?"What made you invite us to eat Korean barbecue anyway?" Nari asked, patting her stomach that had bulged after the hefty meal.
Jia raised her eyebrows. "Why? Are you complaining? Vomit it out then," Jia joked.
Nari chuckled and shook her head.
"I'm just wondering. You never really treat us out."
Jia shrugged, a small smile appearing on her face.
"It's to celebrate EVE's first win in King of Kings. My mom gave me an extra allowance this week since she knows I've been voting for EVE. There's still some money left, so I decided to treat you guys," she explained.
"Wow," Bora said, still picking some of the food stuck between her teeth. "EVE actually managed to get this stingy girl to spend her money on us."
Jia clicked her tongue.
"I'm not stingy," she snapped.
Her friends turned to each other with knowing looks.
"Whatever you say," they said in unison.
Just then, they heard a loud scream from inside one of the rooms. The restaurant was the type where you could rent an entire room with your friends and eat in the peace of your own company.
The four friends turned to the door before gazing at each other with raised eyebrows.
"What was that?" Jia asked.
Bora shrugged. "Beats me. It sounded like a pig getting slaughtered. What's that smell, though?" she sniffed. "Smells delicious."
Soomin looked at her, disgusted. "What do you mean? It smells like a salon."
"Yeah," Wei nodded, covering her nose. "Smells a bit like burning hair."
"Smells good to me," Bora smiled.
Just then, Jia felt someone bump into her. It hurt pretty bad since the person seemed to be carrying a camera, so the hard object was indented on her abdomen.
"Oof," Jia exclaimed, and she even fell down to the ground. The person who bumped into her fell down on top of her, doubling the impact Jia felt.
Jia's friends turned to the scene with wide eyes.
Jia then opened her eyes and saw a girl wearing a black cap that covered her face. She smelled strangely of mold and clothes that didn't get to fully dry in the sun, so Jia unconsciously held her breath.
Her friends finally snapped out of their surprise and helped the two get up. However, before Bora could even make contact with the strange girl, she quickly stood up, hands shaking and all.
Jia stood, still in pain but holding it in.
"Sorry for that," Jia said. "My friends and I weren't looking."
The girl didn't say anything and just bolted away from them.
The four girls turned to each other in surprise, finding the situation weird.
Meanwhile, June, who had just finished peeing and was now washing his hands, heard a scream from outside. His eyebrows raised in surprise since the scream sounded familiar.
However, washing his hands clean was the most important thing for now.
Then, he went outside and went to the cashier. He decided to pay while his co-actors and the crew members were still eating. As he made his way to the cashier, he felt a strange shadow pass him. However, as he turned his gaze to where the shadow had been, it quickly disappeared.
He stopped walking for a couple of seconds, feeling chills run down his spine. Then, he shrugged before walking to the cashier.
The old woman manning it instantly recognized June, and she exclaimed loudly when he smiled at her.
"Omo, I thought my servers were joking when they said they saw my favorite idol, but here you are!" she clapped loudly.
June smiled kindly before handing her his card.
"Thank you for serving us well. The food was really good," June said.
The old woman swiped his card and smiled widely.
"Come here whenever you get hungry. I'll give you a meal for free," she said.
June chuckled. "Sure, I'll do that."
She handed him back his card, but she continued speaking fondly to him. Since June was already full, he decided to entertain her queries for a bit.
Meanwhile, Jia and her friends, who were also on their way to pay the bill, quickly halted when they saw a familiar figure standing in front of the cashier.
"Holy balls," Bora exclaimed, causing June to look toward their way.
June's eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he looked at the group of girls.
"That's June, isn't it?" Nari continuously said.
"I'm fucking dreaming," Wei whispered. "Or maybe I'm in heaven. There's an angel in front of me."
The four girls couldn't believe what was currently happening.
Then, June suddenly smiled, making them even more surprised.
"Oh gosh, he smiled at me. June smiled at me!" Soomin muttered.
"Does he recognize us from all the shows we attended?" Wei asked.
"It's you," June said, pointing a finger at them.
Bora placed her hand over her heart. "Is it just me, or is June from EVE flirting with us?"
June walked over to where they were and patted Jia's shoulder, taking all of her friends by surprise. They watched the scene before them with wide eyes, in disbelief at what was happening.
"Jia," June said her name, making the scene even more surreal.
Jia's friends had never seen June this close, but all the testimonies they saw online were correct. He didn't have a single pore on his face, and he strangely sparkled like a vampire.
"How's your mom?" he asked.
"Good," Jia said, still out of it.
June nodded. "That's great. Greet Cindy for me."
Jia mindlessly nodded.
"Did you guys eat here?" June asked.
They all nodded, not being able to say a single word.
"Hmm," June hummed, walking back to the cashier. "I'll pay for them, too," he said.
The old woman smiled. "What a good young man you are!"
After paying, June waved his hands goodbye at the four girls. However, they were still in the same spot, frozen and in disbelief.
Bora pinched herself to determine if she was dreaming, but she was clearly awake. Then, she slowly turned to Jia, whose face had reddened immensely.
"When were you planning to tell us that THE June knows you?" she exclaimed.
That seemed to snap them out of their stupor, and her friends continuously asked her questions.
Jia, however, was silent, the blush and smile on her face intensifying.
She didn't care.
She was just happy.
However, it seemed like someone else wasn't.
Hidden behind a small post was a small figure wearing all black. She breathed heavily, not being able to contain her hunger.
Then, she clenched her fists together, causing her palms to bleed.
"He's mine," she whispered.
