I sat down in the middle of the practice room. Dance class with Cha Hakyeon had long since been done but I couldn't go back to my apartment. I actually didn't really know what to do with all this information I had been given. It felt like I had peeked into someone's private life that I shouldn't have. I sat there pondering, recollecting all the times I've felt something was odd about the way Taekwoon and Hakyeon looked at each other and that one time where Hongbin and I had left them alone in the practice room to grocery shop.

            "I'm such an idiot." I groaned. Not only did I have a crush on someone who was taken. I was also most definitely NOT his type.

            I heard Hongbin's laughter and his teasing, "At least you weren't IN LOVE with him. A crush can pass without hurting you."

            He was right. What touched me the most was that Hongbin had been watching out for me and the other two the whole time. Even though he acted like he didn't want to get involved, like he didn't care, he did. 

            "What do I do?" I sighed and buried my head onto my knees.

            What does one do in this situation? I was in the middle of a romantic stalemate that I had no idea about until I was in too deep to escape. Taekwoon and Hakyeon were both my friends now, and respected sunbaenims. I couldn't avoid them or act distant. That would hurt everyone. But how do I stop being used as a pawn to elicit jealousy? Should I play my role as the middle person and get them to confess their love to each other after all?

            "Still here?" I heard a familiar, comforting voice echo.

            "Yeah."

            "Sorry I dumped so much on you." Hongbin knelt down and patted my back.

            "No, it was for my own good anyway." I smiled at him.

            He grinned and stood up. "Well, let me take you home. It's dark out now and I don't want to have an even worse guilty conscience."

            I chuckled as I pushed myself off the floor. "I guess I can't let you have that."

            "Let's go?" he gestured with his head.

            "Sounds good."

            "It's chilly. Do you have a sweater?"

            "Um... I might've left it in Taekwoon's practice room."

            Hongbin sighed and threw me his sweater. "I don't want to be seen with you."

            I chuckled, knowing already he was bad at being straightforward when he does nice things.

            "Don't worry. You're not worth ruining my debut for." I teased.

            "Ah! I'm hurt." he feigned disappointment sarcastically as we headed out of the company.

            We walked side-by-side in silence, listening to the murmurs of the people and cars on the streets. Both of us were deep in our thoughts.

            "What do you think we should do?" I broke the silence.

            "I wish I knew." he shrugged. "For you, just make sure you're never alone with either one of the two. Unless you want your arms ripped like a rag toy again."

            I shivered recalling the scene. "No thanks. It was nice when I thought they were fighting over me, but now it's really like they were arguing over a toy."

            Hongbin laughed, "Don't be so down on yourself. I'm sure if they were straight, they'd have gone for you."

            I rolled my eyes. "That is not helping cause one, they're not straight and two, that's impossible to know their types if they were since they're not."

            "Well, I tried to give you a compliment but I guess it didn't work out." he chuckled and put his hands in his pockets.

            I blushed, realizing it was some sort of compliment indicating that I would be attractive to straight people. I cleared my throat.

            "Any other members that um...don't swing my way?" I questioned hesitantly.

            "Like...?" he raised an eyebrow.

            "Like you know, Wonshik Oppa...?" I looked around, not wanting to meet his incredulous stare.

            "Moving on quick, hm?"

            "I just don't want to fall for another person I can't really like!" I protested. "Plus it's a trainee-must to have a crush on a handsome sunbaenim."

            "Well I didn't." Hongbin shrugged. "So it's not a trainee-must."

            "Seriously?" I crossed my arms and it was my turn to give him an incredulous look.

            "What?" he questioned.

            "It's no secret you TOTALLY had a man-crush on Park Hyoshin-sunbaenim as a trainee." I blurted out. "Your Twitter picture is STILL you two!"

            Hongbin blushed, "It's not a man-crush! He's a respected idol to me!"

            "Total man-crush." I teased.

            He grumbled.

            "So are you going to answer my question or not?" I urged.

            He laughed. "Everyone else is fair game for you I guess."

            "Yes! I'm coming for you Wonshik Oppa!" I joked, earning a glare from him. "Jeez, I'm joking. I'm just lightening the mood in lieu of my mending heart from Taekwoon Oppa. Besides, I still have to figure out how to get us out of this mess."

            "You shouldn't even think about dating while you're a trainee. It'll distract you." Hongbin stated.

            "Or motivate me? Depending on who I date that is." I glanced up at him and he averted his eyes.

            "I guess." he shrugged.

            "Where'd you go after you dumped Neo's whole history on me?" I asked, snuggling up into his sweater some more. It was pretty chilly.

            "I had to go sign up for a new drama."

            "Seriously? Congratulations!" I cheered brightly and clapped. I was genuinely happy for him.

            "Why're you so excited?" Hongbin laughed. "It's not like I'm pulling you to cameo in it."

            I rolled my eyes. "I'm HAPPY cause you seem to always be watching over the others, so it's high time you got back into doing something for you."

            He looked down at me curiously and I looked up at him questioningly.

            "What?"

            "Nothing." he chuckled. "Just didn't expect to hear that from you."

            "I'm a nice person, you know." I shook my head.

            He laughed and ruffled my hair. "I wouldn't know. All I hear is smart comments from you."

            "Coming from the sass master himself?" I scoffed and swatted his hand away.

            We chuckled all the way down to my apartment building. Luckily, my body knew the way since I wasn't really consciously keeping track. Soon enough, we were standing in front of my apartment door.

            "You want some tea? I used your jacket so you should warm up a bit before heading back." I offered.

            Honestly, after everything that happened today, I didn't really want to be alone and since we were on the same boat, Hongbin was the most comfortable to be around now.

            "Sure, I'd like that." he smiled and we headed in.

            "Hopefully you won't get in trouble for doing this." I stated, scanning the rooms for any clothing left astray.

            "Nah, I had a mask and hat on so I think we'll be fine." Hongbin sat down on her couch comfortably.

            "Hope so." I commented as I got the tea ready for him.

            Hongbin looked around awkwardly as he tapped his feet on the ground. I wasn't sure what else to say either. I knew neither of us wanted to talk about our predicament, but that was really all we conversed about apart from in-the-moment banter.

            "So what kind of things does Hakyeon say about me at the dorms? Everyone must be annoyed of me." I chuckled as I set down his tea on top of the coaster he laid out.

            "All good things." Hongbin laughed. "That's why the others wanted to check you out. Sometimes he can seem like all hot air, especially when no one can deny or prove its truth."

            "What do they think of me now?" I wondered.

            Hongbin smiled. "They all like you. And now when Hakyeon gloats about you, they join in about how they met you, what you wore, what you talked about, things like that to throw him off."

            I blushed contently. "Well that's a relief. I'd think they would want nothing to do with me if that was all they heard."

            "Nah." Hongbin waved his hand. "Hakyeon's generally a good judge of character and especially dancing skill, so we all knew you were something special."

            I smiled behind my tea cup.

            "Are you going to try out to be a back up dancer for our concert?" Hongbin inquired.

            "Trainees can do that?" I looked at him, surprised.

            "Yeah. I guess you probably weren't there when Hakyeon made the announcement. All the trainees are welcome to try out and it'll count towards your final end of the year evaluation." he grinned. "I figured you'd want to do it."

            "Oh my goodness! Yes! To be on an actual big stage? Why wouldn't I wanna do it??" I beamed. "What do I do? How do I sign up? Where?"

            "Okay, hold on. Let me text Hakyeon that you want to do it and to give me details."

            I sighed and retreated into the chair.

            "Don't think too much and just treat him the same." Hongbin sounded amused at my reaction.

            "Easy for you to say." I grumbled. "You haven't been being used as a love bait."

            "You're his friend first and foremost. That I know for sure. Don't worry." He stated confidently, which made me feel better. At least it wasn't all a lie.

            Suddenly Hongbin's phone rang and they both leaned in to find a picture of Cha Hakyeon on the screen. Hurriedly he swiped to reject the call and they both cheered excitedly.

            "WOOOO!"

            He called again and was rejected once more.

            "YAYYY!" they bellowed.

            Another call. I swiped to deny the call this time and we yelled enthusiastically once more. Then an angry text in all caps came in.

            "LEE HONGBIN I SWEAR, PICK UP THE PHONE OR YOU ARE SO DEAD WHEN YOU GET HOME!"

            Hongbin texted back, "Sorry, that's rude. I'm with a friend right now, just send me details."

            I snorted at his undeniable and witty argument. The hours flew by as we talked about everything and nothing. I can't even remember specific details of our conversation, but it flowed so well that we found ourselves losing track of time.

            "Oh my goodness! It's 1 A.M.! You need to get home!" I finally glanced at my oven and gasped at the time.

            "Is it?!" Hongbin's eyes widened. "How did hours fly by that quickly??"

            I laughed and handed him his sweater. "Will you be okay on your way back? It's kind of a long walk."

            "I sure hope so." Hongbin chuckled.

            I walked him to the door and we said our goodbyes. I actually felt sad parting with him, but I shook the feeling away. I'd see him again anyway. No need to be dramatic. I went to go clean up the living room when I heard a knock on my door.

            "Did he leave something?" I mumbled.

            I swung the door open and he jumped inside hurriedly.

            "What happened?" I shut the door on instinct.

            "There are people hiding in bushes outside. I think it might be Dispatch." he glanced at me with wide eyes.

            I returned his shock. I felt both sorry and nervous at the same time. I felt sympathetic because he couldn't even stay over a friend's house without people following him and nervous about what it could mean for both of us.

            "There's a back exit you can take. Why don't you sleep over and contact your manager super early to come get you?"

            "And then explain why I'm here?" he questioned.

            "Well just tell him the truth? I was practicing late and you walked me home. I invited you in to warm up and then you noticed reporters and couldn't leave?" I raised an eyebrow. "Is that difficult?"

            He sighed, "I know that's the truth but I shouldn't have stepped into a girl's apartment in the first place."

            I exhaled, understanding the situation. "Don't worry too much. I'll be okay."

            "But your debut..." he frowned.

            "Aish." I flicked his forehead. "Nothing's been released yet so don't fret over it. Chances are they don't even know who we are. All the trainees live in this apartment complex so it'll be difficult to pinpoint who's who."

            He nodded.

            "I'll get you pillows and blankets. Just rest on the couch for now." I moved about my house to gather things for him.

            "I don't know if any of my clothes will fit you honestly..." I looked at him apologetically.

            "No worries. I didn't expect it, shrimp."

            I glared at him for the comment.

            "I'll be out of here by 5am, so thanks in advance." he set his alarm and curled up on the couch.

            "Mhm." I nodded as I watched him close his eyes comfortably.

            They all had it tough. Was dating really all that bad for an idol?

            I shuffled to my room and jumped into bed, my head full of thoughts. I set my alarm at 5am too, to make sure he got out in time. I wondered if he was sleeping or too deep into his thoughts like me. I thought of all the possible excuses we could make to Dispatch if rumors got out, making a mental note just in case the time came. As I made my list, my eyes became heavy and I drifted off to sleep.

            In no time, my alarm was beeping and I groaned. At first, I had no idea why I was being woken up so early then I remembered the events of last night. I shot out of bed and rushed to the living room. Part of me wished I could catch him before he left, the other wished he had already made a clean escape.

            His pillows and blankets were neatly folded on my couch and a note in his messy handwriting was left for me.

            "Thanks again and sorry for getting you involved in everything. We need to stay clear of each other for a few days just in case. But I'll keep an eye on you. - Hongbin"

            I chuckled at the note and looked out my balcony just in time to see a black van pulling away hurriedly. I smiled and touched the glass door.

            "See you around." I whispered, knowing that I'd have to be vigilant to catch a glimpse of him in the company from now on. 

Author's Note:  Yayy ~ finally  _____ and Hongbin are getting closer  -- ooo la la ! And poor people, it's always one problem after another. Smh.

Also, I saw VIXX in Toronto this past weekend (did anyone else here?) and just writing about them gives me butterflies. They're so handsome, it's not even fair. And the way they all look right at you, trying to remember your face. Dead. I had photo-op so I'm going to print that picture and it'll be passed down from generation to generation as a family heirloom hahahaha XD