“Just think, this is the last year.  We make it through the upcoming months and we’re done with homework and assignments,” Mei said wistfully, as if the end of the year wasn’t so far away or they hadn’t just started university again.

“You do realise this is what our job entails right?  Doing this endlessly.”

“Yes, but not on weekends or national holidays.”

“Except when there are important deadlines to be made, or you’ve spent all day flirting with your coworker instead of working, or you do get a job for an Entertainment company and they don’t believe in such things,” Summer pointed out and her friend let out a huff.  While their work placement was done with it seemed both girls had underestimated how intense their last year would be.  Although night was still falling early it was well after dark when they emerged from the classroom and the blonde pulled a face as she looked at her watch.

“Dinner?” Mei suggested and she nodded, pointing in a direction for them to take.  It would be dinner and then making her way over to YG, with maybe some time in between to do more work.  Or try and relax.   

They ended up in a restaurant next to the station that although was relatively pokey, was always popular with the university students.  Tonight was no different despite it being the start of the week and Mei and Summer slipped into a spot at a bench.  In a few minutes they had perused the menu and placed their orders, and as they waited for their food Summer found herself drifting into a dreamlike state where all manner of thoughts drifted into her mind, not least what would meet her at work that night.  She was brought back by Mei nudging her side and she blinked, looking to find her friend nodding her head to a table nearby.

“I swear every time I see Donghyuk’s dimples my heart skips a beat,” a girl sighed, a group of them crowded around what was more than likely a phone and the blonde raised her brows at her friend.  She had been pulled out of a blissful state of unreality for this?

“Ah, but Yunhyeong is so cute too, and Chanwoo!  He’s grown up so much already.  Is that bad of me to say?  He’s still young.”

“Unnie you’re only twenty-one.  Oh look, June’s about to do his thing!”

“What, make out with himself?” Summer whispered under her breath and chaos ensued as Mei, who had just taken a mouthful of her drink spat it everywhere in her laughter.  Summer was torn between horror and laughter at the fact that she was covered in her friend’s water and whatever conversation the group behind them had been having was forgotten as they oogled at the two girls.

Summer couldn’t quite do the same though and as she stole a fleeting glance at the table she remembered a time not long ago that her and Mei would have had a similar conversation.  It seemed strange to think about now that she actually knew iKON; but then again cleaning up all their rubbish and forgotten knick knacks probably had a dampening effect.  She idly wondered what the girls at that table would think if they knew the half of it, if the one that commented on Junhoe would be shocked to know about her loggerheads with the boy.  Shaking her head to rid it of the thoughts, she returned her attention to the food in front of her, tossing her now wet napkin at Mei.

_______________________________________________________

When Summer started work that night there was no iKON in sight, but as soon as she stepped inside the practice room she knew Junhoe was back to normal as she spotted a note stuck to the mirror.  As she drew closer she noticed there wasn’t the usual smudges, but a singular kiss mark and she pulled a face as she read the note.

I couldn’t resist myself (thank Yunhyeong for the chapstick).

The note paired with the recollection of her earlier comment caused the blonde to laugh loudly and she shook her head as she sprayed the mark and wiped it clean.  It seemed like Junhoe was making up for the time he had skipped as she found more notes from him than usual and she had to keep stopping the recording device as she translated while she worked so she could laugh.  There was one stuck to his cap, another to Jinhwan’s jacket, one on the back of the door, and one that made her gasp stuck to the inner edge of the bin that simply said ‘Bobby’.  With a fiendish grin she crossed out the name and rewrote Junhoe’s, making sure it was still balanced there even after she changed the bag.

Summer wasn’t sure what it was with idols and never staying out of their rooms in their dinner breaks, but she was no longer surprised when she opened a door and found them there.  Which was exactly what happened when she opened Akdong’s door and found Chanhyuk sitting cross legged in front of the computer with a container of food balanced in his lap.  Automatically she scrutinised the area around him for any spillages, waving a broom at him in warning and he looked at her sheepishly over his glasses.

“Ah, sorry noona.  There is no time for luxuries right now,” he apologised, but she waved him off as she started at the other end of the room.  At least if he finished eating before she reached that area she could clean it all up.

“I hear you’re enrolling into the military?” she enquired as she began to sweep the floor and he nodded, looking almost nervous as he took a deep breath.  

“Yes, I’ll go after our promotions are over.  It’ll be strange though, not doing music with my sister regularly,” he said, pouting slightly and she looked at him sympathetically.  Then he was sitting up straighter and placing the container to the side.  “I shall have to farewell you properly when I leave too, it will be a real goodbye because you will be doing a professional job by the time I return.”

“I… I guess I will be, yeah.  I hadn’t thought about that,” she stammered back, letting out a soft laugh.  It seemed so far away and by the time she graduated she would have been working for YG for a whole year.  But still it remained that once she did finish university, her days as a cleaner would be over and when she thought about it she realised that not only would she never see Chanhyuk again outside of their promotions, but all the other artists on this floor as well.  Including iKON.

The thought was surprisingly sombering and although her and Chanhyuk spoke more as she worked, her mind was only half in the room.  Which was why when she left and went to reach for her recording device, only to find it wasn’t around her neck, it took her a minute or so to recall where it could be.  With a groan she wondered whether she was forever doomed to accidentally leave things behind in iKON’s room and hoped that in her absence the boys hadn’t returned to find it.

As she stuck her head back in she let out a sigh of relief at finding it empty, though that quickly dissipated as she went to pick the device up and found a note stuck to it.  Someone had been in here after all, and that someone had very familiar handwriting.  Reading the note she glanced at her watch, noting that the idols should be returning any moment and decided to be patient, slipping the device around her neck once more and heading back out.  She waited until she had pushed the trolley down to the bathrooms and was hidden away in the women’s, before pulling it back out.  Crumpling up the note that read ‘play me’ she tossed it in the bin and hit the play button, allowing Junhoe’s voice to fill the room.

“Hello, my name’s Summer and I’m a pabo who keeps leaving all her stuff lying around iKON’s sacred space.  This one doesn’t seem to have any confessions about my favourite idol though and seeing as the almighty Junhoe found this I’m probably wondering whether he taped over anything else,” a pause came in the recording and with the suggestion Summer was too shocked to even gasp.  “But of course he didn’t, because this is too important.  Which only highlights what a pabo I am and maybe I should ask my number one idols for a lost and found box to be nailed to the door so I don’t lose everything.”

The recording clicked off and Summer merely stood there shaking her head at it.  The message was amusing, but also a little infuriating.  Though perhaps the fury was aimed at herself for having left it there.  And where had Junhoe disappeared to again after recording it?  Knowing that she should start work again before Heejin burst into the bathroom and found her doing nothing, Summer pushed herself away from the basin she had leant on.  She could have easily deleted the recording and perhaps if it had been a couple of months ago she would have, but neither of these thoughts entered her mind as she let the recorder drop and picked up a toilet roll.