A Bittersweet Smile

Seokie Hyung

We entered a restaurant near the MNet station. The members joined us, thankfully, in fear that we would make a scene with just the two of us, cause I'm afraid that we really would.

Se Hun sat at the far-end corner. I don't know what's wrong with him. After receiving the package, he didn't even talk to me or the other members. He's always on his phone.

I sat down beside him but he didn't notice.

"Se Hun, what do you want to eat?"

"Anything." He said that without taking his eyes off his phone.

I tried to calm myself for the sake of the free food that Su Ho would be buying for us.

"Se Hun-ah, are you playing a new game?"

I asked trying to make my smile as natural as I can.

"Uhh.. No. Just.. Nothing."

Finally! Se Hun inserted his phone in his back pockets. I don't want to be a jealous boyfriend just because my partner loves his phone more than me. But, what can I do? I've already got a thousand rivals out there, and this S.K. guy and his iPhone shouldn't be one of them.

Our orders came, and we ate in silence. But, The Almighty Byun Baek Hyun can't handle quiet environments well, so he decided to break the ice.

"It's been a year already, right?"

"A year since what?"

"Since Xiu Min.. no, since Min Seok hyung left."

All the members froze. Chan Yeol was the first one to react to Baek Hyun's little reminder.

"Baek, you know that we shouldn't talk about that."

"Talk about what? Umin hyung? Why? Do you hate him that much because he left us? Do you hate him to the point of forgetting his birthday? Or walking through his room without even looking inside if he left anything, maybe something for us?"

Baek Hyun didn't even realize that his voice raised in every question. Thankfully, the only customers are us and an old couple who doesn't seem to recognize or know us.

"Byun Baek Hyun, don't you raise your voice on me." Chan Yeol sternly said. They had a staring contest for the longest time, when finally the taller sighed in defeat and just sat down, continuing in eating his jajangmyun.

We ate in silence again. Awkward silence. Until Se Hun's phone rang.

He looked at the caller's ID and his face immediately brightened. He whispered an 'Excuse me' before he ran to the bathroom.

"Who was that?" Kris asked in confusion of Se Hun's actions.

"I don't know. I'm going after him."

And I did.

-

*Se Hun's POV*

Where did he insert the letter? Is this another treasure hunting game? Ugh. I hate it when he does that. It took me a two weeks to find the secret letter when he gave me the figurines. A week to decode the mystery, and another week to find it.

"Since Xiu Min.. no, since Min Seok hyung left."

I looked up to the hyungs when I heard his name. What are they talking about? I didn't really hear much of the conversation, since I was so caught up with the letter.

"Baek, you know that we shouldn't talk about that."

Chan hyung said. His tone made it look like a threat not a warning.