Chapter Text
Changmin volunteered (forced was the right word) to buy some canned goods in the nearby convenience store. Of course, he didn't do it alone. Haknyeon was with him. He wasn't sure if it was a smart idea to bring one of the gluttons with him but he had no choice. Sangyeon told Haknyeon to come with him. At least, Haknyeon was easy to get along with despite being so whiny. Maybe it was because of the one year difference or it's because Haknyeon didn't have anyone in the group who had the same age as him. All Changmin knew was that he felt really comfortable with Haknyeon. It was just that Changmin was forced to go on this errand because of how hungry Haknyeon can get.
"Are we really going to buy only canned goods?" Haknyeon whined. Changmin looked up and thought about it. Sure, this was supposed to be a punishment for the younger member but he didn’t want them to eat nothing during their time out.
"If we have extra cash, we can buy ice cream. Call?" Changmin offered which the younger member gladly accepted. Haknyeon suddenly started skipping as they entered the convenience store, earning a glance from the worker behind the cash register.
That's when they realized that the employee was new to the area. She looked young, around their age. She smiled at them, bowed and greeted them, as convenience store employees do. They greeted back.
"I wonder when she was hired here. She seems like someone new," Haknyeon commented while he carefully went through the snack aisle, "I wonder if she knows us?"
"She didn't react like she knew us," Changmin commented, checking off the list Sangyeon gave him earlier," Maybe she doesn't like K-pop?"
"We can ask her, you know. We've done more shameless stuff before," Haknyeon suggested. Changmin looked uneasy with that. Sure, that could work if she was older but she looked like she was in her early twenties. Maybe she was the same age as either of them. Changmin sometimes had some kind of courage to approach people and ask them if they knew The Boyz, but it was difficult without any mission or camera filming them.
"You ask. I'll just go get the other things hyung asked me to buy," Changmin said. Haknyeon nodded and proceeded to head to the counter. Changmin glanced from the side of his eye at the conversation Haknyeon was having with the cashier. He noticed that the former was using his charm on the latter, making her smile.
When Changmin went to the counter, the two of them looked like new friends.
"Hyung, this is Mia. She's the same age as me!" Haknyeon gleamed," She also studies in the college near here. Though she doesn't want to share where or what her major is."
"It's called privacy," her talking voice was different from her greeting voice. It was slightly deeper and suited her more. Mia looked at both of them from head to toe and looked confused. "Are you celebrities by any chance? I mean, you look familiar."
"Do you watch TV often, Mia-ssi?" Changmin asked, " You might have seen us there."
She frowned and shrugged. "No, not often. My world's right here, " she raised her phone," Anyway, you must be in a hurry so I'll just take this."
Mia quickly took the basket from Changmin's hands and proceeded to scan these items. As she was doing so, both boys recognized the song she was humming.
"What song is that?" Haknyeon had the guts to ask.
"I think... Salty? I heard it from a friend before and I liked it, " she said as she put the items in a plastic bag," Why?"
"Then you know us!" Haknyeon gleefully said, clasping his hands together, " We're the artists of the song!"
Haknyeon started to sing a few of his lines, and that meant the second verse of the song. Changmin could only chuckle as he saw Mia's facial expression. Her face turned red due to the embarrassment that she didn't recognize the artists of the song she was currently addicted to. She mumbled the total of the items they were buying and kept fumbling with her words. Changmin found it cute.
"I'm sorry I didn't recognize you. Receipt?" she said as she raised the receipt. Both of them nodded and smiled at her.
"It's okay. You only use Spotify then? I assume you don't watch videos," Changmin asked. She nodded.
"I did watch one stage of Salty. I guess that's why you two looked familiar," she added, " Anyways, I wish you luck on your career. You have a lot of members to feed so I think you should go ahead now."
"Thanks, Mia-ssi," Changmin waved a bit, " And oh yeah, I'm Changmin. I'm older than Haknyeon."
"Nice to meet you," she waved back at him," And I hope to see you perform live soon."
"I'll give you a ticket to a music show if you want to, " Haknyeon winked. She laughed.
"Maybe I'll take you on your offer, Haknyeon."
As the pair walked back to their dorm, Changmin wondered about people like Mia. Yeah, it was possible for people not to go on Youtube often. Seeing that Mia juggled her job in the convenience store and college, he figured out she didn't have that much time to consider going into entertainment news. He just kind of expected that someone as young as her could recognize them.
"We have to work harder. We're not that universally known yet," Haknyeon said under his breath," Anyways, we're halfway through our contract. And I've been thinking about wanting to date."
"Well, that's new," Changmin commented," Where did this urge come from? Your batchmates?"
"I didn't have time when I was a trainee. I think I can juggle a relationship right now."
"But we're active idols from a small company, Haknyeon. It isn't that simple to date."
"It's easy if you can hide it well. And by that, I mean only going on dates at ungodly hours and inviting her to private property so Dispatch won't catch a glimpse of her."
"Who do you have in mind anyway?"
"No one yet," Haknyeon paused," I might ask some old friends about it, like my classmates back in high school or my current blockmates. I did ask the maknae line about it but they shot down the idea of me dating any of their friends."
Changmin whistled, laughing at the idea of Haknyeon dating.
"We should have Sangyeon-hyung date first before you meet someone. We don't want him to grow old and alone."
"As if there's a big age gap, " Haknyeon rolled his eyes, " If I find someone, I'd be happy. If not, I'll wait. How about you? What do you think about dating?"
"I think I'm not ready yet? Dancing already consumes most of my time. If I dated someone, I should give her time too but I can't set aside dancing."
"An answer I expected," Haknyeon whistled. "But it's normal in show business to date. Just don't get caught. And I think a girl suitable to hyung is someone who understands your priorities. There are girls who are low maintenance."
"Yeah, I think a casual relationship would fit me well," Changmin nodded," Anyway, we forgot one thing."
"Oh--" Haknyeon gasped when he realized about the ice cream. He was so distracted with Mia that ice cream went to the back of his mind.
"Don't worry. I think there's a small shop near here where we can buy popsicle sticks. I think our money's enough for that," Changmin reassured him. Haknyeon exhaled, relieved that he still had the chance to eat ice cream. Changmin was about to trick him into thinking they only had mint chocolate, which Haknyeon hated with a passion, but he stopped himself because the younger one looked so excited about it. He didn't want to burst his bubble. It was sort of because of Haknyeon that he was able to have ice cream.
After buying the popsicle sticks (Changmin got a watermelon flavored one while Haknyeon got a mango flavored one), the topic shifted to Mia from the convenience store. Haknyeon called him by her name, Changmin, as someone who didn't really talk to her, called her convenience store lady sometimes.
"She reminds me of New-hyung," Haknyeon said, biting the tip of the popsicle off," A part timer, chasing her dreams."
"Nah, don't glorify Hee," Changmin laughed," With his built and his skin tone? He's rich for sure. Mia looked normal to me."
"That is true! Maybe Chanhee-hyung wanted to buy more than he could afford back then," Haknyeon thought about it before deciding not to pursue the thought anymore. "Anyway, she's cute."
"Cute? So you want to date her?" Changmin asked. Haknyeon finished his popsicle stick then shrugged.
"If we click, we click. I mean, I can make her fall in love with me if I like her. I might ask her out to test the waters but aside from that, I’m not actively pursuing her," Haknyeon answered confidently. Changmin chuckled. Haknyeon's confidence was really on a different level. Maybe that's why he was the one sent to Produce 101 when they were trainees. That kind of ambitious attitude did take him far in the show. Luckily though, he wasn't part of the final members or their debut could've been stalled.
"So you'll visit her there?" Changmin used his head to point back to the convenience store. Haknyeon wagged his finger as he pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket.
"I asked for her number, and she gave it to me. She said I look like I can be trusted," Haknyeon gloated. Changmin rolled his eyes when he realized Haknyeon was telling the truth.
"She must be blind," Changmin said, resulting to the younger looking away.
"Anyway, I'll ask her to hang out. The worst thing that could happen is gaining a friend," Haknyeon clasped his hands," And gain a friend I did."
"Yeah, buddy, you did, " Changmin patted his back, slightly pinching Haknyeon’s shoulder.
As soon as Changmin entered their dorm, he could hear Chanhee’s voice from his room. He was sure Eric did something to earn that. Changmin dropped the paper bag on the table in their kitchen and ordered Haknyeon to organize it, since all he did when they went out was flirt with the cashier. Haknyeon didn’t argue with the older member because he knew the reasoning was true. He only did flirt with the cashier and eat ice cream.
“Hee-yah, can you shut up for a minute?” Changmin slipped his head into the room of his best friend. He wasn’t surprised to find Chanhee holding one of Eric’s plushies as hostage.
“Eric’s the one not shutting up!” Chanhee shot a glare at the youngest member. Poor Eric was on his knees, begging Chanhee not to hurt his baby Pikachu.
“Hyung, he did nothing to deserve this!” Eric exclaimed. Changmin sighed before closing the door.. He knew he couldn’t stop the two from the chaos they started. They were the noisiest roommates Changmin had ever encountered. Sure, the fundamental thing for roommates was their cleanliness, which Chanhee and Eric were perfect for each other for. But with other aspects, such as their preference for noise and their time of sleep sometimes, they were total opposites. Sometimes, Chanhee had to crash on Changmin’s bed just to get some peace and quiet.
“Where are the others?” Changmin asked, noticing that there were only, like, half of the members in the dorm. Younghoon sat up from his relaxed position on the living room’s sofa and answered rather timidly,” MoonBae, Arirang. SangJu, gym. NewRic, room. SunHak, kitchen. Hyunjae, I don’t know.”
Changmin thanked the older member for the rundown and sat next to him. Minutes after, Sunwoo and Haknyeon were carrying snacks to the living room. Sunwoo was holding on his juice and a small packet of fruit salad. Haknyeon had various flavors of potato chips. The pair sat on the floor, in front of the table.
“Where’s the remote, hyung?” Sunwoo asked the older members on the sofa. Younghoon looked around and saw the remote squeezed in the corner of the cushion of the sofa. He took it and tossed it to the rapper. Sunwoo thanked him before turning on the TV.
“What are you two planning on watching?” Changmin asked. Haknyeon answered for Sunwoo, since the latter was too busy choosing what to watch.
“We don’t know. I just know Sunwoo is in the mood for something….” Haknyeon was searching for the right word,” Romantic? Sentimental? Something that can make him feel in love?”
“Why not date instead?” Changmin joked. Sunwoo shot a look. Of course, Sunwoo was the type to be content with movies and songs when it comes with his romantic endeavors. Aside from that, Changmin knew that Sunwoo wasn’t ready to date yet. He already expressed that after Changmin asked him about dating when Sunwoo finished watching a shoujo anime.
“Reminds me!” Haknyeon snapped his fingers before he took out his phone from his pocket. Changmin guessed he was going to text the cashier they met earlier.
“Reminds you of what?” Younghoon asked, still staring at his phone screen. Haknyeon showed him a mischievous smile before wagging his secret. He looked like he wanted to keep it a secret from the members for now. Changmin didn’t know what was the reasoning behind it. But he guessed Haknyeon didn’t want any questions or interrogations from the older members. Haknyeon was, after all, one of the youngest members. Since Hyunjun was forced to leave the group, Haknyeon suddenly got a pass into the maknae line. And the older members had the tendency to be protective of the maknae line. The 98 liners were in the middle of the age sandwich, although Juyeon sometimes got into the older clique.
“Shh!” Sunwoo glared at the other members when the movie started. He finally chose a movie to watch, which was ‘La La Land.’ Changmin already watched the musical by himself, but he guessed the two members in front of him didn’t yet. Jacob did mention the film a few times to them and right after he watched it, they always caught him singing the songs he discovered through that film. That reminds Changmin, he should watch more musical movies, and musicals in general. He could ask out his friends if they wanted to hang out on one of his day-offs.
Around fifteen minutes into the movie, Chanhee and Eric went out of their room to join the members in the living room. Chanhee joined the older members on the sofa and Eric joined the younger members on the floor, going hand first into the snacks Haknyeon brought. That was a normal afternoon in The Boyz dorm, boys watching a movie about romance in Hollywood.
Mia sighed as she signed out of her shift. She basically worked two shifts in a row, just because she couldn’t say no to being treated to a meal one of these days. It was around 7 PM at that point, and she guessed her sister was still in cram school. She needed to pass by the grocery to buy ingredients for the Lee family dinner. She wasn’t even sure if her dad would be at home for dinner. They rarely ate together recently. Mia was too busy with university and her part time jobs. Her father was too busy with his contractual work as a plumber, and generally a handyman. Her little sister, Lee Hana, was too busy with middle school and preparing for her high school entrance exams.
“Maybe…” She looked up to the sky. Because of how bright the lights are in Seoul, she knew that she would hardly see the stars, but the lack of stars seemed comforting sometimes. She tried to imagine whatever food she could prepare, before concluding to just cook some curry for her family. Once she decided on that, she skipped towards the grocery store. She shouldn’t feel sentimental. She had her dad and sister with her. She didn’t have time and reason to feel like that.
It seemed like fate when her phone rang. Mia checked who it was and found an unknown number. She soon realized it was that man earlier. She tried remembering his face but soon gave up and searched his group. He did say that ‘Salty’ was their song so it wasn’t much trouble. She whispered ‘Ju Haknyeon’ to herself, trying to memorize his name. She also looked at Changmin’s profile, since he was with Haknyeon when she met the supposed same-age idol. Her manager never told her that they had idols living near the convenience store but she guessed it was a given. She was in Seoul, where idols were scattered all around. It was just that she usually generalized them as attractive people. She was aware of only a few idols, which she stanned, namely Seventeen and EXO. And her sister stanned BTS so she was forced to memorize the members of that group too.
Soon, the two exchanged texts with each other about meeting up, which Mia assumed to be Haknyeon asking her on a date. It was odd, to be honest, but Mia was aware that idols could date. She did work in a few restaurants where idols would frequent for blind dates and she hung around Han River to catch a few celebrity couples having their own alone time. But Mia had barred herself from going into the dating arena again. After the mess that was her last relationship, she didn’t want to get into dating again. But she guessed it wouldn’t hurt to get to know Haknyeon. He did seem like a nice guy and according to the numerous tweets about him, he was.
It was around 8 PM when she finally arrived at her apartment complex. She was pleasantly surprised to see her sister at home. After greeting Hana, Mia asked why she was early.
“Our teacher had an emergency so he had to end the class early,” Hana said, biting at the end of her pen,” How about you? I thought you’ll be going home later.”
“I told you I’ll go home early tonight,” Mia almost pouted,” I think I’ll arrive home late tomorrow though. I have classes in the morning then two shifts, at different places.”
“Aren’t you tired?” Hana asked. Mia shrugged before heading to the kitchen part of their apartment unit. It was a rather small unit, with the kitchen, dining room and living room rolled in one. The only rooms separate were the bathroom and two bedrooms. The Lee family wasn’t well-off but they had enough to eat each day and both daughters were on a scholarship, so the expenses were lightened.
“Just focus on studying,” Mia mused,” Did dad say what time he’ll go home?”
“Hmm,” Hana hummed, checking her phone,” He did say he has an 8 PM appointment with Mrs. Choi but she’s just downstairs, so I’m guessing he’ll be home after 30 minutes or so?”
“Great,” Mia clasped her hands after she wore her apron,” I’ll be cooking for three then!”
Mia’s routine was like that. She was the designated cook of the house. Hana did cook sometimes, but Mia always insisted that she cooked for their family. Aside from her family life, Mia focused on her schooling as a scholar and her multiple part time jobs. She was a hard worker but often sacrificed her sleep for reviewing and revising her notes. But she didn’t lead a boring life. She had friends in her university who would bother her to hang out.
And that was why she was in a little tteokbokki place near where she studied with her best friend, Lee Jaehee.
“Yah, so who is this guy you tweeted about?” Jaehee asked. Mia rolled her eyes. Jaehee was protective of her, especially after her last break-up. But Mia wasn’t sure if she should spill the beans about Haknyeon. He was, after all, an idol. And Jaehee was a big fat K-pop fan. Her personal account on Twitter was basically her art account and stan account. Aside from that, she wasn’t simply a fan of one group. If Mia only stanned two groups or so, Jaehee almost stanned the whole female side of K-pop plus ASTRO. And she usually didn’t shut up about idols. Mia thought that it was possible for Jaehee to know who The Boyz were. Of course, she did. Mia almost forgot Jaehee recommended her the song.
“Earth to Lee Mia?” Jaehee snapped her fingers,” So who’s the guy?”
“Oh… A customer,” Mia timidly answered,” I actually didn’t get his name.”
“Did he text you? If he texted you, it means you got his name,” Jaehee pushed for the information. Mia didn’t know how to answer that question. Was Haknyeon a common name in South Korea? It didn’t seem so. Ju Haknyeon was the only Haknyeon she knew! She decided to go with her gut and make up a name.
“Park Hyeon?” Mia tried to look like she was thinking. Jaehee narrowed her eyes. She was unsure if she should believe the bullshit she was seeing, but since she didn’t have evidence, she believed Mia.
“So he was cute? I thought you were done with men?” Jaehee raised an eyebrow,” I mean, I don’t understand why people like men, except of course for our boy Cha Eunwoo. And I know, you’re going to say ‘here Hee goes again, talking about Eunwoo’ but he’s so hard to avoid if we talk about the standards people have for men. Anyway, I don’t understand the appeal men have.”
“Because you’re gay, Hee,” Mia reasoned,” You’re a lesbian specifically, so you won’t understand why I keep trying with men.”
“I just…” Jaehee sighed,” Your last boyfriend sucked so bad, Mia. And your taste in men…”
“I know,” Mia frowned,” But maybe, I don’t know, this time would be different.”
“You say that every time, Mi,” Jaehee had a sarcastic tone to her voice,” But sure, I’ll trust you on this one. I always do. But if you come crying to me because you got your heart broken--”
“You’ll still comfort me, won’t you?” Mia knew Jaehee wouldn’t drop her even though Mia had a bad track record with dating. Jaehee rolled her eyes before nodding.
“I wouldn’t leave you, except if Chungha said so, baby.”