“Sunny!” Hyoyeon shouted in her ear. “Do you want to go home now?”

 

“What? Home? Are you kidding?” the latter shouted back, beating the loud music which was banging the room. “It’s not even midnight.”

 

The small built lady danced her way off to another side of dance floor, finding another group to dance with. Hyoyeon only sighed. She was actually feeling tired going to the club. It was their third consecutive nights, so to say.

 

The long blonde hair woman wanted to refuse the invitation before. However, she eventually agreed since the shorter lady kept begging on her non-stop. She couldn’t stand the aegyo whining, which was irritating to hear. Plus, she remembered her boyfriend’s request to keep an eye of her while he was abroad. A tough request, to be honest.

 

So there she was, shaking her hips lazily on the dance floor before she headed to the sofa on which their group was sitting to get some booze. Thankfully, it was already weekend, so her boyfriend was there to accompany her. Another thing that needs to be thankful about at that time was, her boyfriend was never went without his group, especially to that kind of place. The more the merrier, so it was not that lame than when she was in the club only with Sunny.

 

“Tired?” Jay handed a glass of beer.

 

“Boring ,” she took a seat right beside him, took the glass from him and drank in the beer. “Try being here for three consecutive nights if you want to know how I feel. I think I’ll avoid clubs for the whole next month.”

 

Jay threw his eyes to the dance floor, observing the petite lady who was now grinding her hips ily with another lady on the floor, while the guys were dancing around them. She was wearing an off shoulder, see through black blouse with sequin on its shoulder pad, and a short short of the same color. Sunny seemed to lost in that little world.

 

“You think it was okay for her to dance like that?” Jay asked Hyoyeon.

 

Hyoyeon took a glance on her friend’s direction before answering, “She’s a big girl. She should know what is good and what is not. But wait until Sungmin oppa knows all about this. I bet she’ll be dead by then.”

 

Jay just laughed. He opened another bottle of beer and pour the liquid into his glass. “I’m not drinking too much tonight. Just in case,” he nudged his head to Sunny’s direction. “Besides, I’ll be driving tonight.”

 

“Aww, why are you so sweet?” Hyoyeon inched closer to give him a light peck on his lips and they smiled at each other.

 

Seeing that action, his friends were making a commotion. They wolf-whistling and cheering them on, asking for some more action, which the couple refused to do, of course. The group continued to chat and joked around before Hyoyeon threw another glance at the dance floor. Where is Sunny?

 

She scanned the dance floor while nudging Jay on his side, “Sunny’s missing. I’m going to check on the toilet.”

 

She got up from the sofa and strode fast to the toilet. One stall was occupied while the three others were vacant.

 

“Sunny?” she called out. But nobody answered.

 

She waited some more minute to hear the toilet being flushed and the door clicked open. A lady of mid twenties came out of that stall, but she was not Sunny.

 

“Damn! Where is she?” muttered Hyoyeon before going out of the toilet and walked back to Jay’s sofa. “Jay, I didn’t find her in the toilet. Can you help me look for her?”

 

Jay needed not to be asked twice. He stood up from his seat and began to walk. They split ways. Hyoyeon was going to the back part of the club while Jay was going to the front part of the club. Each was scanning every person in that place, every sofa they passed by, every dancing soul they could see.

 

Sunny was nowhere before Hyoyeon spotted her on one of the corner sofa. She was sitting with a group of men, whom seemed lacking of good intention. They were pouring her a glass of beer after another, as if challenging her to drink more. Hyoyeon could see how bad her friend’s condition was already, seeing how she swayed in her seat.

 

While contemplating to just confront the men herself or not, Jay was suddenly by her side. Drawing a sigh of relief, she pointed at Sunny, silently asking her boyfriend to get her friend out of the ‘wolves den’.

 

Jay walked towards that very sofa, “Sunny, you’ve had enough drink. Let’s get outta here.”

 

“What? I don’t want to,” answered her. Her words slurred on the tip of her tongue.

 

The group she was with was laughing. One of them said, “You hear her. Just let her be here. She’s safe.”

 

“Safe my . She goes home now,” Hyoyeon came forward.

 

“Ouchie... Someone’s being a douchie,” one of them made fun of him while laughing sneeringly.

 

“Yea... You’re being a douchie, Hyorenchie,” Sunny added. She raised the half full glass in her hand, before giving it a one shot.

 

“Yah! I’m going to forgive you this time for being a total annoyance. Let’s go home. Now,” Hyoyeon commanded.

 

“Oooff.... Here is the party pooper,” Sunny slurred. “I have to go home, guys. Mommy’s mad.”

 

She stood up with a glass still in her clutch and walked past a guy who was handing her the drinks all those time. The guy stole a chance to spank her , even squeezed it.

 

“Ah, what are you doing? My boyfriend will hunt you down for that,” said Sunny, giggling. “Say, is my y?” She bent her body forward and wiggled her in front of that guy’s face.

 

“SUNNY!” Hyoyeon snapped at her and pulled her from where she was standing, before the guy could harass her more.

 

Jay who was almost unable to control his anger, took a step forward with a clenched hand. However, Hyoyeon tugged his arm with her free hand and nudged the two people to walk away and stay out of any more problems. Involuntarily her boyfriend and her best friend complied.

 

She dragged her heavily drunk friend to Jay’s jeep. After the lock system was unlocked, she quickly pulled open the door and pushed Sunny inside.

 

“This is stupid. Why should I babysit someone who likes to create a ruckus?!” Hyoyeon grumbled. She walked to Jay after shutting the door behind her, “I’m sorry, oppa. I didn’t mean to ruin your night.”

 

Jay played with her lock on her shoulder, “Nah, it’s okay. Glad that she’s okay, though. I just hope that no paparazzi get that scene, or she’ll be dead for sure.”

 

“I hope so. Sungmin Oppa will be furious if he knows...” she trailed off and contemplated for a while. “Let’s go home, Oppa.”

 

Jay nodded his head. The tall muscular guy opened the door for Hyoyeon before taking his stride to the driver side and climbed inside. Right after he the engine, and he and Hyoyeon were fumbling with the seat belt, they hear their friend sleep-talking from the back seat.

 

“Home alone without you is weird. You leave me too often. I miss you...”

 

Hyoyeon and Jay were only able to look at each other. While Jay was driving the vehicle away from that place, Hyoyeon looked at the back seat. Her friend’s upper body was being laid down on the seat; her legs fell to the car floor. She slept somewhat cutely with both her hands tucked below her head. Seeing her and remembering her sleep talk just now, she couldn’t help but feeling sympathetic. All her angry condensed up.

 

---------------------------

 

“What the heck is this?!” asked Sungmin, throwing the gossip tabloid on the coffee table in front of her. He just came back from his business trip in Taipei three days later. When he arrived in the airport, he saw that tabloid from the news stand corner.

 

In the cover was a picture of her in promising position with a guy on a couch, while the smaller photo showing the guy squeezed her . Sunny picked up the tabloid to examine the photos. Being drunk at that time, she has only a little recollection on the event. Thus she said nothing.

 

However, the silent irked Sungmin more. “How many times should I tell you?! You should be careful of your personal spree outside the house! We are public figures for God sake! We need to tend to our images, okay!”

 

“What do you mean?” asked Sunny. She was rather irritated hearing his lecture which seemed to hit the wrong place.

 

“We need to care for our images, Sunny! People scrutinize us!”

 

“Sorry? You seem to care more of what people are thinking about you, about us,” the tone in her voice was steadily rising up.

 

“It’s not that I care more, but I do care.”

 

“What for exactly? We’re not even artists! Just ordinary business people who happen to earn more than average. And sadly, that makes others think they have every right to access our lives, or makes you believe that they have the right to dictate our lives. Just so you know, Oppa, if you hadn’t realize all these time, not a single scandal has and will have impact on our business. The clients know our work ethics and the fact that we separate personal live to business responsibilities. Why bother?!”

 

“It’s all about people trust on us, Soonkyu. Not only the business people, but we also have stock holders on our sleeves who are not all business people. People invest by trust.”

 

Sunny stared at him in disbelief, “I feel like I don’t know you anymore, Oppa.”

 

She went inside their bedroom and took her green and grey gym bag from inside the cupboard. She packed her toiletries and her make ups in separate smaller bags. She then stuffed it inside the gym bag, along with some clothes she needed.

 

Sungmin who followed her into the room because of the shuffling sound she made inside, was rather shock to see the scene.

 

“Where are you going?” asked him confusedly.

 

Sunny waited until she finished packing. She slung the gym bag on her shoulder and spun around to face him.

 

“You should re-learn to know who your priority is,” said Sunny. She walked swiftly to the front door and banged the door close behind her. 

 

There, she left him rotted to the ground inside the bedroom, being flustered and confused of what was happening just now. He fished out his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number, “Hello.”

 

“Hello,” the voice from across the line answered, “What’s up, Oppa?”

 

“Ah, no. It’s . . . Um . . .  I saw the tabloid this morning. You were with her, right?” Sungmin tried to form the sentence inside his brain.

“Ah, that tabloid,” answered Hyoyeon. “It wasn’t like what it is written, Oppa.”

 

“I know. But it’s her fault for letting the media put her in such proposition, don’t you think?”

 

“Um . . . Yeah, but . . . How should I say it? Hm . . . There’s no smoke without fire, Oppa,” Hyoyeon said. She then confided him what was really happened, the reason behind her action, and the unconscious saying on the back seat.

 

 

Half an hour later, he found himself on the back of steering wheel, driving to a place where he thought she would be. Her apartment by Han river. It was a very nice apartment, but she chose to move in with him a just last year to keep him company. Besides, his apartment was closer to her company, so she could save more time in the bed before her day started. However, the couple or she alone would come back to her apartment for time to time, for a nice change of surrounding, or to reminiscence, or to contemplate. Just like that very time.

 

Sungmin pulled his car to the basement. Gladly he found one empty spot near the elevator. He took out his own bag, along with a bottle of ice wine she loved. Riding up the elevator he stepped out on the 19th floor and walked straight to her unit. He fished out the spare card key from his shirt pocket and swiped open the door.

 

The rooms were dim. Only some mellow yellow lights were on. He put his bag and the bottle of ice wine on the dining table and made his way to the balcony. Sungmin remembered they once purchased a love seat swing and placed it there on the balcony, along with a small wooden side table of the same wood color which was dark brown.

 

He walked silently and bobbed his head up the balcony entrance. Sunny was exactly where he thought she would be. She, he noticed, was not aware of his presence just yet. So he tiptoed to behind her, and bent forward to wrap his muscular arms around her shoulder from behind.

 

Sunny jolted on her seat, startled, “You come?”

 

“I need to amend things.” He peppered her shoulders with small kisses.

 

Sunny took his hand and led him to come forward and sat beside her on the swing. He complied. As he sat down, Sunny leaned her head on his shoulder while her hands were hugging his one arm. Sungmin her cheek with his free hand before letting it fall on his thigh.

 

“I’m sorry. I was being a jerk, wasn’t I?”

 

Sunny was silent for some minutes before muttering, “For bringing up irrelevant matter, yes.”

 

 “Yeah. Stupid of me.”

 

They fell silent for some more moments and were gazing at twinkling lights below. The bridge across the Han River could be seen from the balcony, and so did the reflection of the moonlight on the water surface.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

 

“About?”

 

“How you feel about my business trips”

 

“Ah, that . . .” Sunny’s voice trailed off. She added suddenly, "How do you know?"

 

"A yellow little bird told me."

 

"Hyo? I think I'd never even told her," she wondered.

 

Sungmin placed his forefinger and thumb below her chin and lifted it up so she could meet his gaze, "That's not important."

 

He was closing in and gave her a soft peck on her lips. Sunny closed her eyes as their lips made contact.  Yes, she missed the moment.

 

“You know I love you, right?” Sungmin said. The latter merely nodded. “Do you think I should reduce the frequency of my business trip?”

 

“You got to do what you got to do, Oppa. I can’t make you reduce it. I know the importance of that trips.”

 

“Or you can come with me.”

 

Sunny chuckled, “By that you mean every week? What about my own business?”

 

The two fell silent. Both were busy with their own thoughts.

 

Suddenly Sungmin blurted, “Do you know what suggestion the married couple will come up with to solve this situation?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“They would make a baby to accompany the one who is often left behind,” Sungmin said, goofy grinning.

 

Sunny jolted upon hearing the answer, “Yah!” She hit his arm. “You think making baby is like making cookies?! Besides we had agreed not to have child before marriage, right?”

 

Sungmin laughed seeing her reaction. Pure shock was written all over her face. Also there was a slight shyness as her flushed cheeks proposed.

 

“Why so serious? I said ‘should we are’, but we are not. Yet,” he smiled to her. “So, how about we tend to something else? So that you won’t feel so alone whenever I have to go.”

 

“Like?”

 

“A puppy? Perhaps?”

 

“Puppy? Really?”

Sungmin bobbed his head up and down. He smiled as he saw her girlfriend’s face lit up.

 

“Assa! That’s a good idea!” exclaimed Sunny. She stood up and danced silly.

 

Sungmin laughed again before he grabbed her hand and waist and pulled her to sit on his lap.

 

“Now, now . . . Puppy can wait for tomorrow. But you know what? I miss every little bit of you too,” he said, closing in into a kiss, showering her lips with tiny pecks.

 

The mood changed so swiftly. The tiny pecks turned into a deep passionate kiss. Hands were roaming everywhere. Sungmin just managed to open the clasp of her bra under her blouse when Sunny halted every movement.

 

“Not here. Inside,” she breathed out the chunky phrase. The couple then went inside to continue where they left behind.