Due to some technical problems with the filming equipment, Taeyong’s individual content recording ended later than expected. He actually wanted to get off work as soon as possible so he could drive Hyeyoon to where she lived. But by the time he finished working, he knew it was too late and she had already gone home.

Taeyong made it quite obvious that he was upset. His dorm mates at the fifth floor waited for him to get home so they could all eat dinner together. But, he barely touched his food causing the others to worry if he also had an upset stomach like Jaehyun. However, Doyoung knew the real reason why his best friend was behaving that way. The younger member was starting to get annoyed but he kept his mouth shut.

The next day, they had to film twice as many videos to make up for what they should have completed on Monday. The schedule was very hectic and the guys were already tired from yesterday’s shoot. But, they didn’t show any hint of it at all and gave their best. Mainly because they didn’t want Jaehyun to think like it’s his fault that they’re exhausted and behind schedule.

Meanwhile, Jaehyun was distracted all day long. He couldn’t stop thinking about Hyeyoon. He wanted to see her again today but he knew they would be at the company until the evening. Jungwoo could tell Jaehyun was unfocused. His roommate wasn’t talking much or reacting often to the other members’ antics during recording. He wondered what was bothering his hyung. He wanted to ask but decided to just drop it. He guessed Jaehyun must be tired and not himself after being sick.

On the other hand, Doyoung was getting more annoyed at Taeyong that he failed to see how Jaehyun was so distracted. He could tell their leader was anxious to get their job done quickly. During their afternoon shoot Taeyong would constantly check the time. But by 4pm, he could see they wouldn’t finish early and gave up his anticipation of driving Hyeyoon to her home.

Wednesday was the same. They were too busy to end on time so they couldn’t catch Hyeyoon at their dorm. By Thursday, Johnny, Yuta, Taeil and Jungwoo were able to notice the annoyance of Doyoung towards their leader, Taeyong’s antsy behavior in the afternoons, and the unusual quietness of Jaehyun. The four guys all thought of different explanations why the said three were acting peculiar but they altogether didn’t know the answer.

Haechan missed seeing her too but he didn’t let it show. Out of all of them, Mark was the only one truly unbothered and oblivious. He went about his usual bright self and didn’t sense at all what was happening in their group.

 

 

 

Amazingly, Thursday’s filming ended early. Taeyong was cheerful and was humming on their ride home. Doyoung didn’t know why but this irritated him even more. He hated that Taeyong would be able to drive Hyeyoon home today. He crossed his arms across his chest and looked out the window with his ear pods on, blasting music to drown out Taeyong’s humming and his own irritation.

Jaehyun has regained his focus today. He was a lot more present during their shoot. In the van going home, he could immediately see Doyoung’s anger, Taeyong’s very cheerful mood, and Haechan’s excitement to get home. Unlike the others, Jaehyun knew why everyone was being like this. A simple unaware girl, with beautiful but sad looking eyes and the prettiest smile was the answer.

Haechan got out of the van first and practically ran to the elevators with Taeyong right on his heels. The two were so outwardly excited to get home that Doyoung couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes at them. He got out of the van last. Just like them, he was also looking forward to seeing Hyeyoon. But, knowing that their youngest member and his best friend were his strong competitors made him irate.

They all got into the elevators and arrived at the fifth floor apartment. Only Johnny and Ingyu got off at the fifth floor even though Taeyong, Haechan and Doyoung also lived there.

“Why aren’t you getting off?” Johnny asked them.

“I want to see Hyeyoon noona! I know she’s at the tenth floor working,” Haechan answers.

“I left something at Taeil and Yuta’s bedroom,” Doyoung lies.

“Huh? What did you leave there?” Yuta asked but Doyoung pretended he didn’t hear him.

“I want to ask Hyeyoon if she needed a ride to her home, I want to drive her there,” Taeyong answered to everyone’s shock.

Everyone’s eyes were on their leader. Doyoung couldn’t believe Taeyong was being so blatant. Haechan’s mouth was dramatically open. Jaehyun was quiet but he was jealous. Nobody said anything so they just allowed the elevator to head up to the tenth floor. Johnny and Ingyu were left alone in the fifth floor hallway, not believing what Taeyong just said.

“Did I just hear that correctly, hyung?” Johnny asked their manager.

“Yeah…” Ingyu answered apprehensively.

As their manager, he was supposed to monitor everyone’s activities. Most of the time, the boys asked for his consent whenever they wanted to go out. However, Taeyong usually didn’t ask for their manager’s permission since he trusted him as the group’s leader.

Ingyu knew bad rumors could start if anyone saw Taeyong driving a girl home from their dorm. There are some sasaengs that stay outside their condominium building that might happen to spot Taeyong. But, he had faith in Taeyong’s sense of responsibility.

I guess I’ll just let him do that, Ingyu thought to himself.

There was an awkward silence in the elevator, something that rarely happens to the group. Jaehyun kind of admired Taeyong’s guts but was still jealous. While Taeil, Yuta, Jungwoo and Mark were just dumbfounded by what their leader said. Is Taeyong trying to date Hyeyoon? They four of them thought.

Haechan didn’t know why but he felt so betrayed. He couldn’t believe their leader had also fallen for Hyeyoon. He knew his Doyoung hyung secretly liked her but he didn’t expect that Taeyong hyung would also be the same!

They arrived at the right floor and walked inside the apartment. They could all hear sound of the washing machine running as they entered their dorm. Haechan walked past everyone else and went to the utility room.

“Noona! I missed you!” Haechan shouted as soon as he saw Hyeyoon.

“Oh! Haechan!” Hyeyoon was startled at Haechan’s sudden appearance in the room. The door was wide open but it would have been nice if he knocked to make his presence known, just like what Jaehyun did last Monday.

“You’re home early,” she added.

“Yes, we ended filming early today!” Haechan says happily.

Haechan eyed the pile of freshly washed clothes that needed to be folded, “noona, do you want me to help you with those?”

“No, you don’t have to Haechan. You should rest,” she says.

Taeyong suddenly appeared at the open doorway. “Hi Hyeyoon,” he greets her with a smile.

“Hello Mr. Taeyong,” she greets him back. Taeyong was a bit disappointed she didn’t call him oppa.

“Are you done with work? Let me drive you home,” he tells her.

“I’m almost done but you don’t have to do that…”

There was a short but uncomfortable silence. Haechan respected Taeyong a lot but he couldn’t stop himself from glaring at his hyung. He could tell Hyeyoon wasn’t comfortable with Taeyong’s offer.

“Oh, I’m sorry...” Taeyong was confused and a bit hurt from her reaction.

“No! It’s just…” Hyeyoon didn’t know what to say. The truth is; she’s been thinking a lot over the past few days. She thought that if she was really true to her belief of keeping a distance with the men she worked for then she had to decline any of their offers that didn’t involve work.

“It’s okay Hyeyoon,” Taeyong tells her. He gives her a small smile before he leaves her and Haechan alone in the small room.

Haechan knew it wasn’t the right moment for him to make his move on Hyeyoon so he leaves her after telling her she can call him if she needed any help. She nods at Haechan and watched him go. She kind of felt guilty for turning Taeyong down.

But, she had to do that if she wanted to guard her heart. He was starting to become closer to her which would lead her feelings for him to grow. Hyeyoon had to put a stop to them before they become real permanent ones. She knew she had no chance for anything to happen between her and Taeyong, or any of the guys in NCT 127. She’d just end up hurt.

Doyoung saw Taeyong going out of the utility room looking downcast, followed by a Haechan who looked like he was having an inner battle with himself. Doyoung was wondering what happened, "did Hyeyoon reject Taeyong's offer to drive her home?" he thoughts to himself. This made him pleased that Taeyong mights have gotten rejected but he had to pretend that he needed to get something from Taeil and Yuta’s room.

Taeil was seated in the living room with Yuta and Jaehyun. Haechan and Taeyong already went back to their own dorm downstairs. Mark was in the bathroom while Jungwoo was searching the kitchen for snacks.

The three guys in the sofa watched Doyoung walk in and out of the bedroom with amused looks. They knew he didn’t really leave anything behind. Doyoung rarely comes up to the tenth floor because he thinks the tenth floor dorm is disgusting. The guys admit they weren’t the cleanest, especially compared to their neat freak leader Taeyong and other neat nagger Doyoung, but their dorm is definitely not disgusting.

“Did you get what you left behind?” Yuta asked Doyoung.

“Oh? Um, yeah… I got it,” Doyoung says putting his hands in his pockets. He paces around the room then takes a seat between Taeil and Yuta. He plays with his phone, ignoring the inquiring looks he got from the two. He is determined to see Hyeyoon.

A couple of minutes later, Hyeyoon comes out of the laundry room with her bag in hand. She was done for the day and was about to leave for home. She spots all of them hanging out in the living room on their phones.

“Hello everyone, I’m going home now,” Hyeyoon says bowing.

Jaehyun looks up from his phone. He felt his heart skip a beat as soon as they make eye contact. Just seeing her made him instantly so happy that he forgot about the jealousy he felt because of Taeyong.

“Thank you for your hard work today Ms. Han, I hope you’re not too tired” he tells her with a smile.

Hyeyoon smiles back at Jaehyun, feeling warm all over from his dimpled smile. He’s another one that she needs to guard her heart from. After spending Monday afternoon with him, she’s been constantly thinking about him and how caring he is. Even just now, telling her he hopes she’s not too tired puts butterflies in her stomach. He looks healthier today than the last time they were together which makes her glad.

“Yes, thank you Ms. Han! It’s been a while since we last saw you,” Doyoung says.

Taeil gets up, “wait a minute Ms. Han!” He disappears in to the kitchen and comes back with a paper bag. “I got some snacks for myself the other day and I bought some for you and Ms. Hyerim” he says handing it to her.

“Who’s Ms. Hyerim?” Jungwoo says following Taeil out of the kitchen with a bag of chips in hand. He sees Hyeyoon and bows to greet her. She bows in return.

None of the guys who were present, except Jaehyun, knew about Taeil and Hyeyoon’s older sister.

“Ms. Hyerim is Ms. Han’s older sister,” Taeil explains.

“Taeil hyung likes her,” Jaehyun adds which makes Taeil blush.

Taeil scratches his head, feeling shy. The guys don’t really hide anything from each other so he tells them, “yeah, I do like her. I even got a date with her tomorrow night…”

“A date with Ms. Han’s unnie?” Jungwoo repeats in awe and disbelief. I never knew Taeil hyung was this good with the ladies, Jungwoo thought.

“Really? When did you meet her?” Yuta asks. He was kind of wounded Taeil didn’t share this information with him. They were roommates but he understands maybe Taeil just wanted a bit of privacy when it came to his dating life.

“We happened to run to each other at a restaurant in Itaewon last Saturday,” Hyeyoon responds. “Thank you Mr. Taeil. Hyerim unnie will appreciate this,” she bows to him and starts walking to the door.

“Let me come with you Hyeyoon, I’m also taking the elevator,” Doyoung gets up and follows her.

“Bye Ms. Han!” the other guys collectively bid her goodbye before she left.

“I can’t believe you didn’t share that to me hyung!” Yuta says accusingly. He turns to face his hyung and narrows his eyes at him, feigning anger.

“Share what? The snacks?” Taeil asked.

“No! That you landed a date with Ms. Han’s sister!”

“Oh… sorry… I was going to tell you but when I got home that night you were already asleep and then Jaehyun got sick and we were so busy with filming…”

“Nah I’m just messing with you hyung! If you want to keep your dating life private, I totally understand,” Yuta puts his arm on Taeil’s shoulder laughing.

Mark comes out of the bathroom, “what did I miss?”

 

 

 

“Is the paper bag heavy Hyeyoon? Let me carry it for you,” Doyoung gets it from her. It was actually very light.

They were side by side in the elevator. Doyoung noticed Hyeyoon seemed to have a lot in her mind. He wanted to take this opportunity to become closer to her so he talks to her about her unnie, “I didn’t know you had an older sister.”

He saw the way Hyeyoon’s eye lit up at the mention of her sister. She smiles and answers “her name’s Hyerim.”

“She must be just as pretty as you.”

“We look nothing alike, she’s way prettier than me,” Hyeyoon says laughing.

The elevator doors open to the fifth floor but Doyoung doesn’t get off, “let me accompany you until the lobby, if that’s okay with you?”

She would have declined but she didn’t want to feel the same guilt she felt when she said no to Taeyong so she nods in agreement. She figures it must be alright for him to walk her until the lobby; it wasn’t much compared to getting driven home. 

“Do you live with your sister and your family here in Seoul?”

“Just my sister, my mom is in my hometown.”

Doyoung wanted to know more about her. He was very curious why she lives with her sister and why she only mentioned her mom and not her parents. But, it was a private matter that Hyeyoon should open up on her own.

“Ah I see… I have an older sibling too, he’s Gongmyung. Maybe you’ve heard of him?”

“Gongmyung? I don’t know anyone named that way, sorry.”

“He’s an actor,” Doyoung says laughing, he felt slightly embarrassed for seeming to think everyone knows his hyung.

She could tell Doyoung was proud of his actor brother. She relates well to the feeling of admiration for your older sibling, this makes her smile wider at him. Hyeyoon’s always looked up to how smart and hardworking Hyerim was.

“Really? That’s amazing, talent certainly runs in your family,” she complements him.

“Haha thank you…” Doyoung was dying from happiness being able to talk Hyeyoon like this. There was an easy atmosphere between the two of them which delights him.

“Do you have a good relationship with your unnie?”

“Yes, how about you? Do two brothers get along well?” Hyeyoon asks, genuinely curious.

“We do, I’m actually going out with my hyung tomorrow,” Doyoung was excited. He and Gongmyung had no schedules tomorrow so they planned to spend the day together. It’s been a while since they last hanged out.

“I might even buy a new Galaxy phone and switch from Apple because of my brother’s influence,” Doyoung joked.

Hyeyoon was pleased to know Doyoung and his brother got along well, “it’s nice when you’re close with your sibling, it’s like having a best friend for life.”

“I absolutely agree,” Doyoung says beaming at her.

They were in the ground floor now and were walking towards the exit.

“It was nice talking to you Hyeyoon,” he returns the bag full of snacks into her hands.

She smiles and bows to him, “goodbye Mr. Doyoung.”

“Bye Hyeyoon, be careful on your way home.”

They both wave goodbye and she walks out the doors. He still hasn’t heard her say oppa to him but he’s not disappointed. He was thrilled that he got to be with her like that today.

“I like you a lot Hyeyoon…” he whispers, watching her walking away until he could no longer see her.