BGM: So Nyeo Si Dae - Baby Baby

 

"Who died?"

 

When the Korean boys arrived at the bubble tea shop that Monday afternoon, you immediately wondered whether they were mourning someone who passed away or were just making a bold fashion statement. With the exception of Sehun, everyone else was wearing dark-colored clothing: mostly black shirts and navy blue hoodies. They look so dark and gloomy you'd think they'd turn emo.

 

"My dignity," Chanyeol sulked.

 

"Why?" you asked. "What happened?"

 

Sehun went straight to the counter and settled on the barstool across from you. He then put down his bag on the vacant seat on his left and took off the California Angels baseball cap from his head. "He didn't retheive any chocolateth today," he divulged, earning a soft glare from his deep-voiced hyung.

 

Park Chanyeol sat down on the barstool right next to Sehun's. He nudged his dongsaeng once and placed a white plastic bag on the counter. Without a single word, he offered it to you by pushing it towards your direction.

 

Your eyebrows creased. "What is this?"

 

"What do you think that is?" Minseok asked back.

 

"I know it's jjajangmyeon," you replied, examining the packets of instant noodles inside the plastic bag. "But why? Why are you giving me a week's worth of instant jjajangmyeon?"

 

"Jaemi, Jaemi, Jaemi," Moonkyu repeated your name as he slowly shook his head. He squeezed between Sehun and Chanyeol and rested his elbows on the counter. "I didn't mean to burst your bubble, but we're not giving these to you. We're actually going to ask you if it's okay to use the kitchen for a while because we need hot water to cook the jjajangmyeon."

 

Jongin chuckled. "Besides, it's impossible, even for you Jaemi Chingu, to finish all those jjajangmyeon in one sitting."

 

"I'm not sure..." You locked eyes with Kyungsoo and tried to figure out his opinion about this. He has worked in Happy Bubble longer than you have, so it's only natural for him to have a better understanding of Ahjumeonie.

 

"I don't think Ahjumeonie would mind," he said.

 

"Okay," you gave in. "Just make sure you clean up afterwards."

 

"Great!" Chanyeol exclaimed, a bit more cheerful than before.

 

You sighed. It was probably too late to take your word back now, but somehow, you still weren't sure if it was a good idea to give them permission to use the kitchen. They're still boys, after all. Who knows what kind of ruckus they're capable of? "Sunbae, just-"

 

"I'll take care of it. Don't worry," he assured. "I won't let these pabos mess up the kitchen."

 

 

"I thought it was Valentine's Day today," you said, seriously wondering if you confused February for April. "Why are you guys eating jjajangmyeon now when Black Day is still two months from today? "

 

Before he disappeared into the kitchen with Minseok, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo, Park Chanyeol turned around one more time just to answer your question. "Why wait 'til April if we can celebrate our singlehood right now?"

 

"You are so weird," you said.

 

"Just let him be," Jongin advised, occupying the barstool vacated by Chanyeol. "This is the first Valentine's Day when he didn't receive any chocolates from girls, so this is really something new for him. I think celebrating Black Day two months early is his way of coping with it."

 

"I guess he missed the whole point of Black Day, huh?" you figured, taking out a black marker to write labels on the plastic cups that you're going to use for the bubble tea orders of the boys. "I guess I better start working on your bubble tea before I get scolded by Sunbae again." You were about to remind Joonmyun that now would be a good time to go grab his coffee next-door when you realized that he didn't come in with the rest of the boys today.

 

"Wait a minute. Where's Rich Kid?"

 

 

According to the boys, Joonmyun decided to stay at the SM Entertainment building a little longer because he was waiting for f(x)'s Luna. Apparently, he wanted to wish her good luck before she leaves for the venue of tonight's Legally Blonde performance.

 

Genuinely happy for the smooth sailing Joonmyun-Sunyoung ship, you promised yourself that you will start teasing Rich Kid about the progress of his love life as soon as he arrives. This plan, however, was quickly set aside when you noticed the familiar-looking boy trailing Joonmyun as he made his way inside the bubble tea shop.

 

"Hey! I know you!" you exclaimed.

 

"Hello, Jaemin!" he waved, occupying one of the barstools.

 

You heaved out a sigh. "It's Jaemi. Jae-mi. J-A-E-M-I. Jaemi."

 

"Relax. He's just messing with you," Joonmyun revealed, taking a seat near their favorite table. "Jongdae apparently does that all the time. He incorrectly pronounced your name on purpose. You're lucky he just added another letter to your name. Kevin hyung got it worse."

 

"Why? What did you call him?" you asked the boy named Jongdae.

 

He flashed you a big grin. "Ben-Ben hyung," he revealed, playfully 'shooting' you with a pair of finger guns.

 

 

"BEN-BEN?!? That is funny!" you complimented, erupting into fits of laughter when you imagined Jongdae calling Totoro using that nickname. 'Ben-Ben', after all, seemed like a more fitting name for a four-year-old toddler than, say, a six-foot, twenty-something Chinese boy with a default annoyed expression plastered on his BB cream-smeared face.

 

"How did you think of Ben-Ben anyway?" Moonkyu wondered.

 

Jongdae his chin as he tried to figure out the answer to Moonkyu's question. Then, tilting his head, he asked, "Isn't that his name, though? Keben Li?"

 

Joonmyun, Moonkyu, Jongin, and Sehun also laughed. "I don't know if he's trolling us or if he has terrible pronunciation, but either way, Jongdae hyung is a very funny guy!" Moonkyu declared, still having a hard time controlling his laughter. "A bit odd, but still funny!"

 

"Keben-" You tried repeating 'Keben Li', but you couldn't help but erupt into another fit of laughter as soon as you pronounced the second syllable. "I don't think I'll get over that!" you admitted, wiping away the tears that formed in the corner of your eyes. "It's so much better than Totoro! Ben-Ben!"

 

"You call Ben-Ben hyung Totoro?" Jongdae asked.

 

"Tho, you two already know each other, huh?" Sehun noticed.

 

Jongdae chuckled. "I think that has already been established moments ago, Mr. Mayor."

 

"Mr. Mayor? Oh! Oh! That's right!" You clapped your hands as soon as you understood the joke. "Oh Sehoon! The mayor of Seoul!"

 

"That took a while," Youngho sneered.

 

You tried to annoy him by ruffling his hair. "Geez. Sorry if I needed an extra second to figure that out!" you said sarcastically. "I didn't know there was a time limit on figuring out jokes!"

 

Jongin patted your shoulder. "You got it faster than Yixing hyung, though."

 

When Jongin mentioned the forgetful Chinese boy's name, Jongdae sang the chorus of Seaside by Dong Bang Shin Ki, Super Junior, and SHINee: ♫ XingXing dallyeo, dallyeo~ sha la la la la la~ ♫

 

"I like that song!" you giggled.

 

"You haven't told us yet," Jongin remembered. "About how the two of you met."

 

"Yeah," Moonkyu realized, taking another sip of his honeydew-flavored bubble tea with black bricks. "How did you two know each other?"

 

You were about to answer the pseudo-twins' questions when Jongdae suddenly broke in. "We're childhood sweethearts," he confidently claimed, flashing you a bright smile. "Right, Jaeminnie?"

 

Sehun almost choked on the tapioca pearls he was slurping.

 

"Really?!?" the pseudo-twins chorused.

 

"You?!?" Joonmyun looked at you. "You have a childhood sweetheart?!?"

 

"No, he bought a cup of almond milk tea here before his audition," you clarified, a bit surprised that the other boys quickly bought Jongdae's childhood sweethearts story. "So, no. He's not my childhood sweetheart. I feel a bit offended that you thought it was too impossible that I have one, though."

 

Joonmyun shrugged. "I don't mean anything by it. I just thought it was strange."

 

Jongdae seemed disappointed. "Why do you have to ruin it right away?" he questioned, swiveling in his barstool just like when you first met him. "It would have been fun if you went along with it for a little longer."

 

"Sorry," you shrugged. 

 

"You were almost Jongdae hyung's fake childhood sweetheart," Jongin said, jokingly judging you. "Jaemi Chingu, you're making a habit out of this! You were also Sehunnie's fake girlfriend, right?"

 

Sehun accidentally splashed a bit of chocolate milk tea on the counter.

 

"Oh, great!" you snapped, taking out a washcloth to wipe the liquid off. When Sehun glared at you for telling Jongin about your 'couple moment' in the convenience store last summer, you put both hands on your hips and tried to explain yourself. "Don't look at me like that! I just mentioned it to him in passing! I didn't go around telling people about it!"

 

"So, it is true!" Youngho bubbled. "How did it feel?"

 

You shivered. "Awful!"

 

"Dithguthting!" Sehun answered at the same time.

 

"I thought I was going to vomit!" you confessed.

 

Sehun looked offended. "Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it," he sputtered, pointing at you. "You're probably honored you get to be my girlfriend even jutht for five minuteth!"

 

"Oh, please! It's not like I was thrilled by the idea! I only agreed to do it because I had this tiny bit of sympathy for you and because the girl with a fake aegyo was incredibly annoying!" you ranted. "Besides, it was your idea not mine!"

 

"Is that why you two were holding each other's hands when you arrived?" Joonmyun wondered, recalling the particular scenario in his head. "You were pretending to be a couple?"

 

Rolling your eyes, you replied, "Lowest point of my life, obviously."

 

"It wathn't my favorite, either," Sehun guffed, fixing his fringe with his fingers. "But it wath probably one of the betht momentth of your life. You were jutht pretending you didn't like it, but you obviouthly did."

 

You smacked his arm. "Stop insisting that I'm attracted to you!"

 

Despite the bickering between you and Sehun, Joonmyun still thought the place was awfully quiet. It was in that moment when he realized that the human megaphone Park Chanyeol and their other friends were nowhere to be seen. "Where are the others" he finally asked.

 

"They're in the kitchen, Hyung," Jongin answered. "Cooking jjajangmyeon."

 

Jongdae chortled. "Jja-JOONMYUN?"

 

 

"Is it okay if I put in the noodles before the water boils?"

 

Over at the tiny Hapy Bubble kitchen that became crampier with the presence of four boys, Park Chanyeol was getting more and more impatient as he stared at the water inside the bronze pot that you usually use for cooking tapioca pearls. It has been a while since they turned the fire on, but the water inside the pot hasn't even simmered yet.

 

"What does the instruction on the packet say?" Kyungsoo asked.

 

Chanyeol reached for a packet of instant jjajangmyeon and read the cooking instructions printed at the back. "Boil water-"

 

Your sunbae didn't let him finish. "-does that answer your question?"

 

"YA! DO KYUNGSOO! EVEN IF YOU AND I ARE ON THE SAME GRADE, I'M STILL A YEAR OLDER THAN YOU! I'M YOUR HYUNG! DON'T EVER FORGET THAT!" Chanyeol scolded, his deep voice echoing all throughout the bubble tea shop.

 

You knocked on the door. "Keep it down! You're going to scare away the customers!"

 

"SORRY, JAEMI~AH!" Chanyeol apologized. He then sat on the table and with a soft and calm voice, he asked Kyungsoo, "So, the answer is 'no' then?"

 

Baekhyun face-palmed himself.

 

"Seriously, Chanyeol," Minseok mumbled. "Have you cooked anything in your life? Fried an egg or made ramen, maybe?"

 

"Hyung, we own a microwave. I don't need to learn how to cook," Chanyeol reasoned, tapping his fingers on the table. "Besides, not only do I have an umma, but I have a noona as well."

 

Baekhyun covered his face with his hands again.

 

"It's boiling!" Kyungsoo excitedly informed.

 

Chanyeol quickly jumped off the table and reached for the bag of instant jjajangmyeon. "Move! Move!" he ordered, pushing Kyungsoo away from the stove with his hips. "I want to do it! I want to put them in the pot!"

 

Kyungsoo had not other choice but to give in. "Fine, just make sure you take out-"

 

"...take out the black bean paste sauce packets first before I pour the noodles directly into the pot?" Chanyeol interjected, a guilty grin on his face.

 

Kyungsoo shoved Chanyeol away from the stove and take took a quick peek into the pot. To his horror, he found several foil packets floating inside. "WHY DID YOU DROP THE SAUCE PACKETS INTO A POT OF BOILING WATER?!?"

 

Upon hearing what happened, Minseok, like the dependable hyung that he is, immediately reached for a ladle and scooped out the sauce packets from the pot of boiling water. Then, with Baekhyun's help, he dropped them into one of the clean washcloths on the table.

 

"So, what do we do next?" Chanyeol asked.

 

"First, we wait for the noodles to cook; then we add the dried vegetables from the packets you dropped earlier. A few minutes after that, we drain the water, add the jjajang powder and the oil, mix everything, and... that's it! We eat!" Kyungsoo explained, stirring the noodles in the pot. "But you," he turned to look at Park Chanyeol. "You're going to stay in that corner... away from all the food preparations!"

 

 

"You have got to be kidding me."

 

Sehun has already jugged down about half of his second cup of chocolate bubble tea when he decided to deliver the most absurd news of the day: he doesn't have any money. Yes. Oh Sehun, that sneaky little 8g of Fat, waited until he was almost done drinking before he informed you that he couldn't afford to pay for what he just ordered today.

 

"YOU WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!? you flipped.

 

"I thwear, I forgot my wallet at home," Sehun maintained.

 

You kept on smacking his arm. "Then why didn't you tell me sooner?!?"

 

The contact between your palm and Sehun's arm intensified with every hit. In fact, it became so strong that the pseudo-twins had to rush to your side of the counter just so you could stop hurting their friend. "Easy Jaemi Chingu," Jongin said, gripping your waist as he pulled you away from Sehun. "Stop hitting Sehun. You'll only hurt your hand."

 

"And I thought you were helping me," Sehun scoffed.

 

"You pabo!" Moonkyu smacked Sehun's head once. "It was your fault to begin with!"

 

You wriggled out of Jongin's arms and took another step away from the counter. With both hands on your hips, you took a deep breath and forced yourself to be calm again. Although you were still pissed off at what Sehun did, you realized that lashing out at him was not the proper way to deal with the situation. As calmly as you could manage, you asked, "Why did you let me prepare all those bubble tea if can't even pay for it?!?"

 

"I wath thirthty," Sehun shrugged. "I'll pay you tomorrow, I promithe."

 

"Well, you better," you retorted, folding your arms across your chest. "If I lose my job because of you, I swear I'll-" You took another deep breath. "Wait. Are you sure you forgot your wallet at home? Are you sure you didn't bring any money? Because if I'm getting all worked up and annoyed because of another prank, I swear-"

 

"I'm afraid, he isn't lying," Jongin interjected, occupying the stool beside the one Sehun was currently sitting on. "Just so you know, Moonkyu and I even had to pitch in some money just so this pabo can have lunch at school."

 

Moonkyu nodded to confirm it. "We even paid for his subway fare because he forgot his transportation card inside his wallet."

 

"So how will you manage to go home tonight?" you asked Sehun.

 

Mr. 8g of Fat just shrugged and pointed a hitchhiker's thumb to his back. "Joonmyun hyung will drop me off, of courthe," he said, much to the surprise of Rich Kid himself.

 

"When did I agree to this?" Joonmyun wondered.

 

"Just now," Youngho chuckled.

 

In a deep singsong voice that would probably scare the hell out of most people, Chanyeol emerged from the kitchen with the bronze pot in his hands and announced: "JJAJANGMYEON'S READY~"

 

"Jja-Joonmyun!" Jongdae chortled.

 

Kyungsoo tapped your shoulder. "We have a bit of situation..."

 

"Please don't tell me you broke something," you pleaded, silently praying that Ahjumeonie's tiny kitchen was still in pristine condition. "If I get fired because of you, I swear-"

 

"Stop overreacting!" your sunbae scolded, his eyes getting bigger again. "The only problem we have is that we don't have bowls in the kitchen. We bought a pack of chopsticks - lacquered, of course, just the way I like them - but we forgot to get disposable plates or bowls."

 

Chanyeol puffed. "Big deal. Let's just eat from the pot."

 

"Ah, no, no, no, no," you begged to disagree. "I've seen you guys eat. It was like a warzone. Chopsticks fencing everywhere like a pair of swords... NO! I can't let you eat off a pot. It would be a total mess!"

 

"Alright," Minseok agreed. "Do you have another suggestion, then?"

 

You shook your head. "None. Sorry."

 

"I have a suggestion," Jongdae announced, raising his hand. "Let's just use the plastic cups for bubble tea. That would certainly make us feel like we're eating instant jja-Joonmyun."

 

"Great idea!" Jongin and Moonkyu chorused. The other boys agreed. Sehun didn't like it very much, but since he had nothing else to suggest, he just kept quiet. Kyungsoo casted you a worried glance. As a former employee of Happy Bubble, he knew perfectly well that giving away unused plastic cups will cause problems when it comes to auditing.

 

You held his gaze and cried for help. "Sunbae..."

 

Joonmyun stood up and reached for the leather wallet in the backpocket of his jeans. "I'll just pay for the plastic cups, then," he offered. "That way, you won't get into trouble."

 

Baekhyun volunteered to serve the jjajangmyeon. One by one, he scooped the black bean noodles into the unused plastic cups Joonmyun paid for. When he put the lid back on the bronze pot after filling the tenth plastic cup, you creased your eyebrows and wondered out loud why he didn't prepared one for you as well. "HEY! Where's mine?!?"

 

"We didn't include you in the head count," Chanyeol bravely answered.

 

"How selfish!" you reacted.

 

"Jaemi, Jaemi, Jaemi. Like Chan-Chan said earlier-" Baekhyun paused to hit Chanyeol's arm when the latter shuddered upon hearing his fellow 92-liner affectionately refer to him as 'Chan-Chan'.

 

"Don't call me Chan-Chan!" Chanyeol demanded.

 

"Why not?" Baekhyun asked. "It's a cute nickname!"

 

"I'm a man!" Chanyeol insisted, patting his own chest. "I don't need a cute nickname!"

 

You leaned over to Baekhyun and whispered, "That's how Sulli calls him."

 

Eyes widening in realization, Baekhyun just nodded and continued talking to you. "Like I was saying, Chanyeol mentioned earlier that the idea behind eating jjajangmyeon is to celebrate Black Day two months early. You know, celebrate our singledom. And since you're practically dating Luhan hyung-"

 

"We're not dating!" you denied.

 

Joonmyun stood up again from his seat. "Here have mine, instead," he said, placing his cup of instant jjajangmyeon in front of you. "I really don't feel like eating it anyway."

 

Chanyeol dropped his chopsticks.

 

"A-HA! SUNYOUNG CONFESSED TO YOU EARLIER! SHE DID, DIDN'T SHE? AND YOU- YOU ACCEPTED!" he accused, pointing his index finger at Joonmyun. "JOONMYUN HYUNG DIDN'T WANT TO EAT JJAJANGMYEON WITH US TODAY BECAUSE HE ALREADY HAS A GIRLFRIEND!"

 

Jongdae laughed again. "Jja-Joonmyun!" 

 

You squealed in delight. "OH MY GOD! Please say it's true!!!"

 

Joonmyun smiled and nodded.

 

 

You squealed again.

 

Sehun covered his ears. "Bubble tea, you're thuch a girl!"

 

"In case you have already forgotten, I AM a girl!" you responded before launching into another set of squeals. "AAAAHHHH!!! Rich Kid!!! AAAAHHHH!!! I'm so happy for you!!! You and Luna would make a really cute couple!!!"

 

 

The boys had barely finished cleaning up the stuff they used for jjajangmyeon when Jihye suddenly stormed into the bubble tea shop looking all stressed out and sassy. She pushed Park Chanyeol off the barstool beside Sehun's, sat on it, and slumped herself over the green-painted counter.

 

"I can't do it," she sniffed.

 

You her hair. "Ji, I told you, you don't have to-"

 

"Were you planning on confessing to Kevin hyung?" Chanyeol interjected.

 

Minseok's heart sank. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew that Chanyeol's assumption was right. Your best friend's dilemma right now was caused by her inability to pluck up the courage to confess her feelings for Kevin Li.

 

Jihye ignored them. She was too stressed out to argue with anybody anyway. This morning, when she woke up, Jung Jihye was 100% sure that she'll carry on with her plan of giving the chocolate candy hearts that you made yesterday to Kevin. In fact, she was so excited that she mentally cursed the president of the drama club for insisting that they need to hold a 10-minute meeting before the girls can go ahead and execute their plans for Valentine's Day.

 

Everything changed when she was already on the subway.

 

In Dogok Station, while waiting for the next train to Apgujeong, Jihye witnessed what was probably the most embarrassing moment of Song Taehee's life. Taehee, your classmate and Jihye's fellow drama club member, confessed to a senior named Park Sujoong from nearby Chung-ang High School by giving him a box of homemade chocolates. The eighteen-year-old boy, although flattered by the young girl's honesty and admiration, had to turn her down because he just didn't feel the same way about her.

 

Kevin Li is not romantically interested in Jung Jihye and she knows that.

 

"You know what would make you feel better right now?" Jihye looked up at you expectantly. When she blinked a couple of times to indicate that she was waiting for your suggestion, you continued: "Bubble tea! I'll prepare a cup of caramel-flavored bubble tea for you right now."

 

Kyungsoo grinned proudly. "I've thought you well!"

 

"Oh please, Kyungsoo," Minseok sarcastically commented. "We both know that Jaemi isn't cunning enough to sales-talk her way at her best friend's expense. She was only trying to be a good friend to Jihye."

 

Jongin agreeed. "She's just on umma-mode."

 

"Yeah, I was just about to tell Ji that I'm going to pay for her drink," you admitted, scooping jelly cubes into the empty plastic cup. When you noticed Sehun opening his mouth like he was about to say something, you quickly added, "The answer is no. I'm not going to give you free bubble tea whenever you're having a bad day. You're grumpy seven days a week! I'll go bankrupt if I give you freebies!"

 

8g of Fat just scowled in disappointment.

 

"What about you, Jaemi?" Baekhyun asked. "Did you give chocolates to anybody?"

 

The question made you nervous that you tried to camouflage it with an 'Are you kidding me?' expression. "I have never thought of giving home-made chocolate to any boy all seventeen years of my life and I'm not going to start now."

 

He didn't mention it at the time, but Jongin noticed that your index finger was slightly shaking while you were measuring the top grade milk for your best friend's bubble tea. Your subway chingu figured that if he pointed it out right now, the other boys would realize that you were probably lying, so he just kept quiet for the mean time in order to save you not only from inevitable teasing but also from subsequent embarrassment.

 

"Do you guys want this?" Jihye took out the pink heart-shaped box from her satchel. "I'm not really in the mood to eat it and it would be such a waste if no one gets to taste it."

 

Like a pack of wolves that haven't been fed for months, the boys hurried towards the counter to grab that box of chocolate candy hearts from Jihye. Minseok, the boy who obviously wanted it the most, was actually the one who managed to snatch it first.

 

"YEEES!" he exclaimed, quite pleased with himself.

 

 

"You have to share it with us, Hyung" Moonkyu insisted.

 

Jongin sided with his pseudo-twin. "Moonkyu's right, Hyung. Jihye technically offered it to all of us, so you can't just claim it for yourself."

 

Sehun agreed. "I want one, too," he childishly demanded.

 

Admitting defeat, Minseok slumped his shoulders and sat back down on his chair. "Alright, come on over and we'll divide these chocolates among ourselves," he announced, removing the lid so he could count the pieces of chocolate candy hearts inside box. "How many are we right now?"

 

"...seven, eight, nine, TEN!" Chanyeol counted. "There are ten of us now, Hyung!"

 

"There are only twelve pieces of chocolate in here," Minseok revealed. "Since there are ten of us, we'll get one each; and as for the remaining two..."

 

Kyungsoo quickly interjected. "No, Hyung. I don't want us to play games for the last two pieces of chocolate," he said outright. "If that happens, we all know that Jongin will win."

 

"Why are you all getting so worked up?" you asked. "They're just chocolates!"

 

"We're men!" Moonkyu answered. "We enjoy fight