Namjoon eyed the brand new sheet of white paper as he expertly twirled a pencil between his slender fingers. He tapped his bare foot on their dorm’s wooden floor, trying (but failing miserably) to remember the melody he was humming earlier. Coming up with lyrics always came easy for him but at that moment, he was unsure where to pull his strings of inspiration from. 

  Closing his eyes for a brief minute, he tried to list the things that had recently made him happy. 

  “Hm, let's see,” the graphite slid smoothly against the paper as he racked his brain for some coherent thoughts. 

  “...our debut was a success, I saw my parents after a long time, Jimin didn't break my back during practice earlier, Jin hyung's successful meal (after consecutive fails), Choi Hyejin—” Namjoon was mumbling his list to himself when he stopped abruptly. He squinted down at the name as the corners of his lips curved into an amused, as if enjoying some private joke. 

  Hyejin—the name that always came across Namjoon’s thoughts, no matter where his daydreams took him. Hyejin—her face always hunted him, turning his dreams into a beautiful nightmare. Hyejin—the girl friend who will never overstep whatever type of barricade was present between them. 

  He scowled at the thought. She was the only female that caught his interest, yet he had been stuck on the “friend” area for the past six years he’d known her. When his group members gained knowledge about his little (although according to Yoongi, this was far from being just a ‘little’ matter) infatuation towards the said girl, they had been constantly bugging the leader and giving him advice—heck , even their youngest was in on the bandwagon, too.

  It wasn’t like he didn't try at all. Namjoon had executed different methods and tactics but the timing was always a little off. She’d be busy with her studies, and he with being an idol. 

  A familiar tune filled the air and he snapped out of his reverie faster than a cheetah chasing after its prey. He scrambled for his hand phone under the pillows of his unmade bed; that ringtone definitely wasn’t just anyone calling. 

  “Hyejin,” he breathed as soon as he hit the ‘Answer’ button, “What’s up?” 

  Clearing his throat, Namjoon attempted to sound calm and relaxed, as if he wasn’t thinking about her just ten seconds ago. 

  “Joon, Joonie, Namjoonie!” the female chanted enthusiastically over the phone but it was apparent to Namjoon that she’d been trying to rest. He glanced at the digital clock across his room and sighed. 

  “Can’t sleep?”

  His best friend—he still dreaded the title—had always been nocturnal. Hyejin hated taking sleeping pills. She’d deny them no matter how much Namjoon urged her to. 

  “You know I can only sleep soundly after hearing your ever-so-soothing voice,” he could practically see her cheeky grin from the other end of the line. Namjoon could only chuckle as he picked up his writing tool and scribbled messily below her name. 

  “You’re, you’re my favorite girl. You’re still my favorite, favorite girl.”

  “Huh?” Hyejin stammered, surprised by his sudden response. Namjoon realized what he’d done and rubbed the back of head, snickering almost forcefully and awkwardly. 

  “Sorry, I was attempting to write,” he set their conversation on speaker and placed his phone on the table to make his situation a bit easier. 

  “Oh,” Namjoon missed the hint of disappointment that shrouded her response, “Am I disturbing you? Ah, what am I even doing, I didn't notice that it was this late. And you’re probably busy being an idol and all. Hah. I just really…I haven't seen you in a long time. No wait, I saw you at the fan sign event two weeks ago—”

  “Hyejin?” he couldn't contain the goofy grin any longer. She always rambled on and on about seemingly random things when she gets nervous. He found it extremely adorable. (He found anything about her cute.)

  “By the way, you should lose the glasses, Namjoonie. I miss seeing your teenie weenie eyes. That reminds me, Rap Monster is the only thing that comes out of the entire female population in our school. They swoon just by the mention of your name. How crazy is that—” 

  “Hyejinnie?” 

  “Tell Seokjin oppa that I might be falling for his charms—,” the smile that was plastered on his face vanished at the mention of “oppa” and “falling”.

  “Hey, Choi Hyejin!” he snapped and glared at the innocent phone, the urge of throwing it across the wall was increasing as every second of silence slipped by. Hyejin grew quiet; even if Namjoon was pissed, the only thing he could picture was her biting the lower part of her lips in nervousness. 

  “You're not disturbing me,” he began slowly after a few moments of stillness, “in fact I got inspired to write the moment I heard you speak.”

  “Hey, look who's the one oozing with greasiness. Do your members know this about you? Hm?” the tension was quickly eliminated as they both hopelessly threw cheesy lines at each other. It made Namjoon’s heart flutter to the point where he knew he’d be able to write a whole novel just about Hyejin’s laughter. 

  “Namjoonie,” Hyejin slurred, “sing me to sleep.”

  The rookie’s leader paused from writing the rest of his newfound lyrics before turning his full attention towards the heavy-lidded girl on the other end of the line. 

  “Why is it that they always make rappers sing?” he raised his brow on the phone.

  “And here I thought I was someone special,” even though Namjoon knew that she was joking around, there was still and edge in the intonation of her words that tugged his heart. He had no choice but to go along with her antics, knowing well enough that he can never resist her.

  “Girl, I need a girl / Pretty no matter what she does / A pretty body, too / Girl, I need a girl /Baby, I need you / Girl, you need me, too. 

  “A kind of girl that looks better in jeans than a skirt / A girl that will eat the kimchi fried rice that I make instead / A girl who looks young even though she’s old / I like that kind of girl.”

  Once Namjoon finished, he cleared his throat, hoping that he hadn't disturbed his fellow members from their deep slumber. Silence ensued and he was sure that she'd fallen asleep. Just as he was about to end the call, her groggy murmurs reached his ears.

  “So, Namjoonie needs a girl, huh,” she announced smugly, mostly to herself. His complexion paled before all the blood in his system made their way to his cheeks, coloring it in different shades of rose. He silently thanked the phone for concealing his embarrassment.

  “Shut up, that was the first song that came to my mind. Blame Jimin and Taehyung for always singing it in the dorm,” Namjoon stretched his arms and took the phone, disabling the speaker format before cradling the device close to his ear.

  “Besides,” he began, turning the lights off in his room before shuffling blindly towards his bed, “I don't need a girlfriend when I've already got my own muse.”

  Namjoon retaliated rather too proudly, snuggling under his covers while enjoying the latter’s obviously tired (but delighted nonetheless) chuckle. 

  “I’m guessing this ‘favorite girl’ is your source of inspiration?” she questioned teasingly, referring to the words Namjoon mumbled not too long ago. 

  “Hm,” he yawned quietly before continuing, “She was wearing a plain white shirt, faded jeans and red converse the last time I saw her—at a fan sign, was it?”

  His smirk grew wide when she didn’t give out any response. “Noona, go to sleep. It’s already five in the morning.”

  He wasn’t sure if it was his lack of sleep that was speaking for him, but Namjoon wanted to overstep the boundaries and see how far he could go.

  “Namjoon, stop joking around,” she snapped with an obvious hint of nervousness in her tone. His thoughts of being an idol were temporarily forgotten as his feelings surged up into an overwhelming desire to chase the older girl and prove that he was indeed dead serious.

  Before he could make out a decent reply, his vision was surrounded in darkness as his body relaxed into a meditative state. Hyejin smirked knowingly and lulled herself to sleep with the younger boy’s soft snores.