Melodies

20

Woozi's POV
"This is the best breakfast ever! This meat is the best! And these pancakes are delish!" Seungkwan emphasizes.
"We get it. This food is amazing." Wonwoo shakes his head.
"It makes me wanna dance." Soonyoung stands up and starts dancing a bit.
"Sit your butt down! We're in a hotel, idiot!" Aelia yells at him.
"What time does the bus leave to Universal?" Hansol asks Jisoo.
"I think around noon." He answers.
I look at the time to see it's 11:58.
"Oh crap! There's only two minutes!" Seungcheol stands up quickly.
We all pack up our things, the boys stuffing the last of the food they can into their mouths. I shoulder my backpack as we run, looking over at Aelia to see she's annoyed and done with these boys. I'm pretty sure she's thinking about how much she hates that they make her late to everything.
At the same time, we do get some exercise out of it, as Aelia says. She only accepts this cause she needs the exercise, which I completely disagree with. Aelia isn't super skinny but she's not big either. She's average size and that's one thing I like about her. She really doesn't care what size she is, but she does like being healthy. All she really cares about is her music. And that just makes me even more attracted to her.
"Whoo! Bus ride!" Seokmin cheers.
"None of you better bother me. I'm going to sleep. You guys tired me out yesterday." Aelia sighs as we arrive at the bus.
We pile onto the bus, Hansol and Jisoo talking to the bus driver in English. They start talking a lot, laughing at whatever and I look at Aelia.
"Do you understand what they're saying?" I ask.
"A little. I used to study English but I stopped after my mom was diagnosed. I only learned it to go to Juilliard." She scratches her head before grabbing my hand, "Sit with me so I can sleep on your shoulder."
I let her sit near the window since I know she prefers that seat. As soon as she sits down, her head plops on my shoulder and her eyes shut. Why is she so tired? We honestly didn't do much yesterday. Maybe she's still exhausted from the plane ride the day before.
"Damn, Jihoon. What'd you do to your girlfriend? She passed out in like two seconds." Seungcheol says from behind me.
"Just let her be. I think she's still tired from the plane ride over. She didn't get to sleep a lot on it and even when we arrived. Chan came to our room that night and stayed up with her for like three hours before they fell asleep again. He came again last night, saying he can't sleep in a foreign country without her." I explain.
"Speaking of the hotel, how is it with Mingyu and Minghao there?" He whispers.
"Not too bad actually. Whenever we're in the room together, we're exhausted so all we do is sleep. The only time Aelia yells at us to be nice is when she goes in the bathroom to take a shower so it's just the three of us in the room. That was only twice." I shrug.
"You guys are cute together, not gonna lie." He looks down at her.
There's a look in his eyes, maybe thinking about when he liked her. There was a chance for him to be with her if all of the other boys didn't like her, but it's the same for all of the other boys. Some of the boys have backed off of her lately but there's a few who still don't know how to stop.
Seungcheol leans back into his chair then sighs. I look down at Aelia for a while, examining every little thing about her as if at any second she's going to slip away. I lace our fingers together and I feel her squeeze my hand, moving a little to get closer to me. Smiling, I kiss her forehead before looking out the window for the rest of the ride there.
We get to Universal Studios about half an hour later. It was only a long ride because the hotel is far from the place. I shake Aelia awake lightly and she jumps up, her eyes wide. I also jump with wide eyes at her reaction and she looks at me, blinking.
"What the... that was the weirdest dream..." she mumbles, rubbing her head before we walk off the bus.
"What happened in it?" I ask.
"Well... all I remember was right before you woke me up. I was walking up to you and you just stared at me. People were laughing at me saying they knew it, but I don't remember who or what it was. You said something and just left. That's when I woke up."
"That's really weird." I pull her closer to me by her waist, "But I'm here now and I won't leave you." I smile.
"You better not." She hits my chest.
"Yeah, cause I'll kick his ass if he does." Mingyu walks next to us.
"Mingyu!" She kicks his butt.
"Hey!" He tries to kick hers but we scoot over, making him fall on his butt.
We all laugh at the boy as he pouts and crosses his arms, still sitting on his butt. Aelia ends up helping him up along with Minghao, both making fun of him even more. I just shake my head, smirking. What a child.
We actually do every possible thing you can do at Universal. [A/N: I didn't think about the timeline right here so even though Halloween Horror Nights are in October, at this point in the story it is already like January or February... Whoops...] I hate to admit it but this is the most fun I've had with these boys other than when Aelia and Minghao went against each other in paintball. Hansol and Mingyu scream a lot, hugging each other whenever we pass someone who jumps out at us. Seungkwan jumps onto Seokmin's back and they both scream. Aelia almost pees her pants from laughing so hard. That is until a huge spider appears and she literally freezes in the spot with wide eyes. I have to carry her away from the area and calm her down before I can bring her back.
She doesn't move for the longest time, shaking while she stares at one spot on the ground. I place my lips on hers and let it linger there a few seconds. I slowly pull away and bend down to see her clearly, grabbing her hands as I stare into her eyes.
"You okay, angel?" I rub my thumbs across the back of her hands.
She finally looks at me and makes a sad expression. A pain in my heart shocks me when I see how sad she looks.
"Jihoon, I feel so useless. I can't believe I froze up because of a spider. A spider!" She covers her face, "Seungkwan and them actually had something to scream about... Mine was a bug. A measly insect that most likely is more scared of me than the other way around. When it's a normal size anyways..."
"That's not what you said when you called for me to kill that bug in your house a long time ago." I smile.
"You're not funny."
"I'm just kidding~" I pause, pulling her hands to my mouth.
She watches me as I kiss her knuckles gently before setting them back in her lap.
"Are you okay now? If you want I can explain your fear to them. If they laugh I'll-"
"It's fine if they laugh, Jihoon. If they do, they'll see what's coming." She smiles.
I smile back before standing up and helping her up. Pulling her back to the others, I explain what happened anyways. Some of the older ones laugh and Aelia and I glare at them. Minghao looks at her confused and I guess she notices this as well.
"Why do you look lost?" She asks.
"Well... why didn't you tell us before? Do you not trust us?"
"Of course I trust you guys. I just didn't want you to laugh... which you did." She sighs, "Let's just keep going."
She starts walking to another ride and the boys who laughed run after her to apologize, giving her tons of hugs and compliments.
By the time we decide to go somewhere else, it's closing time. Jisoo suggests that we go to see the lacma lights. When we all ask what it is, he just smiles which makes us curious and thirteen curious children causes lots of questions to be asked. Jisoo doesn't answer though. All he says is that we'll see and that we'll like it.
When we arrive at the place, we still have to walk to the spot from the bus stop. The younger ones pester Jisoo to tell them what we're seeing and he stops, making us all come to a halt. Oh shoot. Is Jisoo mad for once at their bickering?
"You wanna know where we're going?" He asks.
"Yes! Jisoo, it's killing me!" Seungkwan grabs his arm.
"Whoa! It's beautiful!" Aelia giggles and runs away.
I stare at her in confusion as she runs forward until I see what she sees. I gape in amazement as I notice the tall, elegant light poles. The boys smile as bright as the lights are shining and run after her. The only one who stays behind with me is Jisoo. He smiles over at me and motions for me to follow him. We walk together slowly and quietly until we reach an area sort of like steps. We sit on the steps and watch the others mess around in the distance, peeking out of either side of the posts, trying to hide or look at each other. Lots of laughter fills the air as they decide to take more pictures and videos of each other.
The only person I watch the whole time is Aelia. Sure, I like seeing all of my friends happy together and such but seeing her laugh and smile is the best feeling in the world.
"It's been a while since you started dating, huh?" Jisoo mentions.
"Yeah. The best time of my life that's for sure." I smile a little as Aelia screams a little when Seungkwan starts chasing her around the posts.
"How do you feel when you're around her? I want to know because I see it in your eyes, but your thoughts are what matters the most."
This surprises me. The fact that Jisoo wants to know how I personally feel about one of his best friends/ the girl he used to like, is really interesting to me.
It takes me a few seconds to find the words and once I know what I want to say, my face burns. I open my mouth to speak, slowly looking at him.
"I thought to make her fall for me, I had to make her laugh. But it just so happens that every time she laughs, I fall instead." I look back at her laughing with the boys, "And it happens every single time." I softly add.
"Really? You like her that much?" Mingyu appears out of nowhere.
His faces shows surprise and his eyes are wide. I look up at him with a serious face and nod. He continues to stare at me, an unknown look on his face. Jisoo gets up and we both look at him.
"I'll let you two talk. I'm sure he wants to know how you feel about his best friend." He smiles, rubbing my head before walking to the others.
Mingyu sits down next to me and I watch as he does so, nervous he'll throw me all the way back to Korea if I say the wrong thing. I don't know why I'm so nervous though. It's not like Mingyu can actually hurt me, it'd be the other way around. But for some reason, I feel the need to confront him about how much I like her.
"How?"
Even though it is one single word, I know what he's asking: how did I start liking her?
"You want to know the truth?"
"Obviously." He rolls his eyes.
I look at my hands and smile.
"I know you didn't know this but I knew Aelia before she went to our school."
"What're you talking about?" His eyebrows scrunch together.
"Mingyu, I knew her when she was auditioning for Juilliard." I look over at him.
His breath catches in his throat but he doesn't seem surprised. Maybe he figured this out already?
"Is that how you knew she played the violin when we first met you?"
"Yes..." I clear my throat, looking back at my hands, "I saw her as we were waiting in line to audition. I thought she was pretty at first, nothing more. She was freaking out the whole time we waited to enter the room. You know how she is, if she doesn't perform right, it'll haunt her forever." I laugh a little, "I didn't actually speak to her until right before we went in front of the judges though. I didn't understand the feelings I had for her at the time, but as soon as she started playing, my heart felt attracted to her."
"Why?"
"Why did my heart feel attracted to her?" I raise an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"Well, for one she was absolutely gorgeous. And she seemed passionate about music, which is something that I love. And-"
"You fell in love with her." He finishes for me, a surprised tone in his voice.
I nod. He opens his mouth to say something but he closes it, most likely trying to figure out what to say next.
"What do you like about her? Now that you've been dating for a while, I mean." His voice is quieter.
"Everything. Her imperfectly perfect smile, her enticing eyes, her melodious laugh, the way she plays her violin, her passion for her music, the way she gets excited over fluffy things, the amount of love she has for Bao, the way she gets competitive with games, how she thinks of all of the boys as her family. I can go on and on but I'm sure you don't want to hear it. You must feel awkward since she's your best friend, huh?" My face reddens.
"No. I think it's... sweet..." he admits.
I look at him in surprise and a thin lipped smile appears on his face. My eyes widen and he chuckles.
"Jihoon?"
"Yeah?"
"When you were talking to Jisoo earlier, did you mean that you..."
"Love her?"
He nods, his curious eyes finding mine.
"Yeah. Like... love love."
"Well, I don't know what you mean by 'love love', but yes. That's what I was saying." I look at Aelia, who is now arguing with Minghao about something, making me snicker, "I love her."
"I think... I think she loves you too."
"Really?" I quickly look at him.
"She's just scared to admit it. The only person she's ever loved was her mother, and she lost her." He sighs, "She's scared if she tells you she loves you, she'll lose you like she did with her. Aelia doesn't know this but her mom has told me many things about her. When Aelia was a child, she had a hard time finding friends at school. None of them were as fascinated with music as she was and everyone's parents were still... well... there. Her father disappeared when she was eight so she doesn't remember too much about him. That's also another reason she had a hard time finding someone she likes romantically. She didn't date throughout junior high or high school because she couldn't trust anyone to stay with her that long. And then her mom was diagnosed which caused her to be even more seclusive." He pauses, "You changed her."
"Jisoo told me I made her more happy... Is that true?"
"Aelia has always been either cold or happy, depending on her day, but mostly cold. With you around, she seemed to let herself relax a bit and get involved with the boys more." He points to her, "She's even acting like a child with them. She didn't before you came." He lowers his hand then looks at me, "I agree with him. You made her happier. Thank you."
"I didn't do anything-"
"You did. You just don't realize it. You'll see one day." He runs a hand through his hair, groaning a bit as he mumbles under his breath.
"Huh?" I raise an eyebrow.
"I..." more gibberish is audible from his lips.
"I can't hear you, Mingyu."
"I accept that you two are together!" He throws out.
"O-Oh." My eyes widen.
Well that was random and intriguing. But... he accepts us...? Finally!
"Just because I accept you two, doesn't mean I want you together." He admits.
"Oh."
Awkward...
"That's fine. Thank you. I actually wanted to get your blessing to let us be happy." I smile, laughing a little.
He smacks my arm, making me smirk in response. My eyebrows scrunch together as realization hits me.
"Why're you being nice to me anyways?" I ask.
"You know, I hated you for a really long time, but Aelia does look happy with you. It's the happiest I've seen her. That's why I'm accepting you. But if you hurt her, I'll murder you. Personally." He states.
I genuinely get scared. What if we don't work out? I doubt anything will come between us. She's the best thing that's happened to me. I wouldn't dream of hurting her, it'd only hurt me.
"I've been sitting with you for too long. The boys will probably think I'm not scared of you." He jokes, standing up, "Please take care of her. She needs you and I'm not always around to help." He frowns before jogging over to the others. I notice Aelia look at Mingyu oddly before starting to walk towards me. I sit up straighter, watching her as if she was in slow motion. Even her just walking is perfect. How did I get so lucky?
"Hey." She smiles at me as she takes a seat next to me.
"Hi." I smile, grabbing her hand and interlocking our fingers together.
"I saw you with Mingyu. You guys were talking for a while. I'm surprised there was no killing involved." She laughs.
"Well, he threatened to kill me, if that counts." I chuckle.
"What did you talk about that was important enough for him not to choke you to death?"
She looks at me with a look that I saw when we met for the second time. I don't know how to describe it but it's cute.
I smile brightly and kiss her hand softly. She looks at me in confusion but all I do is laugh.
"It's nothing important to you. All that matters is that you're happy and I'm happy."
"I noticed you kiss my hand a lot. Why?"
"Do you know what kissing on the hand symbolizes?"
She shakes her head. I smile and bring up her hand closer to my lips again.
"It means that the person kissing the hand admires the person who's hand they're kissing. It also means devotion to the other person by the person who did it."
She smiles.
"Thank you."
"For what? I didn't even do anything."
"Well, I'm sure Mingyu and you talked about something important if he was willing to sit down to talk about it. And you both seem pretty cheery. So... yeah... Thank you."
"Thank you for being in my life." My lips lightly press to hers.
"I feel like I haven't kissed you in forever." She mutters.
"It's cause your best friends like torturing us by not letting us."
"You're right." She laughs.
"We'll make up for it when we get back to Korea." I smirk.
"I can't wait~" She smiles.
"Hey! Stop kissing and take pictures with us! There's none with you yet, Jihoon!" Seokmin shouts to us.
"Let's go before they make a scene and get us kick out of the country." I pull her towards them, making her laugh at my comment.