/eight/

"Why didn't you warn me that the rich heiress you were talking about was Nam Yumi?" Yifan asked with anger and annoyance at his new manager. 

His words also came out in something of a hiss and a whisper, considering he lived right across the hall and he knew that sometimes people could hear them through the walls. He didn't want Yumi to know he was giving her any importance by talking about her, since she seemed to have it in her head that the two of them were in a relationship. He could easily and accurately use the word sasaeng when referring to her. Had he known that it was her moving in though, he could have avoided himself the trouble of seeing her and having to talk to her. He also spoke with so much familiarity about her that the manager raised an eyebrow at him in question.

"So you two know each other?" The manager wondered, his mind already racing with possibilities. Nam Yumi--a rich Korean heiress, would make Yifan a big star, just by mere association to her.

Yifan gave a knowing nod of his head, replying almost without thought. "I know that she's fucking insane. Okay, I didn't tell anyone about this because I didn't want to start drama, but that day I left Korea she was dead set on forcing me to stay. She even took me to her mansion in Seoul and tried to bribe me with money, favors, and sex. When that didn't work, she tried to kidnap me. I just want that girl as far away from me as fucking possible." Hearing himself, Yifan thought he was the one who sounded insane. Everything he was saying was a little too far fetched to be even remotely real. She was small, merely about five foot four, and slender as a stick. It was hard to imagine that someone like her could physically prevent him from leaving.

That was exactly how his manager felt when he heard the story. He scoffed at the former Kpop idol, rolling his eyes at him. "Oh, come on, Kris. You have to be kidding."

"I'm not joking." Yifan insisted, eyes widened in exasperation. 

But his manager wouldn't have any of it, seeing it as just excuses. "I don't know what you have against that girl. But she's your ticket to instant success here in China and even the rest of Asia. She has money and influence. Befriend her and you'll be on easy street--"

Just as he was speaking, he had been interrupted when the doorbell rang. The two of them looked at each other for a brief instant. Yifan wasn't expecting anyone else that day, and his manager didn't have anything planned for him either. There was about a minute that passed before Yifan went to the front door and opened it, to see who was at the door. But there was no one. Instead there was something there. Before him was a magnificent gift basket with a balloon attached. Inside it were all kinds of gifts such as a bottle of wine, two glasses, expensive snacks, and even a brand new cellphone, courtesy of her family's company. You're invited! The balloon read in colorful shades of red, yellow and blue. Inside the basket was an envelope with the name Kris written out in Korean characters. 

Yifan instantly confirmed that it was for him and he knew exactly who it was from too.

He and his manager both looked at each other before Yifan grabbed the basket and entered the apartment with it. He set the arrangement on the coffee table and grabbed the card to read what it was about. But he knew it was from none other than Nam Yumi. Who else would have the audacity to make him a gift as extravagant as that one? As he unfolded the note inside, he found a handwritten invitation in her neat writing. The letter, he realized, was in Korean as well, seeing as though she did not speak Mandarin.

You are invited to Nam Yumi's housewarming party! See you tonight at 7pm for drinks, food, and music. Thank you! <3

Yifan was quick to crumble the note into a ball and tossed it onto the ground coldly. "Nope."

His manager went to pick it up and scanned the contents of the invitation with curiosity. He looked up at Yifan, and was more than quick to start insisting. "I think you should go. There will be other people there and maybe you can make some important connections."

As much as he claimed he would not go, he found himself knocking on her door at 7pm. But it was unlocked for the party and he went right in. By that time, he could already hear music playing even from his apartment, just a bit too loud for comfort. But he knew the neighbors wouldn't complain about it. Nam Yumi had a fortune so vast that she could buy out the entire building if she wanted to, merely to make herself and Yifan the only two people living there. Plus, she had sent the entire building the same gift baskets with expensive presents, inviting them to her party. Everyone wanted to meet her and please the young heiress at that point. They wanted her good favor because it was like being a part of the platinum circle. Yifan, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with her. Probably the only person in the building who felt that way.

Yifan had finally decided to show up to the party, mostly convinced by his manager who would not stop insisting. He consoled himself by thinking there would be other people there and he didn't have to talk to her. Or so he thought.

The moment Yumi saw him enter the apartment, she clung to him like glue. 

It was inevitable.

And she continued introducing him to everyone as her boyfriend, which he would often shake his head and assure them they were only neighbors. 

-

Everywhere Yifan went after Yumi moved in across from his apartment, he felt like he was being watched and followed--he felt the constant eyes on him even though he had no proof that it was her. He'd turn quickly, trying to catch the young heiress probably watching him from a distance, but there was always no one in particular there. No one he recognized. He always shook the thought away, as a figment of his imagination. Maybe he was being a bit paranoid since she moved into the same building. But the suspicion always returned that she was watching him.

Wu Yifan didn't realize that suspicion was actually real.

Since arriving in China, Nam Yumi hardly went anywhere.

She didn't know anyone in China and was just there for Yifan. Her parents were in contact with her every once in a while, and begged her to come back to their home in Korea. But she had her heart set on staying in China until she could win over her favorite EXO member, or former EXO member. She also could not accept the fact that EXO was no longer a twelve member group and had vowed to herself that she would, to the best of her ability, try to reunite the group. 

When she did happen to go out on what felt like a rarity to her, she was following Wu Yifan around the city everywhere he went. She was small and petite, which helped her blend into the crowds as she followed him from a distance, always keeping a close watch on him.

She went everywhere he went without faltering. If he stopped at a restaurant to have lunch before running errands or meeting with his manager, she was there. He was there when he went to meetings, waiting casually in the lobby of the building when the receptionists didn't let her continue any further into the building. But it was easiest to follow him when he went out to either restaurants, cafes, bars, or night clubs, since there were hardly any restrictions and she was able to bribe anyone she wanted with money.

When she went to the same restaurants as him, she always made sure to sit at a table where she could see his back, not directly facing him so that he wouldn't see her. 

Each time she'd wave the waiter over when her beloved was done having his meal and would leave the restaurant. "Can I have the chop sticks and the napkins that young man over there used?" She'd ask in English since she didn't speak Mandarin. Her words came out as completely casual, as though there were nothing wrong with what she was saying. As though it wasn't something completely strange.

They'd all look at her weird, and a few would question what her motives were. The heiress always replied innocently. "He's my husband and I just want to make sure he's going about his day okay."

Some waiters refused, not sold on the lie that he was her husband. While some were willing to cooperate when she offered them a small reward for her help. Nam Yumi would then leave the restaurant with a pair of used chopsticks and a few used napkins. Then she went home and labeled each individual bag, saving it in a scrap book titled memories with my husband. On the cover was the picture of her and Yifan, from when he went to her birthday party a few weeks back.

While in China, she tried to make some fun for herself when she wasn't following Yifan around. She asked her father to buy her a night club, which she would tend to at night, and a cafe, which she could tend to in the mornings. The night club was called The End of the Night, and the cafe was called Cafe Universe. They were her attempts at getting Yifan's attention since it was a place where he could get coffee in the morning, and he could go have fun with her at night. 

Both locations were relatively close to her apartment, within a walking distance even.

On the cafe's opening day, Yumi herself was there.

She put on an apron and made herself look pretty and waited for him to arrive. She had made sure to get invitations to the opening day put into the mailboxes of every apartment. 

Just as she hoped the former EXO member showed up to check out the new cafe down the block from his apartment. Yumi had been in her office in the back, with the store's main manager. She would have her employees do all the work and then emerge from her office when the former kpop idol arrived.

She practically shoved the female cashier aside when Yifan walked up to the counter. "Excuse me. I'll take his order." She said to her employee, and the girl only nodded, quickly standing aside. Nam Yumi was the owner of the cafe after all.

Yifan couldn't help but roll his eyes at her in annoyance. "Don't tell me you own this place." He heaved a sigh.

As much as he tried, he just couldn't get away from her.

She was everywhere he looked.

She smiled a bright smile at her favorite (former) EXO member. "How can I help you today?" She asked him. The heiress had never worked a day in her life, but she had asked her store manager to teach her how to take an order, how to brew coffee and prepare special drinks, and how to present orders. Just so she could take Wu Yifan's order. 

He was frustrated and annoyed. That much was for certain. But he didn't want to show her that she had that effect on him, or that he was going to turn around and run away just because she was there and he didn't want to see her. Instead, he just made his order as though she were another cashier and got out his wallet to pay.

When he tried to hand her his credit card, she shook her head, "Its on the house, my sweet husband."

"I'm not your husband." He corrected her, pursing his lips into a tight line.

But she wouldn't take any pay for his order and handed him a receipt with the word promo at the top. She then personally prepared his drink, quite sloppily, Yifan noticed. And she was the one to present the order to him. 

Wu Yifan felt like this was just the beginning. Like his group mate Baekhyun, he had his very own sasaeng. Only this one was much crazier than Narda Gutierrez. Nam Yumi made Narda appear harmless and inoffensive. 

-

a semi filler chapter for this story. i know it has been a bit since i updated. but i have been a bit busy lately. i'm also going to try to update some of the other stories in this universe, so that i can get this series moving more quickly.

did you all happen to catch that i named yumi's cafe after exo's winter comeback album? their theme was cafe universe. so i named yumi's cafe like that.

thank you all loads for reading. have a wonderful night!

-clary