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250218 THE BOYZ for Singles Magazine March 2025 Issue [Full Interview Translation]

"The Possible World Unveiled by THE BOYZ"

Last week, THE BOYZ met TheBs after a while through the THE B LAND fanmeeting. You started things off with your debut song, “Boy”. Seems like it brought up some memories.

New: We thought a THE BOYZ - “Boy” stage wearing uniforms was the most anticipated one, so we prepared it as our first performance. It’s a really meaningful debut song both for the fans and for us.

Kevin: When we first rode in then walked over to our positions for the “Boy” choreography, the stage direction there was actually a reenactment of us running on the first scene of the “Boy” MV. The fans probably didn’t know that. (laughter)

Maybe because you were meeting the fans after a while since your world tour in July of last year, you looked even more excited. It’s almost as if you were having fun and not just enjoying the stage.

Younghoon: That’s right. Starting from our mindset itself, the fanconcert was different from the world tour we did before. I’m the type to always be worried about any stage, but surprisingly, I wasn’t worried about this concert. I mean that in a good way!

Differently from the types of stages where you have something to prove and show “this is THE BOYZ!”, it feels like a given that you will have different expectations for a fanconcert where all images you show will be well-received.

Younghoon: All the members had the same opinion of “let’s go crazy with TheBs”. When preparing for a concert, there’s always the pressure of not wanting to mess up choreography or feeling like we have to do well no matter what, but this time we let go of that pressure and just went into it wanting to have fun.

Haknyeon: We went there to communicate more closely with fans.

Kevin: To me it was the opposite, I felt more pressure. Because of the princess costumes… (laughter)

You felt pressured to look pretty?

Kevin: I kept wondering “is this right?”

Sunwoo: Everyone turned into princesses but Kevin dressed up as Tarzan all by himself. (laughter)

Ah, Kevin turned into Moana, right?

Jacob: More like “mwo hana?” (T/N: What are you doing?)

Sunwoo, Haknyeon: Oh, that rhymes! (laughter)

From the emergency meeting for the 11 princesses to the first-seen “Igloo”, “Whiplash”, “Shanghai Romance” units. There were reactions calling you “new concert experts” as well. If you were to choose something in particular you focused on while preparing for this concert?

New: We just wanted to show everything. It was a concert where we had a really big desire to show everything we could. We actually couldn’t hold a year-end concert like we do every year due to the agency change.

Haknyeon: That’s right. Instead of meeting at the end of the year, we met at the start of the new year, and as this was a fanconcert, we listed all the songs the fans love from 1 to 100 and carefully made the setlist like that.

Sunwoo: For this concert I focused my efforts specifically on looking pretty. (laughter)

In one interview, Sunwoo said “Big efforts are a must to truly cherish each and every performance”. I would imagine each member has different areas where they put in the most effort.

Sunwoo: I’m constantly imagining things and coming up with scenarios. “In this part I should do this expression, and in that part I should do that gesture”, that kind of thing. I come up with movements and gestures by imagining them. I lie still and imagine a lot of scenarios.

Younghoon: So you’re always lying down? (laughter)

Sunwoo: When we’re learning a new choreography, I stand still behind the members and just watch. Only after I’ve observed all the details in the movements by the dance instructor can I move my body.

Haknyeon: In my case, I’m a bit slower compared to the other members. My memorization speed, my adaptation speed, it’s all slower, so for 1 or 2 weeks before the concert, I don’t think about anything else at all, only the performances. That way, I can memorize the moves faster and familiarize myself a little more with that performance.

Jacob: I make an effort not to be satisfied. Because I believe that once you’re satisfied, you stop growing. I think I try to accept my strengths and weaknesses as they are while monitoring myself and put in the effort to develop even further.

THE BOYZ is now in their 8th year. How do each of you recall the time spent in these 8 years?

Sunwoo: All kinds of emotions. (T/N: Literally “joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure”, meaning all range of human emotion.) That’s just life. As we live, we experience joyful things, angering things, sorrowful things, pleasing things, and it’s the same with THE BOYZ. Should I say THE BOYZ is like a person? Be it the results of the team or the things we do, it all brings about different kinds of emotions.

Younghoon: To me, I want to say it was TheBs themselves. No matter what, everything was only possible because TheB were there by our side for these 8 years.

We can’t leave out the chemistry between the members. All 11 of you have distinct personalities but you respect each other as you are.

Kevin: The team spirit is really horizontal. (T/N: No hierarchy.) All 11 are friends and family.

Haknyeon: Like what Sunwoo said, THE BOYZ is a team, a person, and life itself. If we don’t respect each other, who will respect us?

New, who wanted to sing so much that he became a singer, who is your musical inspiration/idol?

New: I don’t aspire to be like anyone else. My role models are my fans, of course. I liked singing so I had a vague dream to work as a singer, but now I know this singing isn’t just mine. I share this singing with the people who are listening to it, and for that I’m always grateful towards our fans.

We’ve heard that Kevin has a lot on his mind. It’s to the point where you can’t sleep. Is that still the case these days?

Kevin: These days, there’s been a lot more of me not being able to sleep due to excitement and nervousness about our new beginning than because of worries. (laughter)

Between all of that, what are you most excited about?

Kevin: THE BOYZ evolving musically, and also THE BOYZ’s potential that’s about to blossom. I’m always sort of expecting that the day will come when our potential will blossom beyond what we see right now.

Haknyeon is such a super E (extroverted) that he says he spends even his rest days out of the house. Did you leave the house after the concert ended this time as well?

Haknyeon: I really spent a lot of time outside back in the day. But maybe I’ve grown older. (laughter) These days I find it hard to go out. So I tend to stay inside. At home I spend my time mostly listening to music and practicting recording.

We’ve heard that you like singing so much that you even sing it on your daily life. We heard your sweet voice today during the shooting as well.

Haknyeon: I had vocal practice yesterday so it must be coming out of my lips naturally. I was practicing Yoon Dohyun sunbaenim’s “It Must Have Been Love (사랑했나봐)”. I didn’t realize I was singing it today.

Sunwoo said he thinks “form” is important. What kind of form is that?

Sunwoo: I say a lot that “image/reputation is important” so I think that’s why I’m asked that, but honestly the kind of form I mean isn’t about pretending to be tough to look strong in front of the weak, or acting full of myself. It’s the complete opposite, actually. I think the real form is having great skills but not showing off and just being strong inside. Of course that in order to not lose your form, your skills can’t lag behind, so you need to work harder. (laughter)

The class president Sangyeon is about to enlist. It seems like the responsibility lies heavy on the vice president Jacob’s shoulders.

Jacob: We all work while treating each other as friends so I don’t think I’ll necessarily need to step up and lead. We lead each other.

Haknyeon: Even so, I think it would be nice if Jacob hyung did our group greeting. We should discuss that among ourselves, but still. (laughter)

Younghoon is a member who gets a lot of attention for his handsome looks, right? Between “He’s so handsome that looking at him every day never gets tiring” and “His voice is so nice that listening to him every day never gets tiring”, which one do you like the most?

Younghoon: (After thinking long and hard) Both are great, but I like “so handsome that looking at him every day never gets tiring” more. (laughter) But I think if the fans came to me and said that my voice is so nice they never get tired of listening to it every day, I would be really touched. Even so, so handsome that you never get tired is nicer. (laughter)

Is there anything that THE BOYZ wants to explore for the first time in the future?

Younghoon: If we talk to people, it’s not that they don’t know THE BOYZ. But there aren’t many people who know THE BOYZ’s songs well. So with this new start, we want to make a hit song that once you mention THE BOYZ, people will say “oh, they have a really popular song, don’t they?”.

Kevin: If I were to add to that, I’d love it if we could strengthen the image of a “self-made” group. We have many members that are good at writing and composing songs. So since we have in-house producers and a CEO that support us musically, I’m really looking forward to that.

Even if as a team there is one goal you’re running towards, each one probably has their individual goals. What is the moment that will make each of you feel like you’re satisfied?

Sunwoo: I don’t think I’ll be satisfied no matter what?

Haknyeon: Charting 1st place on Billboard.

Sunwoo: I think I’ll be satisfied then.

To move towards their goal, a team needs an engine, wheels, a steering wheel, and a gear to decide if they go, reverse, or stay on neutral. What role do you think each member assumes in that scenario?

Sunwoo: How should I say this… I don’t believe we need to think of THE BOYZ as one car. Of course, we’re all closely interconnected. But instead of assigning different roles in one car, I think we’re 11 different cars. Each person is responsible for steering its own wheel and has its own engine, right? And while we may be 11 different cars, I believe we’re all moving in the same direction. If someone falls behind, we’ll all slow down, and if someone runs ahead, we all step on the accelerator together.

That is such a cool answer. So what’s the genre of the story about the 11 cars lined up to form THE BOYZ?

Haknyeon: “Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.” Just like that saying, I think it depends on the perspective. From up close, it could be a documentary about 11 people, but from far away, it could be a romantic movie of THE BOYZ and TheBs.

Younghoon: All-genre. I think THE BOYZ’s color is that we can do any genre well.

What kind of group do THE BOYZ want to be defined as?

New: In the future, in the present, and in the past, THE BOYZ are boys. Just like it’s always been, I would like for us to be defined as boys.

You’re releasing a new album in March. You’re starting a new journey, so is there anything you would like to say to TheBs?

Younghoon: Our TheBs must’ve been worried since the beginning about things like what company we would move to, what new beginning we would have. But after the fanconcert, I felt like both the members and the fans grew to trust the new company a lot.

Kevin: That’s right. Our new album has a completely different color and vibe compared to what THE BOYZ has shown so far, so I’m really excited to see what will be TheBs’ reactions.

Haknyeon: I wonder if we need to express that it’s a new beginning at all. THE BOYZ is always THE BOYZ, regardless of what company we are in, we will continue to make our own path. Just like now.

New: Just like TheBs cherish THE BOYZ, we too will continue to love TheBs, so please believe in us and walk with us until the end, that’s what I want to say. Thank you always!

You showed special stages at the fan concert last week.

Juyeon: It felt like I was dreaming. The performances were all planned as a way to repay the fans’ love even if just a little bit, so we were able to definitely perform more comfortably and just as ourselves. However, instead of the performances that we spent months putting our sweat and blood into, the princess costumes seem to have gotten an even better reaction… (laughter)

Hyunjae: Nothing beat the princess costumes.

Q: What kind of performance will we do to top the impact of the princess costumes…

Seems like the princess costumes left a big impression not only on fans but on the members as well.

Eric: We wore the costumes and rode the carts deep into the standing section, right? I don’t think I’ll ever forget the look on TheBs’ faces when I met their eyes then. They were shocked, and I hope it was a good type of shocked. I wonder what those expressions meant. Even as I lie down to sleep, I keep thinking of those expressions?

Sangyeon: I think it was shocked horror…

Eric: Right, it looked like they were scared. I want to say I’m really sorry. But honestly, at first I was really mortified and embarrassed, but after doing it for 3 days I found that I was growing shameless, so in all honesty I had a bit of fun during the last day. Yes, I believe I can say it like that. (laughter)

THE BOYZ is a group where each member has his own personality, but each member also have its own associated color, right? Those representative colors aside, I’m curious to hear which color do you think each one of you has. When looking at each other, what color comes to mind first?

Q: Sangyeon hyung is mint. He just exudes mint energy. He’s just so minty. (laughter)

Eric: Juyeon hyung is either black or brown. Since he’s a bit of a romantic. Hyunjae hyung is sort of navy blue. Navy looks cold and it’s a cool (= chic) color, right? But if you befriend him, he’s a “softie”.

Hyunjae: Once you befriend me I’m pink, right?

Eric: No, no. You’re sky blue. You fade from navy blue. Because you’re really like a friend and you make the person feel comfortable. And Q hyung is apricot.

Hyunjae: Oh, I totally agree he’s apricot!

Eric: Because yellow is too pure and sort of has that baby chick vibe, and while Q hyung does have that pure vibe, when he’s at work he’s a total “T” (MBTI). So it feels like it should be the vibe of something close to yellow but a little colder and more chill?

Ah, because as a person he has more of a modern vibe? (T/N: Eric said mudeonhan, chill, but the question now is about modeonhan, modern; not sure if the interviewer misheard him or if they’re inferring that from what he said.)

Hyunjae: To me, it’s because Q is very human. He’s a really decent person!

Juyeon: To me, Q is gray. Because gray is the combination of black and white, right? If you look at Q, [his personality] is very clearly black and white… (laughter)

So is there any skill or talent among the members that you admire so much you would want for yourself?

Q: To me it’s Sunwoo’s wit. It’s something really intrinsic to him. He’s a really smart friend. So I kind of really want to have that wit myself too. No, actually, I want to take everything.

Sangyeon: To me it’s Eric’s energy?

Hyunjae: Oh, hyung looks like he has absolutely no energy right now.

Sangyeon: Yeah, I think I need it right now. This is the time I go to sleep, so… (laughter) Eric’s energy is really overflowing with, how should I say it, like a battery that doesn’t run out.

An all-center boygroup that doesn’t lack in anything, from visuals to skills. I would say that’s how THE BOYZ is recognized, but there’s also something like “metacognition”. I’m curious to hear what the members think of THE BOYZ right now.

Sangyeon: Even from my own perspective, I think the members are such a good combination of people. Everyone is interesting and filled with talent. So schedules together like this one today feel much more reliable and trustworthy than solo schedules.

When you were rookies, how did you introduces yourselves when you got asked “What kind of group is THE BOYZ?”?

Hyunjae: The one and only boys in everyone’s hearts!

After 8 years, how has that changed?

Sangyeon: We’re still… the boys who capture hearts?

Hyunjae: Pfft. That’s right. We’re working on it.

Sangyeon: Even now, we found that there are many TheBs finding us and joining the fandom. So we still need to work as hard as ever, that’s what I think.

You were really busy last year with your world tour and album promotions, right? On the day of release, you reached the top of the Japanese Oricon chart, and your 9th minialbum <Dohwaseon(導火線)> achieved half a million pre-sales. Do you have an even more ambitious record you want to achieve?

Q: Uhm, of course that achieving good records is great for everyone involved. However, instead of trying to achieve this record or that goal, I think what’s more important is what you have in mind and how you spend your time while preparing an album.

Sangyeon: I find that trying to chase records doesn’t make you happy. I believe that if you work hard and happily on what you need to do, on what you want to do, records will follow.

Q (to Sangyeon): But Eric thinks records are important.

Eric: That’s right. I think they’re important. Because of course that if the album does well, the members feel happy, but if it doesn’t, the members feel a little disappointed. Even then, right now I’m also thinking that we shouldn’t focus too much on records. The biggest priority became to promote for a long time happily, healthily and without getting hurt as THE BOYZ.

Everyone having fun is the most important thing. Seems like you all share the same heart about this.

Sangyeon: We participated in many competitions. We went on two survival shows, we also had year-end performances where we were rivals against other groups. Maybe because we went through those moments of trying to prove ourselves fiercely, but now we don’t want to pay attention to others. I think the answer is just focusing on ourselves and having fun among the members.

We’re talking about records and Juyeon-sshi went quiet.

Juyeon: Ah, the conversation turned serious so I tried to organize my thoughts. I would like it if we could enjoy promotions more comfortably, be it as the team THE BOYZ or as individual artists. Instead of thinking “we need to have a huge success here”, just meeting fans closely and promoting our music like we’re doing now is great, I feel grateful for that and think that’s more than enough now.

Q: That’s right, that’s definitely what’s important. To me, I think the best thing is expressing things healthily and with a good and sincere heart to TheBs. If you get caught up in the obsession of doing something, you can try really hard to pretend you’re happy. I think doing something well while enjoying yourself and being healthy is really important.

Where do you think is THE BOYZ’s highest peak? I understand the members don’t chase records or success. But a peak could be enjoying a stage comfortably, or a huge happiness that’s achievable as a team called THE BOYZ.

Hyunjae: It’s right now!

Q: I think our highest peak worthy of celebration was our contract as a group. I feel really reassured and proud that this many people have the same heart. We’re past that hurdle and every moment together from now on can be our highest peak, so I would say our contract as a group.

Eric: Later, when THE BOYZ comes together again as 11 people, wouldn’t that be our highest peak? Sangyeon hyung is about to enlist. After everyone fulfills their duty and we come together again as THE BOYZ, I think that will be our highest peak. But also, personally, I want us to try having a concert at Jamsil stadium? (laughter)

As expected of the goal-oriented Eric. (laughter)

Eric: Ah, but really, it’s not that. It’s just that it’s an open air venue so if we performed there, we could have fireworks, and I think that if all the members got together to perform on that stage, it would be really romantic. Let’s just move on. (laughter) All right, next, would Juyeon-sshi like to answer?

Juyeon: Our highest peak… It’s the next album!

Hyunjae: Oh, I like that. (laughter)

You’re releasing an album in March, right?

Hyunjae: That’s right. We can’t say much yet, but I think we’ll be able to show music that’s completely different from the music we’ve done for the past 7 years, so I’m looking forward to it.

We heard that after today’s shooting, you’re going straight to recording. Everyone is always doing their best, but there are days when our condition isn’t great, of course. How do you push through that?

Hyunjae: Our performances are rather powerful, and there have been times when I was disappointed in my body for not delivering things the way I wanted. (laughter) Thinking about it now, the process of going through that while enduring those moments has made me grow. And there were many times when THE BOYZ faced difficulties and instead of feeling afraid, we instead turned those difficulties into opportunities.

You must have gone through a lot of things to get to the place where THE BOYZ is right now, like a sculpture that is completed by adding or removing things in the process. The time you spent so far, was it one where the members added something, or removed something?

Sangyeon: My MBTI changed from F to T. (T/N: From emotional to rational.) Back in the day, there were many times when I let anger or sadness overwhelm me. But as I did this job, I started to judge things more rationally and realistically. I can’t tell what exactly I added or extracted, but what I learned was between worrying about other people and my own ambition, I couldn’t lean too hard one way or the other, I had to find a balance there.

Q: Back then, I was receiving a lot of inspiration and through that worked on maturing myself. However, I realized I wasn’t internalizing necessarily good things. So I learned how to erase all of that and leave only myself. By erasing all of that I found again the good things that were already inside me since then.

“By erasing all of that I found again the good things that were already inside me since then” is such a wonderful way to put it.

Eric: I also used to absorb everything I saw, but then came to learn that some of those things were poisonous. I still don’t know how to remove that, and I’m still filling myself, but more wisely, with more discretion, “let’s ingest only nutritious things and not poisonous ones”!

Hyunjae: It’s similar to how I feel. The bowl isn’t always full of clean water. If you add just a little bit of muddy water, the whole thing turns muddy. So now I think I should just wait for the dirt to set and for the water to purify itself.

Juyeon: Until last year, we were only running nonstop like racehorses. We could look straight ahead. Of course we’re still running just as hard, but I think we changed our way of doing it. How can I say it, like riding a wave.

As if surfing?

Juyeon: As if surfing. We got a little bit more freedom, not physical freedom but in our hearts, so I think our field of vision expanded. We’re not just looking straight ahead, and while we’re still moving forward in that direction, it’s a bit like surfing.

Where are you headed now? To THE BOYZ’s highest peak, the new album?

Juyeon: Perhaps? That’s right now. (laughter)

Eric: All right, we have to go record now, right?

Sangyeon: Even as we’re recording, we think this album is something really new. And that means it’s just as hard too. I wonder if TheBs will think “huh, so THE BOYZ did this kind of music this time”, I wonder if they’ll have fun, I’m really looking forward to that. Please enjoy it a lot. (laughter)

(source 1, 2 | translation may contain inaccuracies!)

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garlichoisan · 2 years ago

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𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡 [11]

[an ATEEZ social media au]

🍓 Characters/Pairing: San x reader, Wooyoung x reader + more in the future

🍩 Genre: fluff, angst, suggestive

🍰 AU info: social media au, university!au, named reader

💌 Word Count: 3.6k

⚠️ Warnings: sexual undertones, Wooyoung is still super toxic (at this point I’d have to start typing this in every chapter because he isn’t getting better soon 😭), a really mean WooSan conversation in the chat, love triangle, a lot of angst (again)

A/N: ATEEZ is finally back and so am I! What do you think about Crazy Form and the album itself? I personally really loved it 😩 our boys never disappoint

About the chapter: it’s a little long, but I believe it turned out the best way possible.

💟 if you wanna be added to the taglist, please just send an ask!

↫ previous | masterlist | next ↬

[August 11, 3:13 PM]

When Hongjoong, San and Mingi arrived to the airport, they were surprised to see Wooyoung there, standing outside, smoking a cigarette, with his sunglasses on, looking as handsome as ever. He ran his free hand over his hair, smoothing it a little. When he saw his friends, he lightly scoffed and waved at them.

“Finally, I was thinking you wouldn’t show up,” he rolled his eyes which the others couldn’t see because of his sunglasses. “Let’s go.”

“You still decided to come?” Hongjoong questioned.

“Couldn’t miss a trip,” Wooyoung let out a fake laugh. “If you’re thinking about our summer fight, don’t worry, I forgive you.”

“You forgive us?” San asked disbelievingly, stressing the words ‘you’ and ‘us’ to make a point. It wasn’t Wooyoung who needed to forgive them, but the other way around.

“Yes, yes, I know I’m so kind-hearted and everything but if we don’t go now, we could miss our flight,” Wooyoung answered, throwing away the cigarette and entering the airport building, dragging his suitcase behind him.

His friends followed him quietly, deciding to drop the previously discussed topic in order not to ruin their trip and kill the mood. They all wanted to have a great time and they realized more fighting could only guarantee the opposite. They intended to at least pretend everything was okay; fake it till you make it, that’s what they were thinking. Besides, it was the first time they've seen Wooyoung in months since he was in his home town during summer break, actively avoiding all his friends. His last conversation was with San, the day after Mingi's birthday, through text messages, and it didn't go quite well. Even though Wooyoung was moody and immature, at least he was not avoiding them anymore. They finally had the chance to make things right and they weren't gonna blow it. None of them was even hoping to receive an apology from Wooyoung; he probably had no idea he has done anything wrong. That's why they intended to forgive and forget, even though they knew that way nothing was gonna change. But they needed at least a few days of simplicity and calmness; it would be great to forget about all their problems, go to the Halloween party and have fun. That's what they came for, after all.

Minutes before they take off, San took his phone out and texted Ara to let her know he was on the plane with his friends. She texted him to stay safe and he smiled, putting his phone away.

Since the flight was around 11 hours, San and the others had a lot of time until they reached their destination. Hongjoong decided to read a fashion magazine, then one about house furniture ideas; Mingi was playing games on his phone, Wooyoung was listening to music and San tried to take a nap but had trouble falling and staying asleep because of the excitement of finally meeting his crush.

When they arrived on the Los Angeles International airport, they passed all the passport checks, impatient to finally leave the airport and start the fun part of their trip. They took a taxi to the hotel they were going to stay at and they spent the evening chatting and having dinner together, acting as if nothing eventful has happened in the past months.

* * *

[October 31, 8:28 PM]

Ara and Chaewon were in their apartment, getting ready for the Halloween party. They were putting some make up on as they couldn’t help but compliment each other every chance they got.

“Are you nervous for tonight? You’re going to meet the guy you’ve been texting, after all,” Chaewon reminded Ara and she sighed nervously.

“Maybe a little bit. You know, he’s really handsome and cute and… I just don’t want to embarrass myself in front of him,” Ara admitted, while struggling with her eyeshadow.

“So you admit you may have a little crush on him?” Chaewon asked curiously with a playful tone, taking the brush from Ara’s hand and helping her put eyeshadow on.

Instead of momentarily denying, Ara stayed silent for a few seconds before answering.

“Even if I did, it wouldn’t matter. I doubt he’s interested in me.”

“Judging by the playful, yet caring tone he uses in his messages to you, it doesn’t look like he’s indifferent towards you.” Chaewon smiled and Ara rolled her eyes. Chaewon tapped the brush gently to her best friend’s eyelid, finishing up her make up, then taking a step back and admiring the final result. “Just think about it: he texted you out of nowhere, using the dumbest reason, he remembers who you are, even though he was never close to you and four years have passed since he last saw you. He also used his friend’s phone to talk to you and he keeps insisting he was drunk every time he ends up texting you something flirty.”

“That’s because he’s actually an alcoholic,” Ara nodded her head, seemingly trying to convince herself more than anyone else, since there was no way Chaewon believed that.

“Yes, and I’m an addict by this logic,” Ara couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, hearing how preposterous her friend sounded. “All jokes aside… He’s probably even more excited than you for tonight’s party.”

Ara seemed to actually think about the possibility, before she brushed it off.

“Nah, I can’t see it.”

“Believe what you want, but one thing’s for sure: you look way too hot right now and if he can’t notice that, then he probably doesn’t deserve you. Now let’s go, my beautiful friend!” Chaewon exclaimed, starting to jump around, not even trying to contain her excitement.

Ara, on the other hand, was not so thrilled. She seriously considered rejecting Chaewon’s invitation to the party in the very last minute and explaining to her she suddenly had a change of heart, but then she realized her best friend could never let her do that so she had to face whatever life had in stock for her tonight. She really wanted to meet San, but she knew she was going to be awkward. It was so easy and natural for her to act sassy when they were texting, but in real life she didn’t have even half the confidence she showed in the chat. She hoped San would be okay with the fact that she was going to act very differently in person than in the chat. Tonight he would see a shy girl who definitely didn’t have a sassy remark already on the tip of her tongue. Even though she didn't believe anything would happen between San and her, she still didn’t want to make a fool out of herself in front of such a handsome guy. She was so nervous that she couldn’t even stay still.

She took a deep breath, then put her devil horns headband on her head, pulled her short black lacy dress down and tied her platform Converses. She was sure she could combine them with any outfit, since she hated how uncomfortable high heels were and how she couldn’t keep her balance, so sneakers were always her choice. When Ara heard Chaewon complaining that she was taking too long to get ready, she just took one last moment to look at her reflection in the mirror. She then went to Chaewon and the two girls went out of the apartment building, taking a taxi.

When they walked into the nightclub, they made their way through the people as they looked around and sat on the unoccupied bar stools they found. Ara almost instantly took her phone out of her bag to see if she had any new messages from San. Her eyes lit up with pure excitement as she saw he has texted her indeed.

Ara subconsciously smiled and Chaewon looked at her knowingly. When Ara noticed her friend’s eyes on her, she looked back at her questioningly.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Ara questioned, but Chaewon only chuckled.

“You’re so whipped for him,” Chaewon commented with a huge grin on her face.

“I’m not whipped for anyone!”

Ara just sighed, obviously lacking the arguments to prove her friend wrong. She suddenly heard her phone received another message on her phone. Thinking it was San who was texting her because he was already there, she enthusiastically took her phone from the table so quickly that she almost dropped it. When she unlocked it, though, she saw another name appearing on her screen.

Ara put her phone aside, sighing. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Wooyoung; she knew he was hot and everything, but if she had to be honest, guys like her actually scared her. Ara knew what they were usually after and she wasn’t looking for something like that at all. She needed someone who valued the emotional connection before the physical one. Even though she didn’t know Wooyoung that well, she could see he wasn’t the type of person who got emotionally attached to someone. He was like an open book: he was a popular guy so a lot was known about him. Ara didn’t seem to find him charming, though. She wasn’t even sure why she told him she was at the club, when she didn’t really want to meet him; on the contrary, she was still hoping he wouldn’t find her in this crowded club. Her priority for tonight should be San, finally meeting him and talking to him. She really hoped their conversation would flow as easily as the ones they had in the chat.

“Okay, you’re not fun, you only look at your phone,” Chaewon pouted. “I have to leave you alone, though, I have plans with a friend. If you’re still free, I might bring him over to introduce him to you.”

As Ara nodded, Chaewon got up from her place and went to look for Mingi in the crowded nightclub. When she found him, she excitedly ran to him, hugging him right away. He hugged her back with the same enthusiasm as he was glad Chaewon was as happy to see him as he was. When she pulled away with a wide smile on her face, she saw two more guys.

“These are my friends, Hongjoong and San,” Mingi said.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Hongjoong.” He shook Chaewon’s hand with a polite smile.

“My name is San,” San said, also taking Chaewon’s hand for a handshake.

“I have one more friend, but he went to buy cigarettes from the shop nearby,” Mingi explained and Chaewon nodded.

“If he isn’t dumping us for girls, he’s doing it to buy cigarettes. Looks like we’re never a priority for him at all,” San murmured and sighed.

Chaewon took a good look at him as she seemed lost in thought. She suddenly spoke, startling San who also seemed to have been in a similar situation, immersed in his own thoughts.

“Wait, did you say your name is San?!” Chaewon exclaimed with surprise. “Are you perhaps looking for a girl named Ara?”

“Wait, how did you know?”

“She’s my best friend! She told me she’s supposed to meet you tonight.”

“Oh, really?!” San couldn’t believe what was happening.

It turned out Mingi’s friend happened to also be Ara’s best friend and so they all met there. He instantly saw an opportunity to impress his crush: he thought that he should slowly try to get close to Chaewon and help her with whatever he could, so that she could share some advice on how to win her best friend’s heart. Besides, he knew Ara wouldn’t like someone who wasn’t treating her friends well, so he knew he had to pay special attention to that part. He wanted Chaewon herself to root for him, so that things would go smoothly.

“She’s sitting on the bar just ahead. You should see her if you walk just a little more,” Chaewon explained energetically and San nodded with a smile before waving his friends goodbye and walking away so that he could find Ara. His heart was beating fast as he was trying to contain the excitement of finally meeting his crush after so long and eventually having a whole conversation with her in person – something he never had the chance to do before.

It didn’t take long to find her, sitting on a bar stool alone, scrolling through her phone, looking more bored than ever, taking small sips of her Cosmopolitan cocktail. He approached her slowly, but also excitedly, because he was feeling so lucky to be having the opportunity to finally meet her and spend time with her.

“Hey,” he gently said, close enough to Ara’s ear so she could hear him over the loud music. He hoped she wouldn’t be startled by his actions, but as she saw her suddenly turn around, nearly falling off the bar stool, he realized he has failed to do that.

As soon as she saw him though, she smiled widely with excitement, standing up.

“San!”

“Can I hug you?” he asked shyly and Ara nodded with a small smile on her face.

She really appreciated how considerate he was and how he was not forcing physical contact on her. As expected, he was proving himself to be a gentleman. Before she could do anything else, he had his arms wrapped around her body in a warm, comfortable embrace. He was especially careful that he didn’t touch her bare skin, but the parts her dress covered instead, in case she felt uncomfortable. He didn’t want to ever let go of her, but he eventually had to, otherwise it would start to look suspicious in the sense that his feelings would eventually no longer remain hidden. He stayed like that for a couple of seconds more before he reluctantly pulled away and he sat on the barstool next to Ara.

San ordered a whiskey and returned his attention to Ara.

“Cool outfit, by the way. What are you dressed as?” San asked curiously, as he took a look at her black dress, trying to figure it out. He was also doing his best not to stare at Ara since the outfit was anything but modest. It wasn’t too provocative, but it worked really well for her body type and showed just enough skin to attract attention, yet leave some things to the imagination as well. It was sexy, but in a classy way; just as expected from Ara, San thought.

“I was supposed to be a devil because I lost a bet with my best friend, but I felt awkward wearing the horns so I just put the headband in my bag,” Ara admitted bashfully.

“I hope you don’t find my request weird, but could you put them on? I’m curious how they look on you.”

Ara just laughed softly before reaching to her bag and taking out the headband. She slightly fixed her hair with her fingers before putting the devil horns on her head.

San looked at her, contemplating on whether she could actually pass as a devil. She blushed as he felt his intense gaze on herself; this only made her costume look even more out of place.

“I think an angel outfit would have been a better choice,” San said, as he chuckled, remembering how he once called her an angel in the chat in order to tease her. He took a small sip of his whiskey, already feeling his flirty mood taking over. He only hoped Ara wouldn’t be uncomfortable with it.

“Come on, didn’t we decide to drop that nickname?” Ara laughed awkwardly, as she put a strand of her dark brown wavy hair behind her ear, thinking of this whole conversation as some kind of a friendly joke and not San actually attempting to flirt with her.

That’s why Chaewon kept teasing her for being totally oblivious when someone was interested in her. It was just so funny to her watching her best friend receive all those messages from San and her being totally confused and unintentionally friend-zoning him. Why would someone like San be romantically or even sexually interested in me, Ara kept asking herself. She still believed Chaewon was just imagining things that weren’t there. And it wasn’t because Ara was that insecure in her looks or personality; she thought she was just herself, not bad looking, kind but just too weird and chaotic (not in the quirky, conventionally attractive way) for someone as breathtaking as San to actually like her.

“You did, but I did not,” San said with a cheeky smile. He burst out laughing immediately after, as Ara followed.

“How was the flight yesterday?” Ara asked, changing the topic.

“Long and boring,” San said, taking another sip from his drink. “And how was school for you?”

“Tiring, I have so many assignments to do and zero motivation to actually start them. It’s kinda overwhelming honestly.”

“I understand that too well since I’m in a similar situation. And deciding to skip classes to go on a trip to place as far away as Los Angeles definitely isn’t helping,” San laughed, quickly fixing his hair.

“I’m sorry. I was the one who gave the idea to Mingi,” Ara pouted and San automatically smiled because of how cute she looked.

She was adorable in his eyes, even though her dark eyeshow and red lipstick as well as the short black lace dress definitely made her give off more sensual and mature vibes than she usually did. But he would have lied if he said he didn’t like this side of her too.

“Don’t apologize. I think it was totally worth it.”

It was worth it just for him to see her in that dress. Just for him to be able to sit next to her and talk to her the whole night as if they weren’t in a crowded nightclub right now, as if nobody else but them was even there at the moment. The eleven hour flight, the lack of sleep, the total negligence over his studies; for him it was all worth it just to be there with her for the first time ever. Yet it felt so natural, as if he has spent his whole life until now with her by his side.

Ara smiled softly, before feeling another presence near her, this time on the barstool on her left side. When she heard the deep voice, she suddenly remembered who it belonged to. Even though she hasn’t interacted much with him in the past, he was the university’s star back when he was studying in LA, so everyone knew so many things about him despite the fact he only stayed for an year.

“Hello, Ara,” his breath tickled her ear as she felt the smell of cigarettes mixed with mint candy which made her turn her head a little.

“Jung Wooyoung? H-hey,” Ara said absentmindedly, not really happy to see him, but trying to hide her true feelings out of courtesy.

“What the… Wooyoung?!” San asked, shock written all over his face, seeing his friend sitting next to his crush. In this moment, one could say he looked as if he had seen a ghost: totally terrified, but it was due to the fact he was finally beginning to put together the pieces of this messy puzzle that this whole situation was.

“You two know each other?” Ara looked really surprised that they definitely seemed to have some kind of relationship. She kept thinking how could they know each other, before remembering they both studied in her university for an year. Then she thought of another theory: what if Wooyoung was a part of San’s friend group? They don’t seem to like each other at all, though, Ara thought to herself as she observed the hostile looks the guys kept exchanging.

The two totally ignored her since they were just too focused on each other that they forgot that she was even there.

“What are you doing here?” Wooyoung asked almost monotonously as he was not any less surprised to find San right next to the girl he had his eye on, but he tried to mask his surprise with his usual cool attitude.

“I’m talking to Ara, but it seems as if you two already know each other?”

“We met while we were studying abroad,” Wooyoung explained, feeling a little nervous, an emotion he wasn’t familiar with, slowly realizing what situation he was in, but still not stepping back. “And now we’re here. To talk to each other. Because we’re friends,” he gave as many details as possible in order to make San insecure about his relationship with Ara, but he wasn’t going to give up so easily.

“Hm? Interesting. I’m here to talk to her too because I’m also friends with her. Why don’t you go out for a smoke, huh?” San was trying to get Wooyoung to leave them alone, but that wasn’t an easy task at all.

“I already smoked. Why don’t you go, though? I wanna talk to my friend,” Wooyoung smiled with feigned innocence, which only made San more frustrated.

“Guys, can’t we just talk together, the three of us? I don’t understand, why does someone have to leave?” Ara looked really perplexed, not understanding the reason for their fight.

“Nope. I have nothing to say to him,” San took a big sip from his whiskey, looking Wooyoung angrily in the eyes, not breaking eye contact even for a second.

“Me neither,” Wooyoung confirmed that there was a problem as Ara continued looking at them with confusion before coming up with a solution.

“I think you should both go then.”

Both San and Wooyoung looked at Ara with disbelief.

“You clearly have a problem and you should discuss it. You can come back when everything’s okay.” Ara suggested, while Wooyoung and San were looking at each other so intensely that they were barely blinking.

“Let’s go,” Wooyoung said through his teeth, taking San by the arm, but he moved out of his grip.

“Do not touch me,” San responded through gritted teeth, as they both exited the club.

Realizing they both had a crush on the same girl made them wonder about what would happen to their friendship. They thought they could no longer be friends because they’ve already began seeing each other as rivals. Thoughts like that made them feel beyond frustrated and they had a lot of questions which were most likely to stay unanswered. This issue, added to their last unresolved fight made the current situation even worse and was definitely going to be a base for even more serious problems. They only knew one thing for sure: that none of them was going to back down.

╔═══════════ SUMMARY ═══════════╗

San was often told that he was everything a girl wanted to date: handsome, funny and smart. That was until they got to know him better. Then he was told he was too much, too overwhelming, had too many emotions and was too chaotic. Thus his experience with dating was not as good as one would have thought. The problem: he has the biggest crush on a girl he met whilst studying abroad. But every time he messages his crush, he seems to mess things up further and further. With the help of his hyperactive friends he tries to win Ara's heart but before that, he has to convince her he doesn't actually hate her.

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💟 taglist:

@violets-are-vladi @chocochannel @ateezcbk @turtledove824 @huachengsbestie01 @redflemmefoxy

networks: @cromernet

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