Hello Readers - Really appreciate all the love and support for the story. I am awfully sorry about the delay - had some personal reasons for the same - Thank you for your patience and a Happy New Year! Ps- Yong Hwa's new song Mileage is so wonderful - such a gifted guy !

The thing about the human mind is that no matter how much you love or miss someone, as long as it stays occupied, life goes on. Eventually, you miss them lesser by the day until not just the time spent together but even the time spent missing the person becomes a distant memory. 

For Yong Hwa, the memories became a source of inspiration to compose songs. Shin Hye channeled the feelings into her acting roles.

They would message each other occasionally but it was always under the guise of friendship. They repeated *we are only friends* so many times to so many people that they had almost come to believe it themselves. Well, almost. 
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Flowers for the lady

It was on one of those carefree days on the set of HeartStrings that she had made him promise to give her flowers on stage if she ever won an award. He agreed without a thought, the always up for a challenge, Jung Yong Hwa.

Year one they got away with it. Nobody gave a second glance at a pair of costars who also hosted a segment being overtly friendly or even giving and receiving flowers at an awards function. 

Year two, however, was different. They hadn't met in a while. He found out the color of her gown through her manager. Even though she didn't know it, when she saw his red guitar, she knew it was no coincidence. 

Then his band performed in their typical stunning manner, but Shin Hye found her heart beating out of her chest watching him sing and her cheeks colored a little every time he pointed at her. She didn't even mind the gentle ribbing she had to endure by the MCs for singing along the lyrics. Her feelings were a mess while her mind was still revolving around the thought that he had pointed at her when he said *because I love you and because only you know*.

Way to be obvious and confusing Jung Yong Hwa. Obvious to everybody else, confusing for the girl in question.

Then, he did it again. He gave her flowers on stage, as promised. She smiled involuntarily. Always keeping his promise. Never backing out of a challenge. Brave Yong Hwa. The only one that makes her heart flutter. Her favorite hero (but don't tell the other fans that!). The flower boy in her heart. 

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You've fallen for me!

Japan. FanMeeting. Yong Hwa was jumping with excitement. He couldn't even bring himself to feel sorry for all the other cast members who would miss the Heartstrings fan meeting in Japan. It was going to be just the two of them - Lee shin & Lee Gyu won. Jung Yong Hwa and Park Shin Hye.

Shin Hye, on the other hand was scared. Her feelings for her Bolmae Jung (no harm in calling him hers in her head, right?) were always very obvious. It made her uncomfortable. Something about being around him made her lose any restraint she imposed on herself. She was like a fangirl- laughing the loudest at his jokes, cheering at his concerts, eyes searching for him when he wasn't around. She worried about incurring a million anti-fans if she behaved the way she always did when with him. 
The last time she said that he had promised her that he would never let that happen to her. She smiled besides herself, it was a three year old promise but her Yong Hwa had made it. That was enough for her. 

The entire trip was a dream come true for both Yong Hwa and Shin Hye. They were always together, that allowed them to talk and laugh; flirt and giggle without worrying about the fan reactions. They told stories, pulled each other's legs, did awkward back hug scenes dying of embarrassment besides singing *I love you and you've fallen for me * looking at each other without a care in the world. Like the proverbial  cherry on top, also managed to excite and entertain the fans. 

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Kiss kiss kiss

It was the last day of a very successful fanmeet. Yong Hwa found himself singing and whistling more than usual. The organizers had sent celebratory champagne and he could only think of one person he wanted to celebrate with. So he took the bottle of champagne and knocked on the door of her hotel room. 

Two champagne bottles later, His -wasted on splashing each other and hers - consumed, they had finished the complimentary wine bottles and moved on to the not-so-complimentary beer cans. Needless to say, the mix of alcohol had made them very drunk. 

Their stories had gotten crazier, jokes racier and laughter rowdier. They sat on the ground at the foot of a huge bed, laughing uncontrollably. They played silly games and gave each other sillier punishments. It was them being themselves, unabashed, without restraint and it was a pretty funny sight except there was no one to see. 

She made him sing her favorite song which he did, badly, out of tune. She giggled which made him pout that made her giggle some more, now clutching her stomach. He pouted some more and she imitated his pout       and brought her face closer to his. 
She looked so adorable pouting that he couldn't stop himself. 
He took her face in his hands and kissed her. She didn't hesitate for even a second. 

She never kissed back. Not even when they kissed onscreen. Why did she kiss him back now?, he wondered vaguely. Her cheeks were flushed and her speech was slurring. Of course!, he thought. She was drunk. On second thoughts, so was he. No wonder they kissed. It made sense. Well, it made no real sense in his alcohol driven mind but he didn't care then. He kissed her again, she kissed him back again and again and again. 

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Arm Pillow

He thought his right arm had died when he woke up only to find her head resting on it. His other hand was placed comfortably around her waist. Her right hand was clutching his jacket in a death grip like she didn't want to let him go. He might have laughed at the imagery had he not felt so flustered and startled. 
There was no way he could get away quietly. If he were honest to himself, he didn't want to. Even though he probably had to abandon playing instruments again (it's kind of hard to play them with one hand) he would still stay on, to watch her, not in a creepy stalker way rather with a lot of love and adoration. He was in love with the girl. Who was he kidding when he kept saying they were only friends? He has always known it. He had always been the fool who had loved her and only her. He felt a song  take shape in his mind. 

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize she had her eyes open and was now staring at him. 

When he saw that she hadn't flinched or fled as soon she saw him, he did the unthinkable, he smiled. Not his toothy grin, but a smile that he often gave her when they had an understanding about something everybody else was clueless about. It was mischievous and meaningful. She finally let go his jacket and used her hand to hit him, repeatedly. He was laughing now, but had not let go of his hold on her waist. He tugged her closer. The uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach became more pronounced. Yes, she was flustered but not just because he was holding her so close but because she had imagined this situation a million times. 
They were both not smiling any more. Their gazes were intense and the feelings very raw. A possible kiss was rudely interrupted by the ringing of the telephone.

The phone call ended the fantasy that they lived for a few brief moments. It was time to go back to reality - Korea - where fans, media, their companies, general public all expected them to live like saints or slip up a bit and get entangled in a scandal. It would've been an easy choice had their feelings been any lesser. It was not for nothing that they claimed they could read each other's eyes because they really could. They knew their feelings for each other had crossed the line of friendship long back but had still carried. That they went from friends to lovers with a few kisses did not upset them but the thought they may have to step back into friendship bothered them.

They had discussed the possibility of a relationship but felt it would be impossible to carry on. They both had images and careers to protect, more importantly a future that could be jeopardized by one wrong step. So they made the painful decision to part as friends. They had to forget their brief foray away from friendship as a mid-summer night's dream. Easier said than done.

M