"Wohoo! Te amo, Colombia!” Hoon shouts.

Soohyun laughs before joining in. “Te amo, Colombia!”

    Their voices echo down the mountain as they stand on one of the peaks, lush green hills spread before them. Closing his eyes, Soohyun lifts his arms and face towards the sun.

“Kevin! Take a picture of me jumping!” Kiseop yells excitedly.

Soohyun opens his eyes in time to see him, Dongho, Eli, and AJ jumping off the low wall, captured mid-leap by Kevin’s camera.

“I wanna do it too!” Hoon shouts, rushing over as Kevin tosses the camera to AJ for his turn. “Soohyun hyung, you too!”

    All too soon, it’s time to visit the next site. Hanging towards the back as they walk back down the mountain, Soohyun watches s chatter and laugh with a fatherly smile on his lips. It’s been awhile since they’ve been able to have this much fun and walk around in the open without having to worry about anything. When they reach the bottom of the trail, Soohyun’s eyes lazily drift over the work of local artisans who had set up their wares to attract tourists. Suddenly, one thing catches his attention and makes him stop.

    The colors of the painting are just as vibrant as the others beside it, the content just beautiful. Sitting on a balcony, a young woman leans against the ornate ironwork. Her dark hair falls in sensual waves over her shoulders, tucked behind one ear with by a bright rose. Resting her head on her arms, the young woman gazes down at something or someone out of sight with dark eyes both as sultry as a summer night and as innocent a child. Bending down to take a closer look, Soohyun realizes why this small canvas stood out. Marina.

He shakes his head. Quietly and to himself, he says, “You haven’t even gone on a date with her yet. Why are you thinking of her all of a sudden?”

“¿Quieres comprarla? Es muy barata. Una ganga.”

Soohyun looks up at the eager vendor, trying to remember the sparse Spanish he had studied before.

“Hyung,” Dongho calls.

He straightens as the group comes back. “Mianhae. I’m coming.”

“Did you want to buy something, Soohyun-ssi?” their interpreter asks, glancing at painting. “It’ll only take a minute.”

Acting uncharacteristically impulsive, Soohyun gestures towards the painting. “This one. Thank you.”

She smiles at him before turning to the stall owner and launching into rapid fire Spanish.

“I didn’t know you were an art lover,” Kevin comments, squatting down to look at the painting. “It is really beautiful.”

“It’s not for me,” Soohyun blurts out, making the others look at him curiously.

A sly smile comes onto Kiseop’s face. “I know who it’s for.”

“I think I do too,” Eli chuckles, nudging Sooohyun with his elbow. “We’re right, aren’t we? Aren’t we?’

“His family?” AJ asks with a devilish smile, earning him some good natured eye rolls.

“That’s a great idea, hyung,” Dongho says with approving smile. “Very memorable.”

Hoon nods. “You mean ‘cause most guys settle for flowers if they get anything?”

“Aw, that’s going to be so cute!” Kevin beams, finally catching on.

“You really think so? It won’t be too much?” Soohyun asks, already second guessing himself.

“She’s going to love it!” Kevin assures him.

“Who’s going to love it? Anyone care to fill me in?” their manager asks, looking around at them in confusion.

“Soohyun’s got a date when we get back, Sungtae hyung. Her name’s Marina and she’s an artist so he’s getting it to give to her,” Dongho explains since Soohyun is in the process of paying for the painting. Proudly, he adds, “We helped set them up.”

“Good job,” Sungtae smiles. “When’s the big day?”

“Don’t actually know that yet,” Soohyun answers, glancing away from the painting as it’s being carefully wrapped up. “It all depends on when my next day off is.”

Sungtae frowns, trying to remember what UKiss has after this trip. “Well, you all do have a day off the day after we get back to Korea.”

“We have a free day?” Eli whoops. “Sleeping in!”

“You have to call Marina as soon as we land then,” AJ advises Soohyun as they start walking again with the painting tucked safely under Soohyun’s arm.

He nods, but remains a little worried. “What if she’s not free though? It’ll probably be forever until we don’t have a full schedule.”

“The date doesn’t have to be all day,” Hoon tells him. “She should be able to get away from whatever for at least an hour or too.”

“Yeah. Marina seems like the kind of person who’d be flexible,” Kevin adds.

“Who wouldn’t be for our handsome leader?” Eli says, slinging an arm around Soohyun’s shoulder. “Who knows? Maybe she’s already madly in love with him.”

“I’m not that handsome,” Soohyun smiles, shaking his head.

“Yes, you are.” Kiseop looks at him curiously. “Do you know what you’re going to do yet?”

“Um...” His mind goes blank under everyone’s expectant stares. “I was thinking...”

“What if you went to an amusement park?” Eli suggests. “It was pretty fun when we did it for ‘UKiss Vampire.’”

“Too many people,” Kiseop immediately says. “Maybe a museum. Marina would probably like an art exhibit or something.”

Soohyun clears his throat. “I-”

“You could take her out to eat something sweet,” Kevin interrupts. “Girls love sweets.”

Hoon shakes his head. “But girls always worry about eating too much and gaining weight. What about window shopping? It’d give you plenty to talk about.”

“Why do you even need a plan?” Dongho shrugs. “Planning stuff stresses people out and spontaneity can be just as good.”

“Guys,” AJ laughs. Gesturing to Soohyun, he says, “Why don’t we let hyung finish what he was going to say.”

“Mianhaeyo,” comes the collective mumble.

“I’m glad you all are so excited for my date,” Soohyun laughs teasingly. His smile grows thoughtful as he watches them for their reactions. “I was thinking of just going with her for a coffee and walking around the park near my house. Some of the cherry trees are still in blossom and I think she may like that.”

To his surprise, they all nod and smile in approval after a few seconds consideration.

“Simple, low key, and cute,” AJ summarizes. “Sounds awesome.”

“I’m kind of jealous,” Hoon pouts.

“Aw, it’s ok,” Kevin replies, hugging him from the side. “We can tag along and spy on them so we don’t miss a thing.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Soohyun says, glaring at him playfully.

Kevin just gives him an innocent look and sticks our his tongue.

    A few days later sees Marina sequestered in her small studio above the flower shop, concentrating on her latest piece. The tip of her tongue pokes out from between her lips as she delicately blends the paint, trying to achieve the right play of light while keeping the detail. The unexpected ring of her phone makes her hand jerk, almost creating a slash across the face. Hissing, Marina quickly pulls the brush away from the canvas and reaches for the phone.

“Yubsaeyo?” she answers in a distracted tone, putting her face close to the wet paint to double check that nothing was ruined.

“Mianhae, am I calling at a bad time?”

She gasps at the sound of his voice, blushing. “Soohyun-ssi. Um, no, no. Now’s fine. I was just working on something and my phone scared me and-Mianhae. I’m rambling.”

“It’s ok,” Soohyun chuckles. “It’s cute.”

“Chincha?”

“Really.” After a small pause, Soohyun clears his throat. “So, we’re on our way back to Seoul and it turns out we don’t have a schedule tomorrow. I was wondering...could we have our date sometime then?”

Marina’s heart skips a beat. “Sometime tomorrow?”

“If you already have other plans, I understand.”

“I don’t have anything,” she says quickly. “Well, I’m working for a few hours in the morning, but it’s only a little while. I have the rest the day free. But that means you can sleep in, right? You’ll probably appreciate that since you’re always so busy.”

Soohyun laughs. “It does sound tempting. What time do you get off?”

“Around noon-ish.”

“Okay. Where should I pick you up?”

“Would the shop be all right? Since you already know where it is.”

“That’s fine. So noon tomorrow at the shop,” Soohyun repeats.

“Right,” Marina smiles, giving a happy twirl.

There’s a sudden rise in the background noise. With an apologetic voice, he says, “Mianhae. I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow. And Marina?”

“Yes?”

“I can’t wait,” Soohyun admits shyly.

“Me neither,” she says with a smile, even though he can’t see it.

    Parking his car the next day, Soohyun looks nervously out the window at the flower shop. Glancing back at the package resting on the passenger seat, he rests his head on the steering wheel.

“Come on, you can do this. It’s just a date. You’ve done this before. No big deal,” he coaches himself. “Hwaiting.”

    With a resolute nod, he picks up the package and gets out of the car. When he enters the shop, his senses are hit by splashes of color and enticing smells. Soohyun stops just inside the door, looking around.

“Annyeonghasaeyo.” A short, graceful woman with sleek red hair and pale skin comes out from a back room and gives him a smile. In flawless Korean, she

asks, “Is there anything I can help you with.”

“Um, I’m here to pick up Marina. I’m Shin Soohyun,” he introduces himself, trying not to sound nervous.

Recognition bursts in the woman’s bright brown eyes. “Oh, so you’re the young man who has a date with my girl. It’s very nice to meet you. I’m Sarah Sacchieri, Marina’s mother.”

“It’s very nice to meet you too,” Soohyun replies, shaking her hand and bowing a little.

“Marina’s just finished her shift and went upstairs to change. You can go ahead and wait for her there if you like. Just take those stairs over there.”

“Thank you, Sacchieri-ssi.”

“Just Sarah,” she replies with another warm smile.

“Sarah,” he repeats, giving her an equally warm smile.

“Go on. She’ll be ready shortly.”

Nodding, Soohyun takes the stairs Sarah indicated. When he reaches the landing, he knock on the single door and calls out Marina’s name.

“Is that you, Soohyun-ssi?” she answers. “Come on in. I’ll be out in a second.”

    Carefully, Soohyun opens the door and steps into the main room. Full of natural light that streams through four large skylights, the room is full of several canvases in various states of completion. Tubes of paint, pencil sketches, and brushes are partially organized, partially scatted across a large worktable that sits in the middle of the room. He steps over to look at some of them, careful not to touch anything.

“Annyeong.”

Startled, Soohyun looks down to find a small, freckled face looking up at him. “Annyeong.”

“Who’re you?” the chestnut haired girl asks innocently, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. “Are you one of unnie’s friends?”

“Yes. I’m Shin Soohyun,” he smiles, getting down on her level. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Rose,” she smiles, giving him a polite bow. “I’m six. What’s that?”

“This?” Soohyun lifts the package. “It’s a present for your unnie.”

“Do I get one too?”

“I’ll bring you one next time,” he promises.

“Okay,” Rose shrugs, smiling again. “Want to see my painting? Marina unnie’s teaching me.”

“I’d love to.”

Naturally wrapping her small hand around his large one, Rose leads Soohyun over to a small easel and points to the still wet paint. “That’s my school and all my friends.”

“Wow. It’s so beautiful,” Soohyun praises.

“Thank you,” she replies, looking at her feet with an embarrassed smile which makes Soohyun chuckle.

“Making friends, are we?” Marina asks.

Soohyun looks over his shoulder and stands up at the sound of her voice.

Dressed in a dark green tunic and tights with sandals, Marina finishes securing the end of her braid with a bit of leather thong. “She didn’t talk your ear off, did she? Rose loves making new friends.”

“She’s adorable, just like her unnie,” Soohyun says, smiling.

Marina blushes. “Thank you.”

“Unnie, Soohyun oppa brought you a present,” Rose says, pointing at the package still in Soohyun’s arms.

“Rose, use ‘Soohyun-ssi.’ You did?” The blush in Marina’s cheeks glows a little more. “That’s really sweet of you, Soohyun-ssi.”

“She can call me ‘oppa’ if she wants. I hope it’s not too forward of me to give you this,” he says sheepishly, offering it to her. “I just saw it while we were in Colombia and...I thought of you.”

“I love getting presents,” she replies, shyly accepting it. Carefully, she unwraps it, her face going blank as the paper falls away. Slowly, she the canvas.

“I wanna see, unnie,” Rose says, standing on tiptoes.

“Do you like it?” Soohyun asks, watching the way Marina’s eyes move over the painting.

“It’s so beautiful,” she says, closing the distance to give him a short hug. “Thank you so much, oppa.”

Soohyun’s heart speeds up as he feels her arms around him, but they quickly slip away as her hand flies to cover as she realizes what she just said.

“Mianhae,” Marina says apologetically.

“It’s all right,” he quickly assures her. “You can call me ‘oppa’ too if you like. So things are less formal. I kinda like the sound of it too.”

“Okay.” She lowers her hand to reveal another shy smile with matching dimples.

Soohyun gives her another warm smile. “So...should we go?”

Glad for his easy nature, Marina quickly nods. “Sure. Just let me put this up and drop the munchkin with Mom.”

“Okay.”

Soohyun watches her as she scans the wall for an empty space before setting on a space opposite the door.

“So it’s the first thing I see every time I come in,” Marina says, smiling as she takes Rose’s hand and begins walking out.

A feeling of pride in his choice swells in Soohyun’s chest and he smiles contentedly to himself as he follows the sisters down the steps after closing the studio’s door.

“Mom, we’re leaving now so I brought Rose back down,” Marina calls as they reach the bottom.

“Okay. Have fun and be safe.” Sarah’s voice calls from the back room. Poking her head out as Rose joins her, she smiles at Soohyun again. “Soohyun, it was very nice to meet you. Would you like to join us for dinner tonight?”

Soohyun blinks at the unexpected invitation.“I-”

“Please do. I’m making chicken cordon bleu tonight, Rose’s favorite.”

“Please come, Soohyun oppa,” Rose asks, peeking out at him from behind Sarah.

His heart melting, he nods. “Thank you.”

Sarah nods and disappears again.

Soohyun looks at Marina when she giggles. “What?”

“Nothing,” she replies, smiling. “So, where’re we off to?”

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

First off, a big MIANHAE for not updating last week! Blame papers and stress for my writer's block. =P Forgive me?  I'm really busy this week too, but I'll try to get another update up by Saturday to make up for it, okay? Thank you for being patient and continuing to support me! Saranghae, lovelies!

dreamwriter_97: Aren't they just the cutest things?! ke ke, one fluffy date (hopefully the start of more), coming up soon! ^^

turtle_chan: Cute is my specialty! You're not alone; you have me! ^^ Don't worry, you'll find your Soohyun someday! Until then, we can be alone together and eat yummy things and love our oppas, okay? I tend to like natural build-ups better because then I can relate more. The whole love at first sight is romantic, yes, but rare and so less relateable.

Moony_Kat: Aw! *hugs back* Eli's definitely a blast to write, that cheeky, flirty pigeon that he is. It really is, isn't it? ^^

Coralie_x_SHINee: Oh, just wait. You'll be in a sugar coma by the time I'm done with this story.

yellow14: Indeed. ^^

chocoenvelope: I might be too, but I think that's just who she is. She sees them more of who a person is than what they are.

MewNikkiChan: Ke ke, yes he is. A Kevin story would definitely make you feel better. ^^