The confetti falls, cheers fill the auditorium, gathered performers use this as their last opportunity to greet their fans and with a small bow directed towards her small group of fans, Irene follows the crew member that is motioning her towards the stage exit with co-emcee Bogum following right behind. She keeps focused on the narrow stairs but a call of her name makes her turn back momentarily and the split second is enough to make her lose her footing but Bogum is quick to react and within that split second, Irene finds herself steadily poised in his arms.

"Are you okay?" Bogum asks with Irene already pulling away to steady herself.

"Yeah," she replies gently, no rush to follow whoever is trying to direct her away. "Thanks, Bogum-ah."

He gives her a curt nod with a small grin and together they silently follow the staff to their shared waiting room.

Microphones are returned, sponsored photos are taken and once the chaos dies down, it's just the two of them again, waiting for their separate managers to finish up so they could go home.

"Do you have any plans tonight?" Bogum asks Irene who is leaning against the wall with a sleepy stare.

She turns to him slowly with a small head shake. "No, you?"

He shakes his head and his eyes lower to ankles. "Are your ankles alright?"

Irene chuckles and once again, the room brightens up. "Yeah," she chuckles again and it makes him giggle with her. "My ankles are fine."

"How can you be so clumsy, Noona," he teases her. She turns away bashfully and he chuckles again before sighing dramatically to get her attention once more. "Now I have to wait another week before I get to see Noona again. What am I going to do."

Irene side eyes him playfully and he laughs. "Stop it. You get to be with Deoksun-ie when I'm not around."

"Sooyeon," he corrects and they break out into laughter. "Don't bring another woman up when I'm with you."

She shoves him lightly in the arm. "Aish, seriously. Quit playing around.”

Unfazed, Bogum leans in towards Irene until her back is up against the wall again. She doesn’t avoid his gaze but she is hesitant still and annoyed that her body was betraying her and blushing to his words.

“I’m serious though,” he confesses quietly. “Don’t you miss me when I’m not around?”

She pushes him away gently but Bogum doesn’t budge nor does his gentle gaze go away. “Don’t look at me like that.”

He chuckles, pulling away to lean back against the wall like her. “Noona.”

Irene turns to him but his gaze is fixated on his reflection in the mirror across the room.

“You know how I feel about you,” he says quietly. “I hope you seriously consider it.”

She turns to her own reflection in the mirror and the rainy night comes rushing back.

***

They had just finished emceeing a music bank special and Irene had seen it coming for weeks. Everybody knew of the chemistry between them, even they themselves were surprised at how well they worked together. Soon enough their comfort level grew, the gazes became longer and then came the butterflies. Bogum was more expressive with the way he felt unlike Irene who had been taught to be cautious, followed the script as closely as possible.

It was raining heavily and per usual, the both of them were waiting for their managers to come pick them up. The pounding of the rain against the tarp on the tent had turned rhythmic over time but it didn’t help soothe the rapid pounding of her chest when she realized they were once alone again. He had walked in, eyes flashing innocence when he noticed the empty waiting room with the exception of her standing cluelessly in the middle.

“I thought you had left already,” he says, closing the flap behind him before brushing off the rain on his jacket.

“Not yet,” she replies quietly before turning away.

After a few seconds, Irene jumps when a sudden wad of heat is pressed against her cheek and she turns to Bogum who is holding a pack of handwarmers against her skin. She takes it silently, their hands brushing naturally as he transfers it to her and the electricity ignites once more between them.

“Thanks,” she presses the heat pack between her cold hands. “You’re going straight to filming?”

Bogum nods, leaning against the table to lower his impressive height. “Oh, I’m probably going to be filming all night.”

Irene tilts her head slightly and a small smile grows on his lips. “Himnae,” she pats his cheek gently in which he responds by placing his bigger one on top of hers.

“Noona, your hands are warm,” he comments.

Irene hesitates but doesn’t pull her hand away. “That’s because of your heat pack, pabo.”

He snickers, taking her hand into his lap before enveloping it between his palms. “No, it’s always warm.” He flips her hand around so her palm is facing up and begins tracing gently.

“What are you doing?” Irene leans over slightly to catch what he’s doing.

“Guess what I’m writing,” he says and she can hear him smiling. “Pay close attention.”

“Okay.” He teeth sink into her bottom lip and focuses on the gentle sensation in her palm. “난…” Irene waits for him to finish the next word. “누...나...좋...아...해...요…”

His finger stops in the center of her palm and Irene meets his gaze. “I like you, Noona,” she guesses and he nods. “Ah, what the heck,” she nudges him gently and laughs but he remains poised.

“Noona,” he calls, regaining her attention. Bogum waits until the realization sets into her eyes before continuing. “Noona, I like you.”

Each word repeats itself in Irene’s head over and over until it seeps into her system that this is actually reality. “I like you too,” is the first thing she carelessly says and, “Like a little brother,” is the careless second.

The disappointment in his eyes shatters her and Irene instantly realizes how big of a mistake she’d just made. He wasn’t playing at all.

“I don’t mean in that way,” Bogum protests quietly. “Noo— .”

The flap to the tent flies open and Irene’s manager enters with a large black umbrella in one hand and his phone pressed against his ear in the other. The two emcees quickly retract from one another before her manager notices them and the strange aura suddenly surrounding the two.

“Joohyun-ah,” Manager Oppa calls and she turns awkwardly to him with wide eyes. “Let’s go.”