“Is that the drawing Marina gave you?”

“What?” Soohyun looks up at Kiseop, a little disoriented. He’s sitting on the recording room’s couch, having taken out the picture again during a break.

Kiseop points to the slightly crinkled paper in Soohyun’s hand.

“Yes.”

“May I see?” He sinks down to sit beside Soohyun.

Kevin comes over as well. “I want to see too.”

As Kevin and Kiseop hold the drawing between them, Soohyun quietly says, “I can’t stop looking at it. It...reminds me of my dad. Before he got sick.”

Kiseop lays a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “It’s all right, hyung.”

“He’d be very proud of you,” Kevin adds.

“I hope so,” Soohyun replies, his eyes still glued to the father’s face. “I just...really miss him sometimes.”

“At the risk of sounding cheesy,” Hoon says, having joined them in time to have heard the last part of the conversation. He leans forward to place a gentle finger over Soohyun’s heart. “He’ll always be right here.”

“Thanks, Hoon,” Soohyun smiles.

“It almost looks like it should be in a book,” AJ remarks, drawn over by curiosity.

“Or an art gallery,” Eli adds, looking over AJ’s shoulder.

“I knew we made a good choice,” Dongho remarks with a smile, taking a sip from his water bottle. “I like her.”

“So do I,” Eli says. “She was nice, easy-going, polite, and pretty. If you don’t end up dating her, hyung, I may ask her out.”

“I haven’t even gone on my date with her yet and you’re already stealing her away,” Soohyun laughingly scolds.

“I never said that. I just said if it doesn’t work out between the two of you, you can steer her my way.”

Soohyun laughs and pretends to throw a punch at Eli, who easily ducks and smiles, happy to have lifted his hyung’s mood.

“Her laugh was cute,” Kevin says.

“And her smile was nice,” AJ observes.

“She has beautiful eyes,” Kiseop comments. “Such a beautiful color. Did you notice?”

“Her eyes were the first thing I noticed,” Soohyun replies. “They have gold in them when she’s in the sun.”

“You’re really lucky she speaks Korean so well,” Hoon says. “What would you have done if she didn’t?”

“Probably apologized, walked away, and ask you to choose someone else,” he admits.

“Have you called her yet?” AJ asks as he hands the drawing back to Soohyun.

“No. I thought I should wait until we get back from Colombia.”

“Then she’ll think you forgot her or were just messing around since it’s been what? Almost two days? And we’ll be in Colombia for two weeks.”

“At least text her and tell her your date will happen after that then,” Eli tells him. “You don’t want to make her dislike you, right?”

“Of course not.”

“Do you think she’s a potential girlfriend?” Kevin asks.

Soohyun shrugs. “I can’t deny that I find her attractive, but I don’t know her well enough to decide that. I think she’s definitely a potential friend though.”

“A friend is a start,” Hoon says encouragingly. “Aren’t you glad I suggested this?”

“We’ll see,” Soohyun smiles. “All right, break’s over. Let’s get back to work.”

As the others grab another drink of water or shrug off a jacket, Soohyun takes one last look at the drawing before tucking it safely into his bag. His hand lingers by his phone, tempted to take the guys’ advice and at least text Marina.

Later, he resolves, turning back to the room. I’ll do it soon.

+++++++++

“Marina! Over here!”

    Marina scans the grassy quad before spotting her best friend. Jimin sits barefoot under one of the many trees, her books spread before her. Her hair, in its latest shade of blue, is held back in a messy bun.

“I thought the critique wasn’t due until next Friday,” Marina comments as she sits down.

“It is, but I want to be prepared,” Jimin replies, sticking her pen behind an ear. “Where were you this weekend? I didn’t hear from you at all. Not one peep.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I was helping Mom.”

Jimin acknowledges the apology with a nod. “So, it was the usual, semi-boring weekend?”

“We had a lot of funeral wreaths ordered, which made me sad, but then this guy came in and bought two dozen roses for his girlfriend.”

“Two dozen? He must have done something really bad.”

“No. It was a surprise for their sixth month anniversary. I wish I had a guy like that,” Marina sighs dreamily.

“I’d rather he bring me chocolate.”

“Roses are more romantic,” Marina says, giving her friend a light push.

“Chocolate is tastier,” Jimin retorts, leaning against the tree and closing her eyes. “Yongsool better get me a lot of chocolate on White Day.”

“I’m sure he will. He’s very good to you. Speaking of boyfriends, something strange but kind of amazing did happen to me this weekend.”

“And that would be?”

Marina considers torturing her friend, but blurts out, “I got asked on a date.”

Jimin opens her eyes and sits up, excitement sparking in her dark eyes.“Was it Dongjin? It has to be. He’s always looking at you.”

“Dongjin looks at any female that breathes and no, it wasn’t,” she says, rolling her eyes. “I met him in the park by our apartment. I was sketching, he liked my drawing, and he gave me a lift to the shop.”

Jimin’s eyes get wider. “You got in a car with a stranger and agreed to go on a date with him?!.”

“He wasn’t a stranger,” Marina quickly tells her. “He introduced himself and he was a perfect gentleman.”

Jimin crosses her arms. “What’s his name then?”

“Soohyun.”

“Soohyun? Does he look like Kim Soohyun?” she teases.

Marina laughs. “More like Shin Soohyun.”

“Who?”

“U-Kiss Soohyun. Pay attention to your music, girl. I’m not even Korean and I know more about K-pop than you.”

“Yeah, yeah. At least you’re not one of those crazy fans, otherwise I’d have to disown you. I mean, geez, celebrities are humans, not...whatever,” Jimin says, throwing up her hands.

“I know that and you know that. Actually, I know that even better after this weekend.”

“Confused.” she furrows her brow, somehow still managing to look cute.

Marina bites her lip. “Well, you know how I said the guy who asked me on a date looked like Shin Soohyun?”

“Yes.”

“That’s because he is Shin Soohyun,” she says with a shy smile.

“Wait....So you got asked out...by a celebrity?” Jimin speaks slowly, watching Marina’s face.

“Yes.”

“Huh,” she shrugs. “There’s something that doesn’t happen everyday.”

Marina nods rapidly in agreement. “Not really. Funny thing is, I’m more excited about just having a date period than meeting an idol. Is that weird?”

“Not to me,” Jimin replies after considering it. “You deserve to go on a good date, especially considering you haven’t had a boyfriend ever...wait, didn’t you have a date the last year of middle school?”

“If you can call going on the class trip and holding hands a date,” Marina says with a laugh.

“Okay, maybe not,” Jimin admits with a shrug. “Out of curiosity, do you know why he just happened to be walking around your neighborhood?”

“Apparently he agreed to this thing where he had to ask out a girl his friends chose.”

“That’s dumb, but doesn’t that also mean he wouldn’t have asked you otherwise? Isn’t that kind of...I want to say demeaning, but I’m not sure if that’s the right word choice.”

“I actually thought it was kind of funny,” Marina giggles. “You should’ve seen him. He was so cute and nervous and he didn’t want to have to do it all over again. He said if nothing else he wanted to be friends. I figured since he was nice I could help him out.”

“You are a er for that kind of thing,” Jimin sighs, shaking her head. “Well, if nothing else, you’ll have nice friend-date and maybe a new friend. You need more.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Marina gives her a strange look.

“I was joking,” she laughs. After Jimin quiets, she says, “On the other hand...maybe you shouldn’t go on this date with him.”

“Why?”

“Because what happens if the press, who are supposedly always on these guys, end up seeing the two of you together? It might be problematic. To say the least.”

Marina thinks it over before shrugging. “I actually don’t think U-Kiss gets followed a lot. Besides, I’m sure they have their methods for getting around without having their every movement recorded. Otherwise our little meeting would’ve been all over, right?”

Jimin concedes her point with a nod. “True. I guess we’ll see what happens. When does this date happen?”

“No idea,” Marina says, pouting slightly. “Seeing as they’re so busy, I just told him to call or text me when he has time.”

“Ah. But have you heard from him at all?”

“No.”

Jimin sighs. “Let’s hope he’s not just playing games then.”

“I don’t think so. His eyes were kind,” Marina says, her smile growing soft as she remembers watching the play of emotions in their depths when she snuck a look at him when he was watching her sketch.

“His eyes were kind?”

“Yes. They’re this warm brown and when he smiled, the smile was in his eyes too.”

Jimin an eyebrow. “Are you sure it’s only friendship you’re interested in?”

“No,” Marina answers honestly. “I may be interested in being more than friends because he is very handsome and polite and his voice is amazing, but at the same time I don’t know him well enough to really know if we’d fit together.”

“Good girl. You’ve learned from my mistake of basing your opinion on looks.”

“It’s not your fault it didn’t work out with Hyungtae. Nobody knew what a jerk he was.”

“I know. That’s because he hid the snake behind that handsome face of his.”

“I hope you’re not talking about me, sarang.” Yongsool, careful to avoid Jimin’s books, claims her other side before planting a kiss on her cheek.

“Yah, not in public,” Jimin scolds, blushing.

“Marina,” he sighs. “Please tell your friend kissing your girlfriend on the cheek is completely acceptable.”

“She’s still probably getting used to the idea of you kissing her in public,” Marina giggles. “You guys have only been going out for a few weeks.”

“Four weeks, three days, and five hours, thank you very much.”

“You’ve seriously kept track of that?” Jimin asks in disbelief.

“I want to remember how long it’s been since I became the luckiest guy around,” he answers with a straight face.

“Now you’re just being silly.” Jimin blushes more, but quickly kisses Yongsool’s cheek.

“That’s why you love me,” he laughs.

“So, guess what happened to Marina this weekend?” she says, trying to distract him.

Yongsool sneaks an arm around Jimin’s waist. “What?”

“She got asked on a date. By a stranger.”

“Did you say yes?”

“I did,” Marina answers.

“Good for you. If it ends up not going so well, just call me and I’ll rescue you.”

“Did you not hear what I said? She got asked out by a stranger, as in someone she didn’t know,” Jimin points out.

Yongsool shrugs.“So? Everyone’s a stranger until they meet each other. What’s his name?”

“Shin Soohyun,” Marina says.

“See, Jimin-a? They’re not strangers if they know each others’ names.”

“You, sir, are impossible,” Jimin sighs.

“Again, another reason you love me.”

“So you think I should do it?” Marina asks.

“Of course. You deserve a good guy.”

“Thanks, Yongsool.”

“Least I can do for all the English tutoring you gave me and wouldn’t let me pay you for.”

“That was nothing,” she replies.

“Your phone’s ringing,” Jimin says, pointing to the glowing phone in Marina’s lap.

“Oh, thanks. Unknown number.” Marina shrugs. “Dad did mention he was getting a new phone for work. Yubsaeyo?”

“Hello? Is this Marina-ssi?” an unfamiliar voice asks.
“Yes. Who is this?” she asks, frowning.

“It’s Soohyun. From the park the other day. Sorry, I guess I should’ve given you my number too.”

“Oh, hi.” Marina flashes thumbs up to her friends. “That’s all right. How are you?”

“A little tired, but otherwise good. You?”

“Well, it’s relatively warm, I’m outside, and I’m almost done with classes for the day, so I’m awesome,” she replies, biting her lips to stop smiling so much.

“I’m sorry,” Soohyun quickly apologizes. “I should’ve called later. Are you on your way to class?”

“Nope. Just enjoying the sun with some friends. I don’t have class for another hour.”

“Good. I wish I was outside too,” Soohyun says wistfully.

“Stuck inside?”


“Unfortunately, yes.”

“That’s too bad. It’s a really nice day.”

“I know, but we have practice for most of the day. By the time we’re done, I may only have an hour or so to enjoy the sun if I get to see it at all,” Soohyun sighs.

Marina frowns in sympathy. “That’s really sad. Everyone needs a little sunshine.”

“That we do.”

“So...is there something you wanted to tell me?” She hesitates before continuing. “To be honest, I’m kind of surprised to be hearing from you.”

“Really?” Soohyun sounds surprised. “I promised I’d call you.”

“I know, but I wasn’t sure if you meant it.”
“When I promise something, I always keep my promise.”

Marina cringes a little. “I’m sorry, Soohyun-ssi, I didn’t mean to insult you if I did.”

“Not really. I mean, you don’t really know me so I could very well have been lying. Don’t worry about it. I did have something to tell you though.”

“Yes?”
Soohyun clears his throat. “I was thinking about it and I think it’d be best to wait to meet until after we get back from Colombia.”

“Colombia? You’re seriously going to Colombia? That’s so cool!” Marina says.

“We’re pretty excited too,” he laughs. “Have you ever been?”

“No, but someday I’d like to travel. I’ve only ever been here or the U.S. You’ll have to tell me how it is.”

“I will. We can talk about it on our date,” he suggests, chuckling a little.

Marina’s smile widens. “Great. So I guess we’ll set it up once you get back, right?”

“Right. We’ll be there for two weeks...guess my break’s over. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Looking forward to it. Have fun with whatever it is you’re practicing and good luck in Colombia.”

“Thanks, Marina-ssi,” Soohyun says, the smile evident in his voice.

“Just Marina,” Marina tells him gently.

“All right. Bye, Marina.”

“Bye, Soohyun-ssi. I’ll be waiting.”

===========================

Annyeong lovelies! Here's our third installment and the last bit of the introduction I've had written for ages. Now, to begin more writing! Yay! Hope everyone's doing great and thanks for your support. Saranghae!

Moony_Kat: Ke ke, that they are. And of course it's intensified because it's a new way to tease their leader. ^^ At least Xander's doing pretty well on his own now. Yeah, Eli's not my favorite, but I'd cry if he left. It'll be soon. *hugs back*

MewNikkiChan: He strikes me as an honest person so I think he would so there wouldn't be misunderstandings later. Yes, you are a little biased towards Kevin. Just a smidgeon though. ke ke. Love you too, dongsaeng-ah! <3.

Coralie_x_SHINee: Who wouldn't say no to him? Definitely not me! Ke ke, yeah, they're so much fun to write.

SuperSHINeeB2STJr: Aw, thanks! Yay! I'm not the only one who does the derpy seal clap when I laugh! It's all Kpop's fault! I see my biases doing it and I unconsiously picked it up.

dreamwriter_97: ke ke. Yay for bias destroyers! *laughs again* I hope you keep liking it! ^^

yellow14: Aw, thanks! ^^

hottest_elf: Here you go. ^^