Note from the author: To save confusion, everything said in ENGLISH will be in BOLD font.

BTOB back again.  BTOB change the game.  BTOB get your swag.

“Who’s calling me now?”, you sob as Ilhoon’s voice abruptly pulls you from your nap, “I was having such a nice dream!”

Looking at your screen with half open eyes, you read the culprits’ name: Minhye.

“I hate you”, you growl as you groggily answer the phone.

“I love you too”, she giggles in return, “Having a nap?”

“Trying to”, you breathe as you swing your legs off the edge of the bed and put your bare feet on the cool floor.

“Some things never change.  You do know it’s afternoon for you, right?”

Placing a mug on the counter, you spoon in some instant coffee.  “I had the day off school”, you mumble as you wedge the phone between your left shoulder and ear before filling the kettle with water, “School trip to Namsan Tower”.

“I want to go there…”, she sighs as you retrieve the milk from the fridge and pour the dregs into your mug, “Have you been yet?”

“Nope.  I didn’t really fancy going alone”.

“Why don’t you ask your new army of hot guys to go with you?”

Heading towards your bed ,you your bag and retrieve a half full box of cigarettes: “Yeah, and that wouldn’t draw way too much attention”.

“They could go in disguise?"

“Too much effort”.

“I suppose… Well, you’ll just have to wait till I visit to go”.

“That could work”, you affirm as you pour boiling water into your cup and watch as the liquid mixes with the coffee granules and milk.

“Exactly!  No need to lose faith!”

“There’s only one problem with that”.

“Hm?  What?”, Minhye queries as you step into your flipflops and step into the warm afternoon air.

After positioning yourself on the floor, you light a cigarette and inhale deeply: “Don’t you think it’s a bit pathetic us two going there together?”

“At last, English!  I thought you had forgotten”, Minhye chuckles, “But why would it be pathetic?”

“Y’know… Two single girls writing on a padlock together before throwing away the key”.

“Nothing wrong with that – we’re best friends!”

“True…”, you exhale before taking a sip of much needed caffeine and watching the smoke from your cigarette cascade elegantly through the air

“Besides, you may be with Kris by then”.

You choke on your coffee, “Yeah, and you may hit it off with the guy I think you’re going to like!

Minhye considers this for a moment, “Are you going to tell me his name?”

“Nope, I want to see if I have guessed right”.

“Sky, that’s pure evil”, she pouts, causing you to laugh.

“You know it”.

“Just one hint?”

“Hm…”, you ponder as you take another sip of coffee, “He’s flippant and talks a lot”.

“SKY!  How does that help me at all?  I’ve only seen pictures of them and watched their music videos”.

“Araso.  Um…”, you take another toke of your cigarette and tap the ash over the railings, “He’s not over 180cm”.

Minhye goes quiet.  In the background you can hear her tapping on laptop keys, apparently google searching the members.

“That leaves seven members”, she sobs, “You’re too evil!”

“Thanks”, you giggle before taking another big gulp of coffee.

“Is he Chinese?”

“Now that would be telling”, you smirk.

“You’re so mean to me”, she whines before gasping, “Oh !  I’ve got to go.  I’m late for work”.

At that the phone goes dead and you are left blinking at the screen.  Minhye has never been the most organised person, but that’s one of the reasons you love her so much.  

Placing your phone in your pocket, you take another toke of your cigarette and lay back onto the tepid floor.  The sky is crisp blue with small, fluffy white clouds sailing across it.  *Ah, perfect weather*, you think as you reach your right hand upwards, letting the warm breeze swirl around it before sitting up.  After stubbing your cigarette out in the ash tray near by, you lie down again and close your eyes.

BTOB back again.  BTOB change the game.  BTOB get your swag.

“Seriously?!”, you grumble as you reach into your pocket and retrieve your phone without opening your eyes.  *Can I not get five minutes of peace?*

“Jae?”, his voice brings you to attention.

“Hey, Kris”, you affirm as you lean over to take a sip of coffee, “You alright?”

“Yeah, we’re having a ten minute break from rehearsal.  How’re you?”

“I’m fine”, you smile, comforted by his voice, “Just having some coffee on the stairs outside.  It’s a serious work out – I’m putting you guys to shame”.

“Sounds it”, Kris laughs heartily, “You free tonight?”

“I think so, why?”

“It’s Suho’s birthday, so we’re all going to head down to the Han River to play some sports and eat cake”.

“In the dark?”, you query.

“Yup”, he chuckles, “It’s one of our favourite things to do.  Plus, no one ever recognises us when we’re busy messing around”.

“That’s a plus”, you giggle as you picture them attempting to play sport whilst surrounded by screaming fans.

“Is Jae coming?”, you hear Xiumin ask in the background, pulling you from your imagination.

“She’s thinking about it”, Kris returns.

“Afraid of a little competition?”, Kai chortles, making sure he’s close enough to the phone for you to hear.

“YA!”, you exclaim, “Put him on the phone!”

This time Kai’s voice comes clearly over the phone: “Afraid you’re going to lose?”

You swear you can hear him smirking: “Not to you”.

“Is that a challenge?”

Before you can answer, someone else had grabbed the phone.

“You have to come, Jae!”

It’s Chen.

“I never said I wasn’t”, you reassure him before taking the last sip of coffee from your mug.

“Good”, he smiles, “It won’t be the same without you”.

His comment makes you blush, “That’s not true”.

“It is”, he asserts, “You’re one of us now, remember?”

“True…”, you laugh, “I did somehow end up being slumped with you all”.

“That’s the spirit”, he teases, “Besides, the others need their Wendy and Tao has been asking where mummy Jae is”.

“YA!”, you hear Tao bellow from the other side of the room, “It’s not that I missed her.  I just wanted to know how things were going between her and Kri–”.

Tao’s voice gets muffled, followed by a loud uproar in the room.

“You still there?”, a new voice asks.

“Yup”, you giggle, “What’s going on, Luhan?  Did someone murder Tao?”

“You could say that”, he laughs, “So are you coming tonight?”

“Will blood be spilt there too?”, you tease.  *My life has definitely become more exciting since meeting EXO*, you smile.

Luhan considers this for a moment.  “Probably”, he sighs, “But don’t worry, we’ll make sure that none of it is yours”.

His comment makes you laugh, “Promise?”

Silence.

“I promise, chopstick girl”, Chanyeol’s voice appears.

“I’ll hold you to that, Yeollie”, you smile.

“Does that mean your coming?”, his voice sounds hopeful.

“Oh, I’m so in!”

After hanging up the phone you slump back onto the warm metal floor outside your door.  *If I’m going to beat Kai tonight, I’m going to need energy*, you sigh as you stare into the endless sky above.  Slowly you prop yourself up with your right elbow and lean towards your coffee.  *I’m going to need a lot more caffeine*, you laugh as you stare into your empty cup.  After gathering your cup, cigarettes and lighter from the floor, you pull yourself up using the railings and head back inside.  It seems a waste to be inside on such a lovely day, but you really do want that nap.

Looking at your speakers you see that it is nearly half past five already.  “Where has this day gone?”, you ask your Rilakkuma plush as you make your way towards your unmade bed and collapse into it.  Reaching into your front pocket, you pull out your phone and set the alarm for half six.  Once you have double checked the alarm is on, you place your phone on the table next to your bed, pull the covers over your body and close your eyes, grateful for the silence.

                *    *    *

Okay, lets fly! B1A4! Oh- Oh- Come closer baby!

The upbeat intros of B1A4’s songs never fail to put you in a good mood when they wake you up.  As soon as Sanduel starts singing the first verse, you start bobbing along in time and dancing with your arms.  Feeling a new burst of energy as the verse comes to an end, you dramatically kick off your covers and stand up on your bed.

Okay girl!

Leaping off your bed in time with the music you go flying through the air before landing with a soft thud on your feet.  You have no idea what to call the dance you’re doing, but you’re having fun and no one can see you, so you don’t care.  

I love you.

Your right arm automatically does the dance from watching the video over a hundred times.  As the second verse begins, you bounce your way into the kitchen and turn the kettle on.  Whilst rinsing out the old cup you suddenly remember you’re out of milk.  *I’ll just have sugar in it instead*, you shrug as the chorus of the song comes on for a second time.  You feel like it’s impossible to be unhappy about anything when listening to songs like this.  Saviours of the soul, as Minhye calls them.  As Baro’s rap comes on, the kettle starts to boil, so you carefully fill up the sink whilst attempting to rap along.  As the bridge begins, you dump everything and break into the choreographed dance perfectly.  You’ve never had dance lessons, but it just seems to come naturally to you.

As the song comes to an end, you make your way over to the table and turn the alarm off before it has a chance to repeat itself.  Rummaging through your bag you find your iPod and place it in the speakers.  After pressing play, SHINee’s 3.2.1 fills your apartment as you make your way back towards your neglected coffee.  *Hm… What should I have for dinner?*, you ponder as you stare at the side of your fridge, *I really can’t be bothered to cook tonight*.  Opening your snack cupboard, you reach in and grab a packet of ramen.  *I don’t even fancy this*, you sigh as you throw the bag back in, *I guess I’ll just pick something up on route*.

Taking a sip of your coffee, you head towards your wardrobe and fling open the doors: “Now here’s the real question… What do I wear to play sport, but also still look presentable in front of twelve good looking guys?”

                *    *    *

An hour later you are dressed, combed, painted, full of caffeine and ready to go.  In the end you decided to wear maroon Super Dry tracksuit trousers rolled up to the knee, with your white converse, white tank top and black hoodie.  Seeing as you’re determined to do anything to beat Kai, you know you’ll be running around a lot.  You don’t want to look like a mess at the end of the night, so you decided to wear your hair in sweet low bunches and minimal waterproof make up.

Looking in the mirror you observe your outfit.  “Not half bad”, you smile to yourself, “But something’s missing”.  Running back to the wardrobe, you pull a box off the top and let it land on your bed.  “Got it!”, you cheer as you retrieve the HatsOn Maki cap from the box and place it slightly sideways on your head, “Much better”.  Maki doesn’t belong to you, he’s Minhye’s.  The day before you left for Seoul she made you switch Stinko for Maki as a token of luck.

Glancing at the speakers you see that it’s now nearly eight.  You realise that taking a bag will be a pain, so you quickly shove your phone and card in one pocket, and your keys in the other.  Checking yourself in the mirror one last time, you quickly adjust the cap and apply one last coat of a natural lip tint before running out the door. 

                *    *    *

“Jae!”, D.O. waves as you arrive at the opposite end of the football grounds next to Han River.

“Hey guys”, you cheerfully yell in return before taking a bite of your delicious dinner.

As you make your way across the field, Chanyeol runs towards you.  “What are you eating?”, he excitedly asks, eyes wide and grinning from ear to ear.

“Hoddeuk”, you hold it towards him whilst still chewing your last mouthful, “Want some?”

Grabbing onto your hands, Chanyeol moves the hoddeuk to his mouth and takes a massive bite.  “Thanks, chopstick girl”, he beams with a mouthful of food, making you giggle.

“Anytime”, you smile as you take another bite yourself.

Within a minute your hoddeuk is finished, courtesy of Chanyeol, and you have arrived beside the rest of EXO.

“Happy Birthday, Suho”, you smile.

“Thanks”, he beams in return, “I’m glad you decided to come tonight”.

“Me too”, you giggle before turning to Kai, “Ready to lose?”

“Bring it!”, Kai smirks as he crosses his arms.

“Okay”, Baekhyun cuts in playfully, “Considering these two are so determined to be against each other, it looks like we have no choice but to make them the two team captains. Cool?”

“Cool”, everyone chimes in unison.

“Right”, D.O. affirms, “Jae is Team A and Kai is Team B.  Play a round of Kai Bai Bo to see who gets to chose their player first”.

*I have to win this!*, you yell at yourself as you plan a strategy in your head.

“Kai Bai Bo!”

Your plan failed. 

“I choose...”, Kai asserts slowly, “Kris!”

Hearing his name called by a male voice, Kris looks at you in both confusion and disappointment.  You innocently shrug your shoulders in return and silently mouth an apology.

“Fine”, you assert whilst eyeing up the rest of EXO, “I chose Yeollie!”

As soon as you call his name, Chanyeol appears at your side.  *He’s like a puppy*, you giggle as Kai makes his second choice.   Looking up at Chanyeol, you can’t help but grin evilly: *A tall puppy who will come in very useful against Kai*.

Five minutes later the teams are decided.  Team A consists of you, Chanyeol, Sehun, Luhan, Xiumin and Chen, whilst Team A has the other six members.  D.O. volunteered to referee as soon as he saw the intensity between you and Kai.

“Alright!”, Xiumin eagerly asserts, “Best of three?”

“You’re on!”, Tao grins, apparently happy to be on the same team as Kris.

“Who gets to chose the first game?”, Lay enquires whilst pulling his hood up.

Simultaneously everyone looks at D.O. in expectation.  “We’ll flip a coin”, he states as he rummages in his pockets, “Jae, pictures or numbers?”

“Numbers”, you assert with confidence as he flips the coin high into the air, leaving your victory in fates’ hands.

“Numbers!”, D.O. affirms a little too eagerly as he reveals the coin on the back of his left hand, obviously routing for your team.

“YES!”, you declare whilst high fiving Xiumin, “What shall we play?”

“Huddle up!”, Luhan calls as he places his left arm over Xiumin’s shoulders and his right over Chen’s.

Within seconds Chanyeol has thrown his right arm around your waist and pulled you into the group next to Sehun.  *Great, now I feel short*, you pout as Sehun throws his left arm around your neck, completing the circle of bodies.

“I know what we should play”, Xiumin declares quietly whilst evilly smirking in Luhan’s direction.

The rest of Team A seem to have caught on to their idea.

“Football”, they all growl before chuckling wickedly.

The intense looks on their faces make you unsure whether you should question their decision.  “Lets do this!”, you encourage as the circle breaks up.

After turning around your team simultaneously cross their arms with attitude and send withering stares at their opponents.

“We pick football”, Luhan smirks, “Prepare to die”.

“Oh, you’re on”, Kai snarls as he retrieves the football from the edge of the pitch and throws it with great force at Luhan’s chest.

                *    *    *

The score is 2:1 to Team A with only five minutes left of the game.  Luhan scored the first goal, whilst Xiumin scored the second.  Their football skills amaze you as you never expected them to be the overly sporty types.

“Jae!”, Xiumin yells over Lay before kicking the ball in your direction.

With the inside of your foot you stop the ball and access the situation.  Kai is still at the opposite end of the pitch, whilst Kris is only meters away and closing in fast.  Before he has a chance to steal the ball for you, you start leading it towards the goal.

“Luhan!”, you yell in panic as Kris and Kai draw closer to you, “Quick!”

Glancing over your shoulder you see that Luhan is behind them, and therefore unable to help you.  Not knowing what to do you look for Xiumin; he’s even further away than Luhan.  The only team mates who are within a reasonable distance are Chen and Chanyeol, but neither of them are any better at football than you are.

As you approach the goal, you have no choice but to attempt to score yourself.  *You can do this!*, you pep talk yourself whilst trying to keep control of the ball, *Just remember what Nate and Dan taught you!* 

Peeking over your shoulder one more time you see that Kai is only seconds away from tackling you.  *It’s now or never!*, you gulp as you temporarily pause before kicking the ball as hard as you can towards the goal.  You follow through with your leg aiming in the direction you want the ball to travel, just as you had been taught.

Seeing the ball coming his way, Tao attempts to block it by using wushu.

The moment passes in slow motion, your heart beating three times faster than normal.

You close your eyes and hope for the best.

“SCORE!”, Chen roars as he suddenly lifts you off the ground from behind.

Opening your eyes you see that Tao is whimpering in the corner of the goal, ashamed of his defeat.

“OMO!  I did it!”, you cheer as Chen swings you around by the waste, legs flailing in front of you, “I really did it!”

After Chen gently lowers you back to the ground, you can’t help but turn to Kai in victory.  “Beat that!”, you provoke before sticking your tongue out playfully, “Mehrong!”  

“There’s still time left”, he smirks before turning to face Tao, “Throw the ball to me!”

Slowly, Tao retrieves the ball and walks to the edge of the line.  After waiting for Kai to run half way down the pitch, he skilfully kicks it into the field and right into his grasp.

“!”, Luhan exclaims as Kai quickly dodges him, “Xiumin!  Stop him!”

Appearing from nowhere, Xiumin attempts to tackle Kai but is easily dodged.  *He’s going to score!*, you panic as you run as fast as you can towards Sehun, *What do I do?*

Somehow Chanyeol has managed to catch up with Kai and is closing in quickly.  Before Kai realises he is there, Chanyeol dives feet first onto the floor in an attempt to kick the ball away from him. 

You daren’t watch, so you quickly slow your pace as you close your eyes.

Thud.

Opening your eyes, you see Kai sprawled out face down on the floor.

*OMG!  He’s dead!*, you panic as you follow the skid marks that lead to his lifeless body.  

Crouching on the floor, Lay pokes Kai’s elevated before recoiling slightly as a low growl is heard through the grass.

Gradually Kai pushes himself to his knees and attempts to wipe off some of the dirt that has gathered on his chest: “CHANYEOL, YOU IDIOT!”

“I’m sorry”, he asserts with eyes full of melancholy, “I didn’t mean to”.

“Don’t worry, Chanyeol”, Baekhyun reassures as he kindly swings his arm around Chanyeol’s shoulders, “He knows you didn’t”.

As Kai pushes himself silently to his feet, you notice the crimson liquid running down his left cheek.  

“You’re bleeding!”, you call in alarm as you make your way to his side, “Anyone got a tissue and some water?”

“Just rub some dirt in it”, Sehun calls indifferently from the goal.

“Charming”, Suho chuckles in return, “Our kind and adorable maknae finally makes his appearance”.

Running to your side, Chen hands you a packet of tissues and a bottle of water.  

“Thanks”, you smile as you quickly open the bottle of water and pour some onto a tissue before turning to Kai, “Come here”.

Reluctant to show weakness to his opponent, Kai slowly edges towards you.  “I’m fine”, he affirms, “It’s not like I’m going to die from one little cut”.

“Just let me check it”, you firmly state whilst carefully wiping away the worst of the dirt and blood from his injured cheek.  Once you feel the wound is clean and of no threat, you reach your hand out and lightly pat his cheek.  “All done”, you sweetly smile before smirking, “Now, weren’t you about to kick some ?”

Kai looks at you confused, “I really can’t work you out”.

“You’re not supposed to”, you giggle as you jog towards your waiting team.