“Are you telling me that Suzy likes you as well?” Jaejin seemed to be in a state of shock. “She used to. Now she likes you.” Seunghyun tried to ease the blow. Jaejin held up a hand. “Don’t. Don’t say anything more. I had no idea that you two liked each other in high school. I understand Suzy’s reservations but you.. I thought you would have been more upfront with your feelings Seunghyun. Did you really think that I would hate you for that?” Jaejin asked looking hurt.

“Hyung.. You really like Suzy & you finally managed to get her to date you. By telling you that I also liked her..” Seunghyun spread out his hands in exasperation. “By telling me that you also liked Suzy you could have spared me the hurt that my own brother has hid such a truth from me than letting me find out for myself. I should have trusted my instinct when it warned me that you had feelings for Suzy too.” Jaejin rubbed his neck & groaned.

“Look hyung.. the last thing I want to do is hurt you. Really I..” Seunghyun stumbled to put forth his feelings with words however he just couldn’t do it articulately. “You would have hurt me less if you had been more upfront with your feelings. What exactly did you think would have happened if you told me the truth? A fistfight Seunghyun? I’m still hurt that you decided not to tell me about something so important. If Suzy still likes you then what am I doing with her?” Jaejin’s eyes clouded over.

Seunghyun realised what Jaejin was thinking of & hurriedly stopped him. “NO hyung! Please don’t do what I suspect you are going to do. Suzy likes you. She is happy with you!” Seunghyun raised his voice. “Saying things in that confident tone isn’t going to change what is happening now.” Jaejin remarked his voice wavering. “Hyung..” Seunghyun started speaking again but Jaejin stopped him.

“It’s been a long night Seunghyun. We should rest.” He repeated the same words Seunghyun had uttered earlier on. Getting the hint that the older man wanted to be left alone Seunghyun exited the bedroom soundlessly. He entered his bedroom & plopped down onto his beat up old bed tiredly. It had indeed been a long day. Seunghyun felt as if he had been on a nonstop rollercoaster. “And it’s all because I wasn’t honest with my feelings.” He grumbled & shut his eyes falling into a deep dreamless sleep.

“You what?!” Hongki screeched at the top of his voice startling Seunghyun out of his sleepy stupor. The band were having breakfast at the dining table & everyone looked exhausted except for Hongki who was pestering the others about the details of the previous night’s Invincible Youth 2 recording. “Stop pestering people Hongki!” Jonghun snapped shielding his eyes from the sunlight pouring through the blinds in the kitchen.

“Why not? I wasn’t there. I’m excited to hear the details! So Jaejin you met your Suzy once again? Hope you didn’t make it too obvious you’re dating her.” Hongki slurped his orange juice noisily. “Actually I might not be seeing Suzy anymore.” Jaejin announced causing Hongki to spit his orange juice across the table. “EWWW!!” Minhwan made a face moving his cereal bowl out of the way. “What are you doing babo?” Jonghun rolled his eyes in annoyance. Sometimes his bandmates really acted like a bunch of uncontrollable primates.

“Sorry.. What did you just say Jaejin?” Hongki wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his sweatshirt & stared at Jaejin. “Yeah. What is that about?” Jonghun put down the newspaper & eyed Jaejin curiously. Minhwan however munched his cereal silently watching Seunghyun intently. “It seems that Suzy doesn’t love me. She likes someone else.” Jaejin said bluntly. That time Hongki smartly put down his glass of orange juice before hearing Jaejin speak.

“Someone else? Who? Don’t tell me she is dumping you for Junho?” Jonghun raised his eyebrows. Jaejin’s eyes narrowed at Hongki’s words. “No. It’s not him.” He spat with unmasked bitterness. Jaejin & Junho didn’t like each other. They used to be cordial to each other until they both realised that they were interested in Suzy. “Then who is it?” Jonghun wanted to know. “Seunghyun.” Minhwan said to the shock of everyone at the table. “What? Seunghyun?!” both Hongki & Jonghun chorused together.

“Really?!” Hongki eyed Seunghyun who sank down deeper into his seat. “Mind explaining yourself Seunghyun?” Jonghun asked calmly. “I.. It’s nothing actually.” Seunghyun smiled weakly & saw four disapproving faces staring back at him. “Alright.. fine. Fine. I like Suzy, liked her since high school.” Seunghyun admitted the truth to all his band members with the exception of Jaejin for the first time. “The best thing is Suzy likes him too.” Jaejin said tonelessly.

That time around Minhwan spat his cereal back into his bowl. “What?!” came the chorus of voices again. “Yes. Suzy has liked him since high school too. They both just never made the first move.” Jaejin continued. “This is.. interesting.” Jonghun muttered. “So you’re planning to dump Suzy so that she can be with Seunghyun?” Hongki asked his eyes curious. “I’m planning to let her be with the guy she likes.” Jaejin sighed stirring his coffee listlessly.

“Shouldn’t you at least consult Suzy on this before coming to a decision? I’m not sure if she appreciates being treated like a soft toy jumping from guy to guy.” Jonghun said wisely. He had the most experience amongst the members in dating & handling women & wasn’t afraid to dispense advice whenever he could.

“I spoke to Suzy today morning. I’m meeting her later this afternoon.” Jaejin said quietly. Seunghyun stared at him in horror. “So you’re breaking up with her for sure?” Minhwan munched his cereal looking surprised. Jaejin shrugged. “That remains to be seen.” He answered cryptically.

Seunghyun paced the living room of the dormitory back & forth. Jaejin had been gone for over two hours already & there was still no sign of him. Hongki, Jonghun & Minhwan had already left for the shooting of an episode of Star King so now only Seunghyun was left in the dorm all alone with only his guitar for support.

Hearing the turning of the door knob Seunghyun’s ears perked up. Jaejin was back! True to his guess Seunghyun spotted Jaejin striding into the living room an unreadable expression on his handsome face. “Hyung.. you’re back! How was your date? What did.. What happened?” Seunghyun was careful not to mention Suzy’s name.

“We had a nice long chat. It was interesting to hear what Suzy had to say. I have decided to stop officially dating Suzy for now. I’m going to let her choose who she wants to be with & not force anything upon her. The decision is now hers.” Jaejin sat down & switched on the television. “The decision is now hers? I don’t understand..” Seunghyun stared at his band mate.

“It means that Suzy can now choose who she wants to be with. You or me. I’m not going to force her to be with me if it’s you she likes. I don’t want to be with a girl whose heart belongs to you.” Jaejin shrugged. “Are you seriously okay with that arrangement?” Seunghyun wanted to know. “I don’t have any choice do I? I want to be with Suzy but if her heart doesn’t belong to me then what is the point of me being with her?” Jaejin’s eyes were downcast.

“I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have..” Seunghyun hung his head in shame. “At least now you are being more straightforward with your feelings instead of letting the girl you like slip through your fingers.” Jaejin smiled at him sadly.

Feeling his guilt eating him up from inside Seunghyun walked into his bedroom & shut the door. It already felt bad when he realised that he was hurting Jaejin but when Jaejin was actually making an effort to be nice to him despite him causing his brother to stop dating Suzy.. Seunghyun didn’t know if he could feel any worse.

“Cheer up sourpuss! Why are you sulking when Jaejin himself has come to terms with reality now?” Hongki asked when he spotted Seunghyun staring into space while the guys were waiting for their van to arrive & take them to M!Countdown for their goodbye stage for ‘I Wish’. “It’s not that easy.. I still feel guilty whenever I even see Jaejin hyung’s face.” Seunghyun mumbled to himself.

“Oh come on.. All is fair in love & war. Jaejin is not so immature to hold a grudge against you for this matter. Remember we all have an agreement to never argue about girls? It still holds. Hurry now.. We’re going to be late for our performance. Today is going to be Miss A’s comeback stage as well. You must be excited to see Suzy.” Hongki smiled at Seunghyun knowingly.

Feeling a stab of dread at the pit of his stomach Seunghyun followed Hongki to the van. After all the days of beating himself up with guilt Seunghyun couldn’t honestly say he was looking forward to seeing Suzy again.

“There.. there they are. Let’s go say hi!” Hongki pointed at Miss A who were standing outside their dressing room laughing over Min’s antics in imitating PSY’s “Gangnam Style’ horse dance. “I have a headache hyung. I will see you guys later onstage.” Seunghyun started to walk away when he heard Min calling out to them. “Hey guys! How are you?’ Seunghyun spotted Min waving over them with a bright smile. He saw Suzy’s eyes light up as they fell on him & felt his own heart do a flip flop at her smile.

However before she could speak to him Seunghyun had turned away & walked away in the direction of FT Island’s dressing room. “I’m so sorry for his behaviour everyone. Seunghyun is not himself recently.” Hongki apologised when he saw Suzy’s pretty face turning sad as she watched Seunghyun’s lanky frame disappear into the dressing room. “It must be because of me.” Suzy sighed as Hongki & Min exchanged glances. They had to do something to bring their two silly maknaes together.

“Why are you dragging me to watch Miss A’s performance hyung? We can watch it from the television in the dressing room just like the others.” Seunghyun grumbled as Hongki practically dragged him to the side of the stage to watch Miss A performing. Despite his outward pretentious disinterest Seunghyun found himself watching Suzy all through the performance admiring how the soft lighting brought out the glow of her skin & the dazzling beauty of her smile.

After the girls were done performing to roaring applause of the audiences watching Seunghyun spotted Miss A heading towards them. “Congratulations! You were amazing!” Hongki nodded enthusiastically making Min beam with happiness. Seunghyun watched Hongki congratulating & greeting the other Miss A members with Suzy bringing up the end of the line. Seunghyun congratulated Min, Jia & Fei politely as they passed him by but as Suzy passed him by he couldn’t meet her eyes but only give her a slight nod.

“What the heck are you doing?!” Seunghyun felt Hongki elbow him in the rib. Not knowing how to answer Seunghyun kept mum & watched Suzy as her eyes clouded over at his nonchalance. As she passed him by Suzy met his eyes & tugged his tie lightly as if questioning him silently on why he was being so cold to her.

“Have you had enough of acting like a jackass?” Hongki pushed Seunghyun into FT Island’s dressing room violently. “What is going on?” Jonghun looked up from his handphone while Minhwan & Jaejin stopped conversing immediately.

“Well Seunghyun here is acting like a real jerk to Suzy. I’ve been dragging him around with me all day long just so that he will talk to Suzy but no.. he is intent on being a jerk. I don’t know what he’s trying to prove!” Hongki threw up his hands in frustration. “Are you doing it to help me Seunghyun?” Jaejin questioned looking confused. Once again Seunghyun fell silent.

“Oh god.. I already told you that if you both like it each other I won’t stand in your way. Can you at least act normally towards Suzy instead of giving her the impression that she is affecting the relationship between us when she is not?” Jaejin sighed. “Plus you DO like her yet you are acting as if you don’t give a damn about her.” Hongki raised his eyebrows.

“I just need time to process.” Seunghyun lied scratching his head sheepishly. “Yes. In that time she is going to turn to someone who cares about her. Since you do care I suggest you let her know again just how much you do.” Jonghun added seriously.

“What am I going to do with this fool? How many times have we told him to be straightforward with his feelings? Does he listen? NO. Now he gets an opportunity to be with the girl he loves & he’s throwing it all away because his mind is stuck on some stupid path of self-sacrifice & guilt.” Hongki glared daggers at Seunghyun who stared at the floor in embarrassment. “I’ve called Suzy over to our dressing room. She’s going to be here in five minutes. You better get with the programme or else I’m going to kick your .” Hongki growled.

Seunghyun sat on the sofa wringing his hands nervously. His bandmates were intent of letting him make up with Suzy before the programme was over & Seunghyun had no choice but to agree. He wasn’t going anywhere & those guys wouldn’t let him. A soft knock on the dressing room door sounded & Seunghyun gulped noisily. She had arrived.

“Come in Suzy..” Hongki let her with a big smile. “Now excuse me.. I’ve got to get back to my MCing duties. It’s time for the final two acts to perform.” Hongki grabbed his cue cards & left the room. “We should really be giving our congratulations to Ga-In unnie.” Jonghun gave Jaejin & Minhwan a meaningful look. “Yeah right. Let’s go.” Minhwan got his leader’s drift & left the room.

Jaejin was the last to leave & Seunghyun saw him exchanging a smile with Suzy. He looked sad but at the same time happy in a sense. “Thank you Jaejin shi.” He heard Suzy say. “Don’t worry about it.” Jaejin patted her shoulder before leaving. After the door clicked shut behind Jaejin an awkward silence descended over the couple.

“So Seunghyun shi.. How are you?” Suzy took a seat beside Seunghyun on the couch. Seunghyun could see that she was still a little sad that he had snubbed her but was still trying to smile. “I’m fine.” He replied stiffly. “Did Jaejin oppa tell you about what we discussed & decided together?” Suzy started speaking when Seunghyun didn’t make an effort to do so. “Yes I heard. I.. I feel guilty.” Seunghyun heaved a sigh.

“Why? Jaejin oppa & I parted amicably. He is really a gentleman.” Suzy gave an approving nod. “He is.” Seunghyun answered emotionlessly. “Is that all you have to say to me? After confessing to me?” Suzy asked sadly. When she didn’t get an answer she stood up her shoulders slumping. “I’m sorry Seunghyun shi for bothering you.” She apologised quietly & walked towards the door.

Watching her leave Seunghyun was struck by a realisation that had evaded his thoughts for a while. Suzy loved him. She had feelings for him. What was he doing pushing her away? His band mates were right. He had been acting like a jerk to the girl he liked so much because of his own issues in handling his feelings. “Wait! Suzy shi! Wait.. I’m sorry..” Seunghyun stopped Suzy before she could leave. “You don’t like me anymore.” Her eyes were downcast.

“I actually like you too much.” Seunghyun smiled. “What?” Suzy looked up at him her eyes lighting up again. “That is why I was feeling guilty because I like you too much & I thought I was hurting Jaejin hyung by having feelings for you. It turned out I was hurting you by trying to hide my feelings as well. Sometimes I act like a real fool.” Seunghyun rubbed his neck with a silly smile. “You do. I love you for that.” Suzy tugged his tie again playfully that time pulling Seunghyun closer to her.

Realising that they were going to share their first kiss Seunghyun leaned forward with anticipation when an almighty crash sounded outside the dressing room door. “Be careful you idiot! If you break that camera it’s going to cost you your entire year’s salary! It’s time for the results for tonight’s show to be announced. Hurry!” someone yelled.

“It’s already time for the results? I didn’t realise it was so late. We better go.” Suzy told Seunghyun whose face fell with disappointment. He had been so close to receiving his first kiss from her yet now the moment was gone. Seunghyun saw Suzy leaving when she suddenly stopped & turned around.

Without warning she ran to him & tugged at his tie with surprising strength. Seunghyun stumbled forward & felt his lips brush against Suzy’s in a light kiss. “They say third time is the charm.” Suzy laughed as she left the room leaving behind a rosy Seunghyun who was almost bursting with happiness at that sudden unexpected yet utterly sweet kiss.

Seunghyun stood behind Suzy during the ending stage watching her laugh & wave to her fans. Unable to help himself he reached out & grazed his fingers against hers. Noticing what he was doing Min strategically positioned herself in the middle to prevent any prying eyes from capturing that moment. Thanking the older woman silently Seunghyun gave Suzy’s hand a quick squeeze before walking over to the back of the stage to stand with the boys of Block B.

“So how did it go?” Jaejin came over & whispered into his ear. Seunghyun gave him a big smile that was enough confirmation to say that things were going well. As Ga In prepared for her encore stage Seunghyun started walking back with the artistes his eyes meeting Suzy’s large ones for one long moment.

The sparkle of mischief flashing through them made Seunghyun smile. He didn’t know how they were going to go from that moment onwards but all that mattered to Seunghyun was the kiss he received from Suzy back in the dressing room & the promise of many more such kisses to come.

THE END.

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Author's Note : Well that is it for this SeunghyunxSuzy short story. :D I hope this chapter was good! Comments & suggestions are welcome! I will be writing another new short story for this pairing since I love them so much. <3