bump into you - niki

8.00 : Ramen

"So, what brings you really here?" Yein asked the male, closing the door behind her back. She had gone inside with her members earlier, had taken the fastest shower in her life and gotten dressed just to hurry back outside, not wanting the male to wait long in the middle of the chilly night.

"That was fast" He said, surprised by just how fast she had been. He then sighed loudly the second his eyes had met her small figure, walking towards him. He took off his beanie almost instantly, pulling it over the female's head once she had reached him.

"You didn't have to hurry. Next time you should dry your hair"

"You didn't answer my question, Niki-ah" Yein stuttered lightly, surprised by his gesture. She then fixed her hair under the beanie, waiting for an answer. She was too shy to even thank the male.

"You're right, I keep dodging it.. have you eaten already?" He asked the female, gaining a small no for an answer. Niki couldn't help but click his tongue inside his cheek. "I knew it" He added, so quiet that she couldn't really hear it.

"Do you want to go grab some ramen?"

Niki had always kind of noticed her hesitation when it came to food. While watching the survival program Yein participated in, he had noticed her skipping meals. She was rarely found near the kitchen and she was always the less excited one when it came to food being some kind of reward. She changed subjects when food questions were asked. Even now, during programs, yes he watches every single one of them, she avoids food. Jake's remarks on her giving him her food most of the time didn't really calm Niki down, but fueled his worry. He didn't know what it was or why it was happening. He didn't know when it started and if she had been fighting with it alone all this time, but he knew that he's try and help. He had no idea how, but he'd figure it out. 

She didn't really have to give the male an answer as her stomach decided to give itself away with a rather loud grumble.

"That's a yes. Let's go" The taller laughed, tapping on the female's head gently, starting to walk into the direction she and her group members had come from earlier.

"Wait, let me go grab my wallet real quick" As the female was about to turn towards the entrance, she was pulled back by a hand on her wrist.

"I owe you, remember? Last time we couldn't keep our promise. Let me repay you for that night"

"Alright then, but next time it's my treat" She sighed, walking away from the door, back to where they were standing. Niki simply stood there, watching the female walk on ahead of him before he snapped out of his trance. It took him a few breaths to process the fact that she had just said the words 'next time'. It took him a whole moment to punch the air multiple times out of joy before he jogged after her like a puppy wandering after his owner.

"How is it like to be an MC for the first time? Is Jake treating you well?"

"I was pretty nervous at first and worried a lot since it's a live broadcast and your fans scare me.. but Jake has been an absolute sweetheart"

"Our fans scare you?"

"Mhm" Yein hummed, before continuing; "I'm scared to even look at Jake for too long when we're MCing. Until now we haven't received any backlashes but I deleted social medias on my phone incase we do. I really don't want to see it" She whispered the last part, looking at her hands, fumbling with one another.

"That's understandable. We only count unproblematic fans as our Engenes, the rest even scare me and i'm part of the band"

"I guess your fandom grew quite a bit in a really short time" Yein was now looking at the male beside her as they stood in front of a red light.

"Yours is going to grow just as much, if not bigger"

"In my dreams maybe. There is no way we could ever get bigger than Enhypen"

"Well.. you have me. I count for twenty people with the love and support I'm ready to give you" His eyes were now no longer on the street but rested on hers, waiting for a reaction. Niki liked looking Yein in the eyes as she communicated with them more than she did with her body language or with words. There was just something about her eyes that he could read perfectly. As if they were an open book. Compared to what was going on inside her, it was easy reading her eyes but very hard reading her as a person. Reading what she was thinking or going to do next was a hard task to do without focusing on her beautiful orbs.

And for a second, Yein wasn't sure if Niki meant her or her group with that statement. Was he ready to love and support her group.. or her? Her eyes suddenly softened on their own, giving him a tender look.

Before she could even speak, the lights had switched from red to green and she soon felt a hand pull her along to cross the street. Her legs followed, her head not even thinking twice about it. Her eyes didn't check the streets for any cars that would drive over the green light, no, her eyes didn't leave Niki's figure not even once. They wandered from his hand holding hers, up until she'd reach the back of his head.

Her heart.

It skipped a beat.

This early already? Again?

"What the hell.." Yein mumbled, her other hand reaching for her chest, gripping it tightly. She didn't quite understand the feeling. She didn't understand why her stomach had grown wings, why her skin had started to tingle under his touch.

"We're here!" An excited Niki had brought Yein back into reality, away from her thoughts.

He slowly turned to face the female, letting go of her hand before noticing that she had clenched her other hand onto her chest, tightly. His gaze changed to a worried one, lightly bending his knees to look at her from a closer angle, searching for her eyes, searching for what could possibly be wrong.

"Are you hurt? Is something the matter?" He asked, his eyes shifting around hers until she had immediately let her hand fall back to her side, shaking her head quickly.

"No, I'm fine. Sorry my bra was just kind of misplaced" She blurted out, not thinking long enough for a good excuse. She soon realized it wasn't the best she could have thought of once her eyes wandered onto Niki's face. His cheeks had a tint of red on them. Good job, Yein, now he feels uncomfortable. 

The growling of Niki's stomach had come just at the right moment, disturbing the awkward silence between the two. "Ah I'm so hungry, I can't wait to eat. Let's go inside"

The two entered the place which seemed to be half empty. Most customers were either already very tipsy or were couples that were too focused on each other to even watch their surroundings. The two then chose to sit in the empty corner of the shop. They took off their jackets, placing them on the back of their chairs before sitting down.

It didn't take long for them to order the food and for it to arrive.

"Whoa it looks just like the one from Naruto" Yein was surprised. She had never come across a Japanese restaurant in Korea and actually had the time to go inside. She also didn't have the friends to go inside with, as Seola and Minha always liked tteokbokki or chicken better than anything else.

"Wait, you've never been here?" Niki asked, suddenly switching language.

"I've never gotten the time to. And this shop is well hidden, I didn't even know this existed. It's really close to the company" Yein answered, also changing to Japanese.

"It is pretty well hidden, but it's really good. I used to come here pretty often with Heeseung-hyung."

"Why not anymore?"

"I don't know actually, we just kind of stopped coming at some point. I guess it's our thing from now on" The male slurped his noodles, innocence written all over his face as if he hadn't just said that. Yein simply watched him enjoy his Ramen, not replying anything to him. He eyed her, noticing her lips folding into a small smile. That was enough of an answer for him to know that they would be coming here more often.