Tell Me I'm Alive

Calming Touch

Once we step into Sephora, I pull my phone out and find the list of products Emma wants me to buy. Felix leans on my shoulder, looking at the list and humming.

"She's got all the basics on there, even put the exact colors of everything she wants. It shouldn't be too hard to find everything." He moves to tilt the phone further in his direction and I do so wordlessly.

"I'm glad you can understand all this because I'm completely lost. I haven't worn makeup since my senior prom six years ago." I rub the back of my neck, embarrassed at my lack of knowledge. "Where should we start? Foundations?"

"Sure, it looks like they're over here." He points in that direction and most of the guys split off from the group, going to find what they want to buy. "Let's see..." Felix trails off as his eyes move over the different brands on the shelf. "Aha! This one and..."

I kind of lose focus, lost in my head for a minute as Felix takes my phone in his hand to see better. I feel a hand on my shoulder and look to see Hyunjin at the other end of the attached arm.

"What's up?" I tilt my head at his questioning gaze. I can see the concern in his eyes, but instead he just smiles and wraps his arm around my shoulders.

"Let's leave Lix to do this; I want your opinion on some things." He guides me away from where Felix is still searching the shelves for all the stuff on Emma's list. Hyunjin guides me over to the section filled with hair products. "I noticed how healthy your hair looks and I want to know what you use."

I scoff at him and roll my eyes, "My hair isn't that great. It's a raggedy, curly mess most of the time. I just straightened it for today." I love my curls but I don't put that much effort into maintaining them. "I just use a leave-in conditioner on the ends and hope for the best every time I wash it."

"But it's so long and pretty!" He reaches out and runs his fingers through a few stands, feeling them before his fingers find a knot.

I grab his hand before he can pull any further and disentangle my hair, finger brushing it a bit. "My hair is very thin but I have a lot of it. It often tangles up and is difficult to manage most of the time."

He pouts a little, "Still pretty." I blush and look down at my hands moving through my hair.

"Thank you. Let me see if we can find the leave-in I use." I look up again and Hyunjin smiles brightly. I turn to the shelves and search through them. "Here it is!" I reach forward and pull the bottle off the shelf. "Shea Moisture Curl & Shine Leave-in Conditioner. It's not expensive and comes in a good sized bottle. You get a lot for what you pay." I hand the item over to Hyunjin and he inspects it before nodding, satisfied with what he sees.

"So, your hair is usually curly? Can I see picture?" He smiles, seeming genuinely curious about what the mess on my head usually looks like.

"I guess, but Felix has my phone-"

He immediately turns around and dashes off to find Felix. I stand there stunned for a moment before I remember all the incriminating things I have saved to my photo gallery. There's a nicely packaged album labeled 'K-Pop' with any and all photos I've saved of them over the years.

"Hyunjin wait!" I run after him, moving my short legs as fast as I can to keep up with his longer strides. As I turn the corner, I see Felix standing there with a bewildered expression on his face. I look at his hands but only find the products from Emma's list in them. "Where'd he go?"

Felix points over his shoulder, looking lost. "He grabbed your phone, and ran in that direction."

"Oh my god, I'm going to wring his pretty neck when I get my hands on him." I move in the direction Felix pointed out and find Hyunjin with the rest of the members, all centered around my phone in his hands. "Yah, Hwang Hyunjin! Hand that over right now!" I stomp towards everyone with my hand outstretched.