A/N: Thanks to HaMoon and krisjod16 for upvoting! Sorry for the long wait. Update!!

Usually, it’s the other way around, but this time, Gary watches Jihyo out of the corner of his eye. They don’t talk about her impending marriage. She hasn’t told him about it yet, so Gary doesn’t bring it up. But it still remains in the back of his mind, like the annoying buzz of a fly that won’t go away. So instead, Gary just watches her. She browses her phone, innocently unaware of the way he stares at her while he drives, which is pretty normal for her, but she’s different somehow.

Then again, Jihyo has always been somewhat of a puzzle. Even though Gary is the closest to Jihyo, she still never fails to surprise him. He usually likes that about her- her wild spontaneity and the way she keeps him guessing, her uncanny ability to crack his uncaring and cold façade and make him laugh in surprise- but recently, it’s more than he can handle.

She’s different- not in a bad way, necessarily, but in a way that’s bad for him, because it makes him lose his focus and confuses him.  

Like yesterday, when she randomly asked him to play a game with her.

“Oppa. Play a game with me,” Jihyo asked out of the blue, when they were in her waiting room together before filming. Gary had been pondering over the conversation he had overheard between CEO Song and Jihyo’s future fiancé, but Jihyo’s question had snapped him back to reality.

“What?”

“Like or hate. I’ll ask you some rapid-fire questions and you just have to reply with like or dislike. Okay? Start!”

Gary sat up quickly. “Whoa, wait, what?” he tried to protest, but she didn’t give him a chance.

“Caramel macchiato?”

“I like it…” Gary replied, not sure where this was going.

“Squid.”

Gary made a face. “Hate it.”

“Hip hop?”

“Like.”

“Chocolate?”

“Like.” They were both beginning to smile- Jihyo with a mischievous grin, and Gary with a perplexed one.

“Boxing.”

“Like.”

“Summer.” The questions were coming faster and faster.

“Like.”

“Soccer.”

“Like.”

“Ice cream.”

“Like.”

“Song Jihyo.”

“Li-“ he was beginning to say, but caught himself just in time. “-ke as a friend,” he finished, the tips of his ears beginning to turn red.

She swatted him on the chest. “Oppa! You can’t do that!”

He laughed at her, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. He’d been so close to actually admitting that he liked her.

Like now, when she reaches over the gearshift to gently rest a hand on his arm. He turns his head, eyebrows raised at the sudden skin-ship, to find her staring up at him with her bright, mischievous eyes. She’s put on bright red lipstick and her hair cascades softly over her shoulder as she tilts her head just slightly.

“Oppa.”

His eyes are on her lips as she forms that word, mesmerized. He mumbles something intelligent, like “Uh-huh?”

She’s so close that if he were to tilt his head just an inch closer, they’d touch lips. She leans in even closer, but just before Gary almost loses all his rationale and tips his head downwards, she pulls back and jerks her chin at the stoplight in front of them.

“I said, the light’s turned green.”

Gary blinks. He becomes vaguely aware of the sound of honking cars behind him.

He clears his throat, trying to simultaneously clear the fog from his mind. Because he can’t trust himself to say something that won’t sound stupid, he simply turns back to face the front and steps on the gas, acting as if nothing has happened. He makes a point not to look in her direction for the rest of the ride- not to notice how her perfume ades the whole space, not to notice just how tiny the car was beginning to feel, not to notice the way she accidentally bumps her hand into his when they simultaneously reach to turn on the radio, not to notice the increased speed of his heartbeat.

It’s not much easier aboard the plane to Jeju, which they take because Jihyo has a photoshoot and a filming for her new drama there. Though they ride business class, the wide, comfy seats still feel too close for comfort, especially when he finds their arms touching at some point during the ride. When Gary tries to remove his arm, Jihyo shoots him a disgruntled look, suddenly upset after she spent the beginning of the ride fooling around and getting him to sing the “Jeju-do” song with her. She pulls her red beanie over her face and goes to sleep, as if she’s angry at him or something. Gary frowns, confused.

And then he gets the feeling that she’s been doing this on purpose, that she’s been flirting with him, trying to get him to lose his control and admit that he likes her. It’s silly, but it makes him grin. He’s not sure why she’s doing this- why now, why all of the sudden- but still, it warms his heart to know that she will always keep her eyes on him; that she’s always waiting for him, just like the way she turns around to wait for him in the airport when he’s holding back her fans, stubbornly insisting on having him by her side.

He gently leans over to tuck Jihyo’s blanket more tightly around her, smiling softly to himself while he watches her sleep. Silly. It’s not all that hard to impress me, he muses to himself. He finds her beautiful, captivating, even now, when she’s got a beanie covering her head and is snoring softly into her pillow.

He reaches one hand out to touch her face, but hesitates, his hand hovering in midair. What is he doing? He withdraws his hand and turns away to gaze out the window.

Jihyo’s getting married within a month, he tells himself. You better not do anything stupid within that month’s time. Don’t get attached. Don’t you dare get attached.

It’s too late, his heart replies. It’s too late.