Page 21 of A World Apart
“Help me out here, Becka,” I said, laughing, “how am I acting, as opposed to ‘more’?”
“You’re acting like he’s a normal person,” she said, her eyes widening suddenly. “That’s it! You’re acting like he’s a normal person you’ve met and you’reinto him!” Becka gasped and pointed at me, her eyes as wide as saucers. It felt like she was accusing me of having an affair with the President, such was the drama.
“You’reINTOhim!"
“Pssh, am not.” I waved her accusation away as I turned to put my mug in the sink.
“No, no, I’m right, aren’t I?” She said, coming around the counter to stand next to me, forcing me to actually look her in the eye.
I leaned my hip against the sink and folded my arms across my chest.
“So what if I am?” I said, trying not to sound like a kid caught with her hand in the biscuit jar. “I mean, me and millions of other fans, right?” I laughed.
Becka frowned. “I mean, suuure…” she trailed off, chewing on her lip. “I just think it’s a bit weird. You’ve met him, you’ve spent time with him. You’ve gotten to know him, in, y’know, real-life. That makes him real to you.”
“He was real before now,” I scoffed.
“Not to you,” she said, pointing her finger at me and narrowing her eyes, “he was Jihoon, the ‘Visual’ from GVibes. That’s a character. I feel like that’s not who he is when you’ve been around him,” she said, running her hand over her neck, distractedly.
My smile faded, but my stomach felt fluttery. Well, when you put it that way…
I shook my head to knock those thoughts loose.
“Look, I’ll level with you,” I said, “he is different than I would have thought. He’s really cool, actually.” I smiled, thinking of all the different ways I came to this conclusion.
“But that doesn’t change anything. He’s still who he is and eventually, he’s going to finish recording and he’s going to leave.”
Becka nodded along, slowly. I could see I was making sense to her again.
“And this will just be another story we laugh about in a handful of years.” I smiled, but damn if my heart didn’t squeeze just a little bit.
“Maybe I’ll even get a tattoo,” I joked, bumping my hip against hers as I moved away from the counter. She chuckled, and I knew we were done.
“Where are you going?” She asked.
“Shower.” I answered.
“Good, because you smell like an old man’s slipper,” she said.
I turned around, my whole face scrunched up, “the fuck?!?” I threw my hands up.
Becka shrugged. “I say these things to help you.”
I snorted a laugh as I walked towards the bathroom.
Chapter 9
“Hey, hey, hey!” Becka called from where she was laying on the couch, “where the fuck are you going?” She paused the show she was watching on Netflix.
I pulled on my plaid scarf before answering. “I’m going to Pisces. I left my earbuds there. I need them to write music.” Perfectly valid excuse.
“Bullshit!” Becka cried. “You’re going there to see the idol!” She pointed the remote at me, accusingly.
“He’s not even there today!” I protested, pulling on my black beanie.
“You know the fuck he is!” She looked outraged. I shrugged in response, grabbing my rucksack and slinging it over my shoulder.
“I’ll be back later,” I called, heading out the door. I heard her call something with the word ‘ho’ in it, but I was already half-way down the hall.
