Sebastian’s POV:

 

2, no, 3 weeks had passed since that somewhat awkward ‘outing’ with Naeun. Since then, we had gotten increasingly close and gone on more ‘hangouts’, shall we call it. We had gotten to the point where we exchanged text messages late into the night, covering pretty much every conversational topic, from Kpop to complaining about how unfair teachers were in handing out tutorials and assignments.

Now I know this sounds very suspicious and all, but don’t you come to conclusions too fast, young one. I mean, what’s wrong with talking to a girl late into the night?

Um. Now that I think about it. No.

I’ll just shut up now.

 

 

 

 

But you wouldn’t want me to, would you?

Anyway, just a few days ago, I had gotten the huge privilege of going backstage of Inkigayo, courtesy of Apink’s generosity, or more specifically Naeun. And so, because I was a VIP of sorts, I had people bowing to me while walking backstage and such. It felt really weird to see people in such positions like producers greeting me and bowing the same number of degrees that I would normally do in any normal situation. In short, it was surreal.

What made it more so was the fact that Apink won.

They won! Holy shizz, it just sank in. They had been performing their new hit title track, “LUV”, and it had previously won 4 #1 placings on previous music shows, making a complete handful of victories for the girls. 

Maybe it was me being a good luck charm? Hehe, I kid.

 

Of course, the whole of Apink's team was in high spirits, cherering and whooping very loudly in celebration, and generally being very rowdy. I felt out of place since everyone else knew each other and could chat for long periods of time whilst I was in the corner, desperately waiting for their appearance to save me. 

Of course, I was still majorly embarrassed meeting them, especially the way that Naeun’s noonas, ( namely, Chorong, Bomi and Eunji) treated me like a little kid, despite the fact I wasn’t much younger than them.

“Yah! There’s our little Dongsaeng!” They had greeted me upon leaving their stage and seeing me waiting in the wings. Did I mind this treatment? Did I have a choice?

No, I didn’t. But it was a miracle they even treated someone like me in this way in the first place. So, being an obsessed fanboy who seemed to blush every time one member looked my way, I lapped it up.

So frankly, I was a bit disappointed during the midst of being patted on the shoulder, overhearing the word “kyeopta” multiple times, ( of which I had forgotten to look up the meaning) and very rarely being pinched on the cheek by Eunji noona ( understandably, since she has a younger brother), that I wa tapped on the shoulder. The thing was, I didn’t know anyone else here, or more accurately, no one else here knew me.

Boy, was I in for a nice surprise. I wheeled around to find a lean guy with jet black hair almost down to his shoulder looking at me. He looked really really familiar, I swear I had seen him somewhere.

‘Naeun Annyeong!” He said, greeting the Apink member behind me first.

Strange, the way he had said that reminded me of a show with Naeun in it…

Yeah, she was paired up with some guy called..

“Omo! Lee Taemin!” I blurted out loud, before I covered my mouth in horror. “I mean, Annyeonghaseyo Taemin hyung.”

Damn! SHINee’s maknae was standing in front of me! Naeun would tease me on end for saying this, but I fanboyed over Taemin (don’t judge) for his insane dancing skills. Like seriously, I could watch videos of him doing his thing for all day. So yeah, meeting a guy who I had so desperately wanted to get a pic for bragging rights with my friends back in Singapore kind of made me stutter my greetings.

“ Oh! Oppa annyeong! What are you doing here?” Naeun said, breaking the silence between my last outburst and now.

“ I just came to support you, since you’re my hoobae!” Taemin gave a trademark Taemin smile that usually had girls fawning over him.

If he was shocked at my previous rudeness, he certainly didn’t show it. “ Ah, you must be Mr. Sebastian Lee, am I right? Naeun’s told me a lot about you.”

So they still talked. Hmm, jealous much I was.

“ Since I’m no longer there to look out for her, take good care of her yeah? I hear you two are close.” He smiled, but not at me, and I turned around to see Naeun looking down, suddenly looking shy.

Was she blushing? Wow. She looked cute when she was shy. I guess, being her personality and all…

Yes! I stopped staring just in time. Minor victory.

I felt Taemin pulling me gently aside, away from the ruckus surrounding Apink.

“Hey, Sebastian-ssi, I suspect you are close to Naeun in more ways than one, right?” He gave me a signature Taemin smirk, which I recognized from all his reality shows.

I was stunned. “ Uh, uh, uh hyung, It’s not what you think, I’m just friends wi-“

“ Who said I objected?” Man, I didn’t understand these idols. “ Rest assured, we’re just friends man, she’s all yours.”

Aarrrgghh what was he on about? I hadn’t sorted out my feelings yet. I was blushing all different shades of red at increasingly alarming rates. “um, hyung, It’s really not like that, we’re not in a relationship like that…”

“ Yet.” Taemin grinned, finishing off my sentence, much to my shock. Geez, were all idols this straightforward? “ Whatever you say man, whatever you say.”

This was extremely awkward. I didn’t like awkward.

We stood in silence for about 10 seconds, desperately trying to think of something to say, when Taemin jumped to the rescue of the weird situation.

“ I have to leave now, I have a busy schedule. It was nice meeting you, Sebastian. I’m sure we’ll see each other around sometime,” Taemin said. Walking over to Naeun, he smiled and hugged her, presumably in congratulations, and left backstage.

However, very troublingly, before he did so, he turned towards me and winked once, grinned again, before strutting out like only idols can.

I paused for a moment, collecting my thoughts. Taemin’s statements had struck a chord within me. I really needed to sort out what I felt towards Naeun, and fast. Misunderstandings led to the downfall of friendships. And if I were to continue hiding the fact that feelings were present in the first place, I would have to do it a bit more subtlely, because Taemin’s observations and the way Naeun supposedly talked about me were almost as clear cut as sticking signs above my head.

Sigh, things were getting complicated.

And as if that wasn’t enough, I felt another tap on my shoulder. Wow, was Taemin going to tease me further? I turned around annoyed, clearly expecting a smirk aimed directly at me.

Instead, I looked at my eye level, and I saw nothing. Just air.

Ok, I really needed to stop being mean and all. He wasn’t that short.

“ Seb annyeong,” D.O. greeted me with a small smile.

“ Yah D.O! I loved your performance, even though you didn’t win, you were especially great!”

He chuckled. “ You would have preferred it if Naeun and Apink had won instead of Exo right? That’s ok, I still love you,” before I even had time to object.

“ Yah D.O, you’re one of my closest friends, I would have liked both of you to win, or at least share the award,” I smiled, giving him a hug.

A cough very much aimed at the two of us broke the silence.  I broke away from our blossoming bromance and found 11 other guys waiting around 10 metres away, looking in our direction.

“ Oh mianhae Sebastian, I need to go, I’ve got a busy schedule ahead of me this weekend, I hope you understand.”

“That’s fine! Go win some awards for me yeah?” I patted him on the shoulder encouragingly.

“ I’ll do my best. Send my congratulations to Naeun and the rest, yeah?” D.O began, walking back to s. I nodded in response.

I waved at s.

Oi Seb! Remember your place. You don’t simply wave randomly and spontaneously at famous idols. You must be crazy!

They waved back.

They waved back! Oh goodness, oh goodness! What do I do!

They acknowledged my presence! Yes! Yes! Yes!

 

. I was becoming an obsessed fanboy. Of guy groups.

People would understand if it were girl groups I had the hots for, but to follow guy groups intensely. I was setting myself up for major teasing from Naeun and her members.

Making a mental note to myself, I had jogged back to Apink, who had managed to ward off multiple wellwishers congratulating them on their win.

 

I smiled to myself as I walked down the street, on the way back from Athletics training. Speaking of which, training on a Sunday? That was plain mean, inhumane and flat-out tiring. I mean, we had lessons the next day for crying out loud, and I couldn’t feel my legs anymore! The only good thing about it was that I had something else to take my mind off studies, and other more pressing, ah, personal matters.

By the way, if you were wondering where I was headed, since my apartment had been vandalized and all that, the police had made the families of the bullies pay damages in order to restore my place to its former “glory” so to speak. And as much as I felt sorry for the parents of the vandals, that pity vanished when I looked at the new state of my pad. The compensation money had actually exceeded the cost of the damage done, so my place was looking pretty slick with a new TV and sofa to kick back and relax. Yeah, the prospect was just flopping onto the sofa and just chilling seemed pretty tantalizing now. I could have run back now, so eager was I, if my worn-out legs had allowed it.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Mr. ignorant punk yet again.”

I stopped daydreaming and focused my gaze in front of me.

Wait. Wasn’t he-

Oh no way. It was leader of the 3 a-holes who had bullied and ransacked my home.

Don’t show weakness. Think of something Seb. A comeback. An escape route. Anything.

“ Shouldn’t you be in jail? And where did you learn words like ignorant? Didn’t think your brain was enough to comprehend those words. Oh wait, I’m sorry, do you know what comprehend means?”

That was plain weak man, you’re embarrassing yourself big time.

Come on, I’m drawing blanks right now. I didn’t expect to see him roaming the streets. I guess, escape route is the only feasible option for me now.

I tried to turn my head to scan for any other souls in the area and shout for help, but immediately I was roughly seized by two pairs of hands, one pair around my throat, and the other wrapping my legs together. I felt myself being lifted up and “escorted” somewhere, which I soon found out was a dark, deserted alley completely out of sight.

I felt the hands release off my body, before I slammed into a wall with a sickening thump. The hit took the wind out of me, and I slumped to the floor, gasping for air. I had barely any time to register my new environment and situation, before the first punch came, forcing my head to jerk to the right violently.

The barrage continued for a few minutes, after which my face felt completely numb. I felt streams of blood trickling down my face, and for the first time in a while, I felt genuinely scared for fear of death, or at least serious injury.

But then the punching started again, and this time it was plagued with the staccato-like precision of words of one of the bullies. “ Stay. Away. From. Son. Naeun.”

“Stop.” One voice rang out, and the punching ceased. I looked up slowly, my face a bloody, disheveled mess. The leader started pacing up and down in front of me.

“You know, I don’t get it. All we asked you to do was to stay away from her and you wouldn’t be facing this bruising. You really are an idiot for bringing this upon yourself.” He stopped to jab a finger at me before smiling slyly.

“ You really are a pabo ( fool), Sebastian Lee. Do you really think that Son Naeun, a pretty and famous idol, would really want anything to do with you? She’s either being polite, or you are a really big scheming .”

However, he paused dramatically as he got ready to deliver what I assumed to be the knockout blow.

“No one will ever like you, as a friend or more. Heck, knowing a fake, pretentious twit like you would be bad enough.”

Those were the last clear words I heard, before my half-dead self collapsed to the floor, and everything went black.

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Hi guys, shortish update here, didnt htink u guys were up for two long chapters in a row, haha.

Oh no! Looks like Seb's been assaulted. What's going to happen to him? Stay tuned to find out :)

I couldnt resist adding a Taemin cameo to the chapter, partly because I ship Taeun hard. FOr those of you that dont know, Taemin and Naeun were paired in a Koraen reality TV show called We Got Married, which imagines two people to be partners in marriage and go about living as if so. The interaction between the two, I find, extremely cute, and so Taeun is their recognized ship name. You guys should check out the show if you havent already, I promise it to be very interesting.

Oh, and check out SHINee's music too, it's severely underrated. Also, Taemin has some solo songs as well, which are quite catchy, so I would recommend them. 

Thanks so much for reading this chapter, and remember to vote/follow me if you are enjoying and appreciating what you are reading. 

Thanks, and peace out :)

-Elliot