Seung Ho smiled as he looked at Shin Hye sitting on the stairs. Shin Hye looked like a vamp, but she still maintained that innocent face of hers. 

"Noona, eodi ga?" he asked.

"Yong Hwa and I will go shopping," she lied.

Seung Ho nodded, pretending to believe. It was a Sunday, after all, and the two had all the free time.

"By the way, Noona, can I warn you?" Seung Ho asked her as Shin Hye tied the laces of her boots.

"Mwoya?" Shin Hye asked.

"Seohyun-noona is still sending me text message about being down," Seung Ho warned. "I may seem like a traitor, but I don't want Yong Hwa-hyung to be harmed. And I want to protect you too. I am also forwarding such messages to Kyuhyun-hyung because Seohyun-noona might commit unthinkable things."

Shin Hye stopped doing her laces.

"Like what?" she asked.

"She almost strangled the girlfriend of a crush she had back in middle school," Seung Ho shared. "I cannot forget that day because I saw it with my own two eyes."

"She has the tendency to be... violent?" Shin Hye asked.

"Ne. She did it once. But she seemed to change when Yong Hwa-hyung showed interest in her. But now that Kyuhyun-hyung pulled her away, she might try to make her way to claim Yong Hwa-hyung as hers, even if there was nothing between them."

Shin Hye bit her lips as she pondered upon Seung Ho's warning, all the while, resuming to tie the laces of her boots.

"Gomapda," she told him. "I will protect Yong Hwa with all I can. I can also ask help from Min Hyuk, Jong Hyun, and Jung Shin."

"I trust that the Elite Pranksters will keep Yong Hwa-hyung safe," Seung Ho said grimly.

Yong Hwa got out from his room and descended the stairs. Shin Hye stood up and looked at him with a smile, hiding the ominous look on her face.

"Gaja?" she asked him, and he nodded.

Seung Ho smiled at them and waved bye-bye. Then, his face got serious again.

"I wonder what Seohyun-noona is up to," he thought. "I think Kyu-hyung should keep his eyes open all the time."

****

Barrie's Wendy is not vengeful nor scheming at all. But what if Wendy's feelings change, her feelings for Peter getting deeper? What if she learns that Peter is spending more time with Tinkerbell than with her?

****

Shin Hye and Yong Hwa did not shop. Instead, they went to national heritage sights in Seoul, hopped from one coffee shop to another, strolled in Myeongdong, and went in bookstores.

"I promised a noraebang night, right?" she asked him.

"Ne," he replied.

It was getting dark anyway, so the two of them hopped to an Italian bistro and feasted on Italian goodness.

"I am glad you did not include the boys," Yong Hwa said to her over pasta.

"Wae? They are not annoying," she told him.

"Ara.. geunde... I just wanna be with you," he said. "You're my best friend, and I have a feeling I spent more time with you than I did with them."

Shin Hye smiled. 

"Geurae," she told him. "We spent time often, though when I was not with you, you were spending more time with Jong Hyun-ah."

"Ahhhh... so does that explain why he cried when I remembered him last?"

Shin Hye twirled her pasta with her fork. Jong Hyun was not one to cry that easily, but when it comes to Yong Hwa, it seems he will do anything for his friend.

"Yes," Shin Hye said before biting her lips.

"Gwaenchanha?" he asked her as she got silent.

Seung Ho's warning suddenly flooded to her consciousness, but she held his hand and reminded him that she will always be his best friend, and no matter what, she will be with him.

"Ara," he told her. "That's what friends are for, geureohchi?"

"Mmm.." she told him in assurance.

The two wound up dinner and ended with some dessert. After paying, the two of them hopped to a noraebang.

****

Only three out of ten rooms were occupied, and Shin Hye was thankful because only a few chose to spend time in the noraebang that they went to. Shin Hye went to the counter and asked for the room farthest from the counter. The man at the counter slightly raised an eyebrow before nodding.

Seeing the two looking a bit sweet made the man at the counter think that Shin Hye and Yong Hwa will, perhaps, be making miracles tonight. And no, the noraebang is not a good place to do it.

But then, it was really not his concern, either.

"Gaja..." Shin Hye said, taking Yong Hwa's hand tenderly.

The counter man looked at the couple going down to the farthest room and shook his heads. Young people, really...

****

The two of them began choosing songs, and Shin Hye went first. She sang to After School's "Someone Is You." And later, Yong Hwa got some tambourines and began singing to Hari's "Gwiyomi."

"So cute ♥," Shin Hye crooned as Yong Hwa sang with too much aegyo.

"Ehehe, Jung Shin and Min Hyuk taught me how," Yong Hwa said.

Shin Hye grabbed the mike and began singing to "Troublemaker," even imitating Hyuna's brand of dancing, making Yong Hwa gape. 

"Shin Hye, is that even you????" he asked her.

"Wae?" she . "Johahae?"

"Of course, I..." he replied, but he could not go on. He was feeling warm all over, watching her dance so y. 

"Ah, but do you know that Jong Hyun and I were singing and dancing y a few years ago?" she told him, though it was a total lie.

"MWO????" came Yong Hwa.

Yet, he did not understand what he was feeling that night. He did not like the idea of Shin Hye and Jong Hyun dancing intimately while singing some songs.

"Omo... what is this?" he asked him.

"Ahahaha, you should see yourself, Yong Hwa," Shin Hye . "It was just a joke! I never danced that y with Jong Hyun. Aigoo..."

"So.. you're just teasing me, huh?" he asked her, sighing in relief.

"More on making you jealous," Shin Hye thought as she smirked. "But come to think of it, Jong Hyun's hot too!"

"Sigh... I really thought you did," Yong Hwa said.

"Wae? Are you jealous?" Shin Hye asked him straight to his face.

And Yong Hwa began to blush.

"Jealous?" he asked.

"So cute of you to look like that, Yong," Shin Hye crooned and pinched him on the cheek. "How can Jong Hyun dance with me? He's all left feet. And neither Jung Shin nor Min Hyuk could even dance a waltz!"

"G.. geurae?" he said weakly.

He could really not imagine his girl best best friend dancing with his guy best friend. He did not even like thinking about Shin Hye and Jong Hyun dating behind his back.

And because of that joke, Yong Hwa began seeing Shin Hye like he had never seen her before.

His heart began to beat fast as Shin Hye sang to AOA's "Love Is Only You."

"So... does she love me?" he asked himself as he gaped again.

Shin Hye was not dancing provocatively. She just swayed like an innocent kid as she sang the AOA love song.

"Love is only you, love is only you," she sang as she pointed at him.

After the song, Shin Hye stretched her arms and yawned. Then, she sat beside Yong and asked him.

"Eottae (How was it)?" she asked.

"Love is only me?" he .

Shin Hye pinched his cheek again.

"I think I cannot stop pinching your cheek," Shin Hye said. "I will consider this night the best among the rest."

"Wae?" he asked.

"Geunyang..." she replied. Then, to herself, "Because I finally confessed to you, even if it was just a song."

"I like tonight too," he told her. 

"Wae?" she asked playfully.

"Because I think I like you. Thanks for making me jealous," Yong Hwa thought. Then, he voiced out, "Because I enjoyed the night with you."

A song began to play, BoA's "Implode."

"You chose that, right?" he asked.

But Shin Hye stood up and pulled him to the center of the room, and wrapped her arms around him.

"Mwo?" he asked her.

Seung Ho's words came to Shin Hye again.

"I know guys say this, but I will do anyway," she whispered as she pressed her cheek to his chest.

"What is it?" he asked.

The two of them twirled slowly inside the room, dancing romantically to such a sad song, which is about a person who was begging her lover not to leave her, and telling her lover all the hurts of her love being unrequited.

"I will be your shield," she told him.

Yong wrapped his arms around her and asked why he needed a shield.

"Nothing," she replied. "You might get hurt about things that you will remember later on, and I want to be there to ease your hurt."

Yong Hwa's body was beginning to warm up, and even his heartstrings were tugged.

"You're not acting as a best friend anymore," he told her.

Shin Hye did not separate herself from him.

"I don't want us to just be best friends, not anymore," she told him... in her thought.

"Shin Hye?"

"Can we just... act like this?" she whispered to him as they continued to twirl sweetly and slowly.

"Ara... ara..." he whispered back and kissed her on her hair.

The song ended, and more romantic songs came up. Instead of singing to their hearts' content, they were indulging in their angsty moments, dancing the night with just the two of them.

No one else...

~~~~