S POV

            After I dropped Kyuhyun off at his dorm, I decided that it was too early to go home. I didn’t want my unnis asking questions so I stayed outside. My feet took me towards the banks of the Han River and I stared at the skyline. Seoul really has modernized, becoming one of the more modern cities in the world.

            I wandered along before stumbling upon a figure, strumming a guitar. My first instinct was to turn around but then he started to sing. I recognized the voice, even though it sounded slightly clogged.

            “Henry?”

            He stopped and gazed at me. The strums of the guitar echoed in the air and I spotted tear tracks on his cheeks. “What happened?”

            He shrugged and moved over on the bench so I could sit. We both looked out over at the water and the cars whizzing by on the bridge. “Have you ever felt like the whole world was against you and that becoming an idol was a mistake?”

            I sighed. “It’s always been my dream. I wanted to sing. I also knew that with fans, comes the anti fans and sometimes you just have to deal with them. Many people hate me because they think that my voice is weak to be compared to Taeyeon-unnis or Jessica-unnis. But I just think that if I did better, maybe they’ll know that they were wrong. What happened?”

            “Ever since I was small, I knew I wanted to be a musician. When SM came to audition, I knew I had to do it. My first appearance was in Don’t Don. I had wanted some sort of recognition, but all the fans did was bash me for appearing in the video. Even after I was introduced, they screamed, “Only thirteen.” We just finished a concert and even now, fans leave during my solo.”

            I looked at him. I saw the vulnerable trembling in his eyes and tentatively placed my head on his shoulder. He looked down at me in surprise. “It’s because they can’t stand to handle fifteen embodiments of perfection. Thirteen was enough for them.”

            This seemed to make him smile and he laughed a bit. The sound of it made my heart soar and I was glad I was the one to provide it. “Hey Henry, what are your fans called?”

            “Strings, what about yours?”

            “They’re Seomates.”

            He chuckled. “I guess I’m a Seomate then.”

            I blushed and looked down at my hands. “I already jumped onto the vast fan wagon that’s called ‘Henry Lau’s Strings.’”

            He looked at me. “Are you really?”

            “I one hundred percent support you. I always admired you when you were training and I thought that the effort you placed was amazing. Your Korean is great and the bravery you had when you went on Strong Heart was impressive. Because Jessica-unni likes to stalk Donghae-oppa sometimes, we would get to watch SJM activities and even though we didn’t understand anything, you were always up to whatever they wanted. Ahem, sorry. I must sound like such a creeper.”

            He plucked a few chords on his guitar. “Wow, if only I knew from the beginning that I had such a gorgeous fan then I wouldn’t even bother crying over all the others who hate me.”

            My heart missed a beat and I gestured at his guitar. “Play something for me?”

H POV

            “Wow, if only I knew from the beginning that I had such a gorgeous fan then I wouldn’t even bother crying over all the others who hate me.” I bit my lip, waiting to see how she would respond. I didn’t want her to think I was being too forward and scare her away.

            Seohyun blushed and deferred the topic by pointing at my guitar. “Play something?”

            I thought of all the songs I had learned since I met her and grinned. I plucked the opening chords for Gee and she grinned. She sang along and I felt so much better. She was truly someone special. She stood up and started to dance along to the song as well, laughing in a silly manner as I got up and performed what I knew of the dance with the cumbersome guitar at my hip.

            The moment the song ended, I transitioned into my personal favorite, Hoot. She  adjusted magnificently with me and by the time we were done, I had forgotten about my troubles.

            “It’s getting late,” I checked my phone and was surprised that it was almost midnight.

            She was slightly out of breath and leaned against me, heaving. “Okay. I guess we should get going.” She smiled at me and I my lips. Seohyun was really beautiful.

            I sat her down on the bench again and held onto her arms. She seemed to know what I wanted to do and blushed again. My other hand reached up to cup her chin and she looked down. She didn’t stop me so I leaned in and pressed my lips against hers.

            She tasted sweet, like strawberries and cream. Her hands came around me and gently massaged the back of my neck. When we broke apart, she tried to hide a smile by biting down on her lips. I sheepishly coughed.

            “I guess we’re stringy Seomates now.” She joked. I laughed and held out my hand for her to take.

            “Let me take you home, SeoSeo. I don’t want your unnis thinking that I abducted you or something.”

            When I brought her home, Taeyeon looked surprised to see that she was with me. She raised her eyebrows at the two of us and patted my hand. “Thank you for taking care of our baby. I’ll make sure you continue to treat her well, yes?”

            I bowed. “Yes, noona. Thank you for your confidence in me. I promise that if I ever hurt Seohyun you’re more than welcome to attack me with my own violin bow.”

            Hyoyeon laughed. “And here we thought it was always Seokyu.”

S POV

            When I got back, I showered and tried to fend off my unnis’ nosey questions. Yuri stalked outside the door and constantly asked me what had occurred. When I came out, I rubbed my hair dry and sat down, telling her about how I realized that I liked him and she hooted, clapping her hands.

            When Yoona came home, I looked up and swallowed. It was time. “Unni, I have something to tell you.” 

THERE'S ONLY TWO MORE CHAPTERS LEFT.

-cries- But for now, let me end this well~