I yawned and reached out for my phone to turn off my alarm. I rubbed my eyes and stretched as my phone buzzed once more. I picked it up and saw a new message from Changkyun. I sat up and opened the message, wondering why he didn't type in the group chat. "Hey, Ashley. I didn't mean to be rude or anything when it comes to talking. Everyone else is just better at it than me. It's just difficult for me to open up and talk unlike the others. I hope that we can be friends, nonetheless. I would really like that a lot. I hope you're getting plenty of sleep. Hope to hear from you. Have a great day." I smiled as I read the message and quickly typed up my reply. "Good morning. Or is it night time for you by now? Haha. No worries. I get that type of reaction a lot, but I think that we will be great friends. I'm well rested and getting ready to head out now. If you're not comfortable with the group chat, you can always message me privately. I'm always here to chat. Can't wait to hear from you." I sent the message and climbed out of bed, looking out at the beautiful, sunny day. I looked through my clothes and pulled out my black Monsta X shirt and camo leggings and laid them out on the bed before going to the bathroom and took a hot shower to start the day.
After showering and getting dressed, I grabbed a bite to eat before planning out my day. Once I wrapped up filming, I was going to go shopping before ending the day with dinner out at one of my favorite restaurants that I usually go to with the girls from work to hang out. I grabbed my phone and tweeted out that I was headed out to do the video before setting it back down. I brushed my teeth and brushed my hair before putting on light makeup and lip gloss before taking a selfie and posted it online. I grabbed my purse and sunglasses before heading out of my room and rode the elevator down to the lobby. I put on my sunglasses as I walked outside where my Uber was waiting on me to drive to my destination.
Changkyun's POV:
Changkyun woke up to his phone ringing and quickly answered it. "Get up! We have to get ready to go," Minhyuk yelled into the phone. "Don't be mad," he mumbled, wanting to go back to sleep. "Don't forget we're meeting Ashley today," Kihyun yelled into the phone, letting him know that he was on speakerphone. He sat up and hurried out of bed and into the bathroom, forgetting to hang up as he jumped into the shower. "So that's all it took to get him up," Kihyun laughed. He ignored the laughter as he got cleaned and dressed, standing in front of the mirror, fixing his bed head. "I'm on my way," he said, grabbing his phone. "We're downstairs with food," Kihyun said before hanging up. He paused at the door when he saw a message from Ashley and opened it, smiling at his phone. He felt a weight lift off his shoulders, glad that she was so understanding and that she wanted to be friends. He had a strange feeling deep inside of him at the sight of the word 'friends', but he didn't know what it was. Changkyun shook his head and rushed downstairs to join everyone for breakfast.
Everyone was sitting at a table with plates in front of them and Changkyun found his spot between Jooheon and Minhyuk. "Wow. Someone's ready for today," Kihyun teased. "Shut up," Changkyun smirked, sipping his coffee. "It's true because he didn't deny it," Wonho pointed out. Changkyun didn't say anything as he ate his breakfast. "Something happened because he keeps smiling," Minhyuk said and all eyes fell on Changkyun. He looked around and shrugged. "Nothing happened. I just think that today will be fun," he said plainly, hiding his excitement. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through Twitter until he saw Ashley's tweets and saw the selfie that she posted. "She's wearing our shirt," Jooheon announced to the table, making everyone look at their phones. "Do you think that she knows that we're in town," Kihyun asked. "No. They told her that she would be reacting to our videos," Shownu said. Changkyun stared at her picture as if saving it to memory. "She's already headed to the studio so we better get going too," Hyungwon said. Everyone finished their meals and went outside where their ride was waiting for them and drove them to the studio.
Ashley's POV:
I waved at everyone as I walked inside. Benny was already waiting for me and hugged me before showing me to my seat where the staff got me set up. "This is going to be kind of weird being here without the others," I giggled as a staff member put a mic on me and handed me some headphones. "I know. We just saw how popular your K-pop videos were doing and a lot of fans of the show wanted you here," he explained as a laptop was placed on the table. "Awesome. I'm so excited to be here as always and thank you for having me here," I said, smiling. "Ready to get started?" I nodded as the camera pointed towards me and started filming as Benny did the usual intro before introducing me and started showing some of Monsta X videos. I hummed to the music as I watched the video, complimenting the music and the choreography. I was so focused on the video that I didn't see the group that were watching me.
Changkyun's POV:
The driver pulled up at the studio and everyone climbed out of the van. Changkyun looked around as they were greeted by a staff member with an interpreter. "Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for being here," the interpreter said. "Thank you for having us. I'm usually the translator for the group," Changkyun said as they walked inside. Staff members greeted them and hooked them up to mics. Changkyun heard a familiar laugh and followed it until he stopped, his heart pounding in his chest. There she was, sitting in front of him, singing and laughing except she was actually there and not on a cellphone. "Nervous," Jooheon asked, patting his shoulders. "N-no. Not at all," Changkyun stuttered as they watched. "Hey, man. Relax. Everything will work out. Just be yourself," Wonho encouraged as Ashley was told to close her eyes and they were motioned over. Changkyun took a deep breath as they moved closer until he was right next to her.
Ashley's POV:
I chatted idly away about a music video when a new video played on the screen. It was a video of me dancing to one of their songs and they were on video watching me. I blushed and explained how I learned the choreography for their videos and wanted to record myself doing it and shared it with my fans who enjoyed it. "Well, there is one more surprise for you today. Take off the headphones and close your eyes," Benny said. I raised an eyebrow before removing the headphones and closed my eyes, wondering what's going on. I sensed movement around me and someone touching my hair, thinking that it was a staff member helping me out. "Okay, open your eyes," Benny instructed and I slowly opened them. The camera was still in front of me and so was the laptop on the table, making me confused.
"What's going on," I asked, chuckling until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked at the hand and looked over at the owner which was Jooheon, giving me his signature smile. I looked around and made eye contact with member before covering my face to hide my smile. "No way," I laughed, uncovering my face and sure enough, they were still there, "this was the surprise?" Benny nodded as Minhyuk swapped places with Jooheon. "It's nice to finally meet you," he said, smiling at me. "I think I should be the one saying that. This is way cooler than wrestling at Madison Square Garden," I said in Korean as they each took turns greeting me until it was finally Changkyun's turn.
He sat next to me, putting on a brave face, but I could tell that he was still nervous. "Hey, Ashley. It's great to meet you," he said in English, a small smile on his face. "Again, way better than Madison Square. I should've known that you guys were in town when you randomly joined my stream last night," I giggled. "Out of everyone that you've ever met, how awesome is this moment for you," Benny asked. "I've met a lot of different celebrities, like MGK, Kevin Hart, Snoop Dogg, and even BTS. This moment, however, tops them all because I wasn't expecting this at all and I'm really thankful for everyone here. I'm not trying to like kill the mood or anything, but I live in a very stressful world when it comes to wrestling and it takes a toll on you. I love my job, I love what I do and it does make me happy, but when I return home, it's a reminder that I'm alone. That's why I livestream and make videos because that's how I connect with people. Music brings me more happiness when I'm alone. Watching their videos and listening to their music makes me at ease and it just brings that type of feeling that I'm not alone." Wonho squeezed my shoulders as Changkyun smiled, his nervousness completely gone. "We'll always be here for you. Plus, you're kind of stuck with Jooheon once you meet him," he said, making me laugh. "To wrap up the show, we would love for Ashley and Jooheon to give us their cutest look together," Benny announced as Jooheon swapped with Changkyun. "Act cute, Jooheon," Kihyun said as Jooheon nodded. "Okay. We got this," Jooheon said in English, making everyone laugh. We shared a look before looking down. "1, 2, 3," Changkyun counted for us before we both looked up in sync as we put our heads together and posed before the recording ended. The staff clapped and helped us remove our mics and we were free to leave.
"That was so fun," I giggled as I walked outside with the group. "It was a fun little surprise. Glad to be apart of it," Minhyuk said. "This was a fun experience. We've never met a wrestler before," Shownu said. "And we've definitely never met anyone that could match Jooheon on the cute factor," Kihyun said. "I found my new partner in crime," Jooheon declared, hugging me. "You should ask before throwing yourself on someone," Kihyun chuckled. "It's fine. I'm a natural hugger," I giggled, "are you guys busy for the rest of the day?" "No. We're totally free," Changkyun quickly answered, making the others laugh. "He's been quiet this entire time, but now he says something when it comes to our schedule," Minhyuk laughed, making Changkyun blush and look around. "Well, how about dinner tonight? I have some shopping to do for a shoot, but I'm free afterwards. I know this amazing restaurant and the food is delicious. I'm a regular so I can easily get us a reservation and have our own private area so no one disturbs us," I said, pulling out my phone and pulled up the restaurant's number. "That'll be great. We would love to go," Shownu said as a van and car pulled up. "Great. I'll set everything up and I'll set up your ride. Is six okay? It's almost four now and I should be done with running around in an hour and I'll meet you guys at the restaurant." They nodded as Jooheon looked at me. "I don't have Instagram so I'm not in the group chat and I feel left out," he pouted cutely. "Oh right! Um well, you can text my number. I have an international plan so I can keep in contact with my family in Russia. Also, your cuteness won't work on me," I said with a wink as he pulled out his phone and we exchanged numbers. "Well if you're doing that then we might as well text that way too," Wonho said. "We could start a group chat that way then," I agreed as we all exchanged numbers and I started walking towards my ride, "keep an eye on the time and someone set up the chat. I'll see you guys later." I waved before climbing into the car and was driven to a mall to shop.
Changkyun's POV:
"I can't believe that you asked her for her number," Changkyun said as Jooheon smiled. "Someone had to do it. Plus it wasn't fair that all of you get to message her," Jooheon explained. "He's right, but let's not worry about that. We should leave and go do some shopping ourselves," Shownu said, walking towards the van. "Yeah. I do want to have some souvenirs to take back home," Minhyuk said. "Where should we go," Hyungwon asked as they got into the van. "Hm. Good question. I'll ask Ashley. She probably knows a lot of great shops around here," Wonho said, sending her a text in the group chat.
Two minutes later, she replied with a list of places, including the mall that she was currently at. "Let's go to the first place and see what we can find," Wonho said. "That's fine. We have an hour to shop and an hour to get ready before going out so we better make good use of our time," Kihyun said as the driver drove off. While everyone was chatting, Changkyun was quiet, lost in thought as he replayed what happened. She was even more beautiful in person than on a cellphone as well. Everything about her was just amazing, her smile, her laugh, her easy going nature. Then, the image of her hugging Jooheon entered his mind and an uneasy feeling crept up inside of him. He shook off the strange feeling as everyone's phones chimed. It was another message from Ashley letting them know that they should dress comfortably and there was no need to dress to impress because the restaurant has a very relaxed environment. "Okay. No suits. Got it," Jooheon replied, making her laugh. Changkyun wondered why Jooheon and the others were having an easy time talking to her, but he could barely speak two words without getting nervous. He sighed at the thought as Kihyun asked a very important question as they pulled up at their first stop. "Wait. Who's paying for dinner tonight?"