Warning: Has not been beta'd.

Sungmin gets a phone call from his girlfriend and immediately rushes back to the hotel.

Despite wanting to leave with him, Victoria is stuck spending the next hour and a half with Donghae.

“So, when do you fly back?” Donghae asks while they are walking side by side in the slowly livening streets.

Victoria fixes her purse on her shoulder, “In three days but if we can close up the contract sooner, then maybe earlier.”

“Are you in a hurry to return?” He asks her.

She shrugs. “More or less. Taiwan isn’t home, after all.”

After all; Victoria seemed to use that word often, as though using that as a line of defense against him, making sure of the distance between them. “If you can, you should stay longer. I can ask for a vacation and show you around Taiwan; there’s a lot to do here, maybe you’ll like it.”

“I have a lot of work back at home,” she tells him.

Donghae smiles and says, “You have your entire lifetime to work, you know, so every now and then you should relax.”

She says, “I’m not you. Relaxing isn’t my thing.”

“If you don’t try, how do you know for sure?”

“I have people to meet with in South Korea,” she defends herself, “I don’t have a thing for not keeping my own words.”

He doesn’t seem affected. “Sungmin said you’re single.”

“He only says that to you,” Victoria argues.

Donghae laughs. “Why? Because you’ll always be available for me? Or is it because you’re only available to me?”

Maybe he doesn’t know how ambiguous his words are coming out to be. Donghae has always been the oblivious type after all, Victoria thinks. How likely would it be for Donghae to actually be interested in her? “You’re not funny,” she grits through her teeth.

He shrugs with a small smile. “I think I’m pretty funny.”

“I don’t have any plans for changing my lifestyle right now,” Victoria explains herself.

Donghae stops and looks her in the eyes. “Then let me change my lifestyle for you instead.”

He knows that every word he says has a certain effect on her.

“When did you first realize your feelings for her?” Sungmin asked him once, perhaps two or three years ago. Back then, Donghae had just started his first job and Sungmin and Victoria were still searching for the right career opportunities.

Maybe the better question would be since when did it seem nearly impossible for Donghae not to think about Song Qian?

“I thought you were doing well with your girlfriend in Taiwan,” Sungmin adds.

Running his fingers through his hair, Donghae leans back in his seat and takes a deep breath. When exactly did he start noticing just how much he missed the girl he rejected back in South Korea?

Was it when he accidentally called his girlfriend ‘Qian’, even though he hadn’t called that name in over four years? Or was it when he woke up beside his girlfriend only to realize that she wasn’t the one that he had dreamed of just moments before?

When exactly was it?

“I just… really miss her.”

Sungmin tries not to scoff. “She’s spent the past four years trying to forget you and what does she get? She gets a ‘I miss you’ from Lee Donghae. Ironic, don’t you think?”

“She changed her phone number and she doesn’t have a facebook and I don’t have her email… I don’t know how else to get a hold of her,” Donghae sighs. “Sungmin, you’re the only connection to her I have left.”

The other man sighs louder. “She doesn’t want to hear from you.”

“Maybe she does,” Donghae argues. “How could you know for sure? I‘m not trying to disrupt her life; I just want her to know that I’m thinking of her; at least, I want her to know that I care about her, something like what an old friend would do.”

Sungmin furrows his eyebrows and there’s a long pause. “I’ll try, but you know how stubborn she is.”

“Just don’t tell her directly how I feel about her,” Donghae says, “I don’t want her to feel like I’m making her wait on me.”

“Even if she didn’t want to wait, she’s already waited for a long time,” Sungmin laughs.

That, perhaps, was the greatest comfort to Lee Donghae.

The next evening, after having breakfast with Donghae and spending the rest of the morning with him, until he had to go into work, Victoria runs into him again at another location.

What a small world, really.

Zhoumi and Victoria decide to have dinner together since Sungmin is called away by his girlfriend again right after they have a late meeting with the sponsors. The meeting was rather successful and all of them feel like a boulder has been lifted off their shoulders.

“I’m pretty sure we can tie things up tomorrow and then the last day will pretty much be free time,” Zhoumi grins childishly. “Is there anywhere you want to go? I heard Ximending is amazing for shopping.”

Victoria shrugs. “Not really; I don’t know Taiwan very well.”

“Do you want to go with me then?” Zhoumi asks. “It will be better than staying in the hotel all day.”

She hesitates to agree so easily and they continue to dine on their food. Just as they are leaving the restaurant together, Victoria runs into someone towards the entrance who is just entering the shop.

“Qian?”

Because she had her eyes on the ground, she hadn’t noticed who it was.

Zhoumi widens his eyes slightly and asks, “Your friend?”

She glances between them warily. “I guess you could say that.”

“Nice to meet you,” Zhoumi beams, “I’m Zhoumi; I work with Victoria.”

Nodding and shaking Zhoumi’s hand, Donghae asks, “You two are leaving?”

“We just finished eating,” Victoria nods with a blank expression.

“Where are you headed now?” Donghae wants to know.

Zhoumi answers for her. “We were just about to head back to the hotel. Our last conference is tomorrow in the early afternoon.”

Donghae seems in thought for a moment before he smiles brightly and grabs her gently by the wrist. “Can you stay here with me for a bit? It won’t be long, I promise.”

“Why?” She wonders, frowning.

He laughs. “I have a small dinner hangout with a few coworkers but I didn’t really want to come anyways. I’ll eat quickly and then we can go. Didn’t you used to love the cold noodles in high school? There’s a really good spot for those nearby.”

Seeing that Victoria will be preoccupied, Zhoumi excuses himself and leaves first. Victoria wants to call him back but Donghae tugs on her hand and starts pulling her inside.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” she protests.

Donghae’s expression is confused. “Why?”

“These are people that you work with…” Victoria replies. “It’s weird.”

“It’s okay,” he reassures, “they’re all super nice.”

No matter how hesitant she is and how much she resists, Donghae still manages to pull her into a booked room in the back of the restaurant. When the door opens, a group of people around their age is revealed inside, all seated around a long rectangular table.

“Wow, did you bring your girlfriend today?” Someone asks.

Donghae smiles and finds a seat near the end of the table, sliding a chair out for Victoria.

Everyone’s eyes land on her and she awkwardly shifts in the seat closer to Donghae, trying to hide herself behind him as best as she can.

His coworkers then begin to about bringing out a girl for the first time in the years they’ve known him. After coaxing and hoaxing, Donghae eventually downs an entire can of beer to satisfy their mock dissatisfaction.

“When did the two of you meet?” Someone amidst the crowd asks.

Donghae smiles and looks over his shoulder at Victoria. “A long time ago, in high school when I lived in South Korea.”

“High school sweethearts? How rare!”

Neither of them says anything and Donghae just continues to maintain a heart warming smile.

Slowly, the stranger’s attention is diverted from them to other more light hearted subjects. When Donghae’s dish finally arrives, he starts cutting up the steak and converses with the people around him while eating.

Victoria sits quietly beside him, too cautious to even move a muscle.

“Try,” Donghae suddenly tells her.

His fork is already lifted towards her. “I already ate,” Victoria shakes her head, pushing his hand away and leaning backwards.

“What did you eat?” Donghae asks.

She peers around the table and spots the dish she ordered when she ate with Zhoumi earlier. “That,” she exclaims, pointing at it.

Donghae lifts the fork to again. “Eating just salmon isn’t enough. Look at how skinny you are; you should eat more. You don’t eat breakfast and you eat so little for dinner… these are the most important meals!”

The more he lectures, the more the sets of eyes looking at them become. There are a few whistles and muffled chuckles, making Victoria feel a little flustered.

Helplessly, Victoria opens and lets him feed her. They share his dinner together, even though she’s already so full she feels like her stomach will burst, and when they’re finished Donghae offers to take her back to her hotel.

“It’s okay,” she tells him, “the hotel is close by.”

Donghae ignores her rejection and takes her hand, walking forward. “Thanks for having dinner with me.”

“You forced me,” Victoria reminds him.

He laughs. “At least now those ladies will probably finally stop harassing me at work.”

“Oh, so you were using me,” Victoria accuses.

Donghae shakes his head and clicks his tongue disapprovingly. “No, no, no; I’m not using you, I’m courting you. Since when did you become so slow?”

“I…” she pauses, retracting her hand from his hold and stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket. “If everything goes smoothly tomorrow, I’ll probably take the late flight back home.”

He smiles a little bitterly. “Song Qian, we’ve already wasted six years of our life… Is it really necessary to waste even more? How many six years left do we have before we grow too tired to keep waiting?”

She says, “You were the one who rejected me. Even if we’re wasting time, you are the instigator.”

“I admit, I was wrong,” Donghae nods. “So, if I say I’m sorry, I love you, can we start over?”

Isn’t this what she’s secretly waited for all along? What more could she ask for?

“Just one week,” he adds, “stay in Taiwan for one week longer. I’ll use the next seven days to make up for as much as I can that I’ve owed to you in the past six years.”

Donghae leans forward and reaches for her hand, pulling them out of her pockets. When he stares into her eyes, fingers clasped around hers, Victoria feels like everything is becoming lighter. She bites down on her lips and sighs, thinking his words over.

He was right, wasn’t he?

Haven’t they wasted enough time? They’ve wasted too much time, even, and Victoria is tired of feeling tired. She’s tired of missing Lee Donghae and thinking about him; she’s tired of wondering whether or not he feels the same every time Sungmin delivers a message to her from Donghae.

If he’s offering a hand for her to hold, shouldn’t she just take it instead of pushing him away?

Victoria stares into his eyes, a smile slowly approaching her, and nods.

Sometimes, happiness is just this simple.

He lures her in and wraps his arms around her, hugging her tight. She lifts her hands to his waist and clutches the material of his jacket between her fingers; it’s real—she can feel everything like it’s real.

“When did you start liking me?” She suddenly asks.

Donghae laughs and buries his face into her shoulder. Victoria is warm and inviting, like he’s always imagined her to be. “Maybe I always liked you, from the day you first showed up in the classroom.”

“Then when did you realize it?” Victoria wants to know, not knowing whether or not to believe him.

He pulls her in a little closer, closing his eyes. “Maybe it was one day—no, everyday—when I walk in the streets and every time a girl turned around, I felt disappointed because it wasn’t you.”

Because the world is so large, the cities so small, but no matter where he went, it just didn’t feel right without her.

“I just really missed you,” he concludes, “every day, ever since that time you confessed to me in class. You became the one and only person I could think about. Not accepting you probably became my biggest regret, but it’s not too late, right?”

Victoria nods, leaning back and looking into his face. She leans forward and presses a kiss to his cheek.

He captures her face with a hand and pulls her back when she backs away, sealing her surprise with his own lips. Six years; this could have happened six years ago.

“Thank you,” Donghae tells her.

And she shakes her head, chuckling when she notices just how red his cheeks turn.

“Thank you for waiting for me.”

Years later, when Donghae is on a single knee and peering up into Victoria’s gentle and teary eyes, he tells her,

“Song Qian, you can trust me because, from the first moment we met, loving you was instinct, protecting you was second nature, and cherishing you was a natural tendency. To Lee Donghae, you could be everything; to Song Qian, I could give my entire world.”

END

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A/N: Sorry this update took so long! I've been so distracted by Victoria and f(x)'s Red Light promotions... They're amazing and their stages have been awesome and the girls are gorgeous! I hope all of you can support f(x); vote for them, purchase the albums, and watch the Red Light mv! ^____^ I bought a few copies of Red Light and I can't wait to get them!!! hehe. ♥Xue