"Stop!" Nichkhun's voice suddenly rang in the air. Amidst the chaos and confusion, he remembered all five people clearly now that the pounding in his head had subsided into a dull throbbing and he could sense emotions of varying degrees of concern and disapproval. Nobody was going to call anyone over, specially not Tiffany. She was the last person he needed to see here. Everyone seemed to be frozen with Amber, Henry, and Krystal, specially her; suddenly were staring in both shock and anticipation of what he was going to say next.

He couldn't see Luna who, he realized, was pushing up his right shoulder against the wall to keep him from sliding down. Then he looked to his left and realized that he was leaning his head on Victoria's right shoulder -- this was the closest he could get to "his Qian-Qian" (he picked up the nick name everyone was calling Victoria in Happy Camp when they did their first round of promotions earlier and he thought it was cute) and boy, did it feel like heaven: the softness and the delicate scent of her perfume. "Flowers?" he thought smilingly and started to try inching closer to nuzzle in the crook of her neck.

"YAAAAAH!!! Byeontae, aish!!" Krystal screamed and ran immediately to pull her unnie, who was just stunned speechless. Nichkhun fell face first on the floor with an audible thud that made Luna and Amber wince and Henry exclaim a loud "OUCH!" in empathy.

Victoria didn't even register aanything -- neither Nichkhun's failed attempt to do some "ert moves" on her nor why Nickhun was trying to french-kiss her marble floor when she turned to look back after she heard the thud. Worried that her neighbors might be disturbed she faced maknae and said "Shhh, Soojung-ah, no shouting; we're not cave women." And then rushed back to prop up Nichkhun again. She should get him far from the floor as she's concerned he had sustained further injuries. "Nichkhun-ssi, are you able to stand up?" Nickhun nodded and happily complied as Victoria drew his arm over her shoulder to heave him up. He was heavy though.

"Henry, you're stronger than any of us here. Help me get Nichkun on the couch." Victoria beckoned Henry who immediately got to the other side of Nichkhun.

"But unnie! He shouldn't be here!! I'll call Tiffany, everyone in SNSD and even 2PM just to get him out of here!" Krystal protested.

"Keumanhae! (stop it!)" Victoria suddenly snapped, having had enough of this chaos in her home. Everyone was tense as they felt the f(x) leader clearly upset now but Nickhun was elated that Qian was on his side. "A person is hurt here. Can't you see? And it's because someone's temper got the better of her and slammed the door on his face. Let's not stoop to savagery here."

"We all know he doesn't deserve to be here. But let's make sure he's properly treated first, like what we'd do for anyone who's injured." Luna calmly voiced out.

"Actually, he came here to explain to unnie. We should hear him out, give him a chance."

"But he's doing it again to unnie! He tried to two-time Tiffany with Vic unnie, remember that! How dare he -- I'm not gonna let him hurt unnie again. You both know how dev--" 

"QUIET!!!" Bellowed Victoria before Krystal blurted out her long kept secret. "Let's act like the mature people we are, everyone. I don't think there's still a whiny pre-schooler here, is there?" Victoria was able to collect herself as she and Henry deposited Nickhun on the couch. He was quiet. He too could sense Victoria was on the tipping point.

Victoria felt relieved since Nichkhun nor Henry seemed to have picked up what Krystal was going to say. Before WGM started, there had already been a quiet buzz among idols that Nickhun and Tiffany were really close and probably dating. It was one of the reasons why Victoria was hesitant to commit to the project, aside from her feeling that her Korean was still inadequate. Tiffany was Victoria's label mate and she had come across her a good number of times and although they weren't very close (due to busy schedules), they were on friendly terms, Victoria genuinely found Tiffany a nice person. Even if the marriage was fake, she knew that if it was her, she wouldn't feel good knowing and seeing her boyfriend being sweet and close to another girl.

Although JYP assured SM that the 2PM beast and the SNSD member were only good friends, Victoria thought it wise to be on guard still. She might seem aloof and an "Ice Princess" but even she could feel there was this tingly weird thing between herself and Nickhun whenever they were together for filming and even afterwrads. In case there was a basis on the circulating dating rumors between her sunbae label mate and her virtual husband, she would do the right thing and not come in between them. That Nichkhun never defined the relationship between Victoria and himself until the very end, peppered by that phone conversation she accidentally overheard between Nickhun and Wooyoung, followed by his cold treatment of her during Radio Star, and the final news of both SM and JYP confirming that Nickhun and Tiffany were in fact dating that followed a couple of years later had Victoria and the girls connecting the dots in the only way her point of view afforded them back then: she was only being strung along; another item to strike off the list of Nichkhun's "challenges" but his heart had always belonged to Tiffany. Krystal was right, Victoria was indeed devastated. The only consolation was that she managed not to give in to Nichkhun; all she had left was her dignity those years ago. But she could never let Nichkhun know, ever.

Krystal was quiet for a time. "Whatever, I don't wanna see any of this." and glanced worriedly at Victoria, and before storming off into the latter's room, she turned to Nickhun "You better behave, you're still not off the hook!"

Nichkhun was taken aback. However, he also felt a swelling of pride in his chest -- his youngest daughter had grown up a strong woman!

"I'll put this ice cream back in the freezer, in case it might come handy again." Henry exclaimed, feeling the tension.

"Here's the medicine kit, unnie." Luna handed the box to Victoria. "I'll got to talk to Soo-jung" then signaled to Amber.

"Henry!! I saw a late-hour noodle place just around the block. Let's get us some food and we'll watch some DVD." Amber called out to Henry who quickly tossed the expired pint of still frozen Ben & Jerry's vannila ice cream into the freezer and sprinted towards Amber. The door closed behind them with a click.

Everyone was gone, leaving Victoria and Nichkhun alone in the living room. Neither of them spoke at first. Victoria was silent, lips pursed in a thin line, almost mechanically going through the motion of applying ointment on Q-tip and then rubbing it on the bruises on Nickhun's forehead  the one that got banged on her solid mahogany front door and chin that slammed on her marble floor. Nickhun on the other hand was nervous. He wanted to speak but afraid that he wouldn't be able to say the right words and make matters worse instead of better. He just sat there, looking intently at the woman that was tending to him; she was frowning he noticed but she still looked so beautiful. 

Victoria started getting uncomfortable with the intense gaze from Nickhun and asked "Why are you staring at me? Why are you here?"

Nichkhun got woken up from his reverie and realizing that it was now or never, took a deep breath. "Qian, it's not what it seems. Tiffany and I are NOT together. We met coincidentally on the plane. She was in Thailand and flying to Beijing for work and I said it was the same for me; that was basically all that we talked about. Barely 2 sentences between us. Things just got misconstrued by the media."

Victoria's expression remained guarded, but she seemed less worked up now as she put back the ointment in the medicine kit and started rummaging for some plaster strips. Nichkhun took it as a good sign and boldly continued. "I was at Siwon's birthday party but so was the rest of the boys" he meant 2PM. "Tiffany was there because SNSD girls were all invited, it was an SM idol's party after all. We just said our 'hi' and 'hello' per polite protocol. I didn't even know she was sitting on the couch in front of me when I turned around because they suddenly called for a group picture. And then the media just cropped the frame to make it seem like we were getting cozy."

Still not saying a word, Victoria just proceeded to peel the plaster's backing,

"I also wanted to apologize. I let my pride get the better of me. I booked the earliest flight to Thailand, trying to protect my ego. I didn't want to leave you that mornig after---Oww!" Victoria, in panic, accidently just pressed too hard on the plaster as she was applying it on the bruised bump on Nickhun's forehead

"Shhh!" -- and he suddenly smelled that flowery scent when Victoria's hand automatically went up to cover his mouth. He saw her look towards the direction of her room, checking to see if Luna or Krystal happened to around, and then sighed in relief when she confirmed they were still alone. 

Nickhun caught Victoria's hand as she drew it back and kept it held in both his as he continued: "I messed up. I shouldn't have just left you. It was crazy, what happened---"

"Shh!!!" Victoria drew her finger across her lips in panic. "Don't speak a word about -- about 'that'!" she said in barely a hiss, in between gritted teeth. She freed her other hand that got trapped in Nickhun's big hands.

"Ok. I won't. But let me finish: my mind was just a huge mess. I just blew my fuse when you said forget everything. But you were just confused and taken aback, who wouldn't be? I realized that too late. I'm so sorry...I'm really sorry for just leaving like that." Nickhun was beginning to get nervous and bit frustrated because Victoria was still keeping mum, concentrating on fishing another plaster from the kit. "Forgive me?" he followed through but Victoria just kept her eyes down cast, peeling the second plaster. He noticed her lips were pouting, just like she would always do when she was focusing on something. "So cute... Qian-Qian" he said to himself or so he thought because Victoria heard her nickname called by Nickhun. She was a bit caught off-guard because nobody aside from her family, friends, and close colleagues in the industry in China ever called her that. She looked up at Nickhun abruptly, still with that "I'm focused pout" of hers. And Nichkhun just automatically leaned forward and kissed her lips.

Nichkhun's hand crept up on the right side of Victoria's waist while the other slipped up her left jaw, cupping her face to deepen the kiss but before he was able to, the next thing he knew was a slight push on his face and that Victoria was suddenly standing up in front of him a few feet away from the couch.

Time seemed to stop for Victoria and for a couple of seconds or so, she just sat there, feeling the hightened tingling sensations their physical contact produced. Then she felt his hands on her, felt the heat grow stronger -- he was holding her closer now, she could feel his breath. She bolted and was able to keep some distance before she lost herself. Again. She had a hand on her chest to calm her wildly beating heart and huffing a bit to catch her breath. She trained her eyes back on this dangerous man who was able to make her lose her senses.

There, seated on the couch was Nickhun, looking up at her with that bewildered expression on his face, eyes blinking rapidly as he was still a bit stunned, and with a plaster stuck on his still puckered up lips. "Pabo" Victoria mouthed and ended up chuckling instead. What a "dangerous man" indeed.

"Hey!" Mr. Nickhun Buck Horvejkul Dangerous finally came to his senses as he heard Victoria laugh. With a naughty smirk curling up his lips, he removed the plaster now dangling on his chin and stood up. "Qian-Qian, we weren't finished yet." He stepped towards her but she stepped back. Nickhun standing up to his full height with his broad shoulders now easily loomed over Victoria like a tower. She was taking her word and chuckle back -- he was still dangerous, very much so. She collected herself and schooled her expression as she held both hands in front of her as a protective shield "Jamkkaman. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here."

"We're not. We're just following our hearts, babe." Tried again to come closer and hold her arms but Victoria dodged nimbly. She was also a peeved how fast Nickhun progressed, first calling her "Qian-Qian" and then "babe". She hadn't even been given a chance to voice out her side of things. He didn't even care to ask her what she thought of the matter first and yet here he was, just jumping the queue, kissing her senseless, calling her "babe". "Babe?!?" Victoria exclaimed with incredulity and annoyance both ringing in her voice at the same time. 

"Yes, babe, what is it?" Nickhun replied, smiling that saccharine smile of his, as if Victoria was calling him as "babe" as well. He was aware she was getting annoyed by the minute but he just couldn't help but . She was shooting out lethal lasers from those bunny eyes at him.

"There's no 'babe' here, mister." He just continued walking towards her while she stepped backwards, now nearing the kitchen. "Tak, kogi isso! Stop there!" Nickhkhun just walked lazily closer, still with that naughty smile on his face. "KHUN, DON'T COME NEAR ME!" Victoria shouted exasperatedly. Nichkhun was a bit taken aback with the name she called him. She always called him Nichkhun-ssi and even during their filming last summer of 'Heart Ramble' -- he felt it was too formal. The only time Nichkhun remembered her calling him "Khun" in recent times was that night he finally had her in his arms and made her his. He felt his ears burning again at the recollection and stopped in his tracks.

Within a few seconds, both Victoria and Nichkhun heard "YA! What are you doing to Vic unnie?!!!???" Krystal was charging at them, or at Nickhun, like an angry bull. Luna trailed behind explaining "We heard unnie telling you to get away from her."

"It's nothing really. Sorry, girls. I'm OK, he's OK. I just got a bit, um, over the top. We were just joking around" Victoria then tried her best to smile and patted Krystal's back. The f(x) maknae calmed down a bit but she was still shooting untrusting glares at her ex-appa. Luna was easily convinced and was turning to leave "Kaja, Soo-jungie, they still haven't finished talking yet. Nichkhun appa is not some psycho, he won't harm our umma". Nichkhun beamed at her 2nd eldest daughter. But before both girls could leave, Victoria, finding safety in numbers, decided to seize the opportunity to say her piece.

"Nickhun has promised to clear up the false rumors about him getting back with Tiffany and more importantly, that I'm not a third party." And before Nichkhun could open his mouth, wanting to add that Victoria was actually the one he wanted to be with, therefore the 1st party as he was the 2nd party and there simply was no 3rd party at all and there never will be, Victoria beat him to declare: "Because I'm JUST a friend. Nickhun and I have decided to be friends again -- very good friends; even like 'sworn brothers'. We were just joking earlier that he has to call me 'hyung'. That's it."

Nichkhun knitted his brows in disbelief as she looked at Victoria who was now the one flashing her mega-watt smile at their two daughters. "Sworn brothers?"

By now even Krystal's anger had morphed into utter befuddlement. Luna's jaw just dropped, mouth hanging open with the confusion. And to drive the same point home, Victoria even playfully reached up Nichkhun and got him in a headlock, to which the guy in question didn't complain at all but instead appreciated the closeness. At the same time, the front door swung open and Amber's "We're back! Got some delicious wanton noodles for everyone!!!" was heard. Henry and Amber almost dropped the food containers they were carrying as they came closer and saw the weird scene in front of them.

"Ni shi wo 'di di'! [you're my younger brother], wo shi ni 'ge' [I'm your older brother]." Victoria said in Chinese and proceeded to rumple Nichkun's hair, just a like an older brother would, while she still held him in headlock. It was crazy and Victoria was cringing inside at what she just did. However, she simply didn't trust herself enough to be able to keep her senses in line and say what she wanted to say when she was alone with Nickhun; and the guy was obviously aware of the effect of his physical closeness to her and so was using every trick up his sleeve to get her within his reach. This was the best idea she could come up with the girls as audience and without spilling out the details of how Nichkhun scored that night -- err -- the score between Nickhun and her while she was still yet to figure out how she really felt about how both of them should proceed (or not) from this point.

"Right, I'll happily be your 'xiao di di', Qian 'ge'. For life!" Nichkhun replied loudly, emphasizing his forced delight with a fist pump, and then he beamed at Victoria and the rest who are now looking at them like they're lunatics. But Nichkhun swore to himself "What kind of brothers have slept with each other? I'm not into uous relationships. I'll let you be my 'hyung', if that's what you want. Enjoy it for now, because soon, you're gonna be 'Nickhun's Qian-Qian'...for life, actually, make that 'Qian Horvejkul'. Mark my word, babe."