KYUNG #2
Underneath one of the lights, I can see the slight pink fill her cheeks.
“Definitely not kidding. My omma just about threw a fit. If I hadn’t already gone down multiple roads already and turned course, she probably would’ve done something extreme to change my mind on that one.
But I think she knew I wasn’t destined for something like that and would figure it out. ”
“Your face lights up when you speak about her,” I tell her gently, liking the way it happens.
Peering over at me, she smiles. “That’s because she was the best person I’ve ever known.”
"Do you mind me asking what happened?” I ask, not wanting to turn the conversation sour, but curious to know.
“Mmm,” she replies. “She was diagnosed with COPD and eventually lost the battle with chronic pneumonia.”
“I’m sorry,” I say with empathy. I couldn’t imagine losing one of my parents. Especially like that.
“It’s okay,” she tells me with a few small nods, looking at the ground. “Everything happens for a reason. It’s something that she’s always told me. As long as we follow our hearts, we’ll end up right where we’re supposed to be and meet the right people at the right time.”
Her expression takes on a sort of wistful look to it like she can still hear her omma saying those words to her.
I give her the moment that she needs in her thoughts as I take in the beautiful person that she is.
I’m typically a very good judge of character, and I can tell a lot about someone the first time that I meet them.
There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.
And the outside is definitely beautiful.
Long dark brown hair hangs down in waves around her shoulders and back.
The tone makes the brightness of her green eyes stand out even more.
I love the fact that she’s so tiny, too.
I could literally almost wrap myself around her since her head doesn’t even come to my chin.
She’s not stick thin like we’re used to seeing either.
The hourglass figure that she’s got going on is something I wasn’t aware that I was so attracted to until this moment.
When her mind finally comes back to the present, she cuts her eyes over to me and slowly smiles at whatever she sees in my face. “Who is your favorite person in the world?”
Ahh, now that is a loaded question, yeah? I can’t sound crazy and tell her that she could easily be climbing that list. Not after only three times of meeting her. So, I answer with the first person who comes to mind. “One of my members and my best friend Dav En.”
“Why’s he your favorite?” she asks.
I bite my lips and tsk. “I’ve known him longer than anyone other than my parents.
We were friends in school. He’s genuinely a good person.
Some people have taken him the wrong way because he’s rough around the edges when he’s stressed, but he’s always been there for me when I’ve ever needed something or someone.
He’s probably the nicest out of all of my members. ”
“Hmm,” she says in a way like she’s thinking of saying something but isn’t.
“What?” I ask.
She looks away, biting her lips again as a fresh round of color pops into her cheeks. “Would it be weird if I told you that I like listening to you talk?”
The compliment catches me off guard, making me grin down at the concrete like I’ve got my first crush or something.
“The sound of your voice is very soothing,” she adds.
“Yeah?” I ask. “Think I could make it as a singer?”
Her laugh is the loudest I’ve heard yet, and she brings a hand to her face to cover it before replying, “Yeah, you might could make a career out of it.”
This vibe continues for well into an hour, going back and forth with questions, each of us making the other laugh until I realize how close we’re getting to my house.
As much as I’d love to spend more time with her and possibly invite her inside.
There are several reasons as to why I can’t.
One of them being that I don’t live alone.
I don’t want either of us dealing with the questions that would arise the moment any of my housemates laid eyes on her.
Plus, I kind of wasn’t lying when I said that we have people, mainly girls, that hang around the house sometimes.
It’s not happened often, but enough that I wouldn’t want to risk it.
The thought has made me paranoid. Checking our surroundings, I make sure there aren’t any strangers, or even my members out for a late-night stroll.
“We should probably head back,” I tell her. Not in the least what I’m wanting to do.
“Sure,” she complies easily with no argument.
We stroll back in the same style we walked down in.
Slowly, neither of us in a rush. As we get closer to the overlook, I give her one last smile before covering my face with my mask again.
For a second, I think I see it in her gaze.
That she understands the change between the man and the idol.
But then she smiles at me the same way she has been all night, and I feel like it doesn’t really matter that I had to literally and metaphorically put my mask back in place. She still sees just me.
“Want me to walk you back to your place?” I ask, not only wanting to extend our time together but also make sure she gets home safe.
Making this shh sound with her lips, she teases, “And help you stalk me? No, that’s okay.”
My head falls back with my laugh before I reach into my pocket and pull out her phone to hand it back to her.
“Can I at least have your phone number?” I ask, willing to risk rejection for that too if she decides it.
She stops walking to stand in front of me and does that thing with her lips again, drawing my attention to them.
I think about kissing her for not the first time tonight.
It doesn’t go past her notice either, because they slowly part, letting out a small sigh.
I can’t prove it, but I know she wants me to. Which is why I decide to wait.
Stepping into my space, she looks down at her phone, unlocking it while it’s still in my hand.
Slowly her eyes pull up to mine and quickly drop to my lips.
It would be so easy to just do it, but I don’t.
Not because I’m nervous like I was the other night speaking to her for the first time.
No, the time will come, and it will be perfect.
Doing one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, I glance down at her phone, putting my number in and calling myself. I wait until I can feel it vibrating in my pocket before ending the call and handing her phone over.
“That’s me,” I tell her. “You can put me in however you’d like.”
“Hmm, might have to put your name as stalker,” she teases, taking it and putting it in her pocket.
“Same time tomorrow?” I ask, knowing it’s probably unnecessary.
She spins on her heel to walk away. Only when she’s a few steps away does she throw over her shoulder, “Maybe.”
Her tone is teasing as much as her pretty little smile is.
“I’ll buy us dinner,” I tell her, raising my voice a bit to make sure she hears me through the mask.
“Your chances just got better,” she tosses back at me.
"And ice cream,” I add.
Turning to walk backwards slowly, she hits me with a single finger gun. “Now we’re talking, cowboy.”
The goofy smile I wear the entire walk home is nothing compared to the happy bubble I’m wrapped in.
I’d love to go home and talk to someone about her, but everyone is busy with their own schedules right now.
Besides, I’m pretty sure Dav En is the only one who wouldn’t call me crazy since we’ve got so much going on preparing for a comeback in several months.
Too bad he flew out this morning for one of his solo gigs. It’ll have to wait.
All the way up to the moment I fall asleep, I can’t stop myself from imagining what it would’ve been like to kiss her. The way she would’ve felt in my arms. How she would’ve tasted. I’ll find out one day.