Characters:

Yongguk: 3/31/90 (27) black hair
    -philosophical af
    -Job- writer, lyricist

Himchan: 4/19/90 (27) black hair
    -loves music
    -actually dislikes ice cream
    -Job- Professional musician

Daehyun: 6/28/93 (24) dirty blonde hair
    -loves food, singing, and being obnoxiously loud
    -Music major, 3rd year

Youngjae: 1/24/94 (23) brown hair
    -likes techy things, sassy af
    -Eventually starts to like Sooyeon?
    -Arts major, 3rd year

Jongup: 2/6/95 (22) light brown hair
    -loves dancing, 4D
    -Arts major/ dance, 1st year

Zelo: 10/15/96 (21) dark brown hair
    -loves skateboarding and rapping
    -Arts major, 1st year

Misun: 2/29/94 (23) long black hair, light brown eyes, a few freckles
    -loves ice cream, sewing, and animals
    -has stocks in over 100 companies, so she doesn't really need a job.
    -likes movies but has a hard time staying awake during them
    -English major, 3rd year

Sooyeon: 1/1/95 (22) bleach blonde hair, brown eyes
    -vain, but a talented actress
    -English major, 2nd year

Sera: 2/12/92 (25) red hair, hazel/blue eyes, freckles
    -Yongguk's gf
    -Has a "fight me, punk" mentality, but also thoughtful/ philosophical af
    -*see Yongguk & Sera history below*
    -Foreign language major, 4th year

Fae: 4/20/92 (25) black hair with pink tips, green eyes & glasses
    -Himchan's gf
    -Clumsy but adorable
    -Theater major, 4th year

Sera x Yongguk Backstory:

When she was 15 years old, Sera’s family took a vacation to Tokyo. During the middle of a festival, she and her sister were kidnapped by yakuza. They were sold between families and gangs for a while; they earned their owners a lot of money due to their red hair and blue eyes. One day, her sister was killed for speaking out against a gang leader. Sera was immediately sold into the Korean mafia in Seoul.

Yongguk was part of an underground rap and music group and was friends with several gang members around Korea. One evening, he goes to visit a friend and he meets Sera in their house. She was serving them refreshments and he followed her back into the kitchen when his friends were busy.

“Hey, can I get some soju, miss..?” He asked, leaving the question hanging so as to try to get her name.

She looked at him blankly. “No one has called me by my name in a long time…” Well that was not the reply he was expecting.

“Surely you have a name.” He leaned against the wall as she began to put together a tray of soju glasses and alcohol.

She thought hard, evaluating the boy in front of her. “Names have both a liberating and binding power at the same time. You have to share them wisely. Master calls me Sera, though, so I suppose you can use that.”

“‘Master'?” Yongguk tilted his head to the side. He had assumed she was just another member of the gang. She was talking in riddles and he just couldn't figure it out.

Sera nodded, “He bought me from a Japanese yakuza family about a year ago.” She picked up her tray and bowed slightly. “If you'll excuse me, I have to take these out to the guests.” Yongguk watched her go in disbelief, not wanting to believe his friends took part in those kinds of activities.

******

That was the only time they met for a long time. Shortly after that encounter, Sera ran away. She went into hiding in Busan for a few years. She got a job, went to a university, and everything was fine. She even became friends with Fae during this time.

Until the mafia caught up with her. When she realized that they were on to her again, she dropped everything and went back to Japan for a few months. Going back to her home country was never really an option she considered. Especially after her sister was gone. She hid there on a small, inconspicuous island until her short term visa expired and she had to return to Korea.

This time she decided to live in Seoul. She didn’t have a lot of money, but she found a job and a place to live, slowly getting her life together once again.

One summer night she was walking home from her job at a local bar. It was past two in the morning, but she began to notice someone following her. Suddenly her arm was grabbed and she was whirled around.

“We finally caught up with you, girl.” She easily recognized the voice of her previous owner’s right-hand man, Jun.

“Let me go.” Sera tried to get away, pulling her arm out of his grasp. She was terrified though. There were at least five men surrounding her by now.

“Not likely. You’re coming with us.” A man pushed her into another’s hold.

“Like hell I am.” She spat in her captor’s face and he pushed her away, causing her to fall onto the ground. She landed hard on her knees and hands, probably causing deep abrasions to form.

Suddenly Jun was straddling her waist, pinning her to the ground while she practically screamed at them. “Shut up and come quietly. The boss says it’s time for you to come back from your little vacation.”

“Hey, leave her alone!” Another man arrived on the scene with a piece of plywood in his hands. He took out the others one by one, hitting them in their backs, knees, and anywhere else that he could think of that wouldn’t be immediately fatal. He’d hate to have blood on his hands.

Jun got up and faced him. “Yongguk, man, what are you doing?”

“Jun, I like you, but you’ve gone too far. Take your friends and leave. Tell Shin that I’ll call and explain things tomorrow.” The newcomer said in a deep, menacing tone. Eventually, the mobsters leave and it’s just Yongguk and Sera.

Sera looked up as Yongguk leaned over her. “Yah, are you okay?” He asked, looking extremely concerned. That was the last straw; she passed out right there. Yongguk stared at her for a moment before kneeling down next to her and shaking her shoulder. When she didn’t respond, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Noticing her bag on the ground nearby, he went through and found her ID card. The address on it wasn’t too far away. “Well, come on, let’s get you home, I guess..?” He was able to get the girl up into his arms comfortably as he set off to find her apartment.

By the time he got there, Yongguk was tired out. He found her keys and after a bit of a struggle, was able to unlock her door. He walked in and flicked on the lights, noticing immediately how bare the place was. Ignoring that for now, he continued into the girl’s bedroom and set her down on her bed. He cleaned up the cuts on her knees and hands and sighed, looking down at her sleeping face.

“Sera… I can’t believe I actually found you.”

******

Sera woke up the next morning to sunlight shining through her window. She was still in her work uniform and her body was oddly sore. As she sat up, the events of the previous night came back to her. But she couldn’t remember getting home. Troubled by this detail, she got out of bed and changed into clean clothes before going out into her living room.

She jumped when she noticed a man on her couch. After getting over the initial shock, she noticed he was still asleep. Sera walked closer and was immediately captivated. He had tattoos covering the skin showing around his black t-shirt; the way the sunlight filtered in and landed on his skin practically hypnotised her. But even more important than that, she realized that he was oddly familiar. She knew him from somewhere.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked around. He noticed her standing a few feet away and quickly sat up. He looked up at her, waiting for her to make the first move.

“I know you…” She said in a quiet voice, feeling this in her soul.

A small smile lit up the man’s face. “You do. We only met once, though.” He stood up and offered her his hand. “My name is Yongguk. It’s nice to meet you, Sera.”

Almost in a trance, she reached out and shook his hand. After a several long seconds, she blinked a few times, realizing that she didn’t actually need to be holding his hand anymore. She quickly let go and averted her gaze. “Um, thank you.. For helping me last night, Yongguk. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up. You’re a hero.”

He shook his head, not wanting any gratitude or embarrassing words like that. “No, no, I was just doing the right thing.” He insisted. He didn’t continue though as he got lost in her eyes. She stared right back at him, equally content with having this silent, more meaningful conversation.

Hesitantly, Sera walked forward. She was never the type to be super touchy with anyone. But at the moment, it just felt so right. She wrapped her arms around Yongguk’s waist and gave him a hug to express her gratitude. After a moment, the man did the same, bringing his arms up around her shoulders. They stayed like that for longer than either of them would like to admit. Then their stomachs began to growl simultaneously and they pulled away, laughing shyly at themselves.

“Want to stay for breakfast? It’s the least I can do to thank you…” She offered, praying that he would say yes.

Yongguk nodded and smiled widely at her. “I’d like that a lot.” In response Sera nodded and turned away, leading the way to the kitchen as she tried to calm down her racing heart.

*****