"Hanbin, Jinhwan and Jiwon. You can take over from here," orders the coordi noona while handling you the slip from the higher ups.

Her glasses are perched on her nose in such a way, she looks younger. Her hair is trimmed again too and she appears to be in good spirits. If only Jiwon could say the same for Hanbin. She finally looks at you and says, "Is that a problem?"

"Not for me," you tell her confidently, because really, it shouldn't be a problem for you. This won't be the first time in your career you've had to work with someone who was virtually unattainable. You frown, the fantasy of you and Hanna long gone, but the little pinpricks of lust unanswered still stinging you. To think that the whole cycle is starting all over again. The daydreaming. Followed by the lingering looks and innuendos. Trying to work in the same space without blushing too much.

"I'll go over with Chanwoo," Hanbin says, not waiting on you to say anything. You don't remember arriving at the studio, but Hanbin's abrupt tone is quick to remind you of your current plight. He's really pissed at you. You roll your eyes. How did you get in this mess?

Jinhwan is standing next to you and he glances at you, wincing. He knows that things between the two of you are rocky, at best. In fact, he probably knows a great deal about the happenings in Hanbin's life now. You've noticed they take their lunch break together more often. You've also noticed he and Hayi are chummy again.

"What?" you blink, turning to look at the midget hyung.

"I said, you gotta grab life by the horns", he tries again, giving you a little shimmy shake of his head. His lips are in a thin, serious frown, but his eyes are glowing with mischief. You're really not in the mood for this. He notices you don't take the bait and he gives it another go. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder?"

"Enough with the idioms, hyung" You groan, starting your trek up towards the workstation. Working on fixing the song should really be your primary focus right now, but Jinhwan seems to have other ideas.

"You. Hanbin. Dinner," he says bluntly, shoving a card in your hand.

You stop and read it. It's a reservation confirmation at some fancy place. You look at him and shake your head, "I don't know what you're trying to pull here, hyung, but..."

"You're going to meet him there. And you're going to talk to him," Jinhwan cuts in, his voice making it really hard for you to argue with him. When the hell did Kim Jinhwan become such pushover? You go to speak again, but he holds up a hand and explains, "He thinks I set him up. I think he'll be pleasantly surprised to see that his blind date is you."

You scoff, "Have you been living in the same universe as the rest of us, hyung? Or maybe you just really haven't noticed the ice wall that shoots up whenever Hanbin is around me?"

He shrugs, "Hey, you kissed him."

Your eyes narrow. "He told you that?"

"I'm his best friend"

"Ah hyung, stop this!" You warn, shoving the cars back in his hands. You go to leave. You need to work and forget you even kissed Kim Hanbin, but Jinhwan stops you again.

"C'mon, I'm trying to help you here!" he argues back.

You retort, "Well, you're not helping."

Jinhwan blocks your path. "He's miserable, but not because he's mad at you. He misses you."

How could Hanbin miss you? You kissed him, then took it back. If you were Hanbin, you'd be pissed off too.

You look in the studio, catching a glimpse of Hanbin's back. God, you really can't help yourself sometimes. Your eyes linger for a moment, admiring how his jeans hug him in all the right places. When you turn back to Jinhwan, he's grinning like an idiot. You roll your eyes.

"It's okay, Jiwon-ah. I daydream about those jeans all the time too."

"Shut up" you growl.

"Just take him out, please. You both need this, you know"

He grins widely now. You can't believe the audacity of this hyung! Just to bait you, he waved the card in the air. You find your eyes following it, like a hungry dog being tantalized with a steak. After a few more seconds, he finally gives you a trite look himself, "For crying out loud, just take it already"

You find yourself snatching the reservation card with the place and time from his hands. You read it again and try to comprehend the actual situation.
Jinhwan just set you up on a date with Kim Hanbin. You'd be a fool to turn it down.

 

"It's simple. You go in there, sit down and have dinner" Jinhwan says, pointing at the reservation card in your hand. It's simple, he says. Sure, you'd be a fool to turn down this date with Hanbin, but does that make it the right thing to do?

Work is out of your mind, but the remnants of the last few hours are still in your heart. Hanbin ignored you pretty much the entire time. You're beginning to doubt what Jinhwan had told you. How could someone hates you so much right now actually miss you? How could Jinhwan tell you that all Hanbin really wants is to see you?

He's right, you did kiss Hanbin but also took it back. You told him it was a mistake. Now he's not talking to you.

You often feel like a total klutz. Lumbering through life, knocking things over. Breaking them. Or in this case, kissing a fellow member then pretending it never happened. You're a mess.

"Simple" you repeat, looking at Jinhwan. You hold the card, glancing at the place and time again. You study it, as if you have suddenly forgotten where to go and when to be there.

"Okay, okay, I can see you reconsidering", Jinhwan says and sighs. "Alright. Let's get down to this. You like him, obviously. You kissed him. From what I hear, he was really into kissing you back..."

"He was?" you say, not able to help yourself.

"Yes, but remember, its just what I heard" Jinhwan teases. He plucks the reservation card from your hand and before you can protest, he waves it in front of your face. "See this? It's a gift. A gift from your hyung, who would love nothing more in the world than to see his two most favorite boys be happy. Get it? It's a gift"

You eye the card, then smile shyly yourself. Jinhwan grins, handling the card back to you. "Now go. Meet him. He promised me he would show up, after I begged and told him how much effort I put in setting up this 'blind date' for him."

You stand there another second longer, before Jinhwan forcefully pushes you away. "Go!"

 

So you do go. Well you're here. You're standing in the doorway and you can see him. He's sitting at a table, a candle lit and his outfit is simple. You've kept him waiting for about ten minutes and you know this. You just can't go in yet. You want to marvel this moment, You just want to watch him for just one moment.

He's handsome. Absolutely breathtaking and never in your life you ever felt so...ordinary. That's right. You feel beneath him. Not in a way that feels condescending or egoistically bruising. No. You feel he is so much more than you could ever imagined. You think that it took way too long to kiss him and you're damn sure that you want to kiss him again.

You walk in.

You go straight for his table. You're there so fast, by the time he notices, you're next to him. He finishes swallowing whatever was left in his mouth and he looks at you. His eyes travel down your body, he sees the suit and the shinning shoes and quickly deduces you being here is more than a coincidence. When he meets your face again, he shakes his head in disbelief. "You're my date?"

"Sorry, I'm late" you say quietly.

"I can't tell Jinan-hyung anything" Hanbin says so dully and so blandly, you're not sure what to make of it. He stands up and shakes his head again.

"Hanbin, please" you plead. Your tone of voice stops him from walking past you. He remains rooted in place, avoiding your gaze.

"What do you want to do?"

You're unable to keep your eyes from his lips. To kiss him again....

You motion to the door. "Let's get out of here. Talk..."

Hanbin nods. You know talking is probably the best course of action, but Hanbin has to know you didn't bring him outside to just talk. If he doesn't know, he'll find out soon enough.

Soon enough meaning, now. Right now. On the sidewalk, in front of the restaurant and surrounded by the lights and sounds and the strange inhabitants. It's a public declaration, you'd like to think. You're kissing Kim Hanbin and this time, you never want to take it back.

The low moan he releases, that moan resonating in your mouth most certainly means two things.

One, Jinan hyung was right. Hanbin did want to kiss you back.

Two, you're getting lucky tonight. Talking will wait until tomorrow.