The day of the show came, and I was feeling pumped with excitement for the event.

One of Korea's most successful fashion brands, Steve J and Yoni P, would be sending representatives to evaluate my team and my designs on our springline edition. And if we passed we could make a collaboration with the big company. The event was to start at eight pm, so there was not much time to set everything up to be ready. After making sure the runway was in good hands I pulled Shau Bi to the backstage for a makeup session before the walk. Shau Bi had been practicing, and to my surprise she's really good at it. Her petite frame was a worry for me at first, but it turned out that the girl liked to slouch so much that she looked smaller than her actual size. I smiled, thinking of the similarity to Sufo.

I'd pushed Changkyun away for makeup earlier, and I never got to see him as the male and female model rooms were seperated. The artists placed light makeup on me first as I had to make an opening speech. Later they'd touch up with more vibrant colours to match the dress I'm wearing while I walked. Shau Bi looked gorgeous in her glitterish black blouse that was paired with a ruffled skirt with 3D flowers on it. I dressed into a simpler work outfit to hit the stage, not wanting to break the surprise. Nevertheless what worried me was that I couldn't see Changkyun anywhere, and by the time I was trying to look for him at the makeup room it was already time to start the show.

As I walked up the stage the audience clapped, and I quickly took the stood behind the rostrum. "Hello everyone. And welcome to the fashion show of Sugar's springline edition," I started, earning another applause. "The clothes that we would be presenting are not just designed by me, but also my team, Lisa, Han Na, Lee Ya, and our maknae Shau Bi," I continued, resulting small laughter from the audience. "Do enjoy our show, and like our motto, we seek to provide both style and comfort to your lives. Well then, let's get this show started shall we?" I spoke and the audience cheered as the music began playing, a signal for me to leave the stage.

I speedwalked to the backstage, and the makeup artists quickly did their magic, placing different colours of eyeshadow on my eyelids. A red lipstick was placed over my lips, and one of them used a blusher to highlight my cheekbones. They had my hair braided and placed flowers that matched my eyeshadow in between the loops of my hair. I had a good five minutes to change before the walk would start. After done with the makeup, I slipped the dress I designed, one of turtle-neck without sleeves, my neck exposed as it was lace until the sweetheart neckline that starts the dress with peach-coloured velvet. The dress was light, and it went just under my knees with ends that shimmered with pearls that were arranged to look like small flowers. The artists were just fastening the strap of pearls around my waist when Changkyun walked in, already in his outfit.

My jaw almost dropped at the sight.

He looked amazing. Changkyun was in the outfit that Lisa had designed, one that was almost identical to mine. He was in a peach-coloured shirt that was just big enough to hint his deep collarbones, paired with a pair of white pants and black and gold-coloured sneakers. His hair was swept to the side of his face, and it was a bit curled at the ends, making his golden brown eyes sparkle. Changkyun had a peach-coloured coat in his hand, the shade a lot lighter than the shirt he was wearing. The coat was gleaming with glitterish silver roses that were sewn on it. He smiled as he reached me, and I could've sworn that everyone in the room were paralyzed with his prescence.

Because I was.

"Hey," he said as he neared me. Changkyun stopped just in front of me, making my knees shake as my eyes stay locked at his orbs. "You look pretty," he continued as he smiled, taking the loose curl of my hair into his finger before twirling it. I blushed so hard that I could hear my heartbeat ringing in my ears. He was making my stomach flip like a gymnast, and I felt like there were snakes wriggling along with it. "You look...handsome," I replied shortly, and a few aah's were heard at the back, making Changkyun laugh. He then lowered himself, just to whisper something into my ear. "Let's make this show a good one, shall we?" he whispered, to which I could only nod in return, too intoxicated by the heavy scent of his musk perfume to understand what he meant.

Moments later it was Shau Bi and Sufo's turn, and my mind finally drifted off from Changkyun the moment I saw them walk down the runway. If Shau Bi was gorgeous than Sufo was a great match to her, totally breathtaking. His black dress shirt with details of multi-coloured flowers on his shoulder blades were paired with white pants and black leather boots. They were a total match, and I was pleased that Shau Bi did so well even though she was still new.

It was when they began to turn that I realized it was finally Changkyun and my turn, and he squeezed my hand gently as we walked hand in hand nearing the start of the stage. As Sufo and Shau Bi passed us we got ourselves to the center of the stage and stopped there for a few seconds like the Ji An told us to. I kept my chin held high and smiled, and at the corner of my eye I saw Changkyun making confident strides with the coat slung neatly over his shoulder, his hand securing it. As we reached the ened we stopped for the photos. It was then that I finally understood what Changkyun had said earlier.

As the cameras flashed, he pulled me to him before kissing me square on the lips, surprising me.

The audience cheered, and I was too flabbergasted that when he let go, my eyes were still on his. He smiled before pulling me, waking me up from my trance as we both walked back to the start of the runway. We made our way to the back of the line as the models started to walk down the runway one by one, all until Changkyun and I were the only one's left on the runway. The staff handed me the microphone and the audience cheered before I spoke, "Well that's the end of our fashion show. I hope all of you had fun today. Thank you so much for coming, and may all of you have a blessed night. Thank you again," I said, wrapping up the whole event. But the constant cheers of the crowd made me turn my heel towards them, hearing what they cheered loudly.

"One more kiss! One more kiss! One more kiss!"

I looked to Changkyun who was grinning like an idiot. "Final show?" he asked as he arched an eyebrow playfully. I sighed as I pulled his shirt, taking a breath, "Come here," I said before placing my lips on his, kissing him like how he did just before. When we broke off the kiss the crowd continued cheering, and I smiled to them before turning to Changkyun.

Whose golden brown eyes were more confused than ever.

"Unnie!" Mijoo shrieked as she entered the office, grinning widely as she brought in an enevelope. I was sitting on my loveseat, curious of what was inside. She started wiggling the envelope in front of me, making me a little annoyed as I quickly caught it. My eyes widened at the name of the sender, nearly screaming as Mijoo and I clasped our hands together. I opened the envelope and read the letter out loud as Mijoo's grasp on my hand became stronger. It was a letter from Steve J and Yoni P, and they were giving their feedbacks on the show we had last week. Mijoo and I quickly made our way to the couch, anxious of the letter's contents as we sat on it.

"To Mrs. Im, president of the Sugar Fashion company," I started off,and Mijoo listened attentively, her hand never leaving mine. "Both of us have heard from the people we sent to your show, and they stated that your company's designs were of one in a million," I smiled, "We have come to the decision to take your company's offer of partnership and make a collaboration for the next season's project. With this letter we have included a fashion magazine of ours that we will be publishing next month. You might want to check it out Mrs. Im. Warm regards, Steve J and Yoni P," I finished, and Mijoo shrieked as she pulled me into her embrace. I laughed, feeling humored by her reaction of the letter.

"AAHH!!!! We did it! We made it!" she kept singing. And she kept doing so even after Yoojin came in, feeling confused at the sightly hysterical Mijoo. I shook my head as I could only smile, knowing Mijoo too well to even comment. Yoojin was desperately trying to get the jumping Mijoo off her chair when my eyes caught sight of the magazine inside the envelope. My hands pulled it out gently, and I was surprised that the front cover was Shau Bi and Sufo. I smiled, earning Mijoo's attention and she dragged Yoojin along with her before squealing as she saw the picture.

"Oh. My. God. This has to be shared. With the WHOLE company," she said, and I could only sigh as she flipped the pages enthusiasthically. Suddenly they both stopped at one page, and Yoojin's round eyes suddenly became as big as Jupiter, along with the now silent Mijoo. They both placed their palms over their mouths for a good 3 seconds before squealing, earning my curiosity. I looked at them curiously as they stared back at me with round eyes and smiles playing on their lips. "What? What is it?" I asked, and my hand quickly reached out to grab the magazine before observing what they saw. And the sound of Mijoo's voice replayed over my head as I saw it.

Oh. My. God.

It was a picture of me and Changkyun kissing on the runway.

I stood there motionless, not knowing how to react to the image. Mijoo and Yoojin who were giggling had returned to reality and started shaking me, a sound of worry in their voice. "Unnie?" they asked. "Are you okay?" I blinked before letting out a breath, smiling to them as reassurement. "I'm okay," I said as I placed my palm over my chest, "Just a little, no, too surprised," I answered. My eyes darted back at the photo, and I quickly sat back on the sofa before Mijoo and Yoojin left, somehow knowing that I needed some time alone. My eyes never left the photo, as my heartstrings twang at the thought that came to my head.

The image of us kissing.

It looked...perfectly real.

After a long day of work I finally returned home at six in the evening, only to find Changkyun sitting on the bench in the garden reading a book. As I stepped out of the car he was already nearing me, his reading glasses still intact on the bridge of his nose. I couldn't help but stare at him, appreciating how well his glasses suit him. He smiled to which I gladly returned before I closed the door, and we both walked inside.

"Well you're back early," I remarked as I pushed the door open. him following behind. He made a small hum, "Uhuh. The hospital's been in a good shape lately, so my work lessens," he spoke, and I too, hummed in returned. After placing my handbag on the table both Changkyun and I walked to the kitchen and I was surprised to see the meals all done. I turned to him, arching an eyebrow, "What?" he asked. I pointed to the meals, "I could've cooked you know?"I said. "Sorry, I was just bored," he spoke cheekily, and automatically my hands reached for his chubby cheeks before pinching it, causing him to shriek in pain. I laughed at that, letting him go before washing my hands and took my seat at the table.

Due to skipping meals again I became too absorbed in eating, earning Changkyun's attention. "You have to stop skipping meals Sekyung. It's not good for your health," he spoke, to which I could only nod. It was a delicious meal of Hanwoo, and I my fingers clean upon finishing it. I made a deft hand movement by swiftly taking our dirty plates, emptying it before setting it into the dishwasher. I washed my hands and turned to see Changkyun staring back at me, his eyes narrowing as he did. "What?" I asked.

"You're hiding something," he said as he clasped his hands, leaning over before arching an eyebrow, "What is it?" he asked. I gulped, wondering at how he could know. At the same time I wasn't too keen on telling him that the picture of us smooching was on the page of one of the most popular fashion magazines in Korea. But his stern look was making my spine chill and my mouth naturally spoke, spilling the beans. "There's a picture of us on Steve J and Yoni P's magazine," I said, and he made a gesture for me to continue, "And?" "And it was the one where we were kissing," I huffed, my eyes looking down at the floor as my cheeks redden.

"So?" he asked, and I looked up to see his confused face. "Are you not, bothered?" I asked. He shook his head, "No, are you?" he asked in return, to which I nod in reply.  Strangely his eyes turned soft, and he stood up before nearing me and placed his arms around me. I held my breath, surprised at his actions. It was a gentle yet moving gesture, one that could almost make me misunderstand his intentions. Somehow a tear rolled down my cheek, followed by another before I burst into silent sobs, his hands gently my hair as I cried. "Do you want me to tell them to delete it?" he asked. I shook my head, still absorbed in tears to reply. He continued soothing me, and my tears streamed harder as he did. 

Because I wasn't crying about the picture.

I was crying about how gentle he was with me.

How I knew that there was another girl that he would soothe, not me.

And how I realized that I have fallen far too deep for him to let go.

" The ground hardens after the rain, "

- Kim Jongdae, EXO -