𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑𝐒 ￫ 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

（𝐕.）𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐀 𝐊-𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐀

HE WATCHED AS JOSHUA AND AREUM TALKED, ALTHOUGH IT WAS MORE ONE-SIDED THAN ANTICIPATED. But her laughter... Her laughter made everyone in the room, no matter how close or far, smile as if it was the only right way to react.

"Areumie!" Seokmin shouted for her, grabbing her attention from the older boy. "Guess what I got you!"

"Chocolate?" Although quiet, the girl's timid voice reached his ears, feeling the slightest bit of tingling.

Seokmin let out a loud laugh before revealing the sweet treat to the girl. Areum excitedly thanked him, taking the chocolate for herself.

"I guess it's been a routine now, hasn't it?" Seungcheol joined in, patting her head and then neatening the mess he made of her hair.

"Here," Jeonghan said, showing her a banana milk drink for her to take.

"Seriously," Seungkwan scoffed, crossing his arms. "You guys are treating her so kindly and pretending that the rest of us don't exist. Don't you know that you should treat everyone equally?"

Just then, Soonyoung entered the room with a box of chocolates, walked to the group and gave Areum his gift, only to meet with Seungkwan's offended look.

They laughed. She laughed. But he couldn't hear it. He was too far away, sitting against the wall on the other side of the room with a piece of paper in hand. He had forgotten that he was supposed to improve his rapping skills upon seeing her talk to another trainee, a trainee whom he was supposed to be in the same group with very soon.

It was ironic how everyone in school chased after him and now he was chasing the one person that didn't want to do anything with him. Of course, he didn't know that.

Yet.

[ ~ ~ ~ ⚘ ~ ~ ~ ]

Wonwoo exhaled deeply. eyes cast downwards as he grudgingly made his way down the stairs. He looked at the paper in his hand, glaring at it as though it was the one that made him feel the way he felt. Technically, it did make him feel worse. Only, it wasn't the main cause.

The actual cause was the girl standing a few steps above him, not taking notice of his presence. She was still in a daze after the tutoring session she had with Woozi. It was definitely an experience she would never forget. The fact that she literally did nothing but sit there, following his instructions was enough to tell how intimidated she was by the boy.

Distracted with her thoughts, she hadn't been concentrating on her way down the stairs nor did she notice the equally distracted boy just a few steps below her.

It was as though there was a push against her back that made her heart skip a beat. Quite literally.

Not giving her a chance to even scream or grab the railings, she tumbled down the stairs, arms spread open like how she does every time she belly-flops on her soft bed back home. Only this time, her fate was to meet the firm ground. Or was it not?

Hearing the commotion above him, Wonwoo turned around, only to notice the girl's crisis. With his quick reflexes, Wonwoo held onto her waist without thinking, hugging her close to his body.

It was when she opened her eyes that he noticed how close they were. Areum was even more surprised to meet the face of a boy instead of the dirty floor. For a moment, it did seem rather romantic seeing the two teenagers in a position as such. But, of course, real life wasn't like how it was in the movies.

Shocked, Wonwoo let go of his grip slightly, causing Areum's eyes to bulge out once more. This time, she did scream, nearly reaching the ground when the boy realised she was, once again, falling.

Without thinking twice, he pulled her arm, switching positions with her when he realised he could not regain his balance. Everything seemed to have gone slowly for them as they waited for the impact.

The crash had apparently been loud enough to reach the others since the pair were caught in a dilemma; Areum sitting on Wonwoo with his arms tightly wrapped around her waist.

Let's just say, it had never lost its popularity, the incident.