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     chapter twenty-three      unexpected visitor.

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The members of the popular boy-band known for their fierce charisma had just returned from their small trip to the beautiful island of Japan and were swamped. As soon as they had gotten back to their dorm, they all collapsed onto the couch and carpeted floor like lifeless bodies without souls. It was supposed to be a vacation for them but of course it didn’t turn out as they had expected. They should have seen it coming though. Celebrities didn’t have the luxury of enjoying a normal vacation since their fans were everywhere.

Whether they liked it or not, they were always clocked in and working their butts off.

They couldn’t even go out and have a nice dinner without being hunted down. So most of the time they stayed cooped up in their rooms unless their manager had prior engagements for them to attend. It was good to be back in their homeland. They really missed the snacks that could only be bought in the streets of Seoul.

Before going back to their apartment, they had begged their manager to stop by the small restaurant set up under tent a block away from where they lived. They got their usual dose of the delicious spicy rice cakes and fish cakes on skewers. They had dinner on the plane but wanted some snacks to nibble on before they went to bed.

Since he had an enormous appetite, Junhong was the one who untied the bag and removed the lids on the containers, allowing the enticing aroma to waft in the air. Once everyone got a whiff of the food, they started to drool and immediately received a boost in energy. Like wild hyenas that hadn’t eaten in days, they attacked the spicy rice cakes and fish cakes without reluctance.

“I forgot how good this was,” Jongup crooned joyously as he stuffed a piece of carrot smothered in the infamous sweet and spicy sauce into his mouth.

“Hey pass me the remote. I want to see if anything interesting is on.” Himchan nudged Daehyun and the younger man did as he was told. As he was flipping through the channel, Himchan didn’t find anything worth watching. Reruns of old episodes were playing but he wasn’t into watching dramas. “Oh—” he dropped the remote, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and did a double-take. “Isn’t that Nemo?” He gaped, his mind completely boggled. Hearing the nickname, everyone realized that there was only one person he could have been referring to. Since nobody knew her real name, Youngjae suggested that they called her Nemo because of the clown fish she had been carrying around.

They were talking about Arang. 

“What about Nemo? What are you yapping about no—” Yongguk’s eyes widened when he spotted a familiar face on the screen and he nearly choked. Luckily for him there was a bottle of water next to him. He gulped down half of it and thumped his chest with his fist.  “What’s she doing on the news?” He rasped out, regaining his ability to speak.

Everyone’s attention was directed toward the plasma mounted on the wall, their mouths hanging wide open. It looked like there was a previously recorded press conference from this afternoon being aired and the people being interviewed you wonder? Apparently it was a member of a hot new rookie group and what was this? The girl they had accidentally ate a meal with? Was she somebody famous? No, that couldn’t be it. If she was a celebrity one of them should have been able to recognize her right off the bat. So who was she? What was going on? Daehyun’s chopsticks slipped through his fingers and fell onto the floor as he stared at the caption. It was safe to say that he was stupefied.  

Big Heat Entertainment Comes Forward and Confirms Dating Rumors.

He searched for the remote and increased the volume, maxing it out, so that they could listen to the reporters and journalists. An older woman wearing a crème blazer and matching suit pants stood up and addressed the buzzing crowd. “Hello, I am Director Wan of Big Hit Entertainment. First off, I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone for attending this press conference. After the several photos of them went viral, along with the egging incident in front of our building, our agency has been flooded with dozens of questions. Today, we have gathered you all here to give you our statement and to answer any inquiries you may have. Kim Taehyung, a member of our new boy-band, Bangtan Sonyeondan, is indeed in a relationship. His partner and the mystery girl in the pictures with him is his girlfriend, Ms. So Arang.” The camera then zoomed in on the young couple who were sitting side by side, their hands meshed together on the table.

{ six hours earlier }

Arang was too busy scrolling through all of the messages she had received from her followers to pay attention to anything else. Most of their inquiries dealt with her whereabouts and if everything in her life was alright. They were starting to worry about her due to the lack of activity on her blog and she sighed apologetically. She had been neglecting her duties as a blogger but could you really blame her? After she had tangled herself in the sticky situation with Taehyung, she had more important matters to cater to.

Her thoughts had been scattered all over the place. She decided that it would probably be best to write a brief post informing her readers that she was fine and that there would be a high chance she’d be going on a short hiatus because of personal reasons she did not want to disclose.

While she was in the midst of typing, she heard the bell chiming through the apartment. She was the only one home at the moment. Her father was at work, her mother had taken Aesook and Eunmi to their grandparents’ house and the twins were out with their friends, doing whatever it was teenagers did nowadays. 

She wasn’t expecting anyone and got up from her seat, a befuddled expression painted on her face. She looked through the small peephole and gasped at the visitor standing on the other side of the barrier. “What are you doing at here?” She hissed quietly after throwing the door open. She peered out into the hallway, relieved that none of her neighbors were around. The last time she had seen him was three days ago, the night they had spent listening to his friends squeal like a bunch of prepubescent school girls.

The two of them had been exchanging emails since then and had gotten a little friendlier with each other. And when I say a little, I mean it literally. They weren’t chummy with each other nor were they the best of friends. However, they did become more civilized with one another. Well more civilized than they were before anyways. Taehyung pulled his mask down and winked at her. He let himself in without an invitation before he answered her. “Why I came to spend some quality time with my sweetheart of course.” He made sure to place emphasis on the term of endearment as he scoped the apartment out.

“Don’t make me puke. Nobody’s home. Now tell me what you’re really doing here.” She closed the door, spun around and her jaw slacked wide open. Speechless, she watched as Taehyung kicked off his shoes, put on her brother’s slippers before he flopped onto the sofa.

“Sweet.” He cooed. He stretched his legs out comfortably and tucked his hands behind his head. 

“Yah, what do you think you’re doing? This isn’t your house. You can’t waltz in here and do whatever you want. Take my brother’s slippers off this instant! They don’t belong to you!” She growled, stalking over to him.

“No, leave me alone. I’m tired. I want to sleep!” He whined. His eyes fluttered shut and Arang could feel the veins on her forehead and neck protruding out, ready to burst.

“I’m sorry but I fail to see how that is my problem. If you’re tired why didn’t you back to your dorm and sleep t