𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐀𝐓 [𝟏] 𝐃𝐞𝐣𝐚 𝐯𝐮 || 𝐋𝐞𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟒

POV Minho

I'm bouncing with excitement at the thought of seeing Shizuka again. I don't know why, but I love talking to her. I never would have thought we'd get along so well.

I ran into Mi-cha and the girls on my way, and she told me Shizuka was in the training room where we all practiced. She also said something else, but I didn't take the time to hear what she was saying.

I arrive at the door and start to open it slowly, but stop when I hear a male voice. I peek in and see Shizuka standing in front of Soobin, who is about twenty centimeters taller than her.

I immediately close the door since they obviously didn't notice me. I lean against the wall next to it and can't help but sigh.

I should have listened to Mi-cha, that's probably what she was trying to tell me.

Is Soobin more interesting than me? After all, they're in the same agency and are closer. Even though Shizuka is now in JYP too, her real agency is still Big Hit.

I would have liked to be paired with her as MCs, now that I think about it.

Maybe it would have brought us closer sooner?

I run a hand through my blond hair abruptly. I'm going completely crazy, having a little voice in my head.

Jisung's voice, in addition.

Is there something wrong with my voice, you idiot?

- "Lee Know? Are you okay?"

I jump and find myself face-to-face with Shizuka, who is looking at me wide-eyed. I don't see Soobin, who has probably already left.

- "How tall are you?"

She freezes for a moment before bursting into laughter.

- "Are you stalking me or what?"

I feel my cheeks burn, and I mentally slap myself for asking a question I never should have said out loud.

What an idiot.

- "One meter sixty-five," she replies, to my great surprise.

- "You must think I'm a psycho..."

- "I wouldn't say it like that."

I look at her out of the corner of my eye, skeptical, and we both burst into laughter.

- "Come in, let's not stay here," she says, opening the door.

We sit on the floor in front of the mirrors, and she asks:

- "What are you doing here?"

- "Oh, I was just passing by."

- "You were literally waiting outside the door."

I grimace, causing her to chuckle, and I can't help but smile.

- "I ran into the girls earlier. It seemed... tense?"

Her face darkens, and I fear I've made a mistake. We're not close enough to talk about our problems, what was I thinking?

- "Actually, things aren't going great in our group right now. The issue with Sumalee is resolved; I guess she won't sneak out anymore. But I feel like a bad leader."

- "Why's that? That's not true."

- "I doubt it. Daiyu... isn't the same anymore, and I can't figure out the problem."

I place a hand on her shoulder and admit:

- "I think you're doing a great job. She's not even of age yet; it'll pass."

She makes a face.

Adorable.

- "It's funny, watching your facial expressions, sometimes it seems like you want to hit yourself," she admits, looking at me with a sly smile.

- "That's often the case."

She laughs again, then points to my phone case.

- "Are those your cats?"

- "Yes, why?"

- "I was just wondering. How did you get them?"

- "Soonie was abandoned, Doongie is from a litter of a friend's cat, and Dori was also abandoned. And Lyca?"

- "She came from a shelter. I adopted her when I got my first paycheck as an idol."

She runs her fingers over my phone case before asking:

- "And you, are you okay?"

- "Yes, why?"

- "I saw some articles... about people thinking you're mean. Doesn't it affect you?"

She saw the articles.

She probably thinks so too.

- "I suppose it does."

- "I don't think you look mean. You're not, and you don't look it."

I smile at her, grateful. It may just be a simple phrase, but it means a lot to me.

▪︎▫︎▫︎▫︎▫︎

After forty-five minutes of talking, I finally managed to tell her that I had to go meet Beomgyu and Yeonjun to shoot a TikTok.

I'm surprised by how quickly the time passed with her, but I can't stop thinking about her, even afterwards.

She's incredibly kind. She agreed to look at all my photos of my cats, and she kept telling me how I didn't have a mean look, but rather a mysterious one. It's like I'm turning into one of those bad boys in the movies.

You're going too far, Minho.

Speaking of which, we decided to call each other by our given names. Well, I already called her by her name since it's her stage name, but I can finally be called Minho by her.

A new level of closeness.

This girl fascinates me more and more. I'm not scared.

I'm terrified.

Terrified of opening my heart.