ARA’S POV

     My first thought when I shot up from my sleep was, Oh my gosh, we stayed out all night! Then I calmed down to see my dorm room surrounding me and Junsu was nowhere to be found. Then I remembered him waking me up and taking me home last night. The cold wind was what really woke me up, and all I could think of was the sweet song he had sung for me that keep playing through my mind. I recognized it as Eternal—one of my favorite slow songs from TVXQ. When we got to the dorms, he was quiet and still. He made no move or sound when I got off the scooter, only sat there rigidly, looking down. I couldn’t understand what was wrong. We had been so happy just minutes ago.

“You’re upset.” I observed out loud. He shook his head. “Something’s bothering you then.” He nodded. “What is it? Tell me.”

He sighed and looked up at me. “As great of a time as I’ve had tonight, I can’t ask you to be my girlfriend.”

What? No! “But you already did.”

He nodded again. “I know and I shouldn’t have. I have to talk to my manager about it. Only if he says yes am I really allowed to be in a real relationship with you.”

I looked down. I’d forgotten how controlled celebrities’ lives were. I nodded.

“I understand.” I put a hand on the side of his face and kissed his cheek, this time knowing exactly what I was doing. “Talk to your manager about it then.” I pulled out the piece of paper with my number on it that I’d meant to give him earlier. “Call me when you get an answer, ok?”

He nodded and tried to smile, but I could see he was worried. Worried his manager would say no. And so was I, but I had to hope everything would turn out ok. I turned to go, but he held my hand firmly. I turned back to him and he wrapped me in a hug.

“Thank you for accepting me. I was so nervous you wouldn’t because I’m a celebrity, but somehow you’ve been able to see past that all along to see and treat me as the real me. Thank you. And no matter what happens, I’m glad we had this night together.”

I hugged him back. “Me too… Me too.”

Just when I thought he would never let go, he took a step back and hoped on the scooter.

“I better return this before it’s too late.” He winked at me. “See ya later.”

I watched him drive away, sighing, and went inside to sleep, and dream of him.

     Kyung-sook would not leave me alone about it at work. The questions lasted all the way back to the dorm later that night.

“So you went with the outfit I suggested, right? What was he wearing?”

I looked at her. “Why the heck does it matter?”

“I want to visualize it. Describe it to me.”

I shook my head. “I don’t remember. I wasn’t really concerned with what either of us were wearing. All I remember was that he was wearing a leather jacket.”

“Ooh, how manly. And he took you on a scooter, right? Yes, you told me that… He should’ve rented a street bike, that would’ve been much cooler.”

“And more expensive.” I added.

“Ya, but still… So…where did you again?”

“The mall. Then we watched fireworks. We’ve been through this already, Kyung-sook!”

“I know, I know, but I’m just trying to—“

“Visualize it, I know.” I finished for her.

She nodded. “Yes, exactly. Now, what did you do at the mall—specifically.”

“We just shopped around and stuff.” I shrugged.

“No, no, no, specifically, Ara, specifically. What exactly did you do?”

“We took pictures—“

“Ooh! In one of those little photo booth thingies? Cool! Did they come out good? Can I see them?”

I rolled my eyes and handed the pictures up to her, hoping they’d keep her quiet for a while.

They didn’t. “Ok, what else?”

“All of it?” I asked exasperatedly.

“Yes, all of it.”

“Oh my gosh.” I looked up at the ceiling and then over at Eun Hye, who sitting in her bean bag chair again, reading another book. “Help me out here, Eun Hye.” She simply looked up at me. “Can you get her to stop talking??”

Eun Hye shook her head. “She doesn’t come with an off switch. Sorry.”

“Ok, ok.” Kyung-sook put up her hands as if she were defending herself. “So you “shopped around and stuff”. And you told me, uh, that you had…uh, ice cream…and candy! What flavor ice cream did you both get?”

I lay back in my bunk bed below Kyung-sook and lifted my hand to draw on the bottom of the top bunk with my finger as I answered, “He got strawberry with gummy bears and I got chocolate brownie.”

“Mmmm, I wish I had been there for that! And the candy? What kind of candy did you get?”

“Just a bunch of random stuff, Kyung-sook, can we stop with the questions now?!”

“Just a few more, alright?”

I sighed and mumbled, “No, not alright.”

 “First, do you have any of that candy left?”

I threw a lollipop at her, thinking, Surely this will shut her up.

No such luck. “After all the “shopping around and stuff” what did you do?”

“We rode the carousel.” I drew my finger around and around in circles, imagining the carousel with the nice old man. “And before you ask, yes we rode the same carousel horse. He rode behind me with his arms around me so he could hold on to the poll.”

“Aw…how sweet!” Kyung-sook clasped her hands together. Her voiced funny with the lollipop pushed to one cheek. “And then…?”

“We went to see the fireworks. Gosh, it was cold out…”

Kyung-sook motioned for me to go on. “And…?”

“And we sat on a blanket. And he sang for me. And I fell asleep on his shoulder. What more do you want Kyung-sook!”

“Aish, calm down, the whole building can hear you.” She took the lollipop out of and bounced it back and forth between her fingers. “Um…So you went home after that, right? It was pretty late if I remember correctly. Your sort of woke me up when you came in. If I wasn’t so sleepy I would’ve asked you questions then instead of now.”

Thank God you didn’t! I thought. But what I said was, “Well, I’m sorry for waking you up.”

“Oh no, it’s ok. I went right back to sleep. Anyway, what happened when he took you home?”

I looked away. Shoulder I tell her about Junsu asking me to be his girlfriend? Or should I wait until he talks to his manager about it?

“He…said he had to return the scooter…and talk to his manager about…something.”

“Something? That sounds suspicious… You wouldn’t happen to know what that “something” is, would you?”

“Ugh!” I kicked the bottom of the top bunk as hard as I could. “Kyung-sook, shut up! You’re annoying me!”

“What, aish, I’m sorry. I’m just curious. I have no life; I live through other people like you. This is the most excitement I’ve had in years.”

“Just leave her alone, Kyung-sook.” Eun Hye finally spoke up for me. “She’s told you enough already.”

“Oh, come on, Eun Hye. Aren’t you just the least bit curious about her date?”

Eun Hye pursed her lips the way she always did when she didn’t feel like talking to Kyung-sook and turned a page in her book, simply shaking her head.

“You’ve must want to know something!” Kyung-sook reason.

“The only thing I want to know is,” She looked up at me and I looked at her. “Did the two of you have a good time?”

It was simplest question I’d heard all day and I nodded.

“Yes, we had a great time!”

Eun Hye nodded too. “And that is all either of us needs to know, Kyung-sook.”

Kyung-sook sighed. “Ok, I get it, I’m being a nuisance. But can I ask just one more question?” She hung her head over the edge of her bunk.

I gave her look, but replied, “One. More.”

“Ok,” She piped up. “So, my last question is… Did you kiss?”

I blushed. “You mean like…kiss kiss? Like on the lips? Or just any kind of kiss.”

She shrugged. “Any kind will do for me.”

“I kissed him on the cheek twice and he kissed me on the cheek once.”

Kyung-sook squealed in delight and laid back in her bed to daydream about my “kisses”. I laughed to myself at her. As annoying as she could be sometimes, I wouldn’t have trade a true friend like her for anyone else in the world. I glanced at Eun Hye. Same with her, despite how quiet and distant she acted most of the time. I think it was just because she was shy. But I could always tell there was a lot more going on behind those eyes than she let on.