Yongguk watched her silently, eyes roaming over her entire body, drinking in every single tiny detail. From the luxurious curls that piled onto one side of her head, to her tastefully made up face that highlighted her eyes and lips. He curled his fingers into fists as his gaze landed on her bare shoulders; it would require too little effort for him to reach out and touch them. His eyes trailed down, past her collarbones, down the front of her dress and he blushed as they landed on her cleavage. It wasn’t indecent, only showing enough to drive him crazy. Her dress stopped mid-thigh, giving him a generous view of her legs and he appreciated that they weren’t too skinny.

She smiled and waved when she saw him, throwing her arms around him in a big congratulatory hug. Himchan laughed at her enthusiasm and wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her close, equally as happy to see her. She pulled back and pecked him on his cheek, whispering a question, eyes shining with mirth. He leaned down to reply, hand squeezing her waist and making her laugh. 

Yongguk leaned back on his heels behind them, planning his escape- Being this close to her was hazardous to his health. And probably to Himchan’s health too, Yongguk thought as he watched Himchan’s hand slide down her arm, lacing his fingers with hers. Not for the first time, Yongguk wanted to hit his best friend. Shaking his head, he stepped aside and joined the dance hyungs in their conversation, thinking that if he kept himself busy, the evening wouldn’t be that bad.

He was wrong. Absolutely and undeniably wrong. No matter who he talked to or what he did, all he could see was Himchan’s hands on her, Himchan’s fingers fixed between hers, Himchan’s lips by her ear. How on earth were they planning on not causing a scandal if they went around glued to the hips like that? He knew that they missed each other, but shouldn’t they actually talk to other people while they were here?

Yongguk slammed his glass down on the table, getting angrier as the evening wore on. A melodic laugh made its way to his ears and his heart clenched. He didn’t have to look up to know it was her, having already memorized the sound even though they hadn’t seen each other often.

Ever since the first time Himchan brought her to the company and introduced her as his best friend, his rock and support whenever he needed, the boys had accepted and welcomed her. In fact, they rejoiced every time she paid them a visit because she always had in tow a ridiculous amount of food and also because they genuinely liked her personality. They were, however, very oblivious to the fact that their tough- leader was falling, irrevocably and deeper in love with her each time he saw her.

The next few months were a whirlwind of emotions for him- On one hand, he was happy to see her but on the other hand, he grew envious of what Himchan shared with her. Theirs was a special relationship that Yongguk never knew he lacked but now knew he wanted.  Adding salt to injury was the fact that his friend was particularly fond of skinship and she didn’t seem to mind all that much. They did it so naturally that it sparked rumors within the younger boys despite their protests… and it drove Yongguk mad. Holding hands, hugging, even kissing each other like tonight. Yongguk saw red and green every time they did something like that.

Thinking about it left a bitter taste in his mouth, and it was just about all that he could stand. Taking one last swig of his drink, he stood up and turned to go… and came face to face with her. His arms automatically went around her waist to keep her from falling after his abrupt actions had caused her to lose her balance. His breath caught in his throat feeling her palms press against his chest, their warmth penetrating even through his thick suit. He quickly backed away, allowing her to stand up straight and putting some distance between them.

“Ah, it’s Himchan’s keeper.” The words were out before he even knew it and surprised the both of them.

“What?”

“Well, it’s just that… you follow Himchan around everywhere. Don’t you think it’s an appropriate nickname?” , what was he saying?

She laughed and hit his arm lightly, “what’s wrong with you, Yonggukie? Are you upset that I haven’t said hello?”

“Aniyo, what makes you think that? I, for one, would be kind of embarrassed to be seen with you dressed like that.” , just .

Her eyes widened, then glanced down at herself briefly, becoming insecure, a blush creeping up on her cheeks.

“Aah, I wonder why Himchan thought it would be good to invite you, seeing as how this is supposed to be a private party.” , , .

She swallowed thickly, noting the seriousness in his tone. Blush becoming more defined as she notices that by now, people were beginning to stare.

“What…” She ventured to ask, bewildered at his sudden attitude.

“I thought I made my meaning pretty clear, no one likes it when a person forces herself on others.” His words and tone drove the last knife into her.

She stepped back, hurt flooding her face, bowing deeply, her voice was no more than a whisper, “I’m sorry. I should have known better than to accept Himchan’s invitations. Sorry for interrupting your celebrations.” And then she fled.

Yongguk watched her retreating figure, cursing inwardly at himself a bazillion times more.

——

You walked down the quiet hallway towards the practice room, both curious and nervous in equal parts. You haven’t seen or talked to any of the members except Himchan since that night… since Yongguk made it clear you weren’t welcome. You had run away, giving Himchan some lame excuse about feeling sick and continued hiding each time he had called you to invite you to their practices. Your silence frustrated him, knowing something had happened between you and Yongguk but the both of you were so tight lipped and stubborn about it. You hadn’t told him, not because you were embarrassed but because you knew he’d feel guilty and wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to fix things. And Himchan fixing things… didn’t always go as planned. After all, it had been his idea to put on that damned dress and it had been his plan to try to make Yongguk jealous.

Look where that has gotten me, you couldn’t help thinking. You loved your best friend, you really did. But there were times his antics worried you, like today for example. He had called you up last night and demanded angrily that you turned up today and threatened to write you out of his will if you didn’t. He hadn’t given you a chance to refuse or protest and you had obeyed his instructions despite his ridiculous threat.

Taking a deep breath, you twisted the door handle and pushed the heavy wooden door open. It was pitch black but you took a step in and let the door clicked close behind you. You rubbed your arms, feeling the goosebumps rising and called out, “h…hello?”

A spotlight in the middle of the room came on and the glare of it made you recoil. Hand shading your eyes, you squinted, making out the shadow of a man standing on a makeshift stage. Another light came on and your jaw dropped as you saw that it was none other than Yongguk. Before you could utter a single word, a song blasted through the speakers and he started moving, singing to the music. It didn’t take you long to recognize it, the song already familiar to you.

Have you seen that girl?

Yeah, she knows she’s back,

She’s got me crash and burn,

Hold up!

Singing the entire first verse, he jumped down from his stage when it neared the end and pointed to you, “neon nekkoya!”

The music stopped and the two of you stood that way, just staring at each other, unsure of what to say. Finally, he cleared his throat, “I… I’m really sorry. You know I didn’t mean what I said. I just… Himchan told me about your plan and… I really did get jealous.”

You heart thudded in your chest as he stepped closer to you, his words sounded too much like a beautiful lie for you to believe just yet.

“I like you, ____. I always have, since the beginning. You have no idea how crazy jealous I get when I see you and Himchan together…”

You remained silent, flashbacks of that night running through your mind. How he kept to himself, how he avoided you… those times you’d caught him looking at you hadn’t been your imagination after all and… Himchan’s plan had worked?

“…so you prepared all this?” You gestured to the set up, still wary.

“Yeah, I’m not good at speaking, you know that.”

You nodded, lips twitching, “and that last part?”

“Ah… I got Zelo to teach me. Himchan said you like aegyo.”

You couldn’t help it but you burst out in giggles, he’d said it so earnestly, not knowing that Himchan had managed to pull another prank on him- You had never said you liked aegyo. He frowned at our outburst, this wasn’t exactly the kind of reaction he was anticipating. Moving forward, he closed the gap between your bodies. He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you to him, effectively stopping your laughing fit. He tucked your hair behind your ear and traced your jaw line, “he also told me all about how hung up you were on me.”

You gasped, that Himchan..! He smirked, your expression telling him all he needed to know, then leaned down to press his lips firmly on yours. He kissed you long and deep, and when he pulled back, you were dizzy, hands gripping his shoulders tightly to keep your knees from giving way.

“No more skinship with Himchan, arasseo? You’re mine now.” He whispered in your ear, his deep voice running shivers down your spine. You nodded faintly, making him grin as he leaned down to devour your mouth once more.

Need to find Himchan and thank him… Came your last thought before you gave in fully, body and soul, to Yongguk’s kiss.