Toothbrush in hand, Hayi walked out of the bathroom while yawning. She dried her face with the little towel that was draped over her shoulder, examining the panda eyes that stared back at her. She placed her toothbrush back in its holder that was attached to the mirror on her dresser and grabbed her moisturiser, going through her usual beauty routine. It wasn’t anything complicated - she never bothered with make-up on most days.

Since she already used her face wash, all that was left was to do was moisturise. The cold winters never did help with her dry skin. She squeezed a small amount of the cream onto her hand and dabbed little dots onto her face with her fingers, gently tapping them to let it seep in. She hummed to ‘Hold My Hand’, tilting her head from side to side as she moved along with the rhythm.

KaTalk. Her phone pinged from where it sat on the side of her dresser. She turned her head and stilled as she read the name on the screen. She stopped humming and leaned forward to try and take a closer look, but the notification had already disappeared. She waited for a few moments, just staring at the black screen as if something might jump out of it at that exact second.

KaTalk.

Another notification arrived. Same contact name. She did not know the content of the message as she had offed the message preview function...

She quickly wiped her hands on her pajama pants, ridding them of any residual moisturising cream and grabbed her phone, swiftly plugging it out of the charger. Was someone playing a prank on her? The name was undoubtedly his name. But that display picture was wayyyy off target.

She unlocked her phone and hesitated before she clicked on the KakaoTalk app icon. She paused once more, staring at the little box at the top of her chat list. She read the few words that revealed the content of the message. If she opened the chat now, the read ticket would disappear and notify the sender that she was online. Ah, screw it. She tapped her screen to open the chatroom.

Mr. Zico: Yo, Hayi-ssi! Remember me? It’s Jiho ㅋㅋㅋ

Mr. Zico: I hope you don’t mind; I asked Robin for your Kakao contact.

Her fingers hovered over her keyboard, wondering what to say in reply. ‘Oh hi, of course I remember you. I even dreamt about you last night,’ didn’t seem like the best answer. Nope. No way. She carefully picked her words to reply.

Lee HAIYAH: Oh, Zico sunbae? ㅋㅋㅋ of course I remember, we just talked earlier today.

She hit send. Before biting back a curse. She was supposed to be avoiding the subject of their conversation this morning. Why did she accidentally type that out?! She mentally face-palmed herself and quickly typed out a second message to try and deviate the topic.

Lee HAIYAH: And don’t worry, I don’t mind. I’ll just scold Robin for passing it around without my permission. XD Anyway, who’s that in your display picture, sunbae? He looks funny ㅋㅋㅋ and your display name is funny too ㅋㅋㅋ ‘Mr.’ Zico ㅎㅎㅎ

She sent the message and read it again, immediately regretting all the giggles and the way she was rambling. She wanted to change the topic, not blabber or seem nosy. However, it also didn’t slip her attention how the little yellow number 1s at the side of her texts disappeared almost immediately - he had read her messages already. She stayed on the chat room, a little nervous as she speculated what he would reply.

Mr. Zico: Noooo don’t scold him! He’ll probably get back at me if you do >< I sort of begged him to give it to me- 😅

She sighed in relief. Awkward topic of their conversation earlier successfully dodged. Then again… she quirked a brow. Begged him for her contact? Why on earth? Well, as the author I can tell you that Zico was banging his head on his table because he basically just came off like some needy guy who really wanted her contact. Not that that was too far from the truth, though. He sent his next message at lightning speed to cover up his mistake.

Mr. Zico: My display picture? What is it right now? I can’t remember. Let me go check. But heyyy isn’t my name cool :  ( it’s not funny!

He inserted an emoticon of a cat crossing its arms with a huff. Hayi laughed aloud at how childish he was acting. She could not deny that she did find this side of him quite endearing. Maybe a little more so than she was letting herself believe. I mean, who wouldn’t find him cute, right? She was probably just having one of those typical fangirl moments… right?

Lee HAIYAH: ㅋㅋㅋ okay, okay it’s not funny. But it definitely isn’t cool either. 😝

Mr. Zico: Oh, please. And your’s is so much better, ‘Lee HAIYAH!’-ssi?

Lee HAIYAH: omg. I totally forgot that was my dn (display name)! It was Suhyun that set it!!! ><

Hayi shook her head in amusement. Her earlier nervousness was taken over by a comfortable, companionable feeling. She felt as though she were talking to an old friend and not someone that was four years her senior. Huh, she thought as she felt all her apprehension slip away. She remembered the way they got so caught up talking to each other back at the cafe; the staff had to close half an hour late because they didn’t know how to interrupt the two. She was surprisingly at ease with him, which was a first. She never really could open up to someone that quickly, and this realisation - paired with the dream she had - was both thrilling and scary. And now she was a brand new kind of nervous.

Mr. Zico: hahaha it’s cute.

Her heart skipped a tiny beat. Cute. There he goes again. Throwing that word around. Hayi tried to ignore her reaction. He wasn’t even referring to her, for God’s sake. He was talking about a display name that Suhyun had set. And yet there she was. Gushing over that one tiny sentence. She caught a glimpse of her pink cheeks in the mirror and told herself to calm down. This was unlike her usual cool, collected persona. And she didn’t like it.

Mr. Zico: oh and. HAHAHA i checked my dp. That’s ma homie. 😂😂😂 you don’t know him, Hayi-ssi? He’s an actor.

Hayi enlarged the profile photo and took a closer look. Upon inspection, he did look quite familiar. She probably saw him on one of those daytime dramas specially catered for bored housewives. Her mom watches those all the time. Although she clearly wasn’t a bored housewife, what with the restaurant to run and all.

Lee Hayi: ohhhh i think i do know him. But why such a weird picture?! ㅋㅋㅋ Isn’t he mad at you for choosing that photo?

Mr. Zico: awww why’d you change your dn? :  ( the previous one was cute, HAIYAH! ㅋㅋ and nah, it’s just this thing we do. You should see his dp. It’s me. Ok wait i’ll send it to you.

After a few moments she received an image. One that had her doubling over in laughter. It was a picture of Zico doing a derp face, his face contorted at such weird angles. She kept laughing and laughing, not realising she had accidentally pressed the record button on the bottom right side of the screen and a short, few second audio of her laughter was sent to the chat. When she finally realised what had happened she was about to die from embarrassment.

Lee Hayi: OMF SUNBAE DON’T OPEN THAT AUDIO IT WAS AN ACCIDENT

Lee Hayi: PLEASE DON’T LISTEN TO IT

Lee Hayi: I SWEAR IF YOU OPEN IT I’LL KILL YOU

Lee Hayi: but HAHAHAHA YOUR DERP IS WAY TOO FUNNY

Mr. Zico: too late, i already opened it xD your laugh is so cute!!!

Lee Hayi: omg no DELETE IT. PLEASE. ><

Mr. Zico: no way! I’m gonna save it and set it as my ringtone HAHA jk, jk. But really, it’s cute ♡

Zico, on the other hand almost slapped himself in the face. Why did I send a heart?!

Lee Hayi: NO don’t save it 😭😭 DO NOT set it as your ringtone smh. It’s not cute at all.

Mr. Zico: but it isss! You’re totally cute.

Mr. Zico: I mean your laugh* is totally cute.

Mr. Zico: Not that you aren’t cute. Because you’re really cute too- oh god i’m rambling-

Hayi went from embarrassed and self-conscious to blushing and trying not to smile in 0.001 seconds.

Lee Hayi: sunbaeee xD but thank you~ you’re cuter tho, i’ve seen you do aegyo on shows before ㅋㅋㅋ

Mr. Zico: nah, i’m nowhere near as cute as you. Anywho. I actually got your contact cos I wanted to ask you something.

Lee Hayi: hmm?

Mr. Zico: well…

Hayi prayed he wouldn't bring up their morning conversation again.

Mr. Zico: what time will you be going to the studio tomorrow?

Lee Hayi: around 10am? Tomorrow I have a morning recording session with Kunst oppa. But I’ll be staying till late with Tablo sunbaenim to discuss some things for my album… why do you ask?

Mr. Zico: oh, just curious. Anyway, I have to get back to work now. See you!

Lee Hayi: okay, sunbae. Fighting~! ♡

Hayi held her phone in her hand, kind of unsure what just happened (and also wondering why on earth she put a heart at the end of her message). Zico and her had passed by each other on several occasions before - at music shows, at the studio. They always exchanged polite greetings and “how are you”s. But up until then that was all they were - mere acquaintances. It was funny to think how after two iced coffees and a few conversations, they were now friends. Well, at least that’s what she hoped they were. It was kind of weird to think of a senior as a friend, but talking to him made her feel so comfortable. She could only hope that he felt that way too. That they could be friends despite the slight .

Hayi found herself scrolling through the conversation, reading it all over again. She paused at her audio and listened to it. It was just her usual laugh, of course. But somehow, after what he said, this one seemed a little nicer sounding. It’s totally cute! His insistence through text was almost audible. She shook her head slightly, putting her phone back into the charger and placing her moisturising lotion at the side of her table before looking in the mirror, only to find that her lips were still curled at the corners. She could not stop smiling; and there was only one reason why.

She took her phone again, opening the KakaoTalk app to access her profile page. She tapped a few keys on her keyboard before examining the end product. It is funny. And... I guess it is kinda cute too. Her new display name filled the small space beneath her profile picture: Ms. HAIYAH.

A/N: Hola mi amigos y amigas~ MY LAST PAPER IS AT 5PM TODAY WOOHOOOO (p.s it's 2.37am rn xD less than 14.5 hours to go Dx). so i kinda wrote this up while taking breaks from studying. i know not much progress has been made so far BUT I PROMISE THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL PUSH THINGS FORWARD A LIL FURTHER. as usual, do leave your thoughts in the comments below - they help me know where to improve and what to write next. (oh and /coughs/ hit that upvote button, much appreciated /coughs/) #shameless HAHA. Last but not least, stay awesome!