A/N: Slightly edited poster to reflect changing mood... heh. This was not intended to be a gushy love story, I'll tell ya that right now.

"Ji Eun! Wait!" Sungmin quickly grabbed his coat and dashed out the door after her. She had only been in a short-sleeved waitress uniform with a skirt and could possibly freeze out there. Plus, who knew what kind of people lurked around at midnight? Heechul hyung – who had glanced up at the disturbance fleetingly before going back to kissing Sohee – was a perfect example. He was such a danger to others when he was drunk, seemingly hovering over the line between straight and gay. Heechul was used to the alcohol effects now and was better able to control his actions.

Sungmin looked left and right and saw a retreating figure running to a car that was parked about a block away. He was about to race after her when he sensed a presence and tensed all over. Did he just hear a rustle? His ears were ringing and his vision became a little sharper. The seemingly smooth corners of the buildings sharpened and became more angular as he could start to see clearly through the black abyss of the night. His hands were clammy and frozen from his fingertips down to his knuckles. There were less lights on than usual and he wondered why. Even if the location of the restaurant was slightly more remote, it wasn't ever this dark in the city. There were a few insignificant lights from windows splayed here and there in skyscrapers and the light of the bustling city life was fading. The streetlights were lifeless, ceased to cast their halos of light and instead were looming, shadowy figures of the night. It was deathly silent other than his rapidly beating heart. If he listened very carefully, there was also the near-silent sound of feet falling onto pavement, faint as a pulse. Only, it wasn't Ji Eun's footsteps. No – no offense to her, but she didn't sound as swift as a phantom when she ran.

His instincts screamed at him to get to Ji Eun before whatever it was could. He dashed after her without a thought for his own safety. Luckily, Sungmin was fast and had nearly caught up to her. But, there was something out there and he knew that he wasn't the only one gaining ground. A shadow that was not his own slowly loomed over Ji Eun. He could feel the muscle tissues on the back of his legs tear as he exerted the last of his energy to close the distance between him and Ji Eun. Ignoring the hot, fresh wave of pain, Sungmin grasped the back of her coat and pulled on it with enough force for her to nearly collide backwards into him. A draft as sharp as ice seemed to pass over them, the sensation gone as quickly as it had arrived. He shivered and looked down at the girl in front of him, who had her head down and face hidden by shadows.

"Ji Eun – are you okay?" He tilted her chin up and she finally tore her gaze away from the ground to meet his.

"I'm… fine," she answered rather dejectedly, taking his hand and pulling it away from her face.

Sungmin stared at her for a moment, knowing that she was probably lying, but he would rather talk to her back at the restaurant, where it was at least a smidge safer there than out in the freezing cold without a single friendly soul in sight. "Come on," he said, taking her hand in a non-romantic way and leading her back the way they came. "Let's get you back."

~ ~ ~

"ASJABAPMICKUJZ. Ji Eun! You're back!" As soon as Ji Eun stepped through the doors of the restaurant, she was practically assaulted by a whirlwind that went by the name of Suzy. If there was something she admired about Suzy, it was her ability to fangirl and turn nonsense letters that were supposed to be reserved for the internet into real life incoherent language.

"Suzy… can't… breathe." Ji Eun gasped and Suzy immediately let her go. The sudden rush of cold air in her lungs was both painful and satisfying.

"Ji Eun-nie, are you okay? What happened?" she asked concernedly and Ji Eun was starting to wonder how many times she would be asked that in one night.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," Ji Eun waved off her concern but couldn't help feeling slightly guilty when Suzy still looked worried. She shouldn't have overreacted like that. It just gave others distress.

"Why'd you run off like that?" Suzy pressed inquisitively and Ji Eun just shook her head, denying that something was wrong. The recent shock of the news from the papers had startled her, she insisted, and instantly the two sobered. Ji Eun could have sighed with relief, knowing that she had successfully distracted them.

"How could he... what has he been hiding from us all this time?" Suzy murmured under her breath, and Ji Eun gave her a look of sympathy before squeezing her shoulder supportively.

"Don't worry, Suzy-ssi. Abeoji loves us, especially you. If he's been hiding something, it's because he wants to protect us."

"I guess…" she conceded doubtfully. Ji Eun didn't say this out loud, but she was slightly skeptical herself. Wouldn't it be better to tell the truth instead of hiding it from them? But she wasn't a parent, and therefore could not understand the love a parent has for his child.

"Your father isn't here right now, so we can't ask him what happened," Sungmin said wisely. "I think the best thing we can do is get as much information as possible until he gets back."

Suzy nodded. "You're right." She turned to Ji Eun with a beautiful face that was free of emotion. Ji Eun raised an eyebrow when Suzy put her hand on her shoulder and tilted her head up slightly. "Well Ji Eun-nie," she started dramatically. "It's all up to you to charm Heechul."

If Ji Eun had bangs, her eyebrows would have disappeared underneath them. Instead, all of her hair was tied up into a cute bun on top of her head. "Excuse me?"

Suzy rolled her eyes. "Must I spell it out for you? You like him, he likes younger girls—"

"You're even younger than me," Ji Eun pointed out and couldn't help but notice for the millionth time how much taller the younger girl was.

"Ew," was all she said in response. She grimaced. "'Kay, that's seriously gross. You're barely legal, so what does that make me?"

"Very illegal?" Ji Eun suggested, unable to stop herself from thinking of a macro she saw describing the legality of SHINee and Taemin being described as very illegal.

"Exactly." She pushed her with enough force to make Ji Eun step forward several paces. "If Sungmin tried to get answers, the Princess would immediately become suspicious. So just do it. Not literally though."

Ji Eun pinched the bridge of her nose and walked to their table while doing so. Suzy was so blunt with her opinion that it was usually amusing until one fell victim to it. She sighed, dropping her hand back into place and assuming her waitress position. She plastered a cheery smile on her face when she approached the table for two.

"Hello," she greeted the couple and felt her cheeks cramping from smiling so much. "My name is Ji Eun and I'll be your server this…" she faltered and flitted her eyes up to the clock nearby, then back to them. "Morning." It still bugged her to have to say good morning whenever she had to take Heechul's order. She wished that he could just come in at the hours universally accepted for dining. Perhaps his schedule was so tight that there was barely any room to do so. "Can I get you anything?"

Heechul nodded politely to Sohee to allow her to order first, but she declined graciously, telling the young waitress that she didn't need anything, thank you.

Ji Eun turned marginally to the older man. "And you?" she inclined with a slight tilt of her head. She took a moment to admire how she was able to look at him without losing her thought process or fangirling into the next century. Then again, he was also looking down at a magazine that she recognized as one where his interview with some of the other Super Junior members was featured.

He glanced up just then and his midnight eyes captured her coffee brown ones in his cool, penetrating gaze. So much for keeping her cool. How did he do that? It was as if he could read her deepest emotions as easily as reading a book while, when she looked at him, she could see nothing. Absolutely nothing.

His answer was not alcohol like she had expected, but Ji Eun managed to successfully keep the surprise off her face. She jotted down the request for dumplings, probably for both of them to share and also – she dotted a period at the end of the order – a reference to Sohee's nickname.

"Anything else?" She raised an eyebrow as if challenging him to make his usual request for wine. She wasn't sure why she was being slightly antagonistic toward her crush. It was just her way of dealing with the emotions that threatened to burst her young heart.

He nodded and leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table while managing to make putting away the magazine a show on its own.

"Sure. I'd like some of you."