{Eunhyuk's POV}

Well, this isn't exactly going the way I planned. What happened to wooing her? What happened to making her fall head over heels for me? What happened to shoving Donghae out of the picture? All I can come up with is friendly chatter. Nothing endearing about that. She probably only thinks of me as a friend. What am I thinking? I'm definitely just a friend.

I need to come up with something quick, before we get home. I can't let her fall in to Donghae's trap. I mean, he is my best friend and all but that's still not going to stop me from trying to win her over. It's not like he isn't trying. Call it friendly competition.

We walk out of the store, Erika clutching a small wrapped gift. I hadn't gotten the chance to see what it was when she'd paid for it. It seems to be some sort of CD, though. I guess Maura's a music fan? I wonder what bands she likes. Not Super Junior, of course. They still don't even know who we are. They just know we exist.

"Hyukjae," My heart skips a beat. "Do you want to get ice cream?"

"Huh?" I turn to her, shocked, seeing if she's serious. She is. "In this freezing weather? Are you crazy?"

"Crazy? Of course not. It's technically summer. Plus, Maura and I always go for ice cream after we go shopping. It makes her really happy. The shop is right there." She points across the practically abandoned street to and old wooden store that looks more like a cabin. I would have mistaken it for one if it didn't have an 'OPEN' sign on the front door along with 'ICE CREAM' painted above it in big pink and blue letters. Seems a little sketchy, if you ask me. But who am I to refuse such an opportunity?

"Sure." I shrug, smiling at her.

"Oh, good!" She does a little hop and claps her hands together, reminding me of a certain short, curly haired brunette. Somehow I get the feeling that the ice cream is usually more for Erika's benefit than Maura's.

We walk across the street, our hands in our pockets and hoods up, shielding us from the falling snow. We walk in to the shop and I hear the dinging sound of the bell on top of the door. A young girl comes up behind the counter. She's maybe 16 or so and her blonde hair is cut short, down to her chin. Her big, light brown eyes gaze at me as I walk up to the counter with Erika. Is it just me, or did that girl just her lips?

"Hi, Candy." Erika greets in English. The girl, Candy I suppose, finally stops staring at me and her eyes move to my companion instead.

"Oh, hi Erika." I almost gasp at the fact that this young girl doesn't even have enough manners to call Erika, who is obviously older (okay, maybe it's not so obvious), unnie. But then I remember that they're speaking English. What a strange language. Everyone sounds so rude when speaking it.

"What'll it be?" The girl asks. I look at Erika for help, not understanding the girl's English, but she's to focused on choosing a flavor. Her eyes are big and round like coins and her hands are pressed up against the glass, like a child. It makes me laugh to see this side of her.

"What?" She looks up at the sound of my chuckle, clearly confused.

"Nothing." I say, still laughing.

"What is it? Really!" She grabs my arm and shakes me, trying to get an aswer out of me.

I give in. "Okay, okay. You just look so childish. Are you sure you come here for Maura?"

"I... Of course! You should seee Maura in here! It takes her, like... Half an hour to make up her mind!" She insists.

"What are you guys talking about?" Candy asks in English, leaning on the counter, hands folded under her chin. She seems to be asking Erika the question, but she's looking at me. I feel the urge to run and hide, not liking the feeling of being stared at by those big brown eyes. It makes my skin crawl.

"Nothing. Just... Deciding which flavor to buy." Erika replied quickly. She doesn't even notice how the girl's staring at me as she turns her gaze back to the ice cream. "Umm... I think I want... Berry Berry Strawberry." She turns to me and switches back to Korean. "What do you want, Hyukjae?"

"Umm... Chocolate." I respond in my best English accent. The girl behind the counter giggles and I look at her, trying to give her my best creeped-out stare. But she just smiles and winks at me, reaching out to grab our cones. Ugh.

"You know..." The girl starts while scooping our ice cream. "I've alway thought that asians are, like, totally hot. And there aren't really any in this small town so whenever I see one, I just have to jump on the opportunity, you know?" She reaches out and hands me my ice cream cone, her hand lingering on mine for much longer than necessary. "So... Do you want to come to my place later? I get off at 6." She says the last part with yet another wink.

Erika, who already started eating, practically chokes on her ice cream, her eyes bulging out of her head. "Excuse me?!" I look at her, not understanding her reaction, mostly because I have no idea what the girl just said.

"Not you, Erika. Your hot friend." The girl replies, glaring in Erika's direction.

"I know, I know. But... How old are you anyway? How can you suggest such things?!"

"Hey, I'm turning 17 in, like, 7 months. Meaning that I'm pratically 18 and practically and adult. When I get these opportunities, I've just gotta grab them right away." Candy rolls her eyes.

"Candy, ummm... I don't think he wants to hang out with you..."

"Why not? It's not like he's rejecting me."

"Candy... You don't undertand... And neither does he... He's Korea-"

"Omigod. Erika, I'm so sorry!" She exclaims, looking at Erika with an exasperated expression. "He's your boyfriend, isn't he?! I shouldn't have said that! Oh God! Please don't think I'm some sort of man stealer! 'Cause I'm, like, totally not! Except for that one time... But that didn't count 'cause it was Jinny Grisner. I mean, I had to steal Chad away from her. Poor guy was probably wasting away dating that ."

"No... He's not-"

"Wait. So he's not your boyfriend?" She looks at Erika with suspicious eyes.

"Um... Well..." Erika stutters.

"Then what's the big deal?"

Erika pauses for a moment, a look of distress on her face. Then she grabs my hand, intertwining out fingers. "Actually, he is my boyfriend. And I'm really hurt that you would try and break us apart." Huh? I don't get it. What the hell are they talking about?

"Omigod! That's totally not what I meant to do! I'm so happy for you! I mean, how long had it been since you had a boyfriend? Ever since Jace, I thought you'd sworn off guys alltogeth-" But she doesn't get to finish what she's about to say as Erika drags me out of the shop by my hand, practically yanking my arm right out of the socket.

We run across the street and hurriedly get into the car. She sits back in her seat with a sigh of relief, finally letting go of my hand. Then she notices her ice cream, still in her other hand, and smiles, it contentedly.

"What... What was that about? I couldn't understand a word..." I ask after a few minutes have gone by. She finishes the last bite of her cone and pouts, looking at her empty hands. Then she turns to me.

"Nothing important. Just... Don't go anywhere near that girl. And don't bring Donghae or any of the others near her either." There she goes mentioning Donghae again. I sigh, looking down at the brakes. After a few seconds, when I look up at her again, I see her staring at the now melting ice cream cone in my hand.

"You can have it." I say, handing it to her. I doubt it'll get me any brownie points, but it's worth a try.

"Really? Thanks! You're the best!" She immediately grabs the cone from my hands and starts around the edges, trying to get it to stop melting. She looks to childish again. It makes me smile. I would have only expected this kind of thing from Maura before this day.

She's done the ice cream cone in a minute or so. Wow. Usually when she eats at the dinner table, she's the slowest. I guess she really likes ice cream. She turns to me and smiles a cute, toothless grin. I notice that she's got chocolate on the corner of her lips.

"You... You have chocolate..." I try indicating where it is.

"Oh! Really?" She lift her hand and and starts wiping furiously at the corner of . The wrong corner, of course.

I laugh and extend my hand toward her. "Just stay still..." She freezes and looks at me, her face going red, as my thumb meets her lips, wiping off the chocolate. I notice what I've done a bit too late and I feel my face go red, too, my smile disapearing.

But my hand stays where it is.

"Hyukjae..." I feel her lips move and her warm breath on my fingers. There's my name again. I hear my breathing hitch. Doesn't she know what that does to me? Is she trying to torture me? Why can't she just call me Eunhyuk like everyone else?

"I-" I start. But I don't know what to say. Instead, I feel my body leaning toward hers, my face inching closer. I can't seem to stop myself. It's as if just the sound of my own name has triggered the reaction.

My face is close enough the feel her breath against my lips, but they're not quite touching yet. Why isn't she moving? Doesn't she know that it would be better for the both of us if this doesn't happen? Don't I know? Isn't this exactly the opposite of what she wants? I though she wanted to forget about what happened just last night. This is more like a reminder. But still, her body doesn't move as my face comes closer to hers.

Just a few millimetres and out lips will meet...

Hooooooooonk!!!!

I jump back against the car door, my eyes wide. What the hell was that?!

Oh. When I'd been leaning in, my elbow had accidentally hit the center of the steering wheel... I look at Erika who looks just as surprised as I am. Her eyes are larger than I've ever seen them and her face in completely red.

"Hyukjae... I-" She starts.

"Don't call me that!" I yell, rage suddenly boiling over. How can she call me that and expect me to honor her wishes? I feel like she's leading me on. Just as second ago, didn't she want to kiss me too? And now her expression seems full of shock.

And regret.

"W-what?" She asks, confused.

"Don't call me Hyukjae. O-Only my parents can call me that." I say.

Her expression turns to hurt which, of course, makes me feel terrible. How can she get me excited ones moment, angry the next and then fill me to the brim with guilt? I just don't understand women.

Let me rephrase that. I don't understand this woman.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't know... I just assumed..." I hear her choke up as tears threaten to fall from her eyes. I look at my hands, now resting on the steering wheel, in shame. I didn't mean to go this far. I don't want her to cry.

"It's okay... Don't cry. Just as long as you know." I mumble, not daring to look at her, as I start the car.

We pull out of the small parking lot quickly and I speed home. The entire ride is silent, unlike earlier, when it had been filled with friendly chatter. But I need to get home and away from her as soon as possible, before I do any damage. I even feel like I should tell someone. Someone like Donghae.

Should I? He might be angry. But he's my best friend. I have to tell him. Maybe he can help.

When we finally get home, I jump out of the car as quickly as I can, leaving her to exit slowly. I don't even look back. I really can't bare to see her face right now. What if she's really crying? It's my fault if she is. I can't live with that. So the best option is to ignore it, right? I'll just talk to her later.

I pull open the front door and step inside the warm house, breathing a sigh of relief. I take off my shoes hurriedly, wanting to get upstairs to my room as soon as possible.

But just as I'm pulling my sweater off, I feel a force knock in to me, hard. I fall back against the wall, open my eyes, and see a wide-eyed Ryeowook staring at me, gripping my arms.

"R-Ryeowook? What's wrong? Are you alright?" I ask slowly, trying to act as if I care, but really dreading the answer.

He doesn't even pause to think. He looks at me directly in the eyes, with an intense stare, and yells:

"Hyung! Somebody's following us!"