Soonhoon

Chapter 3

"Doekyom." I called him. We were sitting on the bench near the volleyball ground with Mingyu and Dino.
"What?" He asked gulping the water that Dino passed. I took the bottle after him and drank some myself. I wasn't sure if I should ask this but because I already made up my mind anyway,I took my chances.
"Guys." I took a deep breath. They had their eyes on me as they all wait for me to continue. "We've never talked about it...but what about your first love? What was it like?"
"I've never had one." Doekyom shrugged unbothered.
"In all your 17 years you've never even had a crush?" Mingyu asked surprised.
"Nope." He replied causally. "What about you?"
"She was pretty. In fifth grade. "He explained in short.
"What happened then?" Doekyom asked.
"We played together for a while but I grew bored. And it ended." That was it? Liar. I knew the girl. She was actually pretty. Her hair was long and wavy which fell till her waist. She didn't bother tying it. And Mingyu loved it that way. He followed her everywhere as she led him to places. His all attention was on the hair. They didn't do much except he played with her hair most of the time. Like a obedient little boyfriend he kept on giving her everything he had until one day he stopped and returned back to us.
"What about you, Dino?" I asked. Dino looked anywhere but in my eyes as he gathered his things. He had grown up the most among us. Until last year he was like a baby brother to all of us but then he grew up suddenly. We were still getting used to this side of him. The one where he suddenly stopped acting like a kid.
Dino looked forward. "First love is a myth. Nobody's first love comes true anyway."
"Did someone hurt my baby?" I cringed at the words along with everyone.
"Jeonghan." I glared at the sight of my brother who chuckled at us our disgusted faces.
"Children grow up so fast." He sighed. "Just yesterday you all loved being called my babies and today you feel grown up?"
"It was only Dino, Han." I hissed. "We hated that even back then."
He grinned at Dino. "Dino-
"I'll see you guys later. I have something urgent to do." He smiled apologetically as he hurriedly packed his bag and ran away.
The world felt weird now. I couldn't understand my friends anymore. Because we were growing up, because we were hiding things, because we were confused. And that is why we felt lonely and distant.
The saddest feeling is when your childhood friends who you think you know like the back of your hand are totally different from what you knew.
"Who is this?" Mingyu asked breaking the silence. That is when I noticed the boy beside Jeonghan. He had a tan skin and a calm aura.
"A new transferee." He said excitedly. "Hong Jisoo. But he prefers Joshua."
"Hello Senior." I greeted. "I'm Jeonghan's younger brother."
"Kim Mingyu." Mingyu said in the least polite way he could. And that was hard for him considering his personality that he created. But Sunbae didn't mind. He gave us the sweetest smile he could.
Something felt left out. Is it because Dino left?
"Doekyom." Right. The eyes were all on him as he sat dumbfounded with somewhat. I was embarrassed for him as he stared at Sunbae shamelessly. I nudged him.
"Huh?" He asked straightening. "Ah. I'm Lee Seokmin. You can call me Doekyom."
If we weren't boys it would look like he was talking to his crush for the first time. Sunbae wasn't that intimidating but Seokmin kept stuttering in front of him. He was even more flushed when Sunbae gave him a beautiful smile.
Jeonghan hyung smirked at me. I raised an eye brow in question. God knows what is going on in his mind.
"He's from LA." Jeonghan Hyung explained. "But his Korean is fine too. He's a church boy."
"Woah." Church boy? He was about to see hell here then.
"I'll see you guys later then." Hyung said taking Joshua Hyung's hand as they marched away.
"He's beautiful." Doekyom whispered to himself staring at the disappearing figures.
"You mean handsome?" Mingyu asked.
"Yeah. Good looking." What was wrong with this boy. Sure he was good looking but not that attractive to me. The only person that I found attractive was Jihoon. His short height, his poker face, his feline eyes, his side profile, his-
"Why did you ask about first love? Do you like someone?" Mingyu's voice broke my thoughts about Jihoon.
What should I tell him? That my first love is a boy? He'd be totally disgusted with me. And then like Seugkwan he'd isolate me too.
I sighed. "It's just-
"Mina?" He interrupted.
"What?"
"Oh come on. We have eyes too. She keeps looking at you. You keep returning her smiles. I heard the rumor too. She likes you. Do you like her?" He elaborated.
Do I like her? No. How do I know that? Simple. I like Lee Jihoon and nobody can change my mind easily. The only reason I smiled at her was because she smiled at me. And besides she sat a desk away from Jihoon. Passing by her class I sneaked glances towards him. I smiled at Jihoon just in case he'd ever smile atleast once. But looks like my plan backfired. The smile went to Mina.
"You do, right?" He pressed on.
"I'm not sure..." I trailed off as my eyes caught the view I envied the most. The sight of Jihoon patting Seugkwan. They were just a few feet away from us. There was a tenderness in the way he gave him a small smile before walking him way. And I hated myself for being like this.
"Guys...What should I do to get closer to somebody I like?"