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━━━  " 📂 " ‍..⃗. ༉

𝙍 𝙀 𝙈 𝙀 𝘿 𝙔

! chapter eleven ─── ʚĭɞ

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Milkshakes and American-style pancakes aside, the breakfast had been a nice pull back into their trainee life. Because even if all three of them were just that, the visit to that apartment block and staying overnight at Miyeon's home away from the dorms made them almost feel as if they weren't.

But alas, peaceful breakfasts with your groupmates and the person who had invited them to stay in her apartment the night before had to come to an end.

At least for Miyeon and Daehwan it did.

The both of them had coaching sessions at the same time, and so as soon as it got to forty minutes before the scheduled time (Heekyung had made sure to highlight it in their timetables upon sending them that morning), Kenji had let them out of the booth and they had rushed away from the diner.

Leaving the older members to order as much food as they wanted and spend time relaxing. It was doubtful that they would order a lot of food - INDIGO might not destined to be a idol group but they still did have to watch their weight. But Miyeon had heard Hyunwoo ordering another milkshake and a plate of pancakes ladden with syrup and various other topics for all three of them to share.

"You chose well." Miyeon followed behind Daehwan, taking several quick steps to catch up to his long strides. Noticing the shorter girl's troubles, he slowed down. "I mean it, really. And thank you for coming to breakfast."

"I need to eat something anyway." Dae had never been the best at taking compliments and even though he did manage to get his off-hand reply out, the tips of his ears burned a light pink and he ruffled his hair into place to hide them. "Thanks.. for inviting me." He added quietly as they arrived at the usual bus stop that the Hwang girl took to the Move Entertainment building after a night at her apartment.

"No problem!" Miyeon replied, her bright tone usual to Daehwan, and although he wasn't actually sure how to achieve it himself, he had grown used to the sunny deposition and tended just to nod along, offering a small smile. "So what session had youu got today? Bass or electric?"

"I'm better at electric so most of my lessons are for bass." Daehwan replied. "I'm guessing you're taking singing ones? You, Chanmi, Kai and Maiya mostly take dance together."

"We have a couple seperate ones schedules.. unless that's just for me." Miyeon pulled out her phone, scanning the email. "And there are gaps in the timetable where we can request lessons ourselves."

"That's good. I wonder if I could dance.." Daehwan was thinking allowed and didn't expect an answer from her, speaking before she could. "I don't think I could.. it's a lot to perform on stage when you just have an instrument, but dancing and singing and performing at the same time is hard.

"Do you have experience?" Miyeon asked as the bus approached and they climbed on, flashing their passes to the driver and finding a set of two seats near the back.

"When I lived in America my middle school had a couple talent shows here and there." Daehwan began, hands reaching down to twist his rings around his fingers, desperate for something else to focus on whilst he told the story. "I wouldn't dare do it in high school.. but I had a few friends then and we did a group performance."

"How did it go?" Miyeon asked, still smiling. She knew how hesitant Daehwan always was to talk about his childhood and teenage years before he moved to become a trainee. He had slowly become for comfortable with it after some time, mostly with her, Seojun and Kenji, and even if he wasn't looking too pleased to be talking about it, the Hwang girl refused to shut it down.

It was good that he was talking about it, because it allowed to help him process it. At least that what the therapist she had visited a few times after her graduation had said. She had gone when the entire divorce fiasco was happening and it really helped her through it - as well as her music talents, she seemed to have an innate understand of people's personalities and how to deal with it.

She blamed it on the changes she had seen in her mother and the variation of people she had been friends with. In middle school it had been her, Seyeon, Suho and Seojun and you really couldn't find three people who were more different than each other.

"I was terrified." Daehwan admitted with a shake of his head, letting go of his ring and using his arm to stop Miyeon from sliding off her seat when the bus jolted slightly. "You should sit back." Miyeon's eyes were wide, doing as he suggested and carefully lifting his arm and placing it back on his lap.

"Thanks." She muttered, only a little embarassed by it all.

"But I was so scared." Dae began again. "I could barely get through the first couple of lines before leaving the stage. And that was where it all began." Beside him the Hwang girl stared, slightly confused.

But then she understood the insinuation and felt awful, raising her hand and messing up his hair, smiling as a disgruntled scoff left Daehwan's lips. "Cheer up, and don't worry about that now. Hyunwoo might coerce you into dancing at karaoke one of these days, but there is no way you're any worse than him."

A smile of appreciation broke out on Daehwan's face. "Is he really that bad?" He asked. Daehwan wasn't too keen on the whole idea of karaoke, and the ones he had gone to had mostly been with Kenji, Maiya, Seojun and Miyeon - Maiya and Miyeon seemed to love it, and Kenji would go anywhere if Dae asked him to and Seojun would do anything for Miyeon.

"Oh he's awful." Miyeon nodded. "Really stiff and it's all arms and legs flailing everywhere. He might be able to sing and play piano, but he doesn't possess that ability."

Daehwan paused, trying to imagine it and chuckling, before returning to his previous thought about the second oldest member of INDIGO. "Miyeon.. if you don't mind me asking, what happened between you and Seojun.. and you and Hyunwoo."

"How much do you know?"

"Nothing about you and Hyunwoo, and everything I know about you and Seojun is that it's really quite complicated." Daehwan shrugged. "I know the basics - you were best friends with him as well as Jeong Seyeon and Lee Joohun's son-"

"Lee Suho." Miyeon added in, Daehwan nodding.

"And Seyeon died and you went to New York and then you weren't friends when you came back." The Kim boy continued. "Then you were friends and something more?"

"Yeah.. that's right." Miyeon tilted her chin upwards, sitting up in her seat. "And you're right that it's complicated. I.. we both have feelings for each other but when we realised those feelings Seojun had also developed them for someone else."

"She had a boyfriend, and now she doesn't. So I'm waiting and he's trying to ask her out so that she can reject him - her younger brother suggested it whilst he was trying to pursue Seojun's younger sister and kept getting rejected." Miyeon attempted to tell it in the least confusing way possible.

When she told other people, they all seemed to have the same thought; that Seojun needed to pick a side, that it was far too complicated and that she shouldn't be waiting for him. The difference between it being unfair was that she knew that what was holding Seojun back was those feelings and his mind was filled with 'what-ifs' and he really did just need to admit his feelings to a girl whose heart was already taken by someone else.

But Daehwan, he just nodded slowly. "So it's complicated." He repeated the words that Miyeon had said so many times, to herself, to Seojun and others. "And Hyunwoo?"

"We dated for a little bit, he figured out I was in love with my best friend. One of the nicest people I know." Miyeon shrugged. "A lot easier."

It wasn't hard for people to fall a little bit in love with Hwang Miyeon. She was far to pretty, kind and selfless for that. A lot was complicated in her relationship, but that was by far the simpliest thing for anyone to realise.

Unfortunately for anyone else, her heart was already captured by the dark-haired, guitar-playing motorcyclist. Who also happened to be her best friend.