karaoke machine | p.js

2.01

Naerin walked out of her room in a daze, her eyes stared blankly in front of her as she joined her friends in the living room of her apartment. All four pairs of eyes turned to look at their friend with curiosity sparkling in them.

"Who were you on the phone with?" Sowon asked. The bubbly short haired girl leaned against the back of the couch looking at Naerin like a cute puppy.

Naerin didn't reply and just walked over to the kitchen and grabbed herself a glass of water.

Her friends exchanged concerned expressions before joining Naerin over at the kitchen island.

"Hello?" Minchul waved a hand in front of Naerin's face, "Earth to Im Naerin,"

Naerin blinked a few times finally seeing her friends standing at her, "Sorry? What was that?" she asked, face full of genuine confusion.

"Geez, what happened?" Juni leaned forward, "Are you sure you're alright to hang out today? You didn't get much sleep right?"

"I'm fine," Naerin said but her mind kept flashing back to what Jisung had just said to her earlier over the phone.

Naerin felt a flash of heat go through her face and she dropped her head on the counter with a long bang! Her friends flinched at the loud sound but Naerin didn't move her face away from the cold kitchen counter.

"What happened?" Kangdae asked. "You're acting weirder than usual,"

Naerin hesitated for a moment before she finally sighed, her head still on the table. "My soulmate just confessed to me,"

The silence that followed after was deafening and Naerin finally lifted her head to find all four of her friends staring at her with wide eyes. Even Kangdae, who knew that Naerin had met her soulmate, was in shock.

"WHAT?!" Sowon exclaimed loudly causing Naerin to jump.

"You're telling us, you met your soulmate," Minchul said, his voice oddly calm for how shocked he was, "And you just told us now?"

"When did you meet him?" Juni exclaimed, "Or her? Why didn't you tell us?"

"I knew," Kangdae said with a blank expression.

Naerin felt dizzy by the sudden questions and put her hands up to try and calm down her friends. It took some time but eventually, her friends quieted down and Naerin was finally able to breathe a bit.

"I didn't tell you for a reason," Naerin started off.

"And what reason would that be?" Minchul asked.

Naerin hesitated but the truth had already come out. She trusted her friends more than anything as well. "He's an idol. I couldn't tell you because I didn't want to risk anything,"

Minchul, Sowon, and Juni all exchanged looks. Naerin sat nervously waiting for their reply. Kangdae offered her a gentle look of encouragement but it went unnoticed by her.

It felt like an eternity before her friends finally started laughing. Minchul gave Naerin a bright smile while the two girls started letting out excited squeals.

"You have an idol as your soulmate!" Sowon exclaimed, "Who is it? What's his name? Is he from Tomorrow X Together?"

Naerin let out a relieved sigh but shook her head with a smile, "I can't tell you who he is yet, but no he's not from Tomorrow X Together,"

"Aww," Sowon pouted, "I wanted to meet Yeonjun,"

Naerin laughed at her friend's bright nature. "I'll make sure you guys meet him when I can finally introduce you guys," she smiled tenderly at her friends. At that moment, Naerin couldn't have wished for a better group of friends.

"Wait-" Kangdae said, "He confessed to you? What did you reply?"

Naerin froze, her eyes going wide at the realization of the full reality of her conversation with Jisung.

"I... didn't..."

–––––

"I think I scared her off," Jisung grumbled into the pillow before pulling it down off his face. He stared blankly at the ceiling in defeat as Jeno and Jaemin simply watched. "Do you know how she replied. She said 'oh'."

Jeno grimaced, his expression matching something similar to the grimacing face emoji. Jaemin hummed gently at Jisung's concern, but couldn't help but find the pouting eighteen-year-old to be cute.

"I think you're overreacting, Jisung," Jaemin said, "I think you probably just caught her off guard,"

"Jaemin's right," Jeno agreed, "You just told her she's going to have to meet with the company and then confessed right after. She was probably just stunned."

"Besides I doubt she just replied with 'oh' before the two of you hung up," Jaemin added trying his best to consol his younger friend.

"Hyung, I'm being serious," Jisung sat up, "She said word for word; oh, I see. Then she told me that she had to go because her friends were over and hung up," Jisung pouted sadly as Jaemin gently patted his leg. "She didn't even reply with anything else. She could have at least said something like; I understand, I'm not ready for a relationship, or, I see, I'm sorry I just don't feel the same way yet."

Jeno and Jaemin exchanged looks as Jisung buried his face back into the pillow he held. Letting out a frustrated scream, Jisung fell back on his bed holding the pillow tightly to his face.

"She's your soulmate, Jisung," Jeno tried to reason, "I really think she was just caught off guard. Maybe when you see her next–"

Jisung sprung up and shook his head aggressively, "No. I can't ever see her again. It's too embarrassing, I'll just live off of the soulmate medication instead. I can't–"

"Jisung, don't be silly," Jaemin sighed, "You're clearly overreacting."

"Hyung, I couldn't be more serious about something in my entire life," Jisung ran his hands through his hair stressed. "I can't see her again,"

Jeno and Jaemin sighed and shook their heads.

"Alright, how about this," Jeno said, "This Friday, Jaemin and I are planning on going to hang out with some friends we went to high school with. It's a small party, nothing crazy. Why don't you come with us?"

"Hyung, I'm underaged, I can't drink," Jisung frowned.

"Come on, Jisung," Jaemin sighed, "Let's be completely honest right now, you're not going to get caught,"

Jisung sighed, "Are you sure this is alright?" he asked worriedly.

"It's probably only going to be a group of like ten of us at most. We already asked the others to join us. You should come with,"

"Alright, hyung, if you're sure it's safe," Jisung agreed.