Chen walked towards Hyori with soft footsteps, afraid to wake her up from her slumber. Zico's taunting words were still ringing in his head but he decided to put his rage aside, for the sake of the angel before him. He noticed she was sleeping rather uncomfortably, her eyebrows creasing together. She must be in pain, he realised, and he felt helpless that he couldn't do anything to ease her pain.

Without thinking about his, his hand found his way over to hers and he laced their fingers together. At once, Hyori's choppy breathing reduced to long, heavy sighs and her eyebrows did not crease together anymore. Chen smiled.

*

"So .. am I allowed to know why you're suddenly so nice to me?" Zico asked playfully. Hyori pouted.

"Can't I be nice to you?"

"Oh no .. it's just that, I'm afraid," he laughed as Hyori delivered a punch on his shoulder. "That's better," he chortled, wincing slightly. He looked at her disappointed face.

"Yah, I like it better when you're like this," he grinned, ruffling her hair, earning a few squeals from his fangirls and disappointed sighs from Hyori's fanboys.

"Knock it off, everyone's staring," she muttered, embarrassed.

A mischievous smirk played along his lips. He stepped closer to her. Hyori's eyes widened, clearly flustered.

"If I say no?" He said softly.

"Zico .." Hyori's tone clearly stated a warning.

He merely grinned and took her hand.

"Come on, let's go for dinner." And he pulled her along without waiting for her answer.

*

"This place is beautiful!" Hyori squealed, gazing at every corner of the cafe Zico brought her to. He smiled at her child-like behaviour, the happiness clearly shown in her eyes. He observed her scanning through the menu, where she was unable to decide what to eat as everything looked good.

Should he make the move?

He was aware that her feelings are inclined towards Chen. He was aware of the younger's feelings towards her too. However, they have somehow drifted apart when Chen entered his teens. And he was aware that Hyori was confused. Between him and Chen. How he knew that .. well he had always been a good observer, hadn't he? He became braver to court her when he felt that her feelings for Chen were starting to waver. Should he seize the opportunity before it completely slipped past him? Should he swallow his pride and give it a try?

Or maybe he should wait till they finished dessert, as Hyori had already called for the waiter.

*

"Hyori," Zico began after she had took her last bite of waffle with ice-cream.

"Yeah?" She blinked.

"Did you enjoy it?"

She nodded eagerly. "Thanks Zico, let's come back here more often!"

He smiled. It was now or never.

"Hyori .." he began again and Hyori paused, confused by his sudden .. formalness.

"What is it?" She asked, not in an unkind way.

"Promise you won't let whatever I say afftect our friendship?" He said, a little desperately.

There was a short pause.

"Okay," she agreed, cocking her head to one side to wait for him to talk. This is it.

Eyes on the table, he said, "We've known each other since elementary school, and .." he paused, took a deep breath, looked up and locked eyes with her before plunging on.

"I like you. I don't know at which point of time did I realise this, maybe I do like you all this while ever since we first met. I was afraid to confess to you in elementary because you hated me, but now we're okay, and I just want to let it off my chest," he spoke clearly.

Hyori was stunned, at a loss of words. Relieving her the pressure to reply, he continued.

"I understand that you're shocked. So I do not require an answer from you now. But .. I hope we can be together. As a couple. I'll wait," he smiled softly.

Hyori was still in a daze. This side of Zico was so not him. But she sensed his sincerity. She was touched. His confession wasn't like her fanboys' confessions. He liked her for her personality and not just her looks. She opened .

"T-thank you, I feel really flattered," she gave a small smile. "But-" she averted her eyes away "-I need more time before I can give you an answer. This is just so sudden, I hope you understand."

Zico smiled cheerfully. "Definitely. Whew, I feel so relieved now. Shall we get going?" He grinned, his usual self coming back.

Remembering her promise to him to keep things as normal as possible, Hyori rolled her eyes.

"Can I wish that you'll be as charming as the 5 minute gentleman you were?" She grumbled.

Zico stuck out his tongue.

"Fat chance."

*

ZICO HAS CONFESSED TO HYORI!! What will her answer be??

Oops, I know I said I will write some Chen Hyori scenes but let it just be Zico Hyori scenes first yeah ~ (;

And I'm really really sorry for the long hiatus, I've been really busy and I seriously considered deleting my account because I just don't have time to update frequently anymore. Thank you to those who are still subscribing and still reading, I'm sorry for making you wait.