To Kiss An Idol

“Wait! Hospital?” asked Jae-Hwa. Nivritti closed her eyes tightly and pressed her lips together.

“She didn’t know?” inquired Korain, shocked.

“No one knows,” replied Nivritti.

“Wah! I thought she is your friend so you must have told her,” commented Kyung-Soo.

Nivritti flared her nose and looked at Kyung-Soo with fire in her eyes. “You made such a fuss about hiding that he was in the hospital. And now you want me to tell her?” she snapped at him.

His jaw dropped with shock. He moved a few steps ahead and came close to her. “You gave a full-on lecture about why we should not hide it and you are hiding it from your friend, so bad!”

Nivritti opened her mouth and made a fist at Kyung-Soo when Jae-Hwa interrupted, “what are you hiding? What could you not tell me?”

“Shit!” she gritted her teeth, lowered her head, and glanced at Kyung-Soo. She muttered some curses at him and immediately backed up with an awkward smile on his face. She lifted her head and with a sweet smile on her face, said, “Jae!”

.....

But Jae-Hwa interjected, “you asked him when he was discharged. Was Young in the hospital? What is the update you all have been talking about? Were those the messages you kept receiving these past few days? You said that was marketing gimmicks. They were sending messages? Were you in a foul mood because Young ignored you? Was that the reason you were so grumpy in the morning and refused to wake up?” Nivritti glanced at Young-Chul in anger and immediately averted her eyes. “Woah! Was that the reason, ASD were absent from every activity?”

“Jae!” Nivritti moved her hand to touch Jae-Hwa’s shoulder, but Jae-Hwa stepped back in anger.

“Everyone! Sit down!” Jae-Hwa shouted.

“Woah!” exclaimed Thae.

“Jae!?” said Nivritti.

“Now?” screamed Jae-Hwa.

All immediately formed a line and started adjusting on the couch. The three maknaes were already seated on the couch. Him-Chan and Korain sat on the armrest on the longer couch. Nivritti lowered her head and moved near the two single couches and sat on one of them. The remaining couch was occupied by Young-Chul and Kyung-Soo sat on the armrest placing his hand over Young-Chul’s shoulder.

“What the hell you all have been hiding?” shouted Jae-Hwa. “I want every detail.”

“Just a few days ago, she couldn’t speak in front of them. Look at her now, she is shouting,” Nivritti commented and rolled her eyes. Kyung-Soo looked at her and scoffed at her comment.

“What did you just say?” demanded Jae-Hwa.

“Nothing, nothing!” blurted out Nivritti.

“Now tell me everything,” ordered Jae-Hwa.

“You know you are shouting in front of ASD?” teased Nivritti.

“You just said to treat them as friends. What is wrong with you?” said Jae-Hwa.

“Fair enough!” Nivritti rolled her eyes. “I had no idea my words would come back to bite me in the ass,” she mumbled.

“Yeah! What is wrong with you?” taunted Young-Chul.

She instantly stood up with a jerk and pounced at Young-Chul. Kyung-Soo quickly jumped in between them and grabbed Nivritti’s shoulder and stopped her. He pushed her onto the couch and made her sit. “This is funny to you, this is funny?” she shouted at Young-Chul, grabbed the cushion behind her and threw it at his face with force.

The cushion made an impact on his face, and he cried, “ow!”

“Hey! Hey! Hey! He is weak. Stop hitting him,” ordered Kyung-Soo.

“He is lucky that was not a brick,” chided Nivritti. “Not sick to make funny comments but too sick to REPLY TO A MESSAGE,” she shouted.

“Shut up all of you! I am still standing here waiting for an answer,” pouted Jae-Hwa.

“Why don’t you ask him?” she gritted her teeth and stood up. Without saying a single word, she started walking away.

“Where are you going? I still haven’t received an answer,” yelled Jae-Hwa. She placed her arms on her waist and stared angrily at Nivritti.

“What? Now I can’t even go to the bathroom? These idiots came without any warning, and you screamed your lungs out just by looking at them. I didn’t have the time to go to the bathroom. What should I do? Not pee and damage my kidney? Is that what you want? Huh, huh,” she shouted at everyone and rushed to the bathroom.

“I was supposed to be angry because she didn’t tell me about Young, but look at her, getting angry instead. She is really something,” observed Jae-Hwa.

Korain signalled everyone to huddle close. Every member of ASD came close to hear what he had to say. “Did she just call us idiots?” inquired Korain.

“Everything is MY hyung’s fault. Why were you not replying to her? Seriously!” Jung-Hwa rebuked Young-Chul.

“Have I ever replied to any one of you with stupid memes or simple goodnight or good morning messages?” asked Young-Chul.

“When have you grabbed our hand and slept peacefully?” taunted Kyung-Soo.

“That was one time, one time,” shouted Young-Chul. “She keeps hugging me, you guys don’t say anything to her. Why make me responsible for holding her hands once, that too in sleep? I don’t even remember.”

“I am literally standing here. Don’t they see me?” Jae-Hwa had her arms on her waist and with her tilted head, she kept staring at ASD, who were busy talking with each other.

“I think she has a crush on Young,” winked Korain.

“I have what now?” shouted Nivritti. No one heard when she came out but as soon as they heard her voice, all returned back to their position and sat straight.

“Kidding, kidding,” said Korain.

“Jae! You wanted to know what everyone has been hiding from you, right?” asked Nivritti.

“Yes.”

“Well, MY fainted as this idiot didn’t sleep for days. They had to rush him to the hospital, and they have been hiding this news from the world. They have been lying to everyone, their colleagues, their fans, their friends, I think even their families. Go, bite!” she sicced Jae-Hwa on ASD.

“Hey!” shouted Kyung-Soo offended.

“What? What? Does his family know? Answer truthfully!” asked Nivritti.

Kyung-Soo lowered his head and replied, “no, they don’t.”

“So, you guys don’t think of me as your friend?” sulked Jae-Hwa.

“What? Why are you saying that?” said Jeong-Eun in a sad tone.

“Why didn’t you tell me that he was sick?” demanded Jae-Hwa.

“We told no one,” replied Him-Chan.

“Then how does she know?” Jae-Hwa inquired and pointed at Nivritti. Everyone looked at her and raised their eyebrows.

Nivritti looked at everyone one by one and uncomfortability was written all over her face due to their expression. She realised that she would have to tell Jae-Hwa how she found out. And ASD were not at fault that Jae-Hwa didn’t know whereas she knew about Young-Chul.

Nivritti gulped, “what… happened… was… the day I had my therapy appointment, I saw NK in the hospital corridor and I kind... of followed him. I went inside the room and saw him-” she pointed at Young-Chul, “-lying on the bed, sick.”

“Yeah, she barged in. We never told her. She even sent her a few messages asking about him, but we could not reply back, we were forbidden. After she found out, she was in the loop, so we sent her updates about him. we took pity on her,” said Kyung-Soo.

“Bar… barged in? Took pity?” shouted Nivritti, shocked at Kyung-Soo’s reply.

“Waah! You recognised NK Hyung even though he was wearing a mask,” commented Jung-Hwa with a mischievous smile on his face.

Nivritti squinted her eyes at him and smiled sarcastically. But Kyung-Soo was happy at Jung-Hwa’s comment. He winked happily at Jung-Hwa.

“But… But you guys said that you were having yearly check-ups. Was that a lie too?” asked Jae-Hwa.

“Her idea,” every member of ASD shouted at once and pointed at Nivritti. She shook her head in disbelief and facepalmed, hard.

“Want to know the icing on the cake?” asked Kyung-Soo.

“What?” questioned Jae-Hwa.

“Your brother…” said Kyung-Soo.

Nivritti looked at Kyung-Soo with shock and shouted, “Nam Kyung-Soo, don’t you dare!” She lunged at him to make him shut up, but he was quick. He jumped from the couch and ran away.

“She told your brother to not tell you anything,” he shouted while running all over the living room.

“What? Oppa knows too?” screamed Jae-Hwa.

“Oh, I will kill you,” shouted Nivritti and kept chasing Kyung-Soo.

“Stop, stop, both of you, stop,” Korain tried to stop them, but no one was listening to anyone. Everyone was angry, confused, scared with all the chaotic energy in the living room.

Kyung-Soo kept running round and round in circles around the couch and Nivritti kept chasing him with clenched fists. Korain and Jae-Hwa tried stopping them, but they were not ready to listen to anyone.

While she was running behind Kyung-Soo, she didn’t pay any attention to where she was running and she bumped her pinkie toe into the foot of the couch and cried in pain, “ow!” She started jumping on one foot trying to garb the area that was tingling with pain.