Right Here

Chapter 11

"I hate you." I stuffed my hands deeper in my pockets and glared at Junmyeon who seemed to be very much enjoying this.
"I thought you liked the cold. Why are you complaining?" He said.
"I, in fact, hate the cold." Sehun huddled closer to me, also glaring at his fiancé.
"I like the cold but not ice skating."
"You said you've never been so how do you know you hate it?"
"I'll know when I bust my ass." I frowned.
"We won't let you fall." He laughed.
"Yeah right." I scoffed. "Where is Anya?" As always, she was late. I didn't know what possessed me to agree to this excursion Junmyeon proposed. I had been in a pretty miserable mood, missing Jinyoung and I guess he thought this would make me feel better. I would have rather just gone to his place to watch movies.
"She can catch up with us. If I don't get moving soon, I'm going to freeze to death." I could feel Sehun already shaking.
"There she is." Junmyeon pointed out. We all looked to see her scurrying along. Large scarf around her neck and her long curly hair in a bun atop her head, allowing her to wear her earmuffs.
"Tell me why I agreed to this?" She said once she met us.
"Why are you all so miserable?" Junmyeon asked.
"It's cold."
"I'm not trying to break my tailbone."
"I'm freezing." The three of us whined.
"Okay, okay. Fine. How about we just go get lunch then?"
"I love you." I threw my arms around him.
"Not as much as me." Sehun said pulling me away. We laughed. "Sorry babe, I know you were kind of excited for this."
"That's okay. I just wanted us to hang out." He said. "And you're right. It's pretty cold."
"So can we leave now?" Anya asked. She had looped her arm around mine.
"Yeah, Paradise Diner is not far from here." Junmyeon said. He and Sehun led the way while Anya and I followed behind.
"So how are things going with your prince?" She asked teasingly.
"Very well actually." I replied.
"Have you guys decided who's visiting whom next?"
"No." I shook my head. "We've both been so busy to want to make that trip."
"Well that's disappointing." She frowned. It really was. Being apart from him was harder than I thought it would be. We did our best to call and text consistently, but it didn't seem like enough. I needed him near me. I didn't know how people in long distance relationships survived.

At the diner, we settled into a booth by a window and tried to not talk about work. Sehun thankfully steered the conversation back when Junmyeon and I drifted. He then came up with the idea that the first person to bring up work would have to pay. That shut us right up.
"Isn't that Minseok?" Sehun said some time later as we were finishing up our meals. We all looked to the direction he had nodded in and sure enough, Minseok was a few booths over. Surprisingly enough, he was with Jongdae and Baekhyun. I started to feel...funny.
"Oh, it is." Junmyeon said. "Was this why he said he couldn't hang out with us?" He was frowning now.
"He said he had plans. This was probably what he meant so stop pouting." Sehun said. Junmyeon straightened up.
"Should we greet them?" He asked.
"Let them-."
"Minnie!" Anya called, cutting Sehun off, and catching the attention of several other tables. Minseok, along with the other two looked over. Minseok smiled and waved, he turned back to the other two and said something before standing and making his way over. I continued to look back at the table and caught Baekhyun's eye. He looked surprised for a moment but then smiled. I returned the gesture.
"What are you guys doing here?" Minseok asked cheerfully.
"Junmyeon tried to force us to ice skate but we whined so he brought us here instead." Sehun explained. Minseok laughed.
"I didn't know you knew Baekhyun." Junmyeon said.
"Oh yeah. I know him through Jongdae. We went to college together." Minseok explained.
"All three of you?" Anya asked.
"Yeah." He replied.
"How is Baekhyun?" Anya leaned in and lowered his voice. "I heard that he has that "rockstar" attitude since he's one of the top litigators in the firm." I frowned, wanting to defend him, but I didn't think that was my place. I knew it was a good idea to keep my mouth shut when Junmyeon eyed me suspiciously.
"Those are just rumors." Minseok said. "Let me introduce you." He looked back to wave over the two men who seemed to be signing for the bill. They stood and walked over.
"Ah, I see familiar faces." Jongdae smiled. "Good to see you Brielle and Junmyeon." Baekhyun smiled and waved as well. Minseok did the introductions. Sehun and Anya were the only ones not familiar. There was a brief conversation about what we were all up to, how we stumbled on the diner, and how good the food is before the men excused themselves.
"We'll hang out soon. I promise." Minseok said.
"It was nice to see you all. Be sure to stay warm." Jongdae said. Baekhyun just waved and the three walked away.
"Mr. Rockstar was mighty quiet." Anya said.
"He sure was." Junmyeon was looking directly at me and I honestly did not know why. It's not like Baekhyun and I were making googly eyes at one another. And neither of us said much. I shrugged it off. We stayed for a bit longer before calling for the bill. We were all shocked to find out that it had already been paid for. By a "Mr. Byun". Junmyeon's suspicious glances did not stop.