Seulpeohajima, no no no! Honjaga anya, no no--

"Eum... yeoboseyo?" mumbled a sleepy Hojoon from under his pillow.

"Yah, Hojoon-ie!"

"Oh, Hyung, wae kapjagi na-ege jeonhwahaeyo? (*Why are you calling me all of a sudden?)"

"Why aren't you here, yet? You know that your shift starts in 10 minutes, right?"

Hojoon popped open his eyes and slapped a hand on his forehead. He was late. Again.

"Oh, crap!" He reached for his rounded, wire-rimmed spectacles and jammed them onto his head.

"'Oh, crap,' is right, Joon. What did you do last night to forget about work today?"

Launching his nimble and agile body out of bed, Hojoon flitted about to brush his teeth and hair. He balanced his phone between his right shoulder and right ear. Through a mouthful of toothpaste, he mumbled, "I went dancing."

"Dancing? Joon, you shouldn't be doing that the night before White Day! You know that today will be busy!"

"Can you tell Boss that I'm going to be five minutes late?"

Hojoon could hear his friend sigh on the other side of the line. "Joon-ie, you are so lucky that you live a block away. I'm actually quite jealous. Ppalli! It doesn't look like he's in the mood for tardiness right now!"

"Arasseo, I'm coming!" Hojoon exclaimed as he stumbled out of his apartment, taking care not to wake his neighbors or his roommates. Yes, he had roommates and thank goodness they were heavy sleepers. Being an underground dancer required a lot of sleep and it was a shame that he had too little sleep. He was, after all, the only one of his crew who had a job. The rest of his dancing buddies were all rich boy scum. Darn them for having the money to dance whenever they want and live wherever they want. I can't believe I'm nice enough to allow them to board at my freaking apartment.

Hojoon stuffed his unruly bed-head into the yellow "Lotte World" cap, snapped on his helmet, and sped off on his tiny, sky-blue mo-ped.

~:~:~:~:~

"Jeon Hojoon!" barked Hojoon's boss seconds after he arrived at the main office to punch in. Hojoon winced as spittle landed on his cheek. "Do you know what time it is?"

"It's 6:35 in the morning, sir."

"When were you supposed to get here?"

"At 6:30, sir."

"You are lucky that Kim Himchan was here half an hour before his shift to cover for you!"

"Yes, sir," Hojoon muttered, bowing his head apologetically. "It won't happen again, sir."

"It better not!" Boss softened a little before saying, "I know that you are a good worker, Hojoon. But, today is White Day. You've been with us long enough to know what that means, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"The park will be busy from 7:00 all the way until we close at midnight. Even then, there are two special events happening at 11:59, right before we close. Some stupid young man wants to spend the last minute of the day with his girlfriend. Another wants to propose to her on the last minute. What the heck, it's not like we're filming a drama or something."

"I understand, sir."

Boss snapped his eyes back up at Hojoon. "Now get to your post and be ready for the first wave of couples! I expect you to have your best smile and attitude today, understood?"

Hojoon exclaimed a quick, "Yes, sir!" and sprinted off to his post, the ticket booth. HIS ticket booth. It was the one place that Hojoon could truly call his own. From that post, he could see consumers at the entrance gate long before they could reach him. He had a thing for people-watching. Something about having the power to watch people without them noticing him thrilled him. For some reason, he learned a lot about people that way.

Since he had been working as Lotte World's ticket guy for about four years, several regulars recognized him as "Average Joon," the same name given to him by his dancing buddies, and the same name he was given by his brotherhood of 13 guys. Perhaps because he blended in or because he was hard to notice in a crowd, everyone knew him by that name.

Slipping into the small door on the side of the ticket booth, Hojoon positioned himself at his computer, directly in the middle of the counter. He was the only ticket guy amongst girls and it only made sense that he stood in the middle. It was too bad that he was the only guy, but hey, at least he was the only guy amongst pretty girls.

Hojoon adjusted his crinkled tie, made sure his bed-hair was fully covered, straightened his pants, and checked his breath.

Well, maybe his breath wasn't too great. He popped a breath mint in his mouth.

Finally, he was good to go.

"Hojoon-ssi, how are you today?" asked the girl to his right. Although this was the third week they were working together, he could never remember her name. He knew that she was a Choi, though. She had long legs that ran for miles and towered above him like a giraffe. She was definitely a Choi. (*Note: This is just a stereotype. The KPop idols with the surname Choi are usually very tall. such as, Choi Siwon - Super Junior, Choi Minho - SHINee, Choi Sooyoung - SNSD, Choi Junhong - BAP.)

He shrugged nonchalantly. "It's White Day. Men are always depressed on these sorts of days."

"Are YOU depressed, Oppa?" The girl on his left inquired, blushing a little when he looked her way. "I--I mean, you said that men are always depressed on these sorts of days. Do you have someone special in mind to be depressed about?"

Hojoon chuckled uncomfortably, sensing the awkwardness thicken with each ticking second. Although being the only guy amongst girls had its benefits, it did not include being hit on simply because he was the only guy. Even Hojoon knew that it was demeaning to be seen as a man just because he was the only option. Just as he opened his mouth to answer Left Girl's ridiculous question, a voice interrupted him.

"Joon-ie, how was the competition last night?" Himchan asked as he approached the desk from the front, grinning slightly. One of the girls (probably the Choi Girl) squealed in delight, earning her a wink and smirk from Himchan. He leaned his abdomen against the counter separating him and Hojoon. "You probably won and went to an after-party, huh? You didn't even wake up until ten minutes before your shift."

Hojoon ignored the inquiring gazes of the two girls flanking his sides and rolled his eyes at Himchan. "No, Hyung. We won, then practiced more afterwards. We made a lot of mistakes."

"Oh, goodness, Hojoon. Humans make mistakes. It's not like you guys are KPop idols."

Hojoon shrugged. "Yeah, well, you know that practice makes perfect and all that stuff."

"Who's in your crew again?"

"Shin Jiho, Kim Hansol, and Kim Byungjoo. They're friends from my old neighborhood."

"Oh, yeah?" Kimchan rubbed his chin in contemplation. "I think I've seen them before."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Yongguk owns TS Night Club, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot." Hojoon spared a glance at the clock on the computer screen: 6:45 am. "Hyung, I think you should get going. Your shift starts in 15 minutes."

"I know, I know. I'll catch you later, alright?" With that, Himchan left, leaving Choi and Left Girl gaping after him.

Hojoon glanced at the girls and covered his snicker with a cough. Himchan was a rare specimen with ethereal beauty and charm. Short raven waves rose in an arch, then crashed onto his forehead gracefully, spreading evenly like subdued waves across sand. Strong eyebrows, deep dark chocolate-hued eyes, and a friendly smile adorned his fair oval-shaped face, earning him many admirers at first glance. Himchan's presence alone captured hearts wherever he went.

Therefore, it made perfect sense that the ticket girls were immediately enamored of him.

"Omigosh, who is that?" breathed Choi Girl, fanning her beet-red face.

"How d-do you kn-know him, Hojoon-oppa?" stuttered Left Girl.

"He's a friend of mine," Hojoon replied as he did his best to keep a straight face on. "I know him from work, obviously."

"Why haven't I seen him before?" squealed Choi Girl.

"He's so perfect!" cooed Left Girl.

"His hair!"

"His eyes!"

"His smile!"

"His everything!"

"Is he single???" demanded both girls, staring at Hojoon with wide, greedy eyes as they gripped tightly onto his forearms.

Startled by their questions, Hojoon didn't even pause to wonder why Left Girl's affections jumped from him to Himchan. He broke the girls' grips off his arms, took a stumbling step back, and held up his hands. "Woah, woah, woah! Don't ask ME all of these things! Ask HIM!"

"Can't you tell us his name, at least?" pouted Left Girl.

Hojoon sighed. "You should ask him that, too." Damn it, this is what I get for being friends with such a human being.

~:~:~:~:~

"And that will be 44,000 won," said Hojoon with a smile and a bow. It was nearly noon and his break was coming up soon, yet a new wave of couples just arrived. Lotte World was packed with screaming and chattering consumers, ranging from the age of 0 to 100. Apparently, not only people his age enjoyed the famous indoor theme park on this day.

"Thank you, sir. This is my first time taking Junghee to a theme park. Please wish us luck," beamed the young man who had just purchased the tickets. Hojoon grinned back and nodded to the young woman whom the man had his eyes on, but was taken by surprise when she scoffed and shot her lover a fiery glare. He was definitely going to wish him luck, now.

Just as he was about to clock out for break, a greasy voice to his left growled, "How about you take off that uniform and come with me now?" Hojoon turned his head and met eyes with a horrified Left Girl being held against her will by a guy sporting heavily gelled hair and an unpleasant odor not unlike one-month-old gym socks. Hojoon furrowed his eyebrows.

"N-No, sir. I'm not who you think I am!"

"Oh, really? You look exactly like her! You can't fool me, ."

"Oppa, let's go. She's not her," retorted a girl with D-cup sized s and short-shorts. She tugged on his arm, a nasty snarl disfiguring her plastic face even more.

"It's her, Nahyun! I know it, she smells exactly like her!"

"Excuse me." Hojoon muttered to the petrified consumers in his line. He closed his line, gestured that they move over to Choi Girl's line, then stood next to Left Girl. He pressed his lips into a thin line and looked the man straight in the eye. "Sir, is there a problem?"

The man gave Hojoon a once-over, takng in the latter's rounded wire-rimmed glasses, unruly hair, and yellow uniform. Anger flared in his stare. "Who the are you?"

Hojoon pointed to his work cap as if to say, What do you think, ? "I work here, sir. I'm sorry, but I think you should get going. Did you pay for your ticket, yet?"

"No, I didn't come here for tickets. This here is my ex-girlfriend." The man jabbed his pointer at Left Girl, who flinched and cowered behind Hojoon.

Hojoon sighed, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose. The man was clearly deluded. "Sir, I would appreciate it if you used clean language here. We are a theme park, not an underground night club."

"That's bull! Just give me the girl and I'll leave this ing dump!"

"Oppa, I don't know him. I've never seen him in my life!" whimpered Left Girl. Her body began trembling against his back.

"Yes, you have, you !"

Left Girl shrieked when the man leaned forward to grab her arm. Hojoon took a step back shielding her with his body.

"I need you to take a step back, sir."

"Yeah, like hell I would do that!"

"If you aren't here to purchase tickets, I suggest that you leave the premises before I call security."

"'Before you call security.' What a wimp. Why? You can't handle someone like me?" sneered the man. He leaned forward so that his nose was an inch away from Hojoon's.

Hojoon slowly clenched his hands into fists. He was so ready to punch the 's face in. "It seems as though you haven't heard me. I am not going to say this for a third time. Please leave the premises."

"Or, what? What will you do? Call security? Or do a little hocus-pocus with your wand, Harry Potter? What sort of man wears those kinds of glasses nowadays? You must be so poor that you can't even afford a decent pair of specs. Then again, you're working in a place like this," scorned the man. Hojoon pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and mentally prepared himself to give the rude- man the beating he so deserved.

There were several screams when a fist embedded itself into the man's jaw.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Hojoon's fist.

It was Himchan's.

"What did you just say, you filthy mongrel?" Himchan roared, shooting the man a murderous glare. The man scrambled to get up, but Himchan sent another fist flying, this time aimed for his right eye.

"What the -- mmph!" The man was knocked out cold with Himchan's final punch. The crowd around them cheered as the police arrived just in time to arrest the unconscious man and his girlfriend.

Himchan looked up at Hojoon and gave him a cheeky grin. Oh, the joys of having a security guard as a friend.

~:~:~:~:~

Hojoon groaned as he stretched his hands high above his head. It was well past midnight and the two events at 11:59 pm ended smoothly. He couldn't believe that he lasted through 14 hours of White Day. Usually his shift was only from 6:30 am to 2:30 pm, but unfortunately, one of the girls called in to beg for time with her boyfriend, leaving Hojoon no choice but to come back to work at 6:30 pm until her end of the shift at 12:30.

It was a freaking nightmare.

Hojoon bade goodnight to the night-guard, who nodded in return, and trudged towards his mo-ped. He had no strength left to stick his key into the ignition, but somehow, he managed to do so. On his way home, he did his best to stay awake. How could he when he barely had sleep to begin with?

Hojoon fumbled with his apartment keys, but before he could stick it into the lock, the door swung open to reveal a half- Jiho munching on some popcorn. "Hyung, why are you home so late?"

Hojoon rolled his eyes and pushed the younger male to the side. "Jiho, why are you half-? And why the hell are you eating all of my popcorn?"

"It's Xero, Hyung."

"I'm not going to waste my breath on your stupid stage name," growled Hojoon as he stepped into his dark living room to inspect the damage likely to be left behind by the Three Stooges (who liked to call themselves the "Three Musketeers," but Hojoon begged to differ).

"Why are you so un-cool right now, Hyung?" whined Jiho through a mouthful of popcorn. "You are so much cooler onstage."

"Shut up, you! What the--!" Hojoon stopped when he flipped on the light. As expected, there were clothes everywhere. Bowls of ramen littered his coffee table and the foot of his sofa. Undershirts were draped over his TV and some strange odor clung to the curtains that separated the living room from the veranda outside. Hansol and Byungjoo were, like the undershirts on the TV, draped along the couch, sipping cola and watching TV. No words could explain the feelings Hojoon was feeling.

"Oh, hey, Hyung. How was work?" called Hansol from sofa, his eyes twinkling with innocence when he looked up at Hojoon.

"It must've been busy. It was White Day, after all," Byungjoo replied for Hojoon, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh, yeah, it's White Day. I forgot." Jiho traipsed to the sofa and plopped onto the remaining open seat, sending fluffs of popcorn everywhere.

Hojoon slapped his forehead with his palm. He couldn't believe he was friends with such people. Why in the world did he agree to letting them stay at his apartment? Oh, yeah, because they looked up to him and respected him. And he loved them to the ends of the earth.

But, that wasn't going to stop him from scolding the out of them.

"YAH, YOU IDIOTS!!! CLEAN UP THIS MESS BEFORE I BEAT YOUR ASSES!!!"

*****Hey, all! So, this is the first chapter! What do you think? Please comment and subscribe! Constructive Criticism is also welcome. 7.5.14 :)*****