My Unpredictable Best Friend

"Talking to your best friend is sometimes all the therapy you need."

“Yong?” Shinhye asked softly while caressing his hand. “Wake up, Yongie.”

Yonghwa opened his eyes slowly. He must have fallen asleep from the jetlag. It had never happened before in a cap, because being the team leader required him to always make sure his younger brothers were fine and everything was organised. But with Shinhye it had always been different.

She was a few months younger than him. However, when he first got to know her, he thought that she was much more mature than him, being an experienced actress since her teenager years. She had helped him a lot back in the You-are-beautiful-days and they became close very quickly. In the end, he just found it more appropriate to have a friend-like relationship with her rather than have her call him Oppa. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why he always felt that they were on the same level, both being equally strong.

Yonghwa really liked being together with his band mates. However, being the leader could be exhausting at times, even though his brothers were great and tried to help him out a lot.

When Yonghwa was with Shinhye, he felt like he could completely let his guard down. He had realised a long time ago that she was very well able to take the lead whenever it was required and he trusted her decisions. She was a very logical person, despite her often bubbly appearance. Feeling at ease whenever she was around, she had turned out to be his most successful sleeping pill over the past couple of years.

“We should get out. The driver said you paid him beforehand.” She told him, still holding his hand. “He’s taking a break to smoke, because it took me ages to wake you up, sleepyhead.”

Yonghwa tried to hide a yawning.

“Yeah, I made a deal with him so he wouldn’t drive around in unnecessary circles, hoping to get more money.” he explained.

“You can be quite smart. Must be the glasses”, she speculated playfully.

“You must feel pretty smart too, since you are also wearing a pair” he retorted, slightly nudging her forehead.

“YAH!” Shinhye pretended to be sulking. She wanted to open the side door of the cap but Yonghwa easily pulled her back into his arms.

“Wait a sec!” he told her to be patient.

He carefully put the golden coloured scarf with the black hearts around her neck and helped her cover and nose with it, before zipping up the parka again.

“We cannot let ourselves be caught… yet.” he told her, giving her a mischievous wink.

“YAH, Yonghwa-ya!” Shinhye yelled flustered. “What do you mean by yet?”

“Shin” he started, gently putting his hands around her face. He needed her to completely believe in him this time. “We don’t have to rush things. But before you walk out of this cap, before our adventure really starts, I need you to know that I am right by your side. If anything unexpected happens, you must trust that I will always protect you. We are not who we used to be anymore. Things are different now. If we need to swim, we can do it. We won’t drown.”    

Their eyes melted together and for a moment time stopped for the both of them. Shinhye could sense his sincerity.

Yonghwa usually was a playful, laid back kind of guy who only snapped into the real essence of leadership whenever he had to. Shinhye had always trusted Yonghwa. She knew, he would never intentionally hurt her. But the past had shown her the boundaries a relationship like theirs could face. The memory of their break up more than a year ago was still a painful reminder of what could happen, if they were not able to face the typical difficulties celebrity couples were surrounded by.

“I know you’re still scared and I realise that it is also my fault. However, I am not going to make the same mistake twice. I hear your worries, I see your fears. And - what’s most important – I’ll make sure to take care of you properly this time. Don’t be afraid of being yourself because of antis. Don’t hold back because you are scared of the public opinion. You already showed everyone that you’re outstanding in your craft. You’ve captured the heart of the public a long time ago. And for me, I finally caught up to you.” He told her with a confident smile. “CNBlue is more famous than ever, even overseas. My acting is received well although I was not really trained for this part time job.”

Shinhye quietly laughed at his last comment. He grinned too, happy that he managed to make her smile at last.

“And you are even dating a hot solo artist now, not that I plan on making that my first profession. Strangely I feel a lot better with the guys around, not as … We can do it this time, please trust me.”

“I’m sorry” Shinhye mumbled while adjusting Yonghwas black scarf. She only just realised now that the golden curves on the black underground formed large, intertwined hearts. He had found them yet another couple item.

“What are you sorry for?” Yonghwa asked, looking deep into her beautiful dark eyes.

“I’m sorry for being such a scary cat” she answered crestfallen.

“Don’t be. I will just work harder to make you realise we are actually okay. We can do it all as long as we stay together.” He reassured her, pulling her into one final encouraging hug.

“Gomawo” Shinhye whispered.

“What for?” Yonghwa asked while slightly rubbing her back to comfort her.

“For the scarf… and for not giving up on me.”

Yonghwa’s heart ached, listening to her last words. If she only knew that he had never given up on her. His strength had left him temporarily and he had to admit, he somehow became lost in between all of the tumult. But if there was one thing in life that he could never let go of, it was Park Shinhye, the only woman he ever really fell for. Even though she hadn’t fully realised it yet, he already knew that there was no other girl for him in this world.

*****

51 Buckingham Gate was the best hotel Yonghwa had ever been to. It was marvellous with its historical touch and the partially luxury modern interior. However, for him, any hotel would have made it to his personal best list as long as Shinhye stayed there with him.

They had managed to check in without drawing attention and the receptionist explained again that this was a very trustworthy hotel. None of the staff was allowed to give away any information on the guests. Speaking with informants would ultimately cost them their job. Hopefully they could trust his words.

Yonghwa could sense Shinhyes nervousness since it was the very first time they were actually staying in one room together. If they were caught now, the hide and seek game concerning their relationship would ultimately be over - no safety rope attached. Although he had already made up his mind, he couldn’t help but wonder, if Shinhye was really ready to face the consequences. Normally she was very courageous. But after their problems and the fateful incident last year she became even more scared about harming him and the guys with her mere presence in his life.

He loved his true fans, but he hated some of his delusional followers. If it would have helped, he would have spoken up already. But Shinhye and he decided that it was not the right time yet. It was hard for him to be patient, especially since he couldn’t stand to see her suffer and a huge part of him still wanted to shout his real relationship to her into the whole world, just to make some of their biggest problems disappear. However, at the end of the day he knew that only time could heal their wounds and this time around, his first priority was to make sure that Shinhye was save. He had definitely learned his lesson, although he still wished, it wouldn’t have been the hard way.

*****

When Yonghwa stepped out of the spacious bathroom his jetlag immediately vanished. Shinhye was lying on the queen size bed with her eyes closed just like sleeping beauty, visibly wearing nothing but the far too large top of his pyjamas. Her silky long hair was forming a dark fan on the pillow, showing a strong contrast to her soft fair skin. He couldn’t help but stare at her for a long moment with love and concern. He admired her hardworking personality. However, at times he worried that her schedule was just a touch too much for her. She seemed exhausted.

Still, having her stay in his room like that was like heaven to him. Shinhye might have shot some pictures with her Pinocchio Co-Star Lee Jong Suk these past few days, but at the end of the day – and despite a lot of rumours who stated facts differently - she was staying in his bed at night and that was the only thing that mattered to him now. He had definitely matured after what happened to them and the ugly green monster inside his stomach had certainly become a fair bit calmer. He had promised himself to make sure it would never get the best of him again.

He slowly sat down beside Shinhye, gently caressing her right cheek before leaning down and placing a soft peck on her delicate red lips. She eventually came back from her dreamland, returning his kiss only half-consciously.

“Am I that bad of a kisser for you to start crying?” Shinhye mumbled sleepy, leaving Yonghwa completely confused.

He only realised then that his hair was still wet, causing some water drops to make their way onto her face.

“I’m not crying. However, since you had a photoshoot with some hot guy until yesterday, I thought I should surprise you with my most y sight. And we both know how much you enjoy water games...”, he stated, showing her one of his best mischievous grins.

Shinhyes eyes finally flew open. He was leaning only a few inches above her, simply wearing his long flannel pyjama shorts. She couldn’t help but blush at the sight of his