Chapter 22

Yongguk entered the studio all smiles that morning. The staff even took note of his sudden jolly demeanor. “Good morning,” he greeted the passersby.

“Good morning,” some would reply wearily.

It came as no surprise that a spread of murmurs would soon follow as he continued making his way through the lobby. “He's oddly happy,” someone muttered.

“I wonder why,” said another person.

“I bet he got laid last night,” someone snickered.

“Well it's about time, he should be getting over that ex-girlfriend of his,” said someone else.

“Even Himchan is getting more action than he is,” another person remarked.

“So true,” they murmured.

Having heard almost everything, Yongguk finally turned around and frowned at everyone. Soon, the situation was diffused as everyone ran off like a pack of dogs to resume with their work. They all knew that he was scary when he was angry and he didn't tolerate gossiping within the workplace but then, he realized, it couldn't be helped. He had to get used to it somehow. As a matter of fact, he was already used to it even though it could get annoying from time to time especially if he was the main topic.

Shaking his head, he went into the recording room and shut the door behind him.

“Hey hyung,” Daehyun greeted Yongguk eating a pastry along with a cup of coffee.

“Hey Dae, how's it going?” Yongguk greeted him briefly looking up from his sheet music. He furrowed his eyebrows. “Where did everyone go?”

Daehyun shrugged. “Beats me, I've been preoccupied this morning with a new roommate situation so as you can see I haven't spoken to the others yet,” he informed Yongguk.

“Roommate?” Yongguk repeated. “You have a new roommate?”

“Yeah but it's only temporary for now,” he nodded then he turned as soon as the door opened. Zelo soon walked in carrying multiple paper bags along with a carrier with cups of coffee for everyone else. “Speak of the devil, here he comes... Zelo, could you set those down over there?” Daehyun pointed to a table by the door.

“Sure thing, hyung,” Zelo bowed his head slightly and did as he was told. Once he turned around, he gave a slight bow to Yongguk. “Good morning, Yongguk hyung.”

“Morning,” Yongguk uttered in confusion. He was taken aback by the fact that Daehyun having a roommate who's still a kid at that. He turned to Daehyun. “Since when--?”

“This morning,” Daehyun answered before he could finish his question.

Gaping, Yongguk was speechless. “How--?” he started.

“Long story, I'll tell you later,” Daehyun cut him off once again as he leaned back against the leather couch. “But if you need a new errand boy, ask Zelo. He'll do what you tell him. Right Zelo?” The young man nodded in return. “I knew having him around was a good idea,” he snickered. Yongguk could only gape. “What?”

The older guy immediately shook his head and went about his work. “Nothing,” he said.

Soon, Youngjae entered the room followed by a new face. Yongguk immediately recognized the young man as the worker from the cafe. “Hey guys!” Youngjae greeted them. “I brought someone along with me. Yongguk hyung, you remember Jongup right?”

“Oh right, of course I remember,” Yongguk stood up extending his hand to the younger guy. “It's great seeing you again, Jongup.”

Shyly shaking the older guy's hand, Jongup smiled. “It's really nice meeting you once again too, Yongguk hyung.”

“I ran into him this morning at the cafe, since it was going to be slow they decided to let him start his shift a little later,” Youngjae informed everyone. “I figured why not let Jongup tag along with me since I was already coming anyways? Is it okay with you, hyung?”

“I don't mind,” Yongguk said. “It'll actually be nice to put up with new people for a change as opposed to dealing with you two everyday.” He gave Daehyun and Youngjae a mocking smile. The two best friends glared at their leader whereas the younger guys tried their best to suppress their smiles.

“Haha funny, hyung,” Daehyun was clearly not amused. “I'm literally about to pee my pants.”

Yongguk chuckled to himself but was soon interrupted once his phone went off. He didn't recognize the number on the caller ID and found himself contemplating on whether to answer it or not. He looked at the four guys in the room who were eying him expectantly. “Aren't you gonna pick it up?” Daehyun asked finally.

“I don't even know who it is,” he said glancing back at his ringing phone.

“Just answer it and put it on speaker,” Youngjae told him.

“Do you want me to do the talking?” Daehyun offered.

“No!” Yongguk and Youngjae exclaimed in unison which in turn startled everyone else. “Absolutely not!”

“I thought I'd ask,” Daehyun asked, clearly -hurt by the rejection.

Finally, he cleared his throat and clicked SEND as well as turning on the speakerphone in the process. “H-hello?”

“Yongguk?” a girl's voice was heard on the other end. “It's Annie.”

“ANNIE?!” Daehyun exclaimed loudly prompting Youngjae to put his hand over his mouth just to shut him up. Jongup and Zelo looked on in amusement watching the three older guys looking flustered all of a sudden. Yongguk turned off the speakerphone and retreated into a corner. It didn't help much since the others could still hear everything. Youngjae released Daehyun, who in turn straightened up his clothing and glaring at his best friend.

“Annie?” Daehyun mouthed to Youngjae. “What the hell is going on?”

Youngjae only shrugged in return as they shifted their attention over their leader's sudden change in behavior. They all noted the sudden gleam in their leader's eyes upon talking to their friend as they continued to eavesdrop.

“Oh hey, Annie!” he greeted her cheerily. “How's it going?”

“Everything's well, thank you for asking,” she chuckled. “I actually wanted to call to tell you that I can stop by your studio today with Danny.”

He perked up. “Oh really?” he was grinning from ear to ear. “That's great!”

“Is noon okay for you?” she asked.

“Noon's perfect!” he exclaimed happily.

“Okay then I'll see you then!” she replied. “I'll let you go now, okay Yongguk? You have a great day! See you soon!”

“Thanks, Annie! I'll see you later,” he said. “Bye!” He was still grinning when he hung up, oblivious to the four guys gaping at him. The grin soon faded and he tried to remain serious once he turned to face them still stunned at what they've witnessed. “What?”

“Don't tell me you're interested in Annie, hyung,” Daehyun finally said breaking the moment of silence.

“Our best friend, Annie?” Youngjae uttered finally.

Yongguk frowned. “Is that bad?” he asked defensively.

Daehyun laughed hysterically. “Of course not!” he exclaimed still laughing which was starting to discourage the others. “You should've seen the look on your face when you were talking to her!”

“What's wrong with Yongguk liking noona?” Zelo spoke up finally surprising the others.

“I don't get why it's funny,” Jongup chimed in eying the scene in confusion. “If Yongguk hyung likes Annie noona, shouldn't that be a good thing?”

“They do make a point,” Youngjae pointed out to Daehyun, who soon started to feel a little guilty.

Clearing his throat, he finally spoke up. “Hold on! I didn't say anything about liking her!” Yongguk flushed. “I just think she's really cool, that's all.” He replied attempting to sound indifferent.

“Look hyung, I'm sorry for laughing at you,” Daehyun finally said looking down. “There really is nothing wrong with liking Annie. It's just that me and Youngjae are taken by surprise, that's all.”

“How come?” Yongguk asked curiously.

“Well, knowing Annie after all these years,” Youngjae started to say. “She's always been the one liking someone, not the other way around. She's always been the one to deal with rejection. I think it's gotten to the point where she's already accustomed to it that she's given up on meeting people for now. Thinking about it now,” he thought aloud, “It takes A LOT for her to become interested in someone.” He said emphasizing his wording a little.

Daehyun scoffed. “Yeah for one, she has extremely high standards,” he muttered. “I don't see how she can get a boyfriend with those kinds of standards.”

“Like what kind of standards are we talking about?” Yongguk asked suddenly becoming interested in what the guys had to say about the girl in speaking.

A/N: Hello again! Here's another update for you guys! There's a lack of Annie and Himchan in this chapter lol. Enjoy! ^^

P.S. I know this is irrelevant but just thought I'd tell you guys that it's Josh Hartnett's birthday today!!! If you guys don't know who he is he's in the movie Pearl Harbor (those of you who saw "Ta-dah! It's BAP" should know that Pearl Harbor was one of the movies Yonggukie was watching lol). Anyways, Josh is 35... He's old but he still looks good for his age lol. He'll always be the very first guy I've ever had a crush on when I discovered celebrity crushes. Hehe... just thought I'd throw that out there.