#eightlightstar.

As Woozi navigates the crowded wine festival alone, he goes from stall to stall trying some wine here and there. He doesn't know exactly when he gets drunk but the moment he realises, he looks for a place to stop and breathe. While looking here and there among a sea of people, he spots a stall that is not at crowded at all except for one young lady. He goes (read: stumbles) there and sighs in relief. He leans down to check out the different wines on the counter of the stall and notices the lady's keychain as he straightens up. It was a CARATBONG keychain and Woozi doesn't even finish thinking that 'CARATs are everywhere' when him and the woman make eye contact. The woman's eyes comically widen before she composes herself quickly. "Hi?" she says unsurely in Korean.

"You're Korean!?" Woozi asks a little too loudly in his tipsy state. "Ah sorry I think I must've drunk too much wine", he immediately apologises sheepishly. "Not just too much, many different wines too, I guess," says the woman and giggles. "Yes, I am Korean. Korean American actually. But yeah", she adds. "This might be stupid to ask but you do know me, right? Also, can I get your name? asks Woozi, surprising himself. "It's L/n Y/n. And I don't know how to reply to the other question, Woozi", she says as she stifles a smile with the back of her hand.

"Ah wonderful. But first and foremost, do not ask why I'm here in Italy. You'll get to know soon. Okay?", Woozi warned the CARAT hurriedly. "Duh. Of course you're filming something. I'm not completely dumb seeing as I've known Seventeen since debut but go off, I guess", she says in mock anger. "Ah I didn't mean that, I'm sorry. Fans tend to ask for photos or signatures and sometimes even pester us. It was precautionary you know just in-" "It's fine Woozi. I know how bad it can get. Wine?" she cuts his rambling as she shows him what she's currently drinking. "Thanks," Woozi mutters and asks the stall owner to pour him some.

"So, since I can't tell you what I'm doing here, tell me about yourself. What're you doing in Italy? Do you live in Korea? And oh, who's your bias in our group?", Woozi yaps away after taking a few sips of the woody wine. "WOW, who are you and what have you done to our Woozi?", Y/n asks in astonishment but humours this New Woozi anyway. "I'm here on a solo vacation as I just got some time off from work. Yes, I live in Korea. Actually, I live in Yongsan, so I often see you guys near the HYBE building, hehe. But coming back to your question, and not because you are the one I'm talking to, my bias has been you since the Melona Green Room days", she finishes in one breath and inhales deeply.

"WOW", is all Woozi manages. "But seriously, how are you talking so much? And that too with a fan you happened to meet by chance?", Y/n enquires curiously. "Well, Joshua was going on about the world of possibilities or something so I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone?", Woozi answers, albeit apprehensively. "That's actually very Josh of him, but also true. As your fan, I'm glad you're exploring new possibilities, she says and beams at him. "Yeah, but the only reason I talked to you was because I saw your CARATBONG keychain", he admits bashfully. "Aww and here I thought you talked to me because you found me pretty or something", she teases and Woozi has never been so out of his depth.

"Uh..." "Oh come on, I'm just teasing. I know you would rather talk to a stranger who's a CARAT than not" she says and giggles. Her giggles do something to Woozi's heart that he can't quite place. "Fans never talk this comfortably with us you know, they are usually very nervous or too excited. You're...astonishingly calm for a person who's talking to her bias". It was now Woozi's turn to tease Y/n. "Uh...". "Oh, come on, I'm just teasing", Woozi says triumphantly. "Wow...that's a low blow, Woozi. But I'm not offended because oh my god I love this new Woozi!?", she says as she gawks at her reformed bias. "Yeah, I hope I won't regret this tomorrow morning", he says in a hopeful tone. "Okay now I'm offended", Y/n says in a small voice.

"Hey, again, I'm sorry but if you've been here since debut, you know how some people take advantage of us interacting with them like-" "-like normal humans yeah, I know", she cuts him off and finishes his sentence yet again and he's pretty sure his heart did a somersault. "But I thought I already proved to you that I was different? I didn't need to and didn't even intend to prove myself different or anything, but it just happened. Anyway, I'm sure it's not easy for you to trust a stranger you just met even if I am a CARAT. I've only been extra nice because I know how fans get. I just thought it'll be a nice break for you, you know..." she says in a hurt voice.

Woozi regrets his words deeply as he looks at the hurt in her eyes. He makes a bold decision to set this misunderstanding straight. "Okay, for the last time, I'm sorry. This is me trusting and making up to the most wonderful fan I've ever met, who just happens to be my fan. Gimme your phone", he says. "Huh?" Y/n asks quizzically but still hands it to him. He flips it to the back to check just in case and sure enough, he finds a photocard of himself nestled behind a clear cover. "Aha! Now I know for sure I'm your bias", he teases while typing a number onto the keypad and saving it as Lee Jihoon. "That's my number. I feel like you're a person I can get to know so call me when you're back in Korea. I'll go back in a few days too. Okay?", he asks with hope in his eyes.

"But do you really want an unknown number calling you? When you already get so many calls from fans?", she asks him dryly. "Ah I hadn't thought of that. Wait, send me a message on Kakao right now", he says with a twinkle in his eyes as if he had just thought of the greatest idea in the world. "And what should I say?", she asks. "Ugh, just open the messenger and give it to me. Quick I need to go back to the group" Woozi says hurriedly as he checks the time. Y/n hands him her phone with his contact open on Kakao messenger. His fingers fly on the keypad of her phone as he sends a message to himself. "There, now I will know it's you" he beams like he had just won an award. Y/n is touched by the fact that he would go to such lengths to placate a fan who was simply treating him like a fellow human being. "Thank you, Woozi. It was wonderful meeting you. See you in Korea" she says as she waves at him. "See you in Korea Y/n" he says and leaves.

-Time Skip- (The story switches to Y/n's POV)

The rest of the vacation went by in a whirlwind for both you and Woozi. Both of you almost completely forgot your encounter with each other until you were trying to type a message to your friend and accidentally open your chat with Woozi.

cheers to youth.mp3

You stare at the message in utter confusion and think to yourself. 'How do I contact him further? Shouldn't he be the one who has to recognise whatever this cryptic message is and reply to me?' You sigh, exit his chat, message your friend like you had originally intended to, and go on about your day. You don't think about Woozi after that.

As for Woozi, he was insanely busy trying to catch up on and finish everything for their latest album Seventeenth Heaven. NANA TOUR had been a much-needed break yet now he had no choice but to work himself to death as comeback was almost upon them. It was after about 3 weeks that Woozi decided to (read: had the time to) reply to the messages he had ignored since he left for NANA TOUR. Surprisingly, there was only 1 message from an unknown number but just as he was about to delete it, he caught sight of the content of the message.

cheers to youth.mp3

Woozi was shell shocked. How had someone texted him the name of the Vocal Unit song file which was from their next album after Seventeenth Heaven!? His mind was reeling, and he was almost about to go nuts when his mind thankfully went to & stopped at the memory of his encounter with you at the Wine Festival in Italy.

"Oh my God that's Y/n!" he said aloud to himself. He immediately called you. You were just walking back home from a convenience store and were actually just opposite the HYBE building when you received a call. You were confused yet thrilled when you saw it was Woozi who was finally calling you! "Hello? Y/n?", Woozi asked nervously. "Yes, this is her, Woozi", you replied as you giggled. "Ah now I know it's you for sure" he said, and you could hear the smile in his voice. "And how do you know that may I ask?" you ask haughtily (comical). "Your giggles. I distinctly remember them. They're music to my ears", Woozi says adoringly before he even realises what he had just said.

"My giggles are music to the God of Music? I am honoured!" you say as you tease him. "Uh...I didn't mean...uh actually it kinda slipped out but..." Woozi hesitates for a while until he finally snaps and actually tells you what he wanted to tell you. "Okay fuck this. Will you go out on a date with me?" "...a date? I..." It was your turn to hesitate now. "Come on y/n, I think I've filled the hesitation quota for today. Not you too", he whines.

"But you're already asking me out on a date when we didn't even talk after our first encounter?", you ask him unsurely. "Uh, yes. I thought this might come up", Woozi says monotonously on the phone. "Obviously!", you say, now slightly annoyed. "Well, what can I say? I saw the CARATBONG and thought it was a lucky coincidence. And then I saw your face and thought I was the one who was lucky. And then as I talked to you, I finally realised that it was fate. I was fated to see you, meet you, and get to know you. So...uh...to me, it was only natural to ask you out as soon as possible", Woozi finishes in one breath.

"WOW...that's...I'm floored Jihoon", you say as your heart does an entire gymnastics routine. "So, it's a yes to the date?", Woozi asks you hopefully. "Yes, and as fate would have it, I'm standing right opposite the HYBE building hehe" you say while making sure to emphasise the word 'fate'. "Really? I'm in the studio. Can you come towards the left of the building? I could see you from the window!" Woozi tells you excitedly. You move to where the Universe Factory window is and sure enough, there was Woozi. Standing at the window looking at you and waving as he says "Hi" through the phone. "So, when is the date you just asked me on?" you ask as you look at him. "Today. I'll text you the details so be ready, okay?" he says and waves at you before hanging up.

Then he quickly opens the shopping app on his phone and starts looking for a dress to give as a present to you. He finds a beautiful ruby coloured dress after scrolling for a while. He thinks about the first time he saw you with a wine glass in your hand and decides it would be the perfect dress. He selects the size and hopes he got it right from whatever he saw of you at the wine festival from almost a month ago. Then, he texts you. "Hey Y/n, can you send me your home address? I'll send someone to pick you up from there and bring you to HYBE's parking lot. Then we can go together from here in a car that has blacked out windows. Sound good?"

You see the text and muse that it was an ingenious plan. Nothing suspicious crosses your mind so you simply send him the address. "See you soon, xoxo", you add. Unbeknownst to you, Jihoon almost faints from giddiness when he sees the 'xoxo'. He quickly types in your address and makes sure to get the fastest delivery option available, which happened to be more expensive than the dress itself, despite the store being in Yongsan! But all he cared about was seeing you wearing his present; so, after wrapping up the gift situation, he quickly got ready in the spare suit that he keeps in Universe Factory for 'just in case' situations.

As soon as he touched up his appearance and was ready to leave, he gets an update from the shopping app that the delivery has been made. As he feels relieved that his present reached you in time, you call him. "Jihoon, did you just send me a dress?", you ask in disbelief. "I mean, that's it what it looks like, doesn't it?", Woozi replies cheekily. "But whyyy, you didn't have to you know. Also, 'ruby'? Really?', you ask you first whine and then deadpan. "Ah, it wasn't because of my song. It was to commemorate our first meeting - at the wine festival", he explains hurriedly. "Fine, how long till your manager gets here? Do I have to get ready quickly?", you ask worriedly. "Oh wait! I'm actually ready right now. I'll come get you myself and we can go directly from your place. You can text me when you're ready okay? Meanwhile, I'll reserve a table for us. Yeah?", he asks sincerely. "Sure Jihoon. Thank you. I was worried about having to meet your manager before meeting you again. So, I'm glad it's you who I'll be seeing directly" you say as you thank him. "Ah no need to thank me, Y/n. Now go get ready. Bye!", Jihoon says, and you end the call with a soft "Bye Jihoon".

The dress was a perfect fit and you were surprised he guessed your size correctly. But this is also why you realise he's genuinely interested in you and smile to yourself in disbelief. It was true you were obsessed with your bias...but to have your bias be obsessed with you was a whole another feeling. You sent Jihoon a quick text saying you were ready. To your shock, his reply read, "Come down then, I'm already waiting in your apartment's parking lot. I'm inside the black Carnival facing towards the exit". You were touched that he came and chose to wait for you without coming up to your place. 'Such a gentleman', you think to yourself and quickly go down to meet your bias (read: soon-to-be-boyfriend).

You get inside the car and both of you simply stare at each other for a whole minute before both of you breathe out in unison, "Beautiful!". Laughter bubbles immediately as you both realise you are deep in this thing with each other. He holds out his hand to you and you take it, and he simply keeps it on his lap while soothingly rubbing circles with his thumb. The car ride is silent apart from the giggles that come from both of you when you catch the other looking at you.

It's a very fancy place (obviously since your date happens to be an idol with 100+ KOMCA credits) and both of you make your way in through the back entrance and inside a private booth. He pulls out your chair and lets you sit before sitting opposite to you. "I'm glad the dress fit you perfectly. I hope you like it?", he asks shyly. "Of course! I love it, Jihoon! You have pretty good taste I must say. Music and clothing alike", you say as you tease him. "Ah stop bringing up the song, Y/n", he says like a hurt puppy. "Okay okay fine", you placate him and giggle.

The rest of the date goes by in you both getting to know each other by yapping away well into the night, occasionally eating a bite of your otherwise untouched food. Suddenly, you feel very hungry so you stop mid-ramble and say, "I'm really hungry Jihoon, shall we continue talking after we eat?", you ask with puppy eyes and who is Jihoon to refuse. "Sure baby", the nickname slips out very naturally and he doesn't even notice it. You blush at that but continue to eat without telling him anything. Once in the car after a nice dinner, you both start to yap yet again. You were so lost in conversation with each other that the driver had to tell you that you had arrived at your apartment's parking lot. "Can I come till your door and say goodnight?", Jihoon asks hopefully. "Sure honey. Let's go!", you say, a little excited. You don't notice the nickname you slipped in, but Jihoon does and smiles shyly to himself.

As you open your door and turn to wish him a goodnight, he moves a bit closer and asks in a whisper, "Can I kiss you goodnight?". Your heart races as you whisper a "Yes" back. The kiss is magical, it's beyond anything you've ever imagined. Jihoon must be feeling the same, going by his grip on your waist. Your lips move effortlessly against his as if you had been kissing each other all your life. You only separate when both of you need to breathe. "That was some goodnight kiss alright" you say in a daze. "Sorry if I was...", Jihoon begins. "Oh, shut up Jihoon. It was perfect. I loved it", you say as you hug him before letting him go. "Next date, my idea. Okay?", you say as you get ready to close the door. "Sure, love", he says before he walks away from your door after waving goodbye to you.

Several dates go by with the both of you taking turns to make the date as amazing as possible for the other. The one you were currently on was some 13th date or something, but it was a very simple one suggested by you because Jihoon had once again been working himself to the bone and you had wanted to do something about it. "Date idea, listen. I come to Universe Factory with some food, we eat, and then...we take a nap on that unnecessarily huge couch. Okay?", you tell Jihoon sternly in the morning, after seeing him stare at Cubase on his computer all night the previous day. "Okay baby, whatever you say", he says as he gets up to go to work. "See you at lunch, love. Bye", he says and hugs you before leaving.

You make an elaborate spread of Jihoon's favourite dishes, box them up and make your way to HYBE. It had been 2 months since the day you had met Jihoon in Italy, and you had been dating him for 1 month now. It was only natural that all the members got to know you and became close to you instantly, much like the way Jihoon had. They took you under their wing and you had felt like you had won in life - dating your bias and being friends with the other members? Yeah, that's the dream and you were living it. With these thoughts, you reach the building. You go in the general elevator from the parking lot and reach the floor Universe Factory is on.

When you get there, you notice several pairs of shoes outside and knock hesitantly. "Come in, Y/n", a group of people chorus. You realise it's the members and breathe in relief as you enter the code and unlock the door. "Hii Y/n!" says Hoshi cheerfully while Seungcheol waves at you and Vernon nods in your direction. "What're y'all doing?", you ask curiously. "Getting some songwriting done for the next album", Vernon says and tiredly. "You all look tired though. How can you express yourselves properly with tiredness clouding your thoughts?", you ask worriedly. "You have no idea," says Seungcheol, a little miserably. "I got food! Do y'all wanna eat with us?", you offer. "No Y/n, you're very kind. We know you and Jihoon have a date now haha. We'll make our way out and leave you to it", Hoshi says and winks.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. I'll see you guys at practice?" says Woozi as he goes to the door to lock it after they leave. "Sure Woozi. Rest well with Y/n and come to practice with a fresher mind, yeah?" the boys fuss over him a little bit before finally leaving. Meanwhile, you open the packaged food and set the small dining table for the both of you. "WOW! These are all my favourite dishes, baby! Thank you!", Jihoon says with delight in his eyes. "Hehe I'm glad you love it, honey. Dig in", you say as you start eating too.

After a hearty meal, both of you got comfortable on the 'suspiciously wide couch' of the studio. As Woozi hummed long and got ready for his forced/much needed nap, you took a trip down memory lane. It was mere months ago that you had met Woozi by chance at a wine festival in Italy. And you both had hit it off instantly. It was probably the wine, but you had loved 'Yapper Woozi'. Being a CARAT, his personality at the time had been a pleasant whiplash to you. "I can hear you think babe. Please sleep if you don't want to make me regret wandering around Italy & finding you. You giggle as you cuddle him close. "It's probably a good thing that you did wander".

tags: @forever-atiny, @minhui896, @staranghae, @welcometomyoasis

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"Anyway, after that, he wrote a song called "Rock With You" and sang it at the college festival where he was sure you understood that the song was definitely for you. Had you?", asked Seungkwan accusatorily.

"Of course I did! I didn't know he could write songs and stuff and he looked so hot with that electric guitar so yeah, I got it, thank you very much", you claimed haughtily.

Mingyu snickered and came closer to you and casually put a hand around your shoulder.

"Even I didn't know I could do that until I decided it was about my feelings for you and it just flowed from there. I should really thank the god of music for putting that song into my brain and composing the melody through me like a super maestro", Mingyu said to you as your friends made gagging noises.

"Anyway," tried saying Seungkwan, when Mingyu interrupted him.

"I'll take it from here thanks," he said and turned to you.

"I really do adore you as you must already know from these anecdotes. And I want to show you exactly how much because I think of you as my whole world. I want my days to begin with you and my nights to end with you. So, will you please do me the honour of becoming my girlfriend Y/n?"

"I feel the same about you Mingyu. And I don't think I can speak beautiful words like you do so I hope this is enough to convey what I have to say", you say and move to kiss him.

But surprisingly, he is facing you with a small smile. “What do you want me to say? You’ve obviously got everything sorted out, so I don’t see any reason why you had to come here and whine”, he pauses. “Unless… your reasoning was not helping you finish it, and you were on the verge of tears when you decided to come here. Am I right?”, he asks with a triumphant smile. You give him a smile that doesn’t reach your eyes and affirm that he is right with a nod of your head. “That’s usually why I come to you or Joon. Today I came here because I had already picked up an Iced Americano and because Joon is busy – the floor right in front of his studio was vibrating”, you say and let out a dry laugh.

“Okay, see. You’re obviously distressed and it’s okay to be. I am not saying everything is going to be okay because I don’t know if everything is going to be okay. But what I do know is that you’re more than capable of finishing it. I suggest that you stop coming to the office. Stay home, finish it and step into the office and resume your duties on the 21st. Speak to the Chairman and maybe add in that I suggested this break”, he grins cheekily. “Thankfully, I live right next door and can still barge in on not just you, but all of you whenever I want, provided y’all are at home”, you say in a much cheerful tone. “Thank you, Yoongi! Coming to you has always yielded good results. I’ll go speak to the Chairman and then head home. Do you want to come with me, or will you come later with Joon?”, you ask as you get up to leave.

He looks at the clock on his screen and says, “It’s past 1 AM, I think I’ll come with you. And we can drag Namjoon away too. You go to the Chairman and come down to the parking lot. Me and Namjoon will be waiting”, he says and stretches his arms and legs before getting up and turning off his elaborate system set up. "Oh wait. Josh is in the building too. I'll tell him I'm taking a break from the office", you say as you remember your brother's existence. "Okay but be quick" says Yoongi as faux threat.

You walk out of the studio and he locks it behind you. He stops in front of RKive and knocks while you wave to him and walk off towards the elevator to get to the 19th floor. You keep rehearsing what you're going to say to the Chairman, and you are brought back to Earth only when the elevator dings open. You move to step out but stop when you see the Chairman and the Pledis CEO getting in. “Oh! Miss Hong! Were you coming to see me?” he asks as he peers at you from above his glasses. “Oh yes, Mr. Bang. Hello Mr. Han!" you bow as you greet them and turn to face Mr. Bang. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about my pet project. I was thinking…today is the 13th and I need to finish it by 20th, but I’ve barely managed to do anything. Would it be okay if I worked on the project at home and resumed office from the 21st?”, you ask him nervously. “Oh…and it was Yoongi's idea that I work at home”, you add as an afterthought.

“Did he really tell you to say that? Wow I can’t believe this guy!”, Mr. Bang and Mr. Han share a laugh. “Of course, you can have the time off. I would have given it regardless of Yoongi suggesting it or not. You took this on, and you want to finish it – I appreciate that. Now that you’re going to be working at home, I expect nothing less than an amazing project. Okay?”, he says and smiles genuinely at you. “Yes, okay Mr. Bang. I’ll do my best. Thank you so much!”, you smile and bow your head slightly.

“You’re going to the parking lot too, right?”, Mr. Han asks you. "I actually need to stop by the practice floor. Jisoo's still here so...", you trail off. "Ah of course!", exclaims Mr. Han. "Give them my regards and if you can, get them out of the building. Please." Mr. Han pleads. "I'll try my best, but you know the guys. I'm sorry to say but you made them that way!" you surmise. He chuckled while nodding woefully and all of you finally get into the elevator. The elevator ride is silent. You bow to the men as you exit at the practice floor. As you walk towards Seventeen's practice room, you realise that they are the only ones in the entire floor!

"Hi?" you say as you peer hesitantly from the door in case you disrupted them mid-practice. But to your relief, they were all sprawled on the floor breathing heavily - the telltale signs of an exhaustive dance practice. "Oh, hey Jules!", Vernon sees you first. "Hi Vernon!", you holler and motion to your brother. "Josh, can I talk to you for a sec?" "You're anyway gonna jabber in high-speed English that we won't understand. Might as well say it out loud?" giggled Seungkwan. You almost cursed at Seungkwan but didn't go through with it as Seungcheol was staring right at you. "Thanks Kwan! I didn't even realise", you jeer and turn to your brother.

"So, the thing is, I'm taking a week-long break from the office. I'll be holed up at my place working on my pet project. Just wanted to let you know", you announced monotonously. "Wait...you STILL haven't finished it???" Hoshi shrieked as got off the floor. "Yeah, it's a whole thing. That's why I'm taking time off, to finish it." you blurted hurriedly. You turn to Seungcheol, "Also, I bumped into Mr. Han on the way and he basically implored y'all to go home", you say and give him a saccharine smile.

Joshua turns you to face him, "Honey, are you going to be okay? You end up not eating or sleeping properly when you work like this" he questioned with worry. "Don't worry Josh, Seokjin will kill me before I starve myself to death", you voiced with amusement. "Okay, call me if you need anything and don't forget to call Mom", Joshua lectures you as he hugs you. "Yeah, yeah whatever, Oppa!", you leer at him. "Anyway, Hoshi, please let's go come on", you urge him. Everyone looks hopefully at Hoshi, and he grins cheekily as he says, "Okay! Let's go".

The elevator to the parking lot is chaotic as all 14 of you try to talk to each other. As you reach the basement, Seventeen head off towards their Carnivals while you hurry off towards the Black Palisade, one of the cars that the Tannies use to commute. Yoongi is standing outside the driver’s side, and you see Namjoon sprawled on the backseat. “Was he that tired when you went to get him?”, you ask as you approach Yoongi. “Yeah, he looked like he was about to pass out. I had some coffee left and thanks to that, I was able to haul him till the car. He passed out as soon as he sat down”, Yoongi sighs and motions you to get into the front seat. You both get in and soon you slowly emerge from the basement of Hybe and drive off into the night towards home.

You fall asleep as soon as you hit the road and only wake up when you hear Yoongi struggling with Joon. “Yoongi! Yoongi wait!!! I’ll call Jungkook or someone wait”, you whisper yell at him. “Fine but be quick! He really did buff up due to countless hours at the gym and now I have to suffer,” he tries sound annoyed but ends up sounding endeared as he always does when it comes to his members. You call JK and thankfully, he picks up in 2 rings. “Listen, can you come down to where we park the Black Palisade? Joonie passed out and me and Yoongi alone can’t heave him till the elevators”, you croak out tiredly. “Oh, sure I’ll be right down!”, he says and hangs up.

You and Yoongi lean on the car and sigh at the same time due to which you end up laughing together. “Mr. Bang was amused at you telling me to name-drop. And Mr. Han regrets being strict with Seventeen”. "You bumped into them together? Well, it would be surprising if Bang PD wasn’t amused. And Mr. Han should be happy, honestly. Their choreos are so much harder to manoeuvre than ours!”, Yoongi says and laughs. “Also, I needn’t have asked you to name-drop, but it was a safety measure since you looked very miserable” he adds on. “Anyway, thank you for the suggesting it and now I can peacefully work at home and finally be done with this project. Afterall, writing about BTS and their ARMY is a fun but tedious work”, you smile at him. "Don't forget to call your mom. She usually ends up calling one of us when you don't call her for more than a week" he fretted. "Gosh you're worse than Josh!", you exclaim as you hear the elevator open.

You and your bandmates find Wen Junhui chilling in his department building's cafeteria. Your plan on making him rise to the challenge rested on him being alone and thankfully, the cafeteria was empty at the moment, sans Wen Junhui. All of you approach him as non-threateningly as possible (read: timidly), and he looks up from his laptop as you reach near his table. "And what are the sore losers doing here?", Wen Junhui asks with a smirk. "We actually wanted to talk to you about another spicey food eating contest...", begins Woozi unenthusiastically. "Really?", deadpans Junhui. "Yes, really. We're in a bit of a fix, you see. Our department threatened the 6 of us to challenge you, by keeping the year-end performance on the line!", Seungkwan says and almost whines. "So?", asks Junhui, ever the cocky winner. "So...we uh...we were hoping you could intentionally lose?", Jeonghan asks unsurely.

"BHWAHAHAHAHAHA", Junhui laughed maniacally. "Are you fucking kidding me?" Why would I lose and give up on my winning streak for you losers?", Wen Junhui asks incredulously. "Because you love our songs! You love Fallin' Flower a lot, don't you?", asks Dokyeom while mustering his best puppy-eyed look. "And you also LOVE Our Dawn is Hotter Than Day to pieces! I know it because your Spotify Wrapped showed that it was your #1 song this year!", Joshua supplies with conviction. "I can live without hearing those songs live, you know?", replies Junhui, but his resolve seemed to be cracking, which didn't go unnoticed by you. "So, please Junhui! Please, concede for us and we'll give you the copyrights to whatever songs you want to use in your dances", you plead. "Copyrights, huh? Hm... that's something I can get behind. Okay fine! You need me to lose? I will. But only when 1 or 2 of you are remaining. Cuz it will definitely look intentional if I lost against all of you, lol", says Junhui cheerfully.

"OK, let the food be brought to the tables!" yells the judge and steaming bowls of Japanese ramen with a large side of wasabi are placed in front of the 7 of you. Unbeknownst to the 6 of you, all the colour drains from Junhui's face. "Fuck!", he whisper-yells and turns to Minghao. "I think this is the time you lose, my friend" Minghao consoles him forlornly. "But what if they can't eat Wasabi too?" Junhui asks him hopefully. "Okay, 2 things. They're Korean and Korean people eat a LOT of Japanese food so I'm pretty sure they can handle wasabi. AND I've seen 2 of them ask for extra wasabi at this very restaurant one time, so..." Minghao trails off. "You could've led with the second thing, bitch!", screeches Junhui while Minghao throws his head back in laughter.

"Oh my God! Thank you, Junhui! We'll literally dedicate our entire concert to you!" you and your bandmates squeal with joy. All of you shortly reach the restaurant and to your shock, your classmates are waiting for you there! "So, I guess you guys love your performances after all, huh?" asks Ian cockily. "Shut up, Ian" Woozi snarls and beelines towards 1 of 6 empty chairs set up for the competition. "Why are there exactly 6 chairs? Did you jackasses customize this round of the competition?" Jeonghan asks Daniel with narrowed eyes. "And if we did?" says Daniel and takes off running before Jeonghan could catch him for that display of cheekiness.

"God! I wanna kill them" Seungkwan whines angrily. "It's okay Kwan, let's just get through this", Joshua says with gritted teeth. "Guys, calm down" you begin to say and then whisper "Junhui is literally on our side! We got this!" you say with a wink. "Yeah, y/n's right. Let's just go sit", Dokyeom supplies and all of you fall into the chairs beside Woozi. Junhui sits right across from the 6 of you. The judge of the competition comes in between both your tables and announces, "You will begin eating when I say and the last remaining person/group to keep eating wins. Ready?" All of you look at each other unsurely and offer silent cheers and when you turn to look at Junhui, he's already looking at y'all with his classic smirk. "Good luck, losers!" Junhui goads you. "Hush, Junhui. Enough with the teasing", Junhui's friend Minghao gently chides him. "When did you get here Hao?" Junhui questions, surprised to see his friend beside him. "When I saw you resolutely walk with the Vocal Music majors towards the restaurant. That's when", Minghao says and laughs.

The 6 of you are indeed relieved seeing that it wasn't some Chinese spice, but your dear old wasabi. "It's just wasabi! We can do this, guys!" Dokyeom chirps, ever the mood-maker. "Yes! Let's go!", you and Seungkwan say in unison. "And let us begin!", screams the announcer suddenly and it's a clamour as 7 set of chopsticks are hurriedly picked up and clash with the bowls of ramen and wasabi. It was going really well on your side of the table, all 6 of you having gone through 3 servings. Junhui was just finishing off his 2nd serving and looked worse for wear. "Junhui, I think you should call it a day..." begins Minghao but Junhui interrupts him, "NO! Let at least 3 of them give up before I do...cuz even if I lose, I need to have some dignity". No sooner had he finished saying this, Jeonghan & Joshua got up from the table and darted towards the judge's area where banana milk tetra packs were placed for the competitors to soothe their burning mouths.

Soon, and thankfully for Junhui, Woozi and Dokyeom also gave up. Dokyeom was low-key crying as he chugged his banana milk unlike Woozi, who was plainly annoyed. But you and Seungkwan don't notice any of this because at some point, you had started competing with each other, forgetting Junhui and the bet! Now, there are 2 things that only the Maestros know about Kwan and you: 1, they can't handle spicey food that well and 2, they can't stand losing to anyone, especially to each other. They also know that you both will regret this later as you stay away from anything even remotely spicey for a month after this, as was evidenced by the Malatang contest.

Junhui realises that you both have completely forgotten about the competition and after slowly placing his chopsticks down, bolts for the banana milk, grabs it, runs back and grabs Minghao, and rushes off towards your university campus. You sense someone running and Seungkwan must have too, because you both look up at the same time and see that Wen Junhui's chair was now empty! You both slowly turn to look at each other, like in a slow-motion shot from a movie, and once your eyes lock, you too, pull a Wen Junhui and dash off towards the campus with your precious banana milk packs. Your classmates rejoice and get the plaque addressed to "The Maestros", winners of the Wasabi Eating Contest, to bring it to y'all later.

Both of you start screaming and tearing your banana milk tetra packs open as soon as you reach the bleachers. You take a gulp, scream out, take a gulp again, until you both had finished the banana milk. Both of you are heaving with all the breathlessness that came as a result of trying to will the spiciness out of your mouths. "Why would you keep going when you can't handle spicey food all that well?", Seungkwan asks you mid-heave. "Well, I can't be seen losing to my best friend! But you're one to talk. You can't handle spicey food well either right!?", you accuse him back. "Ah that...I wanted to at least pretend to beat Junhui. I didn't know he had already lost, lol. But also, I wanted to look cool for you, I guess" Seungkwan trails off, mumbling.

"For me? Awww! Kwannie! Don't tell me you like me or something..." you tease him playfully. "I do, actually", Seungkwan answers seriously. "It's because I like you that I asked Shua hyung if we could make you a part of our friend group. You already being friends with Shua hyung was sheer dumb luck! It's because I like you that I always go to vocal training with you. It's because I like you that I agreed to this stupid bet, and to that Malatandg bet, despite my, well, our spice tolerances being low. It's because I like you that I kept going even when I couldn't...feel free to stop me", Seungkwan ends his monologue bashfully.

"Oh my God Kwan! All this time I thought my crush on you was one-sided...I should've believed Kyeom when he said he was pretty sure you liked me too!", you answer him with tears in your eyes. "Why didn't you tell me you liked me, oh my God!", Seungkwan asks with tears in his eyes too. You both hug each other and stay in the embrace for a while, until both your phones go off with notifications at the same time. "I think we need to get to practice", Kwan says, not yet pulling back from the hug. "I think we do," you say sadly as you pull away and start walking back to the practice room, your hand in his.

"Why do you both have tears in your eyes?", asks a worried Joshua. You and Kwan exchange glances, not knowing what to say. Then you both look to Dokyeom for help, with eyes that say, 'We did it! We confessed to each other, now help!' Dokyeom takes one look at you and your interlocked hands and answers with a smirk plastered on his face, "Ah that! Hyung...looks like they both forgot they can't handle spicey food all too well, in the heat of the competition" "Yeah! That's why our eyes are watering", both you and Kwan scramble to confirm Kyeom's statement. But to no one's surprise, Jeonghan, ever the evil little gremlin, says into the mic with a wink, "But they discovered they could handle a whole other type of spicey".

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