January 12

"What are you talking about?" Krystal asked, confused.

"I've perfectly read Taemin's message! The Jjong he talks about, it's Shinee's Jonghyun, right? I knew that it would be impossible for not even one of your friends to have a crush on you, but I thought that if it was bound to happen, it would have been either Kai or Sehun. I would have never imagined Jonghyun Hyung being the one! -- And why didn't you tell me, Soojung?" Minhyuk asked, in one trait.

"Wait, it's not what you think-" She started saying, but Minhyuk stopped her.

"Oh, come on, Soojung! I've seen the damn message!-- I can't believe Jonghyun Hyung! I mean, we're kind of close, and of course I don't blame him for liking you, because it's hard not to, but he could have at least kept it for himself, out of respect for me!" He exclaimed.

"I repeat, you've got the wrong person!"  Krystal replied.

"Soojung!"

"Oppa!" She shouted.

Jessica came rushing to the room after hearing their voices.

"Is everything fine in there?" She asked from the other side of the door.

She didn't want to intrude, but their voices were getting louder and louder, so she had to come. Krystal took a deep breathe and turned towards the door.

"Yes, Eonnie. Don't worry." She said.

"Alright. Taec will be here soon, so get ready to come out." Jessica added.

"Alright!" Krystal replied. She waited until she heard Jessica leave to turn back to Minhyuk. "Oppa, look what you've done!" She told him.

"You're the one who screamed." He said.

"Who made me do it?-- You really need to stop and listen to me!"

He didn't say anything and just looked at her.

"Jonghyun Oppa doesn't like me, and he has never confessed anything to me! He is like a big brother to me, and you know that!" Krystal said.

"Oh really? Then, who's that Jjong, Taemin was talking about? Which one of your common friends' name starts with Jjong, if not him? Huh?" He asked, confident in the fact that he was right.

Krystal heaved a long sigh and shook her head, before replying.

"It's not SHINee's Jonghyun, it's... EXO's Jongin." She said.

"Soojung, there's no Jongin in EXO." He replied, immediately.

"Yes, there is! It's Kai! Kai's real name is Jongin!" She exclaimed, irritated.

"Oh..."

She passed a hand through her hair to chase the frustration away, then turned to look for her phone again. She went online and typed Kai's name, and his Korean name showed up next to it. She turned the screen to Minhyuk, and waited for him to see.

"I... I didn't know." He said.

"Well, obviously." She said.

She dropped her phone again and sat on the bed.

"But still, you didn't tell me that someone confessed to you. Why?"

"Because I didn't want you to react exactly like you just did. What's going to be next? Forbidding me to be friends with Kai?"

"I would never ask you to do such a thing, Soojung. I'm not a kid!" He sat down next to her. "I'm sorry. I should have listened first." He added.

"Yes, you should have."

"Soojung... It's just that it's something I've always been weary of. I mean, look at you! You're gorgeous, and you have that aura to you that attracts people. And when people get to know you, they fall in, real hard. Look at me... It was impossible for not even one or two of your closest friends to eventually like you, one day." He said.

She looked at him, feeling touched by his words. He was pouring his inner thoughts out, and her heart was smiling to his honesty.

"Look... I really think you should have told me, but I get why you didn't want to. It's fine as long as I know that you're good... I hope I really make you happy, because you make me the happiest, baby." He continued.

"And you make me the happiest too, baby! I've never doubted of that! I just didn't want you to see one of my oldest and closest friends under a bad light." She finally said.

"I won't, don't worry... I love you."

"And I love you." She replied.

Minhyuk leaned in and left a short kiss onto her lips, before resting his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes and stayed like that for a while.

"You smell good." He said.

"It's because I just took a shower." She replied.

Minhyuk shot his eyes open, as realization hit him. He looked at her from head to toe, striking Krystal's curiosity too, and that is when they both broke away from the embrace.

They both just remembered that she was only wearing a bathrobe, making them nervous in a second.

"I-I... should probably go get ready before Taecyeon Oppa gets here!" She said, quickly fleeing away into her bathroom.

Minhyuk's ears were red, and he couldn't stop himself from thinking of her, wearing that short robe. Before he could even think straight, Krystal rushed back out from the bathroom.

"I forgot to grab my clothes... See you!" She said as she grabbed her stuff and rushed back in.

Minhyuk was still stunned, not knowing what to do.

Jessica's POV

As soon as Taecyeon called me I started panicking. He was taking the elevator up to our condo, with his sisters, and I was a nervous wreck.

"Eonnie, calm down! It's going to be fine! Plus, they already love you!" Krystal told me.

She hugged me from the side, as she loves to do. And it kind of reassured me a bit.

"Thank you, baby. I hope they'll like the desserts." I said.

"If they're as good as they smell, then it's a given, Noona." Minhyuk added.

I giggled and patted him on the arm to thank him. The doorbell went off at that moment.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed.

"It's fine, Eonnie! Breathe!" Krystal said.

"Okay... Okay. I'm fine."

Krystal released me, and I made my way to the door. I quickly checked on the video monitor, to make sure that it was them, then I opened the door.

"Hello! Welcome to my house!" I said.

Taecyeon's sisters smiled at me as they walked in. Jiwon, the oldest one of them, gave me a tight hug, followed by Yerin. I let them walk past me first, before turning to my boyfriend.

"Hey, beautiful." He said.

He kissed my cheek, before following his sisters inside. We all went to the living room where Krystal and Minhyuk were waiting.

"Oh! Minhyuk-ah!" Taecyeon exclaimed.

"Yes, Hyung! How are you?" Minhyuk asked.

The two shared a brotherly hug, before Taecyeon proceeded to introduce everyone else.

"Jiwon Noona, Yerin, this is Krystal, Jess' sister. And this is her boyfriend, Minhyuk."

"Nice to meet you!" Jiwon said.

"Nice to meet you finally, Krystal-ssi! My twenty year old sister is a huge fan of yours!" Yerin said.

"Oh, you have three sisters, Oppa?" Krystal asked Taecyeon.

"Ah, not really. Actually I only have one sister, Jiwon Noona. Yerin is our cousin, but we grew up in the same house, so she is like my sister." Taecyeon explained.

"Oh! Did you know that, Eonnie?"

"Of course I did! Ha-ha! Have a seat, girls! I'll bring the desserts out."

They all took a seat on the two huge sofas, and started having small talks. I ran to the kitchen and came back with a plate of cookies first, after a short while. Even though I made them myself I had to admit that they smelled heavenly, and from Taecyeon's smile I could tell that it was not just my wishful thinking.

"Oooh! She knows what Taec Oppa likes. She just won a thousand more points, I can tell!" Yerin joked.

We all burst into fits of laughter, the atmosphere getting less and less tense, thanks to Taecyeon's sisters. I was a lot more relaxed than I thought I would have been.

Minhyuk and Krystal stayed with us for a short half an hour, then he took her out on a date. From what I understood, he wanted to redeem himself for the thing that happened earlier. I would have to ask Krystal about all the details, later on.

After we were done with desserts, Taecyeon, his sisters, and I started speaking of traveling.

"When are you going back to Boston?" I asked Jiwon.

"In a week. I need to get back to my husband and my baby!" She replied with a cheeky smile.

"Look at her! I wish