𝚔𝚘𝚒 𝚗𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚗 恋の予感. | Nishimura Riki

Misunderstandings and Lunch?

Niki's heart sank. Any chances he'd possibly had with Hyejin had been blown out of the water. 'I will be your new manager', she'd said just a few seconds ago. He replayed her words again and again in his mind. He didn't understand what it meant. Why would she give him her number if she was going to be his manager anyways?

Hyejin beamed at the members, trying her best to stop herself from making a sarcastic comment at Niki's apparent misogyny. If she'd known he was like this, she definitely wouldn't have given him her number yesterday. Well, she shouldn't have given him her number anyway since they had just met but the darned man was so charismatic.

"You are the new manager?" Jungwon emphasised 'you', pointing a finger at her. Hyejin nodded her head yes. "And you're a girl?" he continued as if unable to comprehend what he himself was saying.

Is he dumb? Hyejin paused, baffled and a little offended.

"It does seem so, yes." Hyejin raised an eyebrow at him, talking slowly so he could understand better. How did he even expect her to respond? Did he expect her to say 'No! This is all a prank!' and reveal a hidden camera?

What was the deal with these guys? It's the 21st Century! Women can work now!

If he had been anyone else, she might have given him a piece of her mind but alas, he had control of her salary.

"Wait a minute." Niki managed to say. "So you gave me your phone number yesterday for professional reasons? Not because you think I'm handsome?" His voice softened at the last part.

"You two know each other?" Heeseung pointed at the both of them suspiciously.
"Forget that, hyung." Sunoo rolled his eyes at Heeseung. "You think he's handsome?" his eyes grew as he diverted his attention to Hyejin and leaned forward, suddenly very invested in the conversation.

"We met yesterday, actually. Last night." Niki answered Heeseung, still keeping his eyes on Hyejin.

Hyejin didn't know what to say. Was Niki trying to sabotage her? Was he just dense? In what reality did this seem like the right time to bring that up?

"Last night? Like when we were at the hospital?!" Heeseung exclaimed in disbelief.
"That's where you disappeared off to? Really?"Jungwon scolded him. "You were off hooking up with a girl while Managernim was literally dying!"

"Wait a minute, dying? What do you mean dying?" Hyejin tried to ask but her voice was drowned out by the members arguing.

"What?! No-" Niki tried to stop Jungwon from saying anything further. Anything that came out of the hyungs' mouths was not going to help him or Hyejin. "We were not hooking up!"

"Niki, you pervert! She's 17!" Heeseung yelled. was sitting on the edge of his makeup chair as if he was going to get up any moment and attack Niki. Sunoo looked like he was about to throw up.

"I'm actually 19 and we didn't do anything like that." Hyejin corrected Heeseung, trying to get everyone to calm down. She maintained a tight and calm tone. The least she could do was not shout at them - something they were making it extremely difficult not to.

"She. Is. 19. You. Creep!" Sunoo had gotten up from his place on the couch and begun whacking Niki with one of the throw pillows he found.

Jungwon paced up and down the waiting room with his head in his hands while Heeseung got up from his chair and aggressively drank water from the water dispenser. Niki was cowering, trying to defend himself from Sunoo's pillow onslaught.

Hyejin was still standing just outside the door. She watched the boys fight, feeling her blood pressure rise every time she breathed in this noisy room.

"I'm 19 too!" Niki tried to defend himself.

"So?" Jungwon, Heeseung and Sunoo cut him off in unison.

"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!" Hyejin yelled.

"Do you four have any idea what time it is?" she put her hands on her hips. "If we don't leave now, you'll be late for your next schedule."

Heeseung suddenly became very interested in the buttons on the water purifier while Sunoo and Jungwon became instantly attracted to the texture of the pillow they'd been using against Niki who was now staring directly at Hyejin, apparently unable to close his mouth.

His hair was messy and had come out of its carefully arranged middle part and now stuck to his forehead with sweat. His eyes were unfocused and confused, as if still comprehending what just happened.

Hyejin rubbed her forehead with her thumb and index finger. "I was told you were sent a copy of my resume and contract through email. Even I haven't seen my contract yet and I'll be signing it today evening."

"I think that'll be enough to clear your doubts about a female manager." She referred to Ni-ki and Jungwon with thinly veiled sarcasm. "Now, where are the rest of your members?"

~

Hyejin changed gears as the traffic light turned green. Traffic wasn't bad today luckily. If they maintained this speed, they'd be at the shoot venue in no time.

Niki peered at Jake's phone over his shoulder. His own phone had died so he couldn't check the email the company had sent them about Hyejin. Jake, however, was staring at Hyejin driving while his phone lay switched off on his lap.

"If you're not interested in her resumé, just let me see your phone instead." Niki whispered.

"Oh!" Jake exclaimed. He unlocked his phone and gave it to Niki. "Don't you think she looks a little bit familiar?" he whispered back.

Niki exhaled loudly. He scrolled through the member's shared email on Jake's phone. There it was, Hyejin's resume. He looked at her in the driver's seat.

She'd tied her hair up in a bun and loose hairs were floating around her face. Her arms flexed as she turned the steering wheel. She'd rolled up her shirtsleeves to drive and he could see her muscles from where he sat in the middle seat of the second row. They weren't very prominent but they were there. He blushed and turned his head to read the email. 

"No, she doesn't look familiar at all." Niki whispered, unable to stop his smile.

Sunghoon's stomach growled thunderously from the back row. The car went silent. Jake loudly cleared his throat to protect Sunghoon from any embarrassment. "Did you not eat lunch?" Hyejin questioned in a low voice. 

"I'm on a diet these days." Sunghoon replied, his voice almost a whisper. "I didn't eat breakfast either but I'll eat dinner so it's alright."

"Sunghoon, that's horrible! They're basically starving you!" Hyejin fumed.

"No, it's fine. I only skipped breakfast because we were late for our schedule. Plus, I need to get to 56kgs before the next comeback." Sunghoon replied.

"I cannot believe this! I assume the rest of you didn't eat breakfast either." Hyejin took the silence that ensued as a yes.

Her apartment building would be on the way to their next schedule and just opposite it would be the deli she got her breakfast from.

"My apartment building is on the way. There's a deli near it. I'll pick up some lunch for you." It was Wednesday. Oh, these boys were in for the lunch of their life.

"Actually, can we get Subway then?" Sunoo asked from next to Ni-ki, raising his hand as if he were in a classroom.

"Sunoo, I'm paying. Don't push it."

"Okay."