‘What if he forgets again? He won’t, right?’ I run the brush through my hair again, taking a deep breath to calm myself.

    With a sigh, I put the brush down on the bed. I’ve already been dressed for hours, waiting until DBSK’s activities end and Yoochun comes. I’ve cleaned my apartment as well, even though I have no idea why I’m nervous. It’s not a date, unless you called it a make-up date, so I shouldn’t be. At all.

“Short-stuff! You up?” Yoochun’s voice suddenly calls from outside.

My face instantly breaks into a huge smile, one that I try to stifle as I run to the door. I fix a wry look on my face as I open it.  “I’m not you, oppa. It’s almost two in the afternoon, of course I’m up.”

Yoochun laughs and leans against the doorframe. “I’ve slept later than this. So you ready?”

Reaching behind the door for my purse, I sling it over my head before stepping out and closing the door. “Kaja.”

“So what’re we doing?” he asks, carefully putting an arm around my shoulder.

“I thought you were going to plan something,” I reply, deciding to allow him the skinship since I missed it too.

“I thought you were. Guess we’ll have to be spontaneous. It’ll be hard, but I think we can do it, don’t you?”

“Very hard,” I sigh. “Cause we’re not creative or fun at all.”

“At all.”

“Especially not when we’re together.”
 

“I’ve missed this.”

“Hmm?” I glance over at Yoochun, distracted from my ice cream. “What’d you say?”

“I’ve missed just hanging out with you,” he says, tilting his sunglasses down and leaning back against the grassy hill. “We haven’t done it that much, here or in Japan, have we?”

I shake my head, glancing away and thinking, ‘Not since you started dating Jaehwa.’

“And then I was stupid and screwed up the one time we had. Mianhae.”

“Oppa, if you don’t stop apologizing, I’m going to leave right now.”

Yoochun instantly pops up, wrapping his arms around my waist. “______-ah!”

“Shhh. Do you want to draw attention yourself?” I scoldingly giggle, trying to make sure none of the other park occupants are looking and save my cup. “If I drop my ice cream, you’re buying me a new one.”

“I bought you this one in the first place.” He lets me go and sits up. “And speaking of buying you that, I’ve got something else for you. Hand me the cup.”

Suspicious, I narrow my eyes and hold it away from him. “My ice cream.”

Rolling his eyes, Yoochun keeps his hand out. “C’mon, _____. Just for a few minutes.”

Reluctantly, I pass the cup to him.

“Good girl,” he laughs, ruffling my hair with his free hand. “Now close your eyes.”

“You’ll eat my ice cream if I do.”

“I really don’t remember you being this difficult.”

I stick out my tongue before I close my eyes.

Yoochun’s low chuckle sounds near my ear. “Hold out your hands.”

Obediently, I cup both hands in front of me.

“This was for your birthday,” Yoochun says, placing something light and soft in them.

“Can I open my eyes now?”

“Yes.”

I eagerly loosen the strings of the small pouch and upend it, allowing a silver chain and pendant to slither into my palm.

“Oh, Yoochun,” I breathe, bringing my hand closer to my face to better admire the tiny angel that’s no bigger than my fingernail. “She’s gorgeous.”

“Nothing less for my angel,” he smiles, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. “And this is my ‘I’m really sorry’ up present.”

I look up in surprise, carefully laying the angel on my thigh. “I’m getting something else?”

“Like I said, it’s part of me making up for being a jerk.”

    Yoochun reaches into his pocket and pulls out his hand, keeping whatever it is hidden in his fist. Holding his hand in front of me, he lets another chain cascade down as he opens his hand a little. It bounces as something heavier slides down and bounces as it reaches the bottom.

Glancing between him and it in confusion, I ask, “How did you get this?”

“I took it when I came to your apartment to apologize. I got the idea while I was waiting for you and took it to a jeweler’s the next week. Does it look all right?”

    Slowly, I reach out to hold the pendant in my palm. Yoochun lowers his hand and lets the chain slip from it completely. The silver glints cheerily in the sunlight as it wraps, twists, and crisscrosses around the heart stone. As I look at it, I remember how I’d frantically torn apart every room in my apartment when I couldn’t find it. This whole time, he’d had it and he’d been making it more beautiful, more special.

“So it looks all right?”

“What?” I tear my eyes away from the stone.

“It looks all right?” Yoochun repeats, looking worried at my lack of a reaction.

“More than all right,” I reply with an accompanying nod. Impulsively, I lean over to lightly brush my lips against his cheek. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He looks away with slightly abashed smile before meeting my eyes again.

I answer back with my own smile and say, “You know though, oppa, if you keep buying me necklaces I’m going to have to buy a jewelry box just for them.”

“You mean you won’t wear them all at once?”

“I’d be walking around with my neck bent over from so much weight if I did that,” I laugh, giving him a small shove.

“Arasso, arasso,” Yoochun chuckles. “Since you won’t follow that brilliant plan of mine, which one do you want me to help you put on?”

I don’t have to think twice. “The stone.”

    Taking it from my hand, he moves so he’s partially behind me and lifts the necklace over my head. The cool metal and stone rest against my collarbone and I lift it up to look at it again as he fiddles with the clasp. Leaning around my shoulder, Yoochun runs his fingers under the chain to make sure it’s smooth, in the process tracing a feather light circle around my neck.

“Yeppeo,” he smiles.

His lips are so close to mine yet I can do nothing. It’s torture, but the sweetest kind. I whisper, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” he answers just as quietly.

I notice his gaze flick to my lips as well, but the moment passes quicker than a hummingbird’s heartbeat.

“So what’re we going to do now?” I ask, trying to sound normal.

“Well, it feels so good out here, why don’t we stay here a little longer?”

“Ok. I have to finish my ice cream anyway.”

“Here.” Yoochun yawns as he hands it back to me. “I may take a nap while you do that.”

“Yah.” I poke his leg when he lies all the way down and readjusts his hat so it covers his face. “You’re suppose to be spending time with me, not sleeping.”

“I am spending time with you; I’m still here.”

“Pfft.” I turn to eat more of my treat when I notice a big bite’s been taken out of it. “YAH! You ate some of it!”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about. It was like that before.”

“Was not, ice cream stealer.” With a glare, I carefully set my cup out of the way before I begin my tickle attack.

    Yoochun starts giggling like mad and tries rolling in a ball to get away from me, but I’m relentless. Finally, he manages to trap my head and arms against his stomach and I’m forced to stop struggling for fear of getting grass stains in my clothes. As Yoochun gasps for breath, I chuckle and take the opportunity to snuggle into his side. The sunshine, the grass, the way he smells and feels; for now, I can pretend it’s all real and all mine.

“Oppa.”

“Yes?” Yoochun says when he can finally breathe, his arms loosening but not pushing me away either.

“Can you promise me something?” I ask, playing with my fingers.

“What?”

“That’ll we can always be like this. I know it’s childish, but...”

“How about we do this?” he chuckles. Offering his pinkie, he says, “We won’t leave each other and we always be there, no matter what.”

“I thought that was already a given though,” I frown.

Yoochun laughs again. “It is, but we never sealed the deal on that one.

“Oh.” Adopting a mock serious tone as i link my pinkie with his, I recite, “I, _____, promise to never abandon Park Yoochun to the world and always stand by his side.”

Stifling his laughter, Yoochun copies me and presses his thumb to mine to make it official....Aish, I feel like I’m in elementary school again.”

I chuckle. “So? That means we’re still young. Well, at least I am.”

“Yah, you’re only a few months younger than me, missy.”

“Still younger,” I laugh.

“Annyeong!” I smile, running into the dorm and throwing my arms around the first person I see. “I’ve missed you.”

Jaejoong reaches up and pats my arm. “Hey, ______.”

“Seems you’re doing better,” Yunho says with a gentle smile. “It’s good to have you back.”

“Yah, Changmin-ah. What’s with the face?” I ask after smiling back at Yunho, noticing Changmin’s sudden frown. Slipping my arms away from Jaejoong’s neck, I move around to sit on the couch beside him and wrap my arms around him. “I wasn’t going to neglect you.”

“It’s not that, noona,” he sighs, hugging me back.

“Then what is it?”

“Manager hyung left a little while ago. We’re going to Japan in two weeks for a few days to shoot a CF for some new hotel.”

“What’s wrong with that? Japan’s fun.”

“Cause it’ll probably be the last time you get to come with us,” Junsu answers with a pout as he sits on Jaejoong’s other side. “Hyung said SM thinks we finally speak Japanese well enough to be on our own, but you’ll come along just in case. If we do all right this time, he said we won’t have an interpreter again.”

“Oh,” I say, my good mood taking a sudden dip as I understand. “Oh.”

“Cheer up, _______,” Yoochun clucks, sitting on the couch arm beside me. “We can still hang out all together just like before. I’ll just have to go back to sitting next to Junsu on our flights and having him drool on my shoulder.”

“I don’t drool!” comes Junsu’s outraged squawk.

    Everyone laughs, bringing a lighter atmosphere back into the room. It’s just like old times, for which I’m grateful. I find myself savoring each moment as I watch the boys mess around with each other and interact, knowing I’ll be getting to see it even less now. Eventually though, I have to leave. They hug me longer than normal, making me laughingly remind them it’s not like I’m leaving forever.

As I wait for the elevator, I hear someone call my name.

“You almost forgot your phone,” Junsu explains as he comes to a stop in front of me.

“That’d be bad. Thanks, Junsu,” I smile, taking it from him and tucking it safely in my pocket.

“No problem.” He hesitates before continuing, “Hey, ____.”

“Yes?”

“What do you think of me and Yejin?”

“What?” I chuckle, a little confused. “You guys are great together and really cute. Why do you ask? Is something wrong?”

Junsu quickly shakes his head. “No, everything’s fine. It’s just...”

“Just what?”

“I have this friend, you see, and he’s like I was before, in that he thinks he likes his best friend, who’s a girl, but he doesn’t know if she likes him.”

I nod. “Okay.”

“And I’m trying to convince him she could like him back, just like Yejin liked me, but he’s still unsure. It could happen for people other than me and Yejin, right?”


I nod again, still unsure of where he’s going with this.

“It could even happen to you and Yoochun, right?” Junsu asks, his eyes watching my face.

My breath catches in my throat as I feverishly try to respond, but luckily at that moment my elevator arrives. I all but throw myself inside and push the close door button repeatedly as I throw Junsu an apologetic look, “Mianhae, I’ve got to go...let Ayako’s dog out. Bye!”

“Wait! What about my question?” he asks, trying to keep me in view as the doors close.

“Yeah. Sure. It’s possible,” I shout, not wanting to look more suspicious than I already do. I wince once the doors fully close, but as I don’t want anything to ruin today’s high, I shake my head and tell myself to forget the small episode.

“Wow,” Yunho whistles a few weeks later as we stand in front of the high class hotel we’ll be staying at for our few days in Japan.

“Snazzy,” Yoochun agrees.

“And not too stressful,” Mr. Choi promises as he shepherds us inside. “Since it hasn’t officially opened yet, there’s only a handful of guests here, mostly for two business conferences the hotel’s hosting. They’re also giving you all an entire floor to yourselves.”

“An entire floor?” Junsu repeats, eyes widening. “Daebak!”

“So we’ll have some privacy,” Changmin sighs. “That’ll be really nice. We can actually go around without having to worry about getting mobbed.”

“The owner’s very excited about having you all staying here, so he’s provided passes to all the hotel’s facilities as well. Enjoy it while you can, boys,” Mr.Choi adds, chuckling at how their faces light up at the idea. “You too, of course, _____. As for me, I’ll spending a lot of time at the spa.”


“A spa sounds good,” I say, giving a little shiver of anticipation.

“Indeed. Let’s get checked in and all of our luggage upstairs first though.”

    All of that gets taken care of rather quickly and our group makes our way up to the fifth floor. We each get to choose our rooms, but we make sure they’re all on the same hall so we can run in and fully investigate each others. The rooms themselves are more luxurious than I could ever hope to afford, with downy soft beds, marble bathrooms, and private balconies. As I unpack, I take a mini break to flop on the bed and sigh in happiness. It’s so nice here, even if it probably is my last trip with the boys. Then again, maybe it’s the universe’s way of apologizing for that fact.

    Coming back down to the lobby after unpacking, I look around to see if any of the boys are around. I send a text Yoochun to see if he’s almost done so we can explore. He promises to be down in a few minutes. As I head for the small cafe for a drink to pass the time, I catch sight of a familiar face. No way. It couldn’t be her.

    I step behind a pillar, peeking around the side. I wasn’t mistaken. It is Jaehwa, but she’s walking arm in arm with a tall man dressed in an expensive looking suit, getting closer to my hiding spot. He says something, kisses her firmly on the mouth, and walks away towards the bathroom. I look on in shock, trying to understand what’s happening.

“Jaehwa!” Yoochun’s voice shouts.    
 

=======================================

Annyeong lovelies! So, looks like things are speeding up again, huh? Hope I didn't try to put too much in one update, but trust me, there'll be even more in the next one. Things are finally moving forward, but don't worry, the story's not quite ready to end so I have a good number of chapters waiting to be written. Thanks for putting up with my slow updates and even slower plot. Saranghae! ^^

chocoenvelope: I did and I hope you did too. I'm not sure if strong is quite the word, maybe stubborn or maybe even a little foolish. ke ke. I hope he does too. Thank you for reading and commenting! ^^

nar12345: It is very hard; I'm not entirely sure I could do it either. Yes, that would cut things a little short and I've got more in store for you. Thanks! ^^

PurpleangelSJ: Indeed. Yeah, Jaehwa wasn't in there originally but she snuck her way in =p Same to you; miss and love you too. <3

KeiraYukiLee: ke ke. If only it were that easy. I can't say if he does or doesn't, but if he wants a happy ending he's going to have to work for it.

Jun_KOI_Mi: Mine too.

yellow14: Soon, lovely. Soon.

ChinkyKayla: Fun stuff, more than what I wrote since each person would probably have different ideas on how to make him make up for everything. XD I wish you could and I think you'll want to even more after this&the next one.

Mionyu: I think so too, but we think less rationally in love. Mianhae for being late!

MewNikkiChan: Correct on both accounts. Ke ke. Nado saranghae! <3

dark_angel23: Aw, thanks! ^^ As fun as that'd be, it wasn't meant to be. =p

Poison:Oh yes, a very soft place. *cough cough* I think that seeing her bad side's here. 

Champions27: Can you do anything less for the person you love?

minnie6002: Aw, thank you! ^^ Mianhae for making you wait so long!