Querencia

08

"Juyeon, here."

A smile crept up upon his face as an arm was seen waving high in the air to get his attention which it did. He jogged to the table which all his male friends were sitting around it, saving a vacant seat for him.

"Sorry I'm late", he apologized, fist bumping each of them who seemed to have held their patience to satisfying their grumbling stomach just to eat with him.

"Did your class end late?" Changmin questioned, finally getting to shove a piece of meat into his mouth.

"No, I went to submit a report", he took off his varsity and hung it on the chair he was sitting on. "I wonder how Hana is doing. That professor is a bit strict."

The mere mention of the girl's name somehow has been attracting Kevin's attention. He seemed not to be able to continue eating, either worried or more so wanting to know more about the girl.

At a certain point, he could only hear the update about Hana from Juyeon. Not only because they were close, for they were in the same course.

"I've been wondering about this one thing", Changmin suddenly spoke up, cheeks still full of food he kept in them. He then averted his gaze on Kevin across from him. "Do you like Hana? You always look interested whenever we're talking about her."

It was then, that Chanhee was choking on his food, obviously unaware of the surroundings whilst they were hanging out together.

But, if he did not notice all along, it surely was not a bizarre thing. Kevin was a psychology student, he must have known how to hide his feelings from being seen.

"Kevin likes Hana?" Chanhee blinked out of confusion, watching the said boy shyly nod before the former leaned across to Juyeon, asking, "Are you okay if they are dating?"

"Why not?" the latter asked back, obviously a bit confused by the question.

If both of them had a mutual feeling, Juyeon had no place to forbid them from dating. Instead, he would be much happier.

"But Juyeon", Chanhee paused, leaning closer to him, sniffling like a rabbit which made everyone around the table stop eating and watch him scanning Juyeon with his nose. "You smell like a girl. This is a girl's perfume."

Chanhee then pondered, sinking back in his chair. For a moment he was doubting if he smelled it wrong but it was too familiar for him to ignore.

It was not like he was wearing the same thing. It just felt like he had smelled it somewhere before.

At that, Juyeon started sniffling his own body, pausing as if his brain was trying to identify the smell. Indeed it was not his to begin with.

However, he needn't much time to process, his reflex immediately moved his hand to reach the varsity he hung on the backrest of the chair and brought it closer to his nose, sniffling for another round.

The smell was the same and it also was too familiar to him.

"Oh, now I remember", he grinned, putting back the cloth on the previous spot. "It must be Hana's. That day she wore my jacket, her perfume must have been here since then. That girl never changed her perfume."

"No wonder it is familiar", Chanhee clapped his hands once, finally remembering where he smelled it before as Juyeon clarified it.

The tension around the table suddenly tightened. Juyeon was clouded with guilt as he finally was hit by a realization.

Now that he was finally aware of Kevin's feelings towards his female best friend, he should not have mentioned a lot about her. What if the boy suddenly felt some sort of discomfort or the worst, jealousy?

"I'm sorry Kevin, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay", Kevin cut him in real quick, smiling with the beautiful smile he usually put on. "You two have been friends for a decade. It's normal if you know a lot about her."

At that, Kevin continued eating, proving that he was not even hurt by anything. He understood the situation well.

"Don't worry Kevin", Changmin added, pausing as he swallowed his food. "You will get to know Hana in real quick. That girl is talkative once you know her."

"I agree with that", Kevin pointed out, recalling the small moments he had with the girl though it was short. Even for a short time, Kevin could tell Hana was not an insider but more of a shy person conversing with new people.

It was what triggered him to be closer to her. He wanted to unveil the new side of her.

"Should I call her here?" Juyeon suggested, taking out his phone from his pocket.

The stern 'yes' and 'go on' were heard escaping his friends' lips, making Juyeon more eager to call her. Maybe from this small interaction, an anticipated relationship between her and Kevin could be created.

However, when Hana picked up the call after a few beeps, Juyeon was unable to go on with his plan. His face fell, worries enveloping his whole body after hearing her voice which was far from his expectation.

"Where are you?" was what he could ask before he ditched his friends for the girl.