Mya awoke in her apartment, her phone's ringtone blaring obnoxiously from its speakers. She sat up sluggishly and picked up the device, her finger dangling over the 'end call' button until her half-lidded eyes caught sight of the caller's name.

Jillian. Her roommate.

Mya answered the call with a tired sigh and fell back against her pillows, her eyes fluttering shut as began to form words. "What do you want, Ji--"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Mya's eyes shot open. Her body jolted from the sudden outburst and she nearly dropped her phone. Giggling could be heard on the other line just underneath her erratic breathing. After composing herself, Mya put the phone back up to her ear.

"What the hell, Jill!" She yelled, placing a hand over her stampeding heart. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry! I couldn't hold it in any longer." Jill cheered happily.

Mya could imagine the gleeful smile on Jill's face, and it made her smile in turn. Jill, in the time Mya had known her, had always been a er for surprises. Whether it was her own, or someone else's, she would always be the most enthusiastic.

"We only wanted to wish you a happy birthday, Mya. Don't be so bratty!"

Mya recognized that playful tone. It was Monica, her older sister. "Monica? What the--are you two together? Am I on speaker?"

"Yes and yes!" Jill chirped. "I left earlier this morning to meet with her. And I didn't wake you because we're planning something special~!"

Mya wiped her hand across her face. "Jillian," she groaned, drawing out the name. "I told you I didn't want any surprises today..."

"Well, too bad--'cause you're getting one!" Monica teased.

"Guys--"

"Meet us down by Jerry's in an hour." Jill ordered, and then abruptly ended the call.

Mya openly chuckled and dropped her phone beside her on the comforter. Had it been any other day, she wouldn't dare to trust in whatever it was that Monica and Jillian had planned--those two become a pair of evil masterminds when they're together--but she knew that they would undoubtedly come after her if she didn't follow through with their orders.

To save herself the trouble, Mya climbed out of bed and left to begin her morning routine.

. . . . . . . . . .

After dressing herself in a pair of old vans, jeans, and a plain white t-shirt, Mya stepped out into the hallway of her apartment complex. She locked her door with an old key and walked a short distance to the elevator. Then she pressed the button to call it and waited.

Once it arrived and its metal doors slid open, Mya stepped inside, smiling pleasantly at a man who had hitched a ride on a previous floor. He was tall, had silver-tinged hair and a large set of ears, and he stared at her with widening eyes.

'He must be new to the complex,' Mya thought as she settled on a spot on the opposite side of the elevator. She spared him a side glance and, surprisingly, caught him doing the same. 'Introduce yourself. Make him feel welcome.'

When the metal doors slid shut and the elevator began to move downward, Mya turned her head in his direction, causing his spying on her to cease and his attention to be drawn to the magnificent-seeming elevator buttons.

"Hey, are you a new resident? I don't think I've seen you in the complex before," said Mya.

She could see tinges of red on his cheeks, but pretended not to. The man cleared his throat before speaking, his baritone voice echoing off of the elevator's metal walls. "Yeah... I moved in not too long ago."

"Ah, what floor?"

Mya watched as his eyes shifted in every direction but hers. "Ninth."

To keep things from getting any more awkward than they seemed, she extended a friendly hand to him. "Nice. I'm Mya, I live on the seventh floor."

The man finally looked at her--his eyes were quite round and bright--and smiled shyly, his cheeks becoming plump. "Chanyeol," he said, and gently shook her hand.

'Hm, he's not much of a talker,' Mya thought, 'but he's kinda handsome when he smiles.'

The elevator dinged, signaling that both Mya and Chanyeol had made it to their destination floor, and each hand retreated back to its owner. They both stepped out in silence and proceeded to leave the complex through the lobby. Mya took out her car keys she had stashed in her back pocket, then paushed in her tracks as Chanyeol raced ahead of her to hold open the front door.

She smiled as she walked past him, commenting on how sweet that was of him. It made Chanyeol smile, too, with an equal amount of content.

Mya made her way to her car and got inside, unknowing that Chanyeol was still watching her. She pulled off and was now on her way to meet with her roommate and sister, leaving behind a man who--unbeknownst to the both of them--Mya hadn't seen the last of.