[Back to Yuan’s P.O.V]

The whole group, namely Infinite and Emmi and I, was silently sitting around the huge gazebo of the beach, not knowing what to do. Apparently, Sungyeol ran out of girl group songs to sing, and Emmi and I ran out of things to talk about. I even noticed Howon and Myungsoo glaring at each other—or rather, Myungsoo glaring at Hoya who was just watching him in amusement. I didn’t know what was up with them, but I was quite amused, too.

“How about we play spin the bottle?” Dongwoo suggested and took out a half-empty water bottle. The boys nodded, while Emmi and I shrugged. We came down from the steel benches to sit on the floor in a circle. Howon squeezed his way to sit beside me, while Myungsoo was just across him, still glaring.

“What’s the consequence?” Sunggyu asked, and Dongwoo’s jaw hung open as if he didn’t think about that before. Sungyeol and Woohyun snickered.

“Ah, how about talking about an unknown life experience? It should be something huge that nobody else in here knows.” Woohyun said. I nodded in approval. For the Infinite boys, this would be interesting for them since they’ll have the chance to know some more things about one another even though they see each other’s faces almost every day. In Emmi and I’s case, it would be a nice chance to share things about ourselves. I wasn’t that much worried of our revelations being spilled since I trust these boys. Well, I doubt that Sungyeol wouldn’t tease us later, but still, I know he’s a good boy too.

Sunggyu insisted on spinning the bottle first, but the bottle ended up pointing at him. Talking about Karma.

“It should be something none of us know about!” Sungyeol reminded him with an evil grin on his face. Gyu just rolled his tiny eyes while nodding sarcastically.

“When I was in 3rd grade, I used to have a best friend who was such a scaredy cat. I was his complete opposite since I was very courageous even at that young age. One time, at school, we had a program held in the evening. My friend had to pee so he asked me to come with him since the hallways leading to the restrooms weren’t well lit. He went inside and told me to wait on the door, so I did.

Just a few seconds later, he went out, walked ahead of me with head bowed as if he didn’t care about the dark hallway at all. I simply followed him until he turned to another hallway opposite the program. I asked him where he’s going but he didn’t answer. Just then, I heard my friend’s voice calling me from behind, and he was there, in the brink of tears.”

I glanced at Emmi and she was eagerly listening to Sunggyu, obviously indulged in his story. The others were doing the same, as well.

“He asked me why I left him, in which I was confused because I knew he was the one I followed. He said while he was in the washroom, his reflection smiled at him and like, ran away.”

“Ran away?” Myungsoo lifted a brow.

“Yeah, that’s what he told me.” Sunggyu shrugged. “He didn’t believe my explanation and he got really mad at me for leaving him, and our friendship ended because of that.”

Something tugged at my heart as I felt sorry for him. I knew how painful it was to lose a friend without being able to do anything.

“Uhh…,” Woohyun tried to think of something to break the awkward silence. “Thank you for that heartwarming story, hyung. How ‘bout you spin the bottle again to give chance to the others?”

The leader shrugged and held the item again, and it pointed at Sungyeol. He confessed about his mom catching him dancing to girl group songs in his room, and he was thrown out of the house because his parents thought he was gay. He got a bundle of laughs, of course. Thankfully, the gloomy atmosphere Sunggyu’s confession left slowly faded away as the bottle pointed at Dongwoo, Woohyun, and back to Sungyeol. They only confessed funny things, yet we knew they were all true.

Much to my luck, the bottle eventually pointed at me. They looked at me expectantly. What should I tell them? Should I tell them about my tragic life of how I became an orphan in the care of an elderly neighbor? No, maybe this is not the right time for that. I tried to think of something less personal, but still left an impression to my well being.

“When I was about six years old, I had a best friend.” They glanced at Sunggyu, noticing the similarity of our stories. “He was one of those people that understood me and actually loved me. We practically looked like siblings, since we couldn’t stand a day without seeing each other.”

I slightly smiled at the memory, though it hurt my heart a little bit. “One time, he asked me to play hide and seek at a playground. I was ‘it’ but I wasn’t able to find him ever since. It seems like… he just ran away.”

I tried my best to keep my voice from breaking, as the familiar feeling of frustration build up inside me once again. I didn’t understand it myself why he left me. Back then, I spent days trying to think about why he would do such a thing. Was it because I accidentally poked his eye, or did I accidentally bring home one of his expensive toys without realizing it? I was really upset. I still slightly am now.

“Yuan,” Emmi gently squeezed my hand. She held so much sympathy in her eyes, and I smiled at her.

“You really weren’t able to find him? Like, ever?” Sungjong whispered, and I nodded.

“I tried to search for him for days, weeks, almost. But the others said I have to accept the truth that he’s gone. I only hope that he wasn’t involved in an accident or a kidnapping. I hope he’s fine even today, but I hope that he comes back for me if he really is fine.”

The boys nodded understandingly, except for Myungsoo, who was looking at Howon intently. I glanced beside me and saw him looking down at his lap, a puzzled look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” I lifted up his chin to make him look at me, and he stared into my eyes with the same expression. He flashed me a quick forced smile before looking away.

“Oh yeah, Hoya lost a friend when he was young, too!” Sungyeol revealed, and Hoya’s eyes widened and his cheeks reddened as if it was an embarrassing thing. He gave the childish man a look that made him shut up.

“I guess losing a friend is just normal in life.” Emmi shrugged. “I lost a best friend, too. Actually, a lot of times. But eventually, a new one enters your life, and everything would be okay again and you’ll be able to have a fresh start.” She glanced at me, letting me know she was pertaining to me. I shyly smiled and looked down at her hand that was placed on top of mine.

Maybe she’s right. Maybe I don’t really have to let myself be so affected by Ruyeon’s disappearance. He may have been an essential part of my life, but he can’t be beside me forever. The same goes with Granna.

“Are you ready to spin the bottle?” Emmi cautiously asked me, and I faked an enthusiastic nod just to banish her worry for me. Her bright smile indicated my success. The bottle pointed at Sunggyu again, who (thankfully) lifted up the mood by confessing something funny. As the sky was finally dark, we decided to head back to our cottages to rest, which was not that far from the gazebo.

It kind of bothered me to see Howon with a gloomy face.

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