*LEETEUK'S POV*

"I hope we're not late," I said as we entered the airport.

"Don't worry, we're never late," Manager hyung said. "In fact, I got us here 15 minutes early," he stated.

"Is that so?" Yesung arched his eyebrow.

"Yep. Enough time to order a late-night frappe, sit back, and relax," he grinned.

"Y'know, we coulda just done that at home..." I blinked at him.

 

Unsure of where to go, I just followed them through the airport, passing by gift shops and coffee shops. Manager hyung wasn't kidding around when he said he was gonna go order a late-night frappe...

A sweet, sweet scent wafted through the air as we walked past a flower shop. I peered in to see colorful arrangements of beautiful flowers.

I was lost in thought, sniffing the air... I didn't notice manager Junghoon walking away to the resting area.

"Waaaiiit!" I caught up to him.

"You know what," he laid back on the couch. "I lied... We have 20 minutes to wait."

"Why do you always..." I didn't have to finish the sentence for him to answer my question.

"You're never late when you're with the Prince Manager," he smirked. "Get in the habit of it, so I don't have to keep reminding you to show up at your events on time."

I puffed my cheeks, knowing I was usually JUST A LITTLE late to my scheduled events.

"I think I'm gonna go walk around," Yesung said.

"Hurry back," I told him. "You don't wanna miss their arrival."

"Of course not," he walked away with a smile.

Junghoon and I sat on the seats, having a casual conversation about upcoming events. It's usually all that we really talked about... At times where he wasn't looking, I sneakily stole a few sips from his frappe. I pretended to look away to prevent myself from laughing at him for not noticing.

"TEUKKK!" I heard Siwon's voice.

I saw the nine figures approaching us with their luggage and handbags.

Just in time, Yesung came back.

 

*MINA'S POV*

And there he was. The cloud prince. Dressed in all black- my favorite.

Siwon went up to hug Leeteuk as the guys were welcomed back by Manager Junghoon. Even with all their commotion, all I could really focus on was Yesung.

We stared at each other for a while before he decided to break the awkward barrier and approach me.

"Welcome home," he smiled.

"Thanks," I smiled back.

"You look beautiful in that dress," he complimented.

"Why thank you... You look pretty good yourself." Personally, I loved seeing Yesung in all black clothing. Whether it was formal clothing, everyday wear, or in pictures online, I think he looks best in black.

"So how was it in Hong Kong?" he asked.

"It was pretty fun," I responded. "I think I like it better in Seoul though."

I back to the rest of the guys, who were still greeting and hugging each other.

"Um..." he pursed his lips.

I tilted my head, wondering what was up.

He pulled a bouquet of pink roses from behind his back and held it in front of me. My eyes lit up in surprise at the soft pink color and sweet fragrance.

"For you."

"Oh," I blushed. "Thanks," I shyly accepted the roses.

"So that's where you went," Leeteuk squinted at him suspiciously.

"WHAT IS THIS?" Sungmin popped outta nowhere, pointing at my roses. He tried poking one of them to see if they were real. "Ow," he accidentally poked a thorn.

"Sungmin, have you been eating?" Manager Junghoon looked at him suspiciously.

"W-What do you mean?" Sungmin stared at him with big eyes.

"I'm not asking because you look skinnier. I'm asking because you look fatter."

"I've had a few slices of cake a few hours ago, that's all," he laughed nervously.

Junghoon sighed, shaking his head. "Well, now that we're all here, let's head back to the dorm," Manger Junghoon said.

"Shall we?" Yesung turned to me.

Holding the bouquet in on hand, I linked arms with him and walked out to the car.

 

*                          *                          *

"Home sweet home~!" Donghae sang.

He, Eunhyuk, and Siwon made their way into their rooms to set down their bags. I also wanted to put my bags down and unpack my stuff.

For some reason, the dorm felt kinda... Empty.

I opened the door to my room, revealing a room that wasn't my room.

Why wasn't it my room?

THERE WAS A BED.

 

"ZHOU MIIIIIIIIII!" I ran to him first. "ZHOU MI, ZHOU MI!" I called for him excitedly.

"Yes, Honey?" he peeked out of his room.

"Look, look! There's a bed in my room! IS THIS RIGHT?" I bounced around.

"It seems right... Henry's bed isn't in this room anymore," he pointed inside.

"Looks like Henry's bed magically appeared in your room!" Leeteuk grinned.

"Henry's bed?" I blinked. "Where is Henry gonna sleep if his bed is in my room? Is he sleeping in my room?" I asked, confused.

"No, haha. We moved him into Kangin's room, so he has Kangin's king-sized bed now. And Zhou Mi has his own room and you have a bed," Leeteuk explained. "Everyone's happy!"

"Wow..." I had a moment of pure delight. "THANK YOU, OPPA!" I ran up and hugged Leeteuk tightly.

"You do realize that I helped him move the bed too, right?" a new voice chimed in.

I backed away from Teuk, ready to hug the person who just said that. But I changed my mind when I saw that it was Heechul.

I had a sudden flashback. Seeing his face made me feel nervous. Nervous, mixed with another feeling that I couldn't really explain.

"Well... Um... Thanks," I mumbled.

"You can thank me by making me something to eat," he smirked.

"Hey, I just got back!" I exclaimed.

Looks like he's still the same Heechul. Acting as if nothing happened last Friday... The same old demanding Heechul.

He couldn't have possibly forgotten about it, has he?

"You know what today is, don't you?"

"Henry's birthday," I responded.

"And?"

"Friday."

"And what's Friday?"

"Hee-Day," I sighed.

"I'm glad you remembered. And Hee-Day means 'I want food'. Get to it," he pointed to the kitchen.

"After I-"

"Now."

"OKAY," I didn't want to put up with an argument.

I dragged myself into the kitchen, examining the surroundings. Something seemed weird in here...

I opened the fridge to see what there was to cook.

. . .

NOTHING.

All there was in the fridge was strawberry milk and chocolate cake. How did they live while we were gone...?

Then I noticed a giant box of instant noodles in the corner of the kitchen counter. So Yesung wasn't lying when he said they were living off of ramen for the past week...

Well Heechul's gonna have to eat another bowl of ramen tonight, since there's nothing in the fridge, hehe.

I finished making it and brought it into the living room, where Heechul was being a couch potato in front of the television.

"You haven't been watching TV lately, have you?" he asked out of nowhere.

"No... Why?"

"Leaked photos."

"Of what?"

"Of you."

"FROM WHERE?"

"Your phone?"

"NOOOOOOOOOO," I bawled. "Are you SERIOUS?"

"Yeah."

"WAE? There were so many pictures..." I sobbed. "So many..."

"I especially liked the one where you and that girl had mustaches on your faces."

"DID THAT ONE SHOW UP ON TV??" I gasped.

"Mhmm."

"Omo, what do I do, what do I do, WHAT DO I DO," I panicked.

"Don't worry about it. It's not the end of the world."

"But releasing MY photos from MY phone without MY consent? That's illegal!" I exclaimed.

"Well it's been released now, so there's nothing you can do. What's so bad anyways? The ELFs aren't gonna jump you for having stupid photos on your phone. They'll just have something new to laugh about."

"Gee, thanks for lowering my self-esteem..." I frowned at him.

"You're welcome."

I stuck my tongue out at him before leaving for my room. The others were still unpacking in their own rooms, so I suppose I should do the same. But before that...

I jumped on my new bed, rolling around, and getting comfortable. I let out a sigh of satisfaction. Not only was my bed soft, it smelled so sweet...

Oh! The roses! I grabbed the bouquet from the table. Should I put these in a vase? Maybe I should... I went to find an empty vase and filled it up with water, carefully putting each rose in. Now my room has life in it!

After I finished unpacking, I just laid back in my pajamas, enjoying the fact that I didn't have to sleep on the couch anymore.

Although, looking around... I felt as if something was missing. Something that's always supposed to be in here... It's like, whatever's missing has ALWAYS been in here, that I don't notice it half the time... I looked around, thinking hard.

 

"POTATO HEADDDD!!"

NO, NOT HIM AGAIN.

"Come out here!" Heechul yelled.

I made a face before deciding to go out to the living room again.

"What do you want?" I asked annoyed.

"I want to watch The Lion King."

This fool...

"Then why'd you call me out here??" I said, frustrated.

"Because I need someone to watch it with," he responded.

"Heechul, I've watched it five hundred times already," I told him. "Go ask someone else to watch it with you," I turned away.

"Then you're gonna watch it five hundred and one times, so come here."

"OH LOOK!" I exclaimed, sarcastically pointing at the clock. "It's 12:08am. That means it's Saturday! AND SATURDAY ISN'T HEE-DAY."

"You're still our maid," he responded. "I'll make a mess with the popcorn if you go away."

Is he blackmailing me? Knowing that he'd really try to make a mess just for me to clean, I stood still, staring back at him.

He patted the seat next to him.

Sighing, I sat down and scooted to one end of the couch, far away from him as possible. Making the "whatever" face, he pressed play.

I've seen this intro so many times, I could remember what order the animals jumped in. I knew all of Scar's lines, I knew how the hyenas laughed, I knew that anything the light touched was part of Mufasa's kingdom. But I NEVER knew what that baboon's name was.

Meela and I always had a short emotional moment when Mufasa dies. But with Heechul here, I can't have my little emotional moment...

I quickly got bored, knowing exactly what was gonna happen next...

"Where are you going?" he asked as I got up from the couch.

"To bed," I said bluntly.

"But it's just getting to the good part..."

"I've seen it too many times already," I rubbed my eyes.

"Sit back down, potato head."

Tired and still a little jet-lagged, I didn't argue, plopping back onto the couch without a word. Yawning a few times, I laid my head on the side of the couch, watching the Hakuna Matata scene sideways. As much as I wanted to sing the Hakuna Matata song with Simba, I found that I was out of energy.

And of course, with Heechul here, I CAN'T SING MY HAKUNA MATATA SONG.

My eyelids grew heavier with each line they spoke and the couch grew more comfortable with every song they played. Without realizing it, I drifted away silently.

 

*HEECHUL'S POV*

The credits started rolling on the screen, so I turned off the TV. The sound of heavy breathing became noticeable. I turned to my left to see Mina sleeping with her head on the arm rest.

Oh well... Since she's already asleep, I should go to sleep too.

I got up from the couch and started walking towards my room. Forgetting to turn off the light, I turned back around.

Then I looked back at Mina.

"Aish, you'll hurt your neck sleeping like that..."

Stepping towards her, I took a closer look. She was quite an interesting sight... I swept away the hair that fell in her face.

Her long lashes, her perfect shaped eyebrows, her small nose, her cute lips. And her soft cheek... The one I kissed last Friday.

Why did I kiss her...? It wasn't exactly intentional... And not really something that I would normally do. The thought of it made me feel weird inside.

ANYWAYS, what do I do with her? I stared down at her sleeping figure. Should I just move her into a more comfortable position?

Haha, what irony. She just got a bed, yet she's spending the night on a couch. Sigh, I didn't move that bed for nothing.

I hovered over and picked her up in my arms. She probably weighs as much as Ryeowook. Carrying Mina back into her room, I pushed the door open and set her down.

There was a sweet aroma in this room... I looked around to see where the smell was coming from. My eyes landed on a dozen of pink roses in a vase on the table. Did someone give that to her...? Hmm... I wonder who.

Mina slept soundly, not noticing anything that was happening. I was just about to leave the room, when I turned back around to put a blanket over her.

,,,Why am I being like this?

Aigo, she even has a Zhou Mi plush on her bed. What's Zhou Mi to her anyway? They seem quite close. Maybe it was Zhou Mi who got her roses... My face unconsciously formed a frown.

Okay, I should leave now.

Heebum silently trotted into Mina's room, staring up at me.

"Aww, Heebummie, were you waiting for me?" I whispered. "Come on, let's go to bed."

 

*MINA'S POV*

I woke up on a bed. A glorious bed. How awesome is that? It immediately had me starting my morning by grinning.

But then again... I coulda sworn I fell asleep on the couch last night.

Meh, who cares. I woke up on a bed next to beautiful smelling roses, and that's all that matters right now.

"Ah, I almost forgot that you existed," I said to the maid costume hanging in my closet. "Though it was a really great week without you."

I quickly changed into the stupid costume and opened my door, heading into the kitchen. But the usual busy hallway and commotion wasn't present this morning. I wonder why... Did I miss something...?

"Good morning, Minaaa!" Ryeowook sang.

"Good morning, Wookie," I responded. "Where is everyone?"

"Oh, they already left. I know you were pretty tired, so I went ahead and made breakfast for them."

"Oh no, I was late again. I'm sorry, Ryeowook!" I exclaimed.

"It's no problem. I like to cook, remember?" he smiled. "And Zhou Mi's still asleep."

"Really? He doesn't have anything on his schedule, does he? I better go check," I said worriedly.

"It's okay, I don't think he does," Ryeowook assured me. "But I really want to throw a pillow at him for standing next to me at the fan-sign performance. He purposely wanted to make me feel shorter than I already am," he pouted.

"Then why don't we?" I smiled mischeviously.

"Really?" Wookie's eyes lit up.

"Yep, come on!"

We snuck into his room, that now seemed half empty since Henry's bed is gone. Zhou Mi was sleeping on his stomach with his face buried in his pillow.

Ryeowook grabbed one of the pillows on the side, ready to attack. His determined face made me laugh aloud, giving him only a split-second to smack Zhou Mi. And he gladly took the perfect chance to hit him.

 

*                          *                          *

"And because of that, you wanted to hit me with a pillow...?" Zhou Mi blinked slowly at Ryeowook, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Yep," Ryeowook answered straightforwardly. "But this is my way of apologizing to you, so there's no reason to tell Manager hyung about your bruised arm!" Ryeowook laughed nervously.

"Righttttt," Mimi chuckled.

Earlier, when Ryeowook got his happy chance to attack Zhou Mi, he got a little too happy and smacked him more than once. So Zhou Mi, too lazy to turn around, swung his arm around at Ryeowook without looking, and hit the headboard. And that's the story of how his arm got bruised twenty minutes ago.

Now, we're at a cafe, being treated by Ryeowook as an "apology". I had a strawberry smoothie next to me, and everything was great.

Sigh, I haven't woken up in such a light-hearted mood in a while.

"You seem pretty happy today," Zhou Mi noticed.

"I am happy," I said dreamily. "I haven't seen you in so long, Happy," I reached my hands out into the air. "I love Happy," I smiled.

They both stared at me as if I were a hallucinating potato.

"Tell me your secret to being happy," Ryeowook leaned in, interested.

"Well... I have these really nice smelling roses in my room," I said.

"Didn't Yesung give you those roses?" Zhou Mi asked.

"Yesung?" Ryeowook raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, didn't you see him give a bouquet to her last night?"

"I must've been busy talking to Manager hyung."

I thought back to when he handed the bouquet to me. He seemed a little nervous. Though it was pretty cute. Sigh... I smiled to myself, leaving Zhou Mi and Ryeowook staring again.

"So Honey..." Zhou Mi started.

"Yes, Mimi?" I responded, still day dreaming.

"Do you know what pink roses mean?" Zhou Mi smiled.

"Pink roses have a meaning?"

"Of course! All flowers have meanings."

"Hmm... What do pink roses mean then?" I wondered.

"It means 'I like you'."

"Eh?" my whole brain focused back on reality, but not fast enough to comprehend what he just said.

"Pink roses mean 'I like you'," he repeated.

"W-What's that supposed to mean then?" I stuttered, confused.

"Then that means..." Ryeowook whispered. "Yesung just gave you twelve 'I like you' flowers."

I felt my cheeks warming up, and I'm sure they could both see it.

"Soooo~" Zhou Mi scooted over to nudge me. "Anything going on between you two?" he arched an eyebrow.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" I exclaimed.

"Are you sure?" Mimi looked at me suspiciously. "Maybe you're in denial."

"I'm not!" I laughed nervously.

"Aww, why are you blushing so much?" he pinched my cheeks.

"Y'know... Yesung has been acting a little weird lately," Ryeowook said. "Usually, he's really dorky... But now he seems more calm."

"Yesung? Dorky?" I giggled.

"Oh, you haven't seen his dorky side yet," Ryeowook chuckled. "I've been his roommate for over six years now... I know all that goes on with him."

"Really? That long?" I stared in amazement.

"Yup. But lately, I haven't been able to figure him out," Wookie pouted. "YeWook is going downhill."

"It's okay, we can start shipping MiSung," Zhou Mi suggested.

"MiSung?" Ryeowook gasped. "YOU AND YESUNG?"

"No, Mina and Yesung!"

"ME AND YESUNG?" my eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah, you like him, don't you?" Zhou Mi beamed.

"I-I don't know," I let out an random answer.

"Of course you do!" Mimi clapped.

"Wait, no I don't!"

"Don't try to lie to me, Honey. I can see right through you," he squinted at me. "You always blush around him and start acting all fidgety," he smirked.

"I do?" I blinked.

"Aww, are you new at love, Honey?" Zhou Mi smiled. "It's okay, Ryeowook and I will get you started in the right direction!"

"But wait, I-"

"MiSung shall be my new favorite ship!" Zhou Mi stated. "Ryeowook, are you with me?"

"MiSung!" Ryeowook exclaimed. "The Cloud Prince needs a Cloud Princess!"

I blinked at them with my big eyes, clueless of what they might do next.

 

*                          *                          *

"You're finally home," Leeteuk opened the door for us.

"Sorry, did you need us or anything?" Ryeowook asked.

"Nah, I was just wondering where you guys were... I was alone for a while before Donghae came back."

"Lonely, right?" I laughed.

"Mhmm..." he puffed his cheeks. "Oh, do you mind getting the mail? I'm kinda bored and in the mood for some mail..."

"Sure," I put my shoes back on.

"I'll come with you," Zhou Mi said.

We took our usual route, going down the elevator and into the mail room. As I was unlocking the mail box, I noticed a familiar figure in the room.

"Amber!" Zhou Mi exclaimed.

"Zhou Mi!" she grinned.

"I haven't seen you in a while. Where have you been?" he asked.

"What do you mean, 'where have you been?' I've been here all this time," she laughed. "You're the one that keeps on traveling to China."

"Oh, right," Mimi chuckled. "Ah! This is Mina!" he introduced me.

"We've met before," Amber smiled at me warmly.

"Really?" Zhou Mi looked surprised. "That's great! We can all hang out sometime!"

"That'd be cool," she agreed. "So how are you handling Heechul?" Amber turned to me.

"Eh, I guess he hasn't been so mean lately... But he made me watch The Lion King with him late last night."

"Haha, I thought he lied when he said that was his favorite movie."

"Heechul is still giving you problems?" Zhou Mi gave me a concerned look.

"It's nothing, Mimi. I can handle him myself," I assured him with confidence.

"Tough girl you got there," Amber winked at Zhou Mi.

"Actually, she belongs to Yesung," he smirked.

"N-No I don't!" I shook my head.

"SOON," he laughed evilly, sounding a like Kyuhyun, the evil maknae.

"Yesung, eh? He's a weird one. But he's cool. Do you have a special place in your heart for weird people?" Amber teased.

"He doesn't seem weird at all," I said.

"When you're in love with someone, you see through their imperfections," Mimi lectured.

"But I'm not in lo-"

"Don't be in denial, Honey!" he hushed me. "We can create something beautiful!"

Amber stared at us in amusement before going back to taking up her mail. I took the bag that Zhou Mi handed me and stuffed the envelopes in.

"Well, good luck with whatever you're trying to accomplish," Amber told Zhou Mi. "I'll see you guys around," she smiled, walking away with her llama gifts.

"Byeee," we said in unison.

"Life would be a lot easier if you guys had a mail box the size of F(x)'s..." I glanced at the smaller box that Amber had checked.

After the more difficult task of shoving a million letters into one bag, we headed to the reception counter for the big gifts.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Park," I greeted her.

"Mina, I'm glad you're here. There was someone who wanted me to give this package to you," she set a cardboard box on the counter.

That's funny... I don't know anyone here for them to send me a package. Much less, a letter.

"And here are the rest of the stuff," she put them out.

"Here, I'll carry those," Zhou Mi offered, giving me the lighter bag of mail.

"Thank you," we said, making our way back up to the dorm.

 

Leeteuk's eyes lit up as we brought the mail in. He put down his boring magazine and came over to help us sort everything out.

We spent the next hour or two reading the fan mail and eating from the gift baskets that were probably for some other member.

We were having so much fun, I almost forgot about that mysterious package.

"Excuse me for a moment," I got up and went into my room, deciding to open the package in private.

I shook the box and whatever was inside felt kind of heavy. It was a really familiar size too... I carefully took off the tape and lifted up the top.

I couldn't believe what I saw inside the box.

What was supposed to be laying on my table over there... What I felt that was missing from my room... In this box.

My photobook.

 

*HEECHUL'S POV*

"I'm home..." I entered the dorm to see Leeteuk, Zhou Mi, Ryeowook, and Donghae sitting on the floor, looking through fan mail.

"Welcome home, hyung," Donghae greeted. "There's mail for you too," he pointed at the pile next to him.

"Alright, let me go put my stuff down first," I walked to my room.

Heebum welcomed home me with a long meow.

"Heebum-ah~" I petted him. "Did you miss me? I missed you too."

Hmm, what's on my schedule for tomorrow? I don't remember... I looked through my bags for my agenda.

Oh yeah, Mina has it...

Checking my phone one last time, I put it on the charger. I rubbed Heebum's fur before leaving my room and shutting the door behind me.

I stood in the hallway, debating whether if I should check my agenda or go read fan mail. Maybe there's something interesting for me to read today. Or a tasty gift. I guess I'll go see the mail then.

I started walking out to the living room... But stopped when I heard noise coming from Mina's room. Noises that sounded a lot like... Sniffling.

Or am I just hearing things? Err, I oughta check.

Her door was cracked open just enough for me to peek in. I saw her sitting up on her bed. Her knees up against her chest and her head buried in her arms. There was something like a book laid in front of her.

Is she really crying...?

She sniffed and hiccuped.

I guess she is...

Umm... Should I do something about it? Or just let her calm down by herself? She'll have to come out of her room eventually... Or Sungmin will discover her and make a big deal out of it. Sigh, but what if Zhou Mi finds her first...? No, that can't happen. Because I've found her first.

Letting my body take over, I slowly pushed the door open and stepped into Mina's room.

 

*MINA'S POV*

My photos with Meela. My memories with Meela. Burned... All burned. The cover was scorched black, with the tiniest bit of gold print, faintly visible. The pages inside were torn... But that wasn't the worst of it.

Each photo in the album was replaced with a photo of the real picture being burned in a dark room. I could make out one of the photos of me and Meela when we were twelve.

Who actually had the time to do all of this? Who really hated me this much for them to think up of something like this to do? Don't they have any respect for my privacy?

Of course not... They're evil Super Junior fans. And since I involuntarily live with them, they want to attack me. How could they care so much about them? How could they care so much that they'd be willing to ruin another person's life? People who Super Junior members don't even know exist... How?

Not wanting to look at the cruel photos anymore, I slammed the book shut.

I couldn't stop myself from getting teary-eyed. I bit my lip, trying to prevent it from going any further. The last time I cried was so long ago, I can't even remember. All these years, I've been so happy with Meela by my side, I haven't had anything terrible to worry about. Now I don't even see her everyday. My best friend isn't by my side. And the closest thing I have to her is burned. Damaged. And irreplaceable.

My chest grew heavier and biting my lip wasn't holding anything back anymore. I buried my face in my arms, slowly letting it go.

Before I knew it, I was sniffing and crying my eyes out. There wasn't anything to stop me from crying anymore. I don't care anymore. I don't care...

"H-Hey..." I heard a voice say as the person entered my room.

Did I forget to lock my door? No, I didn't forget. I didn't have to lock it in the first place. Who knew such a harmless looking package could contain something that made me break down into uncontrollable tears...?

I didn't bother to look up to see who it was.

"Mina..." the person took a seat next to me on my bed.

I stayed in the position I was, not saying a word, not moving an inch.

"Are you alright?"

I shook my head slowly.

I heard him taking a deep breath. There was silence in the room as I attempted to calm myself down. I don't want to embarrass myself anymore than I already am right now.

"Mina..." I heard him again. "What's wrong?"

I didn't respond.

"Yah, Mina..." he pulled one of my arms away from my face. I put it back around my knees. "Tell me what's wrong."

I stayed silent.

"You're so stubborn," he sighed.

I felt an arm wrap around me and pulling me towards him. He my shoulder, comforting me, and let me take my time settling down. It was a good fifteen minutes before I finally decided to shift an arm down from my face.

I wiped my eyes with my sleeves that were already soaked. In haling and exhaling, I blinked a few times to get my vision in focus.

"Are you done yet?" he asked.

I turned to my left to check out who the person was. The light was still irritating my eyes, preventing my from seeing properly. I blinked a few more times... And let out a small gasp at who I found the person to be.

"H-Heechul, why are you in here?" I moved away slowly, letting his arm drop from my shoulder.

"I come in to comfort you, yet you question my presence?"

"Oh. Umm... I'm sorry," I looked away.

Of all people, why was it him who came in? He was the last person I expected to assist me. One minute, he's making me do his chore and calling me a stupid potato head. The next, he comes in to check on me...

"What were you crying about?"

"Nothing," I pursed my lips.

"You can't cry over nothing... There's a reason for everything."

I exhaled.

"What's this...?" Heechul picked up the photo album laying in front of him. He examined the destroyed cover before opening it up. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion with each photo he looked at. After the third page, he put it down.

"That photobook was really important to me..." I started. "She's my best friend. The one I left to move into this dorm."

He quietly listened to me.

"I don't get to see her a lot anymore, since I took this job. Talking on the phone isn't the same... The photos were the only way I could see her and talk to her at the same time... So I cherish this album." I felt tears welling up in my eyes again. "It's been built up for more than 8 years," my voice grew weak. My sniffling started again.

"Shhh, don't cry," Heechul pulled me towards him, letting my head rest on his shoulder. "I don't like seeing girls cry..."

I couldn't control my hiccuping.

"Mina..."

He didn't call me a potato head... He called me by my name... He really called me by my name. And he didn't say it in a mocking or teasing way. He said it in a sincere way... I really liked that.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Don't be."

"...I've never been so far away from my best friend for so long. Now the only thing keeping me close to her is gone. It's really hard to live like this."

I heard him sigh as he caressed my hair.

"Do you understand what I'm telling you...?"

 

He took a deep breath before answering.

"Yeah... I do."

 

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Chapter 25 Preview:

"That was really harsh, Heechul. You need to go apologize to her."

 

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Hi...

 

RYEOWOOK SHIPS MISUNG.

Okay, bye~!

 

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