A new laptop

I sped up on the road and waited outside his apartment. I haven't taken off my helmet when I heard the van closing in.

Once the door opened, I could hear Jimin laughing and teasing Yoon-gi as he climbed down with his things.

"Hye-Ri," Jin greeted first, while Jimin waved inside the car as the other hand covered his mouth, laughing.

He wore a black mask and a hat but you could see the exposed skin is beet red.

"Hi." I greeted, taking off my helmet.

"Hi." He breathed. The van left soon after and I got up to him to help him with his bag.

"I got you lunch and coffee. I figured we could have lunch before you sleep."

Yoon-gi, who looked lost in thought, stood there looking at me and my sweatshirt. "How about that million and one?" He asked.

I wrinkled my nose, "Nah. I'm tired of divorcing."

***

A week after, Hye-Ri was on her way to the mall when she felt her phone buzzing from her pocket.

She wondered who could be called that morning and thought about Suga who is still having a long break.

Once she got inside the mall, she checked on her phone to see Yoon-gi's caller ID and called back.

"Are you busy on your day off?" He quickly answered.

"Yes, I'm going to buy a new laptop."

"What for?"

"Do I have to report everything? My laptop broke and I have lessons this afternoon. The battery won't work, the screen won't open, so I tossed it." Hye-Ri huffed in frustration.

The other line went silent for a second, "I have a spare if you like?"

Hye-Ri, who paused as she entered the computer zone of the mall, "it's fine. I'm already here at the mall. I just need to pick one then go."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Suga's voice was hopeful, and Hye-Ri, who promised to herself to be more open to Suga, thought about it for a second.

"Are you near? If you're near you can come. But if you're far--"

"I'm already on the way." Suga sounded breathless.

Hye-Ri giggled, "You don't even know where I am."

"You're at mall Xx and you're in front of the computer zone."

Hye-Ri looked around the mall, looking for a pale-looking cat. "Are you here already? Or have you had someone spy on me?"

"People tend to come to that specific mall in that specific zone to buy new phones, and in your case, a laptop." He answered as a matter of fact.

Hye-Ri laughed, "okay genius, I'll wait for you here. I'm wearing a white long sleeve."

"Okay." Suga hung up after that, while Hye-Ri killed time to walk around and look for laptops. While walking, she caught sight of a bag she found online while browsing on her phone one day. It's a designer bag that is biker-friendly for its buddy bag type of design. She looked at the price tag and winced.

'Too expensive.' She thought.

The bag's design reminded her of the time back in the practice room with Selena.

***

Lila and her little group of friends sat on the corner further away from Selena and Hye-Ri. It was a breather for Hye-Ri because she didn't want to associate herself with them.

"Yoon-gi's been stealing glances at you, what did you do to that man? He looked so whipped for you." Selena giggled.

Hye-Ri made a face, the thought of the night she kissed him came back to her memory, and shrugged. Selena hit her shoulder lightly, "why did you look disgusted?"

"No, it's just that I remembered something unpleasant."

"Why? Did you do something to him that you regret?"

Hye-Ri squinted her eyes suspiciously, "Sometimes I wonder how do you know so much when we only meet several times. Does Suga spill beans to Jin and Jin tells them to you?"

Selena laughed, "you and Suga have a sense of sharpness in you. However, no, Suga doesn't talk much about it. He'd rather keep his emotion to himself, and rather not show it. But with you, he's like an open book. Everyone could see how he is with you, and you've been aloof to him."

"What? No, I'm not." Hye-Ri disagreed.

Selena looked at Hye-Ri with an obvious look on her face.

"Okay, I do but he's an idol. I'm something that can't be seen with him, I mean look at me. I'm a long way out of your line."

"Does Yoon-gi look like he cared?"

Hye-Ri bit her lip, "no..."

"Then why don't you try and be open for him? Like, accept the things he's been doing for you? If you don't then might as well straight up tell him so he knows his boundaries, right?"

Hye-Ri looked down, then pulled out her little sketchbook and showed them to Selena. She looked at it carefully and flipped through the pages.

"You see... I don't know when I started but my sketches are all about him. I just don't know how to express myself in front of him, but all I know is I don't want to lose him..."

***

Hye-Ri shook her head to the present and quickly got out of the store and went back to the computer zone. She thought of calling Yoon-gi again, but then she felt like she was being followed. Hye-Ri took out her phone and pretended to film herself through a video, and caught sight of someone from the back who kept walking behind her and looking at her. Hye-Ri tried to walk around to see if the man is still following and he is.

She sighed and sat on the bench near her. The guy following her had the opportunity to walk towards her, looking at her dead in the eye smiling like a fool.

Hye-Ri only looked at him, unfazed. She was waiting for him to come, however, someone had sat next to her and put his arms around her shoulder, startling her as she looked up to see the man beside her.

It was Suga.

The guy following her still approached her and pulled out his phone. "Hello, I know this is sudden but you are my type. Can I have your phone number so we can hang out some time?"

Hye-Ri only looked at the guy and tilted her head out of curiosity. While Suga smirked, he had to cock his chin up to look at the guy in the eyes. The guy had no idea who the man is at first because his eyes is covered with his bucket hat.

"My girl is busy." Suga said in his deep, husky voice. It sounded like a threat as the words passed through his lips.

The guy looked at Hye-Ri trying to confirm the situation, but she grinned and tilted her head towards Suga. "What he said."

The guy left soon after, however, he looked back the second time, and Hye-Ri and Suga both waved goodbye to the guy.

"The nerve of the guy who even thought of having a chance..." Suga mumbled, while Hye-Ri chuckled and put her hand on Suga's lips, silencing him.

"Why did it took you forever to come?"

"Ya! You said you would be waiting in the computer zone. I arrived here 20 minutes ago where were you?"

Oops, Hye-Ri thought. "Come on, let's just go buy that laptop and eat some bingsu to cool off."

"Why don't you eat bingsu with the guy instead?" He retorted, clearly irritated.

"Do you want me to find that guy? Cause he might still be lurking around the mall looking for another opportunity to talk to me." Hye-Ri said in a casual tone.

Suga clicked his tongue and took Hye-Ri's hand and walked towards the shop where he would always buy his laptop. Hye-Ri blushed at his sudden gesture and looked around to check if people are looking. She thought he looked handsome in his black ripped jeans, black shirt, and bucket hat.

'They must have not recognized him.' She thought as she looked around and put her hair down looking on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Suga asked, pausing to look at Hye-Ri.

"If someone recognized you, wouldn't they come to me? I don't want any of your crazy fans jumping on me." Hye-Ri persisted, pushing Suga to continue his walking.

Suga and Hye-Ri purchased a new laptop together. Happy with her purchase, she couldn't help herself but smile at her new laptop. Suga wasn't much happy though because she didn't want him to pay for it.

"By the way, weren't you doing anything before you jumped to come here?" Hye-Ri asked.

"I'm working on this song in my studio, I was taking a break when I called you." Hye-Ri nodded in response, that was why he smelled of the cigarette when he put his hand over her shoulder. Hye-Ri looked at Suga's face, the cute little eyes that she always fascinates are now little tired, and dark circles formed underneath them.

"Do you need to go back to your work? I can stay in your studio if you like? We can stay there 'till you finish."

Suga agreed in a heartbeat.