#atm4lyfe

The group were seated at a bench in front of the Cube building.

“What time did you say your friend was getting here?” Dongwoon asked, casually slipping his arm around Jinhwa.

“Soon,” Song-E replied. “Gosh, I hope she doesn’t get lost.”

“We probably should have picked her up ourselves” Miyeon added. Jaesoon felt a buzz in her pocket.

“No need” she said. “She said she’s a minute away.”

“Who exactly is this friend of yours?” Junhyung asked, taking a sip of his coke.

“Yeah. Does she know that you four are close to being KPop idols?” Doojoon added.

“Of course she does” Miyeon said. “We’ve known her longer than we’ve been trainees.”

“And what about us?” Hyunseung asked. “Does she know about… all this?” He waved his hand back and forth between the members of Beast. The ATM members giggled.

“You’ll see…”

Rya had a map in one hand and her phone in the other. She had stopped at a corner, looking up at the street signs above her head. Attempting to match the words with the ones of the map, she flipped the large piece of paper around multiple times before finally locating where she was.

“Hmm… just down this street… then turn right…” she mumbled to herself. Quickly, she folded up the map and stuffed it back in her backpack.

Doojoon’s leg was moving up and down anxiously and impatiently.

“Will you relax?” Miyeon laughed.

“Hey. I’m meeting a stranger for the first time. I’m allowed to be nervous, alright?”

“She’s not a stranger.”

“To me she is.”

“She’s lost. She’s gotta be” Song-E worried aloud. “Gosh, I’m such a bad unnie!”

“No you’re not!” Kikwang replied, pouting. “I’m sure she’ll find her way here.” He rubbed her back consolingly.

“Is she a dongsaeng?” Dongwoon asked. Jinhwa nodded back. “Really? Exactly how young is this girl?”

“We’ll wait for her to tell you the details.” Jaesoon looked down at her phone once more.

“It’s been longer than a minute.” Song-E threw her head in her hands worriedly.

“Unnie, you worry too much,” Jinhwa said. “I’m sure sh--”

“UNNIES!” Everyone turned around to the source of the voice. Miyeon, Jaesoon, Jinhwa and Song-E stood up from the bench and squealed.

“Finally!” Jinhwa cried, running over to envelope Rya in a big bear hug. The other girls soon caught up, joining in for a group hug.

“Wah, unnies! Sorry I’m late! I was getting a little lost because Seoul is so big!”

“See? I knew it!” Song-E cried, pouting. “She did get lost! Rya, you made unnie worry so much!”

“Sorry!” Rya replied, pouting slightly. Jaesoon rolled her eyes.

“Ignore her. She’s just being a worry wart.” She linked arms with Rya. “C’mon. There’s some people we want you to meet.” The group of girls made their way over the six men at the bench.

“Rya,” Jinhwa introduced. “I’d like you to meet Beast.” Rya gasped loudly in shock, eyes wide. “Guys, this is our dongsaeng, Rya.” Yoseob, Kikwang and Dongwoon waved enthusiastically, while Doojoon smiled kindly. Hyunseung merely raised his hand in a make-shift wave, and Junhyung simply greeted her with a nod.

“Aigoo! She’s so cute! Why have you been hiding her from us?” Yoseob cried. “Hey there! I’m Yoseob!”

“Oppa, you don’t have to introduce yourselves to her” Jinhwa laughed.

“Huh? You know Beast?” Dongwoon asked, tilting his head to the side.

“D-do… do I know Beast?” Rya gasped. She began to stutter as she tried to find the right words. Miyeon laughed and finished for her.

“Actually, if it wasn’t for Rya here, we would have never known about you guys.” Kikwang gasped.

“Wow! We’ve known each other less than five minutes and already we owe you so much!” Rya giggled shyly, blushing and hiding her face behind Miyeon.

“So! Where should we go first?” Jaesoon asked. “Rya, what do you wanna do?” Fanning her cheeks, Rya looked back up to face her unnie.

“Mm… can we go eat? I haven’t eaten since the plane.”

“I like her already!” Dongwoon laughed.

The eleven of them were seated at a big long table. Looking down at the menu, Rya’s eyes scanned the available food.

“So… Rya, right?” Doojoon asked. “Where abouts are you from?” She looked up from the menu.

“I’m from Australia” she replied, smiling.

“That’s actually not too far from here! How come we’ve never seen you til now?”

“You girls HAVE been keeping her from us, haven’t you?” Yoseob said. Rya laughed.

“No, no! It’s just that I’ve never had the time to visit my unnies again until now.”

“Again?” Kikwang asked. “You mean you’ve been here before? To Korea?” Rya blushed slightly, but only Miyeon and Song-E – who were seated next to her – could see.

“Mmhmm. But that was before they were on the road to becoming major superstars!” Jaesoon flicked her hair back.

“Girl speaks the truth!” The table erupted in laughter.

“No,” Junhyung retaliated. “She’s obviously got a great sense of humour!” Jaesoon scoffed.

“Whatever.”

“How old are you, Rya?” Yoseob asked.

“Nearly 17.”

“SO YOUNG!”

“Yeah, well, she’s our dongsaeng, oppa. Go find your own!” Miyeon teased, wrapping her arms around Rya.

“Aww, come on, Miyeon-ah! Can’t we share?” Yoseob pouted.

“You two speak of me like I’m an object!” Rya laughed.

“But you are!” Yoseob cried. “You’re a big ball of… cute!” He tried to reach over and pinch her cheeks, but ended up flopping into Junhyung’s lap.

“Yah! You’re crushing my legs” he scolded, smacking Yoseob’s back lightly.

“My bad.”

In a matter of minutes, their food arrived and the group devoured it like there was no tomorrow. Once they were done, they stepped outside and stretched their bodies.

“Wow! Food in Korea is so much better than the stuff back home!” Rya said. Song-E laughed, patting her head.

“Where to next?” she asked Rya.

“Mm… we should have dessert, unnie. Can’t have a full meal without dessert!”

“Yeah! Come on, my new dongsaeng! I’ll show you my favourite place to buy sweets!” Yoseob cried, linking arms with her. Rya squeaked slightly at the initiated skinship between herself and the idol. The girls behind her just laughed at how cute she was. She and Yoseob skipped ahead, the idol pointing out everything on the streets, while the others followed at a casual pace.

“Song-E?” Kikwang asked, tugging at the girl’s shirt.

“Yeah?” She blushed slightly at his actions.

“Why does Rya keep blushing and getting all shy when I talk to her?” Miyeon giggled.

“That’s because you’re her favourite” she answered.

“Really?” His eyes lit up in excitement.

“Aww” Dongwoon pouted. “No fair. She’s so cute.” They looked ahead, watching Yoseob and Rya pointing at things in the windows in admiration. They reached a small stall selling ice-cream. Yoseob was quick to pull out some money and buy him and Rya one each.

“Yah! Yang Yoseob!” Junhyung cried out. “Buy me one!”

“No! You have money! Buy yourself one!” the younger replied, poking his tongue out.

“That little…” The group laughed at their antics. Looking back, Miyeon watched Rya dig into her bag and pull out some money. Yoseob who was still busy arguing with Junhyung hadn’t noticed what the youngest was doing.

“Rya? Whatcha doin’?” Miyeon called. She watched as the lady at the stall began scooping multiple cones of ice-cream and placing them in a cardboard holder. Miyeon watched in horror and counted the desserts. “Oh no… 7, 8, 9…No, Rya. Don’t tell me you--” The youngest quickly paid the lady and held her ice-cream in her mouth. Holding two trays of ice-cream cones, she skipped back to the big group, smiling.

“Hrre yoo gooou” she said as best she could with the dessert in her mouth. Carefully, she placed her cone into a spare hole in one of the cardboard holders.

“Hey! You march right back there and return those ice-creams!” Miyeon scolded. “I don’t wanna eat something you paid for. Especially since you’re only a guest!” Rya pouted.

“Unnieeee~!” She waved the cones of ice-cream in Miyeon’s face. “Come on! You know you want oooone~!” Miyeon sighed, giving into temptation.

“This isn’t right, you know!” she said, taking one of the cones.

“Yes it is!” Rya smiled, handing out an ice-cream to each of the others. “Because you introduced me to the Beast oppas… and… because I finally get to see you and Doojoon oppa together!” Doojoon nearly dropped his cone.

“I’m sorry what?” he asked, coughing nervously. Dongwoon, Hyunseung and Kikwang all sensed that they too were not safe.

“Um, Rya… what exactly have the girls said about… us and them?” Kikwang asked cautiously. Rya winked cheekily.

“Don’t worry. I know ALL about you all. Doojoon oppa and Miyeon unnie. Dongwoon oppa and Jinhwa unnie. Hyunseung oppa and Jaesoon unnie. Kikwang oppa and Song-E unnie. Yoseob oppa and Grace unnie.” Everyone’s jaws dropped and Yoseob nearly dropped his ice-cream too.

“W-what? Even me?” he asked, shocked.

“Hah ha! Didn’t know I was so in-the-loop, did you?” she declared triumphantly.

“B-but… G-Grace isn’t even here…”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you LOOOOOVE her~” she teased, giggling. Yoseob blushed.

“Wait a minute. If you know all about these guys and the girls, why aren’t I your favourite member?” Junhyung asked, slightly pouting. “I mean, I’m the only one not attached to any of the girls.” Jaesoon had found a loophole and smirked.

“Actually, you know what I just remembered? She DOES like you, oppa.” Rya’s eyes grew wide and her smile fell.

“Yeah,” Jinhwa agreed, catching on.

“Wait a minute” Kikwang interrupted. “I thought I was her favourite member.”

“In theory, yes, you are” Miyeon explained. “BUT! Well, we’ll just have to show you her blog sometime.”

“Unnie, no!” Rya cried, shaking her head.

“Her blog?” Dongwoon asked.

“Yeah. You’d be surprised at the stuff she says about Junhyung oppa sometimes.”

“Really now?” Junhyung commented, raising an eyebrow at Rya. She covered her face in embarrassment. Song-E laughed and moved to stand next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“Come on, guys. Let’s not embarrass our dongsaeng any further.” Rya peeked up at her unnie with hopeful eyes. “We’ll show you her blog later.” The others burst out laughing.

“You guys are so mean!” Rya cried, shrugging Song-E’s arm off. She ran off ahead of the group.

“Hey! Don’t run off!” Jaesoon cried in between chuckles. “You’re only visiting, remember?”

“I have a map, don’t I?” Rya replied, pointing to her backpack.

“Aww come on, Rya!” Jinhwa cried. “We were just joking! Come back!”

“No!” Rya replied, poking her tongue out like a little child.

“Aww! Even when she’s angry, she’s cute!” Yoseob cooed.

“Hey, Kikwang. Looks like you’re my rival now” Junhyung laughed. Kikwang laughed back.

“Race you!” The two were off and running. Rya, who noticed the guys running towards her, looked with wide eyes.

“Run, Rya, run!” Miyeon called. Rya squealed and started to run as fast as she could. Somehow, they ended up in a chase in the middle of the road. Rya was laughing, running towards Miyeon and Song-E to hide.

“Unnies, help!”

Once the brief game of chase was finally over (after Yoseob interjected and calmed both Junhyung and Kikwang down), the group had somehow made its way to a karaoke place.

“Ah karaoke!” Doojoon said. “Hey, Rya. You any good at singing or dancing like your unnies?” he asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

“Is she?” Jinhwa asked with wide eyes. “I’m still wondering why she isn’t training with us, to be perfectly honest!”

“Unnie!” Rya said, blushing and covering her face.

“Really now?” Doojoon asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl below.

“No! Really! I’m not as good as unnie is making me out to be! Honest!”

“Well, we’ll never know until we see it, now will we?” Junhyung smirked, handing Rya the microphone. “First song can be… hmm…”

“Girls’ Generation’s ‘Tell Me Your Wish’!” Yoseob cried, bouncing up and down on the couch.

“Accompanied by ATM!” Kikwang added. Rya shook her head in strong protest.

“Wait what?” Jaesoon asked, sitting up. “I didn’t agree to this!”

“Yes you did!” Hyunseung retaliated.

“When?”

“Just now!” he said, pushing her up to the front to join Rya. They watched as the others tried to push the other members of ATM up to the front with microphones in their hands.

“Rya! You have to sing Taeyeon’s part, okay?” Dongwoon cried, putting his thumbs up.

“B-but--” she stuttered. Miyeon sighed.

“Guess we’re all in this together.”

“And the dance too!” Doojoon added.

“WHAT?” all the girls cried simultaneously.

“Yoseob! Play the song!” Immediately, the familiar tune began to play. Realising that there was no way out, the girls got into position and focused on making it through the song.

“Sowoneul malhaebwa, ni mamsokae itneun jageun ggomeul malhaebwa…” Rya sang. The guys looked on in shock.

“WOOOOAH!” they all cried. Rya blushed as she moved to the side to let Song-E sing.

“Ni meolieh itneun isanghyungeul geulyuhbwa, geuligo naleul bwa, nan nuh eh genie ya, ggoomiya, genie ya…”

“WOOO! SONG-E HWATING!” Kikwang cried, making Song-E stumble a little and blush. “Uh… I mean…” he stuttered when he saw everyone else holding back laughs. “ATM HWAITING! RYA DONGSAENG HWATING!” Rya blushed too, trying not to make eye-contact.

The girls got to the chorus and realised it was time to perform that very famous dance. They exchanged worried glances as they silently questioned why they were still here. Sighing and dipping their heads down, they raised their heads and swayed their hips to the song they had played around to so often. The guys were cheering loud, the music was basically drowned out by their cries. Rya hid her face in her hands, feeling her cheeks getting hotter.

Eventually, after 4 excruciating minutes, the song finally ended. The girls dropped to the floor in a small huddle, exhausted and embarrassed.

“DAE TO THE BAK!” Yoseob said. “Rya… you…”

“I know… it was bad…” she finished, hiding in Song-E’s arm.

“Far from it!” Kikwang said, jumping up from the couch. He ran over to both Rya and Song-E and embraced the both of them in a joint hug. The two girls glanced at each other over his shoulder in shock. Their cheeks turned even redder when he let them go to pat their heads.

“Yah! Kikwang-ah! Stop killing those girls!” Doojoon said, discreetly walking closer to Miyeon. Dongwoon scoffed.

“Says you! I can see you moving closer to Miyeonnie!” he pointed out. Hearing that, Miyeon jumped slightly when she realised just how close Doojoon was.

“W-what exactly are you planning to do?”

“Well I WAS going to congratulate you discreetly, but thanks to maknae--” Doojoon proceeded to glare at the younger, “I guess I can’t do that now.”

“You’re pretty good, dongsaeng” Junhyung said to Rya, who was still hiding behind Song-E. “If you girls knew she was so good, why didn’t you make her train with you?”

“She didn’t want to, that’s why” Jinhwa replied.

“We tried everything we could to convince her to join ATM, but she always refused” Song-E added.

“Aww! Why?” Yoseob whined, pouting at Rya.

“Because she’s a smarty-pants, that’s why” Miyeon laughed.

“Yep! Rya chose college over stardom” Jaesoon said.

“You’re a college student, Rya?” Hyunseung asked. The youngest shook her head.

“Not yet. Next year, hopefully.”

“Studying…?”

“Medicine.”

“WOAH! We have a future doctor in the room!” Yoseob cried, excitedly.

“I’m not a doctor yet!” Rya retaliated, waving her hands in front of her. “I don’t even know if I’ll get into the course I want in the first place.”

“Don’t worry, Rya. I’m sure you’ll definitely get in and do well” Kikwang said, flashing his signature eye-smile.

“Wow… a doctor. You have to be super smart to do that, don’t you?” Junhyung said.

“And she is” Song-E said, patting Rya’s head. She shook her head in denial.

“I’m not really…”

“4 x 7?” Dongwoon blurted out.

“28.”

“Wow! Genius!” he said, clapping his hands. Junhyung punched his arm.

“Yah! Times tables? Really?” The Beast maknae rubbed his arm.

“Doctor! I’m hurt!” Dongwoon pouted, walking up to the youngest with his sore arm.

“Huh?” Rya asked, confused at everything that was going on.

“So cute!” Yoseob squealed, reaching over to pinch her cheeks. “Seriously! I can’t take this anymore!”

“Moving on!” Jaesoon declared, laughing. “Who’s singing up next?”

“Oo! Me!” Yoseob said, jumping up and down with his arm in the air. “I wanna sing a duet with Rya!”

“W-what? But… you’re a much better singer than me, oppa…”

“Nonsense!” he said, putting a microphone in her hand. “Hmm… what song… Oo! Do you know the song ‘Here I Am’ by 4Men sunbaenim and Mi sunbaenim? From the ‘Secret Garden’ drama? Let’s sing that!”

“Wah! I love that song!” Jinhwa cried, clapping her hands.

“C’mon!” Yoseob pulled Rya to the front once again, while the rest of the group sat down on the couch. The sound of the piano signalled the start of the song. Rya nervously held the microphone to her mouth. She prayed so hard that she wouldn’t stuff up in front of Beast’s main vocal.

“Here I am, yeogi, here I am… here I am, naega yeogi e, yeogi inneunde…” The group applauded, cheering them on.

“Here I am, jigeum, here I am… here I am, jigeum yoegi e, naega inneunde…” Yoseob sang.

“Nal da jwodo mojara… nal beoryodeodo mojara… naega neol eolmamankeum saranghaneunjireul… moreul geoya ama neon… here I am…” While Yoseob sang, the two at the front noticed Kikwang stand to offer his hand to Song-E. Rya squealed like a fangirl when she realised that he was asking for a dance. The others gasped and clapped when they saw what they were doing. Song-E blushed. Miyeon pushed ATM’s leader towards Kikwang, encouraging her to take his hand and dance. As Rya and Yoseob sang, Song-E and Kikwang slow danced in each others’ arms, Song-E’s cheeks never returning to their normal colour. With the microphones to their mouths, Yoseob and Rya began to walk closer to the two dancing, encircling them as they sang, giggling as they did so. Soon after, Dongwoon followed suit, offering his hand to Jinhwa. ATM’s maknae meekly took his hand as they too began to slow dance. Rya clapped her hands in excitement. Hyunseung, the smooth dancer he was, sleekly made wave-like motions with his arms before offering his own hand to Jaesoon. She returned with wave-like motions of her own to take his hand. Doojoon got up, asking for Miyeon’s hand. ATM’s rapper was quick to refuse and shake her head. Doojoon pouted, poking Rya’s arm for help. The youngest turned, seeing her unnie still seated. She jogged over and pulled at Miyeon’s arm, pouting. Eventually, despite her resistance, Miyeon stood up, arms crossed over her chest. Rya bumped her hip into Miyeon’s side, nudging her towards Doojoon. She stumbled, but Doojoon was quick to catch her. Reluctantly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, fighting to stop the growing smile on her face. Yoseob and Rya wove themselves between the four couples, still singing in perfect harmony. Junhyung had now stood up, recording everyone on his phone, smiling. A few minutes later, the song unfortunately ended. Yoseob, Rya and Junhyung clapped their hands.

“That was so romantic!” Rya squealed into the microphone, jumping up and down like a fangirl.

“Dongsaeng, you have such a nice voice~” Dongwoon cooed.

“Oppa’s got some pretty smooth moves himself!” she giggled. Rya looked at the faces of her four unnies, each of them a bright pink-red colour.

“Unnies! Don’t be embarrassed! It was so cute!” she reassured them.

“Hey, no fair. You didn’t get to dance with anyone!” Jinhwa pointed out. Yoseob was already quick to choose the next song.

“Hmm? What song is th--” Song-E was quick to nudge Kikwang closer to Rya. He approached her with his signature eye-smile, his hand out. Rya gasped. Yoseob smiled, taking the microphone from her hands.

“Iyureul mollasseo, wae naega byeonhaenneunji… Hancham saenggakhaesseo, neowa na mannan ihuro… Na byeonhan geot gata, aju manhi mariya… I norae deullini oh~” Yoseob sang the first verse. Seeing that Rya was still partially freaking out, Kikwang chuckled, taking her wrists and putting them around his neck. Rya dipped her head in embarrassment as Kikwang placed his hands on her hips, swaying their bodies from side to side. She took a peek at her unnies on the couches, and they were all looking at her with happy smiles on their face. Bravely, she looked up to meet Kikwang’s eyes, but instantly regretted it a second later.

“Niga neomu gomapjanha Oh baby… Niga neomu yeppeujanha Oh~… Nuneul ttel suga eobseo, nae nunen neoman boyeo… Neoman gyesok baro bogo sipjanha nan oh jeongmal… Oh~ baby”

Rya knew her cheeks were redder than ever and refused to look up anymore.

As Yoseob entered the second chorus, Rya felt Kikwang moving slightly. Plucking up the courage to look up once more, she saw that he was taking her wrists again and dropping them from his neck. She looked to the side to see Junhyung standing beside them.

“I want a turn to dance too, you know” he said, chuckling. She looked with wide eyes as Junhyung replaced Kikwang’s position. Junhyung smiled, wrapping her wrists around his neck just as Kikwang had done earlier. She looked at the ATM members in shock. They were ‘ooo’-ing from the sides, obviously knowing the internal suffering she was going through. Their cries were not making it any easier.

“Kikwang’s my rival now, you know. But I’m gonna beat him and I’m going to become your favourite.” The other girls gasped when they heard Junhyung’s comment.

“A-a… b-b…” Rya stuttered, obviously no longer able to comprehend. The ATM members squealed and clapped their hands.

“Rya~ Your heart can’t waver, okay?” Kikwang called, pouting cutely. “I’m your favourite, remember?” Confused and flustered, she looked back and forth from Kikwang to Junhyung.

“Hey! I want a turn too!” Yoseob said into the microphone, breaking from the original lyrics for a moment.

“No! Grace’ll get mad at you!” Junhyung replied. Yoseob nudged him to move away slightly. Pouting, he reluctantly let go of Rya’s waist to make room for Yoseob. With only one hand free, Yoseob tried his best to move Rya’s hands to his neck. He placed his free hand on her waist, his other still holding the microphone to his mouth.

“Niga neomu gomapjanha Oh baby… Niga neomu yeppeujanha Oh~… Nuneul ttel suga eobseo, nae nunen neoman boyeo… Neoman gyesok baro bogo sipjanha nan oh jeongmal… Oh~ baby” He finished off the last chorus before letting go of the youngest.

“So… Rya… how do you feel?” Jaesoon smirked.

“H-huh? W-what?” Rya stuttered, as if coming back to reality. “U-um… I should be dead… why aren’t I dead, unnie?”

An hour or so later, their throats had started hurting from all the intentional off-key singing and laughing. The group ordered some drinks and sat down, letting random songs play as background music.

“I have a question” Doojoon said suddenly, raising his hand and putting his glass back down on the table. “Rya, if Kikwang is your favourite member--” Junhyung pouted upon hearing that, “- for now,” Doojoon finished, “don’t you feel, y’know, jealous because he’s with Song-E?”

“Oh not at all!” Rya replied, putting her own drink down.

“Really now? Because if my favourite idol was… taking an interest in someone I knew, I would definitely be jealous” Dongwoon said. Rya laughed.

“Nah. Kikwang oppa is Kikwang oppa. Who he decides to date… uh… I mean, take an interest in, is completely up to him.”

“Even if that person happens to be a close friend?” Hyunseung asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Even better!” she replied, smiling. Doojoon shook his head in disbelief.

“I don’t get you, you know that? You should be jealous! Why aren’t you jealous? Usually fangirls want to be ‘that’ girl for their favourite idol!” Rya laughed back.

“I will admit, I did want to be ‘that’ girl once. ONCE. But when unnie told me that she liked Kikwang oppa, and that he liked her back… I dunno. I got excited, not jealous. Unnie is my unnie. And if a guy ever got ‘in between’ us… of course I’d give him up, for the sake of our friendship.”

“Wah… what a dongsaeng” Junhyung said, patting her head. “If I were you, I would have battled it out to the end.” Rya giggled.

“Besides… me and unnie are… well we’re not completely different, but we’re not exactly the same person either. And if Song-E unnie is the type of person Kikwang oppa likes… obviously we’re not meant to be.” Junhyung clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Seriously! How can you still call him your favourite member after he’s broken your heart like that?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Kikwang retaliated. “Sorry, dongsaeng.”

“No, no!” she laughed. “Don’t worry about it!”

“Yeah, you don’t need to worry about it, oppa” Jaesoon said, smirking. “Rya’s always got Junhyung oppa after all.” Rya blushed again.

“Unnie~ Don’t!” she begged.

“Can we see your blog now? I really wanna see what you write about me” Junhyung asked.

“Um… I’d rather you didn’t.”

“One of you better show me later” Junhyung said to the ATM members. “Or at least give me the URL.”

“I can do that right now actually!” Jaesoon stated. “It’s jui--”

“WAAAAH!” Rya cried, covering Jaesoon’s mouth with her hands.

“It’s juicyf--” Miyeon tried to continue.

“WAAAAH!” Rya jumped to the other side to cover her mouth too. “Don’t!!”

“Alright, alright” Jaesoon laughed, pulling the youngest’s hand from her mouth. “We’ll tell him later.”

“How ‘bout not at all?” Rya pouted.

“Why don’t we change the subject then?” Song-E suggested. Rya looked at her with grateful eyes.

“So then, Rya, you came down to Korea by yourself?” Yoseob asked.

“Mmhmm!” she nodded back.

“Really? Didn’t you get scared on the way over here?” Dongwoon asked.

“Not really. I’m kinda used to travelling by myself these days.”

“Why’s that? Don’t you travel with your parents too?” Yoseob asked. The ATM members froze. They turned to look at the youngest with slightly frightened eyes. Anxiously waiting to see how she would react, they were a little stunned when Rya replied to Yoseob with a small smile.

“No.”

“Are they busy all the time?”

“Uh… oppa… you m--” Jinhwa started cautiously.

“Don’t worry, unnie. It’s okay” Rya interrupted with another small smile. “Actually… my parents are… no longer with us anymore.” The eyes of the Beast members grew wide with shock.

“W-what?” Kikwang stuttered. “You mean…” Rya simply nodded back, knowing what everyone else was thinking.

“… What… happened…?” Junhyung asked carefully with concerned eyes.

“My mother passed away when I was 4 years old from cancer. A few years later, my younger brother was in an accident… when he was walking back from school… and a car swerved onto the footpath. And… just three years ago… my dad… killed… himself.” Doojoon gasped once the words left her mouth.

“Rya…” Hyunseung said. Rya smiled back, but everyone could see the sadness behind it.

“It’s alright. It’s in the past now.” Everyone was looking at her with sympathetic eyes. She tried her best to lift the mood, letting a quiet laugh out. “Oh no. It looks like I kinda killed the mood just now. Sorry!” In her pocket, her phone started to ring, breaking the silence. “Oh sorry. It’s my guardian. Is it alright if I take it?”

“Oh yeah, yeah. It’s alright” Miyeon said. “Go ahead, Rya.” She stood up to take the call outside the room.

“I promise I won’t take long!” The others shook their head.

“It’s alright. Take your time” Song-E replied, smiling warmly. Rya shut the door. Hyunseung let out a deep breath.

“I… I feel so bad for bringing it up” Yoseob said, his eyes getting slightly wet.

“It’s okay. You didn’t know” Miyeon reassured him.

“16 years old and she’s already gone through all that” Kikwang said quietly. Jaesoon sighed.

“Yeah. She seems like she’s over it right now, but it’s so obvious that she isn’t.”

“Losing both your parents and your younger brother is tough” Hyunseung said.

“What does she do back in Australia then?” Yoseob asked, his voice uneven.

“She lives in this place for independent teens” Song-E explained. “But pretty soon, in a few years time, she’s gonna have to live on her own.”

“Why?”

“Because in Australia, when she turns 18, she’s of legal age already. She’ll no longer be a teen.”

“But! But that’s still so young!” Yoseob pouted.

“At least you guys weren’t there at her worst…” Jaesoon muttered.

“What? Why?” Junhyung asked worriedly. Miyeon sighed.

“We met Rya when she was at her lowest. At that time, Rya was… contemplating suicide.” The group heard Yoseob gasp.

“Contemplating? Rya was on the verge” Jaesoon corrected. Jinhwa nodded in agreement.

“At first, she didn’t tell us anything. Not of her parents or what she was thinking at the time. But… we saw.”

“Saw what?” Doojoon asked.

“Her wrists” Song-E replied quietly.

“Oh god” Kikwang muttered, closing his eyes.

“The scars… they’re faded already now… but every now and again, you can catch her looking at them… running her fingers along them…” Jinhwa said.

“Yoseob, you okay?” Junhyung asked quietly. The main vocal shook his head, single streams of tears already glistening on his cheeks. Doojoon rubbed the younger’s back soothingly. Yoseob drew in a shaky breath.

“You four… you need to be re-named as the ‘guardian angels’” Hyunseung said, looking at the four members of ATM. Jaesoon shook her head in disagreement.

“If anyone deserves to be called ‘guardian angels’, it’s you six.”

“Yeah,” Jinhwa agreed. “You six are her real saviours.”

“But we didn’t even know her at that time” Kikwang said, confused.

“True, but it was your music that brought her back” Song-E said.

“It was around the time when you released the ‘Lights Go On Again’ mini-album” Miyeon explained. “There’s a reason why it’s her favourite. Every single song on that album… she treasures in her heart.” There was a brief moment of silence. “You know she told me… she cried the first time she listened to it. She told me that… every word you guys sang, she felt like… all of you were telling her to stay alive… to not give up. You guys… gave her a reason to live.”

“To her,” Song-E added, “you guys are more than just a boy band from Korea. You six are literally the reason why she’s here today.” The door opened, revealing Rya once more. Yoseob wiped his cheeks quickly and ran to her, engulfing her in a big bear hug.

“Hmm?” she asked, taken aback. “Wasn’t I only gone for a few minutes? Was I missed that much?” she laughed.

“Yoseob-ah. Let her breathe” Doojoon said.

“Oh… sorry, Rya” Yoseob said, loosening his grip. She giggled.

“That’s okay” she said, smiling when they made eye contact. She tilted her head to the side. “Oppa… were you… crying?”

“No” Yoseob said, blushing.

“Rya, come sit back down” Junhyung called, patting the seat next to him. Yoseob led her to the spare seat. Rya looked at the faces of everyone around her.

“Why are you all looking at me like that?” she asked anxiously. Suddenly, Dongwoon clapped his hands, an idea entering his head.

“It’s time for a special request!” he said, picking up one of the microphones. The other members of Beast quickly saw where their maknae was going and followed suit, picking up a microphone each.

“Rya, the oppas will sing you any song you want!” Doojoon said into the microphone for the whole room to hear. Kikwang nodded back, flashing his eye-smile once more.

“Really?” she asked, sitting up in her chair excitedly.

“Yep! So which song do you want to hear?”

“Mm…” She tapped her chin in thought. “Ah! ‘I Like You The Best’!” she cried, clapping her hands.

“Excellent choice!” Yoseob replied, turning on the music. When the familiar melody began to play, the girls squealed and clapped their hands in anticipation.

“A! This song is just for you” Junhyung rapped, pointing directly at Rya. “You know this is it. Drop this!”

“Hey hey~ Hey hey hey~ Woah~ Baby baby girl~” Kikwang sang, smiling.

“Jakku wae neon osi jagajyeotda tudeolgeoryeo, tto tudeolgeoryo” Hyunseung sang next. “Hangsang wae neon jakku sari jjyeotda tudeolgeoryeo”

“Neomu yeppeunde, nae nuneneun hangsang you are the prettiest girl” Doojoon sang.

“Niga eotteon oseul ibeodo, naegen hangsang beautiful” Dongwoon sang.

“Baby let me do wanna wanna do, just let me do wanna wanna do”

“Sesang modeun geol da gajyeodo, niga eobseumyeon andwae ma girl”

“You’re the only one for me, yeah”

“Nan niga jeil joha,” Kikwang sang, dancing, “niga jeil yeppeo, jinaganeun gotgot maeryeogi da heulleo”

“Niga jeil joha,” Yoseob sang, “neo hanamyeon dwae, gaseume saegyeo dwo, niga sesangeseo jeil sojunghae.”

…

“Geunyang idaero isseojumyeon dwae yeah, iroke areumdaun neoinde” Kikwang sang, pulling Rya up to the front.

“You gotta know that you’re the prettiest for me” Yoseob sang, “niga jeil joha nan niga jeil yeppeo, yeah~” Junhyung took her by the hand, bending down on one knee as he started to rap.

“mareun chehyeonge jom jageun ki jogeuman eolgure budeureoun meoritgyeol neol gatgo sipeo tto ango sipeo  everywhere neol yeope dugo sipeo eoneu nuga neol yokhaedo  areumdaume ttareun daegail ppun geureon geon singyeongsseul pillyo eobtji You and I just fall in love all night long”

“Dance with us, Rya!” Doojoon said as the final chorus approached. She stood in the middle, laughing and dancing along to the song.

“Nan niga jeil joha,” Kikwang sang, dancing alongside her, “niga jeil yeppeo, jinaganeun gotgot maeryeogi da heulleo”

“Niga jeil joha,” Yoseob sang, “neo hanamyeon dwae, gaseume saegyeo dwo, niga sesangeseo jeil sojunghae.”

The song ended and Rya clapped and cheered loudly.

“YAY!” she cried, jumping up and down. “Beast oppas~ Hwaiting!”

“Rya dongsaeng! Hwaiting!” they all replied back. The members of ATM were standing in their seats cheering loudly too.

“Thanks, oppas! That was great!” She gave them a thumbs-up. They bowed back in return.

“Hey! Here’s a wild idea” Yoseob said into the microphone. “You guys wanna have a sleepover?”

“Huh?” Jinhwa cried. “A sleepover?”

“Yeah!” Dongwoon said. “A sleepover at the Beast dorm!”

“All eleven of us!” Yoseob said, jumping up and down.

“Will we even fit?” Song-E asked.

“If we shift around the furniture, I’m sure we’ll all have enough space” Doojoon assessed in his head.

“How ‘bout it, Rya?” Junhyung asked, putting his arm around her shoulders. “What do you say to a sleepover with your oppas and unnies?”

“Really?” he asked, jumping up and down on her toes excitedly. “I get to come too?”

“Of course!” Kikwang replied. “You’re the guest of honour!” He ruffled her hair.

“Waaah! Cool!”

“What are we waiting for then?” Jaesoon asked, jumping down from her chair. “Let’s go!”

“Yo! Who’s got the key?” Junhyung asked, standing at the door to the dorm.

“I do. Hold on” Dongwoon replied, patting his pockets down. He reached into one and pulled out a single key. Junhyung opened the door to reveal the interior of the dorm room. With wide eyes, Rya walked in, admiring her surroundings.

“Crap. We should have cleaned up around here” Hyunseung commented, kicking a pile of clothes on the floor. “Sorry, Rya. If we knew we were having you all over, we would’ve straightened up a little.” Rya giggled. “That’s okay. I get told off for having a messy room all the time anyway!”

“Ready for the grand tour?” Yoseob asked. Rya nodded back enthusiastically. Jaesoon stretched her arms in the air.

“You two go on ahead. I’m just gonna chill on the couch.”

“Suit yourself” Yoseob shrugged. “C’mon, dongsaeng!” He pulled Rya away to show her around to all the rooms in the dorm. Meanwhile, the other members of Beast worked to pull all the mattresses to the lounge room.

“Jae? Can you move your feet for a second?” Hyunseung laughed.

“Why don’t you move them for me?” Jaesoon replied, sticking her tongue out. Hyunseung responded by sitting down on her. “Ah! What are you doing? Get off!”

“I think you should be able to push it now, Doojoon.”

“Jang Hyunseung! Get off!” Jaesoon cried, trying to shove him off. The other ATM members cracked up. Kikwang disappeared into the bedroom, returning with a pile of blankets and pillows in his arms.

“Oh. Lemme help” Song-E said, holding out her arms. Kikwang handed her a few pillows.

“Thanks!”

“Hey, Miyeon. You wanna help too?” Doojoon laughed.

“Nope!” she replied, sitting down on the couch beside Jaesoon.

“You two are so lazy!”

“Ah!” Junhyung exclaimed, clicking his fingers. He ran to the bedroom and returned with his laptop. “Rya’s blog. Now” he said to the ATM members, pointing at the laptop. Jaesoon smirked and pulled it closer.

When Yoseob and Rya returned to the lounge room, they saw that the rest of the group were sprawled out on the mattresses.

“So what do you think of our dorm?” Kikwang asked, seeing them return.

“It’s gigantic! A little messy, but huge!” She noticed the members of ATM and the others giggling behind. “What are you…” She noticed the laptop and her eyes grew big. “NO! PLEASE DON’T TELL ME THAT’S--” She jumped onto the mattresses and reached over, trying to close the lid of the laptop. Jaesoon and Miyeon pulled her away quickly, securing Rya in their arms. Junhyung was laughing, pulling the laptop closer. “Unnieeee~ WHY?” she whined.

“’Bias list wrecker’, huh?” Junhyung smirked. Rya groaned, feeling embarrassed and completely defeated.

“Your blog seems to be half Kikwang, half Junhyung” Doojoon commented, smiling. Rya released herself from the grips of Miyeon and Jaesoon, grabbing a blanket, curling up into a ball and hiding herself underneath it.

“Ryaaa~” Kikwang called, trying to pull the blanket away. She had a firm grip on it though, and wasn’t about to let go of it easily. Kikwang looked up at Song-E, silently asking for any help.

“Tickle her” she mouthed cheekily. He chuckled, moving his hands to find her sides. His fingers moved quickly and everyone could hear her muffled laughter. The more Kikwang tickled, the more Rya squirmed around and soon, her laughter could be heard clearly.

“Stop, oppa! Stop!” she cried. She pulled the blanket up slightly, revealing only her face. Kikwang looked down and smiled at her.

“I’m number one, right?” he confirmed. She nodded, still a little breathless from all her laughing. He flashed his signature eye-smile.

“What’s that? Did you say that I’m number one, Rya?” Junhyung asked, pretending not to have noticed her nod.

“No, Kikwang oppa is number one.”

“Hmm? Did you say ‘Junhyung oppa is number one’?”

“No! Kikwang oppa is number one!” Rya cried a little louder.

“What? I only hear ‘Junhyung oppa is number one’.”

“KI. KWANG. O. PPA.” She accentuated every syllable. The others were already laughing.

“Face it, Junhyung. Rya likes me the best” Kikwang laughed.

“I don’t think so, Kikwang. I specifically heard her say ‘Junhyung’ just now.” Rya sat up, the blanket still wrapped around most of her body.

“KIKWANG OPPA IS NUMBER ONE!”

“Who?”

“Kikwang oppa!” Junhyung shuffled closer to Rya.

“Who?”

“Kikwang oppa.” He inched his face closer to hers.

“Who?”

“Kikwang… oppa…” He was centimetres away from her face. He raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips.

“Who?”

“… J…” She shook her head violently. “Kikwang oppa!” She blushed, curling into a ball again and burying herself under the blanket. Junhyung threw his head back and laughed.

“Ha ha! She wavered! Good enough for me!” he cried, clapping his hands.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing to her?” Kikwang cried.

“Hey, Rya. Did you know that that’s my blanket you’re curled up in?” Junhyung asked. Rya sat up, throwing the blanket to the other side of the room.

“Eww!” she cried, pretending to be disgusted.

“What do you mean ‘eww’?” Junhyung asked, pretending to be hurt. “I don’t stink! I shower every day, you know!” Rya pouted and sighed.

“Unnies, why did you have to show them?”

“Because we’re nice unnies, that’s why” Jaesoon replied, laughing.

“Pssh!” Rya said. Suddenly, she had an idea. “Hey! Oppas! Did the unnies show you THEIR blogs?” The ATM members’ eyes grew wide.

“You wouldn’t” Miyeon said.

“Oh, I would” Rya replied, with a cheeky smile.

“Wait. These girls have blogs too?” Dongwoon asked.

“You bet they do, oppa!”

“Rya! No!” Song-E cried. “We’re sorry we showed your blog to them! Don’t do it!” she pleaded.

“Rya! Don’t!” Jinhwa begged. Doojoon grabbed Miyeon quickly. Dongwoon grabbed Jinhwa, Hyunseung grabbed Jaesoon and Kikwang grabbed Song-E. Yoseob shuffled over with Junhyung’s laptop.

“Here, Rya!” he said.

“Rya please!” Miyeon cried. The youngest stuck her tongue out and began to type. Jaesoon hung her head in defeat.

“It’s no use. She’s got that look in her eyes already.”

“Hmm… whose shall we look at first?” Rya asked, tapping her chin.

“Who’s got the most embarrassing one when it comes to Beast?” Yoseob asked.

“Miyeon unnie?” Rya said, already typing out the URL. “She wavers too, you know.”

“What? Who’s my rival?” Doojoon asked. Rya looked up, then turned to Junhyung and smiled. “Are you serious? Miyeon, really? That guy? Of all the guys you could waver for…” Junhyung leaned back, satisfied.

“What can I say?” he said. “It’s a gift.”

“More like a curse…” Rya muttered. The others cracked up as she proceeded to unveil the blogs of every ATM member.

Having taken a quick trip to the kitchen, Yoseob came back with multiple bags of snacks in his arms.

“Hey! You know we’re not gonna be able to sleep with all that junk food!” Doojoon scolded.

“Isn’t that the point?” Yoseob laughed, dropping the bags in the middle of the group.

“Did you just completely clear out the kitchen?” Dongwoon asked, picking up one of the bags of chips. “I didn’t even know we had these.”

“Are these even edible still?” Jinhwa added, checking the expiration dates on some packets.

“I checked, and I think they’re all good” Yoseob said.

“Song-E!” Kikwang called. “Ah~” He was holding a piece of chocolate in front of her. Blushing almost instantly, ATM’s leader opened her mouth to accept the food.

“Ooo~” the others teased. Song-E slapped the leg of the member closest to her, which just happened to be Jaesoon.

“Ah! Dongsaeng too!” Kikwang said, unwrapping another piece of chocolate. “Rya~” Giggling, the youngest opened her mouth.

“Hey, Rya~” Junhyung called, holding a piece of candy. Rya chewed quickly, swallowing the chocolate, before opening her mouth again. “Kikwang, this is war” Junhyung announced. The two guys engaged in a small staring contest before rushing to gather as many sweets as they could.

“Rya~” Kikwang called, holding out an unwrapped candy. She opened her mouth.

“Rya~” Junhyung mimicked, holding a piece of chocolate in front of her. The both of them continued to battle, not even waiting for her to finish chewing and swallowing. Rya raised her hands in the air when both Junhyung and Kikwang simultaneously held out a piece of chocolate for her.

“Hold on!” she mumbled, her mouth stuffed with sweets. She covered her mouth with her hand to stop everything from falling out. Doojoon smacked both their heads at the same time.

“Yah! What do you two think you’re doing?” he scolded. “You’re gonna make her choke!” Hyunseung bolted off to the kitchen, returning with a bottle of water.

“Here, Rya” he said, holding the bottle out for her. She swallowed, taking the bottle and washing down her throat.

“Thank you” she said, taking a deep breath.

“You okay?” Song-E asked, rubbing the younger’s back.

“Mmhmm” Rya nodded back. “Actually, some of that tasted nice.” She sorted through the wrappers and inspected the names.

“So, Rya, who won?” Miyeon asked.

“I did” Junhyung and Kikwang said at the same time. They looked at each other.

“I so did” they said again. They glared at each other then turned to look at Rya.

“What?” she asked, confused (and slightly scared).

By some insane miracle, despite having ingested so much junk food, Rya had managed to grow sleepy and had curled up underneath a blanket – not Junhyung’s – between Miyeon and Song-E. ATM’s rapper was rubbing the youngest’s back soothingly as she dozed off. “Even after Junhyung and Kikwang stuffed her face with all that sugar, Rya still manages to fall asleep?” Doojoon whispered in disbelief. The group chuckled quietly.

“She did fly down today. Probably super tired from the flight” Song-E answered, brushing a few hairs from Rya’s face.

“And the karaoke session we had too” Jinhwa added. Yoseob slowly shuffled over to Rya’s sleeping figure, trying not to wake her. He had noticed that the blanket was not fully covering her, wanting to clarify one thing. Carefully, he lifted her hand.

“What are you doing?” Junhyung whispered. Yoseob turned her hand around in his, looking down at her wrists. Sure enough, he could spot faint scars. They were almost invisible. Nevertheless though, they were there. Sighing, he returned her hand to its original position.

“I just… I didn’t believe it. I didn’t want to” Yoseob said, shuffling back to his spot with sad eyes.

“None of us did” Jaesoon said.

“Hey” Kikwang said. “How long is she staying for?”

“A week.”

“So I have one week to make her mine?” Junhyung chuckled. Kikwang shot him a look. Junhyung replied by sticking out his tongue.

“That’s not very long” Dongwoon said.

“Yeah. But that’s all she could afford to take off” Miyeon replied. “What with school and everything…” The rest of the guys nodded understandingly.

“Oh yeah!” Jaesoon said. “We forgot to tell you guys. It’s her birthday soon.”

“What?” Junhyung cried.

“Ssh!” Doojoon scolded, pointing at Rya who had shuffled slightly in her sleep.

“When?” Kikwang asked.

“Day after tomorrow” Song-E answered.

“No way!” Yoseob said, excitedly.

“Oh man. I should buy her something” Junhyung said, already thinking of possible gifts.

“We all should” Doojoon corrected. The ATM members nodded in agreement.

“We were thinking of going shopping tomorrow. We could take turns in showing Rya around, while the others went to buy gifts” Jinhwa said.

“Good idea” Hyunseung said. “What does Rya like anyways?”

“Well… music for one” Miyeon laughed.

“Of course” Junhyung said.

“She likes clothes” Jaesoon added.

“What girl doesn’t?” Doojoon laughed.

“But specific clothes: hoodies, over-sized jumpers, beanies… Winter-y stuff.”

“But it’s the middle of Summer over here” Kikwang said.

“True, but Winter is her favourite season. Plus, over in Australia, the weather is the complete opposite of here” Jinhwa replied.

“She told me she wants to buy at least one ‘Comme des Garçons’ shirt” Song-E remembered.

“What else?” Yoseob asked.

“Manga and anime. Definitely” Miyeon stated.

“But the kind of boyish stuff… you know… ‘One Piece’, ‘Pokemon’, ‘Dragon Ball Z’… what else…” Jaesoon said.

“I think she likes ‘Bleach’ and ‘Ouran High School Host Club’ too” Song-E added.

“’One Piece’ huh?” Dongwoon said, excitedly. “I wanna high-five her.” The others laughed quietly.

“What’s her favourite animal?” Yoseob asked with an idea in mind.

“I actually don’t know” Miyeon replied. “I don’t think she really has one… I guess as long as it’s cute, she’s fine with it.” Yoseob nodded back.

“What are you girls getting her?” Doojoon asked.

“We were thinking of buying clothes for her.”

“Can I tag along then?” Hyunseung asked.

“Sure” Jaesoon replied. “As long as you promise not to buy anything crazy.”

“Fine. I promise not to buy her anything too extravagant” Hyunseung pouted.

“What about you guys? Thought of anything?” Jinhwa asked.

“I think I got something in mind” Kikwang replied. Junhyung shuffled over towards Rya’s bag, looking through the pockets.

“Yah! What do you think you’re doing?” Yoseob scolded.

“I’m trying to find her phone. I’m gonna give her the first part of my present.”

“What?” Junhyung pulled out Rya’s phone from one of the side pockets of her bag.

“Gotcha.” He typed in a few words and numbers. Yoseob shuffled over to see what the rapper was doing.

“Ah~” Yoseob nodded, understanding what Junhyung was doing. “Me next then.”

“What are you guys doing?” Kikwang asked, watching Junhyung pass Rya’s phone to Yoseob.

“Giving her my number” Yoseob replied, waving the phone. The other Beast members shuffled closer to do the same.

“So it’s settled. We’ll go shopping for her birthday presents tomorrow” Doojoon concluded after putting in his number.

“Who wants to take the first shift?”

“Well, we can” Song-E offered. We’ll give you guys some time to shop.” The others nodded back. Yoseob looked up at the clock.

“I think we should go to bed now” he laughed. The others proceeded to rearrange themselves on the mattresses, soon drifting off to sleep themselves.

    July 7th…

  It was hectic and chaotic in the ATM members’ dorm. Rya was still in Miyeon’s bed, sleeping, while everyone else was in the living room or kitchen.

“Hey, Yoseob. Pass me those candles there” Doojoon whispered.

“Oppa, don’t eat the cake yet!” Jinhwa scolded, smacking Beast’s maknae’s hand lightly.

“I need more tape.”

“Make sure they don’t pop.”

“Hey! Don’t blow them up too much!”

“Where should we put all the presents?”

  “Alright everyone, ssh!” Miyeon said. “Everyone wait in the lounge room while I go get the birthday girl.”

“I’ll get the lights” Jaesoon said. Miyeon walked into the bedroom. She smiled before walking over to the sleeping figure.

“Rya?” she cooed, rubbing the younger’s back. “Time to get up, sleepy head.” Rya shifted in the bed before slowly opening her eyes. Rubbing the sleep away, she saw ATM’s rapper sitting next to her.

“Mm… morning, unnie” she yawned.

“C’mon. I have to show you something.” She pulled her off the bed and put her hands over Rya’s eyes.

“Unnie?” the younger asked.

“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna make you crash into the wall or something.” Miyeon opened up the door, guiding Rya to the dark lounge room. “Okay. Ready?”

“I guess?” She slowly slid her hands away, revealing all the other members of ATM and Beast standing around the cake in Yoseob’s hands. The room was illuminated by the glow of the candles.

“1, 2, 3…” Doojoon counted under his breath.

“Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday, dear Rya~ Happy birthday to you~” they sang together. Rya was stunned and speechless.

“U-unnies? Oppas? Wha--”

“Happy birthday, dongsaeng~” Yoseob cried, holding out the cake towards her. “Don’t forget to make a wish!” Rya stepped closer and looked down at the decorations on the cake.

Happy birthday to our favourite dongsaeng, Rya. Love from the best unnies and oppas in the world. Rya looked up with a smile. She tilted her head to the side, thinking of a wish. Nodding her head once, she blew out the candles in one hit. Jaesoon turned the lights back on as everyone applauded.

“17, huh?” Junhyung said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “That still sounds so young.” Rya laughed.

“Thanks, everyone. Really.”

“Hmm… what do you want first: cake or presents?” Kikwang asked, flashing his signature eye-smile.

“Presents, definitely!” Rya replied, bouncing up and down on her toes.

“Okay then!” They walked over to the pile of boxes and bags.

“Me first” Junhyung said. “Because I am number 1, after all.”

“Pssh! Whatever” Kikwang scoffed. Junhyung picked up a small white box.

“Happy birthday~” he said, holding out the present. She took the box, untying the ribbon first. Lifting the lid, she saw a brand new iPod inside. Rya gasped.

“No way!” she said, turning it around in her hand. “It even has my name on it?”

“Carved and everything” Junhyung answered. “I even put some music in for you. There should be enough in there to keep you entertained for a while.” She squealed and ran over to give Junhyung a hug, blushing immediately after she realised what she had done.

“But” she said. “If I want to add more music in, how do I do that if I don’t wanna get rid of the music you already put in, oppa?” Junhyung shrugged.

“Guess you’ll just have to fly back over here and ask me to do it.”

“You planned that, didn’t you?” Doojoon said.

“Maybe” Junhyung smirked.

“Oo! Oo! Me next!” Yoseob cried, grabbing the biggest bag in the pile.

“That’s huge!” Rya cried. She opened up the bag and pulled out the biggest, cutest teddy bear she had ever seen. “WAAAH! This is so cute! Thanks, oppa!” she said, pulling him in for a big hug too.

“Okay. Our turn!” Jinhwa announced, bringing over a huge box with the help of Jaesoon.

“Is this a treasure chest, unnie?” Rya laughed. She bent down to open up the box. “UWAAAAH!” she cried, jumping up in excitement. “SO MANY CLOTHES!”

“This is from your ATM unnies and Hyunseung oppa” Song-E said, smiling at her dongsaeng.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she said, running to hug all five of them.

“Okay! Us next!” Dongwoon said, grabbing the other big box.

“Another treasure chest?” Rya asked, smiling. She lifted the lid and gasped loudly, jumping away from the present. “No. Way.” She looked at Dongwoon in disbelief.

“From me and Doojoon hyung.”

“Is this… complete?” she asked, wide-eyed.

“You betcha!” Rya’s jaw dropped. Miyeon walked over to look inside the box.

“Oh my god! Rya! You have to let me borrow them sometime!” she gasped. Inside the box was a pile of books (specifically manga): complete volumes of ‘One Piece’ and ‘Bleach’, alongside DVDs of ‘Pokemon’ and ‘Dragon Ball Z’.

“I could literally die right now” Rya said. The others laughed.

“Please don’t!” Yoseob laughed.

“Oppas, thank you sooooo much!” she squealed.

“Last one!” Yoseob said, pointing to Kikwang. In his arms was a box, though it wasn’t as big as the two boxes on the floor.

“Here you go” he said, smiling. She took the big, white box, placing it on her lap and untying the ribbon. She gasped, looking inside.

“How did you…”

“Song-E” Kikwang finished. “And by the way, nice choices!” She pulled out each plush toy from the box: Pikachu, Chopper and Pororo.

“Thanks, oppa!” she said, smiling up at Kikwang.

“Oh wait! I nearly forgot!” he said, running to pull out a long box from behind the TV.

“Another one?” she asked. She opened it up, revealing a simple silver chain necklace. On it was her name and a heart locket. Carefully, she opened up the locket, which contained a group photo the eleven of them had taken a few days earlier on one side, and the words ‘forever our dongsaeng and number 1 fan’ on the other. She looked up with almost teary eyes.