[Mia’s POV]

September 26, 2015.

Daejeon, Chungcheongnam-do.

It was one of those bright autumn days when the clouds, and the sunshine, and the blue sky seemed all interwoven together. The colorful autumn leaves were perfectly falling into place outside our rented Korean traditional house in Daejeon which has been our home for almost two months now. Life has been unbelievably busy lately, and it has been hardly possible to meet Mark Tuan with his tight schedule and me trying to live out of a suitcase at the southwestern part of Korea.

“Banana milk…” Nikki murmured, appearing from the bedroom, half-asleep and half-craving for our favorite drink. I sneered at my sleepyhead best friend and opened our wooden front door, revealing our lawn which was now filled with fallen autumn leaves.

“Get me one, too.” I told her as she opened the fridge.

“Ne!” She hit her own face to fully wake herself up and soon approached me. We were sitting side by side on the wooden floor facing the yard, sipping on our banana milk.

“Ya. We need to hit the supermarket later. We have nothing inside our fridge except banana milk.” Nikki said, dilating her puffy eyes.

I laughed. “Really? Whoa. Our banana milk addiction is getting serious.”

“I’m hungry.” She said, touching her stomach.

“I made some cheese ramyeon.” I said.

“Oh.” Nikki’s face brightened up and she hurriedly stood and grabbed one bowl.

“Wow! This smell!” Nikki remarked, spirits flying high upon the smell of her favorite drug lately.

“Rest day, finally!” Nikki sat beside me again, one hand holding the bowl of ramyeon while the other one with the chopstick.

“The weather’s perfect today.” I said.

“Yeah. Perfect for a walk in the park. Perfect for a date.” Nikki rolled her eyes. “But your Mark Tuan is probably flirting with his Japanese fangirls right now.” She bitterly uttered.

“Should we just break up?” I asked with a straight face.

“Are you crazy? I’m just kidding!” Nikki’s facial expression transformed into instant panic.

I laughed hard. She has been on a love-hate relationship with herself lately trying to decide whether to keep in touch with Jackson Wang or not. Apparently, Jackson’s popularity is skyrocketing these days due to his undeniably genius variety skills and although becoming more popular is a good thing, Nikki couldn’t help but feel burdened about it.

“Are you still bitter about Hani?” I asked her.

“Dude, if he chooses Hani, I couldn’t blame him. I’m just a potato after all.” She continued eating her ramyeon.

I laughed again. “It’s just a show!”

“Did you watch the episodes yet? There’s definitely something! And a lot of things probably happened behind the scenes. And they were at the freakin’ jungle! Away from the public! Away!”

“You know how Jackson can be so friendly, right?”

“I know. That’s why we’re close. Because he’s just TOO friendly.”

“Hey. Don’t you trust him?”

“I don’t trust my potato self.”

I laughed again. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I know, right? What’s wrong with me? I’m really screwed! I just like him too much!” Her shoulders slumped. “Wake up, Nikki. Wake up!” She hit her own face again.

“Hey. If he was really into Hani, he wouldn’t have kissed you at the rooftop that night.”

“Sh*t.” She cursed under her breath and her lips automatically curled into a lunatic smile. My best friend’s face was all red in an instant. She really lost it this time. I’ve never seen her this crazy over a guy. She has always have had control over her emotions when it comes to boys. But with Jackson, her heart’s just all beautifully screwed up.

I laughed some more. “You’re crazy!”

“I know! What am I supposed to do now?!” She was now laughing at herself.

“You’ve been hiding yourself for two months now! Do you even realize that?”

“I told you it’s because of that creepy fangirl. I feel like she’s trying to figure out the real deal between us and GOT7. And the weird calls that the members have been getting might be from her!”

“They’ve changed their numbers now, remember?”

“Because of me…”

“Stop being so guilty about it.”

“Because it’s the truth, Mi! I really have a bad feeling about that girl. It seems like she’s holding a lot of secrets and she would blow them up anytime she feels like it.”

“You watch too much kdramas.”

“That’s why it’s better for me not to appear in front of Jackson for the meantime.”

“Two months is enough. Her curiosity might’ve died down now.”

“You think so?” Her bowl of ramyeon was almost empty now. She eats way too fast.

“I have been really careful and extra observant every time I meet up with Mark. But I’ve never seen that girl you’ve been talking about.” I said.

“Maybe she changed her hairstyle.”

“You might’ve read her wrong. You told me she’s an EXO fan, right? Maybe she doesn’t have any interest with GOT7 at all.”

“The first time we met outside SBS Public Hall, she clearly told me she likes GOT7 too. She likes them to the point that she even knows about us!”

“Maybe she just doesn’t want to disturb you at the restaurant. Or maybe she’s the shy type.”

“The first time I met her, she didn’t look like the shy type at all.” She said, finishing her ramyeon.

“Aish. I don’t know anymore.” I scratched my head and shoot eye daggers at my best friend. “Ya. Next week, they’ll have their first live showcase for their Mad comeback. Jackson will surely get disappointed if you still won’t show up.”

“Shall I just go there dressed up like a guy?”

“Yeah. Sure, you should do it.” I said with sarcasm.

“Okay. Remind me to buy some men’s clothes later.”

“You’re crazy.”

“I know.”

And then my phone rang. My heartbeat raced in excitement.

“Whoa. You two are so consistent!” Nikki expressed, animatingly displaying her annoyance. I just smirked at her with a face suggesting she should also start to make progress with Wangkong.

“Hey.” I said upon answering the video call. Mark’s face was so close on the screen; his face so white and his smile shining even brighter than the autumn sun.

“Hey, babe.” He said with his usual rough voice. I cringed at the sudden endearment but couldn’t hold back my smile upon hearing it.

“Ew. Okay, fine. I’ll give you two some needed personal space.” Nikki said and headed back to her room to continue hibernating. Mark and I laughed at her comment.

“Where are you right now?” I asked.

“We’re still at the hotel. We’ll start preparing for the Hi-Touch event in two hours.” He answered.

“How’s Osaka?” I asked.

“Weather’s perfect.” He smirked. “How are you?” I heard a thud on the door suggesting that someone has just entered the room where Mark was.

“Good… Great, actually. Since it’s a rest day.” I replied.

“It’s your rest day?!” Jackson suddenly appeared on the screen, pushing Mark aside.

“Ya. You don’t have to push me.” Mark hissed.

“Hey Jackson!” I grinned at the sight of his striking features.

“Noona! It’s your rest day but why is Nikki not reading my messages?” He was talk