52 Fifty

"I swear, Hyung, if you end up catching a cold, I will first kill you and then take care of you." Mingyu frowned at me.

"I am not coming down with a cold, Mingyu-ya. Trust me." I said as reassuringly as I could in the face of his explosive concern.

"Are you not sleeping properly again?" He asked and then looked at Jaehyeon. "Is he not sleeping properly again, Hyung?"

"He slept just fine last night." Jaehyeon responded, wiping the sweat off his chin with a towel. We were in between practice and I had said that I was taking a break because I had a headache. "I think. I was also sleeping so…"

"Geez. You-" Mingyu looked at me again. "Hyung."

"I slept well. Physically, I am in top condition. I just have a headache. That's all." I reported. "Now that I think about it, I haven't had much water since morning. It's probably just that."

"Water…" Mingyu narrowed his eyes at me.

"He's really pissed." Yeojun commented. Hanseol was leaning against Yeojun by an arm on his shoulder and watching me get scolded.

I wasn't going to get their support.

"Of course, I'm pissed. We're so close to our comeback." Mingyu sighed. "Nothing is more important than our health at this point."

"But it's just… a headache…" Why was I getting told off so much? "I'm just resting for a bit so that it doesn't get worse."

"He just needs some water." Jaehyeon stepped in. "He has at least learnt his lesson from the previous time."

"I have. Mingyu, don't worry. I'm taking care of myself." I gave him a thumbs-up and a smile. "I'm really okay."

He seemed convinced with that. "Okay. Just… rest up for a while then. And drink plenty of water."

"I will." I bowed to show that I was still in high spirits. "I'll join you all in a few minutes."

"Half an hour." Mingyu imposed.

"Okay. Half an hour." I agreed.

"Then, the rest of us can get back to practice." Mingyu nodded to me and motioned for the rest of them to return to practice.

I proceeded to go sit on this floor, leaning against the wall, with a bottle of water that I rather diligently drank down. Even if I wasn't practicing, I needed to at least watch.

I checked my phone before they started and saw that I had received a reply from Changmin to my earlier enquiry about his whereabouts.

'Just leaving the meeting room. Have an interview at Taeyang TV.'

'I'm in the practice room. Have a headache so I'm just going to watch for a while.' I reported and put my phone down. Closing my eyes briefly, I pictured it- Changmin could be passing by in the hallway right on the other side of the wall that I was leaning on and I still couldn't see him. It had already been more than two weeks. They were always out owing to promotions for Underground and shows.

They'll be going on their world tour soon too…

I sighed. Will he really be able to give me time before he leaves?

Almost five minutes later, the door to the practice room opens and the very man whom I was thinking about popped his head in and looked around, surprising me enough to not even be able to call for his attention from where I sat.

"Oh. Sunbae." Yeojun was the first to react. They were in the middle of the routine for Sandbox but stopped when Changmin showed up.

"Ah. Sorry. You can… continue? I'll just borrow-" He looked around till I raised my hand and brought his eyes to me. "-Jeongwoo, if that's okay. A few minutes."

He actually came…

Mingyu looked at me. "You have the remaining of that half an hour, Hyung."

"Okay." I got up, straightened out my clothes and went over to Changmin who gave me way and shut the door immediately after I had stepped out.

"I thought you were busy." I turned to him. He was wearing a brown knee-length coat over a grey T-shirt with black trousers. His dark blue hair had been styled up to show his forehead.

I really did like when his forehead was visible.

"I am. I snuck away for a minute." He discreetly looked around before leaning closer with a playful smile tugging at his lips. "Plus, if my boyfriend says he isn't feeling well, how could I not drop by to check on him?"

I moved back a step. We were still standing out in the hallway. Even if there were no people, there were CCTV cameras everywhere. "Why is everyone so fussy about a headache? It's just because I haven't had enough water to drink the whole day." I pouted, feeling happy about the fact that he had actually snuck away and come to see me just because I had said that I had a headache. "Is it because I collapsed before? Even Mingyu scolded me for this like I had done something seriously wrong…"

"Everyone's just concerned." He reached out and picked out the stray strands of my hair and smoothed them down. "You've got so many people to worry about you. Ah… I'm feeling a little possessive."

I frowned at him. His approach was amusing, to say the least. "…What?"

"Mm…" He watched me as though turning the thought over in his head. "Can we find an empty room?"

Now?

"You're the one who doesn't have time." I reminded him.

"I know but…" He sighed and scratched his head in obvious frustration. "Ah. What do we do?"

Couldn't the cameras, the people behind the cameras and everyone else just not look at us for a minute?

I leaned back against the wall and averted my eyes briefly. The emotions that were building up in my chest- seeing him but not being able to hug him without thinking about it a hundred times- were stifling. Before we started dating, if I had wanted to hug him, I would just have done it. Did having something to hide change things so much?

"Will… I get to see you before you leave?"

That brought his eyes back to me. I assumed that the smile that graced his lips just then was owing to the fact that I had said that I wanted to see him. "You will."

"For how long?"

"Long enough. I'll try to make it such that we can go for dinner."

"And then what?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" He looked surprised.

"We're going to be in public the entire time." I pointed out.

"Oh." He understood. That was evident from the way that he smirked. "What do you want to do then? Go to a hotel?"

Not… a hotel. That was going too far.

He chuckled on seeing my face and rubbed a palm against my cheek which he withdrew immediately. "Don't look so troubled. I was just joking."

…Really?

"I'll think of something." He said. "We'll go somewhere without people."

It wasn't just enough to think of a place without people. It was also important that people do not see us going to such places. "I'll… think too." It wasn't just his responsibility. "When though?"

"We're getting a day off before we leave. My family is most probably going to be in town. I would have asked you to tag along but… you'll have work."

"Do you think that I'll be able to face your mother and sister like this?" I asked seriously.

"Too much?" He wrinkled his nose.

"Yes."

"They'll leave by evening though. I should be free by 06:30 pm at the latest. It's a Saturday."

Considering usual work… "I'll ask Manager-nim too but I should be free by evening on Saturday." It was still too early to tell though. We had a couple more weeks in between. "Then, Saturday evening?"

"Okay." He nodded and smiled. "We'll figure out the details along the way."

I agreed and stood straight again. "I don't want you to get late because of me. You should go."

"I should." He said, dejected, then pulled me into his arms for a quick hug without warning. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

If you had given me a hint that you were going to hug me, I could have at least been prepared to make the most of the few seconds that it may have lasted.

"Ah. You too. I'll see you." I gave a quick wave and watched him leave. A few steps away, he looked over his shoulder. I chuckled. It wasn't just me who was trying to prolong this surprise minute that we had gotten.

He shook his head and motioned towards the practice room, mouthing 'Go'. I silently mouthed back- 'Don't want to.' He scrunched his brows and pouted. So, I returned a 'Go'. He laughed, flashed me a finger-heart and then continued to walk away.

When what we had just done actually dawned on me, I felt the blood rush to my head in embarrassment.

What were we? High School kids?! Why was I so happy about something as childish as corridor flirting?!

Was it because of how long it had been since I had last gotten to see him?

That was it, right?

Yes. That had to be it.

There was no way that I was as innocent and childish as all that. I mean, this kind of interaction was hardly enough. The most that we had gotten out of it was a hug.

…

Who was I trying to convince?

Surrendering myself to the fact that I was simply happy at having gotten to see Changmin, I reluctantly returned to the practice room, having completely forgotten about the headache momentarily.