Kim Hanbin couldn't admit it publicly, but he kinda hated the blonde dye the stylist made him wore.

Okay, it wasn't that bad but the bleaching... it was the main reason he hated it in the first place. He didn't know how s survived this.

But bad boys don't hate. Bad boys go with the flow. Bad boys will call the look rad. Bad boys will rock any color, even green or pink, or red or any kind of crazy color.

As long as the confidence makes up for it.

Hey... Fake it 'till you make it, right?

This was why whenever he accidentally pass by his object of affection at the company, Hanbin made sure that he loves his new-found look by casually running his hands through his hair, or tousling it like male leads do when they go out of the shower, or – or even subconsciously playing with some tresses like he was nervous but made him look cute.

Okay, the last part might've sounded girly, but anything to catch her attention, right?

Unfortunately for him, Lee Hi would just silently bow and go on her merry-way, not even sparing a glance at his brightly-colored dye, not even looking at him in the eye, probably not caring that she met iKON's B.I., the charismatic leader, at all.

Being a bad boy .

-⭐️🌟⭐️-

Bobby had a brow raised as Hanbin tousled his hair for an umpteenth time.

"You have lice or somethin'?"

It was an innocent question, so Hanbin didn't dare get mad. If anything, this routine makes him look cool. Bad boys in dramas play with their hair all the time and they're cool.

June, perched between Yunhyeong and Chanwoo, snorted, rather loudly. "It's not lice, it's Lee Hi!"

For a moment, a slight commotion happened in the table; Bobby's "Aaah~" as he figured it out, Jinhwan shaking his head, Chanwoo and Donghyuk snickering, and Yunhyeong commenting something along the lines of, "I always thought he was losing hair."

There was beauty when it comes to the boys eating together. The group always lived with a teenager-like fresh, vivid energy, hyping up the surroundings and causing a commotion wherever they go.

But eating was a different kind of atmosphere and it seemed that it was only the break their fussy mouths could get from the teasing, the laughing, and the jeering from everyday topics of their lives.

Eating was peaceful. It was supposed to be, until June decided to open his mouth.

Now they were back on a topic Hanbin wanted to be kept nipped in a bud and more preferably, not talked about in a public place. Say, the YG cafeteria to be exact.

The table was back to the vicarious exuberance of the group, the conversation steering from Hanbin's hair to his object of affection, the petite, soulful solo singer of the company, to Hanbin's "sad" attempts to win her heart.

As the leader shifted his attention back to the group, Donghyuk was now in the middle of his stupid 'Remember when...'s. Hey, remember when Hi noona asked me to come with the two of them because she was afraid of jogging alone with Hanbin hyung? Remember when I told you Hi's always cool with us but never with Hanbin? Remember how they're awkward together even until now? Remember the 2948291 times proving Hanbin's a stupid when it comes to Lee Hi?

Okay, not his exact words but it sounded the same to Hanbin's ears.

If that situation wasn't enough to turn the charismatic leader's confidence into a pile of mush, the boys inviting the said girl to their table would.

Why did she even have to be inconveniently there at his moment of weakness?!

"Lee Hi noona!" Chanwoo had called, his eyes sparkling innocence. Everyone knew it was everything but innocent. "Come sit with us!"

Silent snickers and playful smirks were exchanged between the members.

Hanbin couldn't even bear to look, lift a head, or even move. It was as if her name was a spell that could make his whole body freeze.

"Move," Bobby hissed under his breath, more to Hanbin's seatmates at his side of the bench than to Hanbin himself. "Move and leave some space beside the leader!"

Yunhyeong, June, and Chanwoo happily accepted the command and left a space fit for one person. Unfortunately, Hanbin's mind was still frizzled by the fact that his crush was just around to see him in his stupid state, hence, he couldn't think fast.

The boys turned livelier and cheerful as Hi accepted the invitation. Hanbin could distinguish Hi's cool and soulful voice saying, "Bling Bling!" along with the ruckus the boys were making to welcome her as she brought her tray to their table.

"Alarm! Alarm!" his mind said as Hi took the bait the boys set, sitting at the empty gap beside Hanbin and Yunhyeong. He could feel the warmth radiating from her body, the fragrant, flowery perfume she wore, and could even feel the slight friction her elbow was making beside his. She was that close.

Her tinkling, rich laugh was heard afterwards. "How is my favorite iKON doing? You always eat well! You'll get fat at this rate. And no, Bobby, don't flash your abs at me! The Kwon twins have it hotter than you."

A long, "Oooooooohhh..." resounded at the table as Bobby put down his shirt, shrugged and put his arms up in an "I surrender" gesture.

Gone were the days where she would timidly bow her head, always silent at the corner and will speak when just asked or prompted, or smiling at people whenever they attempt to talk to her that would soon turn into a one-sided conversation.

No, that Lee Hi was nowhere near the Lee Hi sitting too close to him right now.

Was he ecstatic? Yes. Did he conclude that his mind was in overdrive to feel her every move beside him? Yes and yes. Have he asked himself for a few times now if he was dreaming? yes, a million times!

So it made sense, how Hanbin suddenly forgot he was human that was supposed to do human things. Like move or breathe, for example.

Jinhwan, just beside Bobby who was sat in front of the leader, kicked him under the table. When he took note of this, the oldest was shooting him a look of silent embarrassment, even nodding his head towards the singer who was now busy laughing at something Donghyuk said.

Meals were left untouched as the boys' attention were all on Hi. The spoons, forks and chopsticks were down as their eyes looked bigger with adoration for the girl, keeping the lively mood going with their antics and whatnots.

Just a tiny bit of his heart, Hanbin was jealous. Not because they were talking to her, but because of their ability to ease a smooth, flowing conversation when all it does for him with her was to make him tongue-tied.

Who doesn't get tongue-tied when you're in front of the girl of your dreams?

He haven't even moved a muscle. If she looked behind him, for even just a moment, she would still be welcomed with the sight of him frozen over his spot, his chopsticks hovering above his bowl of udon.

If that wasn't the worse enough, some dumb thought it was okay to shift the attention back to Hanbin.

"Yeah, yeah, the song's catchy. As expected from our leader, right? Hi, why don't you say a few words of encouragement for him? He's been like that since you arrived," June said.

Hanbin could feel all eyes on him, making him conscious. Some of the guys looked at him like they were constipated with laughter, and that they were afraid to laugh aloud. Some sighed and turned their heads away to prevent seeing another episode of Kim Hanbin's stupid self.

"Well, uhm... for starters, you're doing great," Hi began as Hanbin forced himself to eat some noodles to make him pretend he was still functioning. "I like how I can easily dance to it in my room. Oh! Congrats on recently concluding your Japan tour, by the way! And Uh... B.I. Jjang!"

Reminding him of the compliment she gave years ago was enough for him to choke on a noddle. It felt different with her saying it on the computer screen than her saying it in real life.

Another cough escaped from his lips as the noodle got stuck on his throat. He could feel it at the edge of his mouth trying to slide down his esophagus.

A strangled cry came from Hanbin as he attempted to force it out, but try as he did, it wouldn't do so. The mirth from some eyes went gone as they looked on with worry.

"Are you okay?" he heard her ask. But as of the moment, he couldn't find it to himself to reply.

Her next action threw him away. She patted him on the back, too harder than he expected it to be. She did it again and again, and Hanbin couldn't do anything but hold his throat, looking as if he wanted to choke himself.

At the moment, he really wanted to choke himself.

After some tries, he managed to get it out of his system, quite embarrassingly.

The noodle projected out of his mouth in one final pat, landing on the space between his bowl and Hi's plate, with some spit on it.

This wasn't going in any way he had planned. Bad boys don't spit. Well, maybe on sidewalks, but not in the dinner table. That's rude.

As if he had a choice either.

There were disgruntled grunts heard and some "Ew," comment from June. Hi then grabbed his tin cup of water. "Here, drink some."

He took it and drank it all in one gulp. She sighed in relief when he did so.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Hanbin halfheartedly nodded.

Hi just then decided to rub salt on the wound as she pushed her plate away, furtively glancing at the noddle beside it and uneasily laughed. "I think I have enough for today."

Needless to say, Hanbin sulked the whole time she was there.

-⭐️🌟⭐️-

"My pride, my ego, my needs, and my selfish ways/caused a good strong woman like you to walk out my life/Now I never, never got to clean up the mess I made/And it haunts me every time I close my eyes..."

"What the is this ?"

Hanbin didn't bother to remove the book he covered his face with since from the crass speaking of the newcomer, he knew it was just Bobby.

The book was rudely lifted off from his face after, welcoming him with the sight of a very annoyed Bobby looking down at him. Hanbin angled his body properly in the chair and sighed.

"What the is this sad , man?" Bobby repeated, his annoyance now seeping in his tone. His gaze shifted from him to Hanbin's computer screen, his brows furrowing. "Are you listening to Bruno Mars?"

"Yeah... and Adele later." Hanbin bitterly chuckled as he remembered something. "Funny... she has been dubbed as Adele at some point, right?"

By the look of Bobby's face, he wanted to strangle the leader but couldn't do so because it was illegal. Instead, he resorted to kick him in the leg.

Funny. Hanbin didn't feel pain. Was he becoming numb? Maybe. Or maybe Bobby's just weak.

"Stop acting like a sad prick and come to our practices! Is this about Hayi? Come on! It's been a week since that happened. For sure Hayi forgot it by now."

"Hayi, huh?" He wistfully smiled. "I'm envious you can call her by her real name. I even call her Hi in my head."

"Get up."

"Try to understand me for a moment, hyung. I'm wallowing in self-pity of a love I lost. I once read that heartbreak can kill a person. I think I'm slowly dying right now, hyung." Hanbin rose from his seat and staggered a little as he regained balance on the floor. "I think – I think I need to see a doctor. They have some specialists for brokenhearted patients, right?"

"I can't believe Jinhwan hyung forced me into this," the foxy-eyes man grumbled under his breath. "We don't have time for your brokenhearted whatever. We have to practice!"

"What practice?" Hanbin patted Bobby on the shoulder. "We've done the routine numerous times already the members can do it in their sleep. We don't have to practice it every chance we get. Are that our only songs?"

Bobby rose a brow. "This is new, coming from you."

"Pain can change a man. I think I'm dying, hyung. Maybe... Maybe you're right. I'll go at the practice room." Bobby almost sighed in relief until Hanbin continued his sentence. "I need to say my goodbyes first. Who knows when will the tendon in my heart break?"

-⭐️🌟⭐️-

The leader's brokenhearted state wasn't a surprise to everyone who knew his not-so-secret affection for a certain soulful singer.

The signs became too clear when Hanbin, the one who always watched practices with eagle-eye accuracy, sulked during rehearsals. It was because the members thought it was best to watch Lee Hi's newly released My Star MV during a break.

It wasn't.

Five seconds in and Hanbin's face already looked glum and pitiful. Imagine what he looked like when the video ended.

Bobby featuring at one of the singer's songs was an issue he didn't take lightly too.

It didn't end between the two friends badly. But rather, annoyingly. Annoyingly for all the members who had to hear him whine and cry all day.

"Why didn't she ask me to feature too, hyung? Why did she only ask Mino hyung and you, hyung? Why, hyung? Am I not desirable? Am I not good of a rapper? Why? Why? Whyyyy?"

It seemed that whenever something happens with Lee Hi, it would make Hanbin spiral out of his equilibrium. Charismatic bad boy Hanbin was no more. Instead, his character would pull a 360 out of nowhere, sending the people around him in shock.

The hair-playing and Adele antics weren't the end of it. At least Hanbin's embarrassment anyway.

To finish the year off, the company decided to hold a YG Family Concert in selected areas in Korea. It was a chance to reunite with the guys and seniors they learned to get acquainted with.

Hanbin's condition got better, having got over with the noodle incident and all. Still, that didn't mean he stopped liking Lee Hi. Just that the accidental meetings at the company building he was secretly causing decreased.

Heaven knows how much he bugged Hi's manager to let him know if the singer was at the company or not.

He wrote some songs about her though. He liked the inspiration.

iKON was waiting for their turn to have a dress rehearsal for the YG Concert. They were going out of the waiting room when Yunhyeong said a name that Hanbin chose not to hear for a few months now. To say the least that it shocked him to the core was an understatement.

"Hey, Lee Hi!"

Hanbin stopped walking, making Chanwoo accidentally collide behind him. Like what happened with the noodle incident, he stood frozen, not looking at her direction. In fear of doing something bad again, he wouldn't dare to.

"Oof! Hey, what gives?" Chanwoo's complain ended there as he saw what made Hanbin halt. "Hello, noona!"

"Hello to you too."
"Nice haircut, by the way! It suits you."
"Thanks!"
"Are you going to rehearsals too, noona?"
"Yeah, I'm on my way out."
"We're going there too. Let's go out together."
"If you want to, then okay."

It all happened so fast that Hanbin couldn't keep track. Maybe it was his brain still processing, or maybe it was her presence itself, but for a moment, he felt like nothing made sense.

"Hanbin?" Jinhwan called as he looked behind, waiting for him. When he refocused his attention, Hanbin realized that the group was already walking away, with Hi in front.

"C – Coming!"

He tried to keep up but before he could do so, he didn't see the numerous wires in front and tripped ungraciously on one. His nose cushioned the fall, although that didn't help ease the pain, both on his heart and whole body.

"Hanbin!"
"Hyung!"

In a second, he could feel hands all over him, trying to make him get up. He did with a groan and felt dizzy all of a sudden.

"Are you okay?" one of his bodyguards asked.

Hanbin didn't answer the bodyguard. When the haze in his mind cleared, he felt as if he was flying. His feet that were supposed to be on the ground were suspended in mid-air.

He then realized he was being carried by the said bodyguard, bridal style.

If that wasn't even the worse, Lee Hi had to be there to see him shed his bad boy image.

"Don't worry; we'll go to the infirmary quick!"

The bodyguard started running, and Hanbin could only hold him around the neck to keep himself stable. Past across his shoulder, he could see Lee Hi and s' figures slowly disappearing from his sight. He didn't look long enough to see what her reaction was like. It would be too hurtful for his pride.

Humiliated, he buried his head on the bodyguard's neck and mumbled softly, "Why do I always look pitiful?"

-⭐️🌟⭐️-

Trouble always followed him whenever he's around her, Hanbin concluded.

All the bad things happened for a reason. That reason was simply, Hanbin's stupidity.

But Hanbin wasn't stupid so he was going to blame fate. Mysterious, magical fate and its uncanny ways to turn bad boy B.I. into clumsy Hanbin.

It hates him, feeds on its fear to become more powerful. Definitely fate.

It seemed that it wasn't done messing him up with the noodles and the wires when his mishaps didn't end there.

For example, Hanbin was eating with some members at the YG cafeteria when someone cracked a joke, making him choke on his water. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, Lee Hi happened to pass by right at that exact moment. That exact moment of liquid spurting out of his mouth and landing on Hi's clothes.

Hanbin rose to his feet and fetched some tissues to wipe it away. He quickly learned then that tissues and sequined dresses weren't a match made in heaven because the tissue managed to rip a part of her dress, exposing a portion of her body.

He gulped as he felt his heart stopped supplying him oxygen. His face never felt so hot until then. Hi and her exposed abdomen... Ssh! Shut up! SHUT UP! Naughty thoughts go away!

The tissue did it!

Yeah, he chose to blame the tissue and not the exaggerated friction he put on wiping it.

Hi was red in the face too, but unlike him, it was purely because of embarrassment.

She turned around too quickly the whish she created in the air seemed to slap him in the face.

Needless to say, he was back on the studio, equipped with Sam Smith playlists this time.

Just the other day, some producers at the studio room he was sharing with informed him that an artist would come by to borrow one of their computers because theirs got broken. Hanbin thought nothing of it until the artist came by and realized that the mentioned artist was none other than Lee Hi herself.

Now this would be an easy task to handle, with Hanbin acting out his primary plan to be all macho in front of her, if he just hadn't had a pimple breakout on that day. It didn't help that the pimples were placed at the most ugliest spots; on the tip of his nose, on his forehead, both sides of his cheeks and on his chin.

So yeah, basically, every part of his face.

He looked so dirty and undressed and so... un-KPOP star-like.

Bad boys aren't scared of pimples. Pimples are scared of bad boys.

But this bad boy seemed to have troubles with said enemy.

Nowadays, he wouldn't care a damn about his appearance and would just visit the dermatologist after a studio session, but this was the girl of his dreams he was talking about. He always, always made sure to look good around her, even if he always does humiliating things. At least he looked good doing it.

Come to think of it, proclaiming that part wasn't making him feel good either.

So a man gotta do what a man gotta do.

He was thankful that the workplace Lee Hi chose was opposite of his so he had the freedom to pop his pimples away.

To say that it failed in the worst manner possible was the understatement of the year.

The popped pimples stung so much that he had to bite his tongue to keep him from screaming his head off. He could feel the pus trickling down his face and in that exact moment, he heard Hi's voice saying, "Uhm... B.I.? Sorry to disturb you but how do I mesh two tracks in this software together? I'm using a different one."

Hanbin had the urge to knock himself cold to prevent interactions with his state but not replying was also rude so he covered his face with both of his hands, even though he didn't even turn his chair around.

"I'm sorry, what?" came his muffled voice.

"I'm trying to combine these, but the buttons confuse me. Can you help me?"

He nodded, still with his back turned to her.

"Just click the interlapping arrows at the panel menu."

Some clicking were heard. "Like here – Oh, that's the wrong one... Let's see... that doesn't work out too... Uh... I'm sorry but can you come here for a second? I really need to finish this one."

The inevitable had to happen. It was his fate.

Curse his pimples.

Tightly securing the hands on his face, he swiveled his chair around, ignoring her curious look with him being weird and went behind hers. With a nod, he pointed at the button she was looking for.

"There, at the topmost corner, the blue one."

She hovered the mouse pointer at the icon beside it and for a moment, Hanbin had an itching urge to use the mouse to click it himself. But he didn't dare to. Not when he had something to hide.

"No, not that one. The one on the right."

"Here?" she indicated as she clicked the right one, but it only messed the tracks up, cutting the overlapping ones to form one straight, garbled up track. Then the song rendered all of a sudden. "What happened?"

Oh, Hanbin knew. But if he said he knew how to fix it, he'd have to instruct her series of complicated processes through his words if he chose to keep his pride with his hands on his face.

"Uhm... J - Just give me a minute. I'll go at the washroom."

In an instant, he shot out of his seat and was beelining for the door when her hushed voice stopped him on his tracks.

"Hanbin, why do you always seem mad at me? Did I do something wrong?"

He felt his heart dropping at that second, his stomach lurching after. Why... why would she feel like that?

But then, was he in the condition to answer? With pus running down on his face?

Fate came to hold a helping hand as the glass door opened abruptly, hitting Hanbin on the face. He doubled back in pain.

", sorry!"

When he looked up, he saw it was one of the producers. Remembering about Hi's problem with the tracks, he said in a spur, "Hyung, help Lee Hi with her track. The software bugged. I need to go!"

And just like that, he managed to run away. For now.

When he came back, his face full of band-aids, Lee Hi was gone.

Hanbin went back to his workplace and sighed. He felt his chest heavy as her last words seemed to echo in his mind.

She didn't do anything wrong. In fact, he was the one doing everything wrong.

Did he just make her feel worse?

He wanted to cry. Why would she feel like that?

Feeling demotivated all of a sudden, he minimized the song he was working on his computer and opened his never-ending Adele playlists.

As the first few chords of Someone Like You played softly in the background, he folded his arms on top of the table to use it as a pillow.

Stupid, stupid Hanbin...

When will the series of bad luck end?

-to be continued-

note: Just so you know, if you don't already know, B.I. has an existing playlist on Spotify. I'm surprised how the B.I. I wrote suited the B.I. who created that playlist.

Bling bling baby! Next update on Saturday!