Suddenly, I felt the ground fall away beneath me.

   I realized I wasn't falling. Minho had pushed me out of the way an onto the other side of the street. He was right in front of me, breathing hard.

   I blushed a deep red, and started to get hot. I never noticed how handsome Minho was before. His chest was brushing against mine from pushing me to safety. If any one of us moved forward, our lips would touch.

   He moved away. "Are you okay?" He asked me, looking so worried I thought I might die from his handsomeness. "Are you hurt anywhere? That guy was crazy--it was obviously a red light."

   "T-thank you...Minho..." I gasped.

   "No problem. I'm just glad you're okay." He smiled at me gently. I felt like I was going to cry. Everything about him was suddenly crystal clear--the ringing sound of his voice, his gentle touch against my skin, the way the fabric of his shirt wrapped around his arms...

   I felt like I was dying. My heart was tearing itself apart. I felt like crying and singing and laughing and screaming all at once. My heart started beating so fast I thought it would jump right out of my throat. I wanted to throw myself into Minho's arms, to feel that closeness again, to bring my lips to his...to throw my arms around him and never let go.

   I was in love with Choi Minho.

   I blushed frantically. "Minho...I..."

   He smiled at me again, and my heart pounded against my ribcage. "Let's go eat."

   He led the way, and I followed after shakily. My legs were wobbling from the near-death experience.

   He stopped, and I caught up to him, standing by his side. "What's wrong?"

   He suddenly reached over and took my hand in his. His hand was soft and warm and wrapped around my own slender, pale one like a sheet. "Minho...?" I whispered.

   "I better hold on to you." He said, smiling at me. "So you don't get hurt again."

   I smiled too, my face red. We walked down the street, hand-in-hand. I noticed he wore a baseball cap so no one could recognize his face unless they looked closely.

   We went in to a place, and I realized it was an instant noodle shop. The sign outside had said Ichiraku's.

   "Instant noodles?" I teased. "For a celebrity?"

   He faked a grimace. "The trials one must go through."

   We laughed and sat on wooden stools. "To be serious, though, I love instant noodles. There isn't much you can eat within an hour, and instant noodles fills you up AND it's cheap." He winked at me. "I don't wish to boast, but I'm probably the only one in SHINee that really cares about how much money I spend."

   I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure it makes no difference in your bank account whether you spend a lot of money or not."

   He laughed at that. I loved his laugh. It was so rich, and...and real.

   It felt great, to slurp instant noodles with him and to laugh and talk about nothing in particular. It felt amazing, to be able to say something that could make him laugh. Anything to do with him was incredible.

   "You were an incredible dancer at the auditions, how come I've never seen you before?" He asked me suddenly, as we were walking back to the studio. "I'm certain someone with your skills would be in our studio sooner."

   I blushed. He complimente my dancing! "I didn't have the courage." I lied. Obviously, I couldn't tell him that a week ago, I was fat and ugly and couldn't even walk across a flat, stable surface for two minutes without tripping, never mind dancing. I kept my mouth shut before I said anything stupid.

   He must have noticed my discomfort, because he didn't mention it again. I noticed he still held my hand.

   We reached the studio, and he grinned at me shyly. Aw, he looked so cute when he was shy! "Um...I've been wondering...uh...Sun...if you wouldn't mind...going out with me some time?" He blushed bright red with embarassment.

   He looked so beautiful, so like an angel, my breath was caught in my throat. "...okay." I managed to shove out of my voice box.

   He smiled with relief, and it took my breath away again. "That's great!" He said, blushing an even darker shade of red when he realized he sounded too eager. "Um...well, give me your number. I-I'll call you when we're free!"

   I grabbed a sticky note from the front office desk and wrote my name and number slowly and carefully. I wanted to make sure he could read every letter and number, so he won't make a mistake.

   "Here!" I said, smiling at him, handing over the small note. He took it, our fingers touched, and it felt like I was electrocuted.

   "Come on, Sun, they'll be wondering where we were." He said to me. He took my hand again.

   I knew then that he wasn't holding my hand to keep me safe.

   I blushed bright red as we both came to understanding of each other. I squeezed his hand tightly, and we walked to the studio. He took off his hat, and everyone -- especially the females in the building -- stared in disbelief as we walked hand-in-hand down the halls.

   And frankly, we didn't care what anyone saw.