You smiled as you sat down in your normal corner in the coffee shop and your computer, waiting it to boot up the web-browser before signing into AIM. This meeting had been scheduled for a week now and you couldn’t have been more excited for the day to finally get here. You remembered how you and Hae had met. You had both been on Omegle and talked for almost two hours before trading AIM usernames. He never was able to get on that often, but you were okay with that, because the time he was on, you enjoyed a lot. You didn’t know much about where he was from or what his full name was, but you knew how much he loved his mom and friends and how much he missed his dad. You knew how he would cry when watching a sad movie and had trouble falling asleep at night. He loves children and animals, puppies to be specific. You knew that he bit his lip not in nervousness, but just because it was a habit he picked up on. He hates eating alone and is very soft-hearted. You knew a lot about his personalities and what makes him tick. You smiled as you saw his username, clicking on it and bringing open a new chat box. You chuckled as you saw your username, remembering how Hae had teased you endlessly about it. You were a huge fan of TVXQ! and Hae had always pestered you, saying you should send a letter to ‘oppa’, meaning Yunho. You had made sure he knew that you weren’t the kind to send letters or even go to concerts. You were the support behind the scenes. Buying every album and merchandise to support the band from afar.

Uknowmax03: Hae!

Hae1986: _______ ur here!

Uknowmax03: I’m here? You’re here! You’re the one that is always gone!

Hae1986: hey u know i cant do anything about that…

Uknowmax03: I know, Hae~ It’s okay, don’t sweat it!

You didn’t get a reply for almost ten minutes, something that started to worry you. Was he upset because you pointed that out? What was wrong? What he mad?

Hae1986: sorry hyuk was bothering me for money lol

Uknowmax03: Aww, give your friend some money, Hae~

Hae1986: yah do you want me to go broke because of him

Uknowmax03: That’s right, you have to go broke because of me~

You froze after you sent it, chastising yourself. There have been occasionally flirty messages from him from time to time, but never from you. You always tried to refrain from flirting, because you figured you’d never meet and didn’t want to lead him or yourself on. There wasn’t a response until a long five minutes later.

Hae1986: mmm you do have a point ______

Uknowmax03: Seriously though, Hae, isn’t Hyuk your best friend? Aren’t you willing to spend a little cash on him?

Hae1986: nah I have to save it all up for you

Uknowmax03: Hae…

Hae1986: Are you embarrassed by that, _____? That I want to spend money on you?

Uknowmax03: You don’t even know me, Hae.

Your conversations have never taken this turn. Sure, you’ve had deep and meaningful conversations, but that was never between your relationship. You could always tell he was serious when he began using capitals and punctuation.

Hae1986: On the contrary, _____, I know you very well. I know when you’re upset, when you’re mad, when you’re happy, when you’re sad… I know you dye your hair because you don’t like your natural color, you chew on the end of your straws and pens when you’re bored, you chew on your lip when you’re nervous and avoid eye contact most of the time because you feel making eye contact is awkward. I know you’ve had your heart broken in the past by a jerk and your mother was scared of you moving out because you’ve always worn your heart on your sleeve.

Uknowmax03: Hae…

Hae1986: I know you very well, _____. Don’t say I don’t know you.

Uknowmax03: We’re internet friends, Hae… It’s different…

Hae1986: It’s not different!!

You didn’t have a response and he didn’t say anything else for a while. You looked around, blinking to get the tears that had started to build up at the subject away. If only you and him had met in real life and lived in the same area. He was perfect and so sweet to you, definitely boyfriend material, but he was simply an online friend. You could bear your soul easily to him because you didn’t have to worry about him spreading rumors or judging you, you could simply log off and never return.

Hae1986: It’s not different, _____. We’re not different. We’re friends and that the end of it, do you understand? Just because we have never met in person, doesn’t mean we’re any less of friends.

Uknowmax03: I’m sorry, Hae… I… I think I’m going to have to go for now.

Hae1986: No, _____, please don’t. This is the only free time I have for the next two weeks. Please don’t leave. Talk to me.

Uknowmax03: I’m really sorry, Hae. I’ll see you in two weeks.

He watched as your light went from green to gray, signaling you had left. He frowned, sighing as signed off and closed his laptop. Donghae had known you for almost eight months now and he could definitely tell that he liked you more than he should. He didn’t know what you looked like, but he fell in love with your brain, the way you thought, the way you felt. He rubbed his eyes as he stood from the desk and walked into the living room where Eunhyuk, Heechul, and Sungmin were sitting on the couch, watching Super Junior M’s latest performance of Swing.

“Hey guys,” he said quietly, joining them on the couch.

“Hey, you done talking to _____?” Heechul asked but never looked from the screen. All the boys had found out about you after Donghae had known you for two months. They noticed his change in demeanor and began asking about why he was so smiley suddenly. After grilling him for two days, he finally confessed. He assured them that she didn’t know who he was and they were okay with it.

“She.. It’s a long story,” he mumbled, sighing.

“You look upset. Did something happen, Hae?” Eunhyuk furrowed his brow in worry for his friend.

“No… No… She had to go, that’s all,” he nodded softly, lying through his teeth. The three boys knew something went wrong, but they decided to let Donghae be and went back to watching the TV.

The next two weeks dragged on for Donghae and for you. Donghae got tired from not sleeping, worrying about you, but still performed his duties as an idol. You on the other hand began lagging in your work, prompting your boss to ask you if anything was wrong. You’d always shake your head but your boss knew better from just one look at you. Two weeks later and you were currently cuddled in blankets on your couch, staring at your phone that lay on the coffee table. You wanted to sign on and see if he was there but you were afraid he wouldn’t be. You were also afraid he would be. You wanted to see him, but you were afraid after last time. You didn’t want to say goodbye permanently. You sighed as you gave in, reaching across and grabbing your phone, logging into AIM and tapping on Hae’s contact. You saw that it said he was on so you waited a minute, feeling your heart pounding. You waited a minute until your phone buzzed.

Hae1986: ______?

You swallowed the lump in your throat before gliding your fingers across the keyboard slowly.

Hae1986: It said you signed on…

Uknowmax03: I’m here… Sorry…

Hae1986: I missed you.

Uknowmax03: Ditto…

Hae1986: _____, I’m sorry about last time, if I crossed boundaries. I just… I don’t see you as an Internet friend. You’re more than that to me.

Uknowmax03: It’s just… how can I be more than that if you don’t even know what I look like?

Hae1986: I don’t have to know what you look like to know that you’re perfectly imperfect. Appearances don’t matter, _____.

Uknowmax03: Hae, I don’t even know where you’re from or what you do or your full name! You don’t know where I’m from or what I do either! How can we be friends?

Hae1986: Mokpo.

Hae1986: I’m from Mokpo.

Hae1986: I was born October 15 and went to Myongji University.

You sat in shock as his messages kept coming.

Hae1986: I currently stay in Seoul but I travel a lot for my job.

Hae1986: I’m an entertainer.

Hae1986: My full name is Lee Donghae.

His messages stopped and you sat stoic for a minute or two before furrowing your brow. All of this sounded very familiar.

Hae1986: What about you?

Uknowmax03: You know where I’m from and my full name, but not where I currently live. Actually… I live in Seoul as well. I manage a coffee shop and am currently studying for my business degree so I can own my own shop one day. You’re name is Donghae? You’re from Mokpo? Were you born 1986? Is that why your username has that number?

Hae1986: Umm… yeah. I was born October 15, 1986 and I’m from Mokpo.

Uknowmax03: This… This sounds very familiar, Donghae.

Hae1986: …

Hae1986: What I’m about to tell you might be shocking, ______, but please don’t freak out.

You furrowed your brow in confusion.

Hae1986: Wait… You live in Seoul. Do you live anywhere near Namsan Park?

Uknowmax03: About 15 minutes away with traffic…

Hae1986: Meet me there in 40 minutes.

He signed off, not letting you say anything. You sighed and debated for ten minutes whether you were going to go or not, but decided to trust him and got up, dressing quickly and making your way outside, deciding to walk instead of taking a cab. It took you 25 minutes to get there by foot and you sat on the fountain’s side, tapping your feet before logging into your AIM, in case he decided to message you. You saw his name come up as he logged on.

Hae1986: Where are you?

Uknowmax03: Sitting on the fountain…

Hae1986: Okay.

He signed off and you sighed, tapping your foot gently as you pocketed your phone. A figure in a dark hoodie with sunglasses approached you, stopping in front of you.

“______?” his voice sounded very familiar, but you couldn’t put your name on it. You looked up, tilting your head to the side.

“Donghae?” You stood up, bowing slightly before rising and playing with the hem of your sleeves.

“It is you!” You saw him smile and found yourself entranced, your thoughts filling with just his voice. “You’re… You’re very beautiful.” You blushed lightly, shaking your head, “You are. Intellectually and physically.” You saw him look around before grabbing your hand, dragging you to a more concealed area of the park. It was late and there weren’t many people around.

“D-Donghae?” your mouth went dry in worry. He wasn’t going to do anything… right? He chuckled softly, shaking his head.

“You are in for the shock of your life, _____,” he said quietly, taking his sunglasses off and revealing his face. It took you a minute to place where you’ve seen him before your eyes widened.

“T-The Lee Donghae,” you whispered, looking around to make sure no one was watching you, grabbing his glasses, trying to put them back on his face, “That’s why it all sounded familiar! You have to get out of here before anyone recognizes you, Donghae!”

“It’s okay, ____,” he smiled, taking his glasses from your hands, “It’s only us.”

“How… when… What?” you stood, baffled, shaking your head, “What is going on?”

“I was on Omegle that day because I was bored,” he began, “I… I met you and we clicked so I made and AIM to keep in touch with you. The boys found out about you two months after we started talking, and were okay with it.” You looked to the floor, biting your lip in thought, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth earlier. I really wanted to, I was just afraid.”

“Afraid of how I would react?” you hummed softly, nodding your head, “I understand. But… what now?” You looked to him, biting your lip, “What do we do now?”

“Well, we can continue on like we used to,” he said, his voice wavering as if he was afraid of you turning him away, “Except we can meet in person instead of talking over AIM. I really would like to see you more, _____.” You saw him flush slightly and play with his hoodie’s zipper.

“I’d like to see you more too, Donghae,” you said quietly, “But you have to promise me something.”

“Anything!” he nodded quickly as he answered, looking up at you with hope.

“Don’t bring too much of your work to our hangouts,” you said, your voice firm, “I don’t want to hang out with Super Junior’s Donghae, as sweet as he seems on stage. I want to hang out with the Hae I got to know. The sweetheart that’s so soft-hearted.” You saw him smile, his eyes filling with tears that he wouldn’t allow to spill. He nodded quickly, blinking away the tears.

“I can definitely promise that, ______,” he smiled more, biting his lip, out of habit of course, “I just want you to treat me like Hae. Not the idol.” You nodded, biting your lip nervously before smiling, moving quickly forward, wrapping your arms around his neck and burying your face against his cloth-covered neck.

“I can definitely do that,” you smiled shyly as you felt his arms come around you, hugging you against his body tightly. He felt the want to tell you that he liked you, but just being your friend was enough. His confession could wait for another time.