[Mia's POV]

“Ya! Mia, wake up wake up wake up!!!” Nikki’s voice echoed in my head but I was not sure if it’s just a dream or if she is seriously bugging the life out of me so early in the morning. For one, Nikki was never the first one to wake up. And second, she was NEVER the first one to wake up! Wait, my brain’s not functioning well. I’m still so sleepy as hell. Ugh. But, thinking about it, there were actually rare occasions when Nikki was the first one to wake up. Like, for instance, when have an early flight to catch up, or when have a big event on that day. Just like that time during KCON where we invited GOT7…

Wait… GOT7…

“Shoooot! Ugh….Ouch!” I bumped my head against Nikki’s head as I scrambled and struggled to lift my own body. “Where are we?” I asked too fast it seemed like my speech was infused by adrenaline. Nikki was still yelping from our head-to-head bump.

“Ya! Are you crazy?” Nikki yelled down at me and then my head started to process correctly as I looked around the room. Right. We stayed the night at Youngjae’s house and we’re set to have a quick stroll here in Mokpo this morning.

“What time is it?” I managed to ask and threw my body back in bed.

“6:20.”

“Why are you up so early?!” I asked and started to close my eyes again.

“Ya! Wake up!” Nikki shouted, pulling my motionless body towards her but with zero percent success rate.

“Fine! Ahn Jaehyun’s waiting for you outside.” She stated. And upon hearing her words, my soul immediately returned back to my body.

“What?!” I asked, wide-eyed. And then I remembered that I told him last night that we are in Mokpo and we’re staying at a friend’s house, but I didn’t mention to him the exact location! How did he know?

“Check your phone. You might have your GPS.” Nikki said in response to my confused thoughts. And she was right.

I immediately got out of bed and looked at my messed up reflection in the mirror. My hair was a mess and my eyes proved to have been deprived of sleep. And to add to it, I was wearing Youngjae’s oversized white shirt.

“Ya. Wash your face and get dressed. I told him you’ll be out in 30 minutes. I’ll just talk with him outside while you prepare.”

“Prepare?”

“Just wash your face and change back into what you wore yesterday.” Nikki chuckled and after that, she left.

In less than thirty minutes, I was already outside the gate of Youngjae’s house. Ahn Jaehyun stood there in his white long sleeves and jeans, his body leaning against his red convertible car while talking and laughing with Nikki. It looked like a scene from a Korean drama.

“Mia!” He called out, waving, as soon as he saw me.

“Ya! What are you doing here so early in the morning?” I approached them and nagged a bit.

“Okay. I’m leaving the two of you here. It’s not my house so I couldn’t invite you inside.” Nikki laughed and then she gave me a quick teasing look.

“Sorry for coming without warning.” He said and his eyes smiled beneath his specs. He still looked so handsome and smart like a leading man of a movie in the big screen.

“As if it’s something new.” I rolled my eyes at him and laughed. “So, what’s up? You really drove all the way here?!” I asked, realizing that we’re in the southernmost part of Korea.

“Yep. I just arrived at Incheon airport when I called you last night and then I decided to just stay at our rest house in Jeonju since it’s the closest thing to this place.” He said.

“Jeonju? That’s in Northern Jeolla, right?” I confirmed.

“Yep.”

“Ah. We’ll have the filming there a week after next. And then, after that, we’ll head to Busan.” I said.

“Cool! More reason to spend some more time in our rest house in Jeonju, then!” He grinned.

“What?”

“Seoul is too noisy.” He briefly explained. But I knew better.

“Anyways…” He started and pulled out a bouquet of flowers from his car. “Sorry if I failed to greet you on your birthday. Things got pretty messed up.” I couldn’t hide my smile upon seeing my favorite cream-colored tulips. “Happy birthday.” He let out a warm and genuine smile.

“You don’t really have to do this.” I said as I took hold of the bouquet in my arms.

“Your smile is saying otherwise, though.” He chuckled.

“Fine. You perfectly know I love tulips.” I said and lightly punched his arm.

“Anyways, I came here early so we could grab some breakfast together. I know a good restaurant just around the area.”

“Uh… actually, we’re uh… I’m with some friends and we’ll be touring around Mokpo this morning---.”

“Annyeong haseyo!” Ahn Jaehyun slightly bowed to someone from behind me and I turned around to see who it was.

“Eo! Annyeong haseyo!” Mark also slightly bowed down his head. He was a few meters away from us, just right outside the house’s front door, wearing his black hoodie and jogging pants. He was just looking blankly at us.

“Hanguksaramiya?” Jaehyun asked him if he was Korean. He must’ve noticed something in Mark’s accent.

“No. I’m from LA.” He responded and I swear his voice sounded so y even if it’s still so early in the morning.

“Ah. Cool! By the way, is it okay if I borrow Mia for a bit? I’m Jaehyun by the way, Mia’s friend.” He called out and waved at Mark, the gate separating us.

“Eh? Ah---” I stuttered trying to tell Jaehyun that Youngjae’s mom has already prepared breakfast for us.

“I’m Mark. And sure, go ahead, it’s fine.” He just coolly shrugged. Damn this guy!

“Great! Thanks!” He waved again and turned to me. “Let’s go?”

I gave a somewhat hesitant look but he was smiling so brightly and was already motioning me to get inside his car. “That guy looked kind of familiar, though.” He said, fastening his seatbelt.