Yonghwa

It's been hell.

The time I spent with Manager hyung and Shinhye in the car on the way to this fancy restaurant was hell. They kept on talking about how great it was for me to "accept" Shinhye's invitation after so long. And everytime I mention Seohyun's name, they threatened to take a photo of an "accident" and send it for her to see so that she will leave me forever. And after a whole thirty minutes or so, we arrived at this fancy restaurant. I have never eaten with Seohyun in a fancy restaurant. We liked to eat in small restaurants because it always reminded us of our past times when we were students. Oh, Seohyunnie, I'm sorry...

The head waiter greeted us as if we are the most important guest he had all day. Shinhye was already familiar with the place because most waiters and waitresses we passed greeted her by name. We marched from corridors to corridors. Eventually, we reached a narrow set of stairs, which looked like an emergency staircase. We followed the path as it led us to an outdoor garden at the fourth floor. The garden was dimly lit by candles placed along the pathway. The faint glow of the candles and flowers decorating the place gave off a really romantic atmosphere. I was amazed on how much effort Shinhye put to pull this off.

"Oppa, you should know that I'm sincerely happy for you to be here. It's been too long since we had a nice chat over dinner. Thank you, oppa..." Shinhye said.

"Well, it's not that I wanted to be here. I mean, not like this. You could've just asked me nicely instead of forcing me like this,

"Would you? If I did that, would you be here, really?" she smiled.

"I might be. I mean, who knows? I never hated you. I've always seen you as a good friend. And Seohyun knows about you. I told her about how we came to be close. She's more mature than you know. And what you do here, isn't..."

To my surprise, she chuckled at my response. Strangely enough, I could sense satisfaction in her voice. As she grinned and turned to me, her face was full of amusement. I really couldn't tell what she was thinking or what she was up to.

The candle lights and rose petals led us into the center of the garden, which had a small round table for two in the middle of it. On the table was a candlelight dinner setting. Really? A candlelight dinner?

"Here," Shinhye pulled one of the chair. "Sit here. Or do you prefer to stand there all night?"

I still couldn't figure anything out, so I decided to just go along with it. Shinhye then offered me a drink and told me to wait for a bit and left me for something she would not say. So I did what she told her and wait. As I was waiting for what I did not know, I glanced around and found Manager hyung in the far corner of the outdoor garden by the door. He was busy fidgeting with his cellphone. By the look on his face, he was in a serious chat with someone in his phone.

Not long after that, I heard the sound of footsteps coming closer, but before I could find the source, someone covered my eyes from behind. I was starting to feel annoyed. All of this was already annoying enough, but this one was totally unnecessary. I knew who I was with in that place. Or did I?

"That's it. Is this really necessary? I know it's you Shinhye..." I called to her, still blinded by the hands covering my eyes.

"Oh, is it?" came her answer. It was Shinhye's voice alright, but it didn't came from behind me, but from somewhere in front of me. And it didn't sound as close as if she truly was standing behind me covering my eyes.

When the hands let go of my eyes, the first thing I saw was Shinhye, standing on the left side of the table with a very amused grin on her face. Then there was a giggling behind me. A voice I recognized all too well.

"Oppa, turn around," the voice then called.

I did. And as my eyes caught the sight of who was behind me, my heart leapt out of my chest.

"Surprise!!" It was, indeed, Seohyun.

I couldn't think. My feet failed me there and refused to move. My heart was going out of control. My mind also refused to work. My whole body screamed, "What is going on?!"

"Wh-what..." I couldn't even form proper sentences.

Seohyun smiled, the smile I've been longing for the whole night. "It's a hidden camera we set up for you. I just wanted to make a surprise we've never done before,"

It was true. It wasn't just her, but our whole high school gang was there. The whole CNBlue, Jessica, Taeyeon, Sunny, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona. Even Tiffany, whom I remembered was a friend of Taeyeon's, was also there. It was a surprise so great, it left me speechless.

"B-But..." was the only word that managed to get out of my mouth.

"It took quite a bit of effort to bring everyone together, but from the start all of them were pretty excited to do this with me. I even called Shinhye eonni to help, which she accepted gladly. She is an outstanding woman and I couldn't help but admire her," Seohyun excitedly told me.

Everything was too much for me to take in, but the sight of everyone finally gathering in one place after all these years melted my heart. It was a moment I could never forget. Eveeryone looked very mature from the last time I saw them. Ever since I got the chance to officially debut as an artist with CNBlue, maintaining contacts with my high school friends was difficult. But with this, Seohyun had made my dream come true to gather everyone in a special occasion. I couldn't asked for anything better.

As I composed myself, I got teary eyed. "Thank you, Hyun~"

Seohyun blushed. "All the best for you, Yong~"

"No, not for me. For us," I said as I closed in for a kiss, ignoring the cheering from the rest of the guys. After breaking the kiss, the co-star of this whole hidden camera approached us.

"Oppa, I'm so sorry for making you uncomfortable. It was all part of the plan. Though I'm beyond satisfied to have witnessed your reaction firsthand. Priceless." Shinhye giggled.

I was still a little bit upset for the whole act Shinhye pulled off, so I only gave her a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. "I still think all that act was unnecessary,"

It was Seohyun's turn to giggle. "It was actually a plan from both of us. And it came out exactly like I pictured it. And Shinhye eonni's right. Your face was priceless," She burst out.

I couldn't believe they were both behind this. I didn't even know they knew each other that well. True, I told Seohyun about Shinhye and how we knew each other, but she never really met her as far as I knew. They must have been getting to know each other behind my back.

"I didn't even know you guys knew each other, but this? You guys sound like you've been friends for years," I asked them.

Shinhye chuckled while Seohyun explained to me. "We've only known each other for, like, a month. I don't know, we got along quickly. I really feel close to her like a sister. And it's been really fun having so many non-biological sisters!"

I smiled at her cheerful remarks. Her smile eased my shoulders after the whole time I spent with Shinhye thinking I would betray her against my will. I seriously thought I was done for if Seohyun found out about it even with my explanation. I was really glad that it was her idea.

The dinner went on joyfully. We caught up on things we missed during the time we couldn't contact each other. Sometimes everyone would yell at Jonghyun who was being cheesy towards Yoona (even cheesier than me, Seohyun claimed). Minhyuk then proposed a toast to all of us, for being here in full team even after each and every one of us achieved our success. That moment made me remember about the times when we first met each other. Jonghyun, when he was assigned as my seatmate in Class 3-3 at SM High; Minhyuk and Jungshin, when Jonghyun took me to one of his earlier school band jam session; Jessica, that day in the cafeteria when Seohyun and I bumped into her for sleeping in the middle of the crowd; Taeyeon, that morning when she first transferred into our school, after which I got an instant crush on her; Sunny, who was Taeyeon's friend I met at the convenience store where the incident happened; Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, the three loyal fans of CNBlue even from way back in our high school days; Tiffany, Taeyeon's childhood friend whom I met one night with Taeyeon; Yoona, when I used to date her in middle school; Shinhye, at the first script reading session of my first drama shooting. Lastly, of course, Seohyun, the one that brought colors to my once crumbling life.

We were so deep in the moment that time finally caught up on us. Before everyone needed to go, I told them that I have one last thing to show, as it would be hard to find times like this in the future. I called out to my manager and asked him for something that I previously asked to look for. He approached me and passed me a small box in secret. Then, I proposed for everyone's attention.

"Guys, we're gathered here today in a much unexpected occasion. I truly didn't see all of this coming. I could never thank you guys enough for taking some of your precious time for this gathering. Despite the things we've been through, we are here today still going strong as bestfriends, soulmates, and lovers. I could never wish for anything more than for us to still be like this or even better for many years to come. This bond we have is stronger than anything. Thank you, guys. For always being there and never leaving,"

A round of applause exploded around me. The guys came to me and hugged me while pretending to cry. The girls were, well, already drenched in tears. Before everything died down, I turned to Seohyun and asked for everyone's attention once more.

"I also want to show my gratitude and appreciation to this one wonderful person in my life. She had always been there for me from the start, and yet it took me a long time to finally see her. She lifted me up when I thought my life was crumbling. She brought colors to my greyscale view of life. She opened my eyes to things I would not be able to see on my own. I would surely be lost without her,"

I took her hand and looked her in the eyes. "Seo Joohyun. There are not enough vocabulary in this world to show you how much you mean to me,"

"Ya! Stop being cheesy," She slapped my arm playfully, even though her eyes were teary.

"Haha, mian." As I got down on one knee, she gasped and a tear from her eyes trickled down. "I know I am very cheesy, but...will you let me keep being as cheesy as I can be and so that you'll nag at me...for the rest of our lives?" I opened the tiny box that Manager Hyung passed me earlier.

More tears streamed down her chubby cheeks, her smile from ear to ear. She was speechless and only sobbed for a while. I waited for her answer in patience, down on one knee holding a tiny box with a gold ring inside.

Still sobbing, she finally spoke. "Choding. That was the worst proposal I've ever heard,"

"Yeah, I know...so?"

"Yes."

"What?" I nonchalantly asked again, not believeing the first time I heard the answer.

She only chuckled. "My answer is yes. But you can keep the cheesy part for yourself,"

I took out the ring and slid it through her ring finger. Then I threw my arms around her, lifting her up some centimeters off the ground. And then I kissed her, making up for all the words I could not form to show how I felt. The crowd before us exploded once again, cheering for us and clapping their hands to show congratulations. But in that moment, there was only me and her.

----

"Look up, Hyun~"

Seohyun tilted her head. "What's up?"

"Just look," I pointed my index finger to the night sky.

She lifted her head up, opening in amazement as she gazed upon the twinkling stars. "They're...beautiful."

"It reminds me of that night," I said, still gazing into the distant glittery outer space.

"Which one?"

"The night I showed my heart to you. On the rooftop of my house."

I turned my gaze towards her, focusing on every detail of her being. She put a smile so wide, it almost split her face in half. I knew her too well to know what comes after that kind of smile.

She put her arms around my neck and reached up to my lips. I moved my hands from her shoulder and lowered them until they connected just from below her arms on her back. I pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. She reacted and held my face with one hand as she pulled away to pause, gasping for breath. She was about to continue when something caught her eye.

"Look," She said, nodding at the direction of what caught her attention.

I followed her line of sight and found not so far away from us a patch of soil with blooming pink flowers on it. The sight of the flower was somehow familiar. I struggled to remember where I saw the flower before.

"Do you remember?" She asked, sounding so full of expectation.

The moment I heard her ask, it hit me. "Of course,"

"Hydrangea,"

She moved towards the flowers and plucked one off its stem. She then walked back towards me and put it in my hand.

"Yonghwa, you are the beating of my heart,"

"And so you are, to me,"

I pulled her again for an embrace, smelling her scent that was passed on by the night breeze. She buried her face on my chest and tightened her arms around me, intensing the heat so we'd both be warm in this cold night. She then lifted her face and met my eyes, but she wore a worried expression.

"So, um, was all of this okay? I mean the whole event I set up for you." I could read from her face that this had been bothering her for a while.

I put on a serious face. "Of course it's not okay," then I loosened my face and gave her the most sincere smile I could pull off. "It's perfect." She smiled back and buried her head in my chest again.

Everything around us after that didn't matter, for the night was cruel and cold but the hands that intertwined never let go.

-END-

Author's Note:

Hey, guys! I wanted to appologize for going on a hiatus before finishing the fic. There was something very important that I needed to deal with and since then more and more problems just kept coming and by the end of it all I lost the will to continue writing. And then after a while, I pushed myself up to go back to writing, because it is one of the few things that bring peace to my mind, and if I don't write, I don't know where else to escape to. 

And so, thank you so much for you who are still here. I really appreciate you guys for reading this fic. I will mark the story as complete but there will be an epilogue, though when will I able to upload it is still indefinite. But hopefully, soon. In the meantime, you can read my other fics :D

Once again, sorry and thank you!