A/N: The song for this chapter is “Enchanted” by Taylor Swift :) Enjoy!

Chapter 11: Like and Love

Seohyun stopped in her tracks. Even with her new discovered confidence her unnies had given her, she still felt as though her heart was tugging her opposite directions. What had seemed like a moment of clarity back in the music room now seemed like a decision made by someone else. They were down the street from the building, dim streetlamps the only things keeping them company.

Yonghwa continued walking, assuming that she was keeping up, but eventually he turned to find her shifting from foot to foot hesitantly.

“Oppa, what are we doing?” she asked frowning at him.

“We’re talking a walk.”

“Annio, I mean, why? What are we doing? What are we trying to accomplish tonight?”

Yonghwa frowned at her and stuck his hands in his pocket. He seemed to think hard about something before meeting her eyes. “I guess I should be honest with you because I think that’s what you’re asking for.”

She wasn’t sure if it was or wasn’t, but she wanted to listen to him anyway. He kept his distance as if clarifying something himself.

He sighed and became serious. “The truth is, I think we have some unfinished business. At least I know I do.”

Her brow furrowed in confusion. Unfinished business? What did he mean?

“I saw you on TV, when you said you never had feelings for me,” said Yonghwa after awhile.

Her breath caught in .

So now she would have to explain to him. The only problem was, she didn’t know what to say or what to explain. It had been true when she lifted that ‘X’, turning down the notion that she ever had real feelings for him. She had programmed herself to not feel anything special when it came to Yonghwa, and had been successful at it until tonight, she knew that now.  

“I can’t pretend I wasn’t surprised, but I didn’t think I’d feel so strange about it,” he finished.

“Did you ever have real feelings for me?” she asked quietly.

He looked at her quizzically. “Yeah, I wrote two songs about you. Well, one and a half. That gives it away I think.”

“How? How do you know it wasn’t just the show manipulating us?” she inched into the real question further. The question she had constantly asked herself over and over again when it first ended.

“I don’t,” he replied confidentially. “I don’t know at all, but manipulation or not, I like you.

I like you. Those words sent her heart rampant in her chest. He liked her. He had feelings for her. He wanted to be with her.

“Even after a year, I still like you,” he continued, approaching her. “I follow everything you do, even when I don’t mean to. I still get jealous, I still look at our pictures, I still hold on, even up until the moment before you called me. I know dating is off limits, but even still, I can’t stop my heart from telling me how much I miss you.”

He stopped her right then. “Seo Joohyun, I was your fake husband, but I was more like a boyfriend, right?”

“Dae,” she admitted.

“If you didn’t like me, had no feelings for me at all, how you did end up feeling comfortable enough to hold my hand and call me oppa that special way you do? To look into my eyes that way you do?”

Seohyun sighed and looked up at him. “Oppa, I don’t have the answer. It confused me a lot. It still does, when I allow myself to think about it. You made me laugh so much, feel pretty, fun. I was always excited to see you, to talk with you, experience whatever activity that was planned for us to do. That night we held hands, my heart wouldn’t stop pounding. I thought I was sick, and I never get sick.”

“And what are you feeling now?”

“I don’t need a boyfriend right now.”

“Dae, I know. Joohyun never wants a boyfriend.” He practically shouted the words in annoyance.

“I can’t decide what I want,” she said slowly.

“Then let me help you. Be with me tonight, and maybe your heart will reveal something,” he pleaded. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Dae. I trust you more than anyone,” she stared at the ground, her voice almost as whisper.

“Then let me show you how I feel, if only for the length of this walk. Give me permission.”

There was only one thing she could do other than speak. She was trying this new thing, you see, where she went with the flow of things. Maybe this time, she could have no regrets. She moved closer to him and looked into his eyes. He was so captivated by her face, he was surprised to feel her soft hand slide into his and take hold. Her hand grasped his gently, but he tightened the grip as if he’d never let go.

With unspoken words, they began walking together in silence again. It was a heavy silence, but her head was still reeling. She was holding his hand, and she had made the first move. She wanted this, to be walking with him, with everything—well, mostly everything—out on the table.

“Oppa,” she started, “let’s forget about what I said that time, on Happy Together. I feel too regretful about it.”

He lifted up their clasped hands to show her. “It’s already forgotten, Hyun.”

She nodded in understanding and saw the blissful grin spread across his face. It made her grin too. She wondered what he was thinking. Maybe he was wondering what she was thinking as well. She tried to send him a telepathic message. I missed this so much, Yong. I missed us.

He apparently didn’t receive it. He continued to grin staring straight ahead.

“What’s your favorite thing about me?” he asked her.

It didn’t take her long to answer because the answer was so obvious. “The look you get, when you’re singing to the audience.”

“I mean physically. What do you like about me?”

“Hmm,” she thought, poking out her lips. “I like it when you smile.”

“My smile? Really?”

“Dae. Especially your teeth. And your cheeks.”

“But why my smile?”

“It’s charismatic, and it tells me how happy you are. What’s your favorite thing about me?”

“Everything,” he blurted. “I love everything about you.”

“Oppa, love?”

He became shy, side glancing over at her. “Yes.”

She let the word hang in the air. She had not expected such a bold statement. But then again, he said he wanted to show her how he felt. Why would he hold back?

Again, more silence between the two of them. She had the urge to lean on his shoulder as he cradled her. It took her awhile before she became aware of how far they had walked from the music building, and how the streetlights became brighter and the buildings became higher.

“We are we going?”

“I don’t know.”

“We should probably know,” she replied nervously.

“I don’t care where we go. Just keep holding my hand.”

Seohyun waited a beat. “What if someone takes a picture? What if a reporter finds out?”

“Yonghwa and Seohyun,” Yonghwa mused. “Relationship a Reality.”

“What?” she laughed.

“You try it,” He urged. “Think of a headline.”

“Hmm,” she thought. “I’m not good at this.”

“Just try. It’s fun.”

“Yours was really good. I can’t come up with anything.”

“Joohyun-ah, you’re a genius. Come up with something.”

“Innocent maknae Seohyun caught dating rocker leader Yonghwa,” she grinned embarrassingly. “Not very good, right? Maybe something like Yongseo’s Secret Love Reunion.”

“Joohyun, are you saying you love me?” he smiled cheekily. She whined in embarrassment, pushing him away, but he wouldn’t let go of her hand.

“But Oppa, truthfully, reading headlines like that wouldn’t be very fun,” she frowned. “It’d hurt a lot of people. Things could get bad, right?”

“Let’s not worry about those things unless we have to and enjoy our time while we can. Sing me a song.”

“Sing me a song instead. So that I won’t feel nervous.”

He smiled at her and pulled her even closer. “Let’s sing together.”

There was a light debate over which song to sing, but there was only one song she could really think of. The one he had written for no one but her. Only her. Their song.

“There’s still some awkwardness, right? So sing me,” she said shyly, staring at her shoes, “Banmal Song.”

He gave a surprised expression, which made her a little nervous. Had he forgotten the lyrics? “Banmal Song?”

“Dae,” she continued shyly. “Or if we want to be formal, For First Time Lovers.”

He laughed now. “To the world, it’s For First Time Lovers, but to us, it’s Banmal Song. That’s what my heart calls it.”

“Oppa, your lines are too cheesy,” she blushed, but she still liked it. He began to sing, and she joined in when it was her turn. They sang quietly together as they walked together, side by side, hand in hand, bumping shoulder to shoulder. So this was what it was like… to go out on a date with someone without cameras following, without people gawking at them in fascination. To feel like those dandelion seeds she had used for a metaphor to describe ‘like’ and ‘love’. This night was so magical, it made her giddy inside. It would not always be like this, she knew that. At some point, the sun had to come up and things would have to return back to normal.

But for now, it was only 2 in the morning. It was still night, and she was still with Yonghwa.