8.5

 

Singapore

 

 

Towards the end of the first BER month, Lily found herself trudging along Orchard Road in search for her hotel. She ran out of money for the cab ride, having only exchanged a meager amount of AUD to SGD in the airport awhile ago because she didn't have that much in the first place. It was fortunate that she noticed the meter in time and that the cab driver was nice enough to understand. He took her as far as he could on her budget and didn't even want to accept the tip Lily gave. She won in the end, dragging her tiny carry-on quickly before the driver could return the amount she pressed into his hands. She had to find an ATM soon.

 

Allowing herself to look like a clueless tourist, Lily took her time admiring each window display she passed by. All the luxurious brands were there, their storefronts glinting in the sunlight. She's always been intimidated by those stores. Only once in her life did she ever dare enter one, and that was because she and Clare were all dressed up for a party and felt fancy enough to step inside. She sighed at the memory. She wouldn't have been able to experience a whole lot of things if it weren't for Clare dragging her along. 

 

Clare, how long will you keep this up? Lily thought miserably as she walked on, losing all interest in the pretty storefronts. 

 

Even though her dad allowed her to come home for spring break, it won't be for another week, and the anticipation was bulldozing her nerves into mush. She hasn't been able to sleep properly since that fateful conversation. If tiredness were hell, she'd be at the deepest level by now. It's a miracle they didn't charge her for excess baggage on account of her overlarge and over-dark eye bags.

 

Distracted as she was, Lily almost walked past her hotel. If it weren't for a cute, chubby kid holding a huge Nemo stuffed toy darting across her path, she would've completely passed by it without stopping. The little boy, in his haste to get away from whatever's chasing him, dropped his toy at Lily's feet. Lily picked it up, crouched down so they were about the same height, and handed it to him. She couldn't help but smile at his unsure expression, shyly looking at his feet, then at his mom (who was play-chasing him) and then back at her. His mom nodded, and he happily grabbed Nemo from Lily's hands and hugged it tight. He was around three, with a thick head of straight black hair and a goofy, open-mouthed smile that showed off his two front teeth, his eyes disappearing into crescents when he did. 

 

"Thank you!" he said in the cheerful, carefree way that only kids can do. Then, he took his mom's hand and crossed the street.

 

Lily stood up, her hand darting to her chest. What an adorable little boy. And she knew just who he reminded her of.

 

"Hi, it's me," Lily said into her phone a moment later.

 

"Is your next question, 'Is Hyukjae there?' " Donghae teased.

 

"I'm here, Lil!" came Hyukjae's voice from somewhere. What sounded like a light scuffle ensued, followed by laughs and a lot of "YA!"s. 

 

"Lilydon'tgooutwiththisguyhe'sveryclingy-"

 

"YA HYUKJAE!"

 

A door closed. The background became silent.

 

"Hi, sorry about that," Donghae's voice came back on, his breathing hard. "Hyukjae was being annoying."

 

"Did you lock yourself in a closet or something?" Lily inquired, smiling.

 

"Bathroom," Donghae replied. "So, what's up? How was your flight?"

 

"Where are you right now?" Lily asked, ignoring his questions.

 

"Still in our room, but we're leaving for a photoshoot soon-"

 

"Meet me in 5 minutes," Lily instructed. "Somewhere private. Rooftop?"

 

"I don't think we have access to the rooftop," Donghae supplied. Lily kept silent, thinking of somewhere else where there aren't any fangirls. 

 

"Oh I know," Donghae chirped. "Fire exit stairs. Nobody ever uses those."

 

Rushing through check-in, Lily dashed to Donghae's floor. She wasn't really sure where this came from. She's just acting on a whim, giving in to it completely for the first time. It was unlike her. Even when she "lets loose", there's always a part of her that she held back. But maybe because of all the stress she's been feeling, she had to do this. And maybe Donghae needed it, too. After four failed attempts at going on something as simple as a date, there should be… something. They've both put in a lot of effort and it's getting frustrating that no progress whatsoever has happened. She had to work harder.

 

Even before the elevator doors were completely open, Lily squeezed herself and her bag out. Jogging along the deserted hallway, she paused to read the arrows pointing where rooms were. 2201. Left. Alright.

 

There he was, doing the moonwalk while waiting for her at the end of the corridor. He spotted her, stopped, and waved, a smile as adorable as the chubby little boy's on his lips. Lily ran towards him, forgetting about what he is and the accompanying complications if they were to be spotted. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around him tightly, surprising him. After getting over the initial shock, Donghae slowly circled his arms around Lily, suspending his curiosity about what brought this on and just concentrated on savoring the feeling. Lily tightened her hug, burying her face in the crook of his neck. He smelled like freshly done laundry. 

 

 

They stayed like that for a good long while, until the sound of a door opening and chatter brought them back to reality. They broke apart, both feeling like they've just woken up from a restful 12-hour sleep. After making sure that they weren't spied on, Lily turned back to Donghae, who had the contented look of a well-fed man. She wanted to say something… couple-y? Like how it's worth it to pack a bag every other week and fly 8-10-hour flights just to have an almost-date with him. How she still cannot fathom why someone like him would actually want to date her, let alone go through all this trouble to do so. How she's gonna work harder to actually make at least one date push through. But before she could form anything coherent, another door opened and out came Hyukjae's voice calling for his best friend. Soon, they'll find them. This was it for now.

 

Leaning forward, Lily gave Donghae a soft, lingering kiss on his left cheek, and said, "This is for in case something screws up our date plan again tonight."

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

 

The boys wrapped up another successful Super Show. Lily decided to stay backstage and leave the floor outside to all the fangirls. After all, this was her fourth - and surely far from last - Super Show. Instead, she opted to help the noonas prepare things for the boys. By now, they all knew her as Henry's Australian cousin. It was even farther from the truth than the original "fake" identity they made, but oh well, it was close enough. As she slipped the used costumes back in their protective bags, Lily thought about later that night and tried guessing what Donghae has planned. 

 

She smiled as she remembered the look on his face awhile ago. He looked so happy. She wanted that look to forever be on his face. She closed her eyes for a moment and silently wished that their date would finally push through. That midnight xiao long bao run in Shanghai was supposed to be it, but Hyukjae and Henry bumped into them on the way and decided to tag along. She hoped that attempt #5 would be a success. If anybody interferes this time, she was going to chase them away with a mic stand. 

 

With nothing else to do but to wait for the boys to finish changing, Lily sneakily stuck a sticky note on Kyuhyun's laptop screen and closed it. If this guess were wrong once again, she'd owe him a total of 8 gaming hours. She didn't even know why she bothered guessing. There was no specified consequence for not guessing. But annoyingly, she wanted to know. Darn her curiosity.

 

An hour and a half later, Lily was perched at the edge of the bed in her hotel room, waiting for Donghae. She should be used to the anticipation by now, and yet here she was, tugging at the hem of the bedcovers to relieve her nervousness. This was it. Tonight was gonna be it. She's finally going to be on a proper date with Donghae. Alone. Without interruption. 

 

Holy crap. What will she say? What should they talk about? Why has she never thought about this before?! She's been so focused on making the date happen that she never really thought about what to do in the actual date. They have basically been standing on the line between being friends and being more than that this whole time. With this date, they'd officially cross it. It was a daunting thought. She got up and started to pace. It's only just starting to sink in that they will be starting a relationship. Her very first one. She felt like a kindergartener on her first day of class in a new school. 

 

Three successive knocks came on the door suddenly, making Lily shriek in surprise. Checking herself on the mirror, she tucked her hair behind an ear. That's about as good as it will get. With a big, calming breath, she opened the door.

 

"Do you really have to look that disappointed to see me?" 

 

"What are you doing here? Where's Donghae?" Lily demanded, all her nervousness evaporating and replaced by that special flavor of vexation that only Kyuhyun's presence - may it be sight, sound, smell, or mere thought -  brings. 

 

"You can at least say hello first," Kyuhyun grumbled, crossing his arms on his chest and leaning against the door frame. "Or at least pretend to be happy to see me."

 

"I am. Pretending. Deep down. In that imaginary part of me. That's why I haven't kicked you out yet. So where is he?" returned Lily.

 

"I don't know," admitted Kyuhyun. "He just told me to pick you up and bring you to some restaurant. So let's go."

 

Lily was confounded by this move of Donghae's. If this was supposed to add to the "mystery" of the date, why, of all the members, did he choose this PABO to her there? He could've asked Hyukjae, Siwon, or even Henry. Even the manager would've been a better choice.

 

"So, are you ready?" Kyuhyun asked when she didn't say anything.

 

Lily nodded, surrendering. "Yeah. Let me just grab my bag." It was Donghae's choice so she's trusting him. 

 

"You're really wearing that?" Kyuhyun called after her.

 

Lily stopped and her heel, clutching her bag, ready to do some smacking if this idiot says anything wrong. "And what is your problem with my outfit?"

 

Since she had a couple of hours alone earlier that day, after withdrawing some cash, Lily went to do something she rarely does: clothes shopping. She didn't have that much to spare, but thanks to a conversation overheard at a store, she ended up finding outlet stores and warehouse sales. Still uncomfortable with being too girly, she paired an ordinary white t-shirt with a mint green, high-low skirt (the kind that's longer at the back than in front) that ended a little above her knees. Black-and-white striped flats adorned her feet. As usual, she was carrying her camel-colored satchel and had her hair in a messy ponytail. She wasn't really an expert in fashion (maybe she should've checked with Siwon or Zhou Mi) but she thought the outfit went well together. 

 

"It's just… unusual," Kyuhyun commented, "to see you in a skirt."

 

Lily considered his answer. "Is it a good or a bad kind of unusual?"

 

"Let's just say… it's worth pausing a game of Starcraft and taking a look over."

 

And that was it, probably the best compliment Cho Kyuhyun could ever dish out. Smiling widely, Lily pinched his cheek in gratitude and dragged him by the arm down to the elevators.

 

 

 

~ ~ ~

 

 

Lily pushed open the glass doors and went in by herself. Her informed her that he was instructed to stay behind. Even though she found him annoying, with the return of the hyper-energetic butterflies in her stomach, she kind of wanted Kyuhyun by her side, to be a kind of mean icebreaker if they ever needed one. But she knew she had to take the plunge alone.

 

This is it, Lil. You waited two months for this. Go have the date of your life, she gave herself a pep talk. 

 

As Lily walked further in, she took in the ambiance. The restaurant had a high ceiling that was connected by windows to its floor. The tables and chairs were elegantly simple. Outside, crescent-shaped couches decked the balcony where groups or couples could enjoy drinks in fresh air. A 360-degree view of Singapore surrounded them. It was breathtaking. It was grand. It was the sort of restaurant she'd be uncomfortable dining in for the fear of looking shabby even in her best clothes. But tonight, it was empty, so she didn't have to worry about judgmental looks. Instead, she felt awed at the fact that Donghae probably reserved the whole place for them. What exactly did she do (besides saving Hyukkie time and again) to deserve this guy?

 

 

Lily spied a figure sitting at a table near the end. Her heartbeat quickened along with her footsteps. There he was, patiently waiting for her as always. But a few feet away, Lily stopped, rendered speechless due to her heart jumping up to at the realization of who the person was.

 

"Clare," she managed to whisper.

 

Clare. Clare was sitting a few feet away from her. Her best friend whom she hasn't talked to in almost 2 months was right there. Lily was filled with both relief and anxiety. To finally see her again after more than half a year brought her so much joy, yet the suddenness of this meeting left her unprepared, and that terrified her. What if she said all the wrong things and made Clare hate her forever? The sheer terror of that thought made her stay rooted to the spot.

 

Clare looked right back at her, her face impassive. It scared Lily even more. Then, to her surprised, Clare stood up and slowly walked towards her. 

 

This is it. She's gonna slap me and tell me to never bother her again, Lily cried in her head forlornly. As Clare closed the gap between them, Lily closed her eyes and braced for the blow.

 

Soft, warm arms encircled her. She could smell Clare's scent, the one she's been wearing since they were 10 years old. Was it real? Or was she imagining it? She didn't want to open her eyes lest the dream vanishes. Instead, she lifted her own arms and put it around the body against hers. It felt familiar. It felt real. This was Clare and she's really here, hugging her. 

 

"Clare…" Lily said in a trembling voice. Tears were teetering at the corners of her eyes.

 

"Don't you dare, Lily," Clare warned, her own voice cracking. "Don't you dare cry on me."

 

With that, the dam broke. Lily let everything out. All the things she buried under a happy mask for the past two months came rushing out in sobs. She held onto her best friend tighter. Clare her hair soothingly while gently shushing her, trying to make her calm down. She felt her friend shudder as Clare broke down with her.

 

After what seemed like forever, the two girls broke apart. Clare made to wipe her cheeks with the back of her hands but Lily lightly tapped them away, producing a pack of tissues from her bag and handing one to her. Clare raised an eyebrow at her, questioning where that new reflex came from.

 

"Sorry. Siwon does that to me all the time so I kinda picked it up," Lily explained. Clare kept silent while dabbing at her cheeks.

 

"Clare… I'm really sorry about everything," Lily said when Clare still didn't speak up. "I never meant to hurt you. I was stupid and didn't consider your feelings. Can we please just forget about the last two months and go back to normal?"

 

She waited for her friend to respond, but still nothing came. Clare kept her eyes trained on the floor. Worry materialized once more in her heart. Lily didn't know what else to say. She just wanted her best friend back already, but why is Clare making it hard?

 

Then, an idea popped into her head.

 

"Sorry sorry sorry sorry, naega naega naega micheo…" Lily sang softly. She was prepared to do the whole dance if Clare doesn't react. But thankfully, a tiny smile started spreading on her friend's face.

 

"It's actually meonjeo," Clare corrected. "Micheo is at the last line of the chorus."

 

"Fangirl," Lily teased. 

 

Clare laughed and lightly punched her arm. "Well duh! You should know how it goes by now. I made you listen to that for 5 straight months!"

 

"I know! I was trying to say that I was crazy for not telling you," Lily defended. "After having to listen to that song on loop for 5 months, how can I not know the meaning of it?"

 

"Wow. You should compensate me for making you learn Korean," Clare commented.

 

"Yeah, you and your dear ol' hubby," Lily replied. "So you do have something in common after all!"

 

"AAAAGGGHHH!!!! I hate you so much! You get to receive messages from Siwon every single day. I totally hate you, Lily," Clare pouted. "But I actually should be the one who's sorry. I knew that you got into that whole thing because you wanted to surprise me with the best gift ever, which you did, but I got insanely jealous and couldn't deal with it. Then I put you through hell all this time. I'm really sorry for being such a , Lil. You really are the bestest best friend anyone could have. Thank you. I guess you meeting the boys is heaven's way of rewarding you for being awesome."

 

Lily had nothing else to say so she just patted Clare's shoulder. She had her best friend back. Everything was well once again.

 

A series of thumping and rattling sounds issued from behind the door leading to the kitchen. A moment later, it burst open and Hyukjae stumbled out, followed by the whole group. They were all smiling and clapping.

 

"It's so good to see you two make up," Leeteuk declared. "At last, Lily's genuinely smiling again. My heart is pleased."

 

"Why should you be pleased? It's not you who she takes out all her frustration on," Kyuhyun butted in.

 

"Gentlemen, where are your manners? We haven't introduced ourselves properly yet!" Siwon spoke up. Turning towards Clare, he held out his hand and, with his dashing dimpled smile, said, "Hi, I'm Siwon. It's nice to finally meet you, Clare."

 

The stunned look on her best friend's face made Lily snort in laughter. This was Clare's dearest dream becoming a reality. Slowly, she backed away as the other guys converged on the poor, helpless fan.

 

While everybody was busy introducing themselves to Clare, Lily caught Donghae's hand and pulled him into a hug away from the group. After giving her a supportive squeeze, he leaned back to look at her, holding her face with both his hands and wiping away the remaining tears on her cheeks with his thumbs. Lily smiled at him gratefully, her arms still around his waist.

 

"Thank you for this," she said. "I can't believe you did this for me. Thank you."

 

"Actually, it's-"

 

"JJINJA?!" Shindong suddenly exclaimed with a smile as wide as Ronald McDonald's. The group made a circle around Hyukjae, who stood there in the middle looking as if he'd give anything for the floor to open up and swallow him. Lily let go of Donghae and went to see what the commotion was all about.

 

 

"Yes, it was him," Clare confirmed. "He called me up in the middle of the night and plead with me. He almost flew to Manila just to get me."

 

"What are you guys talking about?" Lily inquired.

 

"Hyukjae," Sungmin supplied, sounding surprised himself. "He arranged for this whole thing in secret."

 

"Yeah, none of us knew," Yesung interjected. "We thought we're having a dinner meeting with the managers here."

 

"I thought you guys were treating us to dinner," piped up one of the managers. Oh, so they're also here.

 

Touched to the point of speechlessness, Lily made a beeline for Hyukjae and enveloped him in a heartfelt embrace of concentrated gratitude. She never expected this from him. Donghae, yes. Siwon, yes. But Hyukjae? The unexpectedness of it made it even more moving.

 

"Kamsahamnida, Hyukkie-ah," Lily mumbled. "I'll give you a lifetime supply of strawberry milk for this." Hyukjae only chuckled at gingerly hugged her back in reply.

 

"You finally came to your senses, didn't you?" Shindong asked Hyukjae excitedly after Lily let go of him.

 

"What do you mean?" Hyukjae questioned.

 

"Making a move on Lily! Didn't you arrange this all just to get on her good side? Man, I didn't know you were such a smooth operator."

 

"I just… I didn't want Lily to be sad anymore," Hyukjae explained. "The way I see it, if I hadn't gotten lost in the first place, Lily wouldn't have gotten into this whole mess. She wouldn't have suffered."

 

"It's good that you know," remarked Kyuhyun. Siwon nudged him to stay quiet.

 

"But if everything didn't happen the way it did, we wouldn't have met Lily, and I think everyone here agrees that that would be a ier alternate reality," Hyukjae continued, "not to mention that I would've gotten into so much more trouble without her. So I guess… this was my way of saying thanks for coming into my - our lives, Lil."

 

Everyone sounded their agreement. Lily pinched Hyuk's arm in reply.

 

"So I guess we can expect a proposal next?" Shindong joked.

 

"Ooohhhhhmygaaaaaah here they go again…" Donghae mumbled.

 

"Can you PLEASE stop mentioning that," Kyuhyun begged.

 

"Wait, I think I'm missing something here. Is there something going on between you two? Lily!" Clare said, demanding an explanation from Lily with her stare.

 

Hyukjae exhaled as if he's letting out a great big burden in his chest. To Lily's surprise, he took one of her hands in both of his. "Actually…" he trailed off. 

 

Everyone fell into a hush. They've been teasing him and Lily for ages. It was all in good fun, but is he finally giving in?

 

Lily stared at her hand in his, and then at him, her face a huge question mark. He was staring intently back at her, his face devoid of any trace of humor. He looked nervous. Lily started getting nervous, too. Then, gingerly, without letting go, Hyukjae sank down to one knee. There was an audible simultaneous intake of air from everybody. 

 

What is happening? Oh my g… What is happening?! Is this happening?! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING! Lily panicked in her head. 

 

"Hyukkie… stand up… what are you doing…" Lily plead nervously, tugging on his arm. 

 

"Lily," Hyukjae began, his voice shaky, "you've saved me from disaster time and again. I honestly do not know how it would've turned out had you not showed up. I might've died back in Sydney if it weren't for you. I know that Shindong hyung keeps on saying it in jest, but I've actually thought about it seriously. He's right. I should've done this a long time ago. I'm not really prepared with a ring, but…"

 

He reached into his pocket and produced a keychain of a miniature black Chuck Taylor. On its side, the words "I <3 You" was printed. "I have this. I think it's fitting, isn't it? You used one to save me from bullies. You also lent me a pair when I needed them. They're the shoes that brought us together. So Lily," he continued as he carefully slipped the keyring on Lily's ring finger.

 

 

"Will you…"

 

Don't say it! PLEASE don't say it! Lily plead in her head.

 

"…please tell these idiots to stop telling me to propose to you." Hyukjae finished. "Because really, the joke's getting old."

 

After a moment more of stunned silence, everybody burst out laughing. Shindong helped Hyukjae up and clapped him on the back, congratulating him for a prank well done. Some punched him playfully on the shoulder. Others ruffled his hair. Lily was left there still astounded by what she thought almost happened.

 

"So that's it?" Lily spoke up, her tone harsh. "All the things you said were lies?"

 

Hyukjae froze along with everyone else. They all turned to look at her, confused as to why she's so serious.

 

"Do you think you're the only one who thought about Shindong's jokes seriously? Do you think I saved you from all those troubles because I was just that nice?" Lily went on. She sniffed, a stray tear rolling down her cheek. "And here I thought, after hearing your beautiful speech, that you've finally figured my heart out. But it's all a joke to you, isn't it?"

 

"DO I LOOK LIKE A JOKE TO YOU, LEE HYUKJAE?!"

 

Spinning around, she ran out the door as fast as she could, leaving everyone in stunned silence.

 

When she was sure that she was out of hearing distance, Lily broke down laughing. Seriously. The looks on their faces! She gave herself a mental pat on the back for pulling that believable acting from thin air. She didn't know she had it in her. Hanging out with Siwon must've rubbed some of his talents off on her. She couldn't even believe that she managed to squeeze out a tear! Still LOL-ing, she took out her phone and texted Donghae to get Clare and come find her. She'll let the others stew for a while, especially Hyukkie. She'll tell them eventually. Maybe in the next city.

 

 

 

-------------

 

 

Wasn't this a happy chapter? :))

 

So, there you have it! Someone's eliminated from the love pentagon. Lol! Now all we have left is a love square. Who will be next? :)))

 

Thank you, dear reader/commenter/subscriber YOU for reading/commenting/subscribing to this story. You make my screwed up sleeping pattern worth dealing with. Special mention goes to the following awesomebeans individuals who regularly feed me with encouraging comments and put up with my random blabber:

 

fishae

Maudmoonshine

melon10

 

I <3 you girls. :) Thank you so much.

 

Of course, kamsahamnidas go out to nirtak28, iLuvYesung, supermosha1, and the newbies retard and hyukbear. Thank you for being here and I look forward to seeing more of your feedback. :)

 

Really, every feedback, even just an "I've read this chapter!" comment would really help push me to get on with this story. We're about halfway there so stay tuned. :D