Volcano | Bangchan

Friday Night

Two weeks passed by since we came back from the USA. We all returned to our daily basis, which was calmer for everyone. Since the boys were preparing for their come-back, they had more free time to relax a bit. Which led to me spending more time with them. And surprisingly, the member I spent more time with was Bangchan. After my birthday we got even closer than before, and both of us didn't seem to mind.

We kept our usual Friday nights as a routine, but in the past days, he proposed to come and eat with him at the dorm, or to come and watch a film together. We even fell asleep on his bed that day. He also called me two times, late at night, to ask me if I wanted to go for a walk. I accepted once, and the second time I was too tired so we faced-time until I fell asleep on the phone, allowing him to take a photo and make fun of me the day after. I was surprised by his behavior. He started to loosen up, was working hard but took more personal time.

It felt good to see him like this. Everybody noticed it. First, the boys, who would tease him by saying he was finally acting his age. Even Seungmin complained, whining that calling him old man wasn't making any sense now because he wasn't acting like one.

But the most memorable comments came from their community. STAY were also noticing how Chan was more active during their lives, or during their videos. And they were loving that new side of him, praising him in the comments or on Bubble. Whenever I brought those comments up to his face, he wouldn't react much. He would just smile and shrug, saying something unblocked in his mind.

Today was Friday night. As I was on my way to the studio, I stopped by a convenience store. Chan was whining all week because he was craving chocolate. I bought an entire box so I wouldn't hear him complain for almost... two days ? If I was buying him his favorite dessert, I might as well buy his favorite dish. I made a small detour to reach our favorite sushi shop. Having the same taste in food was a blessing. By making him happy, I made myself happy too. I entered JYP's building and headed straight to the 4th floor. My hands were full of packages, I opened the door of the studio with my feet.

Chan turned on his chair, alerted by the weird noises and fell back laughing when he saw me struggling. I shot him a death glare : "Come and help me instead of laughing like a walrus !". He became serious all again : "Hey ! It's Changbin the walrus, not me !". He nevertheless stood up to help me carry the packages. Once it was on his desk, he started digging in it to see what I bought : "Sooooooo what did you get me ?". I snapped his hand, preventing him from seeing the food. He eyed me, offended. I giggled and poked his pouty cheeks. "Go free some space on the desk and I will show you what I bought.". The boy must be have been hungry, as he assembled all his stuff and put it roughly on the couch. He then jumped on his chair and looked at me with puppy eyes. He bounced excitedly on his chair, waiting impatiently. How cute.

As I showed him the sushis, Chan almost snatched it from my hands. I had to fight to take them back. We ended up eating while talking about the upcoming comeback. As a background noise, Chan decided to put the new album on the speaker. When Cover Me started playing, the discussion died down, both of us were lost in the emotion. Seungmin's voice took me in, and a tear escaped from my eye to rolled down my cheek. Chan was looking at me the whole time, smiling fondly. He waited for the song to end to come closer. He delicately wiped the tear on my cheek with his thumb, and left his hand here. I looked at him in the eyes, still immersed in the song.

"Chan... This song...". He smiled. "I know... I knew it would become your favorite.". I slightly nodded, holding his gaze. Once again, I was lost in his eyes. I suddenly felt the heat from his hand radiating through my own body. Don't look at me like that Chan. It was becoming harder and harder to only think about him as a friend.

To escape the situation, my eyes drifted to the chocolate box on the couch. I stood up and clapped : "The dessert ! I almost forgot it ! And you will love it ~~". I left him on his chair and went to the couch. As I was about to grab the box, Chan's voice resonated in the room.

"I love you.".