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“Is that a good thing?” I asked with an easy grin to disguise the uncomfortable way my heart thumped.
Jihoon shook his head. “It makes me –” He paused, looking off to the side for a moment. “Frustrated.”
I recoiled slightly. “Frustrated?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but just then, Youngsoo popped his head in through the open door.
“Problem?” His gruff voice broke the stillness of the moment, and I followed him off the bus, determinedly not looking back at Jihoon, either because I didn’t want to see his face, or I didn’t want him to see mine.
We were taken on a private tour of the aquarium. It was so much fun and so interesting that I had to forcibly remind myself to go through the questions I’d prepared. The whole point of this excursion was to have the interview be relaxed and fun, because that was the version of GVibes that Vibers liked the most. Not the polished, photo-shoot edits, not the sultry stage personas. Those were great and had their place in the whole of the GVibes image, but the main reason the guys had the following they did was because of their personalities. The fun friend group that goofed off on Lives, that snuck out of concert venues to join in with the dance challenges in the crowds. The small-town boys who’d captured the hearts of a nation.
As we moved through the different exhibits, I occasionally stopped a member or shot out a question for the whole group while we ooh’d, and aah’d. Some questions I had prepared in advance:
“What’s something that makes each tour stop so memorable?”
And some I asked as they occurred to me, like when we stopped at the snapping turtles, and there was a warning sign on the glass.
“If each member were an exhibit, what would their warning sign say?”
“Do not feed after midnight,” Ace immediately piped up, looking pleased with himself.
Woojin rolled his eyes. “That is from a movie, and applies to you.”
Lee laughed, slapping the maknae on the back. “He’s right.” Ace looked momentarily outraged, but shrugged it off. “You” – he pointed at Woojin – “are ‘do not tap the glass’. Very aggressive,” he tutted. Woojin only proved the point by raising his hand, while Ace grabbed Minjae, swinging around to hide behind his leader.
I’d already decided that this article was going to be primarily an observation of the group and their dynamic, so while I asked questions, and noted down their responses, my focus was really on the way they answered. Who spoke first, what member they looked to, the way Minjae automatically went to translate before realising he didn’t need to. Who deflected with jokes, and who didn’t answer unless nudged.
The piece was writing itself in my head by the time we made it through to the end where the stingrays were. Everyone rushed over to the waist-high tanks to try and pet one of the graceful sea creatures. I hung back, watching.
I was so absorbed that I didn’t notice Jihoon stepping up beside me until his arm brushed mine, making me jump.
“Sorry,” he muttered, but did not move away.
I waved his apology away, going back to watching the group. The managers and aquarium guides were all gathered around the tanks some metres away from us.
“You have been avoiding me since we got here,” he said quietly, not turning away from where he watched the others.
“I included you in every question I asked –”
“The group,” he interrupted. “You spoke to all of us. Not me.”
I crossed my arms, leaning away.
“You’re mad at me,” he said simply.
“I’m not –” I took a breath, unclenched my jaw. “I am not mad.”
“Hurt, then,” he pushed, the word sounding as neutral as I imagined his face looked.
“Wow, so we’re doing this right now?” I laughed, but there was no humour to the sound.
I felt reckless. The kind of lightheaded, throwing caution to the winds feeling that usually accompanied doing something very stupid.
“You won’t talk to me. You barely reply to my messages. What am I supposed to do? Come to your room? Because I will–”
“Don’t you dare,” I hissed, spinning to face him before catching myself and turning back around, plastering a placid look on my face. “No,” I said in a calmer voice. “I have a room mate.”
“And I do not care. You won’t talk to me.”
