Sera and Himchan both leaned against a wall outside the ice cream shop next to each other as they watched Sooyeon and Misun talk inside. Sooyeon had been released from the hospital earlier in the day and now the two of them were meeting to figure things out between them. An understudy had taken on Belle’s part for the play that evening so that Sooyeon could get her strength back.

“I still don’t trust her.” Sera said, folding her arms over her chest. She shivered slightly and hugged her winter coat closer to her body. Snow was falling lightly around them as the streetlamps came on for the evening.

“Of course you don’t.” Himchan said with a roll of his eyes. “You still don’t even trust me.”

“Hey, that’s not true--” Sera looked up to defend herself, but at Himchan’s knowing gaze, she looked away again. “Whatever.” She mumbled, making the older boy laugh.

Then he sighed. “For what it’s worth, I don’t trust Sooyeon yet, either. And I know Misun feels the same way. The poor girl has gone through enough trauma to know that just because someone apologizes, doesn’t mean that they have changed.”

Sera gave a sarcastic chuckle and nodded in agreement. It was quiet for a few minutes before she looked up at Himchan. “I.. I guess I’m sorry… I do trust you to a certain extent, if that counts for anything.” She said hopefully, looking up for his reaction.

Himchan looked down at her and sighed before putting an arm around her shoulders a little awkwardly. “It’s fine. I’ll win your trust eventually.” He said in a haughty tone.

Scoffing, Sera pushed him away with a grin. “You wish.” They looked at each other and laughed a little right as Misun and Sooyeon came out of the shop. Misun looked between her two friends curiously as she walked over to them.

“What are you guys doing here?” She asked.

“We obviously came to pick you up.” Himchan announced. “It was my idea.” He went over and hugged Misun.

“Thank you for meeting me. I’ll see you for the next show.” Sooyeon said quietly to Miusn. The other girl nodded and gave her a small smile. Sooyeon then bowed a little and left.

Sera and Himchan walked on either side of Misun as the three of them made their way to her apartment. “So did you have a good talk?” Himchan asked, putting his arm around Misun’s shoulders and giving her a half hug.

“We did...” The younger girl nodded. “Apparently the girls in the theater club slowly just wanted less and less to do with her. They especially didn’t like her after she made a scene after finding oppa and I in the hallway.” She sighed and continued. “Sooyeon has never been without at least one friend. So to suddenly go from just me, to all of her theater friends, and then down to no friends at all... She didn’t know how to handle it and just stopped eating, couldn’t sleep, fell behind in her classes... She said that the night she apologized to me was the first night she could actually sleep a little.”

“So what are you going to do now?” Sera asked, glancing at her young friend.

Misun shrugged. “I don’t really know. I guess I’ll just play it by ear and see what happens.”

“I think that’s fair.” Himchan said with an approving nod as they began to climb the stairs to her apartment.

“Misunnie!!!” Daehyun came running down the stairs to meet them, nearly knocking them all over as he pulled Misun into an excited hug.

She laughed and hugged him back a little awkwardly since she was still a stair below him. “Hi oppa. What are you doing here?”

He pulled away and kissed her forehead before looking down at her. “I wanted to see you. Plus we have to leave for the play soon.”

Her eyes widened. “Is it already that late?” She looked at her watch and realized she had about thirty minutes until she had to be at the university to start getting the cast ready for their performance tonight.

“Well, we’ll leave you in Daehyun-ah’s capable hands.” Sera said with a wink as she grabbed Himchan by his arm and began to lead him away.

“Yah! Unhand me! You can’t make me leave. Misunnnnn save me!” He called out, struggling against the red-haired girls’ strong grip.

“Bye oppa!” She waved at him and grinned while Daehyun laughed at his hyung’s misfortune. Misun then turned her attention back to her boyfriend. “Shall we start going toward the school?”

“You don’t need anything from your apartment?” He asked as he calmed down from his giggle fit.

Misun shook her head and blushed. “No, I only need you.”

Daehyun sobered up real quick and looked down at her in shock. Her cheeks grew even more red when he continued to not say anything and just stare at her. Misun covered her face with both hands and groaned. Daehyun snapped out of his trance and gently wrapped his hands around her wrists, pulling her hands away from her face. They met each other’s gaze before Daehyun moved in and kissed Misun passionately. He was practically soaring, her words replaying again and again in his head. Misun clung to him so that she wouldn’t fall backwards down the stairs and kissed Daehyun back. She was confused by his reaction, but definitely wasn’t going to avoid the opportunity for this.

When they finally pulled away from each other, Misun brought her hands up to the sides of his face. “Are you okay, oppa?”

He smiled at her brilliantly and took both of her hands in his. “I’m more than okay. I have been waiting for you to say that for so long.” He leaned down and pecked her on the lips lightly. “Now come on, let’s get going before I keep us here all night.” Daehyun winked and took her by the hand, leading the blushing girl down the stairs.

******

“Misun~~~” Daehyun was following her around as she got things ready and did the various actors and actresses’ makeup and hair.

“Daehyunnn~~~” She imitated his tone with a grin, not looking away from her work. The actor was quickly finished and soon walked away to go rejoin his friends. Misun finally gave Daehyun her full attention and laughed at the exaggerated lonely look in his eyes. She walked over and held his hand. “What’s up, oppa?”

He squeezed her hand back and smiled at her. “I missed you.” Misun blushed and shook her head. “And I have a question. Do I get to spend the night?”

Because of everything that went down with Sooyeon yesterday, Daehyun and Misun had spent some time at the hospital after the show. By the time they both got home it was super late, so they went to their separate apartments.

Misun gave him an appraising look, as if she had to seriously think about her answer. “I suppose you can. If you do a good job tonight.” She smiled up at him and he smirked back at her.

“I would do better if you were my Belle, not that other girl.” Daehyun pulled her close and held Misun against his chest.

“Waaahh, why are you so cheesy today?” She buried her face against him and groaned. This made Daehyun laugh and kiss the top of her head.

“Alright everyone, we’re getting ready to start! Places, people! Get in your places!” The club president was walking swiftly through the room, making sure everything was ready.

“I have to go. I’ll see you soon.” Daehyun said, looking down as he let go of Misun. She nodded and kissed his cheek.

“Have fun, I’ll see you soon~” She waved, feeling proud that such an amazing guy was all hers.

******

The play was almost over for the night and Misun had packed up the makeup and supplies much earlier than she expected. She decided that since she had the time, she would go watch the rest of the play with Fae. The two girls stood in the left wing, behind the curtain as the final scene played out. But as the Prince and Belle began dancing together, Misun had a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Belle stood on her tiptoes and kissed Daehyun on his lips, much to his apparent surprise. He was planning on just to kiss her cheek. The curtain fell and Daehyun looked up, seeing Misun and Fae watching them with equal shock on their faces. The curtain rose again and Daehyun had to quickly bring his attention back to the crowd for the final bow. The second he looked away, Misun turned and left the auditorium, quickly followed by Fae.

They entered the cast room where everything was stored during the performances and began setting the hangers up for the individual actors and actresses. Fae considered her words carefully before turning and putting her hand on Misun’s arm. She adjusted her glasses as she looked down at the younger girl who wouldn’t look back at her. “Misun-ah… You know that was just part of the script. You know he would rather it was you up there with him.”

Misun nodded silently and seemed to be thinking very hard. Finally she composed her thoughts. “I know. I don’t understand why I’m feeling like this, it’s not rational at all…” She sighed and ran both hands through her hair in frustration. “I don’t want to see him right now, at least not until I get my feelings straightened o-”

“Misun!!” Daehyun’s voice came through the door before he did and the younger girl closed her eyes in defeat.

“Never mind, I guess..” She sighed again and tried to put on an excited expression so he wouldn’t think anything was wrong.

“Good luck. You can do this.” Fae gave her a quick hug before starting to get the cast members to get changed.

After feeling relatively composed, Misun turned around. “Daehyun oppa! You did a really good job tonight, huh? I could hear the crowd from all the way in here.” She smiled up at him as he approached her quickly.

He stopped a few feet in front of her with a confused look. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah! I’m happy that you’ve successfully completed two shows! I’m super proud of you.” She closed the distance and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tight while her chest ached. Slowly, Daehyun brought his arms up to circle around her waist. He was silent for a few moments so she pulled away. “How about you? Are you okay?” She asked, his cheek with one hand.

He searched her eyes and was still so confused. “Yeah, I’m fine.. Just tired, I guess..?” He said, his eyebrows knit together. Was he imagining things? Something felt off, but she was acting normal, if not more energetic than usual.

“Well, how about you get changed out of your costume and we’ll get you to a bed?” She said with that smile still on her face.

Daehyun nodded and left, still mulling over his girlfriend’s reaction. By the time he returned, they were the last two in the room; everyone else had left for the night. “Sorry I took so long. Are you ready to go?”

“Yep!” She took the hanger of clothes from him, set it on the rack, and then turned back to him. “Let’s get out of here.” Daehyun reached out to hold her hand but she had turned around before she noticed his movement and started walking to the door. “Come on, oppa, it’s starting to snow pretty badly. We should get going.” She looked back, realizing that he wasn’t directly behind her.

“Right, sorry. I’m coming!” He jogged over to catch up with her as they left the university together. Walking next to her, he was finally able to grab onto Misun’s hand. It seemed like she tensed up a bit when he did so, but that could have just been a shiver from the cold.

“Oppa, do you still want to stay with me? Maybe it would be better for you to sleep in your own bed..?” Misun tried to suggest in an attempt to put some distance between the two of them.

“No!” He practically yelled, worried she was pushing him away. When she looked up at him with a startled look in her eyes, Daehyun tried to calm down a bit. “Sorry. I mean, no as long as you don’t mind, I would rather stay with you.” He was giving her the option to push him away. To, in a sense, reject him tonight. And the thought of her actually doing so scared the heck out of him.

Misun looked up at him, debating internally for a split second. “No, no, it’s alright if you stay with me! I just want you to be able to get your rest.”

Daehyun sighed and smiled in relief. “Believe me, I’ll be able to get the most rest just by being with you.”

Misun shivered again, in part because of the snow swirling around her, but mostly because of Daehyun’s intense fluffiness. “We’re going to have to put a limit on the number of cheesy lines you can say each day.”

They both laughed and continued walking toward Misun’s apartment. Feeling the atmosphere between them calming down slightly, Daehyun began to chatter away. He talked about parts of the play, how great his costume fit, how good of a job Youngjae did with the lighting. “If you ever tell him I said that, though, you’ll be in big trouble.” Daehyun joked, earning a smile from Misun.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” She said as she unlocked her front door. They stepped inside and began to shake the snow off that had accumulated during their walk.

Daehyun looked over at Misun and chuckled at the amount of snow on top of her head. “Come here.” He reached out and walked over, standing in front of her while he dusted off the top of her head and her shoulders.

“Ah, thanks…” Misun looked up at him and blushed when he looked down to meet her gaze. This was within kissing range. Suddenly Misun panicked and pulled away before Daehyun could get any closer. “Um, we should get to bed soon. It’s getting pretty late.” She mumbled, kicking off her shoes quickly and going further inside.

Daehyun stood there for a moment, frustrated once again. The wall was back up between them and he had no clue what was going on in that girl’s head. Huffing in annoyance, he pulled his shoes off, removed his coat, and followed Misun inside. He caught up with her down the hallway, almost to her room, and grabbed her arm. “Misun, I can’t read your mind. I need you to talk to me. What’s going on?” He asked as he gently brought her around to face him.

Misun felt trapped, but she also knew she couldn’t just avoid Daehyun forever. She looked at his shoulder, rather than at his eyes as she replied. “Nothing, I’m fine.”

“Don’t lie to me, please.” He said, trying to keep his tone soft. It hurt him that she was being so closed-off with him. Didn’t she trust him? “Misun, whatever it is, you can tell me.”

“No, it’s stupid.” She said, her barriers breaking down under his coercion. She pulled out of his grasp and continued to her room, only to be closely followed by Daehyun.

“I’ll be the judge of that.” He sat on the edge of her bed and looked at her as she stood a few feet in front of him. “If it’s something that’s making you upset, it can’t be stupid. If it is hurting you, it’s a valid concern.”

She finally looked at him and met his warm, caring gaze. Trembling slightly, she walked forward and sat across his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck as she buried her face into him. He could feel her shaking ever so slightly as she tried to calm down. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and began to hum while slowly rocking side to side. In no time at all, Misun had herself back under control in his arms. She sighed and pulled away enough that her face was more visible to him.

Daehyun smiled at her and kissed the top of her head. “I love you.” He whispered quietly.

At feeling his lips on her, took a deep breath to prepare herself. “I love you, too.” She moved in hesitantly. The last place his lips had touched were that other girl’s lips.

Sensing her hesitation, everything finally clicked for Daehyun and he smiled, relaxing in relief. “Is that what you’re worried about?” He asked quietly. She looked up at him in surprise just in time for his lips to come crashing down onto hers. Everything calmed down in her head and all she could think about was kissing Daehyun back with everything she had.

When they pulled away, Daehyun moved his lips up to her forehead. “The kiss with that girl is not something I wanted. You know that. That’s why you didn’t want to talk about it, right?”

Misun nodded, feeling like an idiot. “I know you didn’t want to kiss her. I saw her make the move on you and how surprised you were afterwards. But I still couldn’t help but feel this pain in my chest. It wouldn’t go away…”

Daehyun pulled away slightly and leaned in, kissing the skin just at the top of Misun’s v-neck t-shirt. “Is it better now?” He asked, bringing his head up and noticing her eyes were wide.

“U-U-um.. Yeah. I’m good.” She stuttered as a strong blush bloomed across her cheeks.

Daehyun laughed at her cuteness and kissed her on the nose. “Go ahead and get ready to go to sleep. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She nodded and they both stood up. Daehyun left to go get his extra clothes from his bookbag, change into them, and brush his teeth in the guest bathroom. By the time he was done, he came back to find Misun already under the covers. He turned out the lights and closed the door before practically pouncing on top of her.

“Aah! Dae!! What??” She laughed in confusion as she wiggled, trying to escape from underneath him. “You’re too heavy, get off!”

“What? Are you saying I’m fat?” He asked in mock outrage. “I can’t believe my girlfriend is so mean to meeeee” He continued to lovingly squish her as she squealed.

“No, no, I’m sorry! Just let me breathe!” She surrendered and Daehyun smiled in triumph.

He laughed and got off of her before he slid under the blanket with her. Misun caught her breath and laughed at his antics. Daehyun reached out and pulled her to him, resting her head against his chest. “Sleep well, Misunnie. I love you.” He told her as he kissed her hair.

“I love you too, oppa. See you tomorrow.” She kissed his chest through his shirt and snuggled up against him as the two quickly fell asleep.

★☆★☆★☆

Wow, that was a long chapter, huh? Sorry about that. I just couldn't figure out a way to chop it up into smaller sections that made sense. (I also have not really proofread this yet. Sorry if there are mistakes.) So here ya go. I hope you liked it~

The story is almost over. There will probably be one more chapter to wrap things up, and then my notes that I kept while writing this, if you guys want to see those. I think it's an interesting look into the writing process. ^^"