*~Kyuhyun’s POV~*

“MWO?!” I yelled, tearing my eyes away from my laptop screen and fixed them on Sungmin, “You want me to what?!”

He was sitting on my bed, with his hands placed in together in a prayer stance. He looked at me squarely in the eyes and repeated, “I want you to help me bring Yonni to that mountain place we went to the other time.”

“The one with the tree house?!” I couldn’t believe my ears.

“Ne~ The one with the tree house,”

I swivelled my rolling chair around abruptly and faced the devil that was sitting in my bed, “The place where I lost all my dignity?!”

Sungmin chuckled as he waved his hands in the air dismissively, “It was just a fall…”

“It was not JUST a fall!” I spat as I jumped up from my chair, “It was the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to me,”

“What about falling into the river?” he asked, cocking his head while sending a teasing look in my direction. My face turned crimson almost immediately. He burst out laughing when he noticed the look on my face.

“And I thought I was the evil one,” I thought bitterly as I frantically tried to conjure a rebuttal.

Turning away from him to hide my embarrassment, I purposely stiffened my voice before answering, “That was not my fault. If they hadn’t thrown that shoe, I would neve-“

“Nobody will remember your epic failed attempt of intruding Yonni’s tree house,” Sungmin cut me off. He threw his hands in the air in mock surrender as I shot a deadly glare at him. I shook my head in disagreement and pulled him up from my bed, attempting to eradicate him from my room.

“Kyuhyun! Please! Come on!” He pleaded, trying to remove my grip on him, “You’re the only person that can help me…”

“Hyung! You have to think about me too!” I tried to reason with him, “You could ask Ryeowook and Heechul for help! Or you could ask Auntie Yuri! You got close to her this holiday right? I’m sure she will help you!”

“Kyuhyun-ah…” Sungmin whined as he started putting his special charm to use.

“I-I…” I stuttered as I tried to avoid looking into those puppy eyes. A few silent moments passed and I still felt his soulful eyes on me as I studied the ‘intricate’ design of the wooden flooring.

Finally, I gave up. With a loud, audible sigh, I asked, “Hyung~ Why don’t you choose somewhere else? This town is rather big, and there are so many mountains around! Why do you have to go back to that particular spot?!”

“Because that’s the place where Yonni has many happy memories… Besides, the view is really breathtaking…”

“Can’t you approach Heechul or Ryeowook then? Heechul hyung can even order her to accept you! I already did my part by helping you make the online purchase!”

“I know, but… You were the one that encouraged me to do it right?”

“Correction. I did not ‘encourage’ you to do it. I merely reassured your concerns that you should do it.”

“Okay… Since you were my accomplice from the start, you should see it to the end!”

“MWO?! This isn’t fair!”

“Come on…” Sungmin smiled craftily as he walked closer to me, “You got the best charm against girls… If you ask Yonni to go, she will definitely listen to you!”

That hit the spot. I tried to continue my argument, but my narcissistic satisfaction was setting in. Knowing that I had already lost the battle, I cursed the fact that Sungmin was the cousin that grew up with me and knew exactly which buttons of mine to press. Damn.

“Fine, fine. I’ll do it,” I finally succumbed unwillingly, “What do you need me to do?”

“Really?” Sungmin’s face lit up almost immediately, “I knew you won’t leave me in the lurch!”

“Aish, cut the nonsense and get to the point.”

He had a satisfied smile on his face as he sat down on my bed, pulling me down beside him. We spent the remainder of the afternoon discussing the details of the plan that was to be executed the next day. As he rattled on and on about what he was going to do, I couldn’t help but smile at his excitement.

“He really likes Yonni…” I concluded as I tried to hide the smile on my face, “Look at how excited he is in confessing…” From young, Sungmin tend to keep to himself and was always very quiet. However, ever since he came to the city and started hanging out with Yonni, I noticed that he had changed. He was now happier, and chattier.

Guess that’s the charm of Yonni. Although I always like to , Pig-ni was indeed a kind and bright person. I really felt that asking Dad to let Sungmin come join me in the city was the best decision that I ever made in my whole life. We were more like brothers than cousins, having spent most of our childhood vacation together. We shared the same passion, and I understood his yearning for a real family. So when I got news that his step-father had entrusted his guardianship to my father, I got into contact and finally managed to convince him to let Sungmin come join me in my small nuclear family.

I had expected him to find the family that he was looking for, instead, he found his ‘one true love’, or so as he claims. I could understand why Yonni would catch his fancy. She was everything that he was looking for, concern, understanding and acceptance, all in one. It was impossible that he would not like her. What amazed me was the speed at which he fell for her.

In the end, it was decided that Sungmin would go to the place to prepare the first phase of his confession while I would think of a way to bring Yonni to the tree house area. Although he already had an overall plan which did impress me to a certain extent, he was lucky to have enlisted my help as I discovered that he knew almost nothing about how to sweep a girl off her feet.

“You can’t just show her the grand surprise immediately,” I chided as I rebutted his proposal, “You need to build up the mood,”

“Build up the mood?”

“Yes, do it slowly… You might scare her if you just jump straight into the point. You two should get comfortable first…” I trailed off as I drummed my fingers against my chin, thinking hard for ideas to gradually build up the romantic ambience. As my eyes fell onto the red wine glass that I was drinking from last night, a brilliant idea struck me, “Ah! I know! Have some red wine!”

“Re-Red wine?”

“Yes! Have some red wine under the beautiful stars… Chat a bit… Then bring her to the surprise!”

“Does Yonni even like red wine? And how am I going to get red wine? Do they sell it here?”

“Aish, you wouldn’t be able to get any good wine in this small place… Since you’re my hyung, I’ll sacrifice. I’ll give you my Perrin & Fils Chateau de Beaucastel Cha-“

“Whoa, whoa, wait! Your Perrin & what?!”

“My Perrin & Fils Chate- Urg! Forget it. It’s a bottle of red wine that I brought here. I’ll give it to you, and also lend you the wine glasses,” I smack my head in dejection. I might as well be talking to the wall. Nobody knows how to appreciate good wines around here.

“You sure it will work?”

I assured him that as long as he followed my instructions, Yonni will be reduced to a sobbing mess and accept him by the end of the night.

I mean, red wine under the stars with candles, who can resist that? And we’re talking about just any red wine… It’s a freaking Perrin & Fils Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape!

“Cho Kyuhyun oh Cho Kyuhyun… You impress even yourself… Goodness… Why am I so smart and romantic?” I praised myself as I shooed Sungmin out of my room after the details had been ironed out. Two days from now, Sungmin would have his darling Yonni in his arms, making them the happiest pair of babos in the whole world.

Tricking Yonni was pretty simple, I just spun a small little tale that I wanted to climb that cursed tree again and she believed me. We got out of the house via the windows as she reminded me that the rest would not let us out of the house. The trail to the tree house was dark and littered with loose pebbles, and our female lead for the night was reduced to a trembling bundle of nerves that were clinging onto me within the matters seconds.

It was hard enough having to walk on the bumpy road by myself, and having Yonni disrupt my advances with her occasional slipping was rather annoying. However, I was mindful that I should keep her happy and calm for the benefit of Sungmin, thus, although I was tempted to scold and , I replaced it with gentle comforts. Not to mention that the surrounding were pretty chilly, thus giving her grounds for her fears.

Apparently she was not used to me treating her gently for she stopped me about halfway in the journey and grilled me on my weird behaviour. She even started doubting my intentions. Worried that she might find out about the truth soon, I hurried my pace, dragging an unwilling Yonni after me.

However, Pig-ni refused to let the matter go. We had barely walked another few metres when she started asking me again. I pondered hard for an excuse, and finally came up with a very tall reason that if I was to fall again, no one would be around to witness it. To my surprise, it seemed to satisfy her curiosity. What a simpleton.

All of a sudden, I spot the tree in the distance. Brushing her hands off me, I instructed her to go ahead without me. Regretfully, she saw the smirk on my face just then thus refused to move off without me, insisting that I was planning something. I was unable to hold in my laughter and tried to cover it up by turning away, but she was adamant in finding out what was so funny.

After spending a while arguing, I finally managed to drive her off with the excuse of having to relieve myself. Having finally rid myself of the responsibility, I looked up at the rendezvous point and sent Sungmin my well-wishes silently before retracing my steps back home.

*~Sungmin’s POV~*

I was right in choosing this location. The night was cooling and quiet, with a small breeze blowing comfortably. I looked at my watch and saw that the time was about 9.30pm. “Kyuhyun should be going to get Yonni anytime soon…” I muttered under my breath as I set down the things that I was holding in my hands. My heart was running on double time as I stared at the things that were lying in a heap at my foot. I was really nervous.

What if… Kyuhyun didn’t manage to get Yonni to leave the house?

What if… I accidentally break one of the wine glasses?

What if… the candles go out?

What if… Yonni doesn’t like red wine? Or the set up?

What if…

Yonni… Doesn’t like… Me?

“Aish! Lee Sungmin! Stop thinking about all the what ifs!” I slapped my face a couple of time to get my nerves under control, “Just relax! Panicking isn’t going to help at all!”

After taking a few deep breathes to calm down, I got around to executing the plan as Kyuhyun had taught me to. Pulling out a piece of white satin cloth, I searched around for suitable weights to hold it down while I grabbed the red wine and glasses. Rocks would be unsuitable as they would dirty the material.

In the end, I pulled out the bottle of red wine and placed it right in the middle of the cloth, holding it in its place. After setting up the glasses and the bottle of red wine, I scattered rose petals all over. Finally I started lighting the candles before arranging them around the wine, forming the shape of a heart. Then, after making sure that the candles were well covered by the candle glasses, I grabbed the remaining stuff and moved off to prepare phase 2 of Mission Confession.

The location for the second phase of my confession was a small distance away from the tree house, and by the time I got back, Yonni was already at the wine setup. My mind blanked out the instant that I saw Yonni, and my heart was beating so fast that I was actually shaking from the fast pounding.

I watched as Yonni approached the heart formation, holding on to the trunk of the tree for support while trying to calm myself down. I had already prepared a script of what I was going to say, and had spent the whole day rehearsing the lines. However, at this point of time, I was unable to recall any of those words that I had painstakingly prepared.

“Okay… Lee Sungmin… This is it,” I prep-talked myself, “Just… Just go up to her and tell her what you feel… It will be fine… She’s not going to eat you up! Okay… Go! Hwaiting!”

I started making my way to her gingerly, afraid to make any sudden noises just in case I would frighten her. My path was short in length, yet painfully long in perception and it seemed as if it would never end. At long last, I finally reached the flat ground of the mountain top.

“Yo-” My heart was starting to pound again, “Yonni…”

She whirled around suddenly, giving me a shock. The look on her face the instant that she saw me was incomprehensible. It seemed like a mixture of shock, relief and happiness. Did she like it?

“Sungmin!” She ran up to me in joy and my heart did a leap. I reached out for her, and she took my hand, and looked into my eyes before saying happily, “Oh my god, Sungmin! I can’t believe you did this for me!”

I could no longer hide the joy in my heart as a big smile that reflected the sweetness that my heart was feeling broke out on my face. Yonni looked beautiful as she smiled at me under the soft moonlight, with her long black hair swaying in the gentle night breeze. She looked over my shoulders a couple of times, seemingly looking out for someone. “It must have been hard coming all this way, no?” she asked, looking into my eyes again.

Thinking that she was referring to my secret admiration for her since the second day I met her, I reached out to her face while answering, “It was hard, yes… It was a tough chase because you were moving so fast ahead…” Then recalling about the misunderstanding of Ryeowook being her boyfriend, I continued, “I even lost sight of you once…”

“I’m so glad that you managed to find me! Come on! Let’s go!” She said as she moved away before I could touch her face, letting go of my hand at the same time.

“Wait!” I called out to her, “Yonni! Don’t you want to have some wine first?” I gestured towards the glistening setup on the ground whilst beckoning for her to come closer. She hesitated for a while, and looked down the return trail again before walking over.

“Good idea,” She praised as she sat down before the candles and picked up the glasses. I had never been so nervous before in my whole life. While filling the glasses with the red liquid, I made use of the chance to peep at Yonni. The orange glow of the candles only served to emphasise her soft features as she focused her attention on the glasses that she was holding on.

“Cheers?” I offered, holding up one of the glasses. With a gentle smile, she clinked her wineglass against mine before bringing it up to her lips. The next few minutes were spent in silent as my brain whirled for the correct words to say while Yonni’s attention was on the scenery before us.

Finally, I gave up on speaking, and simply started savouring the moment of being so close to my one true love.

“I don’t understand why Kyuhyun even likes this stuff,” Yonni suddenly commented, causing me to jump a little from shock.

“You don’t like it?”

“Can’t say that… But can’t say I like it either. It’s a very interesting taste…”

“Really?”

“This is Kyuhyun’s right?”

I nodded before answering, “Supposed to be good stuff…”

“Hmm… I’ll have one more glass then,”

“Wait!” I stopped her, worried that she would get drunk from the alcohol, “I don’t think it’s wise to have another glass. It’s alcohol after all…”

“You’re right…” She smiled as she put the wineglass back on the white satin cloth, “It’s getting a little late, shall we head back?”

“Okay, but I have something to show you first…”

“Something to show me? Now?”

“Ne~ Come on!” I got onto my feet and offered to help her up. Yonni took my hand and stood up, brushing the sand off the back of her shorts. Then, grasping her hand gently but firmly, I started moving in the direction of the grand surprise that I had prepared specially for her.

“Where are we going?” She asked, placing her other hand on the arm of my hand that was holding hers. Her voice had a hint of fear inside as she glanced around at the dark surroundings. I patted her hand comfortingly with my free hand and smiled at her when she looked at me inquisitively.

After about five minutes, we finally got close to the place. Halting in my tracks, I unwilling let go of Yonni’s hand and turned to face her. Then, with a big smile, I instructed, “Close your eyes,”

“Mwo? Close my eyes?”

“Ne~”

“Why?”

“Just close your eyes,” I winked before continuing, “It’s a surprise…”

“Another surprise?” She suddenly sounded scared, “Are you going to disappear?”

“Mwo?” I was taken aback by her question, “Aniyo! I’ll be right here,”

“Okay… I’ll close my eyes…” She pouted before reaching out for my hand again, “But I want to hold on to you, so I can be sure you will not disappear,”

I smiled as her warmth once again seeped into my hand and I nodded. Once she closed her eyes, I started leading her forward, moving closer to her surprise. When we finally reached, I asked for her to open her eyes slowly.

I watched as her eyes opened up slowly, and her iris reflected the two big glowering lanterns that stood before her. I saw her eyes widened as excitement took over the shocked look in her deep brown eyes.

“Oh my- What are these?!” She stuttered as she let go of my hand and moved closer to the dual glowering masses.

“These are sky lanterns,” I answered as I walked up behind her, my hand already missing the warmth of hers.

“They are beautiful! What are they used for?”

“Well, the myth is that if you write your wish on the lantern before letting it go, it will bring your wish to heaven and then it will come true,”

“That’s so sweet… I’ve never seen them before…” Yonni had a gentle smile on her face as she the two lanterns lovingly, “They even come in heart shapes! That’s so cute…”

“Here,” I pulled out a marker and handed it to her, “You can write your wish on one and I’ll take the other one,”

“Okay!” She answered enthusiastically before grabbing the marker from my hands and started writing on the thin material of the sky lanterns. I had prepared two lanterns, one white and one red, both in heart shapes. As Yonni concentrated in writing her wishes, I pulled out another marker and wrote down one single line for my wish.

“I’m done!” She chirped, clapping her hands in excitement, “Can we let it go? I want to see it fly!!!”

“Arasso…” I replied as I moved towards her lantern and untied the rope that was holding it down to earth, “What did you write?”

“I wish that all my friends and the people that I know will have good health and live a long life!” She smiled as she read out what she wrote.

“That’s a good wish,” I remarked, “Okay. On the count of three! One… Two…”

When I shouted ‘three’, Yonni and I released our hold on the lantern at the same time. Taking a step back, we both smiled up at the sky as the lantern climbed higher and higher, bringing her wish closer to the heavens.

“Okay! Now let’s look at yours!” Yonni suddenly said, starting to move towards the remaining lantern.

“Mw-Mwo?” I panicked, suddenly reluctant for her to see my wish, “Wait a minute!”

“Why?” Yonni whined as I blocked her path towards my lantern, “You saw mine! I also want to see yours!”

“I…” I did not know how to reply. One part of my wanted to show her my wish so she would know my true feelings, but another part of me feared the outcome. However, she did not allow me a choice as she started pushing through my blocking arms to get to my lantern. I finally decided to show it to her as I read her happiness at the red wine surprise as a good sign.

“All right! All right!” I said as I held her back, “I’ll… I’ll show it to you…”

“Okay! Now!” She was smiling.

Slowly, I turned my lantern around so that she could see the words that I had written down. I studied her face closely for her reaction. As she read the words, I saw the smile on her face slowly disappeared, replaced by the growing shocked expression.

The words were…

“I want to spent the rest of my life with An Yonni”

Yonni’s silence was scaring me. By this time, her face was completely filled with shock as she looked from me to the lantern. Then, realisation dawned on her as she muttered, “The red wine…”

“Was… was from me,” I completed her sentence for her. I was confused, didn’t she said that she can’t believed I actually prepared a romantic setup for her? She gaped at me when she heard my reply, further confusing me.

However, I was not given a chance to clear my doubt as her mobile phone suddenly started ringing. I looked away as she pulled out her phone hurriedly and answered the call. Heechul’s angry voice rang out from the other side of the line, and being in a quiet environment, I was able to clearly hear what he was saying.

“Yah! An Yonni!” Heechul scolded, “Where the hell are you?”

“I’m… I’m outside…”

“Outside?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT TIME IT IS?”

I saw Yonni winced from the loudness of his voice before answering, “It’s past 11pm…”

“It’s almost 12! Do you know how dangerous it is for a girl to be outside alone at this time?”

“I’m not alone, I’m with… with Sungmin,” Yonni shot a glance at me before looking away again.

“YOU’RE WITH SUNGMIN?”

“She’s with Sungmin?” I heard Auntie Yuri’s voice ring out in the background.

“You hear? Omma is worried about you!” Heechul’s angry voice covered Auntie Yuri’s, “Cho Kyuhyun! Why are you smiling?”

“I didn’t say I’m worried! Yonni! Just enjoy yourself! If it’s too late, just spend the night outside at the nearby inn!” Auntie Yuri’s sudden reply caused my heart to flip in shock.

“MWO???!!!” Heechul’s and Ryeowook’s voice rang out in unison, “OMMA!”

“An Yonni, I give you 20 minutes to get back. If I don’t see you inside the house in 20 minutes, you’ll see me outside. And trust me,” Heechul paused and the background noise of Auntie Yuri and Ryeowook arguing temporary took over the silence, “You won’t want to see me outside,”

With an audible click, Heechul disconnected the call. Yonni placed her phone back in her pocket before turning back to look at me. I was still waiting for her reply to my wish, so I asked, “So regarding my wish…”

“We have to get back immediately!” Yonni tried to change the subject by turning away from me and moving towards my lantern, “You heard Brother Heechul!”

I looked on silently as Yonni undid the rope of my lantern and handed it over to me. She urged me to release it, and once I did, she started pulling me in the direction of the return path without a second word. Having no choice but to follow her, I looked back longingly at my sky lantern that was slowly rising in the sky.

My lantern was frantically chasing after Yonni’s distancing lantern, which was released before mine, depicting the relationship between us clearly. However, the wind direction seemed to have changed all of a sudden for my lantern made a sudden turn to the left while Yonni’s turned to the right. I watched sadly as the distance between the two lanterns slowly increased, bringing my hope and wish further and further away from hers.

My heart was stabbed by a twine of agony as I silently wondered if that was fate telling me…

That Yonni and I…

Would never be?