Counting Stars (In A Relationship With EXO Kai)

2 | You

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There was a funny thing about friendship.

You didn't meet people to become friends, you just go for it without realizing it was happening in the moment. That was what happened to me and Jongin. I really had no hope of meeting him again when we went on our separate ways after the bus ride, but it just happened so.

He left his wallet on the seat where he had sat down and since it was beside me, I felt obligated to return it to him. It had his ID card, so I called the given number, contacted his parents and eventually him. Since his debut was nearing, his words not mine, he wasn't allowed to go out much. I asked him to take his time and that I would keep his belongings safe with me. He thanked me.

Then I started living in the real world again. With no Jongin around. I would go to the school, smile at Wook and his girlfriend, and cry alone in the washroom. Not really cry, just pity myself. I wanted to be loved. By anyone. I wanted to know how it felt to be the centre of someone's life, and how they would worship the ground you walked on. I wanted my fill of this emotion everyone talked about. It might sound pathetic but I really desired it.

I got out of the classroom around 9, and went to the bus stop where Jongin had asked me to meet. It had been a month since we last met, and I had almost forgotten about his wallet, but then he called me last night and arranged this meeting. I was honestly tired with all the pressure and would want nothing more than to go home, have dinner and sleep. I was seventeen, and everyone around me expected me to make a life decision on what I wanted to become in life. Extra classes were sucking life out of me.

My reply used to be 'anything that could pay me money to live', it would have me given a stinky eyes. Hence, I changed my answer to 'Computer engineer'. The fancy term earned me respect, so that was that. I honestly wanted to reply to this question with 'I don't know, I just want to stay alive right now with the 12 hours study routine I'm going through right now.' Mum and dad never interfered or told me I needed to become one of the fancy terms to succeed in life, but seeing them awkward around their friends as the latter would go on and on about their kids achievement made me feel bad. I wanted them to brag about me too.

It started raining. I sat there on the bench, exhausted. Some people gathered under the rain shelter to shield themselves from the pouring, and with passing minutes, each of them climbed the bus and before I knew it, the area was empty. I stared down at my wrist watch, the last bus to home was arriving in half an hour, and if I didn't get it, I would have to walk home.

"Please get here before my bus." I rubbed my hands for some warmth, and looked around. No one was in sight except for a boy who was running towards the rain shelter, a cap over his head, hiding his face. Hope rekindled. Maybe it was Jongin. And, it was him.

His hair fell over his eyes as he came to stand in front of me, heaving. Placing his hands on his knees, he took deep breaths and gave me a smile. "Thank you for... waiting," he finished, straightening up. "I'm sorry I'm late."

"I can see that." I got on my feet too, and handed him his wallet. "Here."

He pushed it into his jeans pocket. "Thank you really. You came here from school?" he asked and I hummed, pulling my bag over my shoulder. He looked right then left, it looked like he was trying to make small talk since he didn't want to leave just after getting his things back.

I chuckled. "You don't have to make inquires. You can go."

"I really am not good at conversations, am I?" He scratched the back of his neck and laughed. I laughed along and nodded my head. He looked tired too, more than me.

"How's training going on?" I saw the time. Only 10 minutes before my bus. Jongin told me that the debut of the group was going to be announced soon. "It must be tiring with the practices and all. You're going to be a celebrity in a few months," I said as I looked him over. "You are giving me that kind of aura today, I don't know how, something has changed."

His shy smile appeared. "I don't really know how to be prepared for all the attention we're going to receive. It's a bit scary."

"I bet."

Jongin nodded. "Umm... Can you not mention our conversation to anyone after my debut? I... I don't want to bring any unwanted attention."

I was a bit taken aback by his request but I understood him. "I'm not into gossips much, so don't worry." He took a deep breath and looked around, and I frowned. "How are you going to go back? It's still raining. You don't even have an umbrella on you."

"It's okay. My friends are around here, so I'll walk back with them."

I shook my head, and grabbed my umbrella from my bag, and gave it to him. "Still, you shouldn't take a risk since your debut is around the corner. Don't fall sick. Take this." He looked at my umbrella and then at me. I sighed, and pushed it onto his chest, he lazily held it.

"You're nice. Thank you."

I shrugged. "You can return it to me if we ran into each other again."

"I'll make sure to return it to you." He smiled. Another boy entered the scene. I was too engrossed looking at Jongin that I didn't feel another presence. He was also tall, and looked between us, confused. I nodded.

To get out of the awkward interaction, I turned around to look for the bus, and fortunately, at the same time, the bus approached us. My eyes went back to Jongin, and I was surprised to see him staring back. I pulled out our restaurant's business card and offered it to him. "It's my parents' restaurant. Do visit sometimes."

"Aroma." Jongin voiced out the name.

"Bring your friends too." I looked at his friend, who was watching me like a hawk.

"The name is Zitao." The boy replied.

"I'm Sunhee."

"Or we can call you sunshine. Sounds same, right?" Kai grinned. I chuckled and felt the bus pulling over in front of me. I climbed the step and glanced over my shoulder to wave at the two boys. Jongin waved back while Zitao just nodded. I took my seat and felt giddy for some reason.

Little did I know that inviting Jongin to 'Aroma' was going to be the biggest turn in my life.