Hot water poured down my body as I hastily washed my hair with my roommates' shampoo. It had been a week since my first underground experience already and this time around I'd done some research in advance.

After a quick shower I dried myself and wrapped the towel around my hips before stepping out of the bathroom to the sound of whipping blades, crashing metal and painful groans. I peeked over at my roommate who was sitting on his bed with his laptop and eating crisp seaweed snacks while playing World of Warcraft.

“You going somewhere?” he asked after I'd changed into dark jeans and a simple tee.

“Yes, to a concert”

He nodded and said something in Japanese that I did not catch.

“How do I look?” I asked while running a hand through my damp hair. Daisuke pushed his glasses higher up on his nose and gave me a quick look-over before shrugging indifferently.

“I fail to see why it matters unless you're trying to impress a girl or something. But with your looks that shouldn't be too hard regardless of your clothes...” he commented offhandedly and went back to his game, just like that. Admittedly our conversations were usually one-sided and me trying to pry words out of him.

“There's no girl I'm trying to impress...” I muttered to myself and threw on a jacket. I didn't bother to tell him goodbye before I left and soon enough I found myself sitting on a bus heading to Hongdae.

The sound of music died and the lights shut off just as the last people on the small stage took their leave for the night. The club was packed with people now pushing their way up a narrow set of stairs leading to the ground level and I had no other choice but to be dragged along with the stream. The stale smell of beer and other alcohol beverages filled my nostrils and stuck to my shoes like sticky glue. The fresh air was more than welcomed as I stepped onto the sidewalk and got enough room to stretch my cramped muscles.

I jumped when I heard a loud shriek followed by a group of girls running pass me, almost knocking me over in the process. I curiously turned my head towards the ruckus to see what it was all about. The girls had apparently surrounded some guys that I immediately recognized as the very group I had interest in, and amidst were none other than Bang Yongguk. He looked awfully uncomfortable with the given attention and politely wrote down his name on some piece of paper.

“Gukkie's so popular with the ladies!” I heard one of the guys snicker - I had yet to learn all of their names. The tall, chubby guy slapped him on the back, "I'm jealous man!"

Yongguk shied away from the group and waved his goodbyes.

Snapping out of it I noticed him coming my way and I swiftly turned around to pretend I was walking the same way as him. He walked straight pass me, only coming to a halt when he stopped by a convenience store on a corner and came out with a pack of cigarettes. Marlboro.

His eyebrows furrowed as he lit the cigarette with a lighter he'd fished up from his baggy jeans. He was exhaling the smoke with a sigh.

“You've been staring at me all night, and now you've followed me all the way here...” he mumbled, all shy, as if he'd used a lot of energy to muster up the courage to speak.

“Uh, oh... I guess” I bit down on my lip and mentally slapped myself for commenting something that lame.

“If you don't mind me asking; where are you from? Your accent...” his deep voice trailed off and he averted his eyes. He seemed really shy, painfully so. It dawn on me how he probably used his lyrics and music as a way to communicate with the world around him. As a way for him to get heard. But still, this awkwardly shy teen in front of me was the real him, Bang Yongguk, not Jepp Blackman. He was intriguing. Definitely.

“I'm Chinese, from Beijing. I'm a transfer student at Yonsei” I really need to stop getting dazed around him, he might think I'm weird – if he doesn't already.

He nodded slowly, “Wo ai ni.”

“W-hat?”

“The only thing in Chinese I know...” he said with a smile but covered it up with his hand. “I, uh, usually don't talk very much and especially not with strangers.”

“I'm sorry if I come off as unusual -”

A loud, yet merry laughter rang through the night, coming from the man who never spoke.

“Weird. The word, it's not unusual but weird. It sounds even weirder for you to call yourself whacky” he chuckled and for the first time I saw his pearly white teeth shining from the dim streetlight and his gums.

I felt incredibly embarrassed for making such a mistake, but I knew that language issues were prone to happen.

“Anyway, I have to go. See you around!” he said before stomping at the cigarette and crossed the road, giving me a curt wave.

Just knowing he wanted to see me again was enough to make it a day worth marking on the calendar.

I'm incredibly sorry for the long wait, and the short chapter! My motivation has declined ever since I got gastritis and gallstone attacks. However, I'm not too pleased with this chapter, but it's better than nothing so...enjoy!