly, you know that?" I asked between chuckles, sending him a quick glance.
"I think we really are meant to be. Look, instead of splitting up into three, Sanha decided to be with MJ-hyung isn't that amazing?" He said, plastering a silly smile in his face.
"You didn't tell Sanha, didn't you?" I said, eyeing him.
"Don't ask me. That kid is an expert in things like this. Maybe he knows."
"Are you crazy?"
"Just kidding. I didn't."
"It better be that way."
"I really didn't!" He defended himself, yet releasing a chuckle. "It's a 20-minute ride, you can take a quick nap, you know."
I sent him a sharp glare and replied, "Then what? You'll wake me up with a kiss this time?!"
His eyes widened and smiled, "How'd you know that?"
"Yah! Moon Bin!" I yelled as he laughed. His reply made me remember what happened at the park last Saturday. We almost.. ah! Stop it!
"Hey Ji." He called, making me snap out of my thoughts. I hummed in response as I turned to him. "I'm really sorry about the thing last Saturday at the park."
I smiled at him and replied, "Silly. I told you it's okay."
"Okay then. I'll wait patiently for the perfect time, and when you're ready." He replied, making me look away and blush.
He's just too honest sometimes.
•••
The both of us unbuckled our seatbelts after Bin parked the car. We then hopped out and gathered with the others.
"Hey guys, Rocky called. He said that he's here at the parking lot too." Soo-ah said.
"Oh? Really?" I replied as we looked around.
"There he is! Yah! Park Minhyuk! Over here!" Eunwoo yelled while waving his hand.
Smiles crept up our cheeks as we saw him running towards us. "Hey guys. Sorry I couldn't go with you." He said between pants. "By the way, I have some company."
I furrowed my eyebrows as I squinted my eyes to see a clearer version of the two people running over to us. "Jinjin!" MJ-oppa yelled as he ran to him with his arms opened. He then happily engulfed him into a hug.
"Hi guys." We turned our heads to the familiar female voice. She was standing beside Rocky while tugging the hem of his coat like a child.
"Hyerim-ah.." Soo-ah called with an angry expression on her face. "Why are you here?"
"I told you I don't wanna go." She mumbled to Rocky, but it was enough for us to hear her statement.
"Oh? Isn't she the one who bullied-" I quickly cut Sanha off by nudging his arm and sending him a glare. He then mouthed me a 'what?' as I turned back to Hyerim.
"Okay. I'll go first." She bowed her head with guilt written on her face. She was about to walk away when Rocky grabbed her wrist.
I took a glance at Soo-ah and pretty much, disbelief was found on her face. "Guys. You know her, right?" Rocky said as he placed his hands on Hyerim's shoulders.
"Yeah. She's the backstab-" Sanha uttered. Before I could nudge him again, Bin cut him off this time. He pulled Sanha's arm and hung his arm around Sanha's shoulder.
This kid really.
Eunwoo and Soo-ah were giving her upset looks as they watch Rocky introduce her to us. "Hyerim's my cousin." Rocky said with a smile.
"Cousin?!" All of us screamed in surprise as Rocky nodded in reply.
"Hey, you know that your cousin did something to Jiyoon right?" Soo-ah said, taking a closer step to Hyerim.
"Soo-ah, it's okay now. I'm okay now." I said, as she turned to me.
"And did she-"
I quickly cut her off and replied, "She did apologize for what she did. Now guys, it's supposed to be a break, to have fun, let's not dwell on the bad memories any more. Hyerim and I made up, so don't you guys get mad at her any longer. Okay?" Bin, Sanha, MJ-oppa and Jinjin-oppa nodded their heads and replied yes, so I turned to the silent two -- Eunwoo and Soo-ah.
"Okay. I'll try my best to get rid of my anger." She replied, smiling at me.
"You're the best!" I exclaimed and pulled her into a quick hug. Then, I turned to Eunwoo who was mad silent, since Hyerim showed up.
"Eunwoo?" I asked. He then turned to me and nodded in reply, though his face was plastering an upset look.
"Now let's go and have some fun!" I exclaimed, raising my fist as they followed.
As the others made their way to the entrance of the mall, I waited for Bin who was stuck with Sanha. "You guys coming?" I asked. They quickly nodded their heads as Sanha hurriedly ran to MJ-oppa.
Bin hung his arm around my shoulder and said, "This is why I like you." I smiled back at him as he patted my head.
"Oh? I just noticed it now, you wore your beanie?"
His smiled got wider and replied, "I don't feel complete without it, just like what I feel without you."
"Sheesh. You're so cheesy. Now come on, I'm excited!"
•••
Soon enough, the nine of us were on the large ice rink with excited smiles on our faces. We were gliding across the rink in pairs, well almost. Since there were nine of us, I was with Bin, Soo-ah with Rocky, MJ-oppa with Jinjin-oppa and Eunwoo with Sanha.
Wait. Where's Hyerim?
I looked around with my head high, searching for her when a familiar figure caught my eye. She wasn't at the rink, she was seating alone at the bench outside the rink, watching us glide here and there with smiles on our faces. I frowned at her sad and guilty expression as I turned to the smiling Bin.
"Bin, I'll be back okay? Just a minute." He nodded his head in reply as I made my way out of the ice rink. I took off my skating shoes and set it aside first. Then, I walked over to her and took the seat beside her.
"Hey." I softly called. She turned her head to my side and sent me a timid smile. "What's with the face? I told you we should have fun today."
She heaved out an exasperated sigh and replied, "Jiyoon-ah, am I a bad person?"
I was taken aback by her question, so I replied, "What makes you say that?"
"Ever since I became friends with Minji, Rocky and Jinjin-oppa reminded me everyday to stay away from her, but I didn't listen." She explained. "Then, that incident happened. When the whole school knew, I felt like I was dumped. My closest relatives hated me, Soo-ah confronted me, Eunwoo got mad, it was like, everybody turned their back against me. I was so mad at what I did, for listening to Minji, that I always cried myself at night. My guilt told me that I should apologize.. so I did."
I smiled at her and gave her a comforting tap her shoulder. "Hyerim-ah, everyone makes mistakes." She then turned to me, showing that she's paying attention.
"Even the most innocent person could make an unforgivable act. But the key to escape that wrong doing, is to change. When we do something wrong, we apologize and change for the better." She timidly smiled once more as I continued, "You were a great friend, and you'll always be a great friend. Don't dwell on the past, the things that you've done wrong, because nothing's going to change if you keep yourself to what happened already. Accept the past, learn from it and focus on the present. Okay?" I gave her the most comforting smile that I could ever make and tears threatened to fall from her eyes.
"I'm so lucky I have a friend like you Jiyoon. Thank you for still accepting me, after all that I have done wrong." She said as her tears started to stroll down her cheeks and engulfed me into a hug.
"Don't cry. I have already forgiven you, so don't think about it too much okay?" I caressed her back as she continued to sob.
As she broke the hug, I patted her head and wiped off the tears falling from her red eyes. "Don't worry about Soo-ah, I'll talk to her." She nodded her head and weakly smile as her sign of gratitude.
Before I approached her earlier, I noticed her keeping her gaze on someone. Eunwoo. "You still like Eunwoo, don't you?" Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at me.
"I think he still hates me." She timidly replied as she lowered her head.
I clicked my tongue and furrowed my brows. "Don't forget about what I said. Don't bury yourself on the things that you did wrong and remind yourself how bad you are, okay?"
She chuckled at my reply. "I didn't know that you're such a nagger."
I chuckled back and stood up. "Now come on, let's go and have some fun!" I grabbed her hand and led her to the ice rink. Then, I grabbed two pairs of skating shoes, one for me and one for Hyerim.
As I got back to the rink with Hyerim, I hung my arm around her and whispered, "Why don't you start with Soo-ah?"
She looked at me and plastered a smile, "Thanks Jiyoon. You're the best." I nodded in reply and gave her a big thumbs up.
When I was about to head back to Bin, I accidentally bumped into somebody's chest. "Oof." I lost my balance and shut my eyes tight, waiting for the cold ice to hit my body.
"You can open your eyes now." A teasing tone was heard, so I opened it back. Bin was holding tight unto my wrist and helped me stood back up. "This is the second time you fell for me. Tsk, tsk, tsk. How clumsy of you."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. How clumsy of you. Nya, nya, nya." I imitated him with a mocking tone and laughed by myself.
"Tell you what. My girlfriend's pretty nice today. She's making me wanna be a bad person." Bin teased, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Try it.. and I'll totally throw you immediately behind bars."
"No! I promise I won't! I promise!" He replied dramatically, sending me a fake sad look.
"You're pretty good at acting. You should have an audition." I teased back, playfully tapped his arm and quickly ran away.
"Yah! Come back here!"
•••
Soon enough, we got tired after all that skating, so we decided to take a break at a cafe nearby. As we got inside, the cute designs of the small cafe made me smile in amazement.
My smile got wider when I saw Hyerim laughing along with Soo-ah, and pretty much talked with Eunwoo too. Then, the nine of us took the table near the window and sat down.
Just then, a smiling waiter walked over to our table, bringing with him a small pad of paper. "What would like to order?" He politely asked, maintaining that sweet smile on his face.
"Hot chocolate?" MJ-oppa asked as he turned to us. We then nodded in reply as oppa turned back to the waiter. "Nine hot chocolates please."
The waiter listed our order and said, "Your order will be served after five minutes."
Oppa nodded with a smile as his sign of dismissal, then the waiter walked back to the counter. "Guys." I turned my head to the source of the voice as I raised my eyebrows in curiosity.
Soo-ah cheekily smiled in reply, her cheeks slowly turning bright red. "I've got news for you." She said.
Rocky smiled back at her.. okay, I know where this is going. He then hung his arm around Soo-ah's shoulders and said, "We're dating."
Our eyes widened in surprise, but not much for me. The rest of them were pretty much shocked, since they still couldn't get over it. "Good for you man!" Eunwoo exclaimed, giving Rocky a thumbs up.
"Are you guys.. serious?" Sanha and MJ-oppa asked in disbelief. Soo-ah then nodded in reply, pasting a shy smile on her face.
As I turned to Bin, he wiggled his eyebrows and formed an excited smile on his silly face. I shook my head, sending him a 'no, don't tell them' look. He then nodded his head in reply and swiftly grabbed my hand, interlocking it with his. My heart drummed at his actions, and his future actions. "I've got something to tell you guys too." He abruptly said, drawing their attention.
No. No. No.
Before I knew it, he lifted our intertwined hands and showed it to them. "Us too. We're dating too!" He happily said, his excited smile getting wider. My heart was already running around my rib cage in nervousness and embarrassment, then I felt my cheeks turning hot as ever.
I turned to look at the stupid smiling Bin, then averted my gaze to my surprised friends. Except for Eunwoo and MJ-oppa, they were smiling. Sanha and the others were totally surprised, their eyeballs about to pop off and their mouth dangling wide open.
"I knew it." Oppa said, breaking the supreme silent in shock.
"What?" Bin and I asked in disbelief. "The day you were hugging him, the day he picked you up for your date, yeah. I was right." He replied, making me glance at Bin.
My cheeks were about to burst, it was turning hot than earlier. "Aha! Noona, I won the bet!" Sanha exclaimed, pointing to Soo-ah. "Buy me ice cream."
Soo-ah chuckled at Sanha's statement and replied, "It's winter you idiot, and you want ice cream?"
"Treat me hot chocolate then." He abruptly said as the waiter returned with our hot chocolates.
I smiled at him as he bowed his head and walked away. "Okay. A deal's a deal." She calmly replied, sipping her cup of hot chocolate.
I sipped mine and averted my gaze to Hyerim. She mouthed me a 'Really? Are you really dating him?'. I nodded my head in reply as she smiled back at me.
"Aigoo. You're so clumsy." The seven of us turned to the couple. Rocky was wiping Soo-ah's smudged whipped cream on her lips with a tissue.
"Oh come on! Stop showing off." MJ-oppa and Jinjin oppa complained, whining over their actions.
Then, I felt someone tap my shoulder, so I turned to my left. Bin cheekily smiled at me and grabbed my cheeks, basically pinching it. "Aigoo. My dear Jiyoon, you're so cute."
What the hell? My dear Jiyoon?!
At the corner of my eye, I saw my brother, his best friend, Eunwoo and Sanha roll their eyes and whined, "Stop it!"
"Stop being jealous and go get yourselves a girlfriend." Soo-ah teased, sipping her hot chocolate and earned glares from my brother and his best friend.
-
A/N: Heyow guys! Sorry for the late update. I want to thank you so much for your support! 😍😍 I really, really appreciate it!
Anyways, I hope you like this chapter! Luvluv! 💜💜