bump into you - niki

11.00 : our little freedom

The female who had been checking her phone suddenly felt a tap on her arm. She immediately looked up, noticing that the tray was ready for her to carry it to her place. But before she could even grab it, she was interrupted by the cashier's voice.

"Are you Yein from Elysian?" He mumbled, clearly a little scared to ask.

For a moment, Yein didn't know what to reply. She had forgotten that she was an idol whenever she'd spend time with Niki. She had forgotten all about her responsibilities, forgotten all the stress, all the negative things and forgotten the image she is supposed to uphold no matter when, where or what happens. With him she often got to be herself. Got to express her true feelings, her burdens. But most importantly, with him, she felt like she was a normal Highschool student spending time with her friend, having fun and laughing.

She was so careless that she had forgotten that she wasn't actually escaping reality. She wasn't actually a normal Highschool student staying out late after a study evening with a friend. She was an idol and she had just been recognized hanging out with a male.

Yein slowly nodded her head at the male behind the counter. Her body slightly heating up as she was scared of this very situation. She was scared he'd recognize Niki as well. Scared this would be the last time she'd be able to have fun with him.

She watched the cashier gasp, placing his hand on his mouth. It took him a few seconds to calm down, muster up his courage and ask her for a picture.

"Yes, sure." She flashed him a smile, hiding just how scared she actually was.

The cashier snatched out his phone, bending over the counter to be a little closer to Yein so they'd both fit in the frame. He snapped the photo as soon as both had posed for it before putting his phone back into his pocket. The male's eyes then switched from the idol before him, to the male she came in with, who was now on the phone.

"Are you and him dating?" He asked, his voice getting very excited.

"N-no, he's just a friend."

"Aww, I really think you and Niki would look great together."

"What?" Yein was sure she hadn't heard that well.

"I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable." He bowed at her immediately, almost hitting his head on the counter in the process before he continued to speak rather quietly; "A lot of fans would like to see you two collab during a stage. They think you two look great together, ever since the award show."

"We didn't talk during the award show.."

"You two were trending on twitter. Niki kept staring at you" He whispered.

"I'm hungry, why are you taking so long, Yein-ah" Niki, who had finally joined them, asked.

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. Thank you so much for choosing our place to eat. Thank you for the picture, I'll treasure it. Enjoy your meal!" The slightly older male, across the counter gave her another bow, flashing them both a wide smile, genuinely happy for meeting them. He was a big fan of both groups and meeting them on the worst day for him, saved his whole week. Before Yein could turn around, she looked at him one last time, noticing his lips move: "I'll keep this a secret."

She sighed in relief, giving him a polite bow followed by a sweet smile before being dragged away by Niki, who had the tray in his other hand.

"He recognized us, didn't he?" Niki asked as soon as the two had reached their table, taking their seats.

Yein gave him a nod.

"What did talk to you about? You were shaking."

"I was?"

"Yeah, your hands were." Niki mumbled.

"Well.. he asked me for a photo and then.."

"then?"

She parted her lips just to close them again. She simply shook her head, mumbling a small "nothing". She wasn't going to tell him the other part of the conversation. She didn't want Niki to feel uncomfortable about getting shipped with Yein. What made it even worse, was the fact that she didn't hate it. She didn't hate the thought of fans liking them being in a relationship. She liked it. 

Niki, who had noticed that she hadn't told him everything, took a sip from his drink before talking: "Why were you shaking then?"

It took Yein a while to reply. She wasn't sure what she was going to answer to that question. Niki wasn't stupid, in fact he was the most observant person she had come across in a while. He noticed the smallest details.

Jake was also just as observant but there was a huge difference between the two. Jake could immediately understand the situation and the feelings of a person, and instead of wanting people to confront them, he wanted to just be there for them. Support them the best he could. Niki was the opposite. Instead of being there for you in a passive way, he was actively there. He didn't just want to be there for you, he wanted to find a solution. He was all about finding solutions, even if there weren't any. He would somehow find one anyway. He would make it possible, no matter what.

So here he was, not accepting a dry lie. He wanted the truth. He wanted to know what scared her so much that her hands were shaking. He wanted to know so he could make sure it wouldn't happen again. He wanted to take that fear from her but to do so, he needed to know what that fear was.

"He didn't do anything wrong it's just.. The thought of him telling everyone he saw us together scared me." She paused for a second to look him in the eyes before continuing: "I was scared of the thought of never being able to hang out with you again."

"I really like being with you." She added.

Niki's eyes immediately softened, looking at her facial features relaxing after telling him what was really bothering her.

"I really like being with you, too." He smiled, now reaching out for the contents on the tray. He firstly grabbed her order, placing it unwrapped in front of her before doing so with his own food. Yein's eyes simply followed him, listening carefully to him speaking once again: "To be honest, I'm also really scared of losing the little freedom we have of seeing each other. You know, after meeting you for the first time, my world seems to be getting a little greyer whenever I don't get to see you."

Yein was speechless over the fact that he had said such a sweet thing so casually. How could he just speak his mind so carelessly, without any worries?

As the female was too stunned to even open her mouth, she started eating. The moment she felt his eyes on her again, her cheeks heated up, a red shimmer clearly visible on them.

"I'm really glad you're eating well" Niki smiled, noticing her chew her burger thoroughly. She simply nodded, still unable to face him. Unable to hold eye contact with him. He didn't seem to mind, understanding what she must be feeling after what he said. He shouldn't have been so blunt, but then again, it's better that he was. He didn't really have any problems speaking his mind when it came to the things he liked but he was also very aware that many people did not have the same ability to do so.