It wasn’t long until Bobby and Rhine reached the location the two groups were supposed to meet, which was near Jinhwan’s house. The two glanced around but no one was in sight. A sigh escaped Bobby’s lips as he looked down at his phone.

“It’s ten past twenty, where are they?” he asked.

“Maybe they’re already in the house?”

“It’s ‘bout to rain soon, we should head in too.” They headed towards the door and they entered. Eiseu’s head snapped up and turned towards them, two plates in her hands. A look of hope crossed her face.

“Have you found sunbaenim?” She quickly set the plates of food down on a nearby table and wiped her palms on her apron.

“You mean he hasn’t returned?” Rhine uncertainly glanced back at Bobby. Hanbin’s been gone for almost two hours.

Eiseu shook her head. “Where are the others? Why aren’t they with you two?”

“They haven’t dropped in?” With another shake of the head from Eiseu, Bobby made a move to head back out.

“I’ll go look for them.” Rhine looked at him with wide eyes.

“It’s going to rain and it’s dark out. I’m sure they’ll be fine,” she insisted.

“Yeah, dinner’s almost ready,” Eiseu agreed. She motioned with her hand the dishes on the set table. Bobby’s eyes drifted to the table and lingered there for a moment. His stomach rumbled and he felt guilty.

Jinhwan’s mother popped her head out of the kitchen, her eyes brightened when she saw the two. “You’re back.” She frowned when nobody else stood behind Bobby and Rhine. “Where are the others?”

Rhine cleared and turned to Bobby. He quickly explained, “We haven’t found them yet.”

Jinhwan’s mom frowned when rain started pelting outside the door in a fury, the raindrops making loud noises against the cement. “I’m sure they’ll find their way back. Come in and close that door. You two must be cold.” Bobby and Rhine stepped inside as he closed the door gently behind them. They stood together unmoving and unsure of what to do. “Go sit by the fireplace while Eiseu-ddal and I set the table.” She noticed the concern on the kids’ faces and she quickly said, “We’ll go find them if they don’t come back by eleven.” Her eyes drifted to the door with worry before she dipped her head out of sight.

*

“I swear, why does everything bad have to happen to me?!” Junhwe groaned when the rain fell like shards onto them. He reached behind his head and groaned once more when he realized he didn’t have a hood.

“You’re not the one who can barely walk,” Jae scolded.

Junhwe made a face and mimicked her, but she didn’t notice. Frustrated, he harshly pulled his arm out of the sleeve when he smacked Jae on the side of her face on accident and she yelped, losing her balance. She stumbled to the side but quickly regained her balance. Her hand immediately flew to her face and her cheek stung. Junhwe’s mouth gaped open and he froze in his spot, suddenly realizing what he had done.

Before he could muster an apology, words flew out of like knives, “That’s a little far, isn’t it? What are you, a ten year old?” She half laugh, half scoffed. “My ten year old brother isn’t even that low! You say the best thing about you is your face? Huh, huh? How would you like it if I smacked that pretty face and nobody recognizes you, huh?”

His hands flew up to his sides in surrender. “You don’t have to take it that far.” He immediately regretted what he said.

“I’m, I’m taking it too far?!”

He interjected, “No, no! Hear me out. I didn’t mean to hit you, it was an honest accident. I’m sorry, I really am.”

Her eyes narrowed and she studied the man before her, checking to see if he was being honest. When she found her answer, she sighed and rubbed her face in annoyance. “Be careful with what you do next.” She walked past him and he sighed in relief. He turned and noticed the limp in her walk. She kept muttering curses and rubbing her face, the rain pelting down at her and wetting her clothes. Her hair dripped down her back. Something inside of him dropped and he groaned.

“Koo Junhwe, noooo,” he groaned under his breath.

He raced towards her and grabbed her wrist that was hanging down by her side. She cursed and turned to him with a glower. “What?” She glared at his hold on her and he quickly let her arm go.

“Uh…” He quickly took off his jacket and awkwardly put it over her head. She watched him with confusion and he quickly turned his back to her as he knelt down on one knee. “Let me carry you.” Blood rushed to his face and the voice inside his head kept cursing at him.

“N-no,” Jae stammered. Her hand held onto the jacket over her head. She watched the rain drench him. “I can walk.”

He felt shy, but insisted without looking at her, “With that limp, you’re holding us back.”

She scowled at him but smirked when a thought came to mind. “Suit yourself, sunbaenim.” She jumped onto his back and he stumbled, almost falling over from the force. She yelped and her hand clutched onto his shoulder. “Don’t drop us!”

He gritted his teeth and steadied himself, his hand awkwardly holding her knees as he took a deep breath and slowly stood up. When he stood up without them falling over, a sigh of relief left his lips. ‘Is she really heavy or am I not working out enough?’ he thought to himself before slowly taking a step forward.

“Is this alright?” he glanced back at her and he almost fell over. He cursed under his breath and a yell left her lips.

“Watch out!” she exclaimed. Her voice lowered in guilt, “I just get anxious sometimes… Are you regretting your offer?”

“If I say I do, would you offer to walk?”

She frowned. “Fine.”

He chuckled and stopped walking as he steadied them. He continued walking again and she hesitantly leaned closer to him, her arms slowly encasing around his shoulders. A blush crept onto her cheeks and her heart raced. Junhwe was caught by surprise, his heart racing. He pretended he wasn’t bothered by it as he continued walking. With one hand, she reached up for the jacket over her head and carefully moved it over his head too so the both of them were sheltered from the rain.

“Would you mind?”

He held out the flashlight towards her and she took it, shining the light on their path.

*

Bobby, Rhine, Eiseu, and Jinhwan’s mother were hunched around the fireplace, each one kept glancing at their phone to look at the time. It was five minutes until eleven.

“The food’s getting cold. You young ones should go eat,” Jinhwan’s mom looked at the three. They all hesitated in unison, shaking their heads.

“Ahjumma, you should eat. We’re young, we can tolerate,” Eiseu urged. Mrs. Kim shook her head, her hands rubbing past each other.

“Bobby-ah, Jinan said you guys are working on the debut. Are you almost finished?” Mrs. Kim looked over at Bobby, trying to break the tension.

“There are just a few more adjustments. We’ll probably debut by next year.”

She smiled, nodding her head in approval. Beside Rhine, Eiseu looked at the fire longingly. Her eyes glazed over and she sighed.

“I wonder how that feels… in preparation of debut,” she murmured. A small smile lightened up Bobby’s face as he looked over at her.

Jinhwan’s mother smiled sadly, “You girls aren’t debuting yet?” Eiseu looked at the elder and shook her head. “How long have you been training?”

“A few years now.” She motioned to Rhine. “She just got here a few weeks ago.”

Jinhwan’s mother’s attention turned to Rhine. “You’re a foreigner, yes?” Rhine smiled and nodded. The elder nodded her head then turned to Eiseu. “You’ll get to debut soon, just be patient and practice hard.” Eiseu nodded with a smile.

Bobby turned to Eiseu. “You wanna know how it feels to finally prepare for debut?”

The girl grinned and nodded enthusiastically. Even if she didn’t get to experience it, she longed to daydream about the feeling. She wanted to get a glimpse of it, a taste of it, just a tiny peek into the world that was so close yet so far out of her reach.

Bobby started to say something when the door slightly opened and a gust of cold air rushed by. They all turned their heads to see a drenched Hanbin crashed through the door, looking cold and lost and lonely. Bobby was the first person to stand up followed by the others. Bobby rushed over to the leader with concern.

“We looked for you,” Bobby breathed, not knowing if he should hug the man or just stand and stare.

“I’m sorry I made you worry,” Hanbin muttered. He looked up to meet Rhine’s eyes and a wave of shame washed over him. He looked away and Jinhwan’s mother quickly wrapped a towel around him.

“You’re freezing. Let’s get you warmed up.” She ruffled his hair with the towel and pulled him into the house. “Go take a warm bath and come eat when you’re ready, okay?” She led Hanbin to the other room and their voices disappeared.

Rhine looked at Bobby with a smile. “He’s fine now,” she whispered. She turned to look at Eiseu with an expression full of relief.

“Slow down, will you?” Hei called from the distance.

Voices and muddy shoes greeted the three trainees in the doorway. First to enter the house was Junhwe then followed by Yunhyeong. Behind them, the girls were steadying a limping Jae with Donghyuk and Jinhwan patiently waiting for them.

“A fire!” Junhwe exclaimed as he kicked his shoes off and rushed to sit by the hearth, putting his hands toward it.

“What happened?” Eiseu exclaimed as she rushed to the doorway and looked with curiosity. Yunhyeong took his shoes off and put them off to the side as he entered the house carefully, trying to not get anything dirty. He looked around the house.

“Has Hanbin…dropped by?” A tone of worry resonated in his question when he saw no sign of their leader.

“Jinan’s mom is taking care of him. Are you all alright?” Bobby replied and Yunhyeong smiled, sighing in relief. He scratched the back of his head. Rhine noticed the way Yunhyeong looked happier and lighter after hearing that Hanbin was okay. Yunhyeong and Bobby continued chatting and Rhine turned to the group walking into the house. She frowned when she saw Hei’s bloody knee and then Jae limping through the door. She walked slowly towards them.

“What happened?” She looked at Hei then Jae. Hei grinned and shook her head.

“I tripped and Jae-unnie hurt her calf,” Hei explained.

“We’re okay,” Jae chimed in as the girls helped her sit on the couch. Junhwe glanced back and his eyes locked with Jae’s as they both blushed and quickly looked away. Iseul noticed the interaction and she lightly giggled, causing Jae to blush even more. Hei plopped down on the spot beside Jae as she rubbed her knee. Donghyuk hesitantly stood behind her, looking down at her with worry but at the same time trying to hide it.

“Is it still hurting?” he asked.

Rhine turned to Iseul. “Are you hurt?”

Iseul turned and smiled, shaking her head. “Is B.I…?”

“He’s with Jinhwan-sunbaenim’s mom.”

“We should get cleaned up,” Jinhwan said as he started heading towards the hallway and then stopped himself as he turned to look at them. He whispered, “Please don’t treat Hanbin any differently. I’d appreciate it if we all act the same before all this happened.” All the trainees nodded in agreement and Jinhwan disappeared down the hall. Yunhyeong and Donghyuk followed after Jinhwan. Iseul, Eiseu, and Hei left a few minutes after.

“Do you need to clean up?” Bobby nudged Rhine’s arm and she looked at him. Neither Junhwe nor Jae said anything.

“No, I’ll wait. Are you?”

“I’ll wait too. I’m going to check on Hanbin, do you want to come?”

“Uh, I need to get something from the room. I’ll go with you.” They stood up and left the room.

Suddenly feeling the tension at full blast, Junhwe shifted uncomfortably in his spot, turning his back to Jae even more. She cleared , not knowing what to do as she also shifted in her seat. She turned her head to the side and pretended to look at something on the wall.

When they finally met the others at the intersection, Junhwe and Jae instantly became embarrassed as he quickly let go of her and she fell from his back. After that, they could feel the teasing looks and smirks from the other trainees, causing them to become even more awkward. After that, neither of them interacted.

A buzz sounded and neither of them made a move to check their phones. After a few buzzes, Jae smirked and looked at Junhwe’s back. He was sitting there like a stone. She cleared .

“Your phone,” she started. Junhwe glanced at her with confusion. She motioned to his phone. “I think your phone’s getting service now.”

He felt his face flush as he quickly took his phone out of his pocket. He cleared his throat and stood up as he left the room and answered it, leaving Jae to smirk.

*

After checking up on Hanbin, Bobby found Rhine in one of the guest rooms, looking out the window at the falling rain. He knocked on the door and she turned to look at him as he smiled and entered. The other trainees were about the house, some helping heat up the food while some were cleaning up.

“What are you doing here?” He went to stand beside her as he peeked out of the window blinds. Her fingers were tapping against her arm and she glanced at him.

“Sometimes it seems like the rain is mocking me.” His brows arched and he caught her gaze. The way her eyes stared back at him captivated him. He’s told her many times already, but it didn’t stop him from seeing how beautiful her eyes were. He cleared his throat when she looked away, her expression distant and nostalgic.

“Why?”

“Somewhere out there, someone is hurting.”

“Where do you think that hurting someone is?” He didn’t know why, but he found her sudden comments amusing.

Her eyes caught his and he suddenly realized she was serious. “Everywhere, everywhere is hurting.” She looked away again, her eyes searching the raindrops that pelted against the window. “The skies cry because everyone is in pain, but I only cry for myself.” Her eyes dropped to the ground and her finger hovered over the window-blind. “How can something so in pain be so beautiful?”

By the doorway, Hanbin listened in on their conversation. His eyes dropped to the floor and it was starting to feel like a one-sided love again.

“Isn’t it because pain is where the strongest emotions are? Anger and despair can drive a person to unknown limits, but it can also save someone.”

She turned to look at him, her hand dropping to her side. She searched his eyes and sadness filled her voice, “You’re hurting too.”

He smiled. “I’ll get to see my mother soon.”

Hanbin walked through the hallway and he stopped by a door when he heard a small voice saying, “ouch, ouch, ouch”. He slowly pushed the door aside and saw the girl Hei’s back turned to him. She was sitting on the bed, hunched over her knee. She muttered something and arched back, flapping a band-aid in her hand. He stepped inside the room and cleared his throat. She glanced back and her eyes widened.

“Sunbaenim, you’re supposed to be eating. What are you doing here?” She began to stand up and he stopped her.

“I heard you fell?” He took the ointment from her and he knelt down in front of her. She was suddenly self-conscious. He took the cap off the ointment tube and set the cap aside.

“We were in a rush and I wasn’t looking at where I was going, that’s all.”

As his hand made contact with the scratch, he looked at her. “Does it hurt?” She shook her head. “If it hurts, tell me.” She nodded with a smile as she leaned forward and watched him. He gently spread the ointment over her scratch.

“Sunbaenim, you’re amazing at this! I can’t feel it.” She laughed and he smiled up at her.

“I’m sorry you made you girls worry.” He put the cap back on and took the band-aid from her.

“No, you shouldn’t apologize, sunbaenim. We’re glad that you’re not hurt and I’m speaking for all of us.”

He put the band-aid on as she kept talking, not noticing that her knee was hurting from the touch. After he was done, he stood with a smile. “Thank you. You should go eat.”

She stood up from the bed and walked to the door as he put the ointment away. She looked back at him. “Thank you for helping me.” He nodded. “Are you coming too?”

“Yeah, you go ahead. I’ll be right there.”

She nodded and left the room. He shut the lights off and headed for the boys’ room as he slightly closed the door. The others were already getting ready to eat. The clattering of the plates and utensils and their voices were distant. Hanbin sat on the bed as he took his phone out and clicked on a photo of his family. His hand hovered over the screen, his thumb shaking. He let out a small breath.

“Hey,” Rhine’s voice caused him to freeze. He could hear her footsteps enter the room as the floor creaked beneath her weight. Her steps were uncertain as she took a step back. “I…” she hesitated. He didn’t dare turn to look at her. “I just want you to know you can talk to me…” When he didn’t respond, she cleared . “I may not know much Korean, but that’s a good thing, right? You can say anything and I probably won’t know much of what you said.” A small smile surfaced on his face. Doubtful, she started to back out of the door. “Yeah um, you should come eat.”

Not wanting her to leave just yet, he said, “I can tell you anything?”

Her eyes lighted up and she entered the room again, hopeful. “Yeah, you can tell me anything.”

Hanbin turned to look at her. “Even if I tell you I like you?”

She frowned, confused. “What?”

He mentally cursed himself. ‘Hanbin-yah! Why’d you say that? I thought she didn’t understand… I’m screwed…’

“I don’t know what you just said,” she explained, embarrassed. He sighed in relief with a shake of his head. Her eyes looked beyond him and intrigued, she walked over to him. He frowned when she peered at his phone. “Is this your family?” She pointed to the picture and glanced at him.

“Y-yeah.” The closeness of them made him nervous and he started moving away, but she didn’t notice. She smiled as she looked at him again.

“She’s so cute. That’s your sister, right?” She pointed at Hanbyul.

“She’s my dongsaeng, H-Hanbyul, she’s three.” His face was getting warm and his heart was racing. He could hear his nervousness tearing down its cage and attacking him at full force.

Rhine looked at him. “Dongsaeng is younger sister, right?” Hanbin nodded. “Then what’s older brother?”

“Oppa,” he replied.

She grinned and took a step back, making him sigh in relief. “She looks just like you.”

He could only muster a smile, but his heart was hammering in his chest. ‘She said Hanbyul looks just like me and Hanbyul’s cute, which must mean she thinks I’m cute?!’

“What’s the word for friend?”

He snapped back to reality. “Friend?” She nodded her head. “Uh…” He cleared his throat. He rubbed his palm against his pant leg. “Jagi.”

*

Rhine and Hanbin stopped when they got to the dinner table. The trainees with Jinhwan’s mother were sitting and getting ready to eat.

Rhine smiled and exclaimed, “Hanbin’s my jagi!”

At the very far end of the table, Yunhyeong suddenly choked on his water, water dripping out of his nose and he immediately covered his mouth as he stood up hurriedly and headed for the kitchen, still coughing. All eyes turned to them in surprise.

“What?” Bobby stared in horror at the two and Hanbin wished he hadn’t tricked Rhine. 

A/N So what did y'all think?! Was Hanbin being too cruel for tricking Rhine?