Nako continues to stare at the ceiling of her room for a pass few minutes from her bed. The young girl had been doing nothing but stare blankly at the ceiling ever since she ended a phone call with Hitomi.

Nako's mind instantly went back to the conversation she had with her friend earlier.

"Eh~? You guys still want to continue practice~?" Nako whined through her phone, her lips automatically formed a pout.

"Sorry, Nako-chan!" Hitomi apologized from the other side of the phone call.

"As much as I'd like to go home now, I can't. Everyone seems to be on edge right now since the competition is just around the corner..." she explained. Nako rolled over from her bed until she was laying down on her stomach.

"Awww, but we were supposed to go to that ice-cream shop today~" Nako continues to whine even though she knew no matter how much she did that, Hitomi's cheer-leading friends won't let her go that easily.

"I'm really sorry, Nako-chan. We can go there next weekend if you want to!" the young girl from the other side tried to cheer Nako up, and she appreciated that thought. Smiling to herself, she reassured her friend that she didn't mind.

"It's fine, Hii-chan. It can't be helped right?" the exchanged a few talks before ending the call, not before encouraging her friend with her practice.

"Now what? I'm already dressed up," the young girl said to herself. Seconds passed by and Nako decided to just roam around the apartment until she had a better plan. Might as well kill some time. Grabbing her small sling bag, she got out of her room, locking it afterward.

Surprisingly, at the same time she clicked her door shut, she heard the sound of a door swinging open right behind her. Turning around, she faced a very familiar person.

"Ah, Jihoon-sshi!"Nako greeted. Jihoon, or known around as Woozi by some of the residents in the apartment, bowed down slightly as he was greeted by her.

"Oh... Good morning, Nako..." he greeted her. Nako laughed at him.

"It's already afternoon. Did you even look at the time?" she asked, tilting her body to the side as she looked at him with a questioning look. Woozi looked slightly perplexed but then mumbled to himself.

"Ah, is that right...? Must have been too occupied with my work..." he said.

"Geez, did you locked yourself up again? I know you liked composing music and all of that but sometimes, it's better to just stop and take a break," she said, crossing her arms across her chest. Woozi looked at her with one eyebrow raised, which Nako took notice of it.

"What? I'm just saying what is right to do."

"I never said you were wrong about it. And trust me, I am planning to take a break..." he shuts his door without breaking eye contact with her. "...right now."

The young man left his spot, leaving the young girl behind as she shrugged her shoulders before following him from behind. Both of them entered the elevator and got off together at the ground floor. Surprisingly, Woozi didn't even question her why she was following him. It was as if he was ignoring her existence and minded his own business. Nako diligently followed him from behind and once they stepped out of their apartment, only then she spoke up.

"So, where are you going?" she asked, starting up a conversation.

"The convenience store," he answered flat out.

"Oh, are you going to buy something?"

"Energy drinks."

"Again??" she asked, not even covering up the surprised tone in her voice. Woozi hummed in response.

After a few walks away, the convenience store appeared in their sight. It has become a common stop for everyone from the apartment to come by and stock up on food or snacks due to its close distance. Their constant visit had become so common that even the manager and the staffs working at the store immediately familiarized with them.

"Welcome to 24/7!" a highly spirited voice greeted them from the counter. Nako looked over at the counter and smiled at a familiar friendly face.

"Mr. Kwang~!"

"Oh, if it isn't little Nako! Welcome, welcome!" a man around his mid-30s waved his hand at the young girl as Nako skipped towards the counter and smiled.

"How's your day, little one?" Mr. Kwang asked leaning forward from his counter.

"Just fine. I had other plans but something came up and it had to be canceled last minute," she explained and the man gave her a sympathized look.

"Well, that's a shame." Nako hummed in agreement.

"Well, don't worry. There's always next time." Mr. Kwang petted her head affectionately. Nako smiled warmly at the man. Ever since she moved to Korea, Mr. Kwang had become somewhat a father figure to her. Back when she first arrived in Korea, she was afraid people would treat her differently due to her nationality. But not Mr. Kwang. He accepted her and welcomed her with open arms, even when they had just met.

"So, what made you stop by here? As far as I remembered, you came here two days ago to stock up some ramen," the man pondered out loud before he eyed her suspiciously.

"Don't tell me you've finished eating all 10 cups of ramen already?"

"What~? Of course not! I can't eat that much in such a short amount of time!" Nako pouted and the man wholeheartedly laughed at her.

"I thought so! Unlike that Hyewon lady, you're not exactly a big eater like her," he looked at her with a warm smile. "Well, it's good you're not eating ramen all the time. It's better to cook something healthy and fresh once in a while too. Gotta keep the body strong!"

Nako nodded her head in agreement. Thankfully, she's good at cooking. Preparing a healthy meal was not a big problem for her. Plus, she's still growing and she's not going to let up the chance to grow big and healthy.

At the same time Nako and Mr. Kwang had finished talking, Woozi appeared and placed 10 energy drinks on the counter.

"What-" Nako was found speechless at the number of drinks Woozi had brought and looked at him with wide eyes. Even Mr. Kwang had a surprised look on his face before he lets out a sigh.

"And here's another one I should be worried about. You do know that drinking energy drinks isn't going to help freshen you up properly, right Jihoon?" Nevertheless, Mr. Kwang took the drinks and scanned the items, placing them into a plastic bag in a swift movement. Woozi hummed as he took out his wallet to pay his drinks.

True to what the man said, instead of looking fresh or energized, he looked worse than the last time Nako saw him. It made her wonder if he's even taking proper meals.

"That all will be 3500 Won." Woozi paid the drinks and mumbled out a thank you before he left the store at a fast pace. Nako quickly chased after the young man, not before bowing down and saying goodbye to Mr. Kwang.

"Goodbye, Mr. Kwang!I'll stop by in case I need to stock up on other things!" and she quickly darted out of the store.

"Looking forward to your next visit, little one!" He waved at her from inside the store as Nako ran past it. Due to her small figure, she quickly caught up to Woozi – who almost reach the apartment ground.

"Wait up~!" she called out to him. By the time she reached him, they have already stepped within the apartment's courtyard. Woozi continues to walk, not even sparing a glance at her. Nako fastens her pace to catch up with his figure until they reached the elevator. While they were waiting for the door to open up, Nako took the chance to catch her breath.

"You okay..?" she heard him asking. Turning her head to the side, she saw him looking at her with a questioning look.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," she answered and stood straight up. As if on cue, the elevator let out a soft sound of a bell and opened the door to them. As they walked inside, Woozi pressed the 7th-floor button before the door finally closed, bringing them up to their floor. As they waited, silence envelopes them – making the atmosphere somewhat heavy.

Nako never liked awkward silence. It makes her fidgety. So, the next thing she did, was bringing up a conversation.

"So, you brought more energy drinks again."

"Mhmm..."

"I'm sorry for being nosy but, have you been eating well, Jihoon-sshi?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as she looked at him. The young man let out a sigh before turning his head to face her.

"As far as I know, yes, I have been eating well..."

"Oh, that's good. So, what do you usually eat?" she asked. This time, Woozi took his time to answer her question.

"Burgers..." he answered afterward, earning a questioning look from the young girl beside him. Nako mouthed an okay silently before questioning the young man once more.

"Other than burgers?"

"Delivery foods..."

Nako just gawked at the young man in disbelief. How is that even considered eating well? No wonder he looked paler than before.

The elevator notified them with its' soft bell sound that they have arrived their designated floor and slowly opened its' doors to them. Woozi quickly stepped out of the elevator followed by Nako.

"Jihoon-sshi, don't you ever cook for once?" she asked, catching up to him as they reached the hallway that leads to their respective rooms. Woozi let out a sigh before turning around to face her.

"Didn't have the time," he answered before opening the door and entered his room. Before Nako could even say anything, Woozi has shut the door, leaving Nako out in the hallway. A few moments later, Nako decided to enter her room. Unconsciously, she began pacing around in her room.

She knew it's not her business to meddle with his life but something about his lifestyle bothered her and she couldn't sit still doing nothing about it. She stopped her pacing and looked at her kitchen area. She walked up to her fridge and looked inside. A smile soon etched itself on her lips as she placed both her hands on her hips.

"Well, you may not have the time Jihoon-sshi, but I sure have some free time to spare for you~"