July 2015, The next day

The 3^rd and final day of filming went by pretty quickly. Hakyeon and Eunji professionally gave the class a well-prepared presentation for their social studies class, and Eunji was named with the most number of picks for the lobby showcase at the student exchange meeting. Hakyeon was happy for Eunji, but deep down also wondered what that would mean for him later at assembly.

Later, as the school assembled in the school hall for the inter-class quiz, Eunji dragged Hakyeon to do his hair and make up for his forfeit for losing the lobby showcase. Hakyeon gamely learnt the steps to Apink’s latest comeback, LUV, and Eunji was impressed at how quickly he could pick up the dance moves. However, Hakyeon later whined non-stop as Eunji tied wisps of his hair into two ‘coconut trees’, and groaned even harder when Eunji whipped out a skirt for him to put on. Hakyeon won the argument and wore the skirt over his pants, as Eunji went out onto stage to introduce the ‘special item’.

Hakyeon put aside his embarrassment and danced to LUV with Eunji’s singing, glad that VIXX occasionally also did such silly things and posted the videos for their fan’s viewing pleasure. At least this won’t be a huge shock to them, he comforted himself. The smile and satisfaction on Eunji’s face at the end of it also more than made up for the embarrassment he suffered.

At the end of the day, the class gave Hakyeon and Eunji a special song item – VIXX’s song Love Letter – as a thank you and farewell to their time with them. Hakyeon never expected that he would cry, but he was really touched by his classmates’ sincerity, and Eunji’s tears pushed him over the edge as well. He tentatively put his arms around her shoulders for a brief moment as she tried to regain her composure. He told himself that it was to protect her dignity and shield her ‘unglamourous’ side from the cameras, but truthfully, Hakyeon felt a sense of protectiveness for her and liked the way she fit in his arms. Eunji, of course was none the wiser, and all the while insisted that she never cried like this before.

The filming quickly ended after their tearful farewell, and Hakyeon felt a pang of sadness as he realized that everyone would be going their separate ways soon. He also realized that through the 3 days of filming, he never once thought about the pressure and weight of Mr Hwan’s words to him earlier in the year – something that never happened before since. Somehow despite his busy schedules, the words always lay at the back of his mind like a load he could not shake, and now that filming was coming to an end, he could feel the burden increasing again.

“Hey, waiting for your ride?”

Hakyeon turned and saw Eunji waving at him. He scooted over to the side of the bench to give her space to sit too. “Yeah, manager called to say he’ll be running late because he needs to pick Taekwoon first.”

“Ooh Taekwoon. I would like to say hi; haven’t seen him in a long time,” Eunji commented. “In flesh I mean,” she corrected. “You guys are on TV all the time.”

Hakyeon gave a smile. “It’s what we do.”

Eunji sighed. “Yeah I know. Don’t you feel tired, though? You guys debuted a year later than us, but I think you’ve released twice as much music!”

Hakyeon shrugged. “But I guess we do less individual projects?” He paused to think about it. “I think because of where we started from – as trainees and then put through a competition – we all came in with the mindset of having to prove ourselves over and over. It’s not like groups like yours where the company picks you through auditions and you know your value… For us it seems like you always need to work for it.”

Eunji kept silent at Hakyeon’s confession, deep in thought. To be honest, Hakyeon was surprised himself at what he said. He had never shared so deeply with a girl before. Or rather, anyone else except Taekwoon and In Guk, who both could understand perfectly given their similar backgrounds. Hakyeon suddenly felt vulnerable and insecure.

“Ya, what’s all that… It’s too serious,” Hakyeon tried to lighten the mood and wave off the weight of what he said with his hand. “Forget I said anything.”

“No… it makes sense,” Eunji objected thoughtfully. “I have never thought of it that way, but this really makes me appreciate your hard work a lot more.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“No, really,” Eunji insisted. “I always thought that Apink had quite hectic schedules and pushed ourselves hard, but this is nothing compared to you guys. And as leader, you must be getting most of the pressure, right?

Hakyeon was taken aback by Eunji’s quick analysis. “Well…” he started, desperately trying to think of how to word his thoughts appropriately.

“Come on, you don’t need to be politically correct with me,” Eunji chided gently. “There’s no cameras here, and I’m part of an idol group too. I know what it’s like.”

“Well… it is tough,” Hakyeon confessed finally. “But the VIXX boys have been very hardworking and committed, so it really helps when we are all on the same page.”

“Yeah, In Guk-oppa told me that VIXX is one of the most hardworking groups he has met.”

Hakyeon widened his eyes. “Oh, yes you know In Guk-hyung too. He’s just the best isn’t he? He’s been the most kind senior and a great mentor to us.”

Eunji blushed. “Err… I… yeah.” A honk interrupted her. “Oh, my manager’s here, I have to go,” Eunji said as she picked up her things in a hurry with her phone in hand. “Sorry I can’t stay, I would have loved to say hi to Taekwoon. Could you help me pass it along?”

“Sure…” Hakyeon desperately thought of what he could say to ensure that he saw he again. “Oh hey, how about I give you my number and you could contact me and we could all meet up again sometime? We’re both based in Seoul, I’m sure we’ll be able to find some time to meet,” Hakyeon rationalized. “I’ll ask Taekwoon to come along!”

Eunji’s face lit up. “Oh yes, that’s a good idea,” she agreed as she unlocked her phone screen and passed it to Hakyeon.

“Text me, okay?” Hakyeon said as he typed in his number.

“Will do,” Eunji promised as she took her phone back. “It’s been great getting to know you Hakyeon. All the best, and hope that we can meet up soon!” Eunji greeted Hakyeon politely, before rushing off to her manager’s car.

Hakyeon stood and waved goodbye as the car left. It was not until he sat down and pondered over the conversation earlier that he realized 2 things: one, that it was one of the most honest conversations he has had with someone outside of VIXX and besides In Guk, and two, the way Eunji mentioned In Guk-hyung seemed like she was pretty familiar and in frequent contact with him.

What was that all about?

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July 2015, The same day

“Hey guys, I’m back,” Hakyeon greeted the boys as he returned to their dorm. The boys were (as usual) sprawled across the living room, enjoying their ‘down time’. As leader, Hakyeon knew their schedules and was glad that the group had some time to chill out with no promotions or individual engagements the past week and the week ahead. He, for one, was really looking forward to the break.

“N-hyung, how was your filming?” Hyuk asked, looking up from watching Hongbin and Jaehwan duel it out on a game on the Ipad. The 3 of them were spread out across the living room floor in front of the TV, with Taekwoon lying across the couch behind them, plugged into his MP3 as usual.

“It was good. Tiring, but good,” Hakyeon replied, dropping his overnight bag on the floor by the door and heading over to the couch. He tapped Taekwoon’s legs to get him to scoot over so that he could sink into the couch. “It was quite fun actually, I never thought that I would actually enjoy school.”

“Which school is it?” Hongbin asked.

“I can’t say. You’ll have to wait for the broadcast next month,” Hakyeon stifled a yawn. “Gosh, I’m beat! How was everything?” Hakyeon asked as he tapped on Taekwoon’s leg.

“What?” Taekwoon took out one side of his earpiece. Hakyeon rolled his eyes and repeated his question.

“Oh, everything’s okay,” Taekwoon replied, putting the earpiece back. “You should get some rest, Hakyeon,” he commented, lying back down on the couch again.

“In a minute,” Hakyeon replied absentmindedly looking around. “Where’s Ravi?”

“He went out with his sister for the day. She came to Seoul for a few days.”

Hakyeon nodded in acknowledgement, feeling his eyelids grow heavy as he sank deeper into the couch. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

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July 2015, The same day

“Hey Eunji, we missed you!” Chorong, Apink’s leader greeted Eunji with a hug as she stepped into her dorm. “How was the filming?”

“Hi unnie, hey girls,” Eunji greeted her other members as she took off her shoes. “Filming was great, really fun. But I’m exhausted. Felt weird to sleep without you guys though.”

“Did you learn anything in school?” Hayoung, the youngest member of Apink, asked with a glint in her eye.

“Aish,” Eunji commented, tapping on her head. “It wasn’t that long ago that I graduated from school, okay? I can keep up!”

The other members started to ask her more about her filming experience, which Eunji answered with patience. Other than herself and Naeun, most of the other members did not get a lot of opportunities to be involved with acting or hosting as yet. Eunji was grateful for the opportunities that her company has given her, but also wished that her best friends could also have the same. She sometimes felt guilty when the other girls always seemed to be in awe of the experiences that she had.

“Girls, we’ll need to sleep early because we’ll be heading out early for a radio interview tomorrow morning,” Chorong interrupted mid-way. The girls acknowledged and obediently got up to their rooms to get ready for bed. Chorong turned to Eunji. “Manager-hyung says that you can skip this one and take a rest tomorrow. We’ll be starting promotions for our new single on Saturday, so you’ll need all the rest you can get!”

Eunji smiled gratefully. “Thanks, unnie. Have a good interview!”

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