GOT7. That’s the name of the group Jackson is in.

Walking down the school’s hallway, I start to notice the badges fangirls pin to their clothes, bags, their hoodies and writing utensils.

His group is not as famous as another idol group that I know but they’re relevant enough that I constantly see one or two fangirls passing by with a GOT7 item attached every turn of the hallway.

My eyes dart to a GOT7 notebook, open on the table next to me. I go over and look at each of their faces on the cover.

“You like GOT7 too?” Min asks, pointing to her GOT7 book.

“I…I just found out about them today,” I mutter, giving her a tight smile.

“Cool,” she says, taking a seat at her table. “Do you know their names or, maybe, do you want a fellow iGOT7 to introduce you to the boys?”

“Er…” I’m not exactly sure what I want to do with this information I had just discovered. So what if he’s in an idol group? Does it matter? We’re just friends. It’s not as if I’m going to be bringing him out for dinners or the like. We only meet each other between 12am to 6am.

“Earth to Youngmi,” Min says, waving her hands in front of my face. I snap out of my musings. “Are you interested in someone?”

“Excuse me?”

“Do you like one of these boys?” she asks, placing the book upright for me to see. She catch my eyes looking at Jackson, who wasn’t blond in the picture. “Ah, Jackson. He’s really famous! He’s in every hot variety show right now. He’s certainly gaining a name for himself…and GOT7.”

Then she goes on and on about Jackson’s facts – his height, weight, previous achievements, nationality and so on.

I can hardly digest the mountain of information she passes on to me. I can only remember that he is from Hong Kong, but the other details bounce off my skull.

Mr. Yunho enters the classroom and we give him our greetings.

“Wow!” Min exclaims, finally stopping herself from adding more facts. “Good talk, Youngmi!”

If she thinks that was a good conversation, someone needs to tell her that a conversation involves communication between two parties.

----

Mr. Yunho is checking our classwork in his cubicle in the teacher’s office. He summoned me to the office before I leave school so here I am, sitting in front of him.

“So…how’s life?” he asks, looking up from his work.

I narrow my eyes, wondering if he knows what kind of situation I’m in now. Numerous things have changed since we last talked.

“I heard the news,” he breaks my silence. “How’re they treating you?”

I consider his question gravely.

“I don’t know how to explain it. Comparing it to my previous life, relatively, I do feel like a princess,” I reply, chuckling. If cleaning houses and working constantly to earn money is what being a princess is all about, then I’d say this is a fair statement, but it isn’t. That is why I emphasised the fact that it’s relative to my previous situation.

Mr. Yunho cracks a smile. “I’m glad that you’re doing well.”

“I’m trying my best to study,” I tell him earnestly. “But my workload has significantly increased as well. YG helps me but, in return, I work for them. So I’m juggling two jobs and studying.”

He turns serious and advices, “It’s important for you to learn how to prioritize, but I'd say your grades are gradually improving.”

“I know, I know,” I say. It’s nice to have someone lecturing me after trying my hardest to survive on my own. I don’t regret telling him what happened. It’s good to have an adult by my side.

Mr. Yunho is different than Yang CEO.

Yang CEO, to me, is an angel swooping down to give his blessings to me. On the other hand, Mr. Yunho is a father-like figure who watched me grow throughout the years since I entered high school.

Mr. Yunho is a reality I easily accept, unlike Yang CEO, whose presence constantly makes myself wonder if my life is a fantasy right now. Never mind Yang CEO, the whole of YG entertainment comes off as a dream every time I leave the YG building.

“If you have any troubles, just come meet me, okay?” he requests with a serious tone. “Don’t hide it like last time.”

“Understood.”

----

I sprint as fast I can into the YG building. I need to find a hidden entrance to this building. It’s too tiring trying to evade the curious onlookers every time I come here, which is technically everyday now.

Raina is manning the front desk as per usual so I drop a short greeting to her before rushing to the toilet. I’m back earlier than usual today because my stomach is aching. Typically, I take my time coming home, even stopping by a park to do my homework. Not today. The nature call is extremely urgent.

Leaving the toilet, I am much more refreshed.

The keys to iKon’s apartment is still with me so I go up to give it to Da Eun so she can pass it to their manager.

When I enter her vicinity, she jumps off her seat while looking at me with a distraught expression.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, equally distressed from just seeing her expression.

She strides up towards me and gives me a gigantic hug.

“Wha…?”

“I was so worried about you!” her voice is muffled against my shoulder.

I pull back from her hug in bewilderment.

“You weren’t here last night!” she bursts out, frowning. “Where were you? I was waiting for you in your room because I wanted to celebrate you cleaning iKon’s apartment, but you never came back!”

“Oh…” is the only thing I manage.

“Where did you go?” she repeat, genuinely concerned with my disappearance.

“I…I kind of fell asleep at their apartment.”

“What?” Da Eun digests this. Her troubled face slowly changes into a cheeky expression. “Doing what?”

“Da Eun!” I poke her ribs. “I fell asleep! What else could I be doing?”

“Um, I don’t know,” she says but her face portrays something different entirely. “Are you sure you weren’t hanging out…with a member…”

“You know that they’re in Japan,” I state the obvious.

She gives me a naughty grin before passing the keys I gave to her back. “I think you should hand this over to Yang CEO. I heard he’s curious about your experience.”

I try to display my annoyance as clear as I could. They’re making a big deal out of this! All I did was clean their apartment.

I’d think this kind of behaviour would be more reasonable if I was responsible for cleaning their hearts or something.

I enter Yang CEO’s office casually, even accidentally slamming the door behind me when the keys slip off my fingers.

“Ah sorry,” I apologize shortly, picking it off the floor. “Here’s the keys –”

A group of curious boys are staring at me with a puzzled expression.

My eyes swiftly scan each face and my final gaze lands on Yang CEO. It sticks there, unwavering.

“Pardon my intrusion…” I speak. My voice comes out loud and clear. Where did this surge of confidence come from? “Just wanted to hand something back to you, Yang CEO.”

“I’ll come back later,” I add when the tension does not diffuse.

“Wait a second,” Yang CEO stops me. “These boys were just wondering who did such a good job in cleaning their place.”

“Oh?” I pretend not to know.

“Right, Hanbin?” Yang CEO directly addresses Hanbin and I freeze. No. Don’t stare. Don’t even look.

I know my body will fail me and embarrass me in times like these. I’m very sure of it.

“Yes…” he replies. The same voice I heard that first night I came here. I know which one is his now. The flashback reminds me of the other person’s voice too. A sudden lightbulb appear above my head when I realize the other voice belongs to Tablo! “Yeah.”

Inhale. Exhale. Don’t succumb to your girly side.

Be strong. Act composed.

“I’ll pass the compliments to the house cleaner,” I say as coolly as possible.

I close the door, this time as gently as possible, and glare at Da Eun. She did that on purpose. She knew they were in there. She's speaking to someone on the phone, but she doesn't forget to wink at me.

I brush past her and go to my ‘room’.

Once I close the door and I have the room to myself, I stop restraining myself and let my feelings flow. The butterflies swirl around my tummy, my cheeks redden and I can’t stop myself smiling like an idiot. His hair was glorious and he was even more good-looking from that distance.

The feeling that is creeping up on me – it’s too hard to resist. I hide under my blanket, praying for sweet dreams of Hanbin.

----

I can’t believe it.

Pleasant feelings continue to flow through me even though the contact I had with Hanbin was minimal. I just glanced at him. He only complimented my cleaning skills (without knowing that it was me).

I daydream while resting my chin on my hands, oblivious to my environment until Jackson pushes my arms off the counter. I straighten my posture.

“Somebody’s happy,” he comments, taking a bite out of a chocolate bar.

“Did you pay for that already?” I point to his chocolate.

“I cashed myself in. You didn’t notice?” he raises his eyebrows. Huh. Just one night working as a substitute cashier, he's freely using the cash register for his own purposes now. “I wonder what’s keeping your mind so occupied.”

“Nothing,” I attempt to say with a straight face, but a smile slides in.  

“What’s up?” Jackson asks, taking a seat next to me. “Tell me everything.”

I’m usually cautious about revealing personal things to other people. Unfortunately, my mind is not being rational as of this moment so I tell him, “I think I like someone.”

He looks taken aback by this. “You…do?”

I nod earnestly.

“Tell me more about this guy then,” he says, tilting his head.

His question makes me realize that I don’t know anything about Hanbin. It’s just a crush, though. It’s okay to have a crush on a stranger, right? That way, he can be anything I want.

Again, unexpectedly, I tell him this.

Jackson listens well before saying, “Does he know you like him?”

“Of course not!” I exclaim, shock that he even thinks that. “I wouldn’t tell him. He’s famous! What chances do I have with him?”

I notice him acting solemn in response.

He’s famous! I hear the echo of my voice in my mind. What chances do I have with him?

He doesn’t think it’s about him, does he?

If I tell him it’s not about him straight up right now, does that mean I acknowledge the fact that I know he’s an idol? Do I continue to feign ignorance?

What should I do?

Is there a right way to deal with this?

We exchange awkward glances with each other.

I completely forgot about Jackson being in GOT7.

I look at him. I can’t see the GOT7 Jackson from this point of view when he’s here with me in this 24/7 convenience store. He's just Jackson.

He only emanates an idol aura when I see him on the video or merchandises.

I don’t know what to do.

Jackson goes back to his jolly personality.

“If you like someone, you should get to know him first,” he points out, showing disapproval with my method of choice. “If you let that crush grow, you might get hurt in the end. Who cares if he’s famous? You can like anyone regardless of their popularity!”

I shift uncomfortably in my seat.

“Is he the most popular boy in school?” he asks.

Oooooh!

So he thinks I’m crushing on a popular student! Why didn’t I think of that?

“He is, he is,” I agree fervently.

“You should befriend him.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Well, for starters, I have trouble portraying my feelings to boys I like. I’ve only liked boys from afar – I’ve never tried any other method. Yes, I do get hurt, but it’s a given by now.

“If I crush on someone, I accept that it’s going to end in tears on my behalf,” I admit truthfully.

Jackson puts a supporting hand on my shoulder and tells me, “That’s not how it should be done! I’ll teach you how to approach boys.”

“First, establish eye contact,” he says, gazing into my eyes. “It’s the key to our hearts.”

“Jackson-” I try to interrupt but he continues.

“Second, talk to him. Compliment him as casually as possible so he knows you’re interested.”

He thinks about something deeply before muttering, “And…that’s all.”

“That’s all?” I say in disbelief. “You’re joking. If it was that easy, I’d have a ship full of ex-boyfriends by now.”

“No, I meant that’s all I’ll tell you for now,” he amends himself. “If you start talking to him, I’ll give you more tips.”

It’s obvious he doesn’t actually have any other tips to give right now. He ran out of ideas.

We sit silently for a few minutes before he mutters, “I didn’t expect I’d ever be giving love advice to you.”

“I didn’t ask for it,” I tell him, eyeing him from the corner of my eyes.

“I’m so glad we talked about this,” he says, grinning widely. “I feel closer to you now.” He wrap his arm around my shoulders and pulls me in. His arm lingers there.

I want to show him I appreciate him too so I wrap my arm around his waist, muttering, “Me too.”

We gaze at each other, smiling.

We continue gazing at each other and I slowly feel something creep in my tummy. I can only describe the sensation as something similar to hatching pupae.