Linked in pairs by our hands, Wonho, Minhyuk, Shownu, and I all made our way to the car. I was trying to convince myself not to be mad that the car 'situation' was resolved, but failing miserably. I side eyed Wonho, as Minhyuk and Shownu piled in. He didn't seem irritated like I was.. But then again, my bony ass had nothing approaching his thick thighs.
It was a big car, almost like the ones you would see idols in - packed three to a seat for the two rows in the back, and two seats in the front row, along with the driver's seat, currently occupied by Wonho's driver, and the passenger seat, empty next to it.
We got in after Minhyuk and Shownu, who chose the very front two.
I moved to sit in the seat directly behind Minhyuk, but Wonho grabbed my hand insistently, tugging me in the limited space to the very back seat. I didn't question it, just sat in the seat to the very right.
Surprising me, Wonho plopped in the seat next to me, his shoulder brushing mine. I tried to hide my probably obvious happiness.
"You're in my private space, pal." I admonished, scooting over away from him.
Wonho leaned over even more, our shoulders flat against one anothers. I tried to deny how good he felt by changing the subject.
"What's up with the gas guzzling cow?" I asked. Not to be rude, but Wonho... as popular as he is, didn't seem to have a lot of friends. That's not indicative of how cool he is though! Because he's the most awesome person. If people would spend the time to get to know him, they wouldn't be able to resist being his friend. I think his allure at school, though, was the fact that he was so isolated.
"Well," Wonho said, looking at the window behind me as we buckled in and the car started moving. I knew I should be looking around, enjoying the sights, but Wonho was speaking, and for all I could care, the world could pause when Wonho was speaking and I wouldn't care.
"Wishful thinking, I guess." He sighed. "Hoping I could find enough people to fill it on my next trip." He said it matter of factly, but his eyes seemed sad.
My heart ached a bit. I didn't say any of what I was thinking because I knew that that would be the last thing that he would want to hear. So, I just dropped my head onto his shoulder, humming nonchalantly. I didn't know where I was going with this, but it didn't matter. I just wanted to offer him some comfort somehow.
Wonho laughed a little and patted my head.
"What about you, little pup? Why didn't you have any friends? I almost never saw you with anyone but your preexisting friends at school."
My mind was preoccupied with the fact that he called me pup - because oh my god I'm screaming he said I'm a pup that's literally the cutest - but I still manage to answer, not that there's much to say in the first place.
"I don't know," I said plainly. "At first it was just because Americans are just so different. It just seemed like too much to try to fit in with a new kind of people when I was still adjusting from the switch from Korea to America, which was hard all on it's own. But after a while, it just became like second nature..." I wiggled my head a bit on his shoulder at his sudden silence.
"What? Do you think I'm missing out or something?" I tease. God knows, and hopefully Wonho too, that I wasn't. I heard the word 'whore' more times that I'd ever heard it my entire life in Korea after being in the US for two days.
"No.." he said, sounding far away and irritated.
I lifted my head to look at him. "What is it?"
"Nothing. I'm just angry at myself." He shakes his head slightly.
"What?" I said, slightly bewildered.
"I was so afraid to talk to you!" he says, on the verge of yelling, terse. He runs a hand through his hair.
I tilted my head in confusion. What is he saying that I'm missing?
"All this time," he rants. "I wanted to talk to you. To be your friend. To just say hello to you, for God's sake!" He says, loud again. I flinch a little.
"But I kept making excuses because I was nervous. 'He's probably still adjusting', I'd tell myself. Or 'he's clearly busy right now'. Or 'why would he want me to be in his business..? This isn't kindergarten'." He paused. "I'd even halfway convinced myself that someone must have died and that you were grieving. Just so I wouldn't have to go talk to you because I was too shy."
He sat there, arms crossed. He looked so close to a little boy pouting that I couldn't help but laugh.
He looked at me incredulously. "It's not funny! Do you know how many times I tried to talk to you? You know how long we could have known each other and how close we would be right now if I would have? How stupid that makes me feel?" He runs his hand through his hair again.
I sputtered out a laugh I tried to unsuccessfully keep in.
"I can't help it!" I laughed when I saw the expression he gave me.
He sighed, rolling his eyes, and then guiding my head back onto his shoulder.
"I don't know why this is so funny to me," I said, still laughing. "It's just crazy to me that you, Wonho, basically the world's most eligible bachelor, would be afraid to approach someone like me." I started to chuckle again. "I don't know what you're thinking," I muttered. I couldn't tell myself that I wasn't happy though. Hearing this made me undeniable happy. It wasn't just me that was crazy for him. He seemed pretty crazy for me, as well.
"Well, believe it. I'm telling you, you don't see yourself correctly."
I rolled my eyes, which he must have felt despite the fact that he couldn't see me, and he sighed loudly in response.
"Seriously! Jeez..." He said, irritatedly. "You're making me feel.. I don't know. You're making me feel really stupid right now."
This made me laugh harder. I couldn't believe how worked up he was getting about something basically irrelevant.
He crossed his arms and turned away from me.
At first, I was lost. What do I do? It's Wonho.. He never gets mad! Again, he's Wonho... way out of my league Wonho... Do I just stop laughing? Or do I comfort him?
But Wonho solves the problem for me, probably sensing my lost bearings.
"You could hug me, you know." He mumbles, his lip adorably out.
"Ahhh..." I sigh as I wrap my arms around him. He stays frozen but I keep my arms around him anyways.
"Aigoo, my baby," I say, removing a hand to smooth down his hair. I can't help it. He's so cute when he acts like this. "It's okay," I console, going back to hugging him, my arms around him, my face against his arm.
"It's okay.. Right?" I lift my head to look at him, and he moves his head to avoid my eyes. "Right?" I repeat, following his eyes as he moves his head around to not look at me.
"Right?!" I say louder, shaking him a little bit. He finally thaws and pulls down his arms, but doesn't hug me back.
C'mon, you big kid. Forgive me already. I'm really trying here.
"I should just leave you at home," he snaps, lip still out. "You're too much for your own good. You're going to go around dazzling and seducing people and not even know it and you're going to bring a line of people that like you home and have no idea."
Oh my lord. "Hey, now," I said, trying not to laugh. How did he even relate it to this? I thought we were talking about him. But, for some reason, I want to keep baiting him. When baby boy culture Wonho appears from the normally misunderstood, confident, quiet Wonho, I literally could not resist.
"How could I help it? You should be talking about yourself anyways." I toss at him, releasing him from my arms, trying to maintain a serious demeanor. "I'm going to lock you up, first. Why are you saying I seduced people? Somehow I snagged you and that's purely an accident. Whilst me on the other hand, you got through experience, and before you say 'no I don't', stop, because we all know that it's true."
Wonho opened his mouth to say something but shut it.
"Exactly." I stated, waving a finger. You can't even defend yourself, you whore.
"Fine." He says. "It's true. There's no use denying it. But this doesn't dispute the fact that you're irresistibly adorable, and that IS your fault." He pauses, watching me start to interrupt him. "Now, now, now, before you say anything," he says, mocking me from earlier, when I move to respond. "Let's just say that we both do it. It's both of our faults, okay?"
I sit mutely, my pride not allowing me to nod and be wrong, as fake as the argument is.
"So let's just not think about it, okay? And just watch over each other... okay?" He looks so endearing.. So sweet... I can't help but nod my head yes. Even though I'm being accused of something I didn't do, let alone could ever do, and the fact that he's being so bipolar or that fact that he's worried that I could snatch someone let alone let myself be snatched if someone gave me the choice when I have Wonho right in front of me... I just let it happen.
"Okay, okay," Minhyuk calls from his seat way in front of us, sounding like someone who is amused trying to sound annoyed.
"Less Titanic, more Love Actually, kids. We're here, lovebirds." He sounds way too happy to be saying this and I want to punch him. Wonho and I both blush uncontrollably at the comment. Where we that loud? We really should have quieted down...
I try to control the smile on my face when Wonho leans over and grabs my hand, wrapping his around it, and resting it on his knee.
I can't hold back the smile when I look over at his face, so earnestly happy, still pink with embarrassment.