Seungyoon kicked the gritty pavement, hands shoved inside his pockets as he waited for eight o’clock. He didn’t know why he was feeling anxious, but he’s never made this kind of request from anyone before. It was only normal to be nervous… wasn’t it?

He almost jumped in surprise when the doors opened and a couple of his uncle’s employees came out. They saw him standing there and bowed, flashing curious expressions before going on their way. For his own sake, Seungyoon distanced himself from the door and waited some more.

Five minutes later, Hana came strolling out. She was dressed in a graphic t-shirt, faded jeans, and sneakers, her backpack hung loosely on one shoulder. He should have noticed that this was exactly what she wore inside, but she had an apron over her outfit. She looked different without her school uniform, or that dainty lace dress she wore last Friday. Different in a good way.

“Lynyrd Skynyrd,” he looked down at her shirt. “Wouldn’t have guessed you listened to rock.”

“Mullet rock,” she corrected, standing a few feet away. “I love the eighties. Half of the music was unbearable, but it was an unapologetic era.”

Seungyoon bit back a smile. This girl will never run out of surprises.

“So…” she looked over his shoulder and onto the busy street. “Uhh…”

Seungyoon caught the cue and ran a hand through his hair in a nervous tick . “Yeah, uhm… so I was saying I kind of need you.”

He sensed her discomfort as soon as the words tumbled out of his mouth. When they were talking earlier, Ha Neul had approached them, cutting their conversation short just as he was about to explain exactly what he needs her for. Hana had the same reaction then, and he really wanted to clarify that it wasn’t for anything inappropriate (she’d already thrown the word ert around him before) but it was all sorts of uncomfortable having his uncle standing there and grinning, thinking he was welcome to listen in on their conversation. So he just opted to wait until Hana’s shift was over to explain.

“I swear, nothing erse!” He blurted out without thinking, his voice slightly uneasy. He instantly regretted not keeping his cool, but to his surprise, Hana broke into a laugh.

“That never really crossed my mind, but thanks a lot for making it clear,” she replied, her eyes crinkling in amusement. Seungyoon never really noticed it until now, since they were always either arguing or being in the middle of awkward situations, but her eye smile was pretty. Refreshing.

Mentally kicking himself for being distracted, he tugged the guitar case strap on his shoulder and decided to just tell her outright.

“I need to listen to you sing,” he said with conviction.

Hana’s smile faded. “What? Why?”

Seungyoon couldn’t think of a more embarrassing thing than to admit to Hana that her music inspired him. That after her performance last Friday, he couldn’t sleep because her melodies and her lyrics kept him awake. They haunted him to the point of pushing him to that little corner in his room at three AM, where he spent hours coming up with the melody that s just complimented. And somehow, he felt the only way he could proceed finishing the song is if he heard Hana sing at least one more time.

It was embarrassing to admit, but he respected Hana’s music enough to be truthful.

“Because your songs are honest. They have no trace of pretense and they sound like they were written to convey, not to impress,” he said, the compliments just slipping out of his mouth effortlessly. These thoughts have lingered in his mind for the past couple of days, and it felt liberating to finally tell her what he thought. Because if the roles were reversed, he’d want to know what she thought of his music, too.

“And honestly, they’re just… really beautiful,” he continued.

Hana’s reaction was a mixture of surprise and disbelief, like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“So I guess what I’m trying to say is, uhh, I need to listen to you again for, uhh, my musical growth,” he paused, giving her a sheepish smile. He rarely stammered but he was more nervous than he thought. “That is if you have time, course. It won’t take too long, I promise.”

“Huh,” she stood akimbo, her lips pressed in a taut line.

He didn’t really think about the possibility of her rejecting him, which he should have, apparently, because judging by the way she looked right now, she didn’t seem too eager to jump at the chance to help him out. Now that he thought about it, his request did sound a little strange, especially when they weren’t exactly friends and she wasn’t getting anything in return.

Think fast, Kang Seungyoon.

“And just so you know, I’ve been standing here for over thirty minutes now,” he added light-heartedly, hoping a little humor will do the trick. “You know, in case that should factor in on your decision, as it should, because that’s how much I really, really need you.”

She frowned. “A guilt trip? That’s what you’re going with?”

“Is it working?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Maybe.”

YES. He fought a smirk. “In that case, you should also know that WINNER’s debut, which we’ve been working on for three painful, lonely, demanding years, might depend on your decision.”

“Now you’re just being shameless.”

“Again, that’s how much I need you,” he pressed his palms together. “I never beg, Hana.”

She let out a long sigh and eyed his guitar. “So what? Are we going to do this here?”

He was practically doing somersaults in his mind. He flashed her a toothy grin. “Nope. I know a place.”

“Are you sure Seungyoon’s going to be cool about this?” Jinwoo asked as he looked around the restaurant.

Taehyun barely cared about the place, but he spotted an empty table at the corner and swiftly made his way there without waiting for his hyungs. When it came to these guys, deciding where to sit can take a good minute and he really had neither the time nor the patience to stand around when he was too hungry.

He plopped down on a comfortable chair and folded his arms, waiting for them to realize that he’d already left. He watched as they exchanged confused looks at his disappearance before Mino caught sight of him and nudged Jinwoo and Hoon to his direction. He picked up the menu that was already on the table and browsed inside.

“Didn’t Seungyoon hyung tell us we can only spend 50 dollars?” Taehyun turned to Mino as soon as the other three settled down. He pointed to the menu. “One meal costs almost 30.”

Mino gave him a sly smile. “This is what he gets for choosing his obsession for music over us,” he snatched the menu from Taehyun and wet his lips enthusiastically. “Don’t you know the saying 'it’s better to apologize than ask for permission'? Knowing Seungyoon, he can’t stay mad at us for too long anyway. Worst case is he’ll let us pay. And the food here is worth it.”

“Sounds good to me!” Seunghoon scooted closer to Mino, placing his face right next to his as they looked through the options. “Why don’t we get the set for four? If we break it down, it comes out cheaper. And it includes dessert.”

Mino frowned. “But I’m craving nengchae. The set doesn’t offer nengchae.”

Jinwoo stood up and hovered over the two. “I want chicken. Mino kept bragging about the new girl’s chicken galbi all afternoon.”

“But I already had that, hyung.” Mino turned to Seunghoon. “Maybe we should just order individually and just taste each other’s food.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘taste’ in your vocabulary, Song Mino. The next thing I know, you’ve finished all of my food. Remember the Osaka incident?”

“Of course I remember. You never let me forget.”

Taehyun closed his eyes and sighed. There really was no point hurrying when he already knew this was going to happen anyway. Every freaking time. He loved s but they were really hopeless sometimes. They didn’t even notice that a waitress had already approached their table and was trying to talk over their loud voices.

“They’re going to take a while,” Taehyun smiled at the girl with a shake of his head. She returned the smile shyly and nodded. He stood up and tugged Jinwoo’s sleeve. “Hyung, just get me whatever you’re getting."

Itching to get away from their table for a while, he made his way to the comfort rooms across the restaurant. But when he passed by the entrance, he was brought to a sudden stop.

Kyungmi was smiling widely as she entered the doors, but her eyes rounded when she saw him. A man in a suit sidled up next to her and Taehyun recognized him immediately. He’d seen Chairman Yoo at least once at the YG building. And frankly, anybody who knew his chaebols in Korea might have recognized him as well. Without thinking twice, Taehyun faced him and bowed. “Annyeonghaseyo.”

When he straightened up, he noticed the confused look on his face before the woman beside him, who he assumed was Kyungmi’s mom since they looked so much alike, smiled at him widely. “Omo, aren’t you one of Hyun Suk’s trainees?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied right away. “I’m Nam Taehyun, a member of WINNER.”

“Oh, WINNER!” Mr. Yoo stretched out his arm and Taehyun was quick to take it. “Hyun Suk talks about you all very fondly.”

Taehyun smiled and bowed again.

“Are you here alone?” He asked.

Taehyun looked behind him and saw the three guys still arguing over the menu. For a split second, he considered lying and saying yes (and he was really close to it) but instead, he pointed to their table. “I’m actually with the members, sir.”

“I see,” he chuckled when he looked over Taehyun’s shoulder at the rowdy boys. He put an arm around Kyungmi. “Sweetheart, your classmates are here. You should ask them to join us.”

Taehyun and Kyungmi locked eyes immediately. He sensed her panicking and he could swear there was a silent plea in her expression to save her. He cleared his throat and turned to Mr. Yoo again. “We don’t want to intrude on your family’s dinner, Sir.”

“What intrusion? We’re practically family, too. YG family,” Mr. Yoo smiled and stepped forward to put a hand over Taehyun’s shoulder. “Why don’t you and your members join us. It’s my treat.”

Just as he was about to politely decline, the head waiter approached them and bowed. “Sir, your table is ready.”

“Ahh yes. Make sure you direct this young man and his friends to our table, too. They’ll be joining us tonight,” he told the waiter before turning to Kyungmi. “Go get your classmates, sweetheart. Your Mom and I will wait for you there.” Mr. Yoo gave Taehyun’s shoulder a pat before they went on their way, leaving him, Kyungmi, and the overeager waiter behind.

“How many are in your party, Sir?” The man asked him.

“Y--you really don’t have to,” Kyungmi began to say. “I could make an excuse. That you’re already done eating or something. It’s fine.”

“No, that’s impolite to your parents,” Taehyun frowned. “I’ll talk to the guys.”

With a huff, he turned back to the table and saw that his hyungs have already begun talking to the waitress who looked more confused by the second. Taehyun seized the menu from Mino.

“Ya Nam Taehyun, what are you doing?”

“We won’t be needing this,” Taehyun gave the menu back to the waitress and turned to the three guys. “Hyung, please be on your best behavior. We just got invited to dinner.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Seunghoon asked.

Taehyun sighed and looked over his shoulder where Kyungmi stood in front of the entrance with the waiter.

“Is that Kyungmi?” Jinwoo craned his neck for a better look.

“Yes,” Taehyun replied, observing Kyungmi as she awkwardly looked around the place just to avoid their eyes. He shook his head and turned back to them. “I guess it’s Seungyoon hyung’s lucky night. The Chairman of YK Group just asked us to eat with him.”

“Wow,” he heard Hana say while she took in the view below the building, thousands of lights dotting the night. They could see the Han River from afar and make out the tiny cars that passed by the bridge. Seungyoon smiled to himself as he watched her from where he stood, feeling a tinge of pride at her reaction. She gripped the railing as she balanced herself on the wooden bench, strands of her hair whipped by the soft breeze. He tore his eyes away from her for a bit and looked up at the clear skies. Summer was almost here, which meant less cold nights and more chances to enjoy the night air.

He didn't know how much he missed this place until now.

“How did you find this place?” Her voice was a mixture of curiosity and awe.

“One of my friends lived here for a while,” Seungyoon replied, scanning the expanse of the rooftop before walking closer to bench. “We used to come up here and jam the night away. He moved out, but the building owner has a soft spot for me so he just lets me come whenever I want.”

“I’ve never seen Seoul like this before,” she piped, her eyes still glued to the view.

Seungyoon lifted a foot and quickly climbed up the bench, causing Hana to recoil slightly when their arms touched. He ignored the look on her face and drank in the v