"Apparently she has a boyfriend," one of the girls mused, her tone suggesting that she believed this was the furthest from the truth a rumor could possibly get. Her friends all nodded in agreement, amongst a chorus of "hmms" and "aaahs" that suggested an equal belief. All pairs of eyes turned to bore holes in the back of Ahri's skull as she finished packing her things and swung the backpack over her shoulders. It didn't come as any surprise that her co-workers didn't approve of Ahri having a relationship- especially since none of them had anything remotely close to a boyfriend- as they didn't even approve of her existence.

And frankly, she didn't care.

Biting down on her bottom lip to keep any of her annoyances from coming out, Ahri turned to face the gossiping girls- who all quickly pretended to be busy cleaning- and bobbed a quick ninety degree bow. At least you could say she was polite, if not friendly. Hard working, too, if you talked to her boss. He was the only person around here who seemed to have any sort of respect for her, but even he hesitated to fire the girls because of their status as "my best friend from school's daughter and her friends".

"Off to meet your boyfriend?" The current manager on duty, a kid who was only a few years older than Ahri but a whole lot less mature, asked as he leaned over the counter to chat with Ahri before she left the convenience store.

"You've got it," Ahri responded, pulling her hair out of the tight ponytail it had been confined in for the past three hours and allowing some circulation back into her scalp.

"Think we'll ever get to meet him?" the manager continued, casually reaching across the counter and picking off a loose strand of hair from Ahri's jacket. As he did so the sleeve slipped off her shoulder and revealed the tag inside, which had a hastily scrawled name written on it. That name was definitely not Moon Ahri. "Bang-" he cut off as Ahri quickly replaced the sleeve and removed the tag from sight. "Oh come on! What if we promised to give him free coupons? Think that could lure him here for a quick peek?"

Ahri pretended to contemplate this offer before letting out a low sigh and shaking her head. "No. He isn't cheap like you... and me. If you're handing out coupons I'd be glad to take a few," she jokingly stuck her hand out over the counter, holding it open wide as she "expectantly" waited. Surprisingly, the manager actually pulled a few coupons out from under the counter and placed them in the palm of her hand. Blinking, Ahri stared down at the slips of paper that had unexpectedly arrived in her possession.

Chuckling, the manager reached over and mussed her hair. "Don't act so surprised. Hard working employees should be rewarded, right?" he told her honestly, watching as Ahri quickly put her hair back in order. "Even if it just because they're cheap," he teased, earning a dark- but playful- glare from Ahri.

Rather than responding with a witty remark Ahri chose to continue the conversation in another direction as she started to walk out of the store. Mostly because she didn't actually have a witty remark. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?" she asked, hesitating just long enough at the convenience store's door to hear his response.

"Nope, I'm off tomorrow. My girlfriend insisted I take her out for dinner for our anniversary," he chuckled, obviously excited about the event despite trying to act like he found it troublesome. "And unlike you, my girlfriend actually has a face. And name. And just exists in general," he added, getting in one final jab before Ahri left.

Rolling her eyes, Ahri waved goodbye and let the door swing shut behind her as she stepped out into the cool night air. Pulling the collar of Yong Guk's jacket more tightly around her chin, Ahri expelled a thin cloud of steam from and started hurrying down the sidewalk. She hated having to walk alone at night, even though she had been doing it for a while now. Ever since her mother died she had been living on her own, meaning lots of trips through the dark without someone by her side.

"Not tonight, though," Ahri thought, a small smile appearing on her lips as she remembered the promise Yong Guk had made to her. Even the cold night air could no longer chill her as she was suddenly filled with a cheery warmth that eagerly combated the darkness around her. With the anticipation causing Ahri to pick up the pace, she found herself already having arrived at the meeting place five minutes early. Add on the fact that Yong Guk, with his busy schedule, was usually late and she could expect a ten to fifteen minute wait.

A little of her previous anticipation dissipated, but Ahri forced herself to remain positive as she leaned against one of the many lamp posts that had been periodically placed alongside the road, spilling out yellow light in a small circle around the post. Pulling out her phone, Ahri flipped it open to read Yong Guk's text message for the tenth time that day. Thus, as she absorbed herself in fantasies of her walk home with Yong Guk, she became oblivious to the world around her: specifically the painfully suspicious man that was currently approaching her from a few feet away.

"Excuse me-"

"Yah, Moon Ahri!" A deep voice called out forcefully, cutting off the man as he attempted to strike up a conversation with Ahri. Eyes flying up with anticipation, Ahri barely caught a glimpse of Yong Guk's face before her world went dark and became filled with the scent of sweat and musky cologne. She could feel Yong Guk wrap one arm protectively around her shoulders and press her head against his chest. Squirming in his grip, Ahri tried to wriggle her way out of his firm grip as he grunted a few words. Ahri couldn't hear exactly what was said.

"Let's go," Yong Guk muttered into her ear, the fabric of the mask he wore brushing against her cheek, before pulling Ahri along with him. It wasn't until a minute later that she was able to see once again as Yong Guk finally let her go. After in a few dramatic deep breaths, Ahri rested her hands on her hips and turned to frown at Yong Guk.

"Yah? Yah?! Since when did you start snapping at me like that?" she scolded, feeling slightly hurt that Yong Guk would treat her that way.

"Since you got stupid and started putting yourself in dangerous situations!" Yong Guk replied, his mouth working before his brain; as usual. "Why didn't you call me if you got there early? I could have left earlier to meet you!" he continued, obviously frustrated. It was what he was frustrated about that confused Ahri, because she was pretty sure that it wasn't her. In fact, he seemed more frustrated with himself.

"If you were a normal guy then I would have! But you're not! You are an idol, and as such I can't call you for every little thing!" Ahri replied, keeping her voice calm as she softened slightly. This wouldn't be the first time the complicated nature of their relationship had put a strain on things, and from her experiences she had learned that adding to the tension would only result in things breaking. Besides, she couldn't stay mad at Yong Guk for long.

"Just because I'm an idol doesn't mean that I can't also be a good boyfriend," Yong Guk grunted, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to combat the cold. When he finished speaking an awkward silence descended between the two of them, with neither able to look the other in the eyes. Although on the outside Ahri seemed relatively calm, on the inside her brain was frantically working to think of something to make things up to Yong Guk. It would help if she had known exactly what she needed to make up for, though.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she opened . "Thank you."

Yong Guk seemed surprised that she was the first to speak, and was about to say something in response. He hesitated for half a second, though, and then shut his mouth to think over what he was about to say. As she watched this display of maturity, Ahri couldn't help but feel a little surge of emotion. Despite the rough edges, Yong Guk was a mature man who Ahri both respected deeply and loved. Right now, though, all she could feel was her heart pounding as the love took precedence.

"For what?" Yong Guk finally decided on, carefully scrutinizing each syllable to make sure he didn't say anything stupid.

"I have no idea. You kind of blinded me for a while back there," Ahri honestly replied, her face totally devoid of all humor as she shrugged her shoulders. Yong Guk, on the other hand, couldn't help but chuckle slightly at how blunt Ahri was being. If he didn't know her better he would think she was being rude, but as he did Yong Guk knew that she was just being honest. Brutally honest, but honest all the same.

"You nearly got mugged. Or worse," he explained, his eyes catching sight of Ahri's hands as she rubbed them together. Frowning slightly, he reached over and buried her hands in his. "Not that you would notice, with how immersed into your cell phone you were," he added a quick scold, gently squeezing Ahri's hands to warm them up.

"You shouldn't do that," Ahri mumbled, wriggling her hands out of Yong Guk's grip and taking two large steps back from him. Raising one eyebrow, he watched as her eyes nervously fluttered around to see if anybody had caught sight of their little moment. Sighing, Yong Guk waited for her to finish before he reached over and wrapped an arm tightly around her.

"Why?" he challenged, leading Ahri down the sidewalk. They had spent enough time chatting out in the cold, it was time for them to get started on the trip to her apartment- a good ten minute walk from their current location.

"Because somebody might see! You know how the paparazzi is," she mumbled, although her actions were the exact opposite as she leaned into Yong Guk and shared some of his body warmth. It was like he had a fire going on inside of him with how warm he was.

"I took precautions," Yong Guk insisted, reaching up and mussing Ahri's hair. "The other members don't even know I left the dorm, so how would a couple of photographers figure it out?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her as she began trying to put her hair back in order. Pausing in the hurried reorganization of her hair, Ahri glanced up at him and frowned slightly. "I told my manager. It's not like I just snuck out," Yong Guk quickly defended, knowing how much Ahri disapproved of their relationship interfering with his career.

"Plus you're wearing a mask," Ahri pointed out, reaching up and gently tugging on the black rhinestone decorated accessory Yong Guk was wearing.

"Plus I'm wearing a mask," he echoed, chuckling slightly as he did so. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that he was actually facing Ahri it seemed like a silly and immature thing to do. It wasn't like people couldn't recognize his five foot eleven, hundred and thirty-two pound self if they saw him walking down the street. Plus the blonde hair. That was definitely a current defining point for him... "Yeah. The mask was a stupid idea," Yong Guk thought, allowing a quiet sigh to escape his lips as he tugged awkwardly at the mask.

The rest of the walk went pretty uneventfully, with Ahri occasionally expressing worry about the paparazzi and Yong Guk gradually feeling the pressure of keeping up this "secret relationship". By the time they stood in front of Ahri's apartment it was well past midnight, and their ten minute walk had gone by in a speedy half-an-hour.

"Well, goodnight. And thanks for walking me home," Ahri sighed, reluctant to end the night. It wasn't often that she got this kind of quality time with Yong Guk. Most of the time she was swallowed up in a crowd of fangirls, or could only imagine his voice as they texted one another during B.A.P's practices. To actually be able to see, touch, hear, and smell- well smelling might make it kind of creepy- Yong Guk was rare, and she always hated having to end those moments. The next time she saw him would be at their show case, with hundreds of screaming fangirls eliminating any chance of a meaningful connection between them, and even backstage was off limits because the other members were totally unaware of Yong Guk's relationship with Ahri.

"Sorry," Yong Guk mumbled, picking up on Ahri's reluctance to leave. "I know that I'm not exactly the most ideal boyfriend, coming with all the baggage that I do," he sighed, running a hand through his bright blonde hair and knocking back the hood that had been covering it.

Shrugging her shoulders, Ahri stood on her toes and leaned towards Yong Guk. "I never was one to travel light," she whispered, pulling down Yong Guk's mask and briefly pressing her lips against his. For a moment, the tough side of Yong Guk melted away and was replaced by a shocked, innocent, and above all else, normal boy. Smiling out of both pleasure and embarrassment, Ahri pulled away and rested back onto her heels. Swallowing hard, Yong Guk held his arm up to his mouth and covered it as a light dusting of red began appearing on his cheeks.

This would have been the opportune moment to take her leave, but Yong Guk didn't seem prepared to let Ahri have the last word. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her backwards into a tight back hug. Surprised at this sudden attack, Ahri didn't even have the sense to squirm her way out of his grip as Yong Guk rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Wherever we go, we always sit in the farthest corner
Whatever we do, we can't even take a single picture
What's so important about that? I'm next to you
Whatever we do, our time together is more precious
Even if we lock eyes for a moment, we get surprised
We get nervous and scared in case someone figures out our secret
What's so important about that? You are next to me
And our time together is more precious"

Quietly, Yong Guk rapped the words he had written for their situation into her ear. Blushing as his breath stirred her hair and tickled her cheek, Ahri tightly closed her eyes shut and tried to focus on nothing but the lyrics. That was an impossible task to accomplish, however, as her mind insisted on taking in everything else as well. The musky smell of his cologne, mixed with a faint hint of sweat; his heart pounding in time with hers; the unnatural warmth that seeped into every inch of her being; everything about the moment made her heart race and mind reel.

"You'll be at the show case, right?" Yong Guk asked, reluctant to let go of Ahri. Pressing her lips together, all Ahri could manage to do was nod her head or risk squealing like a ridiculous fan girl. "I'm tempted to take the microphone and announce to the entire crowd that I'm in love with you," he chuckled huskily, "that would be romantic, right?"

"Romantic, but stupid," Ahri retorted, gently removing Yong Guk's arms from around her. Sighing, he lifted his head off her shoulder. "Now. Good night," she annunciated, pretending to be annoyed that Yong Guk had delayed her extremely important meeting with the second love of her life: her bed.

"But you admit that it would be romantic," Yong Guk chuckled, leaning over and giving Ahri's forehead a quick peck before pulling his mask back up over his mouth. Frowning, Ahri made a mental note to not wash her face as she got ready for bed.

"You're beginning to worry me. It will be both our heads on the chopping block if you do anything stupid," she warned, sliding her hands into her- technically Yong Guk's- jacket to keep them warm. "So... don't do anything stupid," she mumbled, already catching on to the fact that Yong Guk hadn't been being serious. Sometimes you just couldn't tell with the guy, though.

"Yes, sir!" Yong Guk chuckled, performing a miniature salute before turning to leave. "Maybe we should get together after the show case. I could fake being sick to get away from the other members," he offered, glancing over his shoulder to check and see if that was okay with Ahri.

"Is that any way for a leader to act?" she scolded, pursing her lips slightly.

"No. But it's how a boyfriend should act," he agreed, grinning at her as he waited for a definitive yes or no.

"Well... if your manager knows about it..." she hesitantly replied, averting her eyes from Yong Guk's so that he couldn't tell how much her hopes were getting up.

"Then it's a date," Yong Guk decided, flashing a quick wink at Ahri before turning and practically skipping down the stone steps that led up to her apartment building's door. Apparently she wasn't the only one excited about getting to see the other again. Covering with one hand to try and smother the rapidly growing smile, Ahri hurried inside.