Sungyeol, standing right in front of me. There was so much I could have said to him. So much I wanted to say to him. But for some reason, the worst possible thing escaped my lips.

"Why couldn't it have been Hoya?"

Sungyeol laughed, "Oh ouch, I see how it is, I'll just take these back now," he playfully tried to grab the plastic bag with the things he bought me in them.

"No, I'm sorry I didn't mean that!" I shook my head apologetically, "I really didn't, I'm sorry. My name is Jinhwa," I tucked my head down.

"Nice to meet you, Jinhwa," he smiled and tucked his head also, "So where are we going with your bags?"

"You don't have to help me," I said, my voice shaky, "You must be busy."

"Actually I'd like to feel normal even if it's just for a few minutes, so if you'd allow me to help you, that would be awesome," he seemed like he wasn't going to give up.

"Uh, okay," I laughed a little, "If that's going to make you happy, I'll do what I can to help!"

But while he walked beside me back to Dongwoon's, he was silent. I was so nervous around him that I didn't want to try to talk about something stupid, so I was silent. We just walked along, quiet, he kept his head down so no one recognized him, and when we got to Dongwoon's building, he helped me hold my groceries more comfortably so I could get inside.

"Thank you, Jinhwa," he said simply.

"No, thank you," I said enthusiastically, "Really, you're… nicer than I expected."

"You expecting otherwise? Did you think I'd be stuck up or something?" he said defensively.

"No, that's not at all—"

"Because we're all normal people just like you, so don't think we're incapable of being nice," he kept on like I was judging him.

"Cut it out, will you? I didn't mean anything by it besides the fact that it was nice of you to help me," I don't know what made me go off on him like that. He looked shocked that a normal person was talking to him that way. So I tried to redeem myself, "I actually always had a feeling you were a really sweet person, from all the Infinite videos I've seen and interviews I've read and stuff…" I said uncomfortably.

"I appreciate that," he said and nodded. There was a pause before he said, "I'd like to exchange numbers. Maybe you can help me become me again."

Whatever that meant, I was totally down. I gave him my number excitedly and he texted me right away.

"I look forward to learning more about you, Jinhwa," he smiled and backed toward the street again.

"Likewise," I smiled. I would have waved him away but my arms were full of bags, so I just pushed my way inside the building. I don't think what had just happened really hit me yet. It was insane.

But here came the really insane part: telling the other girls. Texting them would be too informal. This was huge news and I was way too excited. Infinite was our favorite group. As much as the 4 of us loved Beast, they were all our friends by now because of our experiences with Cube. But Infinite—I mean, INFINITE—was completely different. I fan-girl over Hoya like no one's business. The four of us watch Infinite's performances and cry together. Sad? Maybe. Dedicated? Hell yes.

I took a deep breath. I would tell them one at a time. I decided I'd tell Jaesoon first because we both shipped Yadong so hard, and she fan-girled for Dongwoo like I did for Hoya. We had a connection there. The phone rang 4 times before she answered, sleepily and nasally.

"I hope you didn't just wake me up for nothing," she said in her sick voice.

"I have such an amazing reason that I'm surprised I'm not pissing myself," I said, the magic of the day finally beginning to hit me.

"I'm listening," she said, slightly interested all of a sudden.

"I ran into someone at the grocery store. This person bought me three items that I could not afford and had to ask the cashier to take off my list. This person then helped me carry my bags back to Dongwoon's, and we exchanged numbers," I said, hardly containing myself from excitement.

"Was this person a good looking male?" Jaesoon's tone was her usual flirty self again.

"This person was a god," I squeaked, "It was Infinite's VERY OWN SUNGYEOL." There was silence on the other end. I got nervous, "Unni? Are you there?"

"You ran into Sungyeol in public?" she interrogated, "And he bought something for you? And walked you back to Dongwoon's? AND GAVE YOU HIS NUMBER?"

"You don't believe me? If you promise to stay absolutely silent I'll three-way him into this call right now," I was bouncing with every word, my body letting out the energy involuntarily.

"Do it, I don't believe you," she wasn't nearly as skeptical as she was trying to sound.

"Fine," I said, "Hold please." I wasn't sure what I would say to Sungyeol if he actually answered the phone, but I had from now until the time he picked up to answer. I called, quickly switched Jaesoon back to the line, and the first ring hit. She was silent, which was good because that meant I didn't have to remind—

"Do you miss me already?" that perfect voice answered right on the second ring. Oh, shit. I lost my train of thought. I didn't know what to talk about now and he probably thinks I'm stupid and that I'm just some stupid fan-girl. But I am just a stupid— "Jinhwa are you there? Tell me I didn't get butt dialed after only 10 minutes."

"I'm here, I wasn't thinking," I laughed nervously, "I was just thinking… How much did those three things you got me cost? There's no receipt in the bag…"

"Why do you want to know?" he asked mischievously.

"So I can pay you back," I said, "It was really nice of you but I don't take charity. Even if it is from one of my favorite idols."

"I thought you were supposed to make me feel normal again," Sungyeol laughed.

"I would ask the same thing from any other person on the planet. Doesn't get more normal than that," I bit my lip, knowing Jaesoon was biting hers as well.

"Well, that's a shame… Because I'm not going to tell you how much you owe me. I gotta go, I'm walking into practice. Later." His end clicked, and I sniffed just to make sure he was gone. Silence.

"Speak calmly," I said to Jaesoon.

She didn't listen. All of a sudden, she started screaming hoarsely and mumbling illegitimate words. I was ready to hang up when she finally calmed down.

"Jinhwa, you are… you are… so amazing! How did you.. what did you… WHAT IS AIR?" Jaesoon's voice was muffled all of a sudden and I heard her coughing hard in the background.

"Unni you need to get some more rest. You're still really sick," I said concerned.

"WHO CARES YOU FREAKING MET SUNGYEOL! Is he as tall in person as he looks on stage?"

And for the next 30 minutes, details of the entire encounter, questions I'd never thought about.. everything was discussed. The same scenario, minus the actual Sungyeol phone call, occurred with Miyeon, since Jaesoon insisted that she tell Song-E for some reason she wouldn't disclose with me. I didn't think twice about it.

Miyeon was even more excited, if I ever believed it possible. She couldn't form coherent sentences for at least 5 minutes. It was funny, though. I got some material to make fun of her for a while.

"Jinhwa, I'm getting a call on the other line, can I call you back in a little bit?" she said after 20 minutes of fan-girling over Infinite.

"Sure thing," I said, "But it better be important."

Miyeon just laughed and said bye, and as soon as I hung up I started to work on Dongwoon's cooking. I had two texts from him, both saying the same thing. He must have sent it twice because I never responded.

( I'll be home around 3. )

I looked at the clock. It was only 1:00 so I knew I had plenty of time to get all his dishes at least started. He was going to be a happy camper when he got home.

My mind was in a completely different place when I was cooking. Everything made so much more sense with food. Food is good. Singing is good, too. My mother always told me that the difference between cooking and other hobbies is that cooking is actually necessary. It was her way of saying I could be doing more important things with my life than playing instruments and singing all the time. But to me, singing and cooking were the same thing. Just like everyone needs food to survive, people like me needed music. And just liked cooking was a hobby of use to most people, singing was a hobby that I found the most useful. I struggle to prove that to my family. Until I can prove myself to them, I am nothing. But at least I can cook.

I focused on Infinite instead. As much as I wanted to think about Hoya, my mind was clouded with Sungyeol. Not like that was a bad thing—Sungyeol is a cutie. Even cuter in person than I thought, and that's why I didn't recognize him immediately. But that wasn't it. I was focusing on his insecurity about being "normal." Did I even know what "normal" was? What if I misguide him? What if I just make it worse? And why was he so upset when he thought I expected him to be a snob?

3 came a lot sooner than I was expecting. I was halfway through my last thing to make when the door opened and Dongwoon's voice came booming through the hall declaring his presence.

"Did you have a nice radio show?" I asked nicely.

"Beast always rocks it on the air," he said, "Did you have a good day being a housewife?"

"I HAVE AWESOME NEWS FOR YOU!" I said bouncing, ready to tell him my Infinite story. He was quiet and ready, so I dove into the most exciting part of my day. He smiled and shook his head silently while I gushed. But something on his face was off, something about the way he kept shifting his weight from one side to the other.

"So you're gonna go be besties with Infinite now, right?" he teased, "It's like your dream come true."

"Not quite," I laughed, "I still have to debut."

Dongwoon just smiled uncomfortably. I couldn't figure out what I'd said to piss him off, but I decided to leave it alone. He opened the fridge and poured himself some juice.

"What do I owe you for the groceries?" he asked casually.

"Receipt's by the coffee pot," I said, calm once more. My phone was ringing from the other side of the kitchen where I'd left it.

"It's probably your new best friend Sungyeol," Dongwoon said in a mocking tone. I just ignored it, because the screen said Miyeon.

"Thanks for FINALLY—"

"Just listen to me," she sounded pissed, so I listened. "I've been arguing with the company board through Jiyoon for over an hour about this. Tell me you think it's retarded, too, okay?"

"I'm listening," I said, frowning with concern.

"You're familiar with SS501, right? You know Heo Young Saeng? His people called Jiyoon to see if I would MC for his solo song about to come out. Jiyoon's the one who called me earlier, to see if I could do it—"

"Wow, they asked you to be in his song? That's awesome, unni!" I said.

"Yeah, it would be freaking awesome, wouldn't it? But the board isn't letting me. Wanna know why? Because the promotions for the song would 'get in the way of ATM's practice schedule'… Can you believe this? I have the opportunity of a lifetime and they won't even…" Miyeon stopped and took a deep breath, "And Jiyoon says if I can't get back to them by tomorrow, they'll probably find someone else. I'm about to march to the board and tell them they're, pardon my English, fucking retarded."

"Don't they understand that publicity for you is publicity for ATM, and publicity for ATM is profit for them?" I said, just as angry as Miyeon at this point.

"Jinhwa, something over here is bubbling," Dongwoon peeked into a pot and sounded worried.

"I KNOW! That's what I've been trying to argue!" Miyeon said angrily, "I could do this, Jinhwa. All of you guys know that! I could freaking rock it up on stage with someone like Heo Young Saeng. They just need to give me the chance."

"Plus it would be good practice—"

"For when we actually debut and have to juggle performances, promotional things, and practicing. Yeah. I know. Jiyoon argued that for me, too. Still nothing. They really don't think I'm ready or something."

"They're wrong, Miyeon. You could do it, and you could do it better than anyone," I assured her. I knew this was going to be tough for her, but she would just have to accept the board's decision.

She sighed, "Just thought I'd share. Jiyoon's calling me again. I'll talk to you later. Are you going to be home later?"

"Probably, I doubt Song-E and Jaesoon are still contagious," I said. The truth was that whatever was going on in Dongwoon's head was making me slightly uncomfortable.

When I looked at him, though, he was innocently stirring the pot I had on the stove. I reached around him to turn the burner down, and he flashed his heart-stopping grin at me.

"I'll be home, too, then. Taec's going to be home soon, and I'll tell him what's going on… He's going to be pissed off, too. Later, Jinhwa."

I knew Taec would be pissed. Anyone who knew Miyeon knew she deserved this. Not only that, she would kill it, too. She's amazing at what she does.

"Everything alright?" Dongwoon asked, but without a lick of worry on his face. I stifled an annoyed chuckle.

"Yeah, everything's fine," pause, "I'll get out of your way when I'm done with this."

Dongwoon looked startled, "Wait, what do you mean out of my way? You're not in my way.. and I just got home."

"I'm almost done cooking, didn't you see your fridge? I need to go take care of my unneers though," I said simply, "So when this one is done, I gotta go."

Dongwoon sighed, "I'd take you home but it'd be unwise if you were seen with two idols in one day."

"Is there a problem?" I asked, "Are you .. upset? That I met Sungyeol?"

"No, there's no problem and I'm not upset," he said blankly, "Why would you think that?"

I paused, "You're just acting so weird about it…" I trailed off.

"Well it's not a big deal. So don't think I'm jealous or something, it's just your imagination."

"If you say so…"

Sure enough, as soon as I finished up my last dish, Dongwoon handed me the money he owed me and I was almost out the door.

"Hey, Jinhwa?" he asked, chewing the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah?"

He swallowed, "Maybe I'm a little jealous…"

I smiled reassuringly, "You have no reason to be."

Dongwoon smiled at me and opened the door for me. There was nothing else either of us had to say. There was a mutual understanding in play here, just like in so many of our other situations.

It had been a long, interesting day and it was only 4:00. I wanted to go take a nap or something, but I needed to stay awake so I got plenty of sleep before I got home to take care of my unneers. Although, I was probably about to get dealt with much more excitement than I wanted—all this Infinite hustle. But I wondered if Miyeon had called Jaesoon and Song-E about her potential promotions, too.

My mind was racing before I even walked in the front door. But when I did, I saw something that I wasn't expecting.

There was Gikwang, and Song-E. They were both standing at the front door. I saw both of them very clearly. But there was something going on between them that I didn't quite understand at the time. Gikwang was holding her face and they were kissing. I couldn't stop the smile from creeping onto my face.