A/N: Heads up. I did not plan for this chapter end up this way. It kinda just happened lol.

FaceNovel Group Name: The After School Club

Baekhyun: Who’s excited for karaokkkkeeeeeeeeee???

Jongdae: Not me ;)

Kris: Wow, you must think you’re so cool

Jongdae: jks, I <3 karaoke

Kai: So long as Chanyeol doesn’t break another vase this time.

Chanyeol: I already said I was sorry last time D:

Ahri: It’s so hard to keep up with this group chat lol

Eunji: I mean, there are 14 people in it now XD

Minseok: Guys, are we gonna do this every time we go out to karaoke? We’re all in the same room if you haven’t noticed.

- Seen by Eunji and 12 others -

“Do what every time?” Ahri asked confusedly.

“Use FaceNovel when we’re all in the same room,” Eunji sighed as she mentally scolded herself for not taking the opportunity to actually talk with the guys. There was something about social media that tempted her to turn away from direct conversation. She couldn’t quite put her thumb on it; perhaps it was the emojis or the gifs (I mean, cat gifs are adorable and addicting af) that caused her to turn into a unsocial tortoise when she had her phone and free wi-fi.

“You guys are still using FaceNovel?” Tao clicked his tongue and flipped his hair.

“Haven’t you heard?” Jongdae leaned towards the first year and grinned. “FaceNovel is the new vintage.”

“Nice try, Jongdae-hyung,” Tao scrunched his face up and looked at the upper year. “I already know that Tweeter is the new vintage.”

“Don’t lie,” Jongdae said through a laugh.

“And where did you find this information from, Tao?” asked a skeptical Minseok.

“From Wikipedia, duh. Did you know there’s a new feature where they rank a bunch of things? They recently released an article called ‘Top 5 On-Trend Things that are the New Vintage!’” Tao replied matter-of-factly.

“I’m surprised FaceNovel wasn’t on that list then,” said Luhan. “I mean, FaceNovel’s been around for, well, forever.”

“Yeah well it was never on trend from the first place,” the sassy maknae snapped his fingers in a Z-formation and said in a triumphant voice.

Eunji glanced over at Suho, who was yet again rubbing his temples. If she was confused the first time they had brought her to karaoke, then this time she was absolutely at a loss as to why the leader adamantly continued to reuse the same activity.

“Is Suho ok?” Ahri asked. The second year was starting to get worried about Suho’s patience. Eunji reassured her that the same thing happened when they came last time, and that as soon as someone brings them to their room, things would settle down.

“Do they really?” Ahri asked with obvious skepticism.

“Well… no, not realy,” Eunji heaved a sigh and admitted. “Things did not get better last time. But, that’s alright because you know what makes up for all of that?”

“Their singing!” the two friends squealed in unison.

A young worker emerged from the corner and walked up towards the large group that had been waiting in the lobby of TVXQ! Karaoke. She wore a bright smile on her face, which suddenly became clouded when she saw the many familiar faces from the last incident. As quickly as her smile had dropped, Luhan’s entire being perked up and he waved his hands in big motions to get her attention.

“Seo Ahn! You’re our guide again? It must be fate!” the playboy shouted next to Kyungsoo, who shut his eyes and pursed his lips together.

“Why does everyone feel the need to shout?!” an enraged Kyungsoo said in an outburst.

“But, you’re yelling right now,” Jongdae pointed out with his usual mischievous grin. Kyungsoo shot his classmate his signature death glare, causing Jongdae to gulp and chuckle nervously. “It wasn’t really a shout, maybe I just heard wrong.”

‘$#IT REXREXREXREXREX,’ Jongdae screamed internally as he sensed Kyungsoo’s motives. When Jongdae quieted down, Kyungsoo nodded his head in amusement and smiled as if he had just won a trophy.

“Let’s just get this over with, shall we?” Seo Ahn sighed, clenched her clipboard a bit harder and tried to smile.

.::.           .::.           .::.

“Baby, you know I’ve only ever had eyes for you. Are you and your boyfriend still together by any chance?” Luhan bombarded Seo Ahn with questions and compliments, causing the worker to slam a tray of oolong bubble tea on the table of their karaoke room. “So, coffee later?” Luhan wiggled his eyebrows at her, finishing his act with a flirtatious wink.

“My boyfriend and I are very happy, thank you very-“

“Luhan,” he cut her off to insert his name.

“Yes, well Luhan-ssi, my boyfriend and I are very happy so it pains me to say this but I must decline,” Seo Ahn said sarcastically as she feigned a feeling of pain in her chest

“What about a movie then?”

“What part of boyfriend do you not understand?” she said through a fake smile and an ever faker sweet voice.

“The part where your boyfriend isn’t me,” Luhan said in a surprisingly serious tone. His reply caused Kris, Chanyeol, Kai and Minseok to mouth “What the f**k” all at the same time. Minseok was especially taken aback; he had known Luhan since they were in kindergarten and never had he ever taken that type of tone when he was flirting with a girl.

“Yo man, are you feeling alright?” Kris asked as he raised a hand to Luhan’s forehead, trying to get a feel for the other’s body temperature.

By this time, Seo Ahn had already left the room causing Luhan to slump into the sofa and pout. “I’m totally fine.”

“Anyone who says that is never telling the truth,” Minseok exclaimed, almost in a singing fashion. “Is something the matter, Luhan? Do you happen to seriously like her?”

Luhan scoffed and brushed the question away. He began to explain how he “wasn’t in the groove lately” and hasn’t landed a single date in over two days (which was a big deal for him). When Tao suggested that perhaps Luhan’s confusing feminine physical traits might be turning the ladies away, the third year attacked the maknae and brought him into a head-lock.

As they continued to fight, Ahri and Eunji were looking through the directory for a song to sing. When Baekhyun was tired of being caught in the middle of Luhan and Tao’s fight, he removed himself from the scene and sat down in the empty spot that was beside Ahri.

‘OMGOMGOMGOMG, whatever you do Ahri DO NOT say something stupid,’ she prayed to herself.

“It’s crazy over there,” Baekhyun shook his head in disbelief.

“Yeah, just like turtles,” Ahri sputtered out.

“Turtles?” Baekhyun laughed and raised a brow at his classmate, causing Ahri’s face to heat up from both embarrassment and admiration.

“Well, what I meant to say was umm… well, that is…” Ahri stuttered, trying her best to say something comprehensive but failing miserably. All the while, Baekhyun was grinning and trying his best to not laugh.

“I always thought turtles were pretty intelligent creatures, but then again they do grow to be over 100 years old or something. A few screws are bound to become loose when you’re that old, huh?” he cocked his head and scratched the back of his head.

“So, Baekhyun-sunbae,” Eunji suddenly jumped into the conversation. “We heard you sing at Minseok’s coffee house and I didn’t know you sang so well! Ahri enjoys singing too, maybe you two should sing a song together?”

“Really? You sing too, Ahri?” Baekhyun’s eyes lit up at the mention of the word “sing”. “We should totally do it! Do you have a song in mind?”

“Oh well, not very good, pshhh,” Ahri laughed nervously and kicked Eunji’s leg causing the younger student to yelp in response.

“Ahri absolutely adores singing,” Eunji exclaimed while massaging her leg in the spot where Ahri had kicked her.

“Well, I do sing sometimes but I wouldn’t say I’m good enough to sing with someone like you, Baekhyun,” Ahri said as she hid a hand behind her back and punched Eunji in her sides.

“Come on, let’s sing,” Baekhyun pleaded and shook her arm with his hands. Ahri just couldn’t say no to him and as much as she feared the thought of embarrassing herself on stage, the thought of being able to share this moment with him ultimately made her nod her head in agreement. Excitedly, Baekhyun grabbed another binder and the two began flipping through pages in search for a song.

Eunji glanced at her friend with tender eyes. As her heart began to fill with warmth and fuzzy feelings, a part of her remained neutral. No, neutral wasn’t the right word. A tiny part of her felt small and cold, almost insecure. While she truly did feel happy for Ahri, a part of her wished that the same happiness could come her way one day.

Eunji stood up and left the room, telling the other members that she was running to the washroom quickly. When she stepped out of the loud karaoke room into the quiet hallway, she stood against the wall and savoured the silence. Eunji didn’t know what it felt like to be in love. Sure, she’s admired guys before but never had she fallen for a single guy. It was this indecisive part of her that made her envious of Ahri.

“Too loud for you too?” Kai asked as he took a sip of his oolong bubble tea.

She had thought she was alone, and didn’t even notice Kai standing next to her. It wasn’t until he spoke to her that she realized she had company, which caused her to jump back.

“Did I say something? Why are you so scared?” he asked, slightly amused by her reaction.

“I just didn’t notice you there. You gave me quite the fright,” Eunji managed to say, holding a hand over her racing heart.

“I wasn’t purposefully trying to scare you. Sorry,” he said in a quiet voice and continued to sip his drink. Eunji furrowed her brows and glanced at him from the side of her eyes.

‘Did he just say sorry?’ Eunji thought as she tried to convince herself that she had heard otherwise. “It’s no big deal,” was all she came up with.

“I’m sorry for a bunch of things, actually,” Kai continued in a low voice.

“For what, exactly? Why are you apologizing so much today, Kai? It’s lowkey scaring me,” Eunji said, trying to lighten the mood with a chuckle.

“It’s just, I- nervous,” Kai choked on his own words. He cleared his throat, but said nothing else. As Eunji stood there, staring at him and waiting for a continuation, Kai couldn’t keep his eyes on her and immediately chose to stare at the ground instead. “It’s nothing, forget about it.”

Kai started to walk away with one hand holding his empty glass while the other tousled through his hair. ‘Don’t be an idiot, Kim Jongin. What does it matter if you tell her? She probably wouldn’t even care,’ he silently scolded himself as he headed in the direction of the men’s washroom.

‘What… the f**k was that about?!’ Eunji mentally screamed as she messed through her hair. Just a moment ago, she had been contemplating about the different parts of her heart and how they never seemed to agree. The little part of her that felt small and cold when she saw Baekhyun and Ahri’s interactions was slowly starting to grow even smaller.

A/N: I know what you’re all thinking right now and I ain’t saying anything about it *insert devil face here*. After re-reading this chapter I noticed that there are like 3 frickin ships happening in this chapter ALONE like this was not my intention okay? Okay. All I can say is don’t get your fangirl hopes up. See ya’ll in the next chapter <3

\\ xoxo