Eunji was sitting back in the living room waiting for Sung Gyu to arrive to prepare for his next scheduled television interview. It’s been a week since Sung gyu had appointed her his personal hairdresser, and during this time, Eunji got to learn a few things about her current employer. One was that he never looked down on the people who worked for him. True, he had a bad temper and constantly vented his anger on his staff. True, he never really apologized to ill treatments he would give them. But there was something about Sung Gyu which kept his dearest staff around him. He didn’t have many, but the few he did really enjoyed being a part of his world, and Eunji was one of them.

Sung Gyu had gotten mad at her just an uncountable times. He had thrown all the tools off the cabinet, kicked the cushions and slammed the door shut on her face. But when he wasn’t mad, as they prepared him, he talked to them as if they were closest friends. He made everyone feel needed, and it was a quality that they all loved.

The door opened and a stylist and a make-up artist followed by a few other staff members filed in. It seemed that the idol was on his way now, and the stylist was already preparing Sung Gyu’s outfit. Eunji climbed up on her feet, put on an apron, stuffed her equipment into her pocket and stared at the mirror before her. All set for a busy working day.

A few minutes later, the door crashed open, befuddling everyone. Eunji almost jumped out of her skin and waited quietly in the hushed dressing room as Sung gyu stomped in. His hair was tousled, his face was appalled and his eyes depicted the anger like blazing fire. He was mad. Great. Eunji thought, rolling her eyes. What an incredible way to start the day.

Woohyun and Howon came into the room behind him, both looking calm and composed, not deterred a single bit by the idol’s wrath. Sung gyu looked at everyone in the room as if he wanted all of them to be mass murdered, and then he threw everything which lied on the table across the floor, making everyone jump, and then began to angrily stomp at a stack of tabloid magazines, all which had his own face up on the front.

“You ing bastards!” He was hissing under his breath. “You bastards!”

He then kicked at the magazines that they flew across the carpet and then he fell into the nearby sofa seat, breathing hard. The crowd around slowly began to disperse and move onto their own work. Eunji could only sigh in exasperation. It was amazing that Sung Gyu could get angry at any time of the day.

He sat up straight and pointed a finger at Howon’s direction. “A proposal! To the hell with the ing proposal! You can’t ing ask me to write a ing proposal!”

Howon raised his brows with a smirk. “That’s how we normally proceed with a new project”

Sung Gyu raised a hand and slammed it down onto the stool. “Yah! There are people to do that!”

“There are” Howon agreed. “But this is your project idea. The CEO obviously wants to see what you have come up with” Then he sat back comfortably. “Yours won’t be the final proposal surely. But if you have a project plan, you come up with the proposal. That would only be a basic outline of your idea”

“But I can’t-!” Sung Gyu started, yet Howon interjected. “Based on all that you’re saying, Sung Gyu, I think you have no idea what you’re doing”

Sung gyu stood up again and kicked the wooden stool before him. “!” He yelled when it hurt him. “I know ing well what I’m doing, you stay out of it!”

Woohyun let out a long, exasperated sigh, ran his fingers through his hair and looked up to his best friend. “Sung gyu, look. I’ll help you with it”

Sung Gyu threw a glare at his direction. “You all are ing same” He said.

“I’m trying to help okay?” Woohyun relied quietly. “At least try not to make a scene here and let’s talk about this later on”

It was then that Sung Gyu finally looked around him. It was as if it was only then that he realized there were his staff surrounding him. His ears turned red the slightest, nonetheless he twisted his neck and sat back in the sofa. “Get rid of them, then” he finally said.

At this point, Eunji was way over herself. She’s been quietly watching the whole scene and understood it clearly well how unfair it was on both parts. One, Sung gyu couldn’t possibly put together a decent project proposal all by himself with all the busy work he had. The representative should be more understanding of his situation than merely telling him off as if it didn’t matter. And on the representative’s part, there wasn’t anything that he could do if the orders came from the higher ups. He was solely the representative and he had no power over such decisions so it wasn’t fair that Sung gyu was putting all the blame on him. And then there was Woohyun, being crushed in between. Suddenly Eunji remembered what her position was. She was his hair dresser, the one whom he personally picked. She couldn’t possibly step in and offer her opinion then and there, but she had his number. She could offer to help.

Woohyun looked around him in exasperation and then back at Sung gyu. “Don’t be a jerk, Hyung” he said and turned to Howon. “Looks like this has to end here. I’ll get him to do it, somehow, we’ll talk later”

Howon stood up. “Well then…”

Sung gyu only stared somewhere on the edge of the wall, his narrow eyes clearly distant and outright ignoring everyone else.

Once Howon was gone, however, Sung gyu stood up and began to stomp on the magazines even more before hissing and running his hands through his hair in annoyance. “God I hate that bastard!”

“Hyung, calm down!”

At that, Sung Gyu smoothed down his shirt as if he did nothing wrong and looked up towards his manager. “Do I have any schedules now?”

“Sure, they’ve been preparing for it all this time” Woohyun gestured at Sung Gyu’s much devoted staff. Sung Gyu followed his hands and let out a long sigh. “As much as I want to go home right now…”

“Hyung”

“Alright, fine!”

A few minutes later, a well-dressed Sung Gyu clad in a crisp white shirt and jeans sat in front of the mirror, eyes closed and breathing softly as one of the staff did his makeup. He was packed with schedules that day. That morning he was supposed to take part in a talk show, and afterwards he had rehearsals for a stage broadcast which was to be held in China in two days. Afterwards he was to go for a photoshoot since he was the new marketing ambassador for this new clothing brand; after that he had a meeting with the directors to discuss his tour plans. To top off all his hectic work, he had a proposal to work on. Sung Gyu, consequently wished if he could quit being an idol for once and for all. He had no life.

“Anything in mind?” said a familiar voice behind him, which beckoned him to open his eyes. Standing behind him was the hairdresser he newly appointed as his personal, whose name he had apparently forgotten. It’s been days since he last spoke to her, and he hadn’t much time to entertain her after that. But he liked this girl. He liked it that she was honest and talkative.

But right now, he wasn’t in the mood for anything.

“Do whatever you want” He merely replied and continued to keep his eyes closed. This, as he thought, was a successful way to fend of the unwanted advances.

Eunji picked at Sung Gyu’s soft hair absently, her mind elsewhere. In fact, she was bubbling with ideas for Sung Gyu’s TV show. Sung gyu was a perfect match for all the ideas she had. The truth was, Sung Gyu and his endless wrath inspired her. She couldn’t wait to tell him all of it. She wasn’t sure whether he’d buy them, but she could hardly wait to try.

In the end, Eunji styled his hair up in an elegant curve which perfectly fit Sung Gyu’s current mood. It gave him a mysterious aura, the kind of a look which easily drew curious eyes towards him. Sung Gyu took one look at himself on the mirror and stood up. One of the stylists came towards him, carrying his sleek navy blue jacket. And while he shrugged into it, he beckoned his manager.

“I want you to do something about the proposal” He said to Woohyun as he looked at himself on the mirror. “I hardly have any time today”

“Well, for your information, I’d be with you the whole day” Woohyun said.

Sung Gyu turned around and gave Woohyun an icy glare. “Will you, or will you not?”

Woohyun stared back at him, the look in his eyes matching that of the other, and finally he responded with a sigh. “Okay, I’ll try my best”

*

A few minutes later, Eunji found herself in the company’s underground parking lot, her phone in her hand, engaged in a debate whether she should offer to help Sung gyu. Her creative mind was already bustling with myriad ideas, all complying to Sung Gyu’s demeanor. She could already see how well the essence of her ideas played out with him as the star. Him, the obnoxious idol and a set of newbies, it will certainly be a hit. But only, she wasn’t certain how she must approach Sung Gyu regarding this. She wasn’t much, and her ideas need a little bit of polishing, besides she was only a hairdresser. Who was she to give Sung Gyu her opinions on his TV show?

In the end, she put down her hand and let out a sigh. Maybe it would be for the best if she gave it more thought. After all, she was in no position to do what she had planned. Maybe she would think out more, draw a basic outline maybe, and she could secretly contact Sung Gyu if it all worked out right. 

After a while, Sung Gyu and the rest of his staff filed out of the elevator, and Eunji joined them as they all entered the van. Sung Gyu was supposed to take part in a TV interview shortly, therefore all his staff need to accompany him. He had item scheduled after that, and another afterwards. His day was packed, and Eunji, as his personal hairdresser was to take part in all of them. Despite having to travel back and forth with them, she was glad to be an important member of Sung Gyu’s team. She wasn’t only a coffee carrier ever since he had requested her as his hairdresser. In fact, not once did she have to bring coffee for them. Although certain of Sung Gyu’s staff treated her with spite, Eunji was happy about where she was. She had to start out somewhere, and now was good. 

“I like what you did with his hair today” Hayoung, one of the stylists of Sung Gyu said to Eunji as they traveled together on the serpentine Seoul roads. “No wonder he specifically picked you”

Hayoung was possibly the friendliest out of Sung Gyu’s personal staff team. She was mainly dealing with Sung Gyu’s outfits; but she helped around a lot with other things as well. She was a ambitious girl with a big heart and big dreams. Her passion was fashion, and she had joined Woolim in hopes that it would help in improving her sense in contemporary pop culture. She was doing brilliant, in Eunji’s opinion. Hayoung had a beautiful smile, and her strong built didn’t at all speak of her soft and gentle persona. She also had a unique voice, the kind of a voice which reminded Eunji of melted butter and honey on freshly baked pancakes, dripping off the edges in a burst of flavors. She was possibly the sweetest girl she had ever met. After Bomi, of course. Bomi held the top most spot in all times. 

“Ah, yes…” Eunji gave her a shy smile. “Well, thank you…”

“You’re too sweet” Hayoung said with a friendly slap. “In here, you’ve got to be smug and so full-of it. Like this” With that, she sat straight and gave Eunji a haughty look. “I know” She said and swished back her golden locks. Eunji stared up at her, surprised at her acting skills, and burst out laughing. “I can’t imagine myself doing that!”

“You should try” Hayoung said with a smile. “Come on, Eunji-Ssi. I know, deep down, you’re all sassy and proud”

Eunji just laughed in response.

All the way to the broadcasting station, Eunji and Hayoung chatted about countless things. In her lonely occupational life, Eunji had finally found good company which suited her personality, all thanks to Sung Gyu, and she was thankful, immensely.

Once they have arrived at the broadcasting station, they all filed into the building where they were led to the respective dressing room. Once inside, Hayoung and two other girls prepared Sung Gyu’s outfit while Sung Gyu sat in the sofa, meddling with his phone. He went to dress up after a while, and when he came out, Eunji wouldn’t lie that she didn’t hold her breath. There was this certain magic about white on guys. The color was pure and innocent, yet it looked devilishly attractive on men. Sung Gyu in white was a master piece.

Afterwards he sat down for a touch up with his already done make up and hairdo. The makeup didn’t take long, only having to redo the upper layer and a bit on the eyes, and Eunji was next to do the final touch on his hair.

Sung Gyu was staring straight into the mirror as Eunji stood behind him, a can of hairspray in hand. She gently pushed up his fringe which had slowly begun to fall over and sprayed a generous amount of spray carefully. Then she combed it up to place and sprayed a little more of the spray on the back. She was done. She stepped back quietly and muttered that she was done. She looked into the mirror to see Sung Gyu’s reaction. For her befuddlement, it was then that he fluttered open his eyes. He’s been having them closed all that time. “I-it’s done” Eunji mumbled, and Sung gyu gave her a meaningful look on the mirror.

“You’re so gentle” He said, giving her a slightest ghost of a smile. “I almost fell asleep”

“O-oh…sorry”

“No it’s fine” Sung Gyu gave her a nod. “It was all good”

Eunji could swear her whole face went pink.

*

This time around, Mosaic singer’s cover was one of his own songs.

Sung Gyu didn’t know what he felt at that time when he heard her honey-le voice serenading a track that he himself sang a few years ago. It was from his first mini album, a track which went by the name “It’s only you”. It recited the tale of a man who was recalling his good days with the woman he loved and how he still earned for her. Sung Gyu himself wrote it at a time when he was heartbroken by a shattered relationship, a few months before his sister died. Sung Gyu didn’t always love the women he went out with. He constantly held onto his personal principal of not letting his heart on lose unless it was a woman who was worthy of his love. This particular woman had been so for him. She was lovely, and everything about her was screaming perfection. The reason why their once impeccable relationship fell apart was that he had let out his wrath on her, one time when she was out with her friends till late and didn’t tell him. When she left him, she told him one thing which stayed with him until this day. “You will regret your recklessness one day. So stop it” He hadn’t stopped being impulsive and reckless, nonetheless. But she had left him with a wound which never left. And hearing the mosaic singer, the voice he immensely loved, singing the song which held so much of significance to him made him suddenly emotional. It reminded him of Jieun, his sister, and how she said that the song spoke so much of his heart. He has got to find her, this girl who owns his heart now. Or he’d never be at peace.

“Coming?” Called Woohyun from behind him, patting a hasty hand on his shoulder. Sung Gyu paused the video which he was watching for the umpteenth time and finally stood up. “Is Hyung in?” Sung Gyu asked, referring to their CEO.

“He is, but he says he hadn’t much time” Woohyun replied.

“I don’t meet much time” Sung Gyu responded and made it towards the door. Woohyun followed after him, and as they walked down the corridor, Woohyun cleared his throat. “Hyung…I was meaning to tell you…”

“Hm?” Sung Gyu averted his eyes towards his best friend. “What is it?”

“It’s, well…” Woohyun scratched the back of his head. “I’ve been looking around about Mosaic singer the past few days”

Sung Gyu stopped on his track and gazed down at Woohyun almost hopefully. “And?”

“And I figured out that…” Woohyun hesitated, but continued. “There is an indie band, somewhere in Mapo-dong. They do YouTube covers but the word is that nobody’s been able to locate their channel”

Sung Gyu stared down at the floor for a quiet moment. “S-so do you think that…?”

“It’s not impossible” Woohyun replied. “Anyway, I will look more into it, Hyung”

Sung Gyu placed a hand on Woohyun’s shoulder and squeezed him gently. “You do that” He said.

“I’ve got you Hyung” Woohyun said in response.

The CEO’s room was a spacious expanse with solid grey walls and a glass panel overlooking the building of NIT Coffee. The banners of the Woolim artists hung below it, which changed every significant occasion, and the CEO Lee Jung Yeop had a habit of looking out the window panels when he was deeply engrossed in his thoughts. Sung Gyu entered the room at a moment like this, and quietly waited until his boss felt his presence. It didn’t take long; the presence of a visitor in the expansive room was hard to go unnoticed. Jung Yeop turned around and gave Sung Gyu an acknowledging nod.

“Sung Gyu, my boy” He called, coming towards his seat. “Come, come…take a seat”

Sung gyu followed as he was told and sat in the leather seat placed before him.

“You seem worn out today” Jung Yeop commented as he sat down. “What is it that you want to discuss on this busy day?”

“Hyung” Sung Gyu began and placed his clasped hands on the table in front of him. “What do you mean that I have to write a proposal for the show? Can’t we have screen writer to do that?”

Jung Yeop regarded his younger idol for a moment and looked down at his hand. “Look, Sung gyu-ah, there is something like this…” He began and looked up. “Starting your own show needs a lot of work. From a good outline and basis to good hosts and screen writing and a million things to do. We can’t just straight ahead hire a screen writer to do a project proposal for you. This is your idea. So you need to come up with a proposal first”

“But sir” Sung Gyu said almost pleadingly. “I have a busy schedule, one item after another from day to night, how am I supposed to write a proposal?”

Jung Yeop raised his brows in response. “Then how are you supposed to do your own show?”

This silenced Sung gyu for the time being, and Sung Gyu taken aback, stared down at his clasped hand, biting his lips. There’s no way that he was going to give up on this chase once he was at it. It was how determined he was. Even if it meant he had to stay up all night and plan out an acceptable proposal. He couldn’t understand how it was relevant that he himself write the proposal, but he would figure out a way. Sung Gyu wasn’t a quitter.

“Here’s the thing, Sung gyu” Jung Yeop began, gaining Sung Gyu’s attention. “You take your time and give this more thought. The idea you already have is quite…vague and incomplete. We need to know what exactly you have in mind. What is the purpose? What do you plan to achieve? Think these things out and plan a proposal based on your sincere thoughts. We’ll see from there, okay?”

Sung Gyu nodded quietly in response.

“And you can get some help from anyone if you want” Jung Yeop carried on. “We have a set of very talented staff around here. Ask around, if there’s anyone who is willing to help. I’m sure you will find plenty” Jung Yeop stood up then, and finally reached for his coat. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Sung gyu pushed his hands into his pockets as he walked himself out of the Woolim building, deep in thought. As of now, he hadn’t a clear idea on what the show should be. The only thing he had regarding the show was that he was determined to make it work, somehow, so that he could find the voice which haunted his dreams. He didn’t even think about the possibility of this girl not participating on his show. He was so taken by his thoughts that none of it even mattered to him. He was almost out on the road when his phone buzzed with a call on his phone. He stopped to pull it out of his pocket. It was Sung Yeol.

“Hyung” He said, the moment Sung gyu picked up the call. “I have to tell you something”

*

“Thank you” Eunji said with a nod to the barista as he handed over her Styrofoam cup of iced mocha. She was going to head home after a long day of work, travelling about with Sung Gyu and his staff all day long. It was night time already, but she needed to have something refreshing before she walks herself to the crowded bus.

She sat herself down by the glass pane and sipped on her beverage, eyes casted out at the road, watching as he people passed by. Watching people was a habit she had grown ever since she moved into Seoul. She had always thought there was a significance diversity among the Seoul people relatively to the Busan people. Perhaps because they were more exposed to the contemporary foreign cultures than they were. Nonetheless, she liked noticing this uniqueness among them, like reading different kinds of poems or regarding different kinds of flowers. There were the busy, business-y kind of people, all uptight and engrossed in their phone conversations. There were students who were only into their phones, their ears plugged with fancy colored ear phones and giving no care to the world. There were couples who held onto each other so dearly as though they would never give up on each other. And then there were couples who didn’t seem like they were in love. Among all of them, there were people like her. Blessed with nothing, failed in life, unimportant. She couldn’t help but feel pained by this thought. That’s what which has come out of their lives. How could they help it?

After she had finished her drink, she waited a few minutes, basking in the quietness of the evening, watching the sky turn into a hazy shade of crimson, orange and lavender. The days were longer in the summer, and the sunset was beautiful. She waited until the sun has set completely, and let out a sigh. The days were beautiful indeed. It was only her life which was left behind.

A few minutes later, she found herself walking towards the bus stop through the crowd in the street. Since it was the time that commercial offices closed for the day, all the workers were out on the road, heading to their respective homes. Eunji found it too stuffy and warm on the street, so after a while of walking, she eased herself into a nearby grocery store and finally breathed in the cold, air conditioned air. She didn’t even have anything to buy. But she really needed some cool air on her warmed up skin.

She picked up a basket and went down the aisles, taking her time as she did. She hadn’t anything in mind about dinner, so after idly walking around for a few minutes, she rang her best friend.

“Ah, Ji” Bomi greeted as she picked up. “Why are you late today?”

“I was held back at work” Eunji replied. “What do you want to have for dinner today?”

“Hmm…I was thinking of Ramyun, because we’re both too tired for heavy cooking tonight…but apparently we’re out of them”

“Right” Eunji nodded and threw in a couple of packets of the noodles. “Anything else?”

“Some cheese would be nice…and oh, let’s thrown in a couple of rice cake, that would be great”

“Cheese and rice cake” Eunji repeated to herself. “Alright, I’ll call you later, okay?”

After she was done with the call, she walked around a bit more, picked out a packet of sliced cheese and dried rice cakes and also a few miscellaneous items before she made it towards the cashier. At the cashier was a pleasant little lady with a massive smile. Eunji set down her items, and while she billed it, she noticed the stack of shiny black and pink stationary sets. They were really cute, with a pencil with rabbit ears and a note book with a glossy black and pink cover, an adorable rabbit on a side. This rabbit suddenly reminded her of something. Sung Gyu, when he smiled that morning. His two massive rabbit teeth on the front were hard to go unnoticed. Though he liked to go as if he was all tough and uptight, he was actually really cute. Sometimes, he was like a bunny.

Eunji picked up one of the stationary sets and inspected the fine texture of glitter and the cute bunny up on the front. She smiled at the thought of Sung Gyu almost falling asleep that morning. The cashier, who saw this, said with a smile; “They arrived just today. Cute, aren’t they?”

“Hm...” Eunji nodded and thought for a while. The bunny reminded her of Sung Gyu, and she also had millions of ideas that she needed to tell him. She couldn’t bring herself to tell them to him in person. Regardless of giving them to him, she could write everything down. This was just perfect for the job. “I’ll buy one, then” Eunji said, and put the set she held, into her basket.

*

Sung gyu and Sung Yeol met up at their usual table and the usual table; Sung Gyu bought themselves cold Americanos and Sung Yeol opened his laptop in front of them.

“Here’s the thing, Hyung” said Sung Yeol and opened the same window which he did the other day. “I was idling around one day, and since I was bored, I traced the IP address from their latest account, and here’s what happened”

Sung Gyu stared at the computer screen blankly. “What happened?”

“The IP address has changed” Sung Yeol deadpanned and meddled with some more on his laptop as he spoke. “Then I traced the IP address of their last five uploads, and happened to identify five different IP addresses. The address is completely different; each time they upload”

Sung Gyu looked up, not understanding a single thing. “What does it mean?”

Sung Yeol gave Sung gyu a grave look. “They’re uploading either from a mobile device or from different computers each day. Regarding the video quality, I deduced that it had to be recorded on a DSLR camera, so most possibly from different computers. My thought is that they are uploading from an internet café”

“An internet café?” Sung gyu echoed incredulously.

“Or from different internet cafes. It could also be that they are uploading from hired laptop computers. The possibilities are endless, Hyung”

The possibilities are endless. It was a thought that Sung gyu had to admittedly agree with. It was long since he understood that finding this girl was a farfetched catch, but he was obsessed of her. He couldn’t back down now. But the latest news led his mind to shambles. Sung Yeol was right. The uploads could be done through any source. The path they were taking was a difficult one. Even if they were able to locate a definitive upload source, they still couldn’t locate the exact physical location. It all seemed messed up now. Finding her in this way was all but reliable.

After he had led Sung Yeol back home, Sung gyu located his stash of clothing, put on a hoodie, a cap, a face mask and trainers before he walked out onto the busy evening street. The sun had set already but the street lights paved the path for him. Sung Gyu walked quietly through the crowd, his head hanging low and came into his usual spot of people watching. It was the store window of a grocery store, where they had placed a long table and a few stools for busy people to have their meals. He bought himself a can of beer and sat down. For a moment, he watched the people passing by.

People watching is a habit that he came into after he left home to follow his dream to become a singer. His parents never approved of him becoming one. As children, Sung Gyu and Jieun suffered the time of great economic depression, which led them to sought after greater heights in life. Sung Gyu didn’t want to just study and get into a white collar occupation as their parents wanted him to. He had talent, and he knew just where his skills took him. He had an indie band back when he was in high school which went by the name “Beat” and it was when his dream to become a singer nurtured and grew. Once he left high school, his parents, who were better off at that time, tried to get him to apply for various colleges, but he didn’t want to college just yet. He wanted to achieve his dream. It was this determination which led him to run away from home to take up music in the city of Seoul. The road to fame wasn’t an easy one. He worked menial jobs to find money for his daily meals, he suffered on the roads and places with minimal living conditions. It was during this time he began watching people on the streets. Grown up and popular now, it wasn’t a habit he could ever get out of.

While watching the street, he suddenly noticed a familiar sight passing by. Her face was sporting a look of discomfort as she walked through the crowded street, and all of a sudden, she turned and pushed open the door to the grocery store that he was in. It was the new girl, Eunji.

He sat in his place and sneakily watched as she went about walking all over the store with a basket in hand. She seemed like a lost lamb, having no idea why she even got into the store, and the look of her eyes made him smile. There were points wher Sung Gyu couldn’t help but think she was actually pretty cute. His gaze followed her as she idly stacked her basket while being on the phone, then stacking in more even after ending her phone call. He watched her all the way to the cashier, a hand propped against his cheek. It was like watching a lost lamb finding the magic of a grocery store. She was entertaining.

The moment she got to the cashier, Sung gyu quickly stood up and dumped his empty can into the bin before picking up a few miscellaneous things and making way to the cashier himself. He didn’t even need the things that he picked up. It was only that he needed to speak to her. His mind was in a mess after the discussions he recently had, and he wanted to ease his mind. Eunji seemed like the best option he had.

Just as Eunji picked up her bags and turned to leave, Sung Gyu caught the edge of her coat and pulled her back. “Hey!”

Eunji paused, eyes widened in absolute horror and turned around. “Y-you?”

Sung Gyu dumped the things he had in hand, which were a bottle shampoo, toothpaste and a hairbrush and gave Eunji a smile. “Didn’t think you shopped here” He said. “Eunji Jung Eunji”

Eunji gave him a frown. “Are you going to keep calling me that, Sung gyu-ssi?”

“Doesn’t answer my question” Sung gyu replied, pulling out his card. “So, what are you doing here?”

Eunji shrugged and held out her grocery bags. “I was just hanging around so I thought of shopping here”

Sung Gyu stuffed his wallet into his pocket and picked up his bags. “How are you going home?”

“By bus” Eunji said, and they both stepped out onto the road. The street was crowded, and the people were pushing each other only to get to the bus stop. Eunji watched them in horror. She had to go through the same struggle to go home. “Well” Eunji sighed and bowed at Sung gyu. “I guess I should go, take care, Sung Gyu-ssi”

“No wait!” Sung gyu said, and accidentally reached out and caught Eunji’s hand. Eunji looked down at where his cold hand remained in the warm one of hers and gave him a look of shock. Sung Gyu quickly retrieved his hand. “Uh…Eunji-Ssi, shall I walk you to the bus stop? There’s a less crowded short cut you can take”

Eunji gave him a questioning look. “Why would you do that?”

Sung Gyu shrugged. “I just have something to talk about”

Eunji stared at the other for a quiet moment and finally turned to him, nodding in agreement. “Okay”

*

The two of them were silent as they made their way through the crowd and then towards the way of the Woolim building. Eunji stared up at the NIT Café curbs questioningly as they arrived, and Sung Gyu shrugged, finally speaking. “It’s the road behind this. Come on”

The dusk has already arrived as they came across the short cut way that Sung Gyu was talking about. It was narrow, dark and lanky, almost dangerous, but Sung Gyu seemed to know his way so she trusted his intuition and followed him through.

Sung Gyu pulled out his phone and the torch. Eunji asked him as they made their down the empty road; “What’s it that you want to talk about?”

Sung Gyu walked on silently for a moment and pulled off his face mask, leaving it hanging down his ear. “Nothing important, it’s just that I was bored and then I saw you”

Eunji rolled her eyes. “That’s it?” She was half expecting him to tell her about the proposal for the show, she already had her ideas gathered, but then saw that it wasn’t going to happen.

“Yeah” Sung Gyu shrugged. He stared ahead for a while, and started to speak in a low, smooth voice. “You know, when I’m mad and want a way out, I take this way and just walk around to calm myself down”

Eunji imagined Sung Gyu doing that, holding a torch light, just like he did now and taking this path by himself. It sounded quite lonely. “Even at night?” She asked.

“Sometimes” Sung Gyu replied. “It’s hard when people recognize me and huddle around me. I mean, I love my fans, but I am human, I too need my personal space”

“I understand” Eunji nodded.

“It might sound cruel, at most part, avoiding people, but-,”

“I do that too” Eunji supplied. “I think it’s pretty normal. We want to be alone sometimes, so you don’t need to feel guilty doing that”

“It’s different on my part” Sung gyu admitted. “Rather than wanting to be alone, I find it a nuisance, which is just cruel of me. So I guess I must feel guilty doing something like that”

They walked on in still silence, and the rustle of the bags in their hands filled the quietness.

“We all have our reasons” Eunji said, in the end. “But that doesn’t mean we should be compelled to feel apologetic”

Sung Gyu nodded as though in acknowledgement. “I hope it was that easy”

Eunji smiled. “I didn’t think you were that taken by your feelings. I thought were all but emotional”

“I might be giving away as if I’m so, but I am quite emotional” Sung Gyu replied.

“So I’d say it’s a false bravado?”

“An excuse” Sung Gyu said, almost smiling. “An excuse”

And they walked on for a while, the silence and the darkness engulfing them in a mysterious aura. The night was blinding them, not even the moon was visible up there despite it being a summer night. Eunji was worried if she’d miss her step. More than that, she was worried about having a bare faced Sung Gyu beside him. The last thing she wanted right now was fans flocking around them and imagining god forbidden things.

“I was in a terrible mood today actually. I had a bad day” Sung Gyu said, all of a sudden, garnering Eunji’s attention.

“Hm?” Eunji turned to her side. “Why is that?”

“Ah, you know the usual-,” He began, but suddenly, they were surrounded by complete darkness. Eunji looked around, only a faint light coming from the nearby buildings showing their way. A serpent, no, a massive bull could come by and still they wouldn’t see in this darkness. Eunji looked at Sung Gyu in panic.

“Aish, my phone’s out of battery”

Eunji pulled out her own phone and noticed that it only had ten percent. She had to save it until she got home. It was late, besides it was around the time her parents would call. She couldn’t worry them. “I have to save my battery, Sung Gyu-Ssi”

“Fine, it’s okay” Sung Gyu said and squinted his eyes. “We can actually walk without a light”

“What if there was a snake?” Eunji said in a shrill voice. “I’m bloody scared of snakes”

Sung Gyu laughed in response. “We’re in the middle of the city, Eunji Jung Eunji, we wouldn’t find snakes here”

“What about thieves? Rapists? Serial killers?”

“Relax” Sung responded, laughing. “I will protect you if they come to you”

Eunji scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Tch, as if you could”

“No I can’t” Sung Gyu admitted. “But there won’t be any thieves, rapists or serial killers”

“Okay, fine” Eunji sighed and looked ahead. “Let’s go, I would miss my bus”

Then they walked on for a moment, but in the dark, both were taken by their instinct and anxiety that they constantly looked around in fear and accidentally stepping on each other’s feet. When Eunji made a particularly hard step on Sung Gyu’s foot, with her high-heeled foot no less, Sung Gyu let out a small whimper and came to his last resort.

“Okay, let’s do like this” He said and held out his hand. “Hold my hand. We’ll walk together so we won’t miss our steps”

“Eh?” Eunji stuttered. “H-hold you h-hand?”

“Come on, we’re late already” Sung Gyu nagged, but all that Eunji could do was stare at him in the dark. Sung gyu was her favorite idol and having to talk to him, so casually like this was already more than what she could ask for. But holding his hand was something that she couldn’t really bring herself to do.

“N-no, I’m fine” Eunji said, shaking her head violently. “I can go on”

“Okay, fine” Sung Gyu replied with a shrug. “But the moment you step on me, I’m pushing you away”

They agreed on it, and walked on in the dark. This went on for good ten minutes, Eunji keeping a clear distance between her and her walking partner, and all was good until Eunji heard a man’s voice from somewhere, jumped and accidentally stepped on Sung Gyu’s foot. Sung Gyu reacted immediately, pushing her away non-too gently. Eunji didn’t fall on her face, nonetheless, because Sung Gyu managed to catch her in time.

“Jesus!” Eunji hissed, her hand on her chest. “That’s probably a mass murderer! Is he following us?”

“There’s nobody around!” Sung Gyu hissed back. “Look, this won’t do. We both want to hurry so just hold my hand”

Eunji stared at Sung Gyu, almost in doubt, but then Sung Gyu pulled at her jacket and grasped onto her jacket sleeve. “There”

“Oh…alright” Eunji sighed. “T-that’s better”

“Yeah so let’s hurry up before the mass murderer get to us”

“I hope you’re not serious!” Eunji shrilled.

“I hope so too” Sung Gyu replied.

*

“And then after we got to the road, he caught me a taxi and paid for it himself!” Eunji said on and end note to her mile-long tale about her latest interaction with her idol to Bomi. She had gotten home just a moment ago, carrying the grocery after Sung Gyu had forced her into a taxi and forced-paid the driver beforehand in case Eunji would freak out on her way home about serial killers. Although his gesture had been all sweet and endearing, it was still too hard to believe. Even as she recited the whole incident to her best friend, it sounded so unreal, as if it had happened to someone else.

“You lucky girl! I’m so proud of you!” Eunji cooed and propped herself up on the sofa seat. “So, was he like, smoking hot today?”

“Nah” Eunji shrugged. “If you call a dirty hoody and shorts hot!”

They both giggled until one of them remembered that they had kept a pot of water to boil on the stove.

After they made two packs of ramyun, Eunji placed a mat on the stool in the middle of the living room and Bomi carried the warm pot of noodles into the room. They sat down on the either sides and began to slurp up the food.

“So, you and Sung Gyu are so chummy now, eh?” Bomi said and giggled to herself. “You must be the luckiest fangirl in the universe!”

Eunji smiled fondly, her thoughts going back to how Sung Gyu caught the sleeve of her jacket at that time. No matter how many times she tried to deny it actually happened, it didn’t make any difference, Sung Gyu did almost hold her hand, Sung Gyu did catch a taxi for her. It all happened.

“So what would be the next step?” Bomi went on, giggling to herself. “Eunji and Sung Gyu up on a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G?!?”

“No Bomi-ah!” Eunji replied, blushing crimson. “There won’t be anything like that!”

“Who knows?” Bomi said, poking her chopsticks into the broth of the noodles. “He might end up falling for you”

“Oh you wish!” Eunji replied bashfully. But deep down, every fangirl had that thought, that one day, their idol will end up falling in love with them. Eunji was no different.

As night approached, Eunji and Bomi put the groceries into the pantries, chatting between themselves, and Eunji came across her bunny stationary set. She picked it up and ripped open the cover, garnering Bomi’s attention.

“Is that bunny ears on the pencil?” Bomi said incredulously. “Eunji-ah? Did he get you a present too?”

“No!” Eunji said and picked up the notebook from its cover. “It’s so cute, so I just bought it”

She purposefully omitted the part where she thought Sung gyu sometimes looked like a rabbit since that would be too much of detail.

“So what are you going to do with it?” Bomi asked suggestively.

Eunji could already imagine Bomi thinking number of things which also included her writing Sung Gyu’s name in it in glitter pens. Eunji rolled her eyes and smiled. “Oh, you know, just work”

“Oh, like doodling?”

“No, seriously, I got this for work…I have something to work on” Eunji said earning and easy laughter from her best friend. “Okay” Said Bomi, smiling. “Tell me how it works out”

Eunji carried the stationary set along with her and flopped down on her bed. She was in her good spirits ever since she got home after the strange encounter with her favorite idol, and the need to write down her ideas for him never been a better choice for her at that time. She pulled out the pencil and stared at the bunny ears fondly. She imagined what it would be like if those bunny ears were put on Sung Gyu’s head. With those adorable bunny-tooth up in the front, he’d be the cutest rabbit there has ever been. She was sure even the rabbits would feel pressured by how cute he would be. She was already squirming at the thought of him. She bit her lip and wondered what it actually meant when he’d suddenly feel the need to interact with her. It was probably something small which she should perhaps overlook. But at that quiet moment as she lied in her room, she could endlessly wonder and feel she was significant.

When she opened the note pad she was greeted by sweet smelling sheets of rose shaded paper, all with a print of the cute bunny from up front. Although it seemed nothing like a piece of stationary that one would use for an official matter, she didn’t really mind. It wasn’t like it would get into anyone’s hands. She wasn’t planning on letting Sung Gyu see what she’s about to write down. She was in no position to give him ideas. It was solely for the purpose of self-indulgence. At least it would help her brainstorm, and if she would ever get a chance to share her ideas with him, which wasn’t really likely, she would show this to him. Until then, this book would only be her little book of ideas.

She wrote them down, all her ideas, point after point in perfect order. Just as Bomi said, she did use her glitter pens and drew all sorts of things all over it. She went on, until midnight approached. She was so much into it that she didn’t even realize it as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

*

There was a hectic day ahead, what with Sung Gyu’s up-coming concert series and he had weeks of endless practices and preparations, all falling along with TV and radio appearances. Basically, he was so busy that he hardly had a moment to breath.

And it was during one of his breaks between practices that the Mosaic singer dropped a bomb, another soundtrack, apart from their uploads once two weeks.

What was different in this particular track from the rest of their tracks was that this once, it was a solo appearance. The girl was serenading along a track Sung Gyu could identify as one of her originals, and the way she sand along with her elegant guitar storks was breathtaking. It didn’t matter that her face was mosaicked, it didn’t matter all he could see was the blurry image of the rest of her as she sang along in an empty studio. What was significant for him was that she was perfect as she was.

He watched the video an uncountable number of times. It was as if he was obsessed. Perhaps he was. Perhaps he was taken completely by the addictive essence of her voice. It was this that led him to think harder on his show. He had got to find her, he had to work on it.

Sung Gyu was sitting on the floor, knees pulled up and his phone resting in his hands when Woohyun came into the room.

“Woohyun!” He called without even turning his head.

“Yeah Hyung” Woohyun picked a bottle of water from the fridge nearby and sat down on the sofa which Sung Gyu was leaning on. “What’s up?”

Sung Gyu lifted his head. “Have you thought something out for the proposal?”

Woohyun paused. “Uh, actually I,”

“Did you or did you not?” Sung Gyu asked wearily.

There was a moment of silence. “No” Woohyun replied in the end. The two remained in silence for a moment, all until Woohyun put down his bottle on the stool before him. Sung gyu reached over then, picked up the bottle and almost took a swig. Almost, because although he was going to take a swig, he decided against it and angrily threw it at the door.

“Hyung” Woohyun sighed.

Sung gyu twisted his neck. “Do it”

“I’m trying! You have to be understanding-,”

“ing do it!”

Woohyun could only run his fingers through his hair. He wasn’t sure how long he was going to put up with Sung Gyu’s angry antics. He was his best friend, and Woohyun loved him immensely. But these kind of things would always bring him to the edge of completely giving up.

“Jesus, I’m going for a walk” Woohyun said and climbed up on his feet. He was angry himself, angry at himself for putting up with this. He could easily leave him, he always had that choice, but there was a promise that he needed to keep. The promise that he’d never leave Sung Gyu’s side.

After Woohyun left, Sung Gyu slid up onto the sofa. Then he threw about the sofa cushions so that he could lie down before he would go for practices again. It was then that he noticed it, someone’s bag has fallen onto the sofa, or they must have left it there, he wasn’t sure which. The content, somehow had fallen onto the seat. With a deep sigh, he gathered them into his hands and stuffed them into the bag. Then he noticed this peculiar item among them.

It was a notebook with a pencil attached to it. The pencil had a pair of pink bunny ears.