"Jun..Junho.." Jieun pushed him away before staggering a few steps herself. Her fingers brushed against her moist lips as she stared at Junho in shock. Everything around her seemed to have stood still. 

"Be with me." 

"M..mwo?" Jieun stuttered. 

"Jieun, be with me." Junho held onto her hand and pulled her closer towards him. A cold chill went down her spine as Jieun felt their body come into contact. She could feel the warmth radiating from him that made her feel so secure. But yet it felt so wrong.

"Jun..junho. Geumanhae." She struggled to  release herself from his grasp, only to find herself back in his embrace again. 

"Jieun, mianhe." Junho whispered. "Mianhe. Mianhe… I'm sorry i couldn't protect you. I'm sorry i let you get hurt. Mianhe.." He buried his face in her hair as he tried to hide his tears. He hated crying, especially in front of people. Nothing went through his mind at that point of time. All he knew was that he needed to tell Jieun, now. 

Junho broke free from the hug and held her shoulders, making her face him. "Jieun, i don't want anything bad to ever happen to you again. I don't want to lose you, you know? I can't. I can't lose you."

"Junho, don't be like this.." Jieun muttered. Only when her tears kept spilling down the sides of her face did she realize that she was too, crying. It killed her to see Junho crying in front of her. It killed her to see how he looked so scared, so vulnerable. But what killed her the most was that she knew that this was all wrong. 

Junho brushed his thumb against her cheek, wiping off her hot tears. "Don't cry.." He tried to advocate as his tears continued to cascade down from his eyes.

"You shouldn't cry too…" Jieun whispered, reaching out to wipe his tears.  

"Jieun, i really like you. I really really like you." He held her hand tightly and looked at her. 

Jieun stared back, dumbfounded at the vocalized confession. 

"Junho-ah…" 

It didn't feel so real when Khun told her that Junho liked her. But now that those words came out of Junho's mouth, everything seemed to have materialized around her - all the worries, all the controversies, all the hardships that they would have to go through if she were with him. She was scared, more than scared. She was afraid about what would happen. 

"You don't have to say anything Jieun. Just let me be by your side to protect you, to lend you a shoulder when you need. Let me be there, to love you. I know that who i am, where i am in life now, i can't expect much from you. But all i'm asking is for you to give me a chance to give you happiness. Geurae?" 

Jieun gave a soft nod before entering his embrace again. She wasn't sure what he really meant, but all that mattered now was that, she felt safe and happy. All her worries seemed to have disappeared at his words and nothing else mattered, for that moment.

--

"Guys, we have an emergency." Junsu whispered as the 5 guys huddled close together around the backyard swing. 

"There's no more food in the fridge?!" Chansung gasped.

"No…" Junsu rolled his eyes at the younger male and his food obsession. 

Before he could continue, another voice distracted him again. 

"Please don't cook ppiyak, hyung! I know he's growing bigger and all but-"

"Aish, that's not it either-"

"I'm sorry i spilled water on your music sheet hyung,  i didn't mean it- " Nichkhun mumbled, looking down at his shirt and fiddling with its hems nervously.

"AISH THAT'S NOT IT EITHER. It's about uri Junho-goon and Jieun- wait… you did what?!"

"Ha-ha, umm tummy ache!" Nichkhun gave a nervous chuckle and quickly excused himself from the wrath of the daegu boss. 

"Aish, jashik." Junsu huffed as  he watched the Thai prince scoot his way into the bathroom. "Anyways.." He turned his attention back to the remaining members. "Do you guys notice that Junho and Jieun have been a little weird?"

"Eung, wanjeom! Did you see hyung's face just now when he wanted to go search for Jieun? Wanjeom michyeoseo!" The youngest spoke up while the rest gave resounding nods.

"It's confirmed then!" Wooyoung clasped his hands together and smiled proudly as he came to a conclusion. 

"Mwo?" Excitement was building up in each of them, all expecting to hear some juicy news. Wooyoung opened his mouth to say something but they closed it again, building up tension that was killing the rest of them now. Finally, he spoke.

"They're in love." He grinned, seeming pleased with his conclusion as the others rolled their eyes at him and slid back into their seats defeatedly.

"Aish, pabo. Where have you been all your life, captain obvious?" Taecyeon smacked the younger male's head. "Anyone else have any useful contributions to make?"

"What did i miss?" Nichkhun asked as he slowly got back to his seat, desperately trying to avoid eye contact from his hyung giving him death glares. If looks could kill, he'd be having a thousand arrows shot at him right now.

"What are we going to do about them? They're jus like two lost puppies in love." Taecyeon cooed greasily.

"I have a plan~" Wooyoung smirked before signaling for the boys to huddle closer.

---

"Did i scare you just now?" Junho whispered as Jieun looked up from within his embrace. She smiled softly and gave a small nod, earning a little chuckle from Junho. "Mianhe,"

"Eyyy, you're such a bad person. You punched my friend and you still dare laugh?" Jieun gave a playful frown as she shifted herself away from Junho's arms which were wrapped securely around her. "Don't think that i'll forgive you for punching Jaehyo just because of your sappy confession okay," She teased while Junho feigned shock.

"What sappy confession! That came from the bottom of my heart." He gave a loud and dramatic gasp before pulling her closer towards him again. "Even if it was sappy, you seemed to have bought it pretty well, haven you?" He grinned.

"Hmm, so are you saying that i should change my mind now?" Jieun tapped her chin decisively.

"Aniyo.. i won't let you leave me again, remember?" He whispered huskily, leaning his head against Jieun's. Their eyes met for a second, both showing emotions that could not be verbalized and that only they themselves understood. He leaned his forehead against hers, before leaning in to give her a small peck. 

"You like cheesy things, don't you?" His lips hovered dangerously close to hers, teasing her.

Jieun laughed at his childishness before meeting her lips with his and parting before he could deepen the kiss, much to his displeasure.

 "I like anything cheesy." She smiled.

Hai.

I will not be resposible if anyone gets diabetes from now onwards or if anyone (like me) feels like an old ugly spinster after reading this chapter. Buckle up guys, the rollercoaster has just started /wink. 

On a more serious note, i've been losing subbies recently and it makes me very sad ): Am i getting boring for you guys already? ):

But for all those who stayed and patiently waited for me and left encouraging/constructive/supportive comments, i just wanna say a big big big

thank you.

I will work harder ~ xx