Should've Held Onto You (CHA EUNWOO)

12 - Deeper

It was finally Friday. Sumi and I had stayed the night in the practice room with Astro, and I figured this would become a normal thing. We had fallen asleep to some Disney movie that Sanha had picked out. Don't get me wrong, I love Disney, but I couldn't think about anything but Bin and Dongmin and what was going on under the surface.

To school, I rode with MJ, Sanha, and Minhyuk while Sumi rode with JinJin, Bin, and Dongmin. I turned Bin down when he asked me to sit by him, telling him to sit by Sumi instead. He's really making my job harder as matchmaker.

"He, um, Moonbin's always liked someone else. It's not important."

I shuddered thinking of Sumi's words. I hated to think about it, but did she mean me? I've known Bin since we were little, but I always thought of him like a friend or brother. Could he have had feelings for me for years? Andwae.. it's impossible. He knew Dongmin and I liked each other. He even encouraged us.

"Ok, class. We're going to take this outside. I want you to find a partner and sketch each other. This sounds simple, but really figure out the raw emotion behind them and get to know one another while you're at it. Use the landscape to inspire you."

As I packed up my things to follow the class, someone tapped my shoulder.

"Partners?" They smiled a contagious grin, and I nodded, smiling back.

"I think we're in a prime location to do something a little different, to sway away from the city scape and embrace what the more rural side has to offer," I explained, taking a seat on a stone bench, and he followed.

I began to sketch, and he did too, glancing up from his paper momentarily for reference. For a while, the only sound to be heard was our pencils against the paper, and the wind in the leaves.

"So how long have you known Eunwoo, Moonbin, and Sumi?" He asked.

I grinned a little, thinking about us as kids. "I met Sumi in preschool. Some kids were making fun of her, and I guess I thought I was a hero. I went up to them and told them they couldn't talk to anyone like that. Little Sumi turned to me and yelled, 'I can handle myself!' She proceeded to push a girl down and get a time out."

Minhyuk laughed really loudly, leaning his head back as his eyes shut. When he recovered, he was still smiling wider than I'd ever seen, the light hitting his brown hair, making it seem almost copper. I began to sketch that.

"That does sound like something Sumi would do.." He chuckled once more before looking back down at his paper.

"But we were friends from then on. Now, Bin and Dongmin. I met them both later, in kindergarten. It was music class, and I was playing a little xylophone when Bin and Dongmin came up and took the mallets from me and started to play. They didn't know it was wrong," I giggled, remembering how short and chubby they were. "The teacher scolded them and made them apologize, and from then on, all four of us were inseparable."

"Once again, sounds like something they'd do."

I nodded in agreement. "How'd you learn how to dance, Minhyuk?"

I watched his expression shift, taking a more melancholy appearance. He cleared his throat. "Well.. when I was little, I knew I wanted to dance. I knew I would be good at it, and it intrigued me. It was an art, and I knew if I could just take lessons, it'd be worth it- I'd make something out of it. My family wasn't doing great financially, so it never really happened. I guess I was used to hearing, 'maybe next year' and again and again. For a while, going into junior high, I stopped dancing, because people thought it was girly, and I wanted to fit in. But.. nearing the end of junior high and starting high school, I got into some trouble, things I would've never done before. And I met a guy who helped me, who taught me how to dance. So, I turned everything around, and here I am." Minhyuk didn't look at me. I wondered if he was embarrassed.

"Well, I'm glad you did. Going through what you did shaped you into the person you are today. You're a phenomenal dancer and an even more phenomenal person."

His brown eyes met mine, and he smiled, the light returning to his eyes. "Kamsahamnida."

"You know, it's strange how much of a connection I feel to you and the others. I've only known you for about four days, but I feel like I've known you forever." I was adding the last finishing touches to my sketch, and I noticed him doing some shading on his. He was actually pretty good. "I'm glad Bin and Dongmin and Sumi have people to rely on like you, MJ, Sanha, and JinJin. I'm glad I've met you."

"Well, they never shut up about you, so we knew you were something special," Minhyuk winked, making me laugh. "The friendship you all have is something amazing."

"Minhyuk.. Please tell me what's going on with Bin and Dongmin. I know you all don't want me to know, but if it's about me, I deserve to. I need to know what's making them constantly fight. We need to resolve it so we can use our energy on something more important, like making you guys the best idols you can be."

Minhyuk sighed, nodding slightly. He put his sketch book to the side, done, and I did the same. We still had time left in the class. "I know. You're definitely right. Unfortunately, it's really not my place to tell. And I know that sounds really dumb, and it probably doesn't make much sense to you.  I promise you, it'll work itself out, especially with you being back. You don't need to worry about it. It's just petty stuff that they need to work out on their own." He smiled to reassure me, and I frowned a small bit. He put his fingers to my cheeks, bringing the corners of my mouth up. "There! All smiles here!"

"Yahhhh," I whined, laughing a little.

"Class!" The teacher called.

Minhyuk stood, and offered me a hand, which I took graciously. "Thanks for talking to me, Miyeong." Meeting his eyes, I saw he was serious. I guess he didn't have much time to talk about his personal life anymore. Park Minhyuk was a lot deeper than I ever expected.

"Anytime."

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A/N- Happy Easter!