♫ | Mistake by SNSD

Fact: Shim Changmin receives a note every morning.

The notes, written on crisp white post-it notes, are stuck to his locker every morning when he arrives to rehearse. They are filled with uplifting quotes and smiles all over, hinting on a courage the writer knew was still within him – hidden somewhere underneath all his sadness. The notes are never signed with a name but with a heart, and Changmin doesn’t really need to guess who they’re from to know why they were sent. But instead of making him feel better, these white notes only deliver a burden in his heart.

Still, he picks them off every morning like clockwork before anyone can see and puts them into his pocket.

**

The new kids bring him food every break, clamoring for his attention and approval that it makes him a little sick. Changmin doesn’t think he’s much of an inspiration – Yunho is, he’s the leader of their… team – but he tried not to come off as too much of a snob for the young hopefuls. He’d been in their position once, practicing day in and out to gain a nod from the seniors in the company and so he knew how important it was to be civil.

Although a bit disheartened, Changmin encourages the trainee in front of him – telling him stories of his training days and quoting past seniors that had come and gone in the past years. He tells him about the times he spent singing his heart out at practices with the friends he met the same year he entered, and vaguely noticed the sight of soft brown waves passing by.

His nose twitches. She smells like peaches and cream, like always.

“Ah, Yoona-noona!” The new boy cries, turning his short attention from him to the doe-eyed girl walking a few steps ahead. She turns to the sound of her name and grins, although it seems as though the smile is more to him than to the trainee who called her.

His stomach decides to spin at the moment and Changmin thought it was best a time to leave.

**

Fact: He hates how she looks at him.

He hates that her eyes are bright and caring; patient even while he slips past her (ignoring her) time and time again.

Yoona is too nice for her own good, too naïve. She gives her trust too easily and it suffocates him because he cannot do the same.

**

He caught her writing down on a post-it note one morning and took a step back.

There’s a look of concentration on her face while her pen moved gently across the paper’s surface. The light overhead glares down at her mercilessly, giving off odd shadows on her face while she wrote. She smiled a little bit once she finished, pressing the paper onto the metal surface of his locker with a soft giggle and a sigh.

She didn’t notice him standing outside the door as she tiptoed out of the room and made her exit. He didn’t expect her to.

Actually…

He didn’t want her to.

**

Fact: They used to be friends once.

Real friends.

The type of friends who called and texted each other every day and night just to see how the other is doing even though technically they were in the same room together. Changmin used to call her ‘Yoong’ as easily as she used to call him ‘Oppa’. They used to be so close – it was, at some point, difficult to identify the line that blurred between friendship and love.

But things were different now.

Maybe it was just the natural way of things. People meet and drift apart everyday; and they were just one of those who were a part of the natural flow of life.

Still, the notes are pasted on everyday, and Changmin and Yoona go on with their lives as though nothing has changed.

**

“You’re avoiding me as always.”

“Am I? I didn’t notice.”

Yoona grins, but there’s an edge in it that throws him just a bit off balance.

“It’s okay. I’m used to it.”

Changmin holds back from saying anymore as she skips off to practice.

“You’re not supposed to.”

**

Fact: There are so many other girls prettier than Im Yoona.

And he knew exactly who that person was…

Victoria’s really pretty. And really friendly. His ideal type. His dream personafied.

He finds himself smiling more around his best friend’s beautiful best ‘girl’ friend and the fact alone doesn’t bother him one bit. He might have met her earlier if it weren’t for Kyuhyun’s annoying way of scheduling meet-ups when he’s out of the country, but that didn’t matter anymore. Fact is, Changmin’s finally met the beautiful and friendly Victoria Song, and he likes her.

He likes her a lot.

“Dude, you’re too obvious.” Kyuhyun tells him that night, rolling his eyes as he throws him a can of beer. “Everyone knows already. You might as well just ask her out and get it over with.”

“Everyone?” Changmin echoes, raising an eyebrow. His friend merely nods and shrugs his shoulders.

“Yes, everyone. From the kids in f(x) and all the way up to Kangta.” Kyuhyun smirks as they drink together. It’s not often that they have time to hang out, and that night, he simply didn’t want to hear his friend discreetly ask about his very pretty ‘other’ friend.

“Hell, even Yoona knows and she’s been holding a candle out for you for as long as I can remember.”

Changmin grunts at the mention and rolls his eyes, ignoring the fact that he’d almost choked on his beer. He catches Kyuhyun’s mischievous smirk and decides to ignore the underhanded suggestion.

(That is if there was one. Not that it’d be something he would ever admit to.)

“Maybe I’ll ask Vic out sometime.”

Kyuhyun says nothing more of the blatant ignorance and simply grins to himself.

**

Yoona drops by one day with a bag of burgers and distributes them all around the room. She’s wearing her costume from her drama; her hair pinned up in a half-ponytail and her skin paler under the studio lights. The smile on her face never falters, and a part of him is grateful for that.

“A little bird told me about your lady problems, sunbae.” She says to him as he