Learning Again

Eight

'"MADDIE!'" I heard as Riley knocked on the door, but I huffed and hobbled towards it, using the wall to balance myself. As I opened the door, my best friend hugged me and I groaned as I held her.

'"Riley, you got here early!"' I said and she scoffed as she pushed me back and set her bags down.

"'Why are you up?!'" She asked and shut the door, helping me back to the couch.

"'I had to-"' I stopped as someone else knocked then Riley sighed, forcing me to sit on the couch.

"'Sit, I will get it!"' She said and I nodded, getting comfy as she went to open the door.

"'Can I help you?"' Riley asked then I heard a familiar voice.

"'I am Min Gi, Maddie's friend!'" He said and I sat forward.

"'Riles, he's okay!"' I called and heard the front door shut. As Min Gi came in, I grinned and saw he had some flowers in a vase.

"To help you smile again!" He said and I smiled as I took the flowers.

"Thank you, Min Gi!" I breathed and smelled the colorful bouquet.

"God, Korea!" Riley said and I looked at her. I forgot for a moment that she was studying Korean too, but she didn't speak it as well as me.

"Min Gi, this is my best friend from the United States! Riley, this is Min Gi!" I said and she smiled, bowing her head.

"Hello, Riley!" Min Gi said and looked at me.

"I just stopped by on the way home from work, since you are between work and home! I'll check in with you later, Maddie! Sleep well!" He said and smiled at Riley, leaving as Riley came over and took the flowers, putting them on my table.

'"You said you came here, not that you met a giant hottie here, Maddie!'" Riley said and I rolled my eyes.

"'Min Gi is not-"'

"'Hot?! Honey, sweetie, he's fucking adorable and cute and hot and- If you don't jump his bones, I will!"' She said and I scoffed, crossing my arms as she came over and sat next to me.

Min Gi's POV
I got home then got my shoes off, going into the kitchen.

"Is she okay?!" Yun Ho asked immediately from the couch.

"Is her friend with her?!"

"Tell me her friend is nice!" Jong Ho and Yeo Sang jumped in, but I smiled and grabbed a soda from the fridge, going to the couch and sitting.

"She's better than she was, her friend is with her, and she seems protective, but nice." I answered their questions and popped the tab of my soda, taking a sip from the can.

"Did you give her the gifts?!" Yeo Sang asked and I sighed.

"Left them on her bed for her, but I gave her something else." I said and Hong Joong's eyebrows went up.

"What else did you give her?!"

"Flowers!" I grumbled and shook my head.

"Gosh, you are so-" I said and stood, finishing my can then taking it to the trash. As I went back to my room, I sat and grabbed my notebook, smiling softly as I began writing.

####

"'RILEY!'" I yelled, the bathroom door opening a moment later.

"'Let's get you out, cripple!"' She said and helped me out of the bath. As I got dried off, she helped me dress then took me to my room.

"'What's all this?"' I asked as I saw the gifts on my bed and Riley smirked.

"'Min Gi set them in here when he came in."' She said and I nodded, sitting on the bed. As she slid the brace on my knee, I grabbed the first bag and opened it to see a t-shirt for that K-Pop band Ateez.

"'You recognize this band?"' I asked Riley, who was better versed in K-Pop bands, and she gave me a confused look as she saw the shirt.

"'You mean the band your friend is apart of?'" She asked and I looked at her confused.

"'Min Gi isn't a K-Pop idol-"'

"'Yes, he is! He's apart of Ateez!"' She said and I shook my head, but she sighed and grabbed her phone. As she typed, I kept going through the gifts and saw a stuffy from San and Yeo Sang. It even had a brace on it's left knee, just like me.

"'Look!"' I looked at Riley then felt my eyes widen as she showed me a group photo of this Ateez, and the guys were all there. Hong Joong, Yeo Sang, San, Yun Ho, Jong Ho, Woo Young, Seong Hwa, and Min Gi. They were all in the photo of the K-Pop band Ateez.

"'They're..."' I trailed, shaking my head and looking at my lap.

"'Did Min Gi never tell you?!"' Riley asked, but I shook my head and looked at the Ateez t-shirt in my lap.

"'He never told you."' Riley said and I frowned as I looked at my phone, seeing it was Min Gi calling me. Hurt by the fact that he didn't tell me this, I silenced the call and let it go to voicemail.

"'Maddie, you can't get mad at him-"'

"'He never told me, Riles. I've known him four and a half months now, he could have told me at any point!"' I said and Riley sighed.

"'And you could have mentioned a lot that I'm sure you didn't tell him. Think about it: he's an idol, you don't recognize him, you treat him like a normal human being! If I was a celebrity and a random person met me and treated me like I was human rather than a god?! I'd want to keep that dream for a while too!"' Riley said, but I shook my head.

"'I-I just need time to process, Riley. Can you take all this to my closet?"' I asked and she nodded, gathering all the gifts for me. When she had stored them away in my closet, I laid down and she came over, adjusting my knee so I could sleep without aggravating it.

"'Goodnight, Maddie."' She whispered and shut the light off, shutting my door as I stared out at the city scape of Seoul through my window.