Sooyeon walked into the vocal training room, bringing her heavy duffel bag off of her shoulder. She let out a small sigh of relief, walking around all day was something that she didn't really enjoy.

"Noona, are you okay?" Someone asked and Sooyeon jumped up, letting out a small yell.

Hanbin immediately stretched an arm out towards her, soothing her almost. She nearly lost her footing with the scare he gave her but she recollected herself.

"Ah, Hanbin-sshi, you're already here?" She bowed formally, bending her body forward a full ninety degrees.

She noticed Hanbin's stoic facial expression and she regretted the strict behaviour as she had known the boy long enough to speak comfortably with him. But, with the way things were, she preferred their relationship stayed professional as she was only his vocal trainer and nothing more.

"Yeah, I got here a while ago actually," He responded, shuffling with a few of the papers in front of him.

Sooyeon glanced at him for a second before placing herself coolly on the seat across. She noticed his tense shoulders and slow breaths. This huge affect she had on the boy shocked her sometimes. She was fully aware he liked her, head over heels and in a trance. But sometimes it woke her up and seeing the way he would sweat in front of her and trip over his words amazed her.

"So did you do the stuff I assigned?" She asked casually, flipping through a few of her notes which were labelled with keys and musical lyrics.

Hanbin nodded, pulling out his own sketchbook ad handing it to her. Sooyeon scanned her eyes over the paper, a whole song nearly written.

"Hanbin..." She gasped, her eyes glued to the thin sheets

She had only asked him to write a few lines of a song he had in mind but he had exceeded the limit...by a lot. Hanbin was extremely talented and everyone in the company knew that, the fact that she was working with him on this evaluation as his trainer gained her so much praise. He was an amazing kid.

"It's not much, but I did put a lot of work in it and..." His words slipped off of his tongue and he played with his thumbs nervously, not wanting to continue his sentence.

Sooyeon frowned, "Carry on."

"It's about someone, someone I care about a lot." He finished, his eyes on her.

Sooyeon's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach and she clenched her jaw in guilt. Hanbin always did this, he would start the session normally, speaking formally about some ideas he had in mind and then some new things he thought of the night before. But suddenly, he would find a way to slip his feelings into the conversation and it would always end the same; him giving up and her feeling horrible.

There was nothing she could do, there was a huge between them and even though Hanbin was cute, kind and talented, she just couldn't find a way to break it to him that it would never work. Even if anything did happen between them, it would only distract him from his work and leave a huge stain on her reputation being a 'cougar' or 'disgusting'.

"Listen, I know you hear this all the time but noona I'm different," Hanbin pleaded.

Sooyeon's grip tightened on the book she was holding, fingers digging into the paper as he spoke.

"You know you feel some type of way around me, I do too," He continued, imploring her to look at him.

"Hanbin, you know I can't..." She began, now her words were losing their way.

"You can't what? Tell me," Hanbin pressed.

She shook her head, shoving the sketchbook back at him, a little too rough for comfort. Hanbin was pushed back from the impact, taking a moment to stare her in the eyes before taking the book from her soft hands and tossing it in his bag.

"Whatever," He grumbled, turning away and zipping up his belongings.

"Hanbin I-"

"Hey guys!" Someone called from the doorway, pressing it open and turning the twos attention towards it.

Seunghoon was standing at the door lazily, leaning against the frame, a cup of tea in his hands.

Sooyeon gave him a small bow, tucking a small strand of hair behind her ear. He bowed back, waving also at Hanbin who was sitting across from her.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked cautiously, backing away.

Sooyeon shook her head, "No, is there something you need?"

Hanbin looked up too, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Not really, I just wanted to remind you that I'm driving you home like I promised," He smiled, tucking his hands into his pocket.

Sooyeon looked over at Hanbin who seemed to be dying. His cheeks were tinted red as if he was embarrassed and his eyes were looking down, avoiding contact with anyone.

"Seunghoon can we talk later-"

"Actually, we could stop for some dinner too because it might be late," He continued, bringing the cup up to his lips and taking another sip.

Hanbin got up, "I'm going to practice alone."

Sooyeon was about to protest when he grabbed his bag, snatching a cluster of papers and pencils from the desk and walked out.

Seunghoon gave her a look, questioning his actions but she only sighed, getting up after him. She stopped at the door, bowing at the tall male, "Sorry, I'm going to talk to him."

Seunghoon nodded, "I'll come find you later."

She bowed again, thanking him mentally and stepping out into the hall. It wasn't hard finding Hanbin as she simply followed the sound of the only other footsteps in the building other than hers. It wasn't a surprise when she found him seated at a ventilation heater near a window that showed the landscape of outside.

Slowly, she approached him, not wanting to anger him anymore. It wasn't fair for him to have heard that but it wasn't Seunghoon's fault, neither was it hers.

"It's beautiful outside," She spoke, eyes fixed on the dozens of buildings and people below.

Hanbin continued to stare at his feet and play with the label on his bag. Sooyeon tightened her lips, obviously frustrated she wasn't getting through to him.

"Okay I'm sorry Hanbin-sshi I-" She was cut off by his soft groan.

"Don't call me that," He turned to her, she noticed a slight tremble in his voice.

"What?" She replied quickly, wanting him to talk.

"Don't call me Hanbin-sshi and if you can't then don't call me at all!" His retort was sudden and loud.

Sooyeon knitted her eyebrows, confused but she took his comment and processed it slowly. Maybe it was annoying that she always addressed him in that manner but she didn't want him to be lead on because of their closeness. That would only end up hurting him and she didn't want that.

"I'm sorry, I'll try to stop if that's what you want," She complied, hoping he would lower his voice. But, he only fumed even more.

"You've known me almost two years longer than Seunghoon hyung and you don't call him Seunghoon-sshi but with me it's a whole different story!" His eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets.

"I don't want to hurt you," Her voice was beginning to rise as well and for some reason, she was getting hot and her skin was beginning to boil.

Hanbin scoffed, throwing his bag on the floor and standing up in front of her. He was nearly two heads taller and Sooyeon had to look up to meet his eyes.

"You've hurt me enough noona! You don't have to worry about that. You've broke me down so many times I think I lost count so don't worry about hurting me again!" He blurted.

Sooyeon felt her heart break and her stomach felt weak. Of course Hanbin was someone she was close to and was fond of but she turned an eye on his feelings and failed to notice that every time she ignored his comments or shut him down, she had broken him also and abused his emotions. Funny how that was what she had wanted to avoid the whole time.

"What do you want me to do?" She felt weak; her eyes hot and stinging.

Hanbin softened his gaze, watching her closely. Her vulnerability was able to slowly seep through him and he began to crumble under her feet.

“Give me a chance,” He sighed, placing an arm on her wrist.

Sooyeon shook her head, “I can’t, and you know I can’t Hanbin!”

“Please, let me prove my love to you noona.”

Love was a very important word. It never really hit her that Hanbin loved her. She had always imagined it to be a small adoration he had towards her that drew him in. Love never seemed to come to play. It would slip off her mind as quickly as it could slip off ones tongue and even though its meaning was humungous, she had never realized that this boy loved her.

“What in the world are you going to do?” She asked, interested in his offer.

“I’ll make sure you really understand how much you mean to me!” He begged; eyes boring into hers.

This desperation made her feel powerful and as if she had his heart in her hands. She felt that he ripped through his own skin and placed his heart alongside hers. It was her decision whether or not she would let it beat or defeat it.

“I’ll give you a month Hanbin-sshi.” She emphasized his name slowly, teasing him a little before she noticed the small smile linger over his lips.

His eyes were nearly glowing and he looked wonderful, the happiest he had ever looked in a while. Grabbing his bag, he ran towards the door, stuffing a few papers that had fallen out back in.

“Thank you! You won’t regret it!” He called, rushing down the hall.

Seunghoon appeared from beside her, car keys jingling quietly in his hands. He glanced at the door, to Sooyeon and back again, a look of confusion crossing his face.

“Why are you all happy?” He asked, poking a finger at her cheek.

“You’ll find out in a month.”