2nd✯

I sat in the car uncomfortably, feeling uneasy as the man kept his eyes on me. After we were granted permission to leave from the real principal of my school, we had to go to some building. I didn't know which; I wasn't listening. 

I couldn't even disagree to this whole thing. Did I even had a choice? He didn't seem to be giving options when he asked me if I was going to agree or not. 

I let out a silent sigh and face the window, unable to believe I got myself into this whole thing without regretting it. Part of me was happy that I didn't need to study or listen to teachers' long lectures but at the same time, part of me was nervous, anxious and scared. 

What did I get myself into?

After we arrived in some building—I still didn't know where we were—we got down. All I did was follow behind the man I still didn't know his name. So I'm just going to call him Mr. Fancy Suit. Really, he has a very fancy suit. 

"Call the boys," Mr. Fancy Suit told the receptionist. Just three little words and she obeyed. Was he important or something? 

After a while, I heard the sounds of shoes slapping against the floor in a very excited way it scared me. Was I going to be tortured? Why did I agree to this when I don't even know what would happen to me? Could I ask Mr. Fancy Suit permission to go to the toilet right now? I wanted to call Jeonghan oppa to bail me out of whatever I got into. 

There was a loud chatter and because I kept my eyes on my shoes the whole time, I didn't get to see who were these 'boys' were. 

"Ah, Astro! Come here. Come and meet Yoon Aerim from Yoojak High School. Especially you, Yoon Sanha. Come meet her," Mr. Fancy Suit said, motioning them to come closer with his hand. 

"Annyeonghaseyo! Astro ibnida!" they greeted together. 

I mustered enough courage to look up and glance at their faces before my eyes dropped on my shoes. I caught six boys with bright smiles but one caught my attention. I glanced back up and examined him. 

A boy with blonde hair nudged the boy I was staring at. "I think she's your fan."

"Keurae? Are you? We're the same age, you know? Let's be friends!" he said but I just continued blankly staring at him, which must have surprised him a little. He waved a hand in front of me. "Umm... hello?"

I shook my head and snapped out of my bubble of thoughts. He just looked so familiar I couldn't help but stare at him. Those eyes. That smile. Where have I seen them before?

"Aniya. To be honest, I never heard of this group... Astro? Mianhae if I hurt your feelings!" I bowed as an apology. Hopefully they'll forgive me. 

"Well now that you've heard about it, would you be a fan of ours?" A boy with a very bright smile and cute, small eyes asked. 

Another boy with a refreshing smile nudged him. "Yah, hyung, you shouldn't be promoting right now. Aigoo."

"Wae? Why can't I, huh?" the boy asked back. 

"Hyung, why did you bring her here?" the boy with blonde hair—the same one who teased the boy I stared at a moment ago—asked Mr. Fancy Suit.

Mr. Fancy Suit looked at the boy I stared at and grinned. "She's going to be Yoon Sanha's pretend girlfriend!" 

✯ ~ ✯ ~✯

"Hyung! That's crazy! Why does Sanha even need one in the first place?!" 

"Nae, majya! What's going to be the point of this whole thing?!"

"She might get bashed by Sanha fans! What will she do then?"

Even if they were in a different room from me, I could still hear their raised voice from where I sat. I sighed and looked out the window of the building, where I saw the road below and other buildings. 

I also wondered why I was suddenly placed as 'the girlfriend' of this boy named Yoon Sanha. The more I looked at him, I couldn't help but feel a connection I wasn't sure of. What could that mean? 

The door finally opened after minutes of waiting, thinking and blankly staring out of the window. I turned to see who it was and found the same boy who I stared at the moment I saw him. 

"Hi," he awkwardly greeting, taking a seat next to me on the leather couch, making sure to leave gaps between us. "You're Yoon Aerim?"

"Nae," I answered, tilting my head at him. "You're... Yoon... Yoon..."

How embarrassing. I totally forgot his name.

He gave me a smile, his braces visible, making him look suddenly very cute. "I'm Yoon Sanha! Astro's cute maknae!"

Not to mention tall. How tall is his? 180cm or something? "Ah, yae."

"Have you ever heard of Astro?" Sanha suddenly asked me, scooting nearer and lessening the gap between us. 

I shook my head. 

"That's okay. We're new after all! We just debuted recently. Have you heard our song before? Any of them?" Sanha asked me. 

It looked as if I said no, he would fish out his phone and let me listen to their song. I was curious anyway so I shook my head and said, "No."

Almost on cue, Sanha fished out his phone and went to the YouTube app on his phone and typed Astro Hide and Seek on the search bar. A couple of videos popped up and he clicked on the first one. 

In the video, six boys were shown cutely and individually, they had their own charms. They were apparently playing hide and seek with a girl... they liked? I wasn't paying much attention to the lyrics because of the happy-looking music video that made me smile. 

"Odde? (How was it?)" Sanha asked after the music video ended. 

"Daebak!" I gave him a thumbs up, which resulted in him smiling and showing his braces. Very cute braces, may I add. How cute!

"I'm the maknae, Sanha!" Sanha introduced and I felt a wave of deja vu crash against mine. 

"I know," I said, suppressing a laugh. "You already told me in the lobby of this building, Yoon Sanha-sshi. Also a moment ago."

"Yoon Sanha-sshi?" Sanha repeated, drawing his head back. His mouth opened slightly and he covered his mouth with his palms, suddenly transforming him into an even more adorable person. 

What? A girl could fangirl too. Although, I can't help but feel familiarity continue to wash over me. Where have I seen Yoon Sanha before? 

"Have we met before?" I ended up asking because I couldn't help it anymore. I must know if he felt the same. 

"You think we've met before, too, huh?" Sanha asked, giving me a big smile. "I feel it too! Like, there's this connection that I feel..."

"Sanha-yah! Stop flirting with your pretend girlfriend now! We have a discussion to make!" said a boy from a door as he peered in. 

"Yah! Stop addressing me as his pretend girlfriend! I barely know him!" I shouted, standing up in a fit. I covered my mouth and immediately bowed as an apology. "Omo, juseoghabnida! I didn't mean to... It didn't mean to come out that way."

The boy laughed. "Sanha, your friend's funny."

Sanha ruffled my hair and I slapped his hand away, alarmed. Sanha cringed his nose in my direction. "She is, isn't she? She's always like this."

"Nae? I'm always like this? How would you know that, Yoon Sanha-sshi?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow. "You talk like you've known me for a long time."

Sanha gave me a smile then ran off with his hyung. 

I plopped back down in my seat, unable to believe this whole thing. I looked out the window again before I ruffled my hair, messing it up. I blew them again and my frown ended up being replaced with a smile. 

I pulled out my phone from the pocket of my skirt and texted Jeonghan oppa, oppa! the craziest thing happened to me today! you know what happened? 

Jeonghan replied three minutes later: not now, aerim-a. oppa's busy with school work. come to university and you'll understand. tell me at home. annyeong! 

I just wanted to climb into my phone's screen and out of the other screen to shout at Jeonghan oppa. Aish, this older brother doesn't take great care of their little sister at all.

I put my phone back into my pocket and played around in... wherever I was seated in. There was this couch I was sitting on that was pushed all the way to the end of the room and mirrors almost everywhere. Was this their practice room?

I played with my lips, tried to count more hair and played with myself a game of 'I Spy With My Little Eyes'. I was just that bored. Wait, why was I still even here? I had no business. I should be back in school despite my hatred for having to study subjects that didn't matter a lot to me. 

I stood up after making my decision and walked to the door. As I was about to open the door, the door opened for me. I found myself staring at a boy I was still not familiarized. In fact, the only boy I recognized in this group Astro was Yoon Sanha. 

"Oh," I said awkwardly, noticing the boy. "Umm... annyeong?"

"Yoon Aerim, right?" he asked me. "I'm Rocky. You can call Minhyuk, Park Minhyuk." 

"Uhh..." I wasn't sure what to do so I just nodded. "Annyeonghaseyo, Park Minhyuk-sshi. Did they give out any other instructions? I'm not sure what to do..."

"Come on. I'm here to pick you up. They're expecting you in the office," Minhyuk—Rocky?—told me, motioning me to follow him. 

"Oh," I answered. I just followed him. So much for going back to school and being with Ayoung. Apparently, I still have to stay with dudes I wasn't even familiar with. All I know is that they're famous and that's about it. 

Minhyuk led me into a room where the other boys were already seated properly and all that was missing was the both of us. Even Mr. Fancy Suit was sitting there. I couldn't help but feel an ominous atmosphere circle around me.

Sanha was smiling, though, and his braces were making him look so adorable. He should really stop smiling at a stranger like me. They'd get the wrong idea. By they, I really mean they because I see that smile nothing more than, well, just a smile. 

I was supposed to take a seat next to this boy with the bandanna and then suddenly realized they were all wearing name pins. MJ, bandanna boy's read. I just took my seat and waited for something to happen. 

"Okay, since we're all here, shall we begin?" asked Mr. Fancy Suit. 

"I don't really get what this is about, hyung..." the one with the Eun Woo pin muttered to himself, looking down at the floor while shaking his head. 

"Shh, Eun Woo. Let hyung talk," the one with the Jin Jin pin hushed Eun Woo. 

"B-but—"

"Shh!" Jin Jin hissed before he turned his head back to Mr. Fancy Suit's direction and awaited for him to continue.

Whatever we were supposed to talk about here. Can I go home yet? Or just go back to school so I get to see Ayoung? I don't see the point to everything here.

"Yoon Aerim, do you have any idea why you're here?" asked Mr. Fancy Suit, eyeing me. 

I leaned back in my seat. "Not a clue. Can I go home now?" 

Sanha ended up laughing but quickly composed himself and ended up smiling again. 

I wasn't sure if I saw correctly, but Rocky smiled a little. I guess it would be easy to be friends with them if I keep this up but I wasn't so sure if that's what I want. 

"Basically, we want to create a show. It's like We Got Married but since you and Sanha are still young, we won't put you on that show." I saw Sanha give me another smile. "To boost Astro's popularity. What better way than to put a ten grader on it?"

"Wait, what?" I wasn't listening to everything afterwards but after being able to process it, I stood up in shock. "You want me to be an act?"

"Among all the girls in your grade, you're the one who's most honest, straight to the point and well, real," Mr. Fancy Suit said, throwing a shrug. "It's easy! All you have to do is pretend you're Yoon Sanha's girlfriend and that's it."

"But what's in it for me? I don't see the whole point of this thing. You could have just thought of something else," I told them. Debuting with a fake girlfriend? I bet their fans will be bashing me and I won't be able to go to school like I wanted to.

Then again, that isn't so bad. I get to skip school and do fun things on this show. I don't have to deal with any bossy teachers with no chill and just actually chill. Only thing is that Sanha will be with me probably most of the time. 

"You'll get paid."

Woah, I get to earn my own money without having to work my butt off? That sounds like a good deal. What? I'm only fifteen. I don't have a mature mind yet. 

"Okay, I'll do it. But just now that I do what I want. No scripts. I have a hard time following them," I told them, leaning back in my chair with leisure. What? I wasn't the one who was trying to put an act here. They want me into this show, they have to deal with the real me.

The boys actually smiled at me and it somehow surprised me. Was I that interesting? Amusing? Funny? Or just plain weird? Whatever it was, I just shrugged. 

Mr. Fancy Suit had a smile on his face too and it somehow reminded me of a creepy killer teddy bear. Teddy bear gone wrong or something like that. "Great!" he said. "We'll keep in contact then."

"Can I go home now?" I asked for the second time. Third, if you considered the first time I asked in my mind one. 

"You're supposed to head back to school," Sanha told me with a smile as everyone stood up. 

"Why?" I whined, pouting. Now I felt too tired to study and I just wanted to go back home, turn on my laptop and watch k-dramas alone in my room and cry like a potato in a sack. "I have some shows to catch up to."

"Actually, she's on leave from school until further notices," Mr. Fancy Suit told the boys. "She's free to leave and go home if she wants."

"Yes!" I was supposed to say in my mind but it ended up coming out of my mouth. I looked at the members and smiled a nervous smile. "Umm... okay, bye!"

I must have looked like a complete idiot in their eyes. I closed the door behind me but when I expected my cheeks to turn red, it was normal. Letting out a shrug, I walked down the hallway alone. I wanted to be home in my bed, snuggled up in the warmest and most comfortable pair of pajamas while I wrap myself into a huge blanket and watch Lee Minho and So Jisub. Or, if I was feeling like it, Kim Jongsuk and Kim Woo Bin. 

"Wait! Aerim-sshi!" a voice called me. 

I stopped walking, in the middle of my Lee Hyunwoo daydream, then turned around, where Sanha was chasing after me like an adorable puppy. "Oh, wae?"

Since I broke away from my Hyunwoo daydream, I suddenly saw a young Lee Hyunwoo in Yoon Sanha. I immediately shook my head. No one could compare to my dreamy Lee Hyunwoo oppa. "You can't walk home alone."

"Yes, I can. Watch me." I walked away from Sanha, almost out the entertainment entrance door but Sanha held me back. "Aish, what's wrong with walking back home alone? I'm not a little girl anymore. Nor am I a celebrity. It's fine, Sanha-sshi."

"I'm trying to be a gentleman here, Yoon Aerim-sshi," Sanha said, holding back a smile. "Come on, just let me walk you home."

I was reminded about all the k-dramas I've watched. I've always wanted a boy to walk me home but then I came to realize that I didn't just want any boy to walk me home. I wanted boys who look like Lee Minho, Kim Soohyun, Seo Inguk or Lee Hyunwoo.

I glanced back at Sanha and then saw a flashing Lee Hyunwoo in him. It was getting creepy. 

"Well, I don't want you to know where I live even before we start this act, show, whatever. Okay? So go, shoo, shoo. I'm going home," I told him, turning around so my back faced him. Then I went back home. 

✯ ~ ✯ ~✯  

I noticed a familiar pair of shoes. 

My eyes widened when I saw them just there. I kicked my shoes off my feet and raced up to his room, thinking he'd be there already. Without knocking, I pushed the door open and tackled my oppa down to the floor, which could have resulted to him getting a heart attack.

"Omona! Yah! Don't do that, Yoon Aerim! I nearly died thanks to you!" Jeonghan said, pushing me off him. The floor felt comfortable and I just sat flat there, looking and blinking at him like an innocent child. 

"You're welcome!" I chirped, getting up. Then I collapsed on his bed while he took a seat by his desk. "Oppa! You have no idea what happened today..."

"What? Did an ugly boy confess to you today and you rejected him which resulted to him running home crying?" Jeonghan asked in an uninterested tone. He sat down on the his swivel chair and did his work. 

"Omo! Yah! I'm not that heartless!" I didn't exactly send him home crying. I was the one going home anyway but I wasn't crying. No one was crying. 

"Wait, how come you're out so early? School isn't over yet," Jeonghan knowingly said. 

"Exactly what I wanted to talk to you about!" I threw my hands on the bed, spreading them freely while I stared at the ceiling. "Where's Daeul?"

"He's asleep. He was talking about you before he did," Jeonghan filled me in. I felt my heart felt warm. Aww, he's just a bunch of adorableness. "Anyway, continue."

"Oh, right." I almost forgot the gist to why I was here in Jeonghan's room in the first place. And the reason why I was home early.

"Spill. Don't tell me... You're sick?" Jeonghan asked, swiveling his chair to check on me. 

"No! I'm not." I frowned at him and sat up, my back leaning against his boring white wall. I don't understand why he never wanted to paint it to any different colour. My oppa's a boring butt. 

"Then?" Jeonghan was looking impatient. "Hurry up, Yoon Aerim. I have a project to do."

I laid back down on the bed. "I'm now part of 'an act'."

"What, you mean like school drama? Acting in school? I forgot the other word for it," Jeonghan was saying.

I shook my head. "No! I'm pretending to be an idol's girlfriend. Uh... something something, reality show, money. Yeah."

"Mwo?! Yah, do you think I'd let just anyone be your boyfriend? Especially when it's a pretend boyfriend?" Jeonghan stressed out. 

"Quiet down, will you? You'll end up waking Daeul." I was very protective when it came to my favourite little brother, Yoon Daeul. He's only four and any guy my age would lose in looks when standing next to him. Just being honest. 

"So what's this about this pretend boyfriend? Moreover, who is it?" Jeonghan asked, trying his best not to sound mad. You're failing badly, oppa, just saying. 

"Some boy from Astro. His name is..." I tried to remember the young version of Lee Hyunwoo. I still don't know why he looked like him to me. Maybe it's the daydream. I snapped my fingers and finally remembered his name, "Yoon... Yoon Sanha. Yeah."

Jeonghan paused for a whole minute, just staring at me with continuous blinks. "Yah, Yoon Aerim, you do notice that he's your cousin, right?"

"Oh, yeah, he's my..." My eyes widened as I quickly sat up quicker than a bullet train. "What?!"

~Author's Notes~

Woah, things escalated quickly, right? hehe~ More to come in future chapters :) Show your love for Astro (and me, oops) by leaving votes! Don't forget to comment and share to all your Aroha friends! 

See you in the next update! I'll be concentrating more on my Seventeen fanfiction "Promise Me" so there might be less updates from this story, mianhae! I just hope you guys patiently wait for it :)) 

xoxo 

Byun Sang Kyung