*(not so mini) side-chapter - because there just had to be another one. XD

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Oh, it's her! Lily thought excitedly.

"Zhou Mi ge, who's that?" she whispered to the tall, sharply dressed man sitting beside her. 

Earlier that day, against her will, she was dragged out and left in a shopping plaza by Siwon and Zhou Mi with specific instructions: buy an outfit for a formal event. She wasn't the least bit inclined to go out that night, let alone in formal attire. And legit high heels ("I only ever see you in sneakers!"), according to President Choi. She protested at first, but had to give in because she couldn't bring herself to tell them the reason for her unwillingness. Even though they've grown pretty close pretty quick, still, they're guys. They won't understand a girl's need to stay home and eat comfort food in comfy loose clothing for a few days every month. And this being her second day made things worse.

But what can she do? She did fly all the way here to be with them. Might as well go along with it. As it turns out, they were bringing her along for the pre-concert gala dinner for the MOA concert the next day. She began regretting coming here the moment she found out. Not only was she not fond of formal events, she also wasn't very social at all. Lily was the self-confessed queen of the socially awkward. She's incredibly shy and inarticulate. Besides, Donghae wasn't even going to make it because of a solo activity, so why did she bother coming again?

"The girl in the gold Versace gown?" Zhou Mi asked. 

"Yeah, I saw her in Shanghai. She was a host in that awards show," Lily replied. "She is so adorable!"

"Having a girl crush, aren't we?" Zhou Mi said in an amused tone. "That's Lou Yi Xiao. She's a Chinese actress. Just wait. I'll introduce you."

Yay! Lily thought happily to herself, then wondered why she's so giddy about that. It's not like she knew anything about the woman. She just looked cute and adorable. What's there to get worked up about? She speared the lone steamed pork dumpling on her plate and shoved it in , nettled at how fickle her mood was. Chewing forcefully, she realized that she was probably looking unladylike. Ugh. Darnit. Siwon has already installed a little virus version of his daddy-nagging in her head.

I swear, if he comes over and corrects my posture or anything, I'm gonna shave off his eyebrows, Lily thought angrily. Her attempt to appease her anger with food was met with a clanking sound made by her fork hitting her empty plate. 

What? No more dumplings?! No… Why is the world so sad… Lily whined in her head, unable to stop the frown forming on her lips. She was aware that her mood swings were bordering on insane but she couldn't help herself. She kind of felt like crying right about now. She knew that there were more on the buffet table but… she'd have to walk to get there… in four--inch heels that pinched her toes even when she's seated. Why were the dumplings so far away?! Why wasn't Donghae here?! He would've refilled her plate by now.

Getting an idea, Lily turned to face Zhou Mi, but was surprised to see an empty seat. In fact, the whole table was suddenly empty. She looked up to see the others all on their feet at different parts of the room - some dancing; others chatting with other artists.  After dragging her to this darn party she didn't want to go to in the first place, they just leave her there without so much as a "be right back". Scowling, she planted her chin on her palm and sulked. A moment later, a happy-looking Kyuhyun settled beside her with a plate of noodles. He smiled at her before tucking into his dinner. 

The heck are you smiling for?! was what she wanted to say but thought better of it. There was no point in ruining someone else's night, even if that someone else was Kyuhyun, which could be fun. He actually looked rather decent in his classic black suit and white dress shirt, and the little bow tie made him look - dare she think it? - adorable. Her hormones really were driving her crazy.

Then, she realized that he could be the answer.

"Kyu, could you get me some more dumplings, please?" Lily asked in the sweetest, most innocent tone she could muster without making herself gag.

Kyuhyun looked at her oddly - almost defensively. He wasn't used to hearing her use that tone with him. It was a little scary. "Do I look like a waiter to you?" he replied.

Lily made a show of narrowing her eyes and assessing him. "In that suit, yeah, a bit."

Kyuhyun scowled.

"Come on, you're closer to the buffet table," Lily pointed out.

"By a foot!" Kyuhyun shot back.

"Please, Kyu? Pleeeeaaaassseeeee?" Lily begged, doing her best to imitate Sungmin's aegyo.

Kyuhyun went back to attacking his plate of noodles and pretended not to hear her.

This little brat… You're trying to ignore me? Really. Well, I know what you want, Lily thought with a smirk. "I'll add another hour of Worldcraft with you."

"It's Starcraft," Kyuhyun corrected.

"Whatcrap?" 

"Starcraft!"

"Suncraft?"

"Starcraft! STARCRAFT!!!" cried Kyuhyun in an exasperation. 

Lily almost couldn't hold back her laughter. It's so much fun annoying Kyuhyun. "Alright! Geez! I'll play Starcraft or whatever else craft with you. Just get me some more dumplings, please?" Lily requested once more.

Puffing out air in annoyance, which made his bangs flop up and down, Kyuhyun finally gave in. "Ugh. Fine," he said, standing up. "But that's anytime, no excuses. And you still owe me Task 5."

Sonofagrrrrr! Lily mentally growled. He mentioned Task 5 to torture her. He knew she was dying of curiosity as to what it was. One day, when she couldn't take it anymore, she'd just have to beat the info out of him. Or lock him in a gas chamber filled with Hyukjae's foot and armpit odor until he confesses. Or passes out. Whichever comes first.

Humming a random happy tune, Lily sat there and waited for her dumplings. She sat back and watched the comings and goings of the people. They were all so posh and beautiful. Maybe coming here wasn't such a bad idea after all. It's not everyday that an ordinary girl like her could spend a night with high caliber celebrities like this.

Zhou Mi eventually returned to his seat beside her with a fresh flute of champagne. They chatted about some drunk actor at the other side of the ballroom tripping and falling face first onto a woman's cleavage. Lily was finally feeling lighter when she noticed that Kyuhyun still wasn't back with her dumplings. She looked over at the buffet table and saw him, a plate piled high with dumplings and other stuff in both hands, smiling widely and talking to Lou Yi Xiao.

All traces of glee on Lily's face instantly fell right off. She must've looked hostile because even Zhou Mi's laughter halted. He traced Lily's line of vision and saw what brought the cloud of gloom back over her head.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that Kyuhyun and Yi Xiao actually know each other," Zhou Mi said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"What?!" Lily demanded. Then, realizing that her reaction was too severe to be called normal, she cleared and tried again. "I mean, when? How? That's… nice."

Zhou Mi gave her a slightly confused look before answering, "They filmed an episode of We Got Married together. It was a Valentine special or something. They really hit it off, too. Yi Xiao was quite taken with our little Gui Xian."

Lily successfully kept a straight face while her brain screamed, THEY WERE PRETEND-MARRIED?! ON VALENTINES DAY?! AND WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD BE TAKEN WITH KYUHYUN?!

"Oh… Like the one Leeteuk oppa's filming right now. That's… nice," Lily managed to say. She turned back to the talking pair. Kyuhyun was saying something while Yi Xiao was laughing heartily. She playfully hit Kyuhyun's arm, but her hand never left. Lily had the urge to throw her fork at them.

Wait, what are you pissed off about? Lily wondered to herself. She wasn't too sure herself, but the way that woman was touching Kyuhyun's arm was rubbing her the wrong way. Lily shook her head. It's the hunger. She was hungry and that woman was holding up the food because of all that flirting. Urgh. Come on. Can she please get her paws off Kyuhyun so he could feed her already?!

"Lily," someone said softly by her ear.

"WHAT?!" Lily cried irritably, starling an innocent Siwon.

"I was wondering if you would like to dance," he asked after recovering from the outburst. "But if you're not in the mood..."

Lily mentally slapped herself. The poor guy didn't deserve that. "I'm sorry about that," she apologized sincerely. "And yes, I'd love to dance with you."

Siwon smiled his signature prince charming smile and lead her by the hand to the dance floor. The string quartet on stage was playing a lovely rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Music of the Night. Lily felt as if she has stepped into a cheesy TV-movie of yet another modern-day retelling of the Cinderella story. She wasn't too bothered though. Those kinds of movies were her secret pick-me-ups whenever she felt awful, and getting to live it for real with Siwon as the fabled prince wasn't so bad. He did really look the part. 

She, on the other hand, hoped that the dress she picked was good enough. She wasn't into flashy things so she picked a modest Mandarin-collared gown with cap sleeves. It had an empire cut and a lace overlay with the skirts flowing beautifully to the floor. It was on the pinkish side, which she wasn't a big fan of, but she didn't have that much time and it was the only design she liked. She picked a random pair of gold strappy sandals with decent height, figuring that since her dress was long enough, no one would ever see her shoes. On her way home, she passed by a stall selling cheap, faux jewelry that looked real enough, so she bought a pair of pearl-and-gold earrings and matching hair clip, which is now holding her hair up in a messy-yet-elegant side-bun. 

"I knew you had good fashion sense," Siwon commented as they swayed along with the music. Lily had no idea how to slow dance so she left it all to him. If it were any other guy, she would've felt a little uncomfortable with his hand on her waist and the almost nonexistent space between them, but this was Siwon. Come on. Nothing goes wrong when she was with Siwon.

"Well, I just had to think, 'What would Siwon pick?' and I knew I wouldn't make the wrong choice," Lily replied, making her partner chuckle. 

"I'm glad I'm having such a positive influence on you," he remarked. "But honestly, you look beautiful. We should take a picture and make Donghae feel bad for not coming."

Lily's eyes widened. Siwon mirrored her.

"What, do you think we don't know? Please, you two aren't the most discreet couple," he said. "It's alright. We'll continue to pretend to not know."

Lily blushed. Yeah, how could they not know? "We're not a couple…" was all she could say.

"Yet," Siwon completed her sentence. He lifted his arm, the one holding her other hand, asking her to do a little spin. She laughed before obliging. He led her around the room smoothly that Lily was surprised to see they were on the other side already. For someone who's deemed one of the worst dancers of Super Junior, he sure could work a ballroom dance floor. 

"Oh, be careful," Lily warned, pulling her partner closer to keep him from bumping into another dancing couple. Thankfully, the guy spun the girl around and got out of Siwon's way, also revealing who he was. Kyu-freakin'-hyun. He didn't even notice them, what with his eyes never leaving his precious Yi Xiao.

Lily gave off a forceful exhale of irritation while rolling her eyes. 

Siwon caught her reaction. "Are you alright?" he inquired. 

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine. Why, is there something wrong?" Lily replied, trying to sound nonchalant. She snuck another glance at the dancing couple a few feet away. Lou Yi Xiao was now whispering into her partner's ear, making the latter's lips turn up in a smile. She couldn't believe that only a few minutes ago, she wanted to meet this lady badly. How did that turn into her wanting that woman to trip over something right now?

Geez, get a room why don't you! Lily thought crabbily. A sharp, irritated exhale came out of Lily once again without her permission. 

"Are you being jealous?" Siwon asked, an amused smile threatening to appear.

"Of who? Of Kyuhyun?! Eugh, NO," Lily said, flinching at the thought. 

"Then why are you all huffy-puffy and irritable?" questioned Siwon. 

"Well, I…" Lily trailed off. She knew that it was the screwed-up hormones working, but how does she say it without mentioning the word "period"? "I asked Kyuhyun to get me some food because I'm really hungry and he agreed so I waited for a long time but instead he's hear flirt-dancing with that girl. And I'm still hungry."

Siwon raised an eyebrow.

"He owes me food, man," Lily emphasized. "FOOD. You know how big of a deal that is."

Chuckling, Siwon nodded his head and replied, "Yes, I know that very well. Alright, I'll go change partners with him so you could give him that little guilt speech of yours."

"Don't you dare do that or I swear, I'll trap you in an unventilated room with the shoes Hyukjae used barefoot," Lily threatened.

"Pssssh, I'm used to it," Siwon brushed off as he smoothly glided them towards the other couple. 

Lily tried to stop him but she wasn't too steady on her feet with these shoes on. She ended up wearing her most real-looking fake smile as Siwon introduced her to Lou Yi Xiao. They made little polite bows to each other as they swapped partners. And then she was left with Cho Kyuhyun. Lily just stood there, looking at him with narrow, accusing eyes.

"What?" he asked. There was always something up when it comes to Lily.

"You… you flirt!" Lily hissed. "I was waiting for my dumplings. Couldn't you wait until you've fed me before being all gooey-eyed with that-that woman?"

Kyuhyun gave her an odd look for a second before letting out a chuckle. He, unlike Siwon, took both her hands and placed them on his shoulders while he placed both of his on her hips. Lily made to move away but he pulled her closer, closing whatever distance they had between them. Her 4-inch heels made them the same height. It was a little disconcerting to be this close to him; close enough to count his acne scars, close enough to hear him breathe, close enough to see that peculiar light in his eyes as he stared into hers. It reminded Lily of that night in Sydney when she saw him looking at her in the hotel coffee shop. It was that same look. It was…

Captivating.

Oh GAAAAAAHHHH what am I thinking?! Lily freaked out in her head. She had to go see an endocrinologist soon about these hormones of hers. They're definitely not normal. 

"Who said I wanted to dance with you?" Lily spat, pushing him away.

"Oh, come on, Lil. It's not everyday that you can become a princess to my prince charming," Kyuhyun teased, not letting her go.

"What, so you mean I should see this as some sort of favor from you? You dancing with me? Oh, my poor fangirl heart!" Lily mocked. "Cho Kyuhyun is dancing with me! I can die happily now."

"Fine. Let's just go back to the table," Kyuhyun gave up. Really, there was no winning with this girl. Even though he knew what he said was right, she still took it the wrong way. It's like there's a special subtitle setting in her head tuned to misinterpret him. Pissed off, he let go of her and started to walk away, but Lily hasn't moved an inch.

"Come ON," he urged.

"The dude's stepping on my dress!" Lily hissed back, trying and failing to pull herself free.

"No no no, wait until he lifts his--"

Kyuhyun never got to finish what he was going to say. Just as Lily tugged on her skirt once again, the man lifted his foot, sending her toppling onto her partner, who caught her. The force of the pull made her slam against him, plastering her lips on his for what probably was the most unfortunate first kiss in the history of first kisses since humans walked this earth.

It took Lily a few seconds to recover from the impact, but when she opened her eyes, which she closed to brace herself for the crash, she found an even worse tragedy. Kyuhyun was staring right at her, eyes wide with shock. And she had her lips on him.

Oh gahd, I'm kissing Kyuhyun. OHMYGAH!!!!! 

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Lily shrieked, jumping away and covering with both her hands. Kyuhyun only stood there in stunned silence.

Ignoring the man who stepped on her dress and was asking her if she was alright (THIS WAS ALL HIS FAULT, DAMN HIM!), Lily turned and ran towards the nearest exit, leaving Kyuhyun in the middle of the dance floor looking like a dumbstruck statue.

It may have been five minutes, or ten, or even an hour for all she knows, but Lily stayed out in the balcony, in the cold. She screamed her heart out when she came. Now, she's pretty tired. She just wanted to go back to her hotel room, slip on her soft, comfy pajamas, hide under thick, warm, blankets, and forget that this whole thing ever happened. 

"Hey."

"Ugh. Go back inside. Leave me alone."

"You're shivering," Kyuhyun observed. He took his jacket off and wrapped Lily in it. She looked like she was going to refuse at first, but then she pulled it tighter around her. Maybe she was really cold. He should've found her sooner. If only he weren't too shellshocked awhile ago.

He leaned against the balcony railing beside her and shared her silence. It felt nice. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence like what they usually had before. At least, he wasn't feeling any hostility coming from her.

"I'm sorry," Lily mumbled.

"Hmm?" Kyuhyun asked. What was she apologizing for?

"If I weren't being careless, that… that wouldn't have happened." she replied, looking genuinely sorry. "There were reporters there. Someone could've seen it and taken photos. You could end up with a scandal tomorrow. I could've ruined your career because of my clumsiness."

Kyuhyun paused, letting what she said sink in. That didn't even cross his mind. All he could think of was what he could've done in his past life to be this lucky tonight. He could still feel her lips on his. He tried to stop himself from smiling.

"Well, yeah, that could happen. Or, you can look at it as the world knowing how lucky you are to be kissed by Cho Kyuhyun," he responded.

Lily made a weird gagging, squishing, meowing sound.

"Did you hear that?" Lily asked. "That's a hundred kittens getting run over by trucks because they'd rather give up their 9 lives than hear you say that again."

Kyuhyun laughed despite the insult. "Come on, admit it. You intentionally 'tripped' so you could kiss me and make it look like an accident."

Lily looked at him with a mixture of horror and disbelief on her lovely face. "How are you even able to walk through doors with an ego that big?! It was an accident! I would rather have had my first kiss with one of Yesung's turtle than you."

"What?!" Kyuhyun exclaimed. "So you mean, that was your first kiss? Ever? Ever in your whole life? Ever?"

Lily didn't - couldn't - look at him. She gave him a minute nod of confirmation, making Kyuhyun laugh out loud.

"So how was it?"

"What - are you seriously asking me that?!" Lily asked, aggravated. "Never mind, I'm leaving."

"No no no wait," Kyuhuyn stopped her. "I'm just… curious. Because girls usually have this expectation or fantasy or whatnot of how their first kiss would be. I was wondering if this was in any way satisfactory to yours."

Lily looked at him with furrowed brows, considering his question. Then, she relented. "Well, besides the fact that it's with the completely wrong person and happened during the most inopportune moment, I'd say… it… wasn't… that bad… I guess?"

"That's because my lips taste so sweet, don't they?" Kyuhyun supplied cheekily.

"Ohhhh my gaaaahhhhh I need to gargle with disinfectant!" Lily whined as she made her way back inside the building. 

"Admit it. You liked it!" Kyuhyun called after her. He remained standing there, watching her walk away. Of course he knew it was an accident. He knew he should be hurt by how horrified Lily was at kissing him, even if it was an accident. But somehow, the wide smile on his face wouldn't disappear. He was Lily's first ever kiss and nothing could change that. He felt like flying to the moon right about now.

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I'm sorry. I know this is such a cliché chapter but... Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe. XD

OK, OK, I'll get on with the next chapter.

Just an early notice though… We've started making the BIG final project that'd make up a huge chunk of our grades for ALL subjects so… :'( I'm not sure if I'd be able to update as often. :( But I promise I'll try. I'm also planning on joining NaNoWriMo next month so that'd take up extra free (or procrastinating) time. Huhuhu! But I'm determined to finish this story by Christmas. :)

I <3 u guys. Thanks for sticking with me.