Behind The Scene

Once you've experienced the heat of working in an actual company, a week at school turns out to be pretty uninteresting.

Waking up every day at the same hour, getting ready, walking to the university, having to go through about six hours of class, and then going back home, doing your assignments, and slowly falling asleep. Here is how our five protagonists spent the previous five days as they now wander the streets of Hongdae at 8 p.m. looking for a way to spend their first Saturday night of September.

Indeed, with everything that had happened since their back-to-school day, they did not have the time to visit the town more than they did during their five free days following their arrival.

Walking slowly as they search for a way to entertain themselves, they end up in front of a cute facade with the word 누래방 written on it.

"Of course, Karaoke! exclaims Kai as he dashes toward the sign. Don't you guys love to sing?"

The young man doesn't need an answer, as his friends' smiles speak for themselves. Thus, after a commotion due to Meri, Ailen, and Arya's hesitation, they finally end up inside, where the decoration perfectly matches the mood of the front. The pastel pink walls where cute paintings are hanging match perfectly with the wood counter behind which the owner is sitting.

One thing that the five of them were always proud of was their skills in Korean. Even if Kai has the habit of throwing random Konglish whenever he doesn't feel like talking, they all had the chance to take private Korean classes at their home university, which now allow them to freely communicate whenever it is needed. And so, making use of one of the four languages they know, they politely ask for a room for five for four hours (at least for now), deciding to order something to eat later on.

For Ailen, Nai, and Kai, this isn't their first time in a noraebang, as they already spent almost a whole night in another one in Incheon during their third day in town. Meri and Arya went out to eat together that day, as the three of them were already full from their all day snacking. They had a good time, but surely doing this all together would be even better.

Neither confident nor sure as to what she is supposed to do, Arya gladly let Kai take the first song, even though she was the one randomly picked.

"You guys can sing with me if you know the song"

He then happily selects a well known pop song in the midst of the hundreds of choices, and as the beat starts, none of them is able to hold back the excitement.

"I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed

Get along with the voices inside of my head

You trying to save me, stop holding your breath

And you think I'm crazy, yeah, you think I'm crazy."

For the first time in forever, they can finally be the young adults most of them never had the chance to be. Partying with friends, hanging out at night, and singing happily without caring about what was around were never the types of things they would do. Kai was the only one familiar with the nightlife, but even so, he never enjoyed it as much as he does today.

The songs follow one another as they sometimes almost scream out of joy; thank God the walls are soundproof. After blasting "Talk That Talk" (by Twice) for the second time in an hour, their growling stomachs indicate that it may be time to order some street food, which the karaoke establishment also sells.

Needing some fresh air and silence after an hour of loud music, Arya volunteers to go grab the food.

"I'll be back in ten minutes or so, she says as she walks out"

After asking for two plates of tteokbokki, three servings of fried chicken, three servings of instant ramen, and some soju for the four others (she does not drink), the young woman heads to the door while waiting for the food to be cooked. As much as she loves music, her brain cannot bear four hours of screaming and singing without a break.

Lost in her thoughts, she does not hear the person sitting next to her on the doorstep and gets startled when he starts to speak.

"Well, well, well... I was not expecting to find you here Ms. Intern"

Quite shocked, she doesn't answer as she stares straight into the black-haired's eyes, wondering how bad her luck might be to find him when hundreds of karaoke places exist.

" - My, did you lose your voice during that one week you were away from me? Or is it because I became even more handsome?

- My God, you really are a pain in the-"

She doesn't have time to finish her sentence as the owner of the place announces that her food is ready to go.

"Not that I would have loved to chat with you any longer, but my friends are waiting for me."

Not giving the young man any time to answer, she grabs one of the two trays, planning on coming back for the second one. She carefully heads to the room where her friends might be waiting hungrily and opens the door, only to find the four of them staring at her. Well, not exactly at her, but right behind her. Taking the time to put the tray on the table before turning around, she can't help but sigh at the sight of the guy following her. He walks past her to set the tray he's holding down, then smiles and walks out.

"Not that I would have loved to chat with you any longer, but my members are waiting for me."

Five minutes of silence follow the scene before Meri stands up.

"- Okay, but what the hell is Heesung doing here?

- Not only him, adds Ailen; from what he said, it seems like the seven of them might not be far.

- Arya, what happened?

- Well I'd love to answer you, Nai, but I don't really know myself. I was waiting for the food, and suddenly he was right next to me."

Still astonished by what just happened, Meri sits back down before taking a sip of the newly arrived soju. Jay might be right next door. Not allowing her thoughts to wander too far, she takes another sip as Kai, Nai, and Ailen imitate her. They are here to have fun, not to think about boys, let alone the Enhypen guys.

Three hours go by quite fast when you are enjoying yourself and drinking. And so, as midnight comes, the beeper in the middle of the room announces that it is time for them to head back home. Contemplating her four friends, Arya starts to wonder how in hell they will be able to make it home. Kai and Nai are already half dead next to the two others, almost as wasted. Shaking them up, she manages to make them all leave the place when seven familiar faces appear behind them.

"Look like you could use some help here"

God knows how much her trust issues are telling her to walk away, not giving a damn, but she has to admit, there is no way they will make it home like that. And so, hurtfully putting her pride to the side, she turns to the young men.

"I wouldn't say no, to be honest."

It would be a lie to say that the members are not as awkward with our five protagonists as they are with them, but their men's egos are too strong for them to not act cool and unbothered. That's how Jungwon, Sunghoon, Jake, and Jay end up wrapping respectively Nai, Ailen, Kai, and Meri's arms around their necks as the twelve of them walk toward the nearest parking lot, where their manager is said to be waiting with the van.

Once our small group is comfortably seated in the car, Arya turns to the members, who are still standing in the parking lot.

"- How will you guys go back?

- Worried about us? pettily asks the older

- ...

- Just kidding, just kidding. It's not like our manager can go back without coming to take us first so don't worry"

She simply nods before entering the van.

"Thank you"

7 hours later

The loud ringtone of his phone wakes the young man up as he picks it up, not looking at who might be calling this early in the morning.

"Kai, I hope you are kidding me!"

The familiar voice fully wakes the Hawaiian up.

"- Chris ?

- Don't you Chris me, Kai Manu. Don't you think you owe me an explanation?

- Can you stop yelling, I don't understand a duck you're saying

- Do you think I wouldn't know about you going out with idols? In case you forgot, I know people who work at Dispatch."

His brain doesn't have the time to process what his ex is saying to him as Arya bursts into the room, a serious look on her face.

"We have a problem."

Hello and welcome back to "Dispatch ruining people's life pt.1" /hj

Hope you liked the chapter and see you next time ~