Yoona laughed at Jessica’s expression. “Who knows?”

“Oi, Yoon!”

She did not have the chance to find out the source of the voice (not that she needed to in the first place: she was already familiar with his deep voice), because that certain source of voice had bumped himself onto her from the back, his arm casually rested on her shoulders.

“Hey, Oppa,” she greeted back. “How have you been?”

“Great, now that I see you,” Ok Taecyeon casually replied.

Yoona shook her head as a grin was slowly formed on her face. She was glad to meet him too. Taecyeon had been one of the guys she could be comfortable with (despite all his flirting, astoundingly) and she was feeling pretty awful for their lack of meetings lately. In her defense, Taecyeon was from the different agency and their variety show had ended (plus, her scandal with him a few years ago had made SM high officials advised her not to meet him that often). At the very least, they still managed to text and even call each other occasionally.

“What brings you here? Is 2PM performing too?” They were in the SBS studio and SNSD had just performed their newest single in Inkigayo. The other members were already ahead back in the dressing room, but Yoona was left momentarily behind, since one of SBS staff’s nephew requested for her autograph. 

Taecyeon dropped his hand back to his side as she accompanied Yoona to the dressing room. “Well, yeah, we were filming our variety show in the other studio. But when I heard that you were around, I just had to rush here. Although perhaps our manager is busy searching for me now…”

Yoona raised an eyebrow to the taller man. “I cannot even imagine how hard it is to be your manager.”

“If you want to be my manager, I won’t make it hard though.”

The girl let out a laugh and Taecyeon soon joined her. The girl probably considered it as another empty joke, but truth be told, he was not a hundred percent joking.

“By the way, have you heard that they’re planning to have special episodes of Family Outing reunion?” he asked again.

She had not heard about it and to find it out from Taecyeon instead of her manager surprised her. “Really?”

“Yeah. Only for two episodes. But it’s better than nothing.”

“And…my agency actually agreed?” Yoona questioned in puzzlement. As what had been stipulated, SME was not really content on the outcome of her scandal with Taecyeon. Sure, at first, it had been plotted, but the rabid fan girls’ attacks changed SME’s high officials’ mind. Besides, with SME’s own Project: Cupid! program, it would only be logical for SME to promote the pairing they created in their own program (Donghae and her as the primary example, in an objective, unbiased point of view) rather from another program.

But then again, there was also a high possibility that SME allowed her to be in another show with Taecyeon in order to create more scandals and gain more popularity.

If that was the case, then what could she say?

“Your agency is scary sometimes,” commented Taecyeon, reading up her mind.

“It’s not as bad as it looks like, really,” defended Yoona.

“Of course,” agreed the guy. “If SM didn’t agree, then I wouldn’t have another to shoot an episode together with you. They pair you up with Donghae too much lately,” he commented sulkily.

Yoona chuckled. “You watch our show?”

“I watch almost all your shows in my spare time, actually.”

The girl shook her head. “You’re one crazy fan boy.”

Taecyeon grinned, taking her words as a compliment. He was about to say another thing, but the sudden ring from his cell phone alarmed them both. He grabbed the device from his jeans’ pocket and glanced at the screen to see the caller id. From the way he sighed, Yoona could pretty much guess it was his manager who was calling. Taecyeon only pressed a button to turn the phone into silent mode and he looked back at Yoona again.

“I gotta go, Yoong,” he announced sadly. “Miss me?” he said in a begging tone.

She waved his hand teasingly. “Shoo, shoo…”

He grinned though. Her playful smile was an enough dose for the day.

“You know… I wish the cameras are here right now,” commented Eunhyuk when he approached Donghae’s table only to find Yoona was with him with no one else there. “Look at you two. I just went to the restroom for five minutes and you two are already sitting together in a secluded corner. Off screen.”

“Aish, Hyukjae, it’s not like that…” protested Donghae.

Yoona took a bolder defense. “Ah, come on, Eunhyuk Oppa. Donghae Oppaand I are good friends. It’s perfectly common for good friends to hang out together and share drinks right?”

The mischief in Eunhyuk’s eyes did not immediately disappear. “True, but –“

“Oppa,” interrupted Yoona. Her lips were pulled to form a sly smile. Her eyes remained innocent, but there was a hidden message (something around the line of “You’re wiser than to annoy me, Oppa.”) underneath her chocolate eyes. “… I’m currently imagining Sunny Unnie’s reaction once I tell her how you’ve been stealing glances at her the whole night…”

Eunhyuk paled. “You don’t –“

“Oh, I may,” Yoona affirmed diabolically with an angelic smile.

“Fine,” Super Junior’s Dancing Machine admitted his defeat. His eyes then scanned at the two youths. They and some other SME artists were spending the night in one of Seoul’s night club –which was rented for Krystal’s private birthday party. Eunhyuk knew that Donghae never truly enjoyed being in such place, and that was why he had accompanied him stay in the corner. Their other hyungs and dongsaengs had been present earlier, but they had left once they realized that the table was too ‘saint’ to make the night enjoyable (referring to Donghae’s and Eunhyuk’s strict refusal to drink alcohol).

And although partying with the others could lead Eunhyuk into trouble (he had a strong belief that his other band mateswould just bully him again), but at the moment, it seemed more appropriate than to be the third wheel.

Eunhyuk’s thumb pointed to the crowd near the bar and he shrugged. “I’ll just go and –“

“You can stay here, Oppa,” spoke Yoona.

Donghae said nothing, but his hand instinctively tugged on the end of Eunhyuk’s shirt.

The thinnest guy sighed and glared at the two incredulously. “Thanks, Yoona. But no,” he refused as he carelessly yanked his shirt away from Donghae’s grasp. His best friend pouted, but the aegyeo would not work on him. “Enjoy the night, you two.”

Eunhyuk turned his back and soon he disappeared into the crowd. The music in that secluded corner might not have been as loud as the music in the dance floor, but the beat was still audible enough to fill in the sudden silence that ensued between Donghae and his teammate.

“You don’t want to enjoy the night too?” he finally broke the silence.

Yoona rose her own glass of cocktail. “I am enjoying the night.”

He gave a weak smile. True, he never liked to be left by himself (being in a crowd might not be an option though. Two or three people around him were preferable numbers), however Donghae liked it less if he brought burden to other people. Yoona choosing to stay by his side was one of the examples. “You could enjoy it more,” he nudged the girl.

Yoona flashed him a reassuring smile. Suddenly then night didn’t seem that bad.

“Don’t worry, Oppa. My definition of ‘fun’ in a nightclub is to just drink silently with a good friend.”

Almost contrastingly, suddenly, he felt a wave of dissatisfaction surged into him. He supposed it had a relation with the mention of her last words.  “Oh.”

Yoona ignored his rather curt reply. Not because she wanted to disrespect him. She simply did not want to fool herself to believe that he was disappointed when she referred him as a good friend. The thought of their amity reminded her why she had decided to approach him that night when he was all alone. Finishing her drink in one gulp, Yoona then grabbed her big tote bag and pulled something from it: a blue, medium-sized box wrapped with decorative indigo ribbon.

Donghae eyed the object in confusion.

“It is kind of weird to come to one’s birthday party and bring a birthday present for another,” explained Yoona. “Happy birthday, Oppa. Sorry for not being able to give it earlier.”

His eyes were glued to the blue box as he hesitantly accepted it. “For me?”

She beamed. “Of course.”

“What, Yoona…” he trailed off, speechless. Truth be told, he did not expect her to give him birthday presents. Not only that his birthday had been more than a week prior, but Donghae also sincerely thought that her phone call the week prior would be the all she could give for his birthday that year. He still remembered the slightest disappointment when he first found out that Yoona could not be there for his birthday due to SNSD’s full-week schedule in Japan. The girl had been kind enough to call him and congratulate him on his birthday, but that had been all about it. However, seeing the gift now, Donghae could not help but to feel hope filled him up again. “Thank you very much. Can I open it?”

She nodded and with the affirmation, he carefully pulled off the ribbon and opened the box. Inside it was a t-shirt with the logo of his favorite basketball team. Being a certain stalker to the particular team, Donghae easily identified the t-shirt as the rare limited edition one. His lips were parted and his eyes shone like a young kid. “Thank you very much, Yoona! I’ve really wanted it but I didn’t have the time to order it. And I thought it was out of stock already…”

Yoona released the breath that she apparently had been holding ever since he opened the box. “I’m glad if you like it.”

“Like it? I love it!” he exclaimed. As if to stress down his point, he took off his jacket and slid the t-shirt on, doubling it with the tank he wore. “You’re the best. Seriously, thank you very much!”

She found comfort in watching his childish grin. Propping her chin on her palm, she replied casually, “Anything for you, Oppa.”

It happened in a split of second, but her eyes caught the way his eyes widened, the way his posture stiffened. He did not let his surprise linger longer though, as a wobbly smile graced his face.

Realizing that her earlier words could lead him to a misunderstanding, Yoona quickly added, “After all, you’re one of my closest friends now.”

“Ah. Of course…” he trailed off, his mind quickly tried to find responding words, but he ended up saying nothing in the end.

To avoid the awkwardness, Yoona brought a new topic. “By the way, Oppa, are you free this Saturday night?”

Donghae recalled his schedule. There were no talk shows or music performances that Super Junior had to attend. And they would have a full-day MV shooting on Friday. Usually, their manager gave them all a day off after filming an MV. It was safe to assume he would only spend that week’s Saturday in the dorm with his fellow band mates. “No, I guess. Why?”

“Good. I’ll text you the address later. Can you come?”

“Sure. But…” he paused to chuckle. “Im Yoona, are you asking me on a date?”

“What? Ah, no!” she said as she waved her hands. There was a bashful teasing reflected on his glint, so Yoona exhaled a deep breath and elaborated more, “I can’t tell you now, but I assure you, it’s not a date.”

“Ouch.” He feigned a hurtful expression. “Somehow, you wound my ego.”

She laughed and slapped his shoulders playfully. “Oh, come on, Oppa. What do you expect? We’re friends. We won’t go on dates.”

Her laughter was nice to hear, but her words were not so. Closing his eyes, Donghae then crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back to the couch. “…Three times.”

She ceased her laughter. “Sorry?”

He cracked an eye open. Words rolled out of his mouth before his conscience could filter them. “You’ve been stressing down we are only friends for three times.”

Yoona nervously let out a chuckle. “Well… aren’t we?”

“Aren’t you supposed to have a crush on me?”

Yoona blinked. Donghae felt blood was drained from his body. Her silence made him feel the urge to curse himself grew.

Fortunately, Yoona decided not to prolong the silence. Mustering a humorous tone, she spoke again, “Aish, Oppa. At this rate, I’ll take back my confession.”

“Wait. Why?” Donghae spontaneously blurt out.

“Why? Well, you cannot tease me for that all the time,” she protested good-naturedly.

“Whoever said I’m teasing you?” He countered back.

“This is not teasing?” she asked incredulously.

“Ah.” He shrugged. “I have…a good reason, I suppose?”

“What?’

“Well… I won’t be a hypocrite saying that it doesn’t please me that a girl has a crush on me. Won’t it be natural for a guy to preserve that condition?”

Her smile remained “Well, you’d better work harder for that, then.”

Donghae suddenly laughed. But there was a newborn emotion inside. “Yoona?”

“Hmm?”

He smiled his boyish smile. “Don’t make me cross the line.”

She eyed him quizzically. “What line?” she asked, although she had a feeling that it was the shred of being a gentleman he was referring as. If that was the case, she did not need to worry. Unlike Taecyeon Oppa, who sometimes did not understand the limit, Donghae was a very, very careful guy.  As professional as he was in providing fan service or clever pick up lines, he would never let himself out of his own boundaries.

However, on the other hand, she couldn’t help but to wonder how Donghae would look if he dared himself to cross the line.

Perhaps it was that very thought that made her take a bolder step – a step that she might regret later.

“Oppa…” she paused to observe him: the prince-like, shy boy who could even be more sensitive than a girl. Teasing line immediately flashed in her mind. “Not all girls can fall into your charm. Just saying.”

She thought he would chuckle at her silly comment. Or to look at her with a confused frown. Or to timidly cower back in a stuttering speech. Any other things. But even when Yoona half expected something hilarious, she was not prepared for what he was currently doing.

Even in the dimness of the room, Yoona could still see how her eyes were all of a sudden only centimeters away from Donghae’s. The guy leaned in closer to her, cutting all the space from their earlier decent distance. His right hand was clasped onto her left hand in a gentle yet firm gesture. Warmth flowed from the skin contact, and Yoona even felt slightly feverish when his hand slowly trailed up to her arm. suddenly felt dry, and she could claim it had nothing to do with the cocktail she had gulped earlier.

“What are you doing?” Despite her rather blunt words, she could feel her confidence slowly slipping away. It required her all the willpower not to make her voice came out in a squeak.

There was determination in his dark eyes… and something else that she couldn’t really decipher. Yoona suddenly found it hard to keep staring at his eyes, so she gradually let her eyes cast down and her head bowed. She did not normally let herself act that way, but in her defense… she was surprised. Donghae had never looked at her that way, had never touched her that way. What was she supposed to do?

She felt a warm finger touched and tilted her chin upwards. Once again, she was faced with his dark eyes that shone anything but bashfulness.

“What am I doing?” he repeated his question. His hand on her chin crept up to caress her cheek. “Proving my point… I suppose.”

“W-what point?”

He chuckled. “That all girls can fall into my charm, if I want it?”

Her heart skipped a beat. “Am I the prime example now?”

“You are falling for my charm right now, right?”

“You wish…” Yoona muttered.

But the playful smirk on Donghae’s face didn’t disappear.

Yoona tried to make things on the same level. She truly did. But perhaps blame it to the alcohol effect, or his pleasant cologne, or the surge of heat around her, Yoona could not claim that she was on her clearest mind. She realized that for the sake of her heart, she had better accepted defeat. She might be the competitive one, but she was not one who would blindly go after victory without consideration. Pulling her hand from his grasp, Yoona then shifted her body away from him. Masking calmness, she replied, “Alright. Y-you’ve proven your point…”

His lips were tugged into a smirk –something that Yoona had rarely seen Donghae did. Satisfied, the guy then pulled himself away, sitting in the normal distance with Yoona. Something inside him beat up in excitement, while his head mentally screamed something like he had betrayed his own sense. It was a contradictive sensation that he knew he was feeling often lately.

In the end, Donghae decided to ignore all those mental battles at the moment and just savored the pleased feeling inside of him. 

To be Continued

A/n: Happy early birthday Donghae Oppa!! I wrote this chapter weeks ago, but apparently it can come out (early) on Donghae’s birthday month.

This chapter is hard to write because it has a TaecYoon scene in it. Not that I hate Taecyeon (his character is actually very refreshing), but I just am torn to write it. In order to get familiar with their relationship, I have to read fics and facts about them, and it stings me a lot as YoonHae is one of my OTP. But I have to make TaecYoon as real as possible, so stalking this pairing was inevitable.

I need a huge dose of Yoonhae now.