Exactly As It Sounds • Young K • Day6

iii.

Despite your original reservations about joining Day6 and the concert crew for dinner, everyone is surprisingly welcoming. Seated at a long table, topped with several barbeque pits, you smile at Wonpil, sitting across from you, flanked by Sungjin and DoWoon. You pass a bowl of radish over to Jae, seated on your left, who passes it to the head stylist noona seated on his other side.

"So, did Wonpil ever tell you about the time we got Young K to eat a hamburger wrapper?" Jae says, grinning.

"What, no," you laugh, glancing at Young K, seated on your right. You're not sure how it happened exactly. One minute you had been standing in line, talking to Jae, several lighting and sound tech guys behind you, and the next minute you glanced over to find Young K seated by your side.

"Did you really?"

Young K grins before answering your question with an embarrassed chuckle, his eyes sparkling, features animated.

"Okay, yes, but he forgot to mention I was half asleep at the time. We had been driving for eight hours, and somebody woke me up and told me it was kimbap. I thought it was seaweed," Young K laughs accusingly, pointing at Sungjin.

Sungjin just shrugs innocently with a grin.

"I mean, they were both green," he says casually, as if it was nothing more than a simple mistake.

As the boys continue to entertain you with stories of their past antics, you glance over at Young K again. Eyes crinkled, mouth stretched wide in a grin, you notice how different he looks like this. There's no conscious posing or practiced moves to get a rise out of the fans. Cheeks round, body relaxed, free from inhibition, it hits you how attractive he really is.

"Chaerin?"

Startled from your reverie, you pull yourself out of your thoughts and realize five pairs of eyes are staring at you expectantly.

"I'm sorry, what?" you say, with the feeling you've missed something.

"I asked if you've heard back from the company yet," Wonpil says. Then he looks around at the group.

"Chaerin is going to be a makeup artist at JYP," he announces proudly, beaming.

"Wonpil," you warn, giving him a threatening look. "We don't know that yet. They haven't even called me back."

"Like that matters," he waves you off. "You have an outstanding recommendation," he grins, pointing at himself proudly. "Plus, this girl is seriously talented. Nich told me how many customers you booked back home—"

Wonpil trails off when he notices your face, expression stricken. At the sound of that name your entire body freezes, your mind going blank. Fumbling with the chopsticks on your plate, you stare at the tablecloth, hands trembling, willing yourself to act normally. Swallowing hard, you take a deep breath, praying for the pain to subside in your chest. You can feel everybody's eyes on you, and you wish you could just become invisible.

"Here, take this."

You glance over to see Young K, casually placing grilled meat on your plate. He grins conspiratorially, as he piles on another helping.

"It's now or never," he says in a stage whisper intended for the others to hear. "Once Sungjin hyung gets started there won't be any left."

"Yah!" Sungjin exclaims indignantly through a mouthful of rice, as the rest of the boys burst into laughter.

You laugh along with them, grateful for the distraction. If anyone noticed how odd you were behaving, no one says anything.

You glance at Young K, curious. Call it crazy, but, despite his casualness, you could almost swear he saw right through you. It seemed like his actions were intentional. Designed to divert everyone's attention and give you enough time to pull yourself together.