“Stop girl in the name of love. Stop, -top, -top, -top girl in the name of love. Stop, -top, -top, top girl in the name of love. And just like a dream I know your love isn’t real. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.”

Andreya was not in the mood to read an unknown text so early in the morning, especially since the only unknown texts she had been getting were from someone she resented. Unfortunately for her, the length of the song woke her up.

From: Unknown

Good morning sunshine.

The text alone made her throw her head back against her pillow in complete annoyance. She tried to go back to sleep, but was only interrupted again, but with a more disturbing fashion than the first.

“I’m so cra- cra- crazy. Clap, clap, clap. Clap Man,” her phone sang. Andreya was never really that big of a fan of Teen Top, so she never downloaded this song as a ringtone. During the split second, she wondered why that song played, automatically assumed Tina had set it, and opened the message.

From: Unknown

Stop texting my oppa.

Immediately, she decided to demand answers from the boy who was causing drama in her life.

To: Unknown

How did your crazy girlfriend get

my number? And why are you texting me

 when you have a girlfriend already?

From: Unknown

What? I don’t have a girlfriend…

To: Unknown

Do you have a protective sister or

something?

From: Unknown

No, no. Both of my sisters wouldn’t

care. Who’s texting you? What’d they

say?

To: Unknown

“Stop texting my oppa.” If I knew who

it was, why would I be asking you?

From: Unknown

Have they texted anything else?

To: Unknown

No.

From: Unknown

Well maybe, it was a wrong number or

something.

To: Unknown

Yeah, probably.

From: Unknown

So, what are you going to do today?

Andreya was passed being annoyed because she was sure she would continue to receive bizarre texts. She decided to attempt to lightly end the conversation with a seemingly legitimate excuse, or else he would persist on trying to talk to her. She thought of the simplest fib.

To: Unknown

Nothing really, just work. I

actually have to get ready now.

Since it was a Tuesday, she didn’t have to go to work.

From: Unknown

Oh, that’s cool. I actually have

to go now, too. Text me~

A smirk crept its way upon Andreya’s face as she shook her head in amusement at the fact that he actually thought she would initiate a conversation with him. When she heard Tina shuffling out of the bathroom, she thought then would be a good time to bring up the eerie texts she had been receiving.

“Tina, I got this weird text this morning. Do you know who it could be from?”

Andreya had almost pulled out her phone to display the texts, but Tina had already interrupted with an abrupt, “No.”

“I didn’t even show you the number yet.” Andreya insisted, “Have you seen thi–”

“No! Will you leave me alone already?! Just stop it!” Tina snapped and immediately stormed out of the building. For some reason, her dramatic footsteps had halted for a few seconds, and then picked up again.

Andreya paid little to no attention to the sounds of Tina’s feet, let alone the ever so faint voices in the distance. She dismissed her best friend’s abstract behavior and went on her merry way to make herself breakfast. After she had finished eating, the doorbell rang at an obnoxious frequency. She had assumed it to be Tina returning home to retrieve something she forgot. Andreya tried to be helpful and looked around for important items before she opened the door. While the bell continued to ring, she didn’t see Tina’s wallet, purse, keys, cell phone, or anything else of the sort, so she finally went to answer the door.

“Hello,” a little boy, clearly not Tina, greeted while bowing and stuffing what looked like money into his pocket.

“How may I help you?” the confused resident questioned.

“Oh, would you look at that,” he spoke in a monotonous voice as if he had memorized the words. He pointed to an ordinary sidewalk beneath him and excitedly announced, “A trail! Miss, will you follow it with me?”

Andreya looked above his head and in all directions to see if she could figure out who had sent this boy to her house.

“He said that if you look around, that’s a good sign. It means you probably like him and might say yes,” the boy commented with a proud expression.

Without any hesitation whatsoever, “Who?” rolled right out of Andreya’s mouth.

“Oh, sorry, miss. He paid me not to tell you.” …

Great, Andreya thought. Some random creep could have sent this kid to lead me to a secluded spot to kidnap me. I could be seconds away from my death, and this little bo–

“But I might be able to give you some hints if you give me some candy,” he informed while wriggling his eyebrows mischievously.

“Okay, I got you. Hang on.” She went inside to fetch some goodies. For each question, the boy would hold out his hand for a candy. When he had it in his hand, he would answer. Andreya had one already in her hand when she opened the door, and tossed it to him. When he held it, she asked, “So, what’s his name?”

The kid just popped the candy into his mouth and answered nonchalantly, “I can’t answer that, but I can give other hints.”

“Okay,” Andreya sighed and tossed another candy. “Was he old?”

“He wasn’t wrinkly, but he was kind of old. Maybe he was twenty.”

Andreya chuckled. “Twenty is old? … What color was his hair?”

“Brown.”

“How was he dressed?”

“He wore casual clothes. They were kind of nice.”

“How much did he pay you?”

“He didn’t actually give me any money. He gave me a bunch of coupons for free candy.”

Andreya tried again, “What was his name?”

“I, uh… I forgot,” he visibly lied. Andreya tossed him another candy to see if he would ‘remember’. “I think it’s coming back to me.”

Andreya lost her patience and poured the contents of her bag onto the boy’s hand, giving him an abundance of candy.

Completely amused, the little brat answered, “I promised him that no matter what, I wouldn’t tell you his name, but it does start with a C.”

“Chanji,” she mused aloud to herself.

“How did you know his name?!” the boy squeaked, upset that the secret was out.

“So that is his name?” she clarified.

“What?! Ugh!” He saw Andreya’s loss of interest and tried to pull her back so that the plan wouldn’t be voided. “No, wait! You have to find him! I will show you the way.”

Andreya was thoroughly annoyed with everyone and their secrets and schemes. She had just about had enough. If it wasn’t for the little boy’s adorable aegyo, she wouldn’t have left the house. She allowed herself to be led a few blocks away to a random, usually unvisited location. When they arrived, she noticed someone leaning against a wall with a dark hoodie and sunglasses.

“Yes, Chanji?” she asked completely unamused by the set up he planned.

“What?! You told her?!” Chanji screamed at the boy and ripped the shades off his face.

“No, but it was pretty obvious,” she replied. “What do you need?”

“Andreya, I need to ask you for help,” he awkwardly announced.

“What is it?” Andreya asked with a slightly annoyed tone.

“I need to ask you for help,” he answered, stressing each word, as if there were some special meaning to them.

“Yes… And..?” Andreya was deeply confused and became suspicious of the situation.

He began to gesture at the boy with his eyes as he spoke again. “There is something… that I need… to ask of you… for help..!”

Andreya looked to the boy as he piped an, “Oh!” and searched his pockets by patting them repetitively. When he apparently didn’t find what he needed, he shrugged and presented a nervous smile that stretched from ear to ear. Chanji audibly sighed and slightly wagged his head from side to side, but immediately after a second, his face lit up.

“Did you hear that?” Chanji suddenly asked.

Andreya furrowed her eyebrows. “No. I didn’t.”

“I think it’s my pho– Oh it is!” he squealed as he pulled his silent phone out of his pocket. “Well, I need to take this call. Can we meet up again on Friday so I can ask you then?”

“Chanji,” Andreya began. “You know I have work on Fridays. This better not be some stupi–”

“I promise it won’t be st– Yes, hello?” Supposedly, he was having a conversation. “Now? Right now? … Yes, sir… Good-bye. So I have to run,” he informed as he had already begun lightly jogging away. “I will see you Friday afternoon! Okay? Bye!”

Chanji had already disappeared before she could even make a reply. When she looked to the side, she saw that the boy had disappeared as well.

“What’s this?” she commented as she picked up a candy wrapper than looked to have her name written on it. The handwriting was almost illegible, but it read:

Noona, you’re so beautiful.

There was also a phone number written, but a digit was missing. How cute, she thought.

aegyo: the portrayal of cuteness used for manipulation or entertainment

noona: a title males call not-too-much older females whom they resepct or have a romantic interest in