They say that staring into someone's eyes for ten minutes straight is enough to make you fall in love with them. I beg to disagree. It only took me a few seconds with Kim Myung Soo. The way he checked up on me from time to time — making a series of brief eye contacts in the process — was all it took for me to fall in love. It made me feel safe. His little gestures made me feel loved and needed. How wonderful is that? Having someone who deeply cares about you, and actually shows that they do, can change the way you see the world. It gives you a new perspective — one that you thought never existed. You begin to see things in a positive light even in the most upsetting situations.

     "You alright?" Myung Soo, who was sitting right next to me, asked as he placed freshly grilled meat on my bowl.

     I looked his way and beamed, "Yeah. I'm just feeling emotional. This is our last team dinner after all," I replied.

     He graced me with a warm smile and then squeezed my hand. He let go of it shortly after, afraid that everyone might get a hint of what was going on between us.

     He then entertained everyone with his silly antics. I still found it fascinating that the cold and charismatic L on-cam was really just a playful kid off-cam who would not stop weirding out other people in a funny way. I could not, for the life of me, get used to him laughing his off with everyone. He had this image inculcated in my mind of being just a seductive block of ice that happened to have a face. A handsome face. How he acted cold to me when we first met did not help at all.

     Meanwhile, Sung Jae was awfully quiet, speaking only when necessary. He was usually the life of the gathering, along with Ho Joon oppa, but tonight, he was out of touch.

     I was deep in thought while munching on a lettuce wrap when Sung Jae and the others who followed suit rose to their feet as if to greet someone of higher status who had just arrived.

     "Nice to see you again, Maki," a dashing young man greeted.

     GD's unexpected appearance caused me to choke on my lettuce wrap. Regurgitating it would probably be the best solution to my misery but given how everyone's attention was already on me, I decided to just forcefully swallow it instead. Luckily, Myung Soo was quick enough to hand me a glass of water.

     "You okay?" he asked.

     I nodded as I recalled what just happened. How embarrassing...

     "Yeah, I get that a lot," GD chimed in and winked at me.

     Since when did he become this arrogant?

     "Just kidding. You okay?" he asked as he squatted on the floor beside me, a grin on his face.

I nodded gingerly.

     "Why do you look so surprised that I'm here? Is my presence bothering you in any way?" he asked again.

     Why is he so chatty today? "Of course not... sir." Damn it to the hell. How was I supposed to sound polite in English that is equivalent to their honorifics?

     He stifled a laugh.

     I glanced at Myung Soo on my right. He gave me an encouraging smile, as if he understood that I was asking him if what was happening, which was him being left out of the conversation, at the moment was okay with him. It was also like a permission for me to go on with the conversation that he would not understand. I cleared my throat to bounce back from the humiliation. "I was just starstruck, I guess."

     GD smirked.

     Seriously?

     Myung Soo's phone's ringtone caught my attention, giving me an excuse to turn away from GD. I knew it was his because I was the one who changed it. I made his ringtone a dull noise for other people's calls while mine would sound like a sound effect from a fairytale cartoon. You know, girlfriend privileges.

     "Yeoboseyo? Ne... Ne... Algesseumnida." He ended the call. He then flashed me an apologetic look. Kim Myung Soo, the clown of the night, had to leave. Something urgent came up and he had to rush back to their dormitory.

     Before he stood up, he sneakily squeezed my hand as his way of saying goodbye. He left the restaurant after giving his warm thanks to the producers and some of the executives who were present.

     "You two look like you've gotten closer than the time I was at the set," GD muttered as I watched Myung Soo's back disappear.

     I looked at him and saw a suspecting look on his eyes. "O-oh. Of course. We've spent so much time together."

     "True enough."

     Before I could say something in return, Sung Jae butted in. "Maki-ya," he called from the opposite side of the short-legged table. "Can we... talk outside for a while?" he asked.

    It's not like I could turn his request down in front of everyone, so I gave a positive response. Besides, it gave me a glimmer of hope to rekindle our friendship.

     Sung Jae stood about a meter away from a lamp post, illuminating his fit figure, consequently forming his shadow before him, as he waited for me to come. Both of his hands were tucked deep in his pockets whilst staring at his feet. He rocked his body back and forth repeatedly, and then gradually stopped as I neared him. I rubbed my elbow as I nervously met his gaze.

     He looked away.

     I stood in front of him and had my shadow meshed with his. He scratched the back of his neck.

     I patiently waited.

     "Let's call it even," he said at last.

     I involuntarily tilted my head to the side as  I tried to process what he could possibly mean. "You and your vagueness. Aiyoo. You really like keeping people on their toes, do you?" I wasn't really trying to make light of the situation. It's just that I didn't know what else to say.

     He heaved a sigh, a sign that he was about to go down straight to business. "I forgive you for making a fool out of me, and you forgive me for taking my frustrations out on you."

     Hmm. Makes sense. Sounds like a good deal.

     He carefully observed my reaction as I tried to consider his offer.

     "But somewhere in the middle, there's something a little bit off, don't you think?" I asked him. And he was not getting away with it.

     "What is it?" he asked back, confusion clouding his eyes.

     "The thing is, I apologized to you, but you didn't apologize to me. And the way you put it was not exactly an apology either."

     He cleared his throat, then scratched the back of his neck.

     Did you really think that you will get away with this easily, Yook Sung Jae? I raised an eyebrow.

     "Arasseo. Jalmottaesseo," (Alright. I made a mistake,) he said in a rushing manner, refusing to meet my gaze.

     "You could at least try to pretend to sound sincere," I chastised.

     He looked at me straight in the eyes, though hesitant at first. "Naega mianhae," (I'm sorry,) he finally uttered.

     I cracked a small smile and told him, "Alright, we're even."

     "Friends again?"

     "Friends again," I responded.

     As if on cue, we simultaneously reached for each other and hugged it out to seal the deal. His "rich boy" scent that I've gotten accustomed to welcomed me once again. I missed being around this silly boy. I most definitely missed his goofiness.

     "What are you guys doing out here?" an all too familiar voice asked from behind.

     I choked on Sung Jae's scent and went on a fit of coughing as I broke away from his embrace.

     "S-sunbaenim," Sung Jae stuttered.

     "Are you... two dating?" GD cautiously asked.

     Finding the question absurd, I finally spoke up. "Animnida. (No.) We're just friends."

     "Yes, friends," Sung Jae repeated. The way he enunciated the words almost cracked me up. I really believe that sometimes, he's doing it on purpose to lighten up stressful situations.

     "That's not what people are going to think if they see you out in the open, hugging like that. You have to be careful," he advised. Of course, being an idol who had been around in the industry for so long, he was making perfect sense.

     "Ne. We didn't think things through before making such actions. Thank you so much, sunbaenim," Sung Jae said with a slight bow. I followed suit. "Maki-ya. Let's go back inside."

     "O-oh, okay. Let's go."

     Before I could even take a step forward, Sung Jae was already nearing the entrance of the restaurant. Traitor. Was he that scared that people might actually gossip about us as a thing? Well, Korean entertainment industry is scary and one mistake is all that's gonna take to lose your hard-earned fame, so his reaction is justified. It's just that, I dreaded being left behind with GD even for just a split second.

     "And here I thought you were a shy girl," he murmured in a condescending tone.

     There you go. "Excuse me?" I was ready for whatever he was boiling. "What did you just say?"

     "Did you not hear me or are you just giving me a chance to change whatever I said?" he asked in a joking manner, with a smirk plastered on his face. He turned to look at me. I would say he looked amused but he had a grim expression on his face that gave me flashbacks.

     "You certainly act like you know me. Do you know me?" I was not backing down. I have had enough with his mind games.

     He released a shallow sigh and then looked straight at me. "You are Yu Maki. That is who you are. Isn't that enough? Would you like for us to get to know each other more? We can play a game or something. I do not mind."

     "You mean Twenty Questions?" I challenged.

     It was brief and sudden but I definitely saw it. He flinched a little, clearly surprised that I was now facing him head-on.

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