The group were to travel in two vans to Qingdao. Amber, Henry, and Xiao Li were shocked when Nichkhun walked into the parking lot with his hair straight au naturel – alas, there wasn’t enough time to dye his hair back to his natural color, dark brown, as he rushed to his hotel suite after the press conference. What a shame that Nichkhun’s efforts were in vain as he was disappointed when he climbed up inside and found only Amber, Henry, and Xiao Li: he was obviously looking for a gorgeous Chinese girl with a pair of the cutest bunny eyes whom he wanted impress with his new hairstyle and to sit with during the long drive. As fate would have it, that privilege landed on Leo’s lot because Victoria, along with Luna and Krystal picked up the actor from his place as informed by Xiao Li when they spotted the black van waiting at the corner of the street. The convoy started their way to Victoria’s hometown.

They arrive at the famous beer brewing town past 2 in the morning, almost 3 AM, in the wee hours of the morning of the Autumn Festival. They drove up the driveway to the Song’s compound and alighted. Nichkhun was particularly considerate of Xiao Li and insisted to carry her load for her as part penitence for all the trouble he had contributed to and part gratitude for the hardworking manager’s unmistakable love and protectiveness for Victoria. He thanked the driver for getting them safely through that almost 7 hour drive.

Since the black van was ahead of them, Victoria was already walking up the low steps to her parent’s house and saw everything. She was touched by that kind gesture from Nichkhun to her Xiao Li jie who was more of a sister to her. As the 2PM idol, trailed by a sleepy Amber, a still hyper Henry, and a sober Xiao Li, came up the steps and under the light from the front porch, Victoria noticed his new hairstyle – no wax! – and when he came up next to her at the same step level, she caught a whiff of his new perfume – it was the one she chose (he came to a guesting with four bottles of perfume after the Chinese fan incident and told her to pick one that she liked best) and her heart skipped a beat. She barely noticed that her father was already standing at the now open front door.

It was Leo Luo’s voice greeting Papa Song that snapped Victoria out of the trance. Nichkhun had a frown on and asked Victoria: “Are you car sick?” She indeed looked very pale, Nichkhun noted, and he worried she would faint just like what Xiao Li told them at the press conference backstage.

“Oh, I’m alright. Just a bit sleepy.” Victoria quickly replied. “Papa, wo hui lai le [I’m home]!” and went up to be engulfed in the bear-like embrace of her father, who exclaimed “Wo baobei nu er! [My precious baby girl!]”

They all settled into their rooms. The house had two storeys and five rooms and though simple in decoration, it was clear that the Songs, though not well-off to the scale of the Horvejkul family, were comfortable. Krystal declared she was sleeping with her Vic-unnie. Amber and Luna in the bedroom next to Victoria’s that had a double bed. Xiao Li apparently had her own designated bedroom in the corner, a smaller one which she preferred as it had a window looking out at the sea. The guys were assigned the guest room which was big enough but only had one queen sized bed and a settee and Papa Song was apologetic since he and his wife were told to expect only 6 guests. Henry assured the elderly man in Chinese that it was absolutely fine; that they were the ones who should apologize for the intrusion. He looked like he was aiming for the settee but Nichkhun, seeing that, made a mad rush to the aforementioned furniture because there was no way he was getting cozy in the same bed as Leo.

They all settled for the night, or the early morning and the lights were turned off. As Nichkhun lay down to rest, he recalled what unfolded in the van when they were traveling. He was seated in one of the middle single seats with Xiao Li in the other. The manager was busy talking to someone on the phone loudly. He couldn’t understand everything even if his Chinese was getting better with the work projects he did in the recent years in China; Xiao Li had a heavy Beijing accent, something that he would notice Victoria fall into also once in a while. He was sure that Xiao Li was very upset by the tone of her voice and that he had something to do with that because of the look that the latter gave him after she put her phone back in her purse.

With the help of Amber and Henry’s translation, Xiao Li opened up about her concerns to Nichkhun since he insisted to know. The very reason that the release date for “Heart Ramble” was hurried, that resulted in him and especially Victoria, being thrown into this crazy busy work schedule, was because there was suddenly a renewed interest in Khuntoria traced back to Nichkhun’s Instagram post. He remembered that photo: it was a stolen shot and Victoria wasn’t even looking at the camera at that time, her focus was on the script. Now that Khuntoria were seen more together, doing the promotion tours, and Nichkhun practically confirming he and Victoria were very much more than friends, backlash began rising against the former Korean idol, now Chinese top star. They were all well aware of what those haters were labeling Victoria: third party, relationship wrecker. How fickle the world can be.

Henry commented “It’s the timeline of things…” and everyone thought individually of the rumor of Nickhun reigniting the flame with a lead vocalist of SNSD. 

“Oh my gosh, if the timing of the filming of “Heart Ramble” and Siwon’s birthday got swapped,” Amber started. 

“Wouldn’t that mean Tiffany noona would be the one labeled the third party instead?” Henry finished. "That's insane..."

Indeed, Nickhun thought: what if that photo of him and Tiffany disembarking from the same flight in Beijing capital International Airport was never captured by the paparazzi? What if he boarded a different flight from Thailand to Beijing? But would he have needed to fly back to Beijing if he hadn’t left in the first place? If he didn’t leave Victoria behind that morning? If he didn’t have such a sensitive ego that was easily bruised? Even a teenager could be more mature than him. It was probably the most transformative road trip Nickhun ever had in his life and as he drifted off to sleep, he determined to put his ego in check if were to get a fighting chance at a future with the only woman he had felt so strongly for or even to call himself a man.

The sun was already up, it was almost 10 AM. There was a sudden playful and excited ruckus downstairs. Nichkhun registered the voices of men shouting in Chinese, followed by a ringing giggle and laughter which he would recognize anywhere and anytime: Victoria’s. He alarmingly looked at the now empty bed and confirmed his suspicions. “Don’t tell me that’s Henry and Leo, with Victoria?!?” He had no issue if only Henry was with Victoria but the probability that Leo was there got him sprinting downstairs as soon as he pulled up his pants to his waist. As he arrived at the bottom of the stairs and turned to the direction of the open space living room, he saw Victoria and she was laughing but neither Leo nor Henry were in sight. Instead there were three good-looking, no, really handsome men with her. Two of them held Victoria in a tight embrace while the third had his puckered lips, smacked on her right cheek.

“YA!!!” Nichkhun shouted at the group who froze before him.

Luna came up behind him and commented: “That’s Song Li-Jun and Song Li-Wei - they’re twins.” She waived at the boys who waived warmly back at Luna.

“Oh, there's Shen Hao-Ran!” Amber called out, she had come downstairs with Luna. Hao-Ran was the tallest of the bunch, the best looking too. He was also the one who was kissing Victoria earlier.

Apparently, the three men were Victoria’s relatives (her younger second cousins), in their mid-20s, who lived in the other house in the compound, where her parents moved when their house was finally completed, closer to family since they only had one daughter and was away most of the time (first in Korea, and now in Beijing). They all looked at Nickhun like he was some weirdo, storming down and shouting at them with his pants ped. Hao-Ran pointed his fingers at that general area to him as he came up to give Amber a high-five. Nichkhun clumsily zipped up his fly in mortification. 

“Since everyone’s here, Mama needs help with folding the dumplings.” Victoria announced, as if to his rescue, as she looked up the direction of the stairs to Krystal who was finally awake and had come down as well. It diverted everyone's attention from the man whose ears were now burning a bright red.

They walked in a file to the kitchen where Nichkhun saw Leo and Henry with Mama and Papa Song, already helping with the dumplings. The three young men, as soon as they spotted Leo,  flocked around him immediately, cheerfully calling him “jie-fu”, which Nichkhun knew meant “brother-in-law”, making him feeling even more deflated. 

As Leo Luo interacted effortlessly with Victoria and her family and after having learned from Luna that that three younger cousins of Victoria shaped up because of Leo's good influence, Nichkhun couldn't help but wonder if his rival might have the winning hand already. He mused to himself, "Is Leo the reason she's holding back? Does she have feelings for him? Is that why she keeping what happened between us strictly secret -- she doesn't wanna risk it getting out and reaching Leo?”

Amber and Henry, perceptive as always, noticed the shadows clouding Nichkhun's usually bright demeanor. While they were having tea in the back garden, Amber leaned in, whispering, "Leo's just a friend, you know. You're not in a love triangle drama. It's more like a love zigzag."

Henry added, "Yeah, zigzag. Like, back and forth. But trust me, bro, you've got a good shot. Like Amber said, Leo's not noona’s boyfriend." The attempt at what appeared to be rapping lines was lame but Nichkhun still appreciated the thoughtfulness of his two yunger friends.

During a quick stroll to the nearest beach, Mama Song discreetly took Nichkhun aside while everyone was busy playing in the water. She wanted to talk to this young man as she harbored an intuitive understanding of the unresolved connection between him and her daughter. Although she held reservations about Nichkhun, preferring Leo for her daughter, she sensed something unspoken between them. Through a combination of Chinese and, to Nickhun’s pleasant surprise, a working flow of Korean, Shen Rui-Yi, who looked exactly like Victoria and was still breathtakingly beautiful even in her early 60s now, was able to impart sage advice to this young man who was clearly after her only daughter: to be patient, consistent, and that Qian was basically an open book and if he learned to read her, he would find the right timing for sure.

Nichkhun thanked Mama Song profusely and asked why she was giving him advice. Mama Song was indeed rooting for Leo but she kept that to herself and simply explained in her endearing Chinese-Korean mix and Nichkhun understood that her ultimate desire was for Victoria to move beyond the unresolved past with him and pursue her own happiness. Nichkhun, despite not entirely embracing the goal set for him, was genuinely grateful for Mama Song’s guidance.

Further down the beach path, Papa Song also had a heart-to-heart with his daughter. “My dear, sometimes the love we want can be expressed to us in a way that’s very different to what we expect. People have different love languages, what matters is that it’s still love – look into the heart; what motivates that person. A lot of missed chances happen because we fail to remember that.” Little did Papa Song know that he was actually helping the cause of that Thai guy whom he felt “playboy” vibes from and therefore didn’t like, because his words reminded Victoria of Nichkhun instead of the quiet and unassuming YunXi (Leo), whom he preferred for her daughter.

During dinner, everyone praised the delicious spread of Mama Song’s cooking at the big round table, typical of Chinese homes. Victoria was seated between her mother and Nickhun. Papa Song was seated between his wife and Leo. At Henry and Victoria’s cousins’ side of the table, one would think they were pigs since all one could hear from them were satisfied grunts as they dug non-stop into the dumplings and braised ribs. Seated across Victoria, Xiao Li beamed when she saw Victoria eating so well and as she enjoyed her mama's specialty chicken stew, even humming and bobbing her head, exactly like the three other f(x) girls at Nickhun's other side did.

Both Papa Song and Nichkhun noticed that Leo was also looking at Victoria. Then Papa Song suddenly said “Wo de nu xu” chuckling warmly at Leo as he poured him a cup of traditional wine to toast which the younger man accepted gratefully. Nichkhun who was watching all along and understood Papa Song just addressed Leo as son-in-law could have cried on the spot. But as if on cue, Victoria suddenly made a fuss of warding off Li-Jun’s chopsticks off the plate that held the last slices of Mama Song’s special grilled pork belly and then placed them on to Nichkhun’s rice bowl. The gesture caught everyone’s eye and Leo and Mr. Song's subtle displeased surprise was evident.

Victoria, defending her action, quipped "Well, he needs to replenish his energy for all the promotions, right?" However, in that moment, Nichkhun couldn't contain his gratitude and joy, knowing that Victoria did that because she knew that pork belly was his favorite. He caught her eye and their gazes locked before she shyly ducked her head to concentrate on her plate. But he could see her cheeks tinged with a subtle shade of crimson. It was a simple act, but to Nichkhun, it spoke volumes: his Qian-Qian cared for him after all.