TRACK 07 #3
Seong Su starts to say something, but Kyung cuts him off. "I'm not staying. I'll come right back."
"You don't have to walk me," I tell him quietly. "I'll be fine."
"Shh," he says almost pushing me out the door after I say bye to everyone, including a pouting Dav En because he wasn't allowed to come along.
Kyung and I walk in quiet peace until we're halfway to my apartment, then he finally breaks the silence. "So, what did you think? Are they too much?"
I grin up at him. "They're perfect, actually. Kind of exactly what I pictured."
He laughs, tucking his hands into his hoodie front pocket and dropping his head bashfully. "I'm sorry they asked so many questions."
Locking my hand through his elbow, I lean into him and rest my head against his arm. "I'm glad that they did. It shows that they care for you. And, I don't mind answering questions if it means you're happy and not having to hide things from your family."
Stopping us in the middle of the sidewalk, he wraps his arms around my shoulders, tucking my head beneath his chin. "You're the one that's perfect. I just really hope that you're ready for the idol side of me."
I pull away just far enough to stretch up on my toes and kiss underneath his chin. "You've got nothing to worry about."
The next day, Kyung calls and invites me to dinner with another apology, because it'll be with everyone again.
Apparently, they didn't get all of their questions out last night.
We stop for food on the way to bring home, and get attacked almost immediately when we walk through the door.
The way that they all run to us for greetings or to grab the food or both makes me laugh, drawing a grin out of Kyung, too.
The questioning begins as soon as we sit down tonight.
In Se is the last person to sit down and isn't even bothering with the food as he starts it off. "Do you have a secret talent?"
I laugh at his enthusiasm as I answer, "I can juggle."
Kyung's head jerks to me in surprise. "I never knew that."
Shrugging, I laugh again. "You never asked."
Turning back to In Se, I ask, "Do you have a secret talent?"
He purses his lips then smiles. "I'm a strong man beneath this beautiful exterior."
My heart races for reasons I cannot explain as he ends that with a wink. It forces my lips to pull up into a grin.
"I like when you smile," Yoon Ji announces from the end of the table.
I flick my gaze down his way to see if he's talking to me as his members groan around us.
"Don't be awkward," Jae-un reminds him under his breath.
Giving Yoon Ji the wink In Se just gave me, I inform him, "There's nothing awkward about being honest."
He appears to block out the others, as he adds to his comment. "I like that you don't hide it like normal."
I laugh outright again. I can't help it.
"It must be the westerner in me. My omma always said that we'd likely get weird looks here because of our accent.
Her dialect was already slightly off with her not being from the city, but moving to America really didn't help with that, and I learned from her.
Trust me, it's not the first time I've been called out for being different here. "
"Hopefully, they were all as nice as Yoon Ji about it at least," Jae-un murmurs.
I nod, because they have been. Mostly.
"Do you have a favorite song of ours?" Seong Su suddenly asks, changing the subject.
I look to him as he speaks, but quickly shift my gaze to Kyung and then back again as I answer, "I actually haven't listened to any of your music."
Expressions of confusion and something else I can't place shifts around the table, but before anyone can comment, Kyung explains, "I asked her not to get into it."
Disappointment and hurt. That's what the other emotions are, because I can see it written plainly across Jae-un's face as he glares at Kyung. "Too ashamed of us?"
"That's not it at all, and you know it," Kyung snaps back gently.
"I wanted her to get to know me without the idol.
I didn't want the extra pressure if it wasn't necessary.
It had nothing to do with not wanting her to know you or us.
You know as well as I do how crazy things can get for people like us who are dating.
Is it wrong of me to want to keep her out of that for as long as possible? "
"It's not wrong, Kyung," Seong Su replies in a quiet voice. "We can understand where you're coming from."
"Prove it," Jae-un challenges. "Lift your restraint and let her listen to our music."
Kyung sighs deeply at my side. "I was already planning on doing that, anyway."
I've been around this man every single day for months now.
I know in my bones that the sigh isn't for the reasons others might think it is.
He is disappointed in himself for letting the others around him down.
I reach out and take his hand, drawing his attention to me.
He smiles at me. I smile back at him. In that one exchange of expressions, we tell each other, it's going to be okay.
Tension settles down around the table as we finish eating and the questions resume. It carries on into the living room as some of us sit down around their small table and play cards. After a little while, Seong Su announces that he's going to bed since they have to be up early the next day.
"You don't have to walk me home tonight since you have to be up in the morning," I tell Kyung as we pack up the cards.
He nods a few times, seemingly as sad as I am at the prospect. "Fine, but I'm calling you a cab."
"You don't..." I start, but he cuts me off.
"I call you a cab or walk you home."
I concede and let him have his way, knowing this isn't a battle worth fighting. Especially when I know that he's serious and will absolutely lose that extra hour or more of sleep to walk me home.
Which is why I find myself standing outside with the car door open a little while later, giving Kyung a quick goodnight hug. I want to steal a kiss, too, but the conversation tonight has reminded me, yet again, that he's not just a man with a normal job. We have to be careful.
"Text me when you get home, yeah?" he asks, unwillingly letting me go and closing the door behind me.
I roll the window down to promise that I will and blow him a kiss before we're pulling away.