WORDS. |Kim Seungmin

Twenty Three.

"Ughhhh. I'm done." Aria groaned while stretching her slumped body.

She dropped her arms to the table and then cracked her neck. She looked at the boy sitting across the table to find him sleeping peacefully, with his head rested on his arm on top of the big brown wooden table. It's been almost half an hour since he started dozing off then he finally gave up and dropped his head. He was tired and Aria knew why.

Ever since her brother and her friend decided not to be judgmental, Seungmin's life turned upside down. That day when Felix sent some bakery to him with Changbin, was the beginning of the chaos. Changbin was supposed to hand the bakery and come back but that never happened.

When the task took time more than normal, Aria began to worry so she went to check what was happening next door. She never expected to find Changbin playing PS with Seungmin. She never expected to find them eating burgers that they already ordered. She never expected that they already exchanged numbers. She never expected that.

At least, from Seungmin.

Slowly, Aria learned new things about Seungmin. She already knew that the boy was nothing near being a nerd or a quiet guy as he looked, but she never knew that he was that playful and energetic. He turned out to be a kid with never-ending battery.

Changbin wasn't the only one to befriend Seungmin. Felix tagged along too. Unlike Seungmin and Changbin, Felix would always be the quiet one. He had always been a quiet boy. The two other boys would be beating each other on PS and Felix would stay with them but at the corner just to observe. Felix too was never a nerd, he was just the kind of people who would listen more than talk but whenever he opens his lips, he backfires at the others or makes them clench their stomachs from laughter.

Aria?

Aria couldn't complain. She was happy that the boys started seeing Seungmin for who he really is. She was happy that Seungmin started to look less lonely. She was happy that Felix too, started to look less lonely, cause whenever she's late at work, feeling guilty that her brother is home alone, she would go back home to find Seungmin keeping his accompany. That made her happy, excluding the part when Seungmin is staying over their house, she always, like always walks into the living room to find it looks like a big fat trash bin.

He was hundred light years far from being clean or neat.

Aria giggled lowly to herself at how Seungmin started snoring. It wasn't annoying to her but it was really annoying to the girl studying at the far end of the table. They had to be quiet since they were at the library. The girl glared at Aria, making Aria mouth her a 'sorry'. Aria leaned over the table and started poking Seungmin.

"Hey." She whispered. "Wake up, heavy head. You are annoying others."

The boy shifted in his seat but never opened his eyes. His arm moved a little to push the book by his right to the edge of the table. That poor book left the shelf to be read, but ended up being used as a pillow, then to be shoved to the edge and landed with a thud on the floor.

Aria jolted then stood up and walked around the table to where the book dropped while whining under her breath about how he shouldn't have stayed up all night to play Fortnight with the boys when they had classes to attend the next morning. She squatted down, picked up the book, and was about to stand up but didn't as something caught her eyes.

His ankle.

His wide-legged jeans were lifted a little, showing black writing just above his ankle. Aria squinted her eyes, trying to read what was written there.

'Freak.' It read.

Aria knitted her brows while getting up to her feet. Why would he have the word 'freak' tattooed on his skin? And why didn't she notice him having a tattoo on his ankles before? How many other tattoos he had other than the one above his elbow?

Aria was thinking of those questions while shoving her eyes to the arm that the boy was resting his head on. Her eyes widened once they landed on the skin showing from his short sleeve.

The tattoo that she saw before wasn't there.