Chapter 35

The living room which had been close to empty 10 minutes ago was now bursting to capacity with Super Junior members.

Kyuhyun had been the first to arrive. He had brought along his laptop, and was now playing a game of Starcraft against Heechul.

Ryeowook had just begun cooking in his own dorm when Heechul had called, so he brought along all the ingredients to Sara’s apartment instead.

Donghae and Eunhyuk had come along, and were quietly sitting together watching a soccer match.

Sara was standing side by side with Ryeowook as they chopped vegetables together.

“Was Sungmin Oppa at home when we called?” Sara asked softly.

“He was, but he left straight away. He said he had somewhere to go.” Ryeowook replied casually.

“Oh...” Sara said despondently. She looked up as Donghae walked over to them with a smile.

“Can I help with anything?” Donghae asked cheerfully.

Sara looked down and concentrated on the carrot she was chopping.

“I don’t think so. We’re almost finished here. The only thing we need is more chopsticks.” Ryeowook replied.

“I’ll go buy it!” Sara said quickly as she untied her apron. She felt like she needed the fresh air. Even though her apartment was full of people, she still felt the absence of that one person acutely.

Sara grabbed her purse, and stopped at the door to put on her shoes, but paused when she saw Donghae beside her, putting on his shoes as well.

“I’ll come with you.” He said as he smiled at her.

Sara returned the smile half- heartedly, as they left the apartment together.

Their walk to the convenience store was silent and awkward. Sara kept on contemplating whether or not she should tell Donghae her true feelings now or later on. Heechul had told her to tell him right away, but she didn’t know how to go about it.

The convenience store was filled with young people, even at this time of the night.

“They look like students, why are so many of them here?” Sara asked Donghae.

“I think there’s a Hagwon or something nearby. Maybe that’s why.” He replied as he put on his face mask.

It didn’t matter that he tried to cover his face, because the students had begun to recognize him the moment he had entered the shop.

Soon a crowd had surrounded them, and people started taking photos of them.

Sara left Donghae with the crowd, and quickly purchased what she needed.

“Oppa, who’s that girl with you?”

“Oppa, are you on a date?”

Fangirls were all over the place, and Sara couldn’t get back to Donghae. She watched him from afar, but grew concerned when things began to get out of control. There were just too many people surrounding Donghae, and he was slowly being pushed against a corner.

Sara clenched her jaw, held her packet against her, and proceeded to push through the crowd. Exclamations of annoyance followed her, but she continued until she had Donghae’s hand in hers.

“Whats with this girl?

“Who does she think she is?”

“Isn’t that the girl Oppa came in with?”

Sara ignored all the names they were calling her, and continued to pull Donghae along towards the exit.

Once they were outside, they hurriedly crossed the street, and tried to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the store.

They soon ran out of breath, and Donghae stopped her as he bent over laughing.

“I...can’t believe...you did that! You were like...my bodyguard! He said between breaths.

Sara laughed and replied “I had to do something. They were swarming all over you!”

Donghae straightened up and hugged her tightly. “Thanks for saving me back there; I wouldn’t have made it through without you.”

Sara pulled apart and held him at arm’s length. “I’m just glad I got you out of there in one piece.” She replied.

They were both laughing when someone called out “Donghae? Is that you?”

Sara and Donghae turned to look. It was Sungmin. They had unconsciously made it all the way back to the entrance of Sara’s apartment.

“Oh, hyung. Were you going to come upstairs? All the members are already there. Come and eat with us.” Donghae said cheerfully.

Sara didn’t say anything. She had been staring at Sungmin the entire time. Their eyes had locked for a few seconds, but then he had looked away.

“I was on my way home. Here, I bought a few things for the members, take it up to them” he said as he handed Donghae a bag.

“Wait a moment” Sara said as she reached out to Sungmin and lightly touched his arm.

She turned to Donghae and said “Go up first; I’ll try to make Sungmin oppa stay.”

Donghae smiled, and left first. As soon as he was gone, Sara turned back to Sungmin.

“Oppa, are you really not going to come up with us?” she asked.

“I’m tired.” Sungmin replied softly. He looked at her and slowly said “You go enjoy yourself.”

Sara felt tighten as Sungmin’s gaze fell upon her. It seemed as if there was something else he was trying to say, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Oppa, about the other day, with Donghae...”

“You don’t have to explain anything. I knew all along. I told you that Donghae liked you.” He said in a straight voice.

“But I don’t...”

“I have to go now. Enjoy your night.” He said quickly as he cut her off.

Sara watched him go as she whispered regretfully “But I don’t like him. I like you.”