A/N: Annyeong chingudeul! I am back with an update. ^_^ I shouldn’t even be here right now tbh because I have a lot of stuDYING to do but oh well, Seunghoon is my happy pill and writing about Seunghoon is how I destress .:)

Please tell me what you think about the chapter. We’re finally getting somewhere okay. First date whoop whoop! LOL. Okay bye.

Happy reading Aces/cupcakes/ramens! <3

P.S. What exactly is our fandom name? :D

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[Eli POV]

“I’ll only believe you once you give me tangible proof, like a couple photo,” Min Ah was saying while trying to swallow a mouthful of ice cream. These past few days, Min Ah has been so busy with school that I rarely saw her when I came home. After a long, stressful day at school and my part-time job, when I come home usually past seven in the evening, it was either she was at the library pulling another all-nighter or she was already dead asleep in her room. This was the first day in a long while that she was completely free of school work since it started so she has asked me to have a movie marathon with her to which I declined since today was my date with the one and only hip hop baby lion. My thoughts have been so cluttered since Seunghoon asked me out that I forgot to tell her. So here I am, in front of the mirror hastily putting on my make up while I try yet again to convince her that I am not crazy.

When I first tried to break the news to her this morning, the look of disbelief on her face was so obvious, I could practically tell what was going on inside her brain… that finally, I have lost my wits. It took a lot of persuading before she considered that it could even be a slight possibility. But still, she wanted proof, like what she just said. I don’t blame her. If I were in her place, I wouldn’t believe me either. I mean, what are the odds that someone like Lee Seunghoon would ever spare me a second of his precious time? I was so plain and so unpopular with the opposite gender that my self-confidence has continued to diminish through the years. I never expected that the first boy who would ever notice me would be Lee Seunghoon. But as to why he found me interesting at all was the biggest mystery I cannot solve. I did not know what Seunghoon saw in me but whatever it was, I guess it doesn’t really matter. All that mattered to me at the moment was the fact that I was minutes away to a date with the boy of my dreams.

“Hey, what time are you coming home? I still want you to watch The Fault in Our Stars with me. I can’t watch it without you.” Min Ah whined. That movie was our favorite. We’ve agreed in the past that we would always watch it together because we might drown in our own tears if one of us dared to watch it alone. It was a funny thought but I really think that it’s not far from possible.

“I don’t really know. Although TFIOS is tempting...this is Lee Seunghoon. Lee. Seung. Hoon.”

“Meh. Ditching me for a guy. So much for hoes before bros.”

I gasped. “Language.” She rarely says any bad word so when she did, it always shocked me.

“Soooorryyy,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“I’m sorry. You know I love our movie marathons but just this once alright? I’ll do anything you want me to do after, I promise.”

Her eyes twinkled. I gulped. I don’t think I should have said that.

“Okay.” The fact that she agreed so quickly was confirmation enough that she had something in mind that I was not going to like one bit. Oh well. Lee Seunghoon is worth it, I thought.

“Have fun!” she called out when I was already at the door, turning the doorknob.

I the door open and the site that greeted me was so unexpected that I felt like my eyeballs were going to pop out in surprise. He didn’t say he was going to pick me up. That wasn’t exactly the plan. The plan was we were going to meet at the YG building. I was so touched by the effort, though. Lee Seunghoon just wouldn’t stop being such a sweetheart.

He stood outside my doorway casually dressed in blue shorts and a black jacket over a plain white shirt. I have always wondered how he manages to look so damn gorgeous even in the simplest of outfits. A lazy grin spreads across his lips while he takes out something from behind him and held it out for me to see. It was a bouquet of flowers. Red roses.

I was allergic to roses.

Right on cue, I raucously sneezed and coughed that I felt a stab of pain in my chest. This always happens when I’m anywhere near roses. Seunghoon was instantly next to me, his hand resting on my back, “Are you okay?” he asked. He still had the roses in his right hand.

“Allergic,” I coughed. “I’m allergic to roses.”

He gasped and sprinted towards the building’s exit. When he returned, the roses were no longer in sight. I hear him mutter something about giving minho a long overdue beating he deserved.

“I’m so sorry,” he muttered, looking at his hands.

“It’s okay, you didn’t know. I’m fine now, see? No more coughing.” I poked his side so he would look at me. When he raised his face, the look of guilt in his eyes made me want to hug him tight.

“I’m fine now, really.” I smiled at him reassuringly. He sighed and nodded.

“Won’t happen again, I promise.”

Does that mean there’s going to be a next time? A second date?

I can’t help it. The grin just broke out of my face.

“What are you smiling about?” he asked, amused.

I shake my head and right then, Min Ah burst out from nowhere shouting, “Who the hell brought roses? I can smell it from my – ”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence because she spotted Seunghoon and I have never seen her this shocked ever. Her reaction was absolutely priceless. I would take a photo but she might murder me for it later so I didn’t even try. Instead I laughed at her expression and smugly stated, “I told you so.”

“Oh my God,” she breathed, walking over to Seunghoon, completely ignoring my presence. She brazenly took his hand and shook it. Seunghoon looked taken aback but nevertheless, he shook her hand with equal fervor. She was shaking his hand like it was the first time she ever shook anybody’s hand. “Hi I am Kim Min Ah and I am a huge fan. You must have heard about me from my friend…” she droned on and on and all that time, my eyes were fixed on their hands that were not yet separating.

Suddenly, a dark cloud settled above me and I felt awfully possessive. Ultimate bias over best friend, I decided. Just this once at least. I stood between the two of them, making Min Ah release her grip on his hand and take a step back. She gives me a frown. Seunghoon bowed and finally said hello.

“Hello, good to know we have such an enthusiastic fan!” he smiled at her brightly.

No, no. You can’t do that. I look at Min Ah and it was too late, his smile was affecting her the same way it always affected me.

I cleared my throat. “Seunghoon oppa, aren’t we late?”

He looked confused for a moment then he glanced at his watch. “Ah. Yeah, we should get going now. I got reservations at exactly 1pm. It isn’t exactly easy to get reservations from that place.” He admitted shyly.

“Let’s go then,” I said, not looking at Min Ah.

He bowed to Min Ah and apologized for not being able to chat with her longer. He then took my hand and he led me to the exit. I turned my head around to look at Min Ah and she scowled at me. I mouthed mine and pointed at Seunghoon. She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out. I heard her laugh as she retreated back into the apartment.

Seunghoon brought his car and he opened the passenger door for me before he got in on the other side. He played some music I didn’t recognize. And it got me curious so I asked him what song it was.

“It’s a self-composed song,” he said timidly “I didn’t think you would ask about it so I just let it play.”

“It’s good, really good.” And I meant it.

“Stop it. You don’t have to compliment me. I know it isn’t that good.”

I shook my head. “I’m serious. It sounds really good. This is a ballad right? Wait… Isn’t this your voice? It sounds different…” My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to concentrate on remembering how his singing voice sounded.

“Yeah it’s me,” he admitted while starting the engine. “I’ve had a lot of vocal lessons especially for this comeback because sajangnim wanted me to try to sing one ballad for the album.”

“Wow. He did? He must really believe in you that much.” My love for Yang Hyun Suk multiplied tenfold. I’ve always longed to hear him sing a ballad.

“I don’t know. He believes in us all. He wants to challenge us. That’s why Minho had vocal lessons as well but I had a better time compared to him. He complained every day saying he sounded awful. But to be honest, he sounded better than me, he just really refuses to sing a ballad.” He chuckled. I can imagine how Minho would look while he grumbled about not wanting to sing a ballad.

After that, we talked about anything and everything while he was driving and every time I give him a compliment, he glances at me and gives me that smile only he has. That smile isn’t good for my heart, really. It might just cause it to stop beating one of these days.

“Oh, we’re here!” he declared.

“Where is here exactly?” I looked around the area expecting to find a five star restaurant because from what I remember, he said it wasn’t easy to get reservations so I assumed it was some expensive restaurant.

We both got out of the car and he pointed at a rundown house not very far from where we were standing. The sign at the entrance said, ‘Ramen House.’

I scoffed in disbelief. He looked at me with curious eyes.

“Ramen house?” I asked, eyes smiling. It’s not that I didn’t like ramen, I adore ramen but people were right on point when they said expectations lead to disappointments. Not that I’m disappointed… well maybe a little bit.

“You’ll love it here. I promise.” And I believed him with all my heart. Who knows, this place might be the best ramen house in the history of ramen houses. I inwardly smiled at my own lame joke.

There was a line forming outside the Ramen house so like any other good citizen, I joined in line at the back. Seunghoon chuckled.

“What’s so funny? Come on, get in line.”

“We don’t have to,” he said, still chuckling.

“Why?” Is it because he’s Lee Seunghoon? Because even though I love him, that would be unfair to all these people.

“I told you, I had reservations.”

I wasn’t fully convinced but I shrugged and let him drag me to the entrance.

“Wait…” I stopped him. He raised his eyebrows in question. “You’re only wearing glasses and a hat, won’t people recognize you?”

He shook his head. “It’s fine. Come.”

Once inside, I noticed that there were so many people who were dining and it’s fully packed which made me wonder where the hell we’re going to sit in all of this. I was busy looking for a vacant table when Seunghoon suddenly drags me into a narrow hall and into a small room.

“What is this, VIP area?” I asked when we were finally settled at our seats.

He smiled. “On a normal day, this would be the staff lounge but today, I’ve reserved it for us. So yeah, maybe you can call it VIP area.”

He is so odd. I don’t think most guys would bring a girl in a ramen house and reserve the staff lounge and call it the VIP area. But weirdly enough, I like it. I then remember how he has been so creative in Kpop star with his performances and thought maybe even in how he lives his daily life, how he dated, he still has the uncanny ability to cook up the weirdest and most surprising kind of things.

“Why here, though?” I asked because the curiosity is killing the cat. God, I have such lame puns. It’s a good thing I don’t say them out loud.

“Well…” he started. “It’s a long story but I guess I can shorten it for you… I was an employee here once.”

My eyes grew wider. Not what I expected.

“It was before Kpop star. When I came to Seoul, I really didn’t have a lot of money with me because my parents were against my decision of not going to university and pursuing my dreams instead. I practically ran away from home. I only told my noona about it and I asked her for some money. She gave me a lot but I returned half of it and told her that I’ll try to earn money for myself once I got here and that she need not worry.” He stopped talking and took a sip of his drink that was already there before we even came in. I took a sip from mine as well.  

“When I arrived at Seoul, the first friend I ever met was Jihyun noona. She was this pretty girl who was lost at the train station because it was her first time in Seoul as well and because it was also my first time here, I felt a sort of connection with her and we easily became friends that day. She was waiting for her mother and I waited with her, not really having a clue what I was going to do next. She asked me about myself and I ended up telling her my life’s story. She then promised me that she would try to help. I told her she didn’t have to but she was adamant on having the deed done. When her mother arrived, she talked to her for a bit and when they finished, her mother herself told me that they needed extra help in this very ramen house. It was like they were my life saviors. I worked here for 4 months trying to earn enough money. Right in the middle of working here, I auditioned for Kpop star and I got in that’s why after a while, I stopped working and moved out. But every other week, I come here and eat with them.”

“You did shorten it out for me, thank you.” We both laughed.

“Sorry, I tend to get carried away when talking about my life.”

“It’s fine. Thank you for telling me. But who is Jihyun unnie? Am I going to meet her today?” I plastered a smile on my face. He saw right through me.

“Are you jealous?” he laughed louder than before. “You’re so cute.”

I frowned. I am jealous. He just said she was pretty.

“Eyyy. Don’t be like that. There’s no need to be jealous. I already told you I like you. My heart can’t be easily swayed.”

The blunt way he said he liked me sent the butterflies in my stomach on a rampage. Calm down, butterflies. Calm down please.

 Should I tell him I like him? He’s told me twice and I haven’t given a reply. I decided to save it for later and instead I asked, “So there’s still a possibility that it will be swayed? Perhaps, by a pretty noona?”

Instead of reassuring me, he just laughed again. “Aigoo. I think I should make you jealous more often because you look so cute when you’re jealous.”

So the poisonous look I was sure was in my eyes was cute? Okay. He really is weird.

“Fine then, let me rephrase that. My heart will never be swayed. I like you and only you.”

He sounded so sure of that declaration that without much thought, I said in a muted voice, “I like you too.”

He slowly smiled and leaned in, “What was that?”

Oh, he liked to tease me alright. “You heard me, didn’t you?”

“No,” he said, smiling. He obviously heard. I frowned.

I’m so embarrassed, heat rushed to my cheeks. Ugh. Why do I blush so easily?

“You’re blushing,” he pointed out.

“I know. Thanks for pointing it out, Mr. Obvious.”

“Eeyyy. Come on, what did you say? I have really bad hearing. Honest! You have to shout it out so I could hear it,” a knowing smile plastered on his handsome face, I sighed and gave in.

“I like you.” I didn’t shout but I said it loud enough for him to hear.

I looked at him to see his reaction. He was smiling from ear to ear like a puppy who has just found a pile of bones and when I glance down, his fist hovering above the table was clenched as if he was trying to hold back doing something.

Without warning, he suddenly brought his fists up and punched the air yelling “Wohoooo!”

“Ya! Sssshhhh!”

“I can’t help it if I’m happy.” I blushed.

“Be happy, that’s fine but be quiet.”

He surprised me by leaning in all the way to my side and kissing my cheek. This was the second time. He pulled back immediately, retreating to his side and smiling like nothing earth shattering has just happened. Me, on the other hand, was busy trying to control my erratic emotions and struggling to remember my normal breathing pattern. I brought my hand to my cheek and breathed heavily.

“God, you are beautiful.” I look at him and I only saw sincerity in his eyes. Our eyes locked for what seemed like forever even though I knew full well that it had only been just a few seconds.

The door opened and we tore our gazes off of each other and gave our full attention to whoever it was who just came in.

It was a girl, pretty, tall, long wavy hair… Must be Jihyun.

“Hoon-ah!” she declared and she rushed to his side and hugged him. My eyes narrowed by themselves and a deep frown forms on my lips. Seunghoon noticed my reaction so he tried to gently push her off of himself. Jihyun finally pulled back and she looked at him longingly.

“I missed you, you little rascal!” she said, tousling his hair like what noonas do to their dongsaengs.

Huh, they had this kind of relationship. I guess I worried for nothing.

She suddenly remembered that there was a third person in the room and bowed. “Where are my manners. Omona. Hello, I am Choi Jihyun, his adoptive noona,” she jokingly said. Seunghoon had this I-told-you-not-to-worry kind of expression on his face.

I returned her bow. “Hello unnie. I’m Yang Elizabeth. Call me Eli. It’s nice to meet you.” I gave her a genuine smile because now I was sure that there really was nothing to be jealous about.

“Oh, this is the first time I heard you say your full name. Beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” Seunghoon seems to be talking to himself behind Jihyun unnie.

“Oh it’s nice to meet you too! And…” she looked at Seunghoon and then at me. “What exactly are you two?” she grinned.

“Uuuhh…” I’m not even sure yet.

“She’s my girlfriend,” seunghoon answered proudly.

“Omo! Really? Omo! Eomma will be so happy to hear this news!” she giddily said. “Eeeooommmmaaa!”

“Ya! She’s busy. Don’t bother her.” Seunghoon told her. “She’s never too busy for her son,” she replied and shouted again.

Someone came rushing to our room, ladle in hand. “Jesuschrist! What happened?!” she said breathlessly. Jihyun simply pointed at Seunghoon.

“Omoooo! I was so busy that I forgot my son was finally returning home today!” I smiled seeing how welcome Seunghoon was here as if he really was their own flesh and blood. And I thought, this is a hundred times better than a five star overpriced restaurant.

“And who is this beautiful girl?” Was she talking about me? They’ve all complimented me so much, I wasn’t really used to it and quite frankly, I know they were just being nice.

“She’s talking to you,” Jihyun told me.

“Eh? Oh.” I bowed. “Hello! I’m Eli. It’s nice to meet you ahjumma.”

“And you’re seunghoon’s friend?”

“Girlfriend,” Seunghoon corrected. Oh he was having the time of his life unlike me, who kept blushing every time he says the word ‘girlfriend.’

“OMO! Really?! Don’t call me ahjumma,” she told me. “My name is Hye Mi but you may call me eomma as well since you’re my son’s girlfriend.”

Seunghoon grinned proudly at her. She then opened her arms wide and Seunghoon stood up to hug her.

Aaawwww.

When they pulled away, she smacked the back of his head. Seunghoon took a few steps back, raising his arms defensively.

“What took you so long to come back here huh?” she said in a wounded and angry voice.

“WINNER’s schedule is hectic. Sorry, eomma! I swear I tried,” he said, bringing his hands together.

“Don’t lie to me!”

 “You can ask WINNER! You can ask our manager!”

Hye Mi… err… Eomma only laughed at him. Here is another weirdo. One second she was mad, the next second she was laughing. Are they sure they’re not blood related?

“I was kidding! Of course I believe you. Give your eomma another hug.” And seunghoon did give her another hug and he started swaying her as if they were dancing.

Jihyun unnie tapped my shoulder and I look at her. “Ignore them. They have their own world sometimes.” I smiled at her. I kind of liked seeing this side of Seunghoon.

“Oh, what do you want to eat by the way?”

Seunghoon stopped from dancing and released his eomma. He dropped back to his seat. “Today’s menu has been taken cared of. Eomma already knows what I want.” Jihyun looks at her eomma and the latter nodded.

“You interrupted me while I was preparing for their meal,” she said.

Jihyun stood up and told her mother to hurry back to the kitchen with her. They waved bye and was gone.

“Did you like my surrogate family?” Seunghoon asked.

“I don’t like them,” I said with a serious expression. He gasped and I slowly smiled and added, “I think I love them already.”

He nodded. “I knew you would. They’re good people.”

It took a while before our food came so we just chatted. Conversations with him felt so natural it’s as if I have been talking to him all my life. I talked about school and then he talked about their upcoming comeback. He was obviously very excited for it because he was smiling the entire time he was talking about it. His smile was contagious.

The door opened and Jihyun came inside bringing in a variety of dishes. I thought this was a ramen house.

Jihyun arranged all the food on our table. When she was done, she smiled and exclaimed, “Enjoy!” and made a dramatic exit. Seunghoon and I laughed at how cute she was.

I bring my attention back to the food. All this food was enough to feed a whole family for three days.

“Are we expecting someone else?”

“These are all for you. Don’t you like them?”

“Surprisingly, I like them. Every single one of them. Did you have me stalked or something because it’s weird how every dish is my favorite.”

“Oh, that? Psh. Remember we had dinner together once?” I nodded. “I wasn’t talking much that time because you were making me nervous.” He laughed. “Anyway, because I didn’t talk much, I had a lot of time in my hands to study what kind of food you liked. You ate like a pig and I took notes of every single dish you ate that you obviously loved. You emptied most of the plates that night, by the way.”

“Did you just insult me?” I said, trying to sound offended.

“Eeyy. That’s a compliment coming from me. I like girls who eat so well.”

“Most boys wouldn’t want their girlfriends to eat at all.”

“Well those kinds of boys are stupid.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“Well then, let’s start eating. You must be hungry. Eat,” he said nodding to the food.

Don’t have to tell me twice, I dug in and stuffed my mouth with everything. I heard Seunghoon chuckle.

“What?”

“Most girls I know would eat timidly when they are with boys.”

“Why?” I asked, genuinely confused.

 “Nevermind. Continue eating.”

I shrugged.

“I am so full!” I announced after we’ve ate all the food they had served.

“I didn’t even get to eat some of the dishes.” Seunghoon pouted.

“That’s because for fifteen minutes, you were just staring at me while I was devouring most of the food.”

He shook his head, smiling. “You really are something special, Eli.”

“Are you ready to leave?” he asked after a few minutes.

“Wait. I need more time to have all that food digested. It was a lot. You fed me too much.”

He laughed out loud. “Okay then.”

We talked for a few minutes and then I told him I was ready to leave. We went to find Jihyun and his eomma to tell them we were leaving. They looked like they were going to cry while we were saying goodbye. Seunghoon assured them that before WINNER’s comeback, he’ll come here again and that he’s going to bring all the other members and me. The two women cheered up at the idea and told us to drive safely home.

We were now in his car again and I reared back in my seat. “Do you like amusement parks?” he suddenly asked.

“Eh? Yeah. I guess. Why?”

“Good cause the date isn’t over yet.” I smiled as he drove off.

The amusement park was a great idea! I was having so much fun already. We’ve been in a lot of rides and we’ve played a lot of games, I was having a blast. I spotted a lion stuffed animal in one of  the stalls and I tapped seunghoon’s shoulders and pointed at it.

“You want that?” he asked, smiling. He probably knows why I would want a lion. I nodded.

“Ahjussi, what do I have to do to win that lion?” He asked the man who was running the booth.

“Hit that target at the center with this ball. It has to fall down for you to get that lion. That’s the grand prize.”

“Really?” he puffed out his chest. “Easy.” He paid the ahjussi for a total of six tries.

He was at his twentieth? I have lost count already. He looked so determined that he didn’t even look at me anymore. He was lost in his game. II felt so guilty because I was the one who wanted the damned lion and he ended up spending so much money for it when we could have bought one at a department store for a cheaper price.

I pulled at his sleeve. “Oppa. Seunghoon oppa.”

His hand froze mid-air and he glanced at me. “Why?”

“You can stop now. You don’t have to spend all your money to get me that lion.”

“No.”

“But– ”

“Have a little faith, will ya? I will win this thing.” His eyes burned with determination. I sighed.

After about ten more tries, he finally made that stupid target fall down, winning me the stupid lion. With a proud grin on his face, he handed me the stuffed animal.

He was so childish. So adorable.

“You do know that we could have bought this somewhere else at a cheaper price and with less effort right?” I told him.

“I know. But I didn’t want you to think I was a loser.”

“I would never think that.” I hugged the lion tightly and genuinely thanked him for it. He smiled and took my hand. I am still not used to the skinship so a soft gasp escaped my lips. He didn’t notice, thankfully.

“What are we going to ride next?” he asked.

A thought suddenly forms at the evil part of my brain and I answered, “I want to ride the roller coaster.”

“Ro-roller coaster?” his voice shook. I hide my smile.

I nodded innocently. “I don’t want to ride it alone. I might get scared.” I really wanted to laugh right now. I’m a fan, I watched WINNERTV. I know about that “Ak! Ak! Ak! Oppaaaa!!” moment when he rode the roller coaster with the other members. His fear caused him to confuse himself with a girl. I would like to see and hear it for myself.

“O-okay,” he finally said.

While we tried to make ourselves comfortable in the seats, I stole glances at him and I could see that he was trying to hide his fear.

This is going to be epic!

The ride started. Seunghoon gripped my hand so tightly, it started to hurt. I don’t think he even realizes what he was doing. I tried to pry my hands away but his hand wouldn’t even move.

“Oppa!” I yelled. He looked at me. “You’re hurting my hand!”

He instantly released my hand and apologized. We both looked straight ahead as the ride started to go faster.

I screamed like any other girl when the speed was starting to become too much to bear. Seunghoon was eerily quiet beside me. I wanted to hear him shout oppa but it never came.

When we finally got off the roller coaster, I faced him. “You didn’t scream oppa.”

“You knew?” he accused. I knew he was talking about that episode on WINNERTV. I nodded and laughed.

“Why would you do that?! It took all the strength I possessed not to open my mouth because I just knew I would scream oppa again. You’re so evil.”

I laughed. “I’m sorry.” I laughed louder. He frowned at me but I just kept on laughing.

Out of the blue, he took one step closer and he shut me up with this mouth.

He pulled back with a victorious smile and I covered my lips, completely bewildered.

My heart was beating in an abnormally fast rate. My breathing shallowed. My brain was trying to register what just happened but failed. I blinked more times than necessary.

I think I’m going to faint.

And I was right.

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A/N: Tell me what you think! ^_^ And here are Seunghoon gifs for you <3