Noon signaled a lunch break for both L6 and CELESTIAL. Tae Jun ended up treating them all to black bean noodles, his apology for getting Eun Mi in more trouble than was deserved. They had claimed two large tables at the cafeteria years back and they still used them almost daily.

Su Jong slid into his seat beside Eun Mi, Chae sat to her right, Tae Jun across from her. Ieanna sat between the twins. Kain usually sat across form Dae Hyun, but today, he switched seats with Ryouta, who settled into the seat next to DAEE. Eun Mi did not miss the glance Tae Jun shot his youngest member and her rapper. It was loaded with suspicion.

She kicked him under the table. Tae Jun jumped in his seat, hissing through his teeth at her.

“Eey,” Su Jong pulled Eun Mi’s ponytail. “Don’t start a fight. I hate fighting before meals.”

Eun Mi answered by elbowing him in the ribs.

“Argh!” He held his side dramatically. “You’re such a thug!”

“If you stopped bothering her, she wouldn’t beat you up all the time,” ReNA said as she shook her bowl of noodles.

Eun Mi tuned out ReNA and Su Jong’s bickering. She shook her own bowl, thinking of the man she’d met at St. Cecilia’s. His eyes had been so kind. She wondered when she would be able to meet with him again. If she really did get a personal babysitter, she would have to leave his hoodie with Sister Redemption. She definitely didn’t want that.

She remembered his hands, large, broad, with fingers that were perfect in length. He’d smelled like outside, with a hint of perfume, the kind that old women used. Eun Mi wondered if he had hugged his grandmother before he left for his jog that morning. Well, she thought he’d been jogging. He’d been wearing outdoor clothing after all.

Eun Mi tried to remember as much as she could, but it had been so fast. She wished she had listened to Mr. Choi when he had insisted that she have eye surgery; her blurry contacts hadn’t helped her at all. She really should’ve kept her glasses on instead of putting the little things on. Her eyes must’ve been so red!

Tae Jun watched Eun Mi closely. Her eyes had lost focus as she mixed her bowl of black bean noodles. She’d set the bowl down and had not moved an inch for a good five minutes. Her eyelids draped her eyes, lower and lower they got as the seconds ticked by. He reached across the table, placing his hand on her forehead.

Tae Jun’s cool hand snapped her back into attention. Everyone had stopped eating to look at them.

“Are you feeling sick?”

“Hm? Oh, no, not at all!” She ripped the plastic from the bowl. The way in which she mixed the noodles would fool anyone into thinking she was a native.

“Unnie, maybe you should head back to the dorm, get some sleep,” Chae said.

Kain shifted in his seat; a movement that wasn’t lost on Eun Mi. They had a composing workshop after lunch. If she missed it, they would lose precious time.

“I’m alright, promise! I was just thinking about Hanoi.”

Ieanna yelped and giggled, smacking Dae Hyun’s arm in excitement. “Hanoi! I can’t believe all of us are going to Hanoi!”

“GOT7 is going too,” Ryouta said. “I can’t wait to see Jackson and Mark!”

“You just saw them last week,” Dae Jung tossed a ball of plastic at him. Ryouta caught it swiftly. DAEE grinned.

The conversation moved on. Their voices chirped in excitement, plans for their first overseas trip together were made, although they all knew they wouldn’t be able to do much aside from film Music Bank.

“Unnie! Did you hear who was going to be in Hanoi?” Ienna grinned at her leader.

Eun Mi’s stomach dropped with excitement. A smile spread across her face, almost tearing her face in half. Her eyes disappeared as her cheeks swallowed them.

“Au! Check that smile out!” Su Jong hooted.

“Your cheeks are eating your eyes again.” Kain teased.

“Don’t be a weirdo and stalk them,” Tae Jun grinned.

“Ush!” She threw her own plastic ball at him. “You’re so unpleasant! When have I ever stalked them? I’ve done everything healthily. I’m a healthy fan!”

They laughed. Eun Mi ate her food happily. Every now and then she would pause to talk, whispering with Chae in a failed attempt to keep Tae Jun out of her business.

“Do you think I should take my copies just in case?”

“You definitely should! You should also give them each a copy of our album.”

“Won’t that come off as presumptuous? I mean, we’ve never promoted together and we debuted a while ago.”

“I don’t think they’ll think it’s rude. It’ll just be difficult to get them to let us say hello. They are our seniors after all.”

Eun Mi gnawed on her lip. In the past, she’d been lucky enough to attend one fansign during each of their promotions. But now that she was an idol herself, she hadn’t been able to attend the last three fansigns. She had missed three eras, four if she included their debut, seven if she added their unit and solo activities.

Taking her copy of their debut album would definitely embarrass them; she had long ago accepted the fact that she would never have a signed copy of that mini-album. Still, she might be able to get at least one of her copies signed if she was polite enough. There was no way she could get all seven autographed!

“You could always ask Soyou unnie for help.”

Eun Mi’s cheeks flushed. “I really…If I do that she’s going to find out.”

“Unnie, I think everyone knows already. Do you really think your fans don’t know you have a favorite group? Why do you think they send you fan letters in envelopes that are close to their official group color?”

Eun Mi shushed her, slurping some noodles as she cast a sideways glance to Tae Jun. He appeared to be too engrossed on his phone to be paying much attention.

“I can’t ask that of Soyou. It could create a misunderstanding.”

“Then just say that it’s for someone you know. A friend or something!”

“I won’t lie.”

“Then you chose the wrong career,” Tae Jun said with an evil grin.

“Oppa!” Eun Mi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You drive me crazy!”

Tae Jun laughed and broke into song. Eun Mi screamed, covering her ears as she laughed, trying to kick him under the table and failing as he moved his legs out of reach. The entire table followed his lead, teasing her until her cheeks were unbearably hot.

She didn’t know it, but the other ten all exhaled with relief at seeing her laugh. Her eyes sparkled with the happiness her favorite group brought her. In them, they couldn’t see the shadow that had haunted her the past few days.

They didn’t know it, but Eun Mi’s eyes sparkled at the thought of sharing what had just happened with the man from St. Cecilia’s. She couldn’t repress the urge that had spontaneously combusted within her chest. She wanted to run to the church, sit beside him, and tell him all about how Tae Jun oppa and how she hoped to get a copy of her favorite group’s album signed when she went to Hanoi.

She couldn’t help thinking she was being silly as she finished her lunch and followed Kain up to the fifth floor. She shook her head, trying to clear it. The time for daydreaming was over. She had work to do.

“You can’t do that to her. You can’t attach some wannabe manager to her hip only to babysit her!”

“She was out in the wee hours of the morning.”

“She’s a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. You made sure she could take care of herself.”

“She can’t do that if she falls asleep in strange places.”

“It was at church. You know she always goes to St. Cecilia’s. Sister Redemption knows to keep an eye on her. We’ve been through this hundreds of times.”

“Why does she always go there? Could she be meeting with someone?”

“Are you being serious right now?”

“Yes.”

“You can be a real idiot.”

“You can be real lenient.”

“We’re not getting into this discussion. We both know how our niece is. We both know she wouldn’t do something like that without telling us. She knows how all this works. You made sure of that.”

“Don’t talk like that. It makes me sound like an evil person that exploits people for his own benefit.”

“Isn’t that what the industry is about?”

“It’s not what this company is about. I love all the kids. I help them as best as I can.”

“Then trust them. Trust Eun Mi. She’s wise beyond her years. I didn’t bring her here to be suspected and babysat. I brought her here so she could make a name for herself. Let her. Stop treating her like a child.”

“I’m just worried about her.”

“Then worry for her without suffocating her. She’s not that little insecure child you first met anymore. She’s strong. She’s stronger than any of us.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Don’t suppose it, I am right. Now call your secretary and tell her to stop looking for a babysitter. I’ll see you both at dinner.”

“Honey, but what if she is meeting with someone?”

“If she is, then it’s about time she did anyway.”