A Shiny Future

Chapter 7 | Crush

 "Girls generally avoid talking about any of you in front of me, but they will ramble on and on if they think I'm not around. There's an advantage I have, and it's called the girls' bathroom. That's where girls let their guards down. And the stalls provide anonymity."

They all stared at me, none of them really seeming to understand. I laughed. "If I'm in a stall, no one knows it's me. And then they get to talking."

Realization finally flashed across some of their faces. I focused on Jungkook, who still didn't seem to get it. "Naree and Jiyoo gossip in the bathroom a lot. And if they think I'm not around, they talk about you a lot." His eyes widened, and I smiled. "Naree likes you, too. Ask her out."

Jungkook looked stunned. Tae grinned and smacked him on the back. Jin laughed as Hobi whooped.

"So, wait," Jimin suddenly interjected. "Does that mean you overhear stuff about all of us?"

I flashed him a devious smile and winked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "Yes, I would!"

I burst out laughing but didn't answer. Jimin glowered at me. I wiggled my eyebrows at him, which he did not appreciate. "What do you think about Jiyoo, Jiminie?"

He furrowed his brow. "What does that have to do..." He trailed off as realization set in. I grinned at him. Now it was his turn to be stunned. He fell silent and appeared to be in deep thought. After a moment, pink began to tinge his cheeks.

"Anyone else?" I asked with a mischievous smile.

Interest was piqued, I could tell, but the others appeared to be too shy to ask. I had information regarding all of them, of course. They may not have many friends outside of each other and me, but they were all very popular with the girls at our school regardless. That's why I didn't have any female friends; they were jealous of me, as though they thought I was dating or had dated all the guys or something. It was actually kind of funny; I could help play matchmaker! But I guess envy is a hell of a drug.

As close as we were, we never really discussed things like crushes much. I mean, obviously the guys talked amongst themselves about it, but I guess they were embarrassed to talk to me about it. And me...well, I'd never really had a crush per se. Sure, there were guys I thought were cute, but I just never had any desire to get to know any of them beyond that. No one seemed interesting enough to me to try to go any further than just admiring their handsome faces.

"What about me?" Joon broke the silence suddenly, making me jump. He looked curious yet bashful; a mixture of emotions that I never thought I'd see from him. I looked at him with bright eyes and smiled.

"Your dimples are very popular. But especially with Jung Sooah; she gushes about them all the time. But she also gushes about how smart you are all the time. Your ability to take control while staying calm impresses her; you impress her in a lot of ways like that. She really admires you."

He blinked rapidly a few times, and then smiled shyly, dimples popping. He said nothing more but was obviously delighted.

And just like that, the floodgates opened. Joon had given the rest of them the confidence to ask what they'd obviously become desperate to know.

"Lee Iseul is obsessed with your aegyo, and damn near faints every time you do it. She's also super jealous of me that I 'get' to call you Hobi. She thinks you're really cool and looks for every opportunity to try to be cool around you, so you'll notice her. A couple of months ago, by the way, you did. And the way she talked about it, you'd have thought Park Bo-Gum had been the one who'd called her 'clever'."