“What are we doing here again?” I heard Jaehyo asked out loud, irritation obvious in his voice. It was a quarter after noon and we found ourselves dragged by Jihoon to this fashion boutique. I looked up, my eyelids filtering the amount of light that comes into my eyes, and saw the word “Firefly”.

“Just keep calm, hyung. She’s here. Follow me.” Jihoon stated before closing the van’s door and walking into entrance. The door was held open for me by Minhyuk as Kyung followed behind me. The insides were filled with women’s clothing. And even without touching them, I could tell that they were made from the finest textiles. They looked elegant. Everything on that floor looked elegant, even the lady that came and welcomed us.

I started to feel out of place when I saw our reflection on a mirror mounted against a wall. Seven men inside a women’s boutique, and we were even sporting our usual street clothes. We looked like delinquents lost in a sea of class.

“Welcome to Firefly. How can I help you?” The lady spoke with a small smile on her face. My head automatically flung towards Zico’s direction and I noticed that almost all of us did. Zico, on the other hand, looked at Jihoon who was busy looking at the coats displayed next to him.

Zico’s elbow made Jihoon turn around. He looked at us, perplexed, and then finally realized we needed him to explain why we were there. “Oh yeah… Uhhh, is the director around?”

The lady’s eyes squinted for a millisecond before she smiled and answered. “Yes, Miss Shin is around. Do you have an appointment with her?”

“Uhhh… Not really. But she knows me. Can you tell her Pyo is here?” The lady blinked several times as she nodded. She started walking away from us reluctantly then spoke to another lady behind the cashier. The other lady picked up a telephone handset as she looked straight towards us. Maybe they recognize us… Or maybe they just aren’t used to seeing men like us. My eyes decided to wander, taking in the details of the boutique’s interior. It looked so westernized and yet it had this distinct Asian feel.

“Hi, Mr. Pyo.” A lady’s voice made our heads turn towards the end of the staircase. She was quite tall, probably taller than me, and quite slender. Her hair was pulled back in a bun and she made my back straighten itself. It felt like I was in school and she was the teacher. I examined her face and noted that I never thought Jihoon’s taste were such. But as she drew closer, I noticed that she looked at each of our faces, as if looking for someone. Does she not know who Jihoon is?

Zico bowed at the lady and we all followed suit. She bowed back and stretched her hand towards Zico. “Mr. Pyo, it’s nice to finally meet you.” Jihoon chuckled as my frows burrowed in confusion.

His hand stretched out to shake the lady’s when he spoke, “You must be Miss Nam. Is Haein around?” The way Jihoon spoke was more elegant than usual. If there was one weird thing about Jihoon, it’s his voice. It’s so inappropriate to his face and personality. But I guess it has become an advantage because right now, he sounds like a real rich man.

“Ah, yes. Miss Shin is upstairs. Please follow me.” Miss Nam then started walking towards the stairs, with us following behind her. The second floor looked darker than the first floor. The walls were of coffee color and the only light source was a fancy chandelier right above the top of the stairs. We saw Miss Nam turn left and knocked on the wooden door. “Miss Shin, Mr. Pyo is here to see you.” She declared from behind closed doors. A short moment passed and no answer came from inside. She tilted her head, then smiled at us before turning the knob and pushing the door open.

The room was big and the ceiling was high. The walls were obviously inspired by Japanese architecture and yet the furniture and other décor screamed Europe. Oddly enough, because of the neutral tones and simplicity of the room, harmony was found. We followed Miss Nam and Jihoon inside when we saw a figure with deep purple hair sleeping on the desk. I snickered as I sat down. The others were clearly amused as well as I saw smiles on their faces while they found their places. Jihoon and Miss Nam, on the other hand, scrambled towards the girl.

“Miss Shin.” Miss Nam carefully recited as she knocked on the desk lightly. “Miss Shin, you have guests.” She added as she knocked on the desk again, louder this time. Silence filled the room and I saw Jihoon’s face change. It was weird, he looked worried.

“Noona!” He yelled, making the others’ heads turn towards him. “Haein noona!!” He yelled again, and this time, Miss Nam started shaking the girl’s body. Jihoon repeated his chants, louder every time.

Suddenly, the girl’s head moved, as if wanting to lift her head up but it’s too heavy for her. Within the silence, I heard a soft whisper. “So are we all set for tomorrow?”

I looked up at Jihoon and saw him sigh in relief. I was terribly confused.