<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

Early morning, Seunghee wakes up to the loud thundering sound of music on her wall from next door. She bolts up the bed, hair in a mess and sleepy eyes with an annoyed face. She grumbles but stands up, it's almost time for her alarm to go off anyways.

With the loud music still going on, she walks to the rest room to wash her face and brush her teeth. She really wants to pick a fight with her neighbor already but she's restraining herself since it's only her first month renting the place. If only she knew it's gonna be like this, she should've searched for a better, more peaceful place.  But then can she find one as cheap as this? It's enough for her pocket, actually, she can only afford this type of apartment. This is the life in Seoul for her.

She takes a bath, prepares breakfast and eats, all under the banging music on her wall. Her neighbor seems deaf for Pete's sake. Or maybe he's physically impaired, she thought. And then suddenly it stops. She can't help but heave a sigh. At last. Maybe he's out on his way so she takes a sneak peek on her door and catches the guy walking at the parking area out of the vicinity. She sighs again. She has to have a word with him soon. She can't live with this kind of neighborhood forever. And then she goes back inside her room and shuts the door. But even if she's annoyed as hell, she can't help but put a small smile on her face just because she saw him again. It's ironic, isn't it?

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

It's another day of rehearsals for Seunghee. She stands in the middle of the room, behind her are her band mates, strutting their stuffs. The guitarist Minhyun, the bassist Dongho and the drummer Jonghyun.

"[Song – Another you (Another way) - Against the Current]
I'll find another you another way..." Seunghee belts out.

Sitting at a corner is their only audience, her best friend Chong Elkie. She's all smiles watching her, she's her number one fan and she's also her band's sponsor.

After a round of practice, they take a break and Seunghee takes a seat beside Elkie.

"I think I need to find a place," Seunghee tells Elkie.

"What? Why? You just moved in unnie," Elkie curiously asks.

"I can't stand my neighbor."

"What? Just because of that? Make him move out instead," Elkie laughs.

"Aghh... If you only knew! It's only my first month but aghh...They're really loud all the time. It's like his apartment is their hide out or something. And whether he's alone or not, his place is always loud in the mornings anyways," Seunghee complains.

"Are you serious? I'll find a place for you unnie," Elkie offers.

"What do I do without you?" Seunghee's touched, "But yah, I was just joking. I just needed to vent it out." She giggles.

Elkie laughs again, "You're funny unnie."

"I know, but thanks anyways. I know I can always count on you. I'll tell you next time for real if I need to relocate," Seunghee holds her hand.

"Of course unnie," Elkie smiles at her.

Minhyun watches the two girls as he stands there while Dongho and Jonghyun are both busy checking out their instruments.

"Seunghee-ya, we need a new set of songs for next week's gigs. Let's finish the remaining ones before tomorrow ends," Minhyun says, as he polishes his already shining guitar.

"Yes..." Seunghee replies in monotone and she laughs with Elkie as they look at each other.

"Minhyun-oppa, can you try to relax a bit? This isn't an audition or anything," Elkie utters to her cousin.

"Mind your own Elkie and don't bother Seunghee," Minhyun reprimands. "Your restaurant's a handful, you need to concentrate. Why are you even here anyways?"

"Yes..." Elkie replies in monotone too and laughs with Seunghee the same. "I need to critic the band I'm sponsoring so don't you dare kick me out."

Minhyun just snorts at her. She loves Seunghee so much she's always there for her.

"Do we get free dinner every night?" Dongho asks at the side.

"Yeah, and maybe free breakfasts too," Jonghyun adds.

"Nope! I'm paying you enough for your talent fees. Or maybe you'd want to revise the contract and have free meals instead? How about that?" Elkie jokes.

"Ah, did you say anything Jonghyun-ah?" Dongho asks, avoiding the topic.

"What? I haven't said a word," Jonghyun replies comically at him.

Elkie and Seunghee both just laugh at them. Then Minhyun has to intervene again, with his stiff presence.

"Break time's over. Time for set 2," Minhyun says.

Seunghee just sighs and stands. The leader of the band will always have to ruin the mood, expectedly.

"Fighting unnie!" Elkie states.

Seunghee smiles at her and winks, this is what she loves. Performing and singing infront a crowd, even if it's only Elkie right there. And with that, the music begins and practice resumes.

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

Seunghee has arrived home, it's been a long day with all of Minhyun's nagging. He wants to change a previously finished track and she's gonna work overtime on it again tonight. But right now, she's tired and all she wants is a good night sleep. Unluckily, when she takes a step in the surrounding area of her apartment, she can see her neighbor's door open, and from the looks of it, there's no doubt, her neighbor and his friends are gonna pull an all-nighter again. The music's loud enough, she can already hear it from where she is.

She can only heave a sigh. She has always said to herself she'll talk to him about it but whenever she sees him, she just always loses her chance. It's either he's in a hurry to go or he's about to go in or like this, he's with his friends and the actual problem is happening upon her arrival. Of course, she can't just walk in on them and tell them off. She needs a private time with him to sort out the problem, for being polite.

She steps up the stairs and is infront of her door when she hears him talking, seems like he's going out.

"I'll just get something to drink," he says.

And when she comes to, he's already infront of her, on his way out of his room since their doors are adjacent to each other. He sees her, she sees him and it only lasts for a few seconds but he doesn't fail to bow at her with a slight smile and she does to him too. Right after, he speeds off the corridors and runs to the nearest 7/11 store. At that same time, she enters her room in silence.

When she shuts it, she sighs again. And again. And again. Then she directly walks to her room and lays down her bed, staring at the ceiling. Why does she always lose her chance to talk to her neighbor? It's not really because he's too in a hurry or anything else, it's actually because the moment she lays her eyes on him, it leaves her breathless. Yes, she has a crush on him and it's growing even more before she even knows it.

After a while, her neighbor returns with a plastic bag full of canned beer and some snacks. He takes the steps of the stairs and pauses infront of Seunghee's door. He looks at it for a second and then walks inside his apartment where his friends are waiting for him.

"I've only got some beer. There's no soju available," he says as he puts the drinks on the table.

"Jeonghan-hyung, I think your neighbor's home. Maybe we should put the volume down a bit," Soonyoung says.

"Yeah hyung. Please be considerate of your neighbors," Seungkwan adds.

"Don't mind her. She's used to it by this time. She's been here for a month," Jeonghan defends.

"Even still... Or are you actually doing this on purpose?" Soonyoung utters with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "She's pretty, I've seen her a couple of times."

Seungkwan only whistles supporting his other hyung's claim. Jeonghan actually seems a little suspicious for being like this.

Jeonghan vaguely denies it though, "The truth is, I'm only waiting for her to knock on my door and spit it on my face. She looks fun to annoy." He chuckles. "No, just kidding. I don't really care about her. Come on, what did you guys came here for?" he puts up his glass for a toast. "Let's drink to our first ever performance. And don't forget, this is my treat. It only happens today."

Soonyoung and Seungkwan then quickly grabs their glasses and gives a toast. This is a one-time opportunity.

"Yeah!!" they both exclaim. "To S3!!"

They drink the night away in commemoration to their group's first stage. These three boys comprise the newly formed male group S3. It's a performance group, which produces dance and song stages. The three of them perform covers of songs done by known male groups and have their own renditions of the songs. And this apartment is like their headquarters.

For a split second, Jeonghan smiles to himself. It goes unnoticed by his friends. But honestly, he's a little more happy tonight, because he got a glimpse of the beautiful neighbor.

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

She's beautiful, talented and simply amazing with a great personality. She lives in this apartment with the earnings she makes with her band. Oh Seunghee is the pianist and the lead singer of her band, SMDJ. Her band mates? A cool but conservative guitarist, Hwang Minhyun, a badass but sweet bassist, Kang Dongho and a flirt but open-minded drummer, Kim Jonghyun, all boys her age. Her best friend? An ever supportive rich and younger Chinese lady, Chong Elkie. Her boyfriend? None, at the moment. Her neighbor? Does it concern her? Yes. Yoon Jeonghan, the face of the newly formed amateur idol group S3, is the inconsiderate neighbor she's yet to confront with. Despite having a crush on him, she still wishes to talk to him and correct his wrong doings. She plans to do have it done soon. Hoping she gathers enough courage to face him without seeming obvious. This is just another love story and this is her story.

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

TO BE CONTINUED...

Published: 08/04/17