Page 71 of When Worlds Collide
Though he was scarcely better off, Jihoon had ordered takeout, insisting that something called ‘hangover soup’ would chase away the gremlin using my brain as a trampoline. To my surprise, it had cleared away some of the cobwebs, even if I had no idea what was in it.
This time, meeting all four of them had been more relaxed, if still a little awkward, but I was okay with that. Being the girlfriend didn’t grant me access into their enclosed world, and I didn’t expect it to. I was just happy to see Jihoon with his friends. I felt quite proud of myself for being able to disassociate the group of guys hanging around the apartment from the world-famous group I’d been such a fan of for so long.
Before coming up, I’d baked a fresh batch of banana muffins. I was a fairly competent cook, but baking was not my strongsuit. Except for these muffins in particular. I’d perfected them over the course of years, and what had originally been a standard banana loaf, had evolved into the best goddamn muffins you’d ever tasted. The secret was in the batter, but it was a secret I’d take to my grave.
When I’d shyly brought out the box containing a dozen of my best batch, Jihoon had proudly displayed it like I’d single-handedly crafted a Michelin star dessert platter.
“I feel like I don’t know any of you well enough to get you gifts, so I hope this is okay.” I had explained, ducking my head. It had sounded better when I’d practised it earlier, but now it sounded like an excuse.
To my relief, the two youngest members had enthusiastically taken the box from me and immediately devoured a muffin with so much groaning it bordered on obscene.
Seokmin said something to Jihoon around a thick mouthful of muffin. Woojin cuffed him, while the others just laughed. I looked up at Jihoon for a translation, but he just shook his head, a strained expression on his face.
Minjae had politely taken one, but looked up in surprise when he bit into it, and I could tell he wasn’t expecting them to actually taste good. I hid my grin behind my hand.
Even Woojin had declared them delicious.
Well, what he’d actually said was, “Pretty good,” as he nodded his head while chewing.
Jihoon pressed a covert kiss to the side of my head while plucking his own muffin from the box, despite the fact that he’d already eaten two downstairs.
I considered it a resounding success, and was just putting the box down at the kitchen counter when Seokmin came up behind me and said; “I told Jihoon-hyung he should marry the girl that cooks so well.” He shot me a devilish look, an expression I’d seenon his face so often when he was pranking the other guys, or participating in TV show games. He darted away while I was left to wonder if he’d been joking or not.
No one had wanted to cook, or order in food, so I finally got to see the ramyeon pantry in action, as each member picked their own tub out.
Secretly though, it was still slightly surreal to see five of the most talented men in Korea pile around on the floor, happily slurping noodles.
I tried to keep to the side when they started to exchange gifts, not wanting to intrude in something so personal. I was just happy to sit back and observe.
Woojin gave all of them an envelope with a stack of cash inside and told them to be grateful, which I found hysterical, especially when the two youngest members started bowing down low to him, until he reached out a leg to kick them.
The other gifts exchanged varied in size from a new watch for Minjae, to a gumball machine for Seokmin.
But when they started to look slyly in my direction, I began to feel uneasy. Jihoon pushed me forward, sliding me along the polished wooden floor like a reluctant Roomba until I was knee-to-knee with the others, and Minjae handed over a shiny gift bag, tied at the top with a bow.
My face blazed as they urged me to open it, and so, as graciously as I could whilst feeling so desperately awkward, I reached a hand into the bag, pushing aside the colourful crepe paper until my fingers brushed something warm and soft. Digging my fingers into it, I pulled it out, revealing a… hoodie.
“We thought it would be your style,” Minjae explained.
I unfurled the top to reveal a relatively plain, black hoodie, but what made it stand out, was across the back, the word ‘Crew’ wasclearly emblazoned in stark, bold white letters and underneath was the logo for GVibes. On the front, embroidered across the left side, my name.
“If you ever want to come with us to a show, you can wear that,” Woojin said, surprising me.
“It was Jin-hyung’s idea,” Seokmin said, earning an eye-roll from the rapper.
Sungmin added, “Yeah, Joon-hyung wanted to get you-” But he was cut off by a cuff to the back of the head as Jihoon reached behind me to get to him.
Turning to me, his expression softened. “All our crew wear them, so you won’t stick out.”
“Especially if there are cameras around. The editors know to blur our staff out,” Woojin added.
I was speechless. It was incredibly thoughtful. It made me feel… included, and I hastily blinked back tears as I looked at each member in turn, thanking them. Woojin just nodded at me, but I noticed the slight pink tinge to his cheekbones.
The members all left together, even though some were travelling by plane, some just a couple hours away by car. It was kind of like saying goodbye to your schoolmates when you all went home for Christmas break at University, that knowledge that you had nothing but empty time slots for a couple weeks.
It was that memory flashback that brought back to the forefront of my mind the subject of my job status. I was starting to feel antsy. All the relaxation with Jihoon had been bliss, really it had, but it was starting to wear thin.
Even if I wanted to mooch off my rich, celebrity boyfriend forever, I couldn’t. I had a limited period of time I was allowed to stay in Korea, and if I wasn’t gainfully employed by the time that three-month window was up, I was going to need to leave. Or… get married, I guess.
