Final Puzzle Piece || SKZ 9th Member

Two Kids Room: Hyunjin X Kala

"Oppa, are you dumb?"

Upon not knowing what to talk about for the content and the situation starting to get awkward, Hyunjin ended up telling Kala a story of how he almost joined some creepy cult after following an unknown man he just met when he was a trainee. It wasn't without a reason he chose to tell that one specific story. He often noticed Kala had to cope with any gibberish the other members vent to her because she was the only one who would willingly listen and genuinely care.

Kala swore it was her reflex that said the rhetorical question. She just had this sense she called Kala's tingle that would react quickly to stupid things. But then she felt bad immediately as she remembered their bond wasn't in the place where they could mock each other comically. "Sorry."

"N-no, you're right. It was so dumb of me," Hyunjin dismissed her guilt and admitted his stupidity himself. "But I was young and had a hard time with training."

"Understandable." Kala nodded, validating his naivety.

"Thinking back, I could've been abducted."

"That's what I thought. It's dangerous," she said as a matter of fact. "How old are you back then?"

"I was 16."

"It's my age now," Kala muttered, spinning the stick of the lollipop in her mouth, enjoying the sweet flavor while thinking of what to talk about next.

"Have you... ever experienced something like that?" Hyunjin was the first to miraculously find a new topic to discuss. It surprised him, too.

Kala let out a long hum, trying to remember any event in her life that was worth telling. "There's one. It's not the same as yours, but a little similar."

"Okay..." Hyunjin successfully maintained eye contact with Kala for five seconds and mentally told himself a good job. "Go on."

"It was when the casting staff found me back in Jeju," she began, doing her best to also look at Hyunjin's brown orbs while talking. Sometimes she was distracted by the mole under his eyes. "You know, at first, my grandma wouldn't let me go to the audition because it was in Seoul, and she couldn't come with me. So this staff offered to take care of me while I was in here and waiting for the audition result." Sora's face emerged in her mind as Kala shared the story. "Come to think of it, I was kinda naive to trust her easily and agree to come with her. But my grandma and my friend checked her identity many times and made sure we could trust her. Luckily it didn't turn out to be a murder case."

The last part made Hyunjin giggle. He didn't realize he had already made himself comfortable chatting with the younger girl he always felt awkward around. He even stopped stuttering. "You're still hanging out with her, right? The staff who brought you here, I mean."

"Yeah, sometimes we eat lunch together." Kala detached her lollipop and briefly pointed it at Hyunjin. "Oppa know her?"

"I saw her a few times with you. Jisung told me that she's one of the staff here that you're close with, and you once lived with her before you became a trainee," he explained, earning a nod along with an acknowledging 'oh' from Kala.

"I heard you were found by the casting staff, too?" Kala took turns initiating a further conversation.

"That's true." Hyunjin nodded and drew his gaze down to the floor, reminiscing the time when he was scouted. "I was shopping with my mom that day, and this man suddenly grabbed my wrist." He demonstrated the act with his own hands. "I asked him who he was and something like, 'Can I help you?'. And then he gave me his business card." In this part of the story, Kala put her feet on the couch and turned her body to face the older boy, listening to his story with a complete focus. "Same as you, I thought he was a fraud, so I searched his name online and found out he really was a JYPE employee."

A light laugh left Kala's lips. "We have an alike story of being cast."

"I know, right," he agreed.

"When did you audition, by the way?"

"It was in 2015."

"Mine was in 2015, too!"

Hyunjin offered her a high-five which she accepted excitedly. Not sure if it was because of the cameras that focused on them at the moment or they just felt the need to do that.

The two also didn't know how they smoothly could film this 'Two Kids Room' content in the first place. They literally spent more than five minutes in the same space without a third party (well, there were staff, but they weren't counted) and survived. On top of that, they were having a decent conversation and not feeling like they wanted to escape from each other like the usual circumstance both of them were always trapped in.

Fortunately, before the awkwardness was really manifested in the room, the staff behind the camera signaled that the time was up.

"Hey, let's close this with a hands slate." Hyunjin randomly came up with an idea and readied his hands to clap as a substitute for a clapperboard.

Kala just chuckled and followed his pose. "Oppa say it."

"Okay." He looked straight at one of the cameras. "This has been Two Kids Room of Hyunjin and..."

"Kala."

"Kkeut¹." (¹end, finish, close)

And they clapped their hands once.

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌✎

✉ Hyunjin to Kala

Hi, Kala. It's weird, isn't it? Spending time talking to you today was actually fun. I was so nervous earlier because I didn't know what I should talk about with you, but I enjoyed it till the end. I hope there are more moments like this in the future because we kinda need it, don't you think? ㅎㅎㅎ Let's stay on good terms always!

✉ Kala to Hyunjin

Hyunjin Oppa, you're a good listener, you know. I realize that now after having a good chat with you today. I feel like I can tell you anything and you won't mind listening to my ramblings. Wouldn't it be great if we could do this more often? I hope we can be a little closer after this. Anyhow, I had fun spending time with you.