Between Me and You

Five

"Earth to Jeon Wonwoo! Hey, pay attention when people are talking to you!" Soonyoung not so gently nudges Wonwoo as they were making their way to Jihoon's house which has a studio where they practice after class. "Man, you've been really weird recently. What's gotten into you?"

"My bad. I was just spacing out." Wonwoo answers, still clearly distracted. He's not usually the kind of guy whose head is in the clouds but lately, his mind always seems to fly off to somewhere else.

They see two familiar figures in front of them, playfully pushing each other while walking. Wonwoo, upon closer look, realizes that it's Yein and Kim Mingyu, one of the most popular guys in school who also happens to be Junhui and Soonyoung's classmate.

For some reason, Wonwoo feels a strangely unpleasant feeling creep up on him.

"Oh, it's Mingyu with Yein!" Junhui points at the two people who have stopped playing and are now calmly walking.

"Are they a couple?" Jihoon innocently asks. "I always see them together."

Junhui shrugs. "What I do know is that they've been attached at the hip for the longest time."

Wonwoo picks up on what Junhui said and feels the unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach wash over him.

"Hey, Gyu! Yein!" Soonyoung calls over and jogs to them, much to Wonwoo's dread.

"Hi guys! Are you on your way home?" Yein asks them when they catch up to her and Mingyu.

"We're actually on our way to Jihoon's studio to practice!" Junhui answers.

"You have a studio?" Mingyu turns to Jihoon who nods with a small smile. "That's pretty cool! Yein told me about your band. I hope I can watch one of your shows!"

Wonwoo tries to ignore the way Mingyu casually nudged Yein like it was the most natural thing to do and her beaming at him when he does. Suddenly, he was wondering just how close the two were.

"Thanks, bro!" Jihoon answers.

They continue talking until they reach the end of the street where they go their separate ways but not before Yein beams at Wonwoo. He gives her a small wave and a smile that he hopes didn't look too forced, breathing a sigh of relief when they finally leave.

Wonwoo's heard plenty of stories about Mingyu from Soonyoung and Junhui and he's gathered that he's a great guy, but somehow, despite his seemingly great personality, he just can't seem to like him.

Jihoon pulls him aside and lets their two friends lead the way. "What happened there?" He asks quietly.

"What do you mean?" Wonwoo asks, staring at him cluelessly.

"At first, you looked constipated. Then you looked like you were shooting laser beams at Mingyu."

"I did?" He asks, taken aback. Sure, he wasn't feeling great but he couldn't have been glaring at Mingyu. But before he could start explaining, Jihoon shoots him an annoying smirk that he really wants to wipe off.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous of him and Yein." Jihoon says casually. "You like her or something?"

"You of all people know full well I don't do romance." He replies, despite the hammering in his chest. It's true, Wonwoo's never had anyone he's remotely interested in. He's too busy both avoiding people and being avoided.

Jihoon gives him an unimpressed look but he doesn't press anymore. "There's a first time for everything, you know?" He shrugs and walks ahead.

Still, Wonwoo can't possibly like Yein. Especially not when she has someone like the perfectly nice and handsome Kim Mingyu next to her. Who'd pick snobby boring Wonwoo over the ultra-cool and confident Mingyu?