WORDS. |Kim Seungmin

Thirty Three.

He didn't back off. He stood there, closely, looking down on her. Her eyes were curious yet angry at the same time. Was she angry? Because she couldn't touch him?

Seungmin couldn't get why she was angry with him. He didn't want to piss her more anyways, but he couldn't answer her. He had the answer but he couldn't give it to her. Not yet. Still having his eyes locked with hers that were just a few, very few centimeters away, he decided to be honest with her.

"I can't answer this." He talked honestly.

"Why?"

"Cause the answer might scare you."

"But it might not."

He sighed, closing his eyes tightly. Aria watched how his brows knitted and how his tongue licked his lower lip before biting it. He was thinking of what to say. He opened his eyes to look down at her again. Her eyes were softer than earlier which made him soften too. He tilted his head slightly as he inched his face closer to hers but still kept his distance. Aria didn't miss how his hand moved up but quickly dropped to his side again. She guessed that he was about to hold her then changed his mind, which made her pout.

"I don't want to lie to you." He whispered. "I don't want to hide it either. But I'm afraid I might lose you." He paused to gulp down his nervousness. "Can you please just trust me this one time? I promise to tell you, eventually."

"Fine." She answered shortly, followed by a defeated sigh.

"Thank you." He whispered again.

Aria stepped back. She decided to wait and follow his pace. It wasn't easy for him after all.

Deciding to change the subject, her eyes started to roam around, trying to find anything that might help her start a new conversation with him. That was when her eyes landed on the photo by the mirror that he had just taken.

"You didn't write the date or time yet." She said, pulling the photo.

"Yeah. I don't know what date or time I should write. There are many words that were spilled at different times." He shrugged.

Aria didn't reply. She dropped the photo and started walking around again. This time, she was watching the words written inside each photo. "Were those flashes I've always been seeing, from your cameras? While taking these photos?" She asked.

"Yeah. I started doing that years ago. I was trying to document what happens with me, hoping it would help."

"Did it help?" She asked, looking over her shoulder to Seungmin who was leaning to the door while crossing his arms to his chest.

"Not much. I only came up with the conclusion of the twenty-four hours. Nothing more than that. But I kept doing it anyways."

"Hmm." Aria hummed to herself while inspecting the photos. Her fingers were trailing the photos on the wall. Her eyes were following them until they landed on a photo with a date that she remembered clearly.

The photo was of Seungmin's wrist with the word 'blue' written across it. Aria scrunched her face then turned to face Seungmin. "Is that what I'm thinking of? The day you got a sprained wrist?"

"Umm, ah! Yes." Seungmin answered while rubbing his nape awkwardly. He made his way to Aria and looked at the photo. "A few words slipped from my mouth that day while I was trying to decide on which shirt I should wear. That's why I was late. I panicked trying to do something to my wrist to hide it. Then I came up with the bandage idea."

"Wow!" She chuckled. "Then, all those burning hot days that you were wearing long-sleeved shirts, were for the same reason?"

"Yes. And moreover," He giggled to himself which caught Aria off guard. That little laugh of him was music to her ears. "Remember the day you heard a scream coming out from here?" He asked and she nodded at him. "That wasn't the movie. It was me. And I had to put on a face mask and fake a cold cause I had a big fat 'AHHHH' written across my face just below my nose."

"What?" She asked in disbelief and started giggling along with him.

"Here." He said, pointing to a photo sticking to a higher spot.

"Oh my God!" She gasped and then started laughing out loud. "This is hilarious. You look funny with the 'AHHH' mustache." She said between the giggles.

Seungmin looked at her with mesmerized eyes. She was beautiful. Beyond beautiful. She was breathtaking. Her genuine laughter was the most beautiful melody that he ever heard. Her dyed blond hair fitted her creamy freckled face perfectly. For the first time, Seungmin noticed one of the freckles taking the shape of a heart, just above the corner of her lips. She was unreal.

"What?" She asked him when she noticed he was staring. "Is there something on my face?"

He chuckled. "I'm the one with all kinds of things on my face, Aria. And if I want to go back to being a normal-looking creature, I have to stop talking now. So, I could get out of the house tomorrow. Felix and Changbin are making a fuss."

"I was thinking," She started talking hesitantly. "What if you try and te-"

"Tell them?" He cut her off. "I was thinking about that, honestly. But I'm afraid. They might get scared."

"They might, and they might not." Aria shrugged. "We'll never know without trying."

Seungmin smiled gently at her. "Yeah, we'll never know without trying."