Melodies

8

Woozi's POV
Seungcheol and Soonyoung end up in our room a few minutes later. Turns out Soonyoung heard Seungcheol talking too. That means more people know. That gets me nervous, especially since they're the closer ones to Aelia.
Soonyoung, Jun, and Minghao sit on Minghao's bed, glaring while Seungcheol and I sit on my bed, looking everywhere but the three.
"Jihoon." Minghao's voice is deeper than usual.
"Explain." Jun crosses his arms at us.
I look at Seungcheol and he puts his hands up defense. I glare at the older boy, growling slightly.
"Start from the beginning. I need to hear every detail." Minghao states.
"Alright." I sigh, "Let me tell you the truth first... I actually knew Aelia before we actually met with the other boys." I scratch the back of my neck.
Minghao's expression doesn't change.
"I knew that. You think I didn't know that? I saw that look in her eyes. It showed quickly but I saw it." He informs me.
I figured...
"Seungcheol found out about it and figured I like her." I pause, "He made me a deal that if she dates me within six months and falls in love with me before another six months that he won't tell her that I actually forgot about her during the time I didn't go to this college." I look up at them.
"This is worse than telling her the truth." Jun shakes his head at me.
"I didn't want to lie to her! I don't want to hurt her. That would defeat the purpose. I like her... A lot. It was the only way to not make her sad." I run a hand through my hair.
"What else did you lie to her about?" Minghao's voice gets deeper somehow.
"I... I told her she was the reason I left Juilliard."
"What?!" All three jump off their butts.
"You're a real dumbass!" Minghao grips onto my collar again.
"Wait wait, Minghao. Calm down. Hear him out first." Seungcheol stands up to take him off me.
Once they all sit back down, I feel my heart beating from being scared. Interesting how I'm the one getting scared rather than the other way around.
"The real reason I left Juilliard was because I couldn't concentrate. I told her this but I told her I couldn't concentrate because of her. That's false. I couldn't concentrate because... I couldn't. There was a feeling that something was missing but I didn't know what it was. So I wrote instead of doing my homework. I told her that too. The only lie I told her was that she was the reason. I promise."
"Idiot." Minghao glares at me.
"I'm sorry! I wanted her to like me back! When I met her, it was at the auditions for Juilliard. She was like my angel. I've always thought of her as my angel because of her playing. I feel... I feel like when I saw her again at this school, that she's meant to be in my life."
It's quiet for a few minutes. They look like they're trying to process this new information. None of them speak until Minghao looks me straight in my eyes.
"Who else knows?" He asks.
"Seungkwan and Seokmin." Seungcheol informs him.
He looks taken aback. His expression turns to surprise and he sits up straighter.
"Seungkwan knows...?" Minghao whispers.
"Yeah. He told me he noticed the look in her eyes that day too." I gulp.
"And he didn't beat your ass?" He leans back a little, placing his arms behind him.
"Seungkwan must see something in you." Jun informs me.
"R-really?" My eyes widen.
"I'm not telling you to encourage you." Jun scowls, "I'm telling you this because I'm surprised. Anything about Aelia getting hurt, he would usually kill them. Aelia has been through too much and Seungkwan knows all of it. If Mingyu didn't meet her first, Seungkwan would've snatched that best friend spot in an instant."
"Oh..." I clear my throat awkwardly.
Minghao and Jun look at each other and have a silent conversation. Jun looks at him with a 'are you serious?' expression and Minghao sighs. Minghao purses his lips and groans.
"Fine." Jun looks at me, "We'll let you continue doing this bet. But only cause we can see the good side in it."
"But if you end up hurting her, we promise you won't see daylight ever again." Minghao warns me.
"I would never hurt her for pleasure." I raise my hand.
I notice Soonyoung's quietness and look at him. He has a frown and he's look at the floor.
"Are you that mad too?" I ask him.
He looks up at me with an angry expression and my face softens.
"Of course I am!... But... Do you honestly like her?" He looks me in the eyes.
My cheeks burn and I nod.
"Yes. I do." I reply.
He opens his mouth to say something but he shakes his head instead.
"I don't know if I should be madder at Seungcheol or you." Jun raises an eyebrow.
"Seungcheol is the one who made the bet." I point to him and he puts his hands up in defense.
"It was inevitable!" He argues, making all four of us roll our eyes.
"Get out." I point out the door at the same time as Minghao.
"Geez, did you somehow bond or something?" Seungcheol blinks.
"Bye!" We all shoo him out.
"Fine fine!" He walks out.
Soonyoung sighs and stands up.
"I should go too. I don't want to be in the same room as him right now but... I need sleep." Soonyoung ruffles his hair, waving to us before walking out.
Once he's gone, Jun and Minghao stare at me. I look at them and blink.
"Do you like her so much that you... love her?" Jun whispers.
"Not yet. If I do, she'd be the first. I wouldn't mind that though." I shrug.
"I need fresh air. I'll see you in the morning, Minghao." He stands up and quietly walks out of the room.
It's silent for a long time. We stare at the ground, not even our breathing is heard. The atmosphere is tense and all I can think is how guilty I feel. Is it really that bad? I'm just making sure Seungcheol doesn't tell her the truth. I do like her, but... Is this wrong?
"I really hope I get the chance to whoop your ass." He glares at me, making my eyes widen.
"Um..."
"Aelia is really important to me. I don't think you understand how important."
"You were one of the ones who didn't tell me about how you met. Would you be willing to tell me now? I know you're mad at me but I want to see how much she means to you."
"Are you being truthful?"
"Of course. I wouldn't want to hear it if I didn't care. I'm not trying to blackmail you, I'm trying to understand."
He looks me up and down, trying to understand me. He lays on his bed, getting comfortable. He stares at the ceiling and I figure he's not going to tell me. Biting the inside of my cheek, I get under the covers myself, closing my eyes.
"I met her the first day she came to the college." He starts talking.
I open my eyes, looking at him from my spot on my bed.
"We got paired up for orientation. We had to do this game and she gave me attitude about what I was doing wrong. We fought back and forth about every little thing the whole hour.
"I didn't understand why she had an attitude at the time. But that's not the point. After that, we hadn't seen each other. I used to hang out with just Mingyu and Jun at the time, but Mingyu started leaving us more and more to go places without us. It made me curious so I started following him. I noticed him continuously bugging a girl and she would get annoyed with him. He wouldn't stop. I realized that girl was Aelia and that made me even angrier."
"I started following them more, making sure to mess with him whenever I can. Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I walked right up to the two and I told her off. I asked why she was being so rude to him and Mingyu tried to stop me but it was too late." He starts laughing slightly and looks over at me for the first time since he started talking, "I've never seen Aelia so violent before. She pushed me against the wall. Her eyes were watery but her face was filled with anger."
He's quiet for a few seconds before he bites the inside of his lip.
"She told me that she was in a rough place and Mingyu was only trying to help her get her mind off things but she didn't know how to act around people since she was never close to anyone other than her mom. She yelled at me for judging her wrong and not learning to get to know someone before assuming they're a certain way.
"It surprised me one, because she was really strong and it hurt, and two, she seemed so tough when I met her at the orientation that seeing the tears in her eyes made me feel guilty.
"She hated me after that, didn't even want to talk to Mingyu. Mingyu got depressed almost during that period. I felt horrible. I decided to apologize to her at her house. I brought her flowers and everything. When her mom saw me she saw how guilty I looked, she told me to come in. Aelia of course didn't want to see me but I made her talk to me. After she cried to me about how she didn't get into Juilliard and what was happening to her mother, I cried with her. I shouldn't have been so mean to her. I still feel guilty to this day. She means everything to me and I owe it to her." He looks over at me with a stone expression, "And that's why if you hurt her more than she's been hurt in her life, I will make sure you feel as much pain as you caused her."
I stare at him in shock. He told me so much. Is that why he didn't say in the first place?
"Okay. I won't stop you."
I turn my body around and close my eyes, falling asleep and leaving him shocked.

~

The next few days, the trips to the museums and shrines are... er... awkward. Soonyoung keeps up his tour guide cheery self, but Minghao and Jun continuously glare at me and scoff whenever I comment.
I try to act normal, mostly staying quiet. Minghao and Jun keep bugging her about things though, making her laugh and trying to act cute around her. I groan a lot and Seungkwan notices.
"Why are you three glaring at each other so much lately?" He whispers to me.
"They found out about the bet. Soonyoung too." I sigh.
"WHAT?!"
I cover his mouth and smack his head from behind.
"Shut up!" I whisper yell.
I stay towards the back of the group with him, sighing when we're out of earshot. I let go of him and he gasps again.
"You can't be serious. Tell me you're joking." His eyes are wide.
"No. I'm not."
"This is bad! He will literally kill you in a heartbeat if you hurt Aelia!"
"He said the same about you." I look at him and his expression softens.
"That's cause I know you actually like her. So it'll end good for both of you. If she doesn't find out, then you get her. All good."
"But what if she doesn't like me back? Then I'll end up with a broken heart and face and a broken Aelia." I frown.
"You never know." He puts a hand on my shoulder, "She warmed up to you pretty fast."
"I guess. But my problem, actually problems." I quietly point to Minghao, Jun, Soonyoung, and Mingyu.
"Mingyu knows too?" He starts looking pale.
"No, thankfully. I'd be in the grave by now if he knew."
"I'm shocked that Minghao let you off with a warning."
"He told me how they met too. Now I know why he's so close to her." I look at the two laughing together, "I don't blame him for not saying it before."
"Lucky! I've been wanting to know since we first met!" He pouts.
I pat his cheek.
"Come on. We're missing Soonyoung's boring facts."

~

"MINGYU! I HAVE A DOG!"
"YOUR DOG HATES ME!"
"WE'VE BEEN OVER THIS! I DON'T CARE!"
Aelia and Mingyu are yelling at each other because Mingyu saw a dog at the airport again. Now we're gonna be late... Again...
"Let's go guys!" Jeonghan starts running towards our gate.
We all run after him, dragging our suitcases behind us. We make it in time for them to scan our tickets. I accidentally bump into someone as we stop and I'm about to apologize when I see who turns around.
"Watch where you're going!" Minghao groans.
"Hey. You guys have been acting weird since the second day... What's wrong?" Aelia crosses her arms over her chest and examines us.
"Nothing." We say at the same time, glaring at each other.
"Yeah right. I don't believe either of you. If you don't behave and get along, I'll put you in handcuffs with each other and you'll be forced to do everything together. I'm not joking either." She smiles innocently, patting my cheek before walking to scan her ticket.
We stare at her in shock then look at each other. We shiver at the thought and I frown.
"She did want us to bond in the first place."
"And I just made it worse."
"Yeah you did." He snickers.
I glare at him and he smirks.
"But if it's for Aelia's happiness. I'll forget the conversation until you do hurt her. I'll talk to the other two too." He sticks his hand out.
I stare at it for a few seconds before grabbing it and shaking it. He smiles normally and walks to get his ticket scanned.
"Oh, Jihoon. My seat is next to yours." I hear Wonwoo's deep voice next to me.
I nod and get my ticket scanned.
Once on the plane, I scan the rows for Aelia. I have to do a double take when I see a smirking boy looking at me. Seungcheol is sitting next to Aelia.
"How did you get next to her?!" Seungkwan groans.
"Because I'm the best." Seungcheol sticks his tongue out with a smile.
"Ew get out." Aelia pushes him away.
"Oh come on! You love me." He leans closer to her.
"Yeah right." She pushes his face away with her hand and rolls her eyes.
Turns out I get the set across the aisle from them. More torture for me, huh? Wonwoo sits in the window seat so I get the aisle. I keep glancing at them as Seungcheol flirts with her. He's just trying to get me mad.
"Why don't you write?" Wonwoo suggests.
I look at him in surprise and he smiles.
"I know you like writing songs. Aelia told me." My eyes widen, "Get your mind off things and write."
She told him? She talks about me?
"Thanks." I bow to him and take out my notebook.
All of my thoughts and feelings transfer to my pencil and paper.