Hello guys, wassup!

If you had read my chapter ending note last chapter, you might have been wondering why I'm still writing when I said i wouldn't have time before leaving for the US. Well I'm here to bring you good news.

I wrote another chapter! I didn't have school today, so I spent the day packing and writing a brand-new chapter for y'all. 

That's all for now, although I have a feeling that this chapter will be quite interesting...

Of course I say that. I'm the author. 

Anyway, enjoy reading this chapter and I'll see you guys soon!

 

Naeun’s POV:

 

“Mollae saljjak dagawa tto kiseuhaejullae

Nae kkumgyeol gateun neon namanui

Mr Chu.”

As Eunji unnie sang the last lines of our new song, Mr Chu, and our dance finished, I flopped to the floor in extreme fatigue. We had just finished practicing our dance for multiple of our songs in quick succession, and it was tough work.

As Chorong unnie came to hand me a bottle of water, she asked me, “ Is everything ok Naeun? I’ve been meaning to ask you, but I was so tired from last night’s performance. You’ve looked different ever since we returned from dinner with Sebastian. It’s like you’re sadder, but that can’t be right? Since you’re our happy, cute Naeun.” She said the last sentence with a smile, but I could sense that she knew something was up.

Sigh. Truth be told, last night’s dinner had been really awkward, especially the questions that Sebastian had answered pertaining to love. I knew my members had asked those question jokingly, but I couldn’t get his response out of my head.

And when he had said he liked me? Well, he hadn’t really said that, but I felt that it wasn’t really a mistake.

I hoped it wasn’t a mistake.

Wait. Had I really thought that?

That could only mean one thing, and I did not want to think of that right now. Not with all our group activities coming up, and schoolwork to handle as well. I had enough on my mind as of now.

“Naeun, is there a problem? You’ve been really quiet for the last 5 minutes.” I glanced up to see my members crowding around me, clearly concerned with the look on my face.

“ Do you want to talk about it unnie? You know we’re always here to help if you need us.” Namjoo put an arm around me.

Should I?

I mean, I needed to get it off my chest, and I hadn’t been able to sleep properly the whole night. I hadn’t even had an appetite this morning. So yeah, you could say I was pretty anxious.

I took a deep breath. “ Well, it’s about last night. I don’t know if Sebastian lik-“

Immediately, Hayoung let out a squeal of delight, then supposedly remembered her place and quickly became silent.

“Naeun-ah, please continue.” Eunji said, but I could tell they all knew what was bothering me, just from Hayoung’s outburst.

“ I don’t know if he likes me, I mean the answers he gave and the way he looked at me yesterday. Aargh, I don’t know what to think!” I said, frustrated and angry at such a trivial thing.

But love wasn’t to be taken lightly was it?

“ Bu-but Naeun-ah, do you like him?” Bomi frowned, clearly surprised at my rare vent of anger.

Now what was I to say?

I just looked down and remained quiet. As soon as this happened, I heard the other members buzz in excitement. I already knew what they were thinking before they started talking.

“ Naeun, do you like Sebastian Lee?”

Aishh. That didn’t take long at all. I merely nodded in resignment.

“ In all honesty, I didn’t think I would fall for him so fast. He just seemed like a really nice person.” I tried to defend myself.

“Naeun unnie, there’s nothing wrong with liking him. But now the question is what you are going to do from now on? Are you gonna confess?”

“ Are you crazy Namjoo? What if someone sees and reports it? People will get the wrong idea and a scandal might break out? What if Naeun has to leave because of that?” Chorong almost scolded my dongsaeng.

The members remained quiet as the possibility of the last statement sunk in, however remote that remained.

I needed to interject to break the tension and the silence. “ It’s ok guys, I’m not going to confess now because I have a lot of other things to settle first. Group first right?” The members nodded.

I continued. “ Plus, I don’t know if he even likes me back, so I’m gonna leave everything as it is, and see where our friendship goes on from here.”

“ Hmm, ok ok. Look at our Naeun, she’s so smart and mature these days,” the members chorused in unison.

I smiled, as our dance instructor came back and signaled the end of our break.

 

At the end of practice:

 

“Naeun-ah, remember, all of us want honey peach bubble tea. Ok?”

I sighed and turned to Eunji unnie. “ Yes unnie, I’ll be back soon.”

She smiled. “ Come back quickly, I can’t wait for my drink!”

I shook my head as I turned to walk to the nearest bubble tea shop. I had volunteered to buy and carry the drinks back to our dorm, not only out of the kindness of my caring heart, but also to give me some time alone to sort out my thoughts and to see what I could do from here.

I really wanted to see if Sebastian liked me, because well, girls are interested in that kind of stuff.

Also, cos I kinda felt something for him.

I sighed heavily. Relationships were hard.

I wasn’t even in a relationship, and I felt life was difficult already!

Crap, what did my members want for bubble tea?

Oh no, this was bad. If I called them to ask them again, they would scold me for forgetting something so simple.

I fretted. Was it honey apple? Green apple?

Suddenly, my phone rang in my pocket. Without looking at the caller, I thanked God for one of my members reading my mind and calling to remind me.

“Unnie, could you remind me of your order? I just have so much-“
“ Um, is this Son Naeun?”

I stopped in shock. I paused to look at the caller ID and almost gasped.

The one I had been thinking about for the whole day was finally calling me!

Was he gonna confess his feelings? Was he going to ask to hang out?

“ Hi Sebastian!” I began brightly. “ What’s up?”

“ Hi Naeun, I have a bit of a problem here.”

Way to get my hopes up. He hadn’t come to his senses yet.

Ugh. Look at you Naeun. Thinking so rudely.

Sorry sorry. I should really be nicer inwardly if I wanted a chance with him.

“ Huh? What’s the problem Seb? Are you ok?”

“ Um well, you see, it’s just that-“

I interrupted him halfway. Where did my manners go all of a sudden?

“ It’s ok Seb, you can tell me.” I braced myself for a minor issue, perhaps related to settling in to life in a foreign country. I mean, you couldn’t expect to be fully comfortable until maybe the first month had passed.

“ My apartment has ben ransacked.”

Seb said it in such a matter-of-fact way that I would have burst out laughing if not for:

      A)   The seriousness of the situation and problem, and

      B)   How much eh would despise me if I did.

“ Omo! Are you serious? Is it bad?”

Of course it’s bad you fool Naeun, his apartment has been destroyed.

“ Um, my chairs and tables have been overturned,my walls have been vandalised, my clothes and belongings are strewn across the floor, and my door wont even lock properly anymore. And someone took some of  my valuables, like my passport. So yeah, it’s kinda bad.”

“ I’m so sorry, I didn’t know. Have you called the police to make a report? We have to find the s who did this to you!”

“ Yeah, I’ve called the police, but I think I already know who did it.”

“What? Who? Tell me, and I’ll find them!”

Yeah great Naeun, finding some people in a large, packed city with nothing but a name. Good offer.

I heard his pause on the other end of the phone, the silence punctuated by the deep, long breaths he was exhaling. “ I’ll tell you some other time.”

“ Hmm sure ok, is there anything I can do?” I asked, out of both politeness and ulterior motive.

“ Not really, just don’t leak what happened outside us. I don’t want anyone else knowing.”

I nodded in agreement.

Then it dawned on me.

“Seb! Where are you going to stay?”

“ I’ll stay right here I suppose? I mean, I still have a bed.”

I almost balked. “ Are you serious right now Sebastian Lee? Your door doesn’t even lock properly and you want to stay where you are? What if someone comes in whilst you’re sleeping, and takes something, and possibly even worse?”

Now I sounded like an overprotective mum. What a way to make him like you in that way.

“ I think you should stay with us, since you don’t know a lot of people here yet.”

Naeun, you sneaky girl. How so very sneaky of you.

“ Naeun, are you serious? I don’t think it’s a good idea for one guy to stay in a dorm filled with 6 girls around my age. Plus, it would be awkward because they’re all so pretty...” he trailed off.   

Hmm. Good point. I didn’t want to make him shy in such a way. But then where was he going to stay? God, I felt like such an awful “friend” that I couldn’t even help him properly.

“ But where are you going to stay?” I asked, injecting a tone of desperation.

“ I’ll probably see if Jae or D.O are ok with me staying over for a few days, at least until I can get my apartment restored to normal and my valuables returned.”

Damn, I didn’t even think of the possibility that he had other friends.

“ Uh, uh, are you sure? Do you know how to get either of their houses?”

“ Yup, I’ve been to Jae’s house before.”

“Great!” My tone masked my disappointment. “I hope you get there safely, and that you catch the people who did this to you.”

“Thank you, I hope so too.” And he hung up on me.

I slowly pulled my phone down from my ear and put it in my pocket again. Had I made my intentions loud and clear by offering him a knowingly unsuitable place to stay?

Ah Naeun, didn’t you say that you weren’t going to confess, or at least hint to Seb that you liked him?

Gosh, it’s so hard to stay focused when in love. God, I don’t even know if I’m in love.

! Bubble Tea!

 

Sebastian’s POV:

 

To be honest, I could put up with the constant bullying in school and glares as I passed down the school corridors.

But breaking in to my residence and trashing it?  That was one step too far.

The scene I had seen in front of me would remind one of an urban battlefield, or rather, the aftermath of an elephant that had somehow trampled through the small apartment.

I had wasted no time in calling the cops and explaining the situation. They had promised to check the CCTV footage outside my front door to see the culprit(s) and bring them to justice.

Now, the more pressing matter was where I was going to stay.

If Naeun found out that I was still sleeping in my destroyed apartment, she would probably freak out, and uh, I didn’t want to make anyone worried over me. I also figured that D.O would be too busy to accommodate me at this particular juncture, so I decided to crash Jae’s place.

I phoned him and explained my misfortune, and he agreed to let me stay. As I packed up my remaining, intact belongings and walked out my broken front door, I pondered over my conversation with Naeun.

She had seemed so concerned and worried about me that she seemed to act as a friend who I had known for the majority of my life.

Huh. A famous idol worrying over me. Wait till I told my friends back in Singapore.

I let out a small smile as I continued walking over to Jae’s house.

 

10 minutes later:

 

“Sup Jae, sorry about this,” I immediately apologized to my friend.

“ Don’t worry about it man, I’m sorry to hear about your place.”

As I took my bags upstairs with him, he turned to ask me if I was comfortable in staying in the same room as him.

“ Are you kidding bruh? We’re both guys dude, no homo.”

Speaking of being comfortable sleeping in the same room as someone…

Never mind that. Why was I making such a big deal about it?

I quickly showered and went down to have dinner with Jae’s family, at the insistence of his parents. After devouring a sumptuous meal, I excused myself to start my weekend assignments.

Slam me all you want for not starting earlier and shirking my chores and all that nonsense, but I had rather enjoyed exploring Seoul by myself, and just walking along the Han river taking in the sights and sounds that the city had to offer.

Great. Now rip into me for being a loner.

As I was trying to explain how different forms of theatre had evolved over the years, specifically from the 19th to 20th Century, Jae walked in to my room announced.

Granted, it technically was his room, but I liked to be possessive.

Seeing I was extremely hard at work writing my thesis, he muttered “Oh, um shall I come back later?”

I shut my computer screen and leaned back on my chair. “Nah, it’s fine, I needed a break anyway. What’s up?”

Then, he started. “ Why didn’t you stay with anyone in your class? Don’t you know your classmates well by now?”

I shook my head. “ Not really, most of them can’t be bothered about me, and vice versa. Besides, we go way back man.”

He smirked. “ Why didn’t you stay with Naeun? Don’t you like her?”

Some people just had great hunches. I hadn’t even told anyone before.

 I threw my hands up in defeat. “ How’d you know man?”

He continued smirking. “ I always see the two of you in school hanging out and you guys look close, closer than just friends.”

I sighed. “Truth is, she’s someone that would fit my ideal type, and I really hope that one day we can be together, but that’s just wishful thinking. No way a girl like that would end up with me.”

I finished my short speech and looked at Jae. His mouth was agape in silent shock.

“What? Was it something I said?”

Jae slowly closed his mouth, all colour and warmth from his face drained. “ Dude, it was a joke. I didn’t actually know you had serious feelings for Naeun, I was just teasing you because you two are close friends.”

I felt my face going completely red. Great, I had just embarrassed myself big time. Thank goodness it was only in front of one friend. “ ! I feel so stupid now.” I buried my head in my hands.

“ Err, you were serious when you said all that about liking Naeun and all that right?” Jae confirmed.

I nodded, too ashamed to speak at all.

Jae paused for a moment, taking in a piece of unexpected information. “ Well, I’m no relationship expert, but I would say to seize the chance upon your close friendship and admit your feelings, because you don’t want to lose her if she suddenly loses contact or something. You know how it is with famous idols.”

“Yeah, I should, but I just don’t want to get rejected and ruin our friendship. It’s already hard being without a lot of friends or familiar faces.” I looked at Jae in desperation. “ Please don’t tell anyone about this. I couldn’t possibly live it down if Naeun found out.”

He walked over and patted me on the back. “ Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. “ He turned to walk out of the room, but before he did, he stopped and turned to face me once more, as if something had just occurred to him.

“Wait, Seb, you sure about going after Naeun? I mean, I don’t want you to get-“

I waved my hand to indicate he could stop. “ It’s ok Jae, I know what you mean. Don’t worry about me, it is something I’m fine dealing with myself. Besides, I’ve moved on, I won’t make the same mistakes again. I can handle it.”

He shrugged. “ If you say so man, I’ll see ya later,” closing the door behind him, leaving me with only a computer and a very guilty feeling.

I didn’t enjoy lying. It was only a temporary way to postpone the truth eventually being exposed.

Truth is, I was very wary of being friends with Naeun, and of the possible advancement of that friendship. For all the seemingly genuine relations so far, I did not want to be hated by everyone around me and I did not want to be an outcast in the university.

But most of all? I did not want my heart to be broken again. 

I stood up to turn off the light, and crashed onto the bed with a loud sigh. 

I wasn’t in the mood to do any work now. It would have to wait until the morning.

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello again! Thanks for reading!

What d'ya think of the chapter? i hope it wasn't too boring for you as a reader. We found out more about Naeun and Sebastian's feelings for each other. But what of Seb's past? Why does it trouble him so much? Stay tuned to find out!

I feel like the story is progressing faster than I originally expected, so I think I shall try to tone things down a bit and slow down the pace. However, don't worry: I won't completely bore you guys out, I mean if you guys have continued reading up till this point, that's a good start right?

On that note, I will not update this story for a few weeks in lieu of my vacation, so please understand and continue to support me and this fanfic! 

Votes, comments, feedback and follows are also greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much for your time, and peace out!

-Elliot