I rolled over in bed, my hand firmly holding onto my phone and my thumb busily tapping away. I had been chatting with Hana since I woke up and out of no where, she linked me to a random performance video of UNIQ, claiming that I ‘must check them out’. So imagine her surprise when I told her how I already knew of them.

Hanana: THEY LIVE NEXT DOOR!?!?!
You: yeah
Hanana: dont lie to me
You: im not
Hanana: prove it
You: do I have to?
You: ==
Hanana: prove it
Hanana: prove it
Hanana: prove it
Hanana: prove it
Hanana: take a picture of yibo
Hanana: take a picture of yibo

Before I was bombarded with spam, I turned my phone to silent and roughly neatened up before dragging myself next door in order to ‘prove it’. I casually let myself into their place and was greeted with the sight of Sungjoo walking in from the balcony in the midst of putting a singlet on. At the sight of me, he clumsily dived to the floor behind a couch.
‘Yah! At least announce when you’re coming in!’ He cried. I just rolled my eyes and walked over to the kitchen to see Yibo standing by the stove with some of the others hanging around. I quickly took a photo to send to Hana.

You: 
         
Hanana:…
Hanana: That could be anyone
You: are you kidding me?
You:

Just as I was taking another photo, Yibo coincidentally looked up. 

You:
          

Yibo flinched at the sight of me. ‘Oh my god…’ I heard him mutter under his breath as he leaned against the counter.
‘When did you get here?’ He interrogated.
'Just now.’ I held up my phone and got the camera ready.
‘What are you doing…?’ I dismissed his question by holding up my phone at him.
‘Hold still, I need to take a picture.’ Before he could resist, I snapped a closer shot of him.

You:
           

I started laughing at his highly unamused face.
‘What was that for?’
‘Proof. Don’t worry. don't worry. Just continue cooking your…’ I quickly glanced at the stove, ‘…ramen.’ I said judgmentally.
‘What’s wrong with ramen?’ Yibo retorted, sensing my disapproval.
‘It’s like 9am in the morning. Not even.’ I said. Yibo then placed one hand on my shoulder and held the other up to my face to silence me.
‘Chi, ramen is good anytime of the day.’
I looked over Yibo’s shoulder to get support from the more rational Yixuan.
‘He insisted.’ Yixuan said flustered, throwing his hands up in the air. I shook my head and went to crash on their couch. 

Hanana: W
Hanana: T
Hanana: F
Hanana:
Hanana: waaahh daebak daebak why didn’t you tell me sooner!?
You: i didn’t think it was that important...
After an influx of messages detailing how it was ‘incredibly important’ and how 'real friends would get an autograph from Yibo', there was a change in the subject.
Hanana: hhmmm you said you were going to college really soon yeah?
You: yeah in less than a month
Hanana: I think its best if you keep this a secret
You: what? them living next to me?
You: you think I shouldn’t mention it at all?

‘Chi, are you sure you don’t want any ramen?’ Yixuan called out. ‘It’s surprisingly okay.’ I looked up to see all of them gathered around a pot of steaming ramen. Seungyoun suddenly stepped out of the circle and crossed his arms at me.
‘No, don’t eat it. You have to be a witness if we all die.’ He cried out desperately.
Coincidentally, although faint, we could hear the siren of an ambulance echo in the neighbourhood.
‘You hear that? That’s the sound of the ambulance coming for us. EO-EO-EO-EO.’ Seungyoun crazily ran around and started mimicking the ambulance siren. Yibo had stopped chewing and just glowered at Seungyoun.
‘This guy…don’t eat any then!’ He angrily yelled. Seungyoun just laughed it off and took a bite out of Wenhan’s portion.
‘But…I’m…hungry.’ Seungyoun said whilst chewing and smiling like an idiot.
‘Nah, you guys eat. I’m fine.’ I returned to my phone. 

Hanana: Mmmmm…im just saying be careful
Hanana: kpop fandoms can get pretty intense sometimes
You: … right
Hanana: what I mean is ‘es be cray’ basically
Hanana: the more popular the group, the more careful you should be
I immediately thought back to the first time I had arrived here and how I was bombarded by their 'fans' at the door. I just shook the memory off and tried to think nothing of it. 
You: lol alright
You: I dont think theyre THAT big anyway dw
Hanana: um ruUuUude
Hanana: trust me, im an expert
Hanana: theyre going to be big, just watch 
Hanana: ...be careful okay? 

I quickly glanced at the boys over at the table.
Seungyoun was complaining about having a stomachache and talking about going to the toilet whilst still eating mouthfuls of the ramen.
Yibo was climbing over the table trying to take Seungyoun’s bowl away from him.
Yixuan was in the middle of quarrel, trying to break then apart and when I say trying, I mean, not trying at all. ‘Guys…stop it…hahaha.’
Wenhan was stealthily dodging the chaos that was unraveling whilst enjoying his meal. 
Sungjoo was sitting down half-asleep slurping away at the food and sneakily taking large portions for himself.

Haha, yeah right. They can’t possibly be that popular. They’re such dorks.

~

After what seemed like hours on the laptop since the morning, I decided to move from the dining table to the couch. I placed the laptop down on the coffee table and sat down next to Yibo who was keenly watching a basketball game on  television. As soon as I threw my head back in frustration, he leaned in and examined the laptop screen.
‘What are you doing now?’
‘Searching for a job.’ After giving a lot of thought, I had realized I just wanted to do something to keep me occupied even whilst I was attending university. I was pretty bummed to have left my perfectly good job at my friend's cafe. I figured if I was able to find a job here, it’d be killing two birds with one stone. I would become more independent and making better use of my time.
‘Do you even need a job?’ 
‘I can’t bum around forever.’ I lied. I new that I could technically bum around, maybe not forever, and just live off the money my mum was sending me (out of guilt of course). But I didn’t want it to be that way.
After surfing around for another 20 or so minutes, my brain switched off and I decided to open up Youtube.
‘Given up already?’ Yibo said in a monotone, his eyes unmoving from the television.
‘Leave me alone. I want to search up UNIQ videos.’ I said.
‘Why would you do that…you weirdo.’ Yibo returned to watching the game. The first video I played was their Born To Fight music video. As soon as I saw Yibo’s long braided hair, I started laughing and slapping his arm.
‘Oh my god, your hair.’ Yibo just glared at me as I continued to laugh hysterically.
The next video I played was the Celebrate MV Making video.
‘Naawww you're so cute here.’ I tugged at his sleeve and pointed at the screen. It was him adorably dancing in his tuxedo with a clip still in his hair.
As I was scrolling down, a suggested video on the side caught my attention. I read out loud the title of the video. ‘Yibo and Wenhan kiss moments…hrm…’
Just as the mouse hovered over to the video, Yibo desperately slammed the laptop lid down.
‘What was that for!?’ I yelled angrily. I attempted to open the lid up but Yibo slammed it down again. My mouth was agape with disbelief. So this is how you want to play. I quickly grabbed the laptop and jumped over the couch to which he immediately got up and chased after me.
‘Just let me watch the video!’ I yelled as I ran around the house, hugging the laptop tightly.
‘No!’ Yibo growled. We were caught in a standoff at the long dining table.
‘Why can’t I watch the video?’ I asked.
‘You can but…you shouldn’t.’ Yibo tried to reason with me, his eyes desperately pleading.
‘What are you guys doing?’ Wenhan asked as he came out of the room, confused at the commotion.
‘The video.’ Yibo said to him.
‘What video?’
‘The kiss.’ It was as if those words triggered something within Wenhan because he suddenly bolted towards me. 
‘Wait, hold on, hold on, hold on.’ I cried, trying to find an escape route whilst holding onto the laptop. Both of them surrounded me and started to move in towards me. I was trapped. I screamed as Wenhan leaped forward and held both my arms back whist Yibo took away the laptop and ran into one of the bed rooms. I slid to the ground, Wenhan still holding onto my arms, and whined ‘I just wanted to see the video.’
With perfect timing, Sungjoo walked in on us with Wenhan still holding my arms back and me flinging my legs around on the floor.
‘Do I want to know…?’ Sungjoo eyebrows knotted with confusion and cautiously put his bag on the table.
‘I just wanted to see the kiss video.’ I whinged. Sungjoo’s eyes lit up as soon as he heard me and a cheeky grin grew on his face.
‘Oh, THEE kiss video? I have it saved on my phone.’ Sungjoo said as he waved his phone in the air. His smile was quickly wiped away as Wenhan let me go and charged at him. Whilst running away to the couches, he tapped on his phone a few times and was fending an aggressive Wenhan off when he yelled, ‘Catch, catch!’ He then threw his phone over to me. Oh god… Not once did I ever think anyone would ever trust me enough to catch their phone. Nevertheless, I scrambled across the floor and made sure I caught the phone. Once it was safely in my hands, I quickly pressed play.

Hearing Wenhan and Yibo simultaneously give up and start groaning in the background made watching the video even more satisfying. Sungjoo watched as well over my shoulder and we both burst into laughter the moment Wenhan and Yibo had their final embrace in the short clip. I felt like I was Seungyoun in the video.
‘Wow, this is fantastic.’ I beamed teasingly at Yibo and Wenhan who agonisingly held their faces in their hands. 'Are you guys blushing?'  I asked. 
‘We should really upload this onto our official Youtube channel. What do you guys think?’ 
‘Don’t talk to me!’ Yibo and Wenhan shouted simultaneously as they stormed off on their own. I chuckled but worryingly looked up at Sungjoo who just shrugged his shoulders and grinned.
‘Yixuan, Seungyoun and I watch the video like at least once a week, don’t worry.’ He chuckled. ‘What were you doing before anyway?’
‘Before all this?’ I was reminded of my own misery and let out a heavy sigh. ‘Searching for jobs online.’
‘Do you even need a job?’
‘Why do you guys keep asking that?’ I said disgruntled.
‘It's just a bit odd. You seem like the lazy type.’ He started laughing but was abruptly stopped as soon as I whacked him in the stomach with my fist.
‘Hrm, I’m pretty sure the café just down the street was looking for someone…might have been a while ago though...’ My eyes lit up with hope.
‘Why didn’t you tell me!?’
‘Well I didn’t know…’
'Just down the street? 
'Yeah, towards the park, near the corner.' 
I quickly rushed off and got ready to have a look at this café.

~

Looking for waitresses/waiters. Enquire within. [Sign on the window]

Yes! I mentally did a fist pump as I pushed the door. A cute little bell sound rang as soon as the door opened and I was greeted with the sweet melodies of acoustic guitar over the speakers. I slowly made my way to the counter, absorbing the nice ambient atmosphere in. There were a few customers already inside the quaint café with two waitresses walking around serving people. Behind the front counter was a beautiful middle-aged woman with fair skin.
‘Hello, my name is Chi and I was wondering if you were still hiring people because - ' I was interrupted by the door bell rang.
‘Ah!' The lady and I both turned our heads towards the door. 'Polaroid girl!' It was the camera guy from the other day. Before I could respond, the lady greeted him first.
‘Joowon, you’re back.’ Although her smile was weak, her eyes did not deny her joy. The guy, Joowon, walked over and formally greeted the lady before turning to me and grinning. 
‘Do you know this young lady?’ The lady asked.
‘She’s a good friend of mine.’ Due to his enormous height, he was able to lean his elbow on top of my head, using it as an elbow rest. Despite my urge to push him away, I just sheepishly smiled and went along with it.
‘Ah you should’ve told me you were Joowon’s friend.’ She smiled warmly at me. ‘You were here to ask about the job?’
‘Yes, I was wondering if you were still hiring.’
‘What do you say? Can I trust your friend, Joowon?’ Is this what it comes down to? I glanced up at Joowon and clenched my teeth. His eyes were locked with mine and I was certain he could sense my desperation. Still, I wasn’t sure if he would help a stranger like me out.
‘Definitely.’ He said confidently, our eyes still locked.

The lady, whose name was Eunmi, had arranged for me to come by tomorrow for a quick interview to get to know me better, as well as to see what I was capable of. Shortly after that, Joowon quickly lied about us meeting with our ‘other friends’ and casually dragged me out of the shop with his arm wrapped around my shoulders. As soon as we were out of the sight of the shop, he let go and awkwardly scratched his head. We continued walking side by side down the street. 
‘So it looks like you’ve gotten yourself a job now.’ Joowon said, breaking the silence. 'How weird is it that we've bumped into each other again though?' 
‘Yeah, just a tad weird. But really, thank you so much.' 
‘No worries. I guess this means you owe me one now right?’ He cheekily winked at me. I was at a loss for words but managed to muster up a smile.
‘Yeah...I guess so. But why’d you lie anyway? About us being friends and all.’
‘Well, it wasn’t entirely a lie. I mean I’m sure we’ll be good friends in the future, right?’ A corner of his lips turned upwards. I couldn't help but chuckle at the cheesiness. 
'True.' 
Suddenly, I felt a vibration in the pocket of my jacket. It was Snapchat and there really was only one person who could have sent it. I tapped it open expecting another crazy selfie but was incredibly wrong.



I tried to curb my laughter by holding the phone to my lips but ended up not being able to hold it in. 
‘What’s so funny?' Joowon asked. I had to wave him off and calm myself down before replying.
‘Nah, nothing. A friend just sent me a stupid snapchat.' 
'Oh okay. Do you use Kakaotalk?'
'Yep.'
'Here, I'll add you then.' He took out his phone and gave it to me to pop my number in. I chirpily tapped away and returned his phone.
‘Where do you live? I'll walk you home.’ Joowon offered.
‘Well…’ I came to a stop in the middle of the pathway, ‘thanks for walking to me home.’ I grinned. We had already arrived at the hotel which was just across the street.Joowon looked around behind me and slowly nodded.
‘Oh wow...was not expecting that.’ A light shade of pink settled on his cheeks out of embarrassment. Cute. ‘Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow then?’
‘Yep, see you.’ I said. I stood at the curb and watched as he walked on for a bit. I caught him turning his head around to look back at me which forced him to awkwardly wave again with a shy but broad smile on his face. I just grinned and waved back before crossing the street to head home. 

Next Chapter Preview:
My jaw dropped at the sight of them casually entering the café. As soon as they saw me, Seungyoun enthusiastically waved at me whilst the others all had the same smug grin on their stupid faces. 
 

Author's Note:
EOOOOEOEOOOOO EOEOOOO OOOOOOOO ٩(●ᴗ●)۶
Super duper happy that UNIQ is back! This chapter is a bit longer than usual but heeeeeey, that's a good thing right? I got carried away with UNIQ fever so the next chapter is almost ready and it'll be up real soon too. Hope the story is coming along well for everyone...please let me know what you think! And of course, thank you reading, hope you enjoyed it! :)
 

Author's UNIQ fangirling section:
UNIQ IS BACK OMG. THE SONG IS FANTASTIC BUT I WAS PERSONALLY VERY OFFENDED BY THE BOYS LIKE HOW DARE THEY LOOK HOW THEY LOOK AND DO WHAT THEY DO ON THAT FLOOR. I WAS NOT PREPARED AND I THOUGHT THE ABS DISPLAY THING WAS FOR THE MV BUT NO, THEY DO IT ON STAGE AS WELL, NO, DON'T DO THAT PLS. WTH SEUNGYOUN!? I REALLY LIKE THE NEW SONGS AS WELL ESPECIALLY THE ACOUSTIC LUV AGAIN. LISTEN TO ME IS PRETTY FUNKY TOO, GETS ME JUMPING AROUND. EOEO IS ANNOYINGLY CATCHY, HOW THE HELL DID SOMEONE COME UP WITH IT? ANYWAY IM JUST HAPPY THEY'RE BACK! (๑>ᴗ<๑)