"The tteokbooki here is amazing!" Solar gushed fervently as she led Moonbyul towards a small shop at the riverfront. "This is where I always go. The owner here knows I love her food, so she always gives me a little a extra too!" She winked back at Moonbyul.

"Yongsun! It's been a while since you last came hasn't it?" A kind looking, middle aged woman came up to hug Solar. "I've missed seeing you around too!"

"Promotions have kept us busy lately. You wouldn't believe how much I've missed you and your food!" She motioned for Moonbyul to follow her and the owner to an empty table on the side. 

As they sat down, Moonbyul looked over at Solar. "Yongsun?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"Yongsun. It's my real name. Obviously Solar is only a stage name." Solar laughed as she quickly ordered what she always got.

"Order for me too please. Since you know this place best." Moonbyul gave up trying to decide and just rested her chin on her hands and stared at Solar.

Finishing up with their orders, Solar noticed Moonbyul's gaze. "What is it?"

"So, Yongsun? Does everyone call you that outside of work?"

"And you call youself one of our fans. Of course I don't have people I'm close with call me Solar during my time off." She took a sip from her tea. 

"I see."

"You know, if you want, you can call me Yongsun too." She tilted her head. "I mean, we are close now, right?"

Moonbyul couldn't stop the smile from stretching over her whole face. "I'd love to!"

"You know, you have such an adorable little smile. I thought you were a scary person at first. You didn't really seem to smile that much."

"I guess when I get absorbed in work, I tend to get super focused and serious." She scratched her head. "Did I really come off that scary?"

"Well, during that first dinner, you were pretty serious and focused on work. The three of us talked about you after that. However, Wheein insisted that you were a great person."

"Did she now? How nice of her." Moonbyul smiled unconsciously at the thought of the hyper young girl. 

"But enough about us. Tell me about yourself Moonbyul. You're younger than me right?"

"Yeah. Only by a year though."

"That's still pretty young though! How did you become a producer? If even our ceo approves of you, damn you must be really good!"

"I started producing when I was around 16? I loved music even when I was younger. So I started trying to meet people in the music industry, and eventually, I found myself a mentor. SM decided to hire me officially a couple years back, after they had bought nearly all my songs. Now I get to work the way I want, with the actual artists!"

"Wow! You really are a 'young genius producer' then like ceo said!"

Moonbyul dropped her gaze in embarassment. "No no, I just happened to get lucky with my success." She was awkward when it came to praise.

The food soon arrived, and Moonbyul was glad the conversation turned to lighter topics as they ate.

-------------------

Cold wind blew past the two as they walked down the Han river after dinner. It was a quiet time of night, with only the sounds of trickling water echoing in the background. 

"I love coming here at night." Solar suddenly spoke up. 

Moonbyul stayed silent, waiting for her to continue while looking at the small bright lights in the distance.

"Sometimes, I feel the need to just get away from it all. I love being a singer, but sometimes, it can be exhausting." Solar plucked the hem of her sweater, fidgeting. 

Moonbyul nodded her understanding, hesitatingly grasping and squeezing Solar's hand to reassure her. 

Solar didn't shy away from the touch, instead holding tighter for comfort. "As idols, we don't get much privacy. It's nice to be able to walk around alone like this, without cameras following your every move, without the feeling of worry in everything you do." 

"Well, Yongsun, I'll be here for you anytime you need to feel normal!" Moonbyul looked to the side. "A-As a good friend of course."

"Aww, Moonbyul, you're so sweet!" Solar leaned into Moonbyul's side and gave a hug. Moonbyul gulped.

It was a comfortable silence in which the two walked together after, neither letting go of each others hands. 

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Over the weeks, Moonbyul got really close to the Mamamoo members. Like really, really close. 

She would come over to their dorm even when they did not have work together.

The three always relished the times when she did come over. Because more times than not, she would come carrying bags of chicken. Even before she would ring their bell, they would know Moonbyul had come as the smell of fried chicken wafted between the cracks of their front door.

"Moonbyul!" "Chicken!" She was always greeted with excitement.

The members also began to realize Moonbyul was fond of skinship. Once she got over her original awkwardness at meeting her biases, she would not hesitate at grabbing the members for hugs when she went to visit. The three enjoyed it as well, being quite touchy themselves. 

They were also glad to have as sincere a friend as Moonbyul became to them. Her presence gave them all a sense of normalcy after the long days of work. 

Sometimes, she would invite them over for a meal and Red Velvet would also come The two groups soon became extremely close outside of work with Moonbyul as the bridge between the two.

Wheein would occasionally look on with barely disguised envy at these gatherings, often pouting her lips when she saw the how close Moonbyul was to Seulgi and the rest. She would often rush over to loop her arms around Moonbyul's waist, resting her head on the girl's shoulder while casually joining in the conversation.

All this did not go by unnoticed by Hwasa. 

Hwasa's expression became even more knowing when it was just the four of them. For how could she not notice when the first person to greet Moonbyul excitedly like a puppy was Wheein. And how could she not notice when Moonbyul gave her a wide grin, but went to hug Solar first, contact lingering a little longer than necessary. And how could she not pity poor Wheein when her smiling face twitched a little, only to be instantly restored as Moonbyul swept her up next in a crushing but brief hug.

This is such a mess. Hwasa shook her head in annoyance. What can I even do to help here. I can't believe how clueless all of them are.

Clueless they were. For none of them ever spoke up about any of it explicitly. The days passed by like this.

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When Seulgi accidentally let slip of Moonbyul's dancing skills, she was bombarded with demands from the girls. And so, she was dragged to their practice rooms for a performance.

Hwasa whistled her praise, while Solar clapped her hands ecstatically. Wheein could barely contain herself on her chair, spilling out endless compliments for Moonbyul who was in the corner covering her face in embarassment. 

"Moonbyul, practice with me sometime! I'm the main dancer, but you could definitely teach me some things! Or we could just dance together for fun." Wheein eagerly asked. 

Uncovering her still flushed face, Moonbyul looked up at Wheein. "Sure. But only if you guys don't tease me like this." She pouted.

Wheein came over and playfully squeezed those pouting cheeks. "Aww. But it's so cute seeing you all shy like this." She leapt away as Moonbyul moved to grab her. 

She didn't run fast enough, and Moonbyul tackled her, ruffling her hair messily. "Got ya! Thought you could run?" The two just rolled around the floor laughing as Moonbyul began to tickle Wheein. 

As Solar moved to tear the two apart, Hwasa just sighed and leaned back. Moonbyul, why? You can't do that. You can't just give her hope like that. You don't mean it like she does.

Do you?

*So Hwasa knows. Let's be honest here. In the fancams, Hwasa always looks like she knows something. Or maybe she's just a boss and that's her sassy resting face. But for this story...heads up. Some Wheebyul next chapter I think. Thanks for reading!