Even when we are distanced
I believe we are together

-find you, monsta x

"That concludes today's activities," Changkyun announced as he scratched on his newly pierced eyebrow, a piece of jewelry already resting there.

Students flocked out of the door. Hungwon sighed and raked a hand through his cherry hair, I still had doubt that he dyed his dark hair one day all of a sudden just because he felt like it.

Jooheon and I had pretty much agreed on the matter that Hyungwon only embraced his pink self because he missed Wonho.

Wonho. While spring washed us over with clear skies, dazzling sun-showers, and blooming warmth, and my favorite, cherry blossoms- I would often think about the merry days I had spent with him. Reminiscing the past while walking down the campus road where cherry petals fell from the branches like snow on a winter evening.

Winter was the last time I had seen him, or them. Which was last year.

Sometimes when I thought about it time felt like it had passed in a blink, before I could apprehend I was a second-year student in human resource and management, I had Hyungwon, Jooheon, Changkyun and Haneul by my side directing the English club.

At the same time, it felt like decades had passed since I had seen Shownu, Kihyun, or Wonho. Despite it being such a long time, more than a year, more than three hundred and sixty-five days, the feelings that I had gotten from them clung to me like a second skin.

I missed Wonho smiling at me, missed Shownu's warmth, and missed Kihyun's hand on mine. I missed everything about them.

"How about we invite my senior for the next English club session?" Changkyun came and sat by my side, snapping me out of my desolating reverie in the meantime. I took in the now empty room, devoid of people save for Jooheon and Hyungwon talking to one of the new recruits called Jungmo outside the club room.

I observed Changkyun's blank eyes staring at mine, his face resting on a hand that was propped on his crossed leg. "So?" He had probably realized I was dreading in the distant memories, again.

"Who's that again?" I tucked in a strand of loose hair behind my ear, squeezing on my hair to tighten my high ponytail next.

"Namjoon hyung, fourth year senior from the English department. I talked about him last time." The dark-haired examined my features for a hint of remembrance, when he didn't see it, he pulled out his phone from his hoodie's pocket and searched through it. A second later he held up a zoomed on photo of a person with blonde hair, a smile on his handsome features, and a pair of deep dimples staring right at me from the screen.

"Handsome," I muttered out, instantly Changkyun gave me a look of betrayal.

"I would've set him up for you but we don't want to date long-term rivals."

"Rivals?" I repeated. Changkyun zoomed out on the photo to reveal six other men standing by the said senior, all of them incredibly handsome but the two that made my eyes widen like a pair of soccer balls were a curly-haired boy and another lean one with orange hair.

"Weren't they...?"

"Yeah, Taehyung, who made Wonho Hyung dye his hair pink. Guess who else has dual lives?" Changkyun cackled out before I could complete. A smile played on my lips too.

Wonho, saved me from some paint and ruined his thousand dollar Dior sweater.

The smile faltered the next second. Kihyun visited my mind next, I couldn't believe how much I disliked him for making me work so much when I was a newbie with them.

There were too many memories to forget them forever. Even though the time spent together was ephemeral, the memories were everlasting. Like polaroid pictures that were hung up inside my brain for me to visit any second of the day.

"What do you think? Now don't ponder on his dashing face for too long because you supposedly have another guy who has you wrapped around his finger."

Changkyun's voice again pulled me out of the trance. "How would I know? It's not like I do much for the English club anyway," I complained, ignoring the part where he had clearly implied Kihyun.

"You do," he assured, but his hand climbed up from the side of his face to his forehead. He poked a finger on the skin under his dark bangs and then he looked up at me with questioning eyes. "Do you?"

Typical Changkyun, giving him a distasteful expression I looked away. The antisocial in me had not developed into something else, it was an inborn quality. A buy one get one deal. While my mom gave birth to me, she got me and my traits like a one and one deal.

I wasn't good at talking in front of the recruits on the podium. But I wasn't as bad when it came to aiding, or making and helping with the new projects, or be there for these three when they needed someone, though most of the time it was me who secretly relied on them.

"Now that it's over, I can go home and play with Gucci." Jooheon stretched out and yawned, some of the hairpins on the side of his head suppressing his curly locks glimmered in the afternoon rays.

"I almost thought you were talking about buying more Gucci," I replied and Jooheon snorted.

"As if we are still that rich." He stretched his arms over his head again, then craned his neck to the sides, shuddering to himself voluntarily after he was done. He was very much like a cat himself after spending so much time with Yoshi and Gucci, though he preferred to be called honeybee for his own personal reasons instead.

"I have an evening shift at the library." I jumped off the high bench. The room always felt bigger, way bigger after everyone would leave and there would be only us, Haneul too, if she wasn't sick now. Still, the English club room felt too gigantic because...,

Because it just wasn't completed.

Afternoon sunbeams casted shadows and lights that played around the room as they reflected from the windows. My eyes involuntarily fell on a corner and I imagined kihyun standing there with his sleeves rolled up, sheets of papers on his hands, and a lit cigarette limply hanging from his rosy lips.

Then I glanced at the door, I imagined myself storming inside then yank away the stick from his mouth, letting it fall and stepping on it the next second.

A chuckle almost fell from my lips. I hated feeling alone despite being beside many, more than that, I hated being alone with my empty thoughts.

"Daisy, don't you need to cancel your part-time today?" Hyungwon chimed in, his voice soft and low like the afternoon glow of the blossoming spring. "Jooheon, you too. Did you forget?"

My eyebrows met in the middle of my temple while Jooheon mirrored the same. Changkyun had his mouth parted before the words fell out of him. "Oh, Minhyuk hyung is visiting today."

With that the sudden dread in my heart was gone, almost, replaced with the triumphant feeling Minhyuk would bring with him every time he would come back from Japan to visit. His schedule was pretty much tight flying between South Korea and Japan once every month or two, as the 'middleman'.

Things were always vibrant with Minhyuk, no matter what, he could cheer everyone up and that was true because just by the name of his arrival Hyungwon, Jooheon and Changkyun had their faces brightened up.

I wondered what kind of gift he was bringing this time around, and what kind of story. Because that's how we were connected now, through Minhyuk's stories.

While I picked up my phone to call the library to inform that I'd be absent from my shift for the day, the messages from the kakao group chat took me away to it.

Wonho had sent pictures of the sky again, warm beams seeping in through the branches of a sakura tree. Scrolling down I saw Shownu sending a picture of a small chocolate cake, both pictures were from this morning. Kihyun was silent like the usual.

The group chat made among us was always chaotic, Changkyun and Jooheon rambling nonstop about cryptic things, or many things, and Minhyuk joining all the time.

Wonho would send a lot of pictures and wishes, sometimes when he was in a good mood he'd send some really poetic texts, which was pretty often.

Six months ago the chat was created in celebration of Shownu being discharged from the detention center, and finally being able to connect with us, Shownu did not talk, at all, for more than a month.

He started warming up slowly, albeit he never talked about the events that occurred, events that separated us and put him in such a harsh position. He would occasionally send photos, photos that were never his own or contained his image. And he would text back sometimes.

Kihyun was the quietest along with me. I figured that just like I was bad at texting, he was too.

The distance between kihyun and me was big, really big and it was not only the measure in miles but the distance in our hearts that were once connected.

Still was, often when I would think about him, which was every day, I would feel like crying and smiling at the same time.

"Talking of the devil, look who's here," Hyungwon whisper-shouted. I stared up from my phone, Kihyun's profile still on the touchpad and then I found Minhyuk standing by the doorframe with his one hand yanking open the door, panting as if he had run over that almost two-hour flight.

"So I missed today's club activities, huh!?" The dark-haired complained before he staggered towards us, next second he let his body fall on us four. Changkyun and Jooheon swiftly held him up while Hyungwon dodged by ducking his upper body.

"You're only here and already causing a dramatic scene," Changkyun sighed and Jooheon laughed out loud, Hyungwon came and stood by my side.

"Too bad they couldn't see this handsome face." Minhyk shook his head while it hung low, the two boys still holding his weight. Minhyuk's hair danced with the tremor when he started laughing silently, causing me to look at Hyungwon who gave me a worried glance.

Minhyuk shot up straight, eyes glimmering and lips pulled up in a mischievous grin. "I've got a surprise to spare."

---
A/n: I'll be writing a bonus chapter next week exclusive on one of the members. Can you guess who it will be?