As soon as the bus left us at Hongdae, Baekhyun said to follow him, since it was a hidden bar. Chanyeol and I nodded, and he led us through the lit streets of Hongdae. We passed a bar and a couple of Ho Bars, and then turned to a less crowded street. It was filled with closed garages and graffiti, and I gulped, suddenly nervous. Maybe Baekhyun wasn't as harmless as he seemed? 

Baekhyun abruptly stopped, and Chanyeol said, "Ah, they're here?"

I was half perplexed, half scared as they talked about opportunities and someone's luck in front of a garage with an exit sign. I considered running away and screaming for help, since we weren't too far from other bars and, hopefully, the police. Before I put my plans into action, Chanyeol turned and looked at me questioningly, "What are you doing, Junghee?" 

I gulped and rubbed my sweaty hands on my pants, "Uhh.. me? Nothing, I just... Ehehe I just thought that drawing, there was very pretty," I pointed to the first graffiti I saw, which happened to be that of a chicken. I mentally face palmed, and Chanyeol guffawed at my nervous breakdown. 

Baekhyun seemed to be more intuitive than the enormous giant, and offered an explication to the ever-perplexing situation for me, "Uh, this might look weird, but this is the Exit bar. See that exit sign? That's it, right there. It has a lot of performers during the week, but it's jam packed at night, believe me. We're going to support our friends, D.O., Lay, and Minseok who are performing for the first time."

"Oh," I smiled, and blushed slightly from my previous thoughts. I nodded and after Baekhyun slapped Chanyeol's arm to shut him up, we entered the bar. 

Inside, instead of finding it grungy, green and funny smelling, it turned out to be a very cozy-looking cafe, albeit having no windows. It was filled with wooden tables, the walls painted a cottage yellow, and a small performance stage stood in one corner. I could see that the tables around the stage were already taken, and Chanyeol nudged me to keep on moving. The led me to a table more towards the left side of the stage, but we were close enough by that I could see. 

"So, your friends, what kind of things do they... perform?" I asked awkwardly. I didn't know Baekhyun and while he was cheery like Chanyeol, he didn't have that same familiarness that I felt with the the happy giant. The two men laughed.

"They sing... kind of like, emm.." he scratched his head, searching for an example, and then his eyes glittered, "Like Taetiseo! You know, the GG sub-unit?" he rolled his eyes and grinned again, "Well, of course you'd know, everyone knows GG! Aren't they just amazing?" 

I stupidly nodded, being aware of the nine girls but having no clue what he was going on about. I didn't keep up with K-Pop, only more with dramas. The only group I knew was Super Junior, and it was only because I'd seen Kim Kibum in I Love Italy a while ago. I could see Chanyeol rub his eyes, like he was tired. While Baekhyun kept on verbally fangirling about Taeyeon and her amazing voice, talent and face, I tapped softly on Chanyeol's arm and whispered an 'are you ok?' to which he nodded and gave me a smile. I wasn't sure if it was forced or not, but I decided not to be nosy. 

We talked for a while more, and around 7, the place was full. The show was about to start, and Baekhyun told me to cheer for EXO. I mentally vowed to ask what the name meant, and clapped along with the rest of the crowd when the first pformer went up. 

It was a boy and a man calling themselves "Bang&Zelo", both blonde, who started to rap. I was impressed with the younger one's ability to rap fast, but preferred the older one's deep, raspy voice. It was impressive, even for me, who didn't know squat about rap and hip hop. 

Then it was a band called BtoB, with 7 boys. I recognize one of them as my classmate, named Ilhoon, who was playing the keyboard. I cheered for them and explained to Chanyeol who looked at me confused. 

There were other performers, a couple of them were obviously nervous, but everyone cheered. 

At last, a trio went up the stage. The mic dude, as I had mentally dubbed him, introduced them as EXO, and I knew immediately that they were Chanyeol's and Baekhyun's friends. One had brown hair covering his left eye slightly, and he was holding a guitar. He sat in one of the three stools that stood in the stage, in the middle. I noticed another one who had big eyes and pouty lips, with a big smile on his face and his eyebrows twitch, making his eyes tremble a little. He sat in the left, and on the right sat another one. I immediately noticed that his hair was by far the shortest in comparison, with spikes, and he was sporting a boyish grin. I knew that my friend Minhee would've probably spazzed over him, seeing how she loved the cute/manly combination in men, and this one was definitely in the category. 

Machi amugeotdo moreuneun airo geureoke

This moment feels like I was born as a child who knew nothing

Dashi taeeonan sungan gachi

I was awestruck by the first boy's voice. It was the manly/cute one, and I silently gasped, as I listened to the melodious voice. 

Jamshi kkumilkkabwa han beon deo nun gamatda tteo boni

I closed my eyes again in case it would be a dream

Yeokshi neomu ganjeolhaetdeon ne ape gidohadeut seo isseo
 

I was surprised when the boy strumming the guitar took over, I was surprised. His voice was, to say the least, different, but lovely all the same. He kept strumming diligently, while speaking the words articulately. 
 

Yeah, dan han beonman ne yeopeseo
Bareul matchwo georeo bogopa han beon,
Ttak han beon manyo

You were standing in fron of my desperate self and praying
Just once, I want to walk side by side with you

The big eyed boy was, by far, the most talented, I thought. His voice was strong, manly even, but my ears felt soothed and I felt at peace. His nervous smile was long gone, replaced by an expression of concentration. He closed his eyes as he pitched perfectly the end, and I was awed by his professionalism. 

The boys each sang, although I felt that the one holding the guitar had less lines, but kept me captivated through the whole song. I hadn't noticed until the last music note was strummed, that I had been completely absorbed by the performance. I was broken from my trance by the the clapping of everyone, and I stood up (along with Chanyeol and Baekhyun, and a few others scattered through the audience) while cheering and clapping as hard as I could. The trio smiled and quickly walked off the stage, and I could see that they were headed towards us. 

Big Eyes sat between me and Baekhyun, while the other two sat in the chairs that were left between Chanyeol and Baekhyun. They were a bit roudy at first, doing that weird salute with the hands with Baekhyun and Chanyeol. The first one to notice me, though, was Big Eyes. 

"Hello, I'm Do Kyungsoo, but the guys call me D.O. And you are..?" He smiled tentitavely, while stretching out his hand. I took it, smiling back at him. 

"I'm Song Junghee, a, uh, friend of Chanyeol's." I anticipated his question, since his eyes seemed particularly curious. His mouth then shaped into an 'O' and he nodded silently. 

"Hey there! I'm Minseok--" the one with slightly chubby cheeks was suddenly interrupted by Chanyeol's outburst.

"--BAOZI--"

"--don't listen to him, I'm Kim Minseok, but my stage name is Xiumin, so you can call me that, too," he grinned boyishly again, and offered me his hand while standing slightly bent to reach over the table. Instead of shaking it, he placed a kiss on it before almost tumbling down onto the table, then laughed, giving a pretty cute eye smile. 

I looked over next to him, where the quietest of the trio was checking on his guitar case. He looked up when he noticed the sudden 'silence', well, as much silence as you can have in a club like this, and smiled at me. A lone dimple appeared, and he said with the cutest Chinese accent ever, "Hello, I'm Zhang Yixing. It's nice to meet you." 

After all the introductions, the boys caught up. Baekhyun and Chanyeol did their best to try to incorporate me into the conversation, and I was thankful to them for that. They talked about their post high school anecdotes - Minseok sharing about his cooking disasters with a fellow named Kris, Lay explaining that he'd taken up dancing classes and the teacher hit on him almost daily - until the conversation turned, for lack of better word, odd. 

"So, Channie, how's... everything?" Minseok quietly asked, his previously cheery attitude suddenly torn somber. The mood dropped, Lay and D.O looking at Chanyeol with sad eyes. Guessing that a personnal topic was coming up, I quickly excused myself to go freshen up in the restroom. 

As soon as the door closed, I splashed my face with water. I check on my phone, and it was already half past 7. Time had passed by quickly, and taking into account that the day after, was a school day and I was tired, I decided to bid my goodbyes to the guys. 

I stepped out to the room and made my way to the table just as Baekhyun suddenly stood up and left the table. As he went past me, I guessed towards the restroom as well, I could've sworn I saw tears dropping from his eyes. I approached the table with a curious frown on my face. 

"Hey, guys, it's getting late.. I think I should be heading back home about now.." 

The guys obviously were forcing smiles, except for Chanyeol. I guessed either the Baekyeol had a fight or the news didn't affect Chanyeol.. But knowing Chanyeol's personality, or at least what I knew of him so far, left me perplex: he'd be the kind of guy that'd be worried over his friends.. right? 

I shook my head mentally, it was really none of my business. Chanyeol suddenly stood up, and everyone looked at him. 

"I'll accompany you. It's not proper to let a lady leave all by herself, is it?" He smiled again, and something flashed yet again through his eyes. It was fleeting... but I could make out pain, at the very least. I nodded silently, and said bye to the rest. 

Chanyeol came with me on the bus, but did not get off on my stop saying he had to get home soon. I nodded, thanked him for the fun evening, and shuffled out of the bus. As it departed, he waved at me, and so did I. 

As I got to my house, I cursed at myself.

How the heck did you manage to forget to ask Chanyeol his number? Pabo Junghee!