Stars

Everything is frozen. The guy who lies on the floor is still, Hyuk is still, the man holding the blade to my throat is still, I am still, even the trees are still. I swallow, even though I am scared that the blade will pierce my skin. “Let her go.” Says Hyuk firmly. The man lets out a menacing laugh, “As if I’m going to do that so easily. You, get in the van.” It starts to rain hard. He wraps his free arm around my throat and turns the blade in Hyuk’s direction. “In the van.” He repeats. “Or I’ll snap her neck like a popsicle stick.”. This guy makes me so mad! What makes him think he has the right to do this? Who is he? Why does he do this? My hair is matted to my head because of the rain. And even with his big fingers wrapped around my throat, I still feel the cold rain race down my neck. An umbrella wouldn’t have helped much anyways. I lock eyes with Hyuk. “Don’t get in.” I whisper. Hyuk’s eyes widen, “I have to. Who knows what he will do to you.” He says, his eyes sad. “HE WILL DO NOTHING!” I hear someone say and I feel free as the man falls to the ground. I spin around, “Jeesun!” She has her hand in a karate chop position.“Hurry! We must go!” she says while grabbing my hand and running to her house, Hyuk not far behind. Even though the rain has drenched her, she still looks as beautiful as ever.

We burst through the door. I feel bad because the rain has seeped through her carpet. “Sanghyuk!” I hear Ken call as he walks into the room. “Huh? Forgot your umbrella didn’t you?” he laughs. “I told you I’m the best weather man, but no, you wouldn’t listen to me. ‘It’s a hot day’ he says. ‘It doesn’t rain on hot days’ he says.” Ken turns to me. “Melinda! What a pleasant surprise!” he smiles. “I thought Sanghyuk was going to drop you off at your house.” Suddenly the other members come into the room. “Jeesun noona, where are the groceries?” N asks. She unties her hair and lets it fall over her shoulders. “I didn’t get to go to the grocery store.” She says. “What?” says the VIXX members simultaneously. “Melinda was being held at knife point!” says Hyuk. “Those guys again….” Everybody started talking over each other. Their chatter was interrupted by my sneeze. “Oh my. I forgot. You need to change before you get a cold.” Says Jeesun. She looks over at Hyuk. “I have clothes for you too, from when N has a sleep over and forgets his clothes.”

Luckily Jeesun has two bathrooms in her house. An ensuite and a general bathroom. Surprisingly, her ensuite bathroom has a bathtub instead of a shower. I sit in the bathtub filled with warm water, the aroma of the soap sinks into my skin. I’ll smell like roses after this. I wonder what Hyuk would think of it. Jeesun is also here blow drying my under garments. Sharing under garments is unhygienic so she is drying them while I take a warm bath. “You should take a bath Jeesun. You’ll get sick. Ah, is it rude that I don’t say noona?” She turns my under garments onto the other side and dries it. “Don’t worry, I’m a lot tougher than I look, besides, Sanghyuk is taking a shower in the other bathroom. You don’t have to call me noona.” I let the aroma fill my nostrils, Jeesun’s whole house smells like this. I want my house to smell of roses. “A cup….” I hear Jeesun say. I look over at her and she is looking at the tag on my bra. My face turns hot and I open my mouth to say something but she starts laughing. “Don’t be embarrassed. I was once an A cup. Besides, you would rather me seeing it than the boys who are drying Hyuks pants.” She gives me a motherly smile.


Jeesun gives me a nice floral top and a black skirt. “These are some of the things I still keep even though they’re too small for me. I think it suits you. But tuck the shirt into the skirt. If you don’t mind, I’ll be taking a bath now.” I tuck in the shirt and walk out into the living room. I burst in laughter when I see Hyuk dressed in pajamas. He pouts, “Jeesun didn’t tell me that all N left behind was pajamas.” Ken and Hongbin are also laughing, Ravi is trying to comfort Hyuk while N is trying to take the clothes back. “They’re my favourite pajamas!” he says. And then there’s Leo; sitting on the three seat couch playing with Jinho who is sitting on his lap. I sit next to Leo. “Hey.” I say casually. “Hello.” Says Leo and Jinho. “Are you feeling better?” asks Leo. “Yeah, I am.” After a short delay, he continues, “The clothes suit you. You look very nice.” I feel my cheeks redden. Did Leo just say that I look nice? WOW! I try not to show my over excited-ness. I know that that’s not a word but meh. LEO COMPLIMENTED ME! I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT! “You smell like eomeoni.” Says Jinho. I smile at him. “Yes, she does smell nice doesn’t she?” says Leo. Was it just me…. Or did Leo just compliment me again? Or is he complimenting Jeesun? Or the rose soap? I don’t really know.

“You should leave your wet clothes here.” Says Jeesun. “If you take them home while they’re not dry, they will smell. Come back tomorrow and they will be dry.” I bow to her and hug Jinho before running into the VIXX bus. It’s still raining, but not as hard as before. “Does Jeesun do any form of martial arts?” I ask once everybody is in the bus. “Yes she does. Karate or Kung fu.” Says Hyuk as he sits down next to me. “You look nice.” He says. “You do too. Nice pajamas N hyung.” I joke. And Hyuk pouts again. I find it rather cute. By the time we reach my house, the rain has stopped and the sun is warming the bones inside me. “Did you guys want to stay and eat for dinner?” I ask, trying to be polite. I don’t really know if they will stay, but it’s the thought that counts. “My mum is cooking hot pot today, and she always cooks too much for three people anyways.” I twiddle my thumbs, do I really expect them to say yes? “Yes! Hot pot!” I hear Ken shout. “No use wasting food! Let’s go!” Ravi joins in. “But I’m in pajamas!” says Hyuk. “Don’t worry Hyukkie! The clothes I bought the other day are still in the bus! I forgot to bring them in.” Laughs Ravi. Black jeans and a white T-shirt with a single black vertical line cutting through it on the side. I avert my eyes as he quickly changes. “You’re lucky.” Says Ravi. I hop out of the bus and for some reason Hongbin is at my side. “Whoa!” I hear from behind. We both turn around. “Aren’t Hongbin and Melinda picture perfect?” says Ravi. I look at Hongbin and he just shrugs with a smile on his face. Ravi takes out his phone and starts taking pictures. “Whoa! Like a real couple!” I try to step out of the picture but Hongbin grabs me. “You’re so pretty, let him take pictures of you!” he laughs. I can feel my face turn tomato red. His arm is wrapped around my shoulders and he smiles at the camera. I make an effort to smile in one photo then jump out of the frame. “Scared of photos?” asks Hongbin. I stick my tongue out at him. Hesitant, I knock on the front door. I didn’t think they would actually want to eat. But here I am, home from school, in casual clothes, with a bunch of guys wanting to eat dinner with us. “Melinda!” says my mum as she opens the door. She sees six young men waving at her and asks, “What’s going on?”

Notes