_{*This upload was a two parter so check the previous chapter if you've been following this story. Thanks & Happy Reading.*}

Hyoyeon snuck down to breakfast as soon as the restaurant opened and was thankful to find that only a handful of the staff were present when she arrived. Her stylist was still in bed, and the makeup artist and hair stylist who had been put in the room next to theirs still had the ‘do not disturb’ sign on their door. She’d have breakfast alone and then disappear for the day. No Siwon. No manager. Just her and the sights of Jeju.

She bowed in greeting to the staff before taking a seat near one of the large bay windows that overlooked the beach. A waiter soon came over and handed her a menu. She read through it quickly before ordering the traditional Jeju breakfast.

‘When unsure, keep it simple.’ she thought.

She’d seen a brochure on the front desk for a day trip round Jeju’s sights for the day and she’d paid for it immediately after returning from the shoot asking the front desk receptionist to keep it a secret from everyone.

She straightened the wide brimmed straw hat on her head and let her thoughts drift. She’d dressed as inconspicuously as possible so that she wouldn’t draw any attention while on the tour. It had surprised her how often people stopped her these days, she supposed she had her more frequent variety show appearances, her regular spot on the second season of Invincible Youth and Dancing with the Stars to thank for that. There might be a few people who recognised her but not enough to actually give her any trouble. She liked the ambiguous celebrity she had, just enough to get a little extra attention but not enough to bring an entire airport to a standstill.

The waiter had just brought in her breakfast when the restaurant erupted into a buzz of murmuring from the hotel guests in the room.

“Siwon…it’s him,” she heard one whisper.

“No it can’t be,” someone else replied.

“Omg! Its him,” another said.

Hyoyeon kept her attention on her food. After the previous night’s discussion she couldn’t face him and pretend that everything was fine as she would have to do given that they were in public. She stole a glance in his direction and saw him talking to one of the staff members, one of the assistant directors if she wasn’t mistaken. They laughed and smiled like old friends. Siwon was like that. Mr. Popularity. Mr. Nice guy.

She stuffed a large spoon of rice into and chewed slowly. He was nice for the most part she supposed. She couldn’t deny that. He went to church too, she would know because she saw him there every Sunday. His faith wasn’t just for show either, he was actively involved in church activities, he organised prayer meetings and attended bible study sessions. He was a certifiable good guy (for the most part.)

She took a sip of soup and then another trying hard to block out Siwon laughter.

‘No Siwon. Just me and Jeju. Just me and Jeju.’ She repeated over and over in her head like a mantra.

Somehow though the mantra seemed to draw him to her table. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see him standing beside her.

“Morning,” he said.

She didn’t immediately reply, not because she was still upset about the day before but because she was so surprised he had actually approached her.

“Everyone’s watching.” He said. “You should at least pretend you’re a little pleased to see me,” he smiled as though he’d just said something pleasant to her.

“Morning,” she said plastering an equally pleasant smile on her face.

“Mind if I join you?”

“I’m not sure I can keep up an act throughout breakfast,” she replied with a wink.

“I’m sure you’ll try your best,” he returned her wink and sat down opposite her.

“Why are you doing this?”

“What am I doing?”

“After last night…”

“I’m not sure what you’re referring to,” he pressed the call bell hidden near the tables centre piece and a waiter made his way towards them

He ordered the same meal she had and once again they were left alone. If you could even say they were alone. The other twenty or so hotel guests in the restaurant kept throwing looks their way. Some of the staff members did as well.

‘Oh are they that close?’ their looks said.

‘No we aren’t,’ she wanted to yell back.

“You spoke your mind. I was really upset but I can’t blame you for what you said.” he unfolded his napkin and placed it on his lap, he lowered his voice and the smile faded from his lips, “I hurt you and for that I’m sorry.”

Hyoyeon’s heart skipped a beat. She took a sip of the mandarin orange punch that accompanied her meal. Despite the traitorous feelings flooding through her she wasn’t going to get back onto that topic. No way. And yet…

“Why are you being like this?” she asked. “Why after so long?”

“Because I realised m-,” he stopped mid sentence as the waiter arrived at their table carrying his tray of food. “Because I realised my mistake,” he replied after the waiter left.

She ate some more rice chewing slowly so she wouldn’t have to reply.

“I don’t know why it took me so long to man up about it,” he continued. “My reasons at the time were-”

Hyoyeon looked up at him, “Your reasons were justified,” she finished for him.

“No…they weren’t. They were selfish,” he said, “And stupid.”

“Would you be as successful now if we’d carried on? Would we even be together anymore? We were so young back then...”

She couldn’t believe she was entertaining him but on some level it felt good to get all this pent up…everything off her chest. The night he’d told her that once they went back to Korea they’d go back to the way they had been before she hadn’t even had a chance to express her own feelings. He had spoken, she had listened and that had been that. It had seemed almost stupid to argue with him. They were going to debut soon, celebrities didn’t date. They had scandals occasionally to get them into the spot light every now and then but they didn’t really date. Not seriously anyway.

“I think I would have been just as successful…but I did worry about it back then. I will admit that I did. But I know better,” the look in his eyes intensified and she found it hard to look away, “We were young but it doesn't make what we...what I felt any less real. We’d still be together. That’s probably the only thing I’m sure about.”

Again her heart skipped a beat. This was all too much, too fast, too sudden.

“I know what you’re thinking…”

“What am I thinking?”

“You don’t trust me and that’s okay. I wouldn’t trust me,” he said, “But I’m being sincere. A lot of stuff has happened over the past few months. It made me realise what I lost when I let you go. At first I thought the only reason we got close in Beijing was because we only had each other to depend on really, at least that’s what I told myself.”

Siwon waited from some kind of response from her but she only drank some of her soup.

“I really liked you,” he reached forward and brushed his hand over hers, keeping the motion subtle so that no one could see, she looked up at him, her cheeks slightly tinged with pink, “I still like you.”

 Whatever moment he’d hoped to create didn’t quite materialise. She only pulled her hand back and kept on eating. They were quiet for the longest time.

“This is the most we’ve spoken in seven years you know?” she said absently.

He sighed. She’d closed herself off. Had he been too forward? He’d forgotten how reticent she could be when it came to talking about feelings. They were opposites in that respect. He couldn’t help expressing how he felt about those he cared about while she kept her feelings inside, letting it out only when she really felt she could trust whoever it was she cared for.

“I know,” he ran a hand through his hair, a little frustrated, “But I really want us to get close again.”

She didn’t reply.

“We can take it slow…”

“Take what slow?” she asked.

He sighed then smiled, “Our friendship. Our new friendship.”

“Friendship huh?” she said softly.

He lifted his glass up and held it in the air, “To friends,” he said.

Hyoyeon studied Siwon carefully. The drama these past few days had all been just for the sake of her friendship? The anger she’d been feeling since the previous night faded and confusion took over.

‘What could it hurt though?’ she thought.

She’d gone by seven years pretending she was okay with the status quo of their relationship but for the first time it actually felt like they’d made some progress.  

“To friends,” she clinked her glass against his.