~Natalie's POV~

Over the next few days, I was hardly able to spend any time with Seunghyun or the rest of FT Island. With their upcoming Japanese tour, FT Island was back into a tight schedule of practices on top of domestic performances, fan meets, and signing events, all while preparing for their showcase. When we were able to meet up, it would only be for short periods of time. Nevertheless, I knew that he would always be busy like this, being a celebrity. I took what I could get, enjoying the few moments we had together.

But the way he acted seemed like he was worried, worried that these kinds of moments wouldn't last. Maybe it would be lunch together, when I would go to the studio to see him while he was on break. But while we ate, he would watch me like he was trying to memorize my face, and he would listen to me talk like he was trying to memorize my voice. Or maybe it would be a short walk through some backstreets at night, and we would discuss nothing in particular. He would hold my hand sweetly as we talked, but he held it as if he was afraid of letting go. This was the first thing that worried me.

Whenever I couldn't see him, I found myself with far too much spare time, and nothing to fill it with. I wasn't interested in sightseeing anymore, or shopping with my mom, or even finding the motivation to step foot into the bustling streets of Seoul. I was still worried about media attention, as no doubt Seunghyun's fans were busy trying to figure out who I was. I felt safest just staying in my hotel.

But my boredom turned into moping, and my moping only worsened as I spent more and more time alone. It had been a few days since I had last seen Seunghyun, so of course when I received a message from him saying that he finally had some free time, I was more than happy. The weather was poor again that day, but it didn't stop me from visiting, nor did it dampen my spirits.

"Why does it seem like it's been forever since I've seen you?" I sighed while spending the afternoon at the FT Island dorm.

"Hasn't it been?" Seunghyun replied, and I just laughed meekly.

"So, you've been pretty busy lately, huh?" I asked.

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry you had to come all the way here, especially in this bad weather. Most of the guys aren't even home. If I was allowed to go out, I would have just come over to visit you instead."

"Ugh, you kidding me? I needed to get out of that hotel. I think I've been spending way too much time there lately," I cringed.

Both of us were quiet for a moment, and Seunghyun's expression softened as he looked over at me. "I missed you," he said quietly as he pulled me into a hug.

I tried to suppress the strong sentiment that I suddenly felt. Why had I never noticed it around Seunghyun before? But the feeling emanated a pleasant warmth from my heart, and I knew there was no sense in ignoring it. This is how it always was with him now.

"I missed you too," I said.

We spent the afternoon catching up on the mere few days that we had spent apart. We joked, we laughed, we threw our worries away. But the clouds outside soon became dark, the sky leaden, the air heavy. It seemed our conversation did too, as it wasn't long before the laughter ceased and scattered thoughts brought bouts of silence. I knew Seunghyun and I were probably thinking about the same thing.

Finally, I spoke up once again. "So, you're going on tour," I said, more of a statement than a question. "I bet that'll be fun, going to Japan."

"Yeah, we probably won't be able to do much sightseeing though, what with how busy we'll be... But it's fun. I mean, we'll be having a big showcase in Tokyo, arena concerts around the country, fan meets..." he trailed off, not sounding very enthusiastic about going. This was the second thing that worried me.

I laughed lightly, changing the subject. "It kind of that I can finally stay in Korea for longer, but your preparations are keeping you busy anyways, huh? I guess it'll be like what it has been – just meeting up when you're done practice or something."

"Yeah,