Lee Ji-seo's POV (Point Of View)
I replayed the entire scene from earlier in my head. 'What did Arin mean by that? Maybe I should stay away from Min-ho for my safety.'
Ha-ri nudged my side, "Hey, are you okay?" She asked, her face visibly showing concern. I nodded and gave her a small smile.
But I knew that wasn't enough to convince her that I was okay. We focused on the tour guide in front of us, who was explaining the attractions we were at.
I felt someone walk up to me, and I turned to see it was Taemin. I rolled my eyes and focused back on the tour guide.
He nudged my side, but I just ignored him. He nudged my side again, and I turned to him with a glare.
"Are you okay?" He whispered. I let out a huff and turned back to the tour guide, but he nudged me again.
"What?!" I said in a harsh whisper. He handed me something from his pocket, and I stared at it for a moment before looking back at him.
"You're giving me chocolates?" I asked with a raised brow. "Yeah, as a peace offering. Look, I'm sorry for what I did. I shouldn't have disturbed you this morning," he said softly.
I stared at the chocolate in my hands for a bit before looking back at him and giving him a nod. His face brightened with a smile, "Really? You forgive me? You can't go back on your word."
"Don't make me rethink this, Min Taemin," I warned. He shook his head at my words with a big smile on his face, "I won't. I promise."
I kept the chocolate in my jeans pocket, and that shocked Taemin a bit. "See? You're still mad at me," he whined.
I opened my mouth in shock, "No, I'm not. I just don't want to get thirsty later. Why are you acting like a child?" I asked with a giggle.
"I'm not," he said with a pout. I shook my head at his behaviour and focused on what the tour guide was saying.
"Okay, kids, let's head to our second attraction of the day," Mr Song announced, and everyone started heading back into the bus.
'Will I still have to sit next to Min-ho? Oh my God, Ji-seo, why did you agree to sit with him in the first place?' I whined inwardly.
I took in a deep breath and went back to my seat from earlier. 'No biggie, I'll just focus on my phone for the entire ride. I won't even act like he's there. There won't be any problem, right?' I said, trying to give myself some sort of motivation.
I walked to my seat and sat down slowly, second-guessing my decision. Min-ho walked to his seat and looked at it in hesitation before sitting down.
The bus started moving, and I plugged my earpods into my ear, without playing any music, I just wanted to act like I wasn't hearing anything.
A few minutes later, I heard Min-ho whispering my name, but I ignored him. 'Can't he see that I'm listening to music?' I grumbled inwardly.
I kept ignoring him until I felt a tap on my shoulder. 'Damn it,' I cursed inwardly and turned to him with a small smile.
"What is it? Were you calling me? I couldn't hear you, sorry," I said with a forced smile. "Uh, this fell from your ear," he said before lifting his hands, and my earpod came into view.
My mouth opened in shock, and before I could stop myself, I blurted, "That's not mine!" He looked down at my earpod before looking at me, "Really? Because I'm sure this fell out of your left ear."
I lifted my hand to my left ear, and indeed, my earpod isn't there. "Oh, silly me. I didn't notice it fell," I said awkwardly, and reached for my earpod, but he withdrew his hand back.
"If that's the case, you should have heard me whispering your name," he stated. "Oh, you're right. I don't know why I couldn't hear you. My apologies," I said awkwardly, and placed out my palm to collect my earpods.
He nodded and placed it into my palm. I put it back into my ear and faced the window, "That was so embarrassing. 'That's not mine,' Really? Is that the best you could come up with?" I whispered to myself.
"Uh, are you okay?" I heard Min-ho ask. I turned to him swiftly, "Yeah, I'm good. I was just singing out loud." He nodded, but it looked like he had something else to say, but I turned back to the window and stared at the buildings we passed.
"Hey, Ji-seo," I heard him call out again. 'Did my earpod fall out again? I should get headphones; these earpods are too big for me,' I said inwardly and lifted my hand subtly to my ear to feel if it fell out again.
Luckily, it was still there. 'So why is he calling me?' I felt the earpod leaving my ear this time, and I startled in shock.
I turned around to see Min-ho put it in his ear, and my eyes widened in shock. 'Oh no!' He looked at me with a hint of hurt in his eyes, "Are you avoiding me?"
I shook my head, "No, why would you think that?" He let out a sigh, then removed the earpod from his ear and handed it back to me, "I thought you were listening to music?"
'Oh no, I'm caught,' "Yes, I was," I answered. "But nothing was playing," he said, looking down. 'Quick, Ji-seo, think of a lie.FAST!' "Ah, you see, when you removed the earpod from my ear, the music stopped playing. That's what happened," I said with a smile.
"Do you know how badly you suck at lying?" He said in a monotone voice. I smiled awkwardly, "I've been told."
"I'm sorry for what happened earlier. I'll talk to Arin, so you don't need to worry," he said in that same tone. "Ah, it's okay. I kind of understood where she's coming from. You going to meet her on my behalf is only going to cause more issues for me," I said, declining his offer.
"Why are you being so formal with me, though? I thought we were friends?" He asked innocently. "Was I? I didn't realise," I said awkwardly.
"It's fine. I understand," he said in that same tone and brought out his phone from his pocket, and tapped away on the phone screen.
I sat there in shock, 'Is it just me, or has Min-ho always talked like this? Did I hurt him that badly? Something is definitely wrong somewhere.'
I studied his face for a bit before an idea came into my head. I quickly took a goofy picture and sent it to him with the words 'Cheer up!'
I stared at him in anticipation, waiting for him to open my text. When he finally did, he stared at his screen for a bit before turning to me, looking so confused.
I mouthed the words to him and smiled at him before pressing play on my music and facing the window.