Nikka: Are we still on for today?

You: Yeah. Are we meeting at the café?

Nikka: Yes, darling *winking face*

You: I'll be a bit late. Just getting ready npw

You: *now

Nikka: Okie *smiley face* can't wait to meet up!

You: Same! See ya later

Nikka: *blows a kiss*

I closed my phone and quickly got dressed. It had been a few weeks since I had met BTS and the EXO members had been very busy rehearsing for the upcoming Gayo Daejun Concert. It was a concert where many K-pop artists performed and, of course, BTS was also attending. It was the same concert I was meant to attend as the original interviewer for BTS.

I sighed as I saw my reflection in the mirror. My hair was being disobedient today which was why it was taking me longer than usual to get dressed. Frustrated, I decided to put my hair up in a ponytail with the scrunchie that Xiumin gave me.

"Nikka wouldn't mind," I told myself. I quickly grabbed my side bag and left the dorm.

Today I was meeting with Nikka to go around Seoul. It was one of the rarest times I was able to go sight-seeing with Nikka and I was looking forward to it. After all, after the interview, Nikka was scheduled to return to the UK. It would be another ten months until I see him again.

Yesterday, I had informed Suho that I was going to be spending my day-off with a friend. The EXO members also had a few days off to rest before the upcoming concert. Many of them had gone home to visit their families.

"As long as you tell Xiumin-hyung or Chen or Baekhyun before you leave then, it's fine" Suho had told me.

"They aren't going home?" I asked surprised. I knew that EXO rarely had days off.

Suho shrugged. "They probably want to rest at the dorm. But, that should be better. At least you won't be alone for the few days we're gone."

I stood up from the seat on the bus shelter as I heard the rumble of the bus approaching. It was chilly but the sun was out: it was a good omen.

"Let's just have fun today!" I told myself, as I hopped on the bus to meet Nikka.

~*~

Xiumin was sleeping when Chen walked into their room. He peered at Xiumin's sleeping face: he looked like a cute boazi.

"Hyung" he called him, gently nudging his side.

Xiumin stirred from underneath his blanket.

"Hyung" Chen called to him again. This time, he shook him a little harder. He even dared to poke his face.

Xiumin's eyes fluttered open and he frowned at Chen. "Don't. Touch. The. Face" he grumbled. Chen took a few steps back. He had forgotten that Xiumin hated it when people touched his face.

"Sorry, sorry!" he uttered as he backed away slowly while Xiumin sat up.

"What is it, Chen?" he grumbled sleepily.

Chen kept his distance. "I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere today."

Xiumin's frown deepened. "You woke me up just to ask me that?"

Chen nodded. "Yeah. Baekhyun and I are bored. We're thinking of going out to get some fresh air, wanna come?"

Xiumin threw his blanket over his face. "No."

Chen grabbed hold of the corner of his blanket and yanked it. "C'mon. It's rare that we get a day off! Let's go and do something fun."

Xiumin hugged his body tightly to preserve the warmth. "Go away, Chen. I want to sleep" he said as he took hold of the blanket again.

Chen pursed his lips. He knew that Xiumin hardly went out during his days off and he wanted him to fix that habit. He thought for a moment and smiled slyly as he came up with an idea. "You know, Nami-ah has gone out for the day."

Chen watched as the mountain on the bed, that was Xiumin, fidgeted. His grin grew wider. "She just left a few minutes ago. She told me that she's meeting up with a friend."

Xiumin reluctantly peeped out from the blanket. "So what? She's meeting up with a friend. What's so strange about that?"

Chen maintained his smile. "Apparently," he said in a teasing tone, "her friend is a guy."

At this, Xiumin threw the blanket away from his face. "What? A guy?"

Chen nodded, amused at Xiumin's reaction. "Maybe it's her boyfriend?" he teased further.

Xiumin's face grew dark and Chen chuckled. He continued, "I heard that she'll be hanging around the main town area and that she's meeting up with him in a café. They're going sight-seeing together."

"Sight-seeing?" Xiumin repeated.

Chen nodded. "She said her friend was visiting Seoul for the first time." He couldn't help himself and added, "I guess you can call it a date."

At this, Chen succeeded in getting Xiumin out of his bed. Chen grinned, "So, do you want to come out with us today? Baekhyun and I were thinking of hanging around that area of town."

Xiumin pulled on his jeans and grabbed his black jacket. He headed straight for the door before turning around. "What are you waiting for? Let's go already."

Chen smirked. Operation: Cupid's Arrow is a go!

~*~

I watched as Nikka sipped his coffee from across me with a wide grin forming on his face. "So I have a lot to update you on back at the office," he said enthusiastically.

I put the cup of tea in my hand down, "New gossip?" I asked with equal enthusiasm, "spill it."

Nikka did so gladly. "So Hyemi's finally gone back to work and she's absolutely livid that you're here in Seoul and she's stuck doing editing for Richard."

I scoffed, "It's not like I had any choice in the matter." Thinking about Hyemi made me annoyed as I remembered how I ended up going undercover. "It was her fault for breaking her damn leg in the first place."

Nikka chuckled, "True, true. But when I get back, I'll be assigned to work with her on editing." He sighed as he pouted at me. "Work's no fun without you, Mirei. I miss our impromptu coffee dates and secret codes."

I grin at him sneakily, "Fact-checking in the archives?"

He grinned back, "Yes, fact-checking in the archives."

We grinned at each other knowing full well that 'fact-checking in the archives' didn't literally mean what was said. It was our secret code for leaving the office building, during working hours, to go and have a coffee at the Starbucks across the road. We did it at least four times a week and had never got caught.

"I miss that too," I told him, "What would I ever do without you, Nikka? It's so hard being so far away from my best friend."

Nikka's eyes flickered slightly and then he gave me a small smile. "You can do it, Mirei. Just ten months more to go and you'll be back home again. How do the locals say it here?" He thought for a moment and then balled both his hands into fists as he said, "Fighting!" in a cute but cringey way.

I almost spat the tea out of my mouth as I laughed. "Oh my God, Nikka! Since when did you learn to do that?"

He winked. "I've been watching too many K-dramas lately."

I was astounded. Nikka wasn't one for K-culture in general so it was weird hearing those words come out of his mouth. I'd always thought he was more into western shows like 'Game of Thrones' and 'House of Cards'.

"Speaking of which" I started, "what do you think about Seoul so far? You've been here for a few weeks now."

Nikka responded, "The people have been nice but I wish they would stop gawking at me!" He furrowed his brow, "like when I went into a supermarket one day, this old lady was blatantly staring at me like this," he opened his mouth and widened his eyes in an exaggerated manner and I giggled. He continued, "and she started saying something but I have no idea what."

"They're probably just curious about you" I reassured him. "It's rare for them to see your type of Asian here."

"It's because I'm brown, isn't it?" he retorted, faking offence.

I gave him a small smile. "Yeah, it probably is."

"But what about you? Do they treat you any differently?" He reached out his hand so that both our hands were next to each other. "You're just a few shades lighter than me."

"I get a few stares" I admitted, "but it's not too bad."

Nikka looked like he was about to say something when his phone suddenly started vibrating. He glanced at it and his jovial expression dropped.

"What's the matter?" I asked him.

He sighed as he unlocked his phone to respond to the text message. "It's my supervisor, here in Seoul" he explained while typing, "he says that he needs me to come into work today. There's an emergency at the office."

"Today?" I repeated, my earlier enthusiasm ebbing away, "but today's your day off!"

"I know" Nikka mumbled. He was frowning at his phone, "but it looks like it's really urgent." He looked apologetically at me, "I'm sorry, Mirei, but I have to leave."

I was devastated but I tried not to show it. "It's okay. I understand."

"I'm really sorry," he said again as he started putting on his coat. "Maybe we can re-schedule?" But we both knew that today was the only d