Woohyun's gut complained. It was annoyingly hard to concentrate on work. What sorcery had Sungkyu performed to get stuck in his brain like that. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he had gone and messed everything up. Sungkyu had finally started to show signs of coming around, relaxing a bit around him, but then he had to make him mad at him again. That was his new speciality. How was he going to tell him that there was nothing going on between him and Eunji? Or was it better to let it slip somehow, let him put two and two together on his own? He had never been so lost for what to do, normally this was his true specialty, getting people to loosen up and do what he wanted, but Sungkyu... why was it so different with Sungkyu? He was just some random barista. He didn't get it. Okay, he was really cute. Especially when he was annoyed and started extreme-pouting. Those lips were like no other, having a million type of pouts at their disposal, each one more manipulative than the next, driving him absolutely crazy.

“Found a date for the Annual Actor's Awards?” the leading actress asked him, erasing the picture of Sungkyu's pout he had been drawing in his brain. She was looking at him with hopeful eyes. Obviously, she was hoping he would ask her.

“Uh yeah, I'm going to bring my girlfriend, of course” he nodded, thankful for his fake-girlfriend. Apparently fake-dating could sometimes come in handy.

“Oh.... right. Of course. I thought you'd broken up by now, it must be some kind of a record for you if the rumors are true..” she looked disappointed.

“Don't believe everything you hear.” he gave her one of his infamous winks and headed for the door to the staircase.

“Eunji-ya.” he shouted excitedly into the phone.

“What's up?” Eunji giggled, surprised.

“Sooo... there's this tiny little gala next week, no biggie... only like... the biggest gala of the year, that's all...” he started, making his voice sound as casual as he could, “I just so happen to have a plus one, but oh no, I can't really show up with some random girl on my arm, you know, since the whole world knows I have a girlfriend, huh... can't have them thinking I'm some two-timer or some ha ha... but ah, I know you wouldn't be interested, right? Some boring old gala, where all the biggest celebrities are going to gather and pat each other on their expensively dressed backs... boring, right?”.

“OH. MY. GGGGGOD!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!! Really??? I can really come????” she screamed in a high-pitched tone, audible only to the neighborhood dogs.

“I mean.. if you don't have anything else going on...” he .

“I'M FREE, I'm soooo free, never has anyone been so free in the history of mankind, like it's embarrassing, that's how free I am!!” she giggled so hard she started coughing.

“Don't suffocate on all the excitement, else you won't be able to make it next week” he chuckled.

“Omg, even if I die, I'm going! I will haunt the crap out of that place! Ah, but what should I wear?!?!?” she started to panic.

“Uhm, don't ghosts normally wear some kind of white sheet, just make sure it's Egyptian cotton with a high thread count and you're golden.” he joked.

“Oppa!! I'm serious, I have nothing to wear.” her voice trembled.

“No worries. Let's go shopping this weekend.” he didn't even get to finish the sentence before being rendered deaf by what could only be described as a piercing death screech, only it was him doing the dying.

“Can I really choose anything?” she bounced up and down by his side, her eyes darting from one corner of the store to the other.

He nodded.

“Like, even the most expensive one they have?” she grinned greedily, but the very next second her cheeks flushed with shyness.

“Only the best for my princess.” he winked at her. A wave of giggles washed over her, threatening to drown her completely. It took a moment, but she managed to survive. She swiftly untangled her arm which had been locked around his, running like Speedy González from one dress to the next, consuming the entire store with her eyes before locking in on a very elegant looking one near the back.

“How do I look?” she asked as she twirled in front of him.

“Like a princess!” he beamed. He wasn't lying. The dress looked as if it had been made especially for her. If he had to have a girlfriend, Eunji wasn't such a bad choice, he found himself thinking. He almost envied her and Sungkyu's friendship. He had never really had the need for a friend, he had Dongwoo, and for what Dongwoo couldn't give him, he had his line of suitors. It had really been the perfect life, or so he had thought. But after spending so much time with them at their apartment, just hanging out, he was beginning to see the allure. It was surprisingly nice.

Before she could return to the changing booth, she got a phone call.

“Oh heey, wha... No! We talked about this. I'm going. I want to go.” she said stubbornly, her knuckles turning white as she tightened her grip on the phone.

“It's my life, I can do what I want! Stop worrying! If all you do is worry, nothing interesting will ever happen to you!” she paused, impatiently listening to whomever was at the other end of the line.

“Don't ruin this for me! I don't care. I'm going and that's final. I'm hanging up, see you at home.” she shut the phone off, slightly annoyed.

“Sungkyu?” he asked, trying to hide his curiosity, but not doing a very good job of it. By the sound of it, he didn't like that she was going with him to the gala. Ah, was he jealous? He silently giggled at the thought. A jealous pout, that had to be a cute one, he imagined, trying to dare his brain to come up with a picture.

“Oh, don't worry about it.” she waved her hand as if it was nothing. “I'll take this one.” she said beaming to the shop assistant, her feet barely touching the ground from excitement.

Woohyun got into the elevator, adjusting his bow tie. He checked himself out in the side-mirror, a satisfied smile showing up on his lips as he saw how sharp he looked. The limousine was waiting downstairs, all that was left was to go pick up Eunji and the night would be theirs. There wasn't a chance in hell there would a better looking couple than them at the event. They were going to rule the society columns and magazines. The world was theirs for the taking.

Suddenly the elevator came to an abrupt stop, so abrupt that he instinctively reached for the hand railing. The door didn't open. His heart did a double take, something moved beside him. He wasn't alone. He had been too preoccupied to notice a hooded guy in dark clothes lurking behind him. Had he come to kill him? Abduct him? He was genuinely scared, pearls of cold sweat forming on his else flawless forehead. Why tonight of all nights? He expected, no, he knew he was getting the best leading actor award for sure. Couldn't the kidnapper have some decency and wait till tomorrow? He always thought it so tacky not to show up for the receipt of an award, acting like you didn't care, fooling absolutely no one while hurting your fans who actively lobbied for you to get the award in the first place. Pathetic. Better to stand proudly on stage and own it. What would people think when he didn't show up on stage when his name was called? How would his fans react?

Not prepared to go down in history as a coward, he turned to face his attacker. The dark figure took a step towards him, making him take a step back, squishing himself up against the side of the elevator. Wait a minute. He knew that gait, that stance, that rhythm of breathing.

“Sungkyu?” he asked surprised, sighing in relief when Sungkyu lowered his hood.

Still silent, he took another step towards him. He was so close he could feel his breath on his chin. He looked as if he was trying to kill him with his eyes alone. Woohyun held his breath, feeling the railing cut into his back as he pressed himself harder against it as Sungkyu drew closer still. He was working hard to stay lucid, the insane attraction between them pulling him into a hazy fog of desires.

“Call it off.” Sungkyu growled.

“Call what off?” he asked, completely clueless.

“You know what. The very public date you are going on with Eunji!” Sungkyu explained, annoyed that he had to actually spell it out for him. Had he been right? Was Sungkyu really jealous? A wave of tickles attacked his gut.

“Why?” he pushed, wanting him to say it out loud. That he didn't want him to go, because he wanted to go with him instead.

“Why?! Are you seriously asking me this?” Sungkyu raised his voice, towering over him menacingly. It was little less menacing when you knew that he was standing on his toes to appear taller. He reminded him of a barking Chihuahua, thinking it was a big, scary guard dog while looking cute as a button.

“Are you really this heartless? Do you know what effect this will have on Eunji's life? You are pretty much announcing to the world that this is the girl you are going to marry. All eyes will be on you, there's no going back from this. Up till now your relationship has been the creation of the tabloids, but if you walk in with her down the red carpet tonight, you are making it real. Eunji will never have a quiet moment again. She will maybe even have to quit the bank. The bank she worked so hard to join, acing her exams so she could get this promotion. Do you know how hard she worked? You weren't there through all the sleepless nights and meltdowns, were you?” Sungkyu paused for half a second, out of breath from anger. Woohyun was a little bit too aware that Sungkyu's knee was touching the side of his leg, his face not more than a few inches from his.

“And for what? A celebrity boyfriend that doesn't love her and has no intention of marrying her. You will be ruining her life. She will forever be known as the poor pitiful girl who was cast away by the mighty Woohyun. Is that really fair? For one night of fun?” the death stare had changed into two pleading eyes that were penetrating the protective wall around his heart.

“I.. uh.. I.. she's so excited to go, I thought.. “ he stammered, unable to give a coherent response. He felt a tiny pang of jealousy that Sungkyu loved her enough to ambush him like this, trying to save her from what he clearly thought was a horrible fate. Did he really think dating him was that awful? So if it wasn't good enough for Eunji, he would never want it for himself either? Woohyun's heart sank, taking his spirit with it.

“Of course she's excited to go!! Who wouldn't be?! It's the fairytale all girls dream of, a handsome prince coming to rescue them from the mundaneness of daily life, showering them in diamonds and glitter. She's incapable of saving herself, we have to do it. You have to do it. Please.” Sungkyu pleaded, that last 'please' was softer than cotton, shooting down what was left of his defensive wall. Handsome prince. So Sungkyu thought he was handsome. A spark of hope was again lit deep inside his chest.

“And...” Sungkyu's voice turned hoarse.

“And?” he repeated when Sungkyu didn't continue, his entire body frozen in anticipation.

“...haven't you considered at all what effect this could have on your next relationship? Everyone loves you and Eunji together. Your break up is going to break the nation's heart. And who are they going to blame? Your next sweetheart, that's who. Because apparently you can do no wrong, go figure.” Sungkyu looked away, staring at a random spot on the floor. Was he saying what he thought he was saying? He felt faint, suddenly. Like no matter how much he breathed, he couldn't get enough oxygen.

“Who says we're going to break up?” he tried to be cheeky, but his voice trembled too much to convince anyone. Sungkyu just sent him an 'Oh, please' look, not dignifying that with an answer.

“So ehm.. you eh.. “ his heart was beating so fast it was hard to come up with a coherent sentence, his thoughts scattered, dramatically conflicted.

“Do you eh... think there's going to be... a 'next sweetheart'?” he dared. He was obviously asking if Sungkyu was going to be that sweetheart. He held his breath, having no idea what kind of a response to expect. For a brief moment that felt like eternity, they just looked into each other's eyes, both searching for something that was too well hidden to find.

“Oh, come on! Have you met yourself! Of course there's going to be a next one. And a next, and a next.” Sungkyu said in a fake-bright, teasing voice, taking a step back. Woohyun sighed. Had he read him wrong?

“Just... please, think about what I said... please?” Sungkyu begged as he released the elevator from it's suspended animation, returning them to reality.

Woohyun waited for the limousine door to open, expecting the blinding lights that greeted him. He put on a fake smile and waved to each and every camera as he walked down the crowded red carpet. Alone. He still had a bitter taste in his mouth after feeding poor Eunji some bull lie to explain why she couldn't come. He could literally hear her heart break through the phone. He had broken a million girl-hearts through the years, but this one broke a tiny part of his as well.