It wasn't until they returned back home and So Eun bade Daehyun goodnight and Daehyun had wormed into his warm bedsheets and ready to sleep that the full impact of what had happened finally occured to him.

She called him handsome. She called him her savior.

.

Daehyun bolted up from his bed and swallowed hard, his heart pounding in his chest. Was that some affection he detected in her tone? He shouldn't have saved her from those boys! He shouldn't have sung the song!

And now So Eun was warming up to him, too much.

Daehyun had been too engrossed in being happy about what she had said and the feel of the weight of her head on his shoulders that he hadn't realized what her words actually meant. Daehyun frowned and rubbed his temples, ignoring the natural elation he was feeling when he found that his girl was warming up to him.

Daehyun ran his fingers through his hair frustratedly and groaned. "Damn it, can't I just be like any 19 year old guy that becomes happy when the girl he loves is warming up to him." he muttered.

"Oh right, I'm not 19, I'm 1095." Daehyun laid back down on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

"This calls for some prevention." he murmured, sighing.

-----

And his prevention was, in layman terms, avoiding So Eun and speaking as little as possible.

His operation started the first moment when he woke up the next morning. He got out of his room and found that So Eun was still sleeping, like she always was. I mean, how did you expect she was almost late every single day?

Daehyun washed up quickly and went downstairs to help with the breakfast, a habit he made sure to continue every single day because he liked the feeling of helping Mrs Kim, a motherly figure.

He was halfway through his toast when he heard So Eun let out a squeal and run to the bathroom anxiously, chanting, "Stupid Pororo, stupid pororo..."

Daehyun let out a soft chuckle and noticed Mrs Kim watching him with a knowing smile. He wiped the smile off his face and cleared his throat. "Yes, Mrs Kim?"

Mrs Kim shook her head and grinned. "Nothing much." she shrugged, but that look was still on her face. "What do you think of our So Eun?" she leaned forward in interest.

Daehyun pinked and squeezed his eyes shut. "Not again." he groaned softly, thinking about the nosy Youngjae. Mrs Kim raised her brows and guessed. "I'm guessing Youngjae asked you this. That kid has always been smart." she mused.

Daehyun cleared his throat embarrassedly and Mrs Kim patted him on the back as So Eun began running down the stairs. "I'll let nature take it's course, but you've got to be more active Daehyun." she gave him thumbs up and disappeared into the kitchen.

So Eun ran down to the dining table and grabbed a toast, stuffing it in . "Morning umma. Morning Daehyun." she smiled at Daehyun. "Let's go, we're going to be late."

Daehyun grabbed his bag and followed her, giving Mrs Kim a curt nod. She gave him another thumbs up and Daehyun pinked again. They met with the rest of the gang and Zelo asked for his morning chocopie as usual. They half ran to school, talking non stop the entire way.

"I don't remember last night much." So Eun confessed. "I honestly think I was drunk last night." she laughed. "Can you imagine? What actually happened after Daehyun sang? I forgot."

"I don't remember either. I think I fell asleep." Jongup admitted embarrassedly.

Yongguk shrugged, uninterested. "We must have somehow gotten on the bus and made it home, haven't we? Why ask such unimportant things?"

So Eun made a face and turned to Daehyun. "By the way, I didn't know you were so good at singing, Daehyun. I don't actually remember much of the singign part, but I remember it was really good!" she beamed. "You should join the choir or even make a band. I'll bet the entertainment companies would even sign you up."

To her surprise, Daehyun just continued walking, ignoring her. So Eun looked at Youngjae in surprise and the latter frowned as well. Jongup looked confused at what just happened and he scratched his head. "Is Daehyun hyung angry?"

Apparently not, when So Eun asked him.

However for the rest of the day, wherever So Eun was, Daehyun made sure he wasn't there. He avoided her like Jerry running from Tom and So Eun only saw Daehyun when it was during class time. And even then he made it a point to go on long long toilet breaks to minimize time with her.

So Eun was slightly confused but the one more bothered was Youngjae.

He couldn't understand what Daehyun was doing but what he knew was that his hyung's new actions were giving Jongup a chance to get closer to So Eun.

Jongup was the Mr Nice Guy that was very sensitive and cared for little details, and he even remembered to pick out the carrot pieces from So Eun's bibimbap. He got So Eun her favorite juice and was attentive to her every detail.

Youngjae thought Jongup's little crush was getting a little obvious, though he couldn't be sure if Jongup really liked So Eun for who she was or he liked So Eun because she was a girl.

But that Jung Daehyun....Youngjae wanted the best guy for his best friend and even though he hadn't known Daehyun for a long time, he couldn't help feeling that Daehyun was the one for So Eun. He didn't believe that Daehyun didn't like So Eun, but at the same time he didn't think that guy was lying. It was hell of a confusing matter even for the brainiac.

While Jongup and So Eun were talking animatedly about the last episode of some show they were watching, Youngjae snuck to the backyard of the school where he knew Daehyun was hiding.

Daehyun was laying on a bench, an arm over his eyes as he slept.

Youngjae rolled his eyes and nudged Daehyun. "Yah stupid hyung, wake up."

Daehyun removed his arm and squinted up, frowning grumpily. "What." he sat up, pissed. Youngjae pushed Daehyun away and sat down on the bench beside Daehyun. "You mean what you're doing." Youngjae narrowed his eyes at Daehyun. "What are you doing here instead of in there? Your girl is about to get stolen by Mr Nice Guy."

"What girl?" Daehyun immediately went on guard. "I don't have a girl."

Youngjae sighed. "Don't try, Daehyun hyung. I don't doubt that you were telling the truth the other time, but I do know you have feelings for So Eun. It's super obvious to me and the others haven't realized only because they're blind." he shot Daehyun a look. "i'm not too sure what is happening with you, but I know you have feelings for So Eun, so there."

Daehyun took a deep breath. "I don't-"

"Lie." Youngjae shut him off. "I'm just giving a friendly warning, Daehyun hyung. You've got to try harder than this even though the bad boy image is really appealing the girls. But to win the heart, Mr Nice Guy is the one that will succeed. Jongup's going to get So Eun before you know it."

"Jongup?" Daehyun perked up, immediately on alert. "What's up with Jongup?"

"Haven't you noticed?" Youngjae smirked, glad with Daehyun's reaction. "Jongup's having a crush on So Eun right now. I don't want to choose sides yet, but it's pathetic if you lose her to him without even trying to fight for her. If you like her, do something, man."

Daehyun swallowed, his eyes darting around. The thought that some other guy was romantically interested in So Eun made him sick in the stomach and he really wanted to puke. He forced himself to look expressionless even though he knew he must look quite green.

"What's that got to do with me?" He tried to sound as confident as possible.

Youngjae rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air. "I give up. You're too stubborn." he complained. "I'll be going. You figure this yourself."

Daehyun watched as Youngjae went off, his heart squirming uncomfortably. His natural reaction was to go back in there to look for Jongup and deliver a freaking hard punch on the face of that guy.

He was naturally protective of So Eun and the thought that someone was getting cozy with her was driving him mad. He wanted to scream and yell and just act mad for a few minutes if possible.

He remembered a similar feeling years ago. MANY years ago.

Year 1501, Joseon Period

"I hope she'll like this." Daehyun murmured to himself, smiling as he held onto a pink hair pin he just bought from the market. He hummed to himself and was almost skipping as he walked down the road to look for So Eun where she worked at her parents' cloth store.

Girls giggled when he walked past them, admiring his good looks. Daehyun ignored all of them, with only one intent of meeting the one girl who had gotten his heart.

Daehyun reached the familiar store he had visited almost everyday. "Kim's Cloth Retail Store."

He was about to go in when he noticed a customer in the store. Specifically, a male customer. Daehyun darted out of sight and hid behind the pillar, peering in.

He recognized the male customer as Kim Hyun Joong, a bachelor with a massive inheritance and all unmarried girls were hoping to snatch this attractive male.

Hyunjoong had bought quite a few rolls of expensive cloth, undoubtly for his massive wardrobe of clothes and he was paying So Eun the money for his purchases. "That would be twenty taels, Hyunjoong nim." So Eun smiled.

Hyunjoong grabbed a fist full of taels without counting and handed them to her. "Here you go." he smiled at her, eying her a little too intently for Daehyun's comfort. So Eun counted the taels and removed three of them. "You gave too much, Hyunjoong nim. Here's the change." she tried to give him back but Hyunjoong closed his hand around hers. "It's a tip."

So Eun's eyes rounded and Daehyun narrowed his eyes at Hyunjoong's hands which were closed on his girl's. "That's too much, Hyunjoong nim, we can't accept this." So Eun flustered. "You had better take it back."

"It's not for the shop or your parents, So Eun." Hyunjoong flashed a killer smile. "It's for you. Buy some nice accessories or whatever you girls like and pamper yourself a little. A pretty girl like you deserves some time to relax."

So Eun cleared , not used to praises. "Uh t-thanks." she kept one tael and returned him two. "I'll do that with one tael."

Hyunjoong chuckled in amusement. "You're cute, So Eun. You should come over to my mansion some time and have tea."

So Eun looked alarmed by his advances. "Uhm I..." at this moment, she caught Daehyun peeking in from outside and she brightened, rushing to the door and pulling him in. "Daehyun ah!"

And she unbashfully pressed a kiss to Daehyun's cheeks. The latter's eyes widened and stared at her in utter surprise.

"I haven't introduced him to you before have I?" So Eun's eyes glittered as she looked at Hyunjoong. "He's my finance, Jung Daehyun."

"Ah." Hyunjoong mused. "Taken. Should have known." he nodded once at Daehyun. "You're lucky, Daehyun sshi." and he moved out of the shop with his purchases.

Daehyun slung his arm around So Eun's shoulder as he moved her back behind the counter. "What was that?" He touched his cheek, amused. So Eun patted his cheek and grinned. "Meant to ask you that. Why were you just hiding there when your girl was being sought for by another guy?"

Daehyun pouted and made a face. "Didn't know how I was supposed to intimidate such a bachelor like him."

So Eun turned to look at him with raised brows. "Why do you say that? You're a million times better to me than any guy out there alright? Remember it." she grinned at his pleased look. "And did I detect a little jealousy right there, Mr Jung Daehyun sshi?"

Daehyun laughed and reached to tickle her. "Yes you did, you did."

Year 2012, Seoul

Daehyun chuckled softly at the memory and sighed softly. Jealousy, exactly what he was feeling right now.

He wanted to be the one inside, beside So Eun and being able to pamper her however he wanted, able to squabble with her and . He groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Stupid curse."