Synopsis: Hanbin finds Hayi visiting his dorm late at night. With her comeback quickly approaching, he was the only one she could turn to in order to silence the voices of doubt that are inside of her head. Seeing her so out of character hurts Hanbin and he does whatever he can to distract her.

It was a late spring night when Hanbin heard a knock on his door. Everyone had gone home for the weekend since it was one of their rare nights off and he decided to stay in order to finish up some unfinished business for their upcoming single. He sighed to himself as he got up from his desk and made his way to the door. Being on a streak for composing the lyrics, Hanbin hoped that whoever was at the door had a good reason for coming over when it was nearing midnight. His eyes looked over at the receiver to find out who it was and he raised an eyebrow at the person. She had a small figure and the big hoodie over their frame seemed to cover the person like a dress. Her arms were crossed as if she was trying to hide themselves away from the world and her head was cast down. I really hope it isn’t another sasaeng fan…

“Who is it?” he asked.

“Y-yah…open up.” They replied.

His eyes widened as he recognized the voice and immediately went to the door to let the person in. Two arms wrapped around his waist as she buried her face into his chest. He stumbled from the impacted and his gaze softened as he looked down at the young woman. Her grip on him tightened as she breathed in his similar scent and tried her best to relax. Looking back up, he observed their surroundings to make sure that no one saw her come in and closed the door. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he breathed in her familiar scent of roses and vanilla. The stress he had felt building up from working immediately disappeared and he gave her a peck on the forehead.

“What are you doing here Hayi-ah? Shouldn’t you be sleeping right now?” he murmured.

Hayi shook her head frequently and refused to look at him in the face. Her thoughts were racing through her mind as she tried to forget all of the worries that were bothering her. He sighed as he slowly let go of her and made her look at him. Her hood fell off her head and he swiped the hair away from her face. Even in her bare face, the woman in front of him always managed to take his breath away. To him, she looked much more like the carefree spirit she is as well as having such an innocent charm to her. But once meeting her gaze, it looked clouded as her eyebrows furrowed.

“I couldn’t sleep so I decided to come here. I knew the oppas were away and I just…needed to see you.” She muttered as she tried to avoid his gaze.

He softened and grabbed her hand, leading her towards his room. She immediately hopped onto his bed, hugging the Mickey Mouse pillow pet in her arms and leaned her back against the wall. Half of her face was hidden behind the pillow as she watched him sit down on the chair by his desk, with his body facing hers. It was silent between them as Hayi contemplated what to say. Hanbin was simply looking at her, trying to decipher the puzzle that she is and figure out what was wrong with her. Eventually a sigh left her lips as she set the pillow down and hugged herself.

“Do you think the comeback will be successful, Hanbin-ah?” she asked as she stared at the floor.

“What are you talking about? Of course it will be fine, Hayi-ah.”

Hayi bit her lip as the voices in her head began to become overwhelming. Ever since the date of her comeback was quickly approaching, she worked day and night to make sure she would be able to top off her previous one. Her First Love promotions were very high as she had performed two title tracks and her fan base was growing rapidly after being so active after her time on KPOP Star. Then right after came her promotions with Suhyun which kept her popularity high on the charts. Now three years later, she wondered if anyone would still listen to her music as well as give her as much love as they did before. There were only two days before her official comeback stage and that particular night she was feeling the pressure. Hayi refused to look at the online charts or any chart of some sort for the success of her album before she got a taste of the stage herself. The heavy feelings she bared when she was on KPOP Star as the top contended came back to her as she kept trying to always outdo her last performances.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt Hanbin sit down next to her and laid her head on his shoulder. He was muttering comforting words to her as she finally realized that her tears from all the stress and pressure got the best of her. Coming back to the stage after three years to show off what she’s been working on was something that she’s been looking forward to, but after not being active for so long, she’s been questioning herself if they will approve of her new image as a matured young woman. Burying her face into Hanbin’s neck, she knew that he gave her the okay to let everything out.

Hanbin felt his heart ache for the woman he loved as she finally let down her guard and cried her heart out. He knew how hard she was working for her new album as he had often stopped by her recording studio after his practices to find her constantly pulling all-nighters. Her eyes would have dark circles and her back would ache from constantly being hunched over a desk. He sighed to himself as he changed their positions. Hanbin was now sitting against his pillows with Hayi’s back against his chest. His arms were wrapped around her waist as he nuzzled his face against her neck. A smile came upon his face as he heard her chuckle slightly and tried to push his face away.

“Y-yah, that tickles…” she murmured as she wiped away the tears from her eyes. Grabbing the tissue box that was on his bedside drawer, she calmed herself.

He waited for her to say something as he drew mindless patters on her knee and hummed the melody of his group’s new song. “I’m scared Hanbin-ah…I’ve been gone for three years. I don’t know how everyone will react to my comeback.”

“They’ll always love you, Hayi-ah. If they were true fans, they will stand by your side no matter what. Don’t focus on just your title tracks, your album as a whole is a masterpiece.”

Hayi smiled to herself as she listened to his words but still couldn’t find it in her to look more positive. There was just something in her that day that got the best of her and she couldn’t help but feel negative. Too many factors were playing in her life right now and as an idol, it was something she had to deal with constantly. She was jealous of the groups that had members to lean on while she was mostly by herself. As much as she loved YG, she wished that people would approach her. Due to her company’s image as well as her blank face most of the time, others in the industry found it hard to approach her. With this new comeback, she begged YG to get her onto more programs so she could show the rest of the industry her true colors and how easy it is to get along with her. Hayi cuddled more into Hanbin’s embrace and sighed.

“Remind me why I fell for you again?”

Hanbin laughed and said, “Well, you couldn’t resist my handsome face and after working together, we both couldn’t deny the spark between us so you confessed to me and I accepted your feelings.”

“That’s what you tell others, idiot.” She muttered as she looked up and poked his cheek.

He rolled his eyes playfully and began to play with the necklace around her neck. “I need to look like a man, babe. How do you expect me to tell people that I tripped right in front of you as I tried to confess my feelings for you with a cupcake?”

She laughed as she remembered that memory. It was a rainy day that Hanbin asked to meet up with her at her dorm. Hayi was feeling slightly under the weather and Hanbin took it upon himself to keep her company while Chanhyuk and Suhyun were away for the weekend. The two had spent the entire day together just watching movies and playing games as she recovered. It was nearing dinner and Hanbin volunteered to go to one of the local restaurants for her meal. As he was on his way back, he was the happiest he could be because the girl he had a crush on feels the same way he did. Hanbin felt it when he hung out with her the entire day. She didn’t push him away when he would put his arm behind her as they laughed and fought over the game they played. When their hands touched, she didn’t pull away but only shyly smiled at him. All the hints were there and they had been constantly keeping in touch with each other despite their busy schedules.

If this was their last moment alone, Hanbin didn’t want it go to waste so he bought a cupcake from her favorite bakery in the neighborhood and quickly made his way back to her. Once he was back in her apartment and she grabbed the food from him. He followed closely behind her and was about to say something until she abruptly turned around, causing him to bump into her and tripped over his own feet. The cupcake fell from his grasp as he landed on his bum and Hayi burst out laughing.