Hyoyeon cannot believe her eyes when, the next day, Hyukjae walks in with Victoria, the both of them chatting and laughing like old friends. She has to rub her eyes hard to make sure she is not dreaming, and even Suzy is gaping at the pair. Hyoyeon stares, wide-eyed, as Hyukjae comes to stand in front of her, smiling. He has gotten a haircut, and he is dressed in waiter’s clothes, looking fresher and cleaner than ever before.

“What is going on?” she asks.

“What’s going on is that I am now officially your colleague, Miss Kim,” he says, grinning.

“What?!”

“I took your advice, spoke to your boss, and he hired me!”

“What?!”

“I’ve been scheduled to work with Victoria, she and I hit it off pretty well.”

“What in the world!”

“I look forward to your guidance, Miss Kim!” he says, winking, and then walks over to Victoria, who begins to teach him the ropes.

Hyoyeon looks incredulously at Suzy, who shrugs. Hyoyeon waits till the early morning patrons start to arrive, and she pulls Victoria away, determined to get a proper explanation.

“What is going on, Vic?”

“Why don’t you ask him?”

“I’ve tried, but all he does is talk in riddles!”

“He just heeded your advice and got himself a proper job, is all.”

“And become the best of friends with you?”

“Why not?”

“Vic!”

“Gotta work, Hyo, catch ya later!”

“Vic!”

Hyoyeon groans, stamping her foot, irked that nobody will tell her what’s going on. She is determined to get answers, and waits till both Victoria and Hyukjae have finished their shift. Before she can sit the both of them down, however, Victoria is out of the door, giving Hyoyeon her signature salute, and then promptly ignores Hyoyeon’s calls for her to get back right here now!

Stuck with Hyukjae, Hyoyeon folds her arms, wanting to look authoritative.

“Alright, Lee Hyukjae, just what is going on? And don’t give talk in riddles.”

“Hyoyeon, there’s really all there is to it. I thought about what you said, and I don’t want to go on begging, it’s not too fun a job,” Hyukjae says, giving her a wry smile. “The boss asked if there was any shift I’d like to take, and I said I wanted to do it with Victoria, since you’ve told me about her. There was a free space, I took it, and Victoria and I happen to click, that’s all.”

Hyoyeon eyes Hyukjae suspiciously, still smelling a rat. “You must have thought a lot about what I said, huh?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Miss Kim, chill out, and stop being so paranoid!”

“I’m not being paranoid!”

“You are!”

“I’m not!”

“You’re thinking too much.”

“Oh yeah? Fine, I’m a paranoid , how about that?”

“Hyo-.”

Hyoyeon stomps out of the restaurant, mad, and starts to head for home, flames in her eyes. Hyukjae runs out after her, catching her by the hand.

“Miss Kim-.”

“Don’t you Miss Kim me, leave me alone!”

“Hyoyeon, please.”

“What, do you want with me?” she hisses, whipping around.

“You’re not a paranoid ,” he says patiently.

Hyoyeon feels some of her anger seeping out of her, and in a minute she is reduced to feeling ashamed for over-reacting. She stands awkwardly in front of Hyukjae, not quite sure how to set things right. Hyukjae waits, trying to control his laughter, and Hyoyeon can see him trying not to burst.

“Okay, I was being a paranoid , now laugh all you want!” she says, and then he is off his rocket, laughing like there is no tomorrow, and Hyoyeon folds her arms, as she so often does around Hyukjae. He shakes his head, and then unfolds her arms.

“Loosen up, Miss Kim,” he says, and then slings an arm around her. Instantly, she stiffens, and he backs away, reminded of her grim tale.

“Whoa, I’m sorry,” he apologises.

“No, it’s fine,” she says, giving him a small smile.

He smiles back. “Coffee at my place?”

She snorts. “Your place.”

“Garage, whatever.”

. . .

“There are a lot of sky fairies out here today, eh?” Hyoyeon says, cupping her hands over her knees.

“There sure are,” Hyukjae says, grinning at her as they both stare up at the vast expanse and see the little fairies dancing about, spinning in delight as they wave their wands about. The crescent in the sky is bright, as well, and Hyoyeon sighs dreamily at the magic of it all.

“I’d like to play with those fairies one day,” she says.

“I would, too,” he agrees.

A cold wind blows, and Hyoyeon shivers, clenching and unclenching her fingers to make the cold go away. Hyukjae scoots closer to her, and Hyoyeon eyes him, wondering what in the world he is doing.

“I’m hot, you see,” he winks.

Hyoyeon scoffs, disbelieving, but there is a tiny smile hanging on her lips, and she allows Hyukjae to wrap her up in his arms. She sighs in contend, for Hyukjae is indeed warm, and she rests her head against his shoulder.

“You’re like my portable bed,” she giggles.

“Hey now, Miss Kim, don’t you go too far,” he says, but his tone is warm.

“Maybe you can conjure up portable mittens too,” she says, placing her icy hands on his arm.

“I sure can,” he says, and then, without warning, he scoops up her hands and kisses them, his lips warm against her skin. Hyoyeon stares up at him, shocked beyond words, forgetting even to pull her hands away from his touch. She can only stare, even more taken aback than she was to see him walk into the restaurant as an employee. Hyukjae clears his throat uncomfortably, wondering what in the world has come over him. He lets go of her hands slowly, and then untangles himself from her. He jumps down the heap, and Hyoyeon follows, flustered, her cheeks flaming red. They walk in silence to the office, and Hyoyeon watches as Hyukjae rinses out the cups with mineral water.

“I-I’d better be going then,” Hyoyeon says.

“I’ll get you a taxi,” Hyukjae says immediately. “I got an advance pay.”

“Ah,” Hyoyeon says, and they both walk to the road to flag down a cab. Hyukjae raises his hand several times, but none of the taxis stop, and Hyukjae wonders if he should ask Hyoyeon to stay the night once more. He doesn’t think it is a good idea, though, for he fears he will start doing things that will embarrass him again. He finally manages to flag one down, and hands the driver a couple of bills before opening the door for Hyoyeon. She gives him a light smile and then gets in, her hair grazing his cheek, so that he suddenly stills. Before he can stop himself, he grabs hold of Hyoyeon, spinning her around and effectively startling her.

“Hyukjae?”

“Ah. Goodnight,” he says, mentally cursing himself.

‘Goodnight,” she says, and then gets in the cab. The vehicle zooms out of sight, and Hyukjae stares stupidly after it, wishing he could have kissed her goodnight, and then once again cursing himself for such thoughts.

Lee Hyukjae, you have a serious problem,he thinks.

 . . .

Hyoyeon reaches home, not quite sure what to make of tonight’s events. She closes the door and places a hand over her heart, willing it not to beat quite so fast. She goes to the kitchen and pours herself a glass of water, drinking it to calm herself down. She stares at her hands, still feeling the heat of Hyukjae’s lips on them, and all of a sudden the blush tinges her cheeks again. She lets out a breath, thinking hard, wondering what she ought to do right now.

She cannot call him, because he doesn’t have a phone, and suddenly Hyoyeon feels the urge to jump back in a taxi and go to him; she won’t even mind getting the backache if she can sleep in those cushions. As soon as those thoughts come, however, she pushes them out of her mind, mentally slapping herself.

Kim Hyoyeon, you have a serious problem, she thinks.

 . . .

^{Hi Nisa, I'm really encouraged by your spazzy comments, thank you so much! Hi saymyname, I was actually squealing inside a little when I wrote this, too, heh! Violynn! They are, aren't they? ^^ I honestly love all your comments, her-reality! /flails arms too Seed of love, I like that very much! The seed of love has grown now, don't you think? ^^ hyohyukOTP, you have no idea how struck I am by your comment, thank you so darn much!! ;A; /cries tears of joy OhItsYing, they are, I really wanted to showcase a strong friendship in a dire situation! Here's zee update! LonelyStar25, omg, you made me laugh with 'mucho mucho mucho', for some reason! I'm real glad you love it! hyohyunnie29, I will never tire of hyohyuk, either! Thank you for recognising the effort I put into this, it means the world to me! mooeysmiley, aha, I like your contradictions! I guess what I really wanted to portray in this story was even in such bleak situations there are golden gems right next to us, like how the girls have each other, or how Hyoyeon has Hyukkie! maxjibong, yes, he flipped HAHAHA! I laughed at that, was imagining Hyukkie doing a somersault or something XD Thank you so much for your kind words!}

I love all of you guys, for the rest of my lovely readers, I'd love to hear you speak out - I know you might just read this and ignore it, but I'd really love to interact with you, too ^^