Melodies

18

Aelia's POV
"Mingyu! How many times do I have to tell you that I already have a dog!" I glare at him.
"But your dog still hates me!" He pouts as he hugs one of the dogs to his chest.
We're at the pet store in the mall. At lunch in school today we were all bored (for once) and Seokmin randomly suggested we go to the pet store and ask to play with all of the dogs. And we thought that sounded nice, so here we are!
I told them that since they wanted to pet dogs that we literally could go to my house and play with my dog but they all refused. When I asked why, they said that Bao hates them. Jihoon was the only one who didn't say anything because Bao actually likes him for some reason, which is completely fine with me.
I watch Wonwoo beside Mingyu smile down at the fluffy white husky. He pets him with pure joy and the husky starts licking his face. Wonwoo laughs as the dog pushes him to the floor and licks him even more. I smile at the scene before looking at my best friend.
"But look at this face! She's so cute!" He presses his face to the dogs.
"I'm still not gonna buy you- OH LOOK AT THE FISHIES!" I rush up to the fish tanks.
I stare at the different kinds in amazement. I love the way they swim and it's funnier when you watch their faces. I make a face at them and feel someone hug me from behind.
"Saengseon!" I hear a bright laugh behind me.
"Soon! You scared me!" I push his face away, making him laugh.
"It's you, saengseon." He smiles at me, "They're very pretty like you."
"Thank you." I smile back.
Someone intertwines our fingers and I look over to see Jihoon smiling at me. He kisses my hand and my face reddens. Tension comes from the other side of me but I can't tell the source because Jihoon starts talking to me.
"Which one is your favorite?" He asks.
"Hmm... I like the Koi." I tap lightly on the class where they are.
"Want me to buy you one?" He tilts his head.
"No! It would die if I take care of it."
"Um... why?" I hear Soonyoung ask in confusion, "What about Bao?"
"Bao is easy to take care of. I had a fish when I was little. I always fed it and cleaned its tank but it still died easily within a couple of days. I didn't understand what went wrong. I also tried taking care of a plant... It died within a week." I pout.
Jihoon laughs and my heart beats faster. That laugh was so cute.
"Alright. I won't buy you a fish." He chuckles.
"I wanna hold a bird, Aelia! Seungcheol won't let me!" Chan walks up to me, complaining.
"He's just scared that it'll peck your head, ChanChan." I poke his forehead.
"But I want to hold it! I'm literally going to be twenty in a few weeks."
"Lee Chan." I raise an eyebrow.
"Fine. I'll go pet the dogs with Jisoo..."
"I'm gonna go with him." Soonyoung quietly follows the younger boy.
"You're adorable." I hear Jihoon say suddenly.
"You're not." I stick my tongue out at him.
"Oh but you're dating me?"
"And you're dating me?"
"You're right."
"You jerk." I start to walk away from him but he pulls me back to him.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"To look at the fish." I look at him with a straight face.
"I wasn't done speaking."
"Then what were you gonna say?" I place a hand on my hip.
"I was going to say you're right. I'm dating you, but I️ don't deserve you. You're the best thing that's happened to me and I love the way you make my heart flutter." He pulls me closer to him.
I blink at him in surprise.
"I-I make your heart flutter?"
"I've never told you that before?"
"No. Never."
"Well, yes. You do." He smiles.
My cheeks turn redder and I bite my lip.
"I hate that you guys are together." Minghao groans from next to us, scaring me a bit.
"Why do you guys always interrupt a nice moment?" Jihoon groans.
"Aelz, you need to help us. Seungkwan got a hamster out of the cage and he's freaking out cause he got bit." He sighs.
"Geez. Alright I'm coming." I shake my head and follow him.

~

"I can't believe we stayed at the store until closing time just playing with the pets." I pinch the bridge of me nose.
"It was fun though! The puppies were so cute!" Vernon smiles.
"My puppy is cute!"
"Bao isn't even a puppy anymore! He's a scary dog, always barking at us!" Jun frowns.
"He's my baby. He's still a puppy to me."
"Let's get some boba then head home, yeah?" Seokmin suggests.
"Ooh that sounds good." Jeonghan agrees.
We all order our drinks next door, walking to the parking lot afterwards. Everyone says their goodbyes and gets in their cars, some carpooling. Jihoon tells me he'll text me later tonight and I nod with a smile before walking down to my car. Getting inside, I start the car and get set when a knock sounds on my window, scaring the crap at me.
I roll my window down to see Minghao bending down to talk to me.
"Minghao? What're you doing here?"
"I um... I left my key at my apartment." He scratches the back of his head.
"What about your roommate? Jaehyun?"
"He's at his friend's house. He won't be back till tomorrow."
"Get in." I roll up the window as he walks around the front of the car.
He gets inside and buckles in. I back out of the space and drive to my house. It's quiet for a while until I sigh.
"How did you even forget your key? How'd you lock the door then?"
"Jaehyun was still there. I guess he locked it. I thought I'd be home before he left but we were petting dogs for almost five hours." He shakes his head.
"You agreed to going. I'm the one who said we should just go to my house." I laugh.
"Bao still hates us."
"Don't be such a baby then he'll like you."
"I'm not a baby! And I've been nice to him for the past year and a half!"
I laugh at him and he hits my arm.
"Hey! I'll swerve this car and crash it!"
"Speaking of this car, is this your car? I've never seen it."
I become quiet and he looks at me.
"Aelz?" His voice becomes softer.
"It was my mom's." I mumble.
"Aelia-"
"I don't use it because it reminds me of her. That's why I walk everywhere. I don't want to remember that time." I sigh, "I needed a way to get here because I was planning on buying stuff when we came but I didn't get the chance to buy it."
"What were you gonna buy?"
"Well, we were going to the pet store. I was gonna buy Bao some treats and toys. But it's fine. Bao's happy as he is."
We arrive at my place two minutes later and I park the car in the spot for my apartment number.
We walk inside to my apartment and I'm met with Bao immediately.
"Hi, baby! I missed you too! Hey, stop barking at Minghao!"
Bao growls at Minghao and Minghao growls back. Bao sprints to my room and I shake my head. Looking at Minghao, he awkwardly rubs his arm, glncing around the room as if it was his first time here. I smile lightly, looking him up and down.
"Are you hungry?"
I make us both some rice and chicken soup, a special recipe by Mingyu and my mom. Mingyu and my mom were close, almost as close as we were. They loved cooking together and used the excuse of liking to baby me to do it. I didn't mind it and one day, a while after she had passed away, I asked him to teach me to make it. He did, and now it's one of the only recipes I can make.
"I haven't had this in so long." Minghao says as he takes a bite.
"I didn't feel like having ramen so I decided this." I shrug as I eat a bite.
"Are you alright?" He stops eating and stares at me.
"What do you mean?"
"Aelz, you might think I don't pay attention to you but I do. I don't care how many times we fight, you're still my best friend."
I smile a bit, staring at my food and playing with it a little.
"You know. When I was younger, my mother used to tell me I was an open book. I let everyone know everything. I wanted to be friends with everyone. That changed ever since she was diagnosed." I look up at him, "You're one of the few I've chosen to stay with me. Don't fuck up."
"Wouldn't even think about it." He smiles.
I smile back before taking another bite.
"Want to stay up all night and watch movies?"