(Guide Us to) A Million Stars

8

When I found out the apartment complex was reopening the fitness center in the building, I jumped at the chance to do something, anything. Tae had gone home to Daegu for the weekend so I had extra time. But when I arrived at the entrance there was a sign hanging on the door that said "Closed for Private Event." Disappointed, I turned on my heels and...bumped into Jin who was standing behind me.

"Suni? You work out?" he asked, holding a water bottle and a small towel in his hand.

"I want to...but it's closed," I said as I started to walk away.

Then he opened the door and gestured for me to enter. "Yes. It is closed because of us. Come on."

I smiled and nodded to show my appreciation. Inside the fitness center I found Yoongi on an exercise bike and Jimin and Jungkook at a punching bag. I waved at those two then walked up to Yoongi.

"Hi," I said, shyly, "did Tae tell you I had some of that jjamppong you made? It was delicious."

He rolled his eyes at me and replied, "Sorry, Suni. I don't speak English."

Ouch. He probably saw me as a threat to keeping order in the BTS world. I joined the other three by the punching bag. They were happy to show me how to throw a good punch. Then we had a contest using the electronic punching bag and, even with my handicap, Jin lost. As he completed his punishment of twenty push-ups, I walked over to a treadmill. I was surprised when Jimin had followed me and hopped on the one next to me.

I set my phone near the console and noticed a text from Tae. He had sent a 🌞which made me smile and hum loudly.

"What are you so happy about?" Jimin asked, lightly jogging.

"Oh, Tae just texted that he'll be back Sunday."

"He seems to enjoy things more since he met you."

I started a brisk walk on the treadmill. "Really? Something else could be making him happy and he just happened to meet me at the same time." I glanced at Jimin. This would be a great opportunity to do some digging. "Maybe he met someone when I started tutoring him."

"No. He does not have girlfriend. If that is what you mean. I do not know if I should tell you this but he leave early some activities to go to English lessons. He almost leave the 'Run BTS' shoot to go find you."

My jaw dropped. "He must really want to learn English."

Jimin laughed. "It makes me happy that he is laughing more and smiling more. He is back to how he used to be, you know?"

I tried to brush if off. "Well, he started writing a song and he seems very pleased with it. That's probably why he's in a good mood."

"Ah. Yes. Also..." Jimin glanced at me sideways. "...he asked the company to let you live in the small apartment. That never happened before. That was very risky."

I was still in awe that Tae did that for me. I didn't want him to get in trouble. Why did he take that risk? I wanted to ask Jimin if...no...that would be stupid. This wasn't high school. And I didn't want to jeopardize my time in Seoul by doing something like asking Tae how he felt about me. Or maybe this was high school and I could wait it out and plan to drop hints to see if he'll bite. I liked the adventure. I liked the chase. I could play that game now that Jimin gave me some bait.

***

When I found out the apartment complex opened the walking trails, I immediately took a walk outside. There, under the cherry blossom trees, remembering how they were featured in the romantic K-dramas I had seen, I thought of Tae. The fragrant petals above me were about to fall and I wished I could share that moment with him. I wondered what he was doing...what he was thinking...was he thinking of me?