Hyun Joong smirked at him and said. "What is it to you? Who are you to ask me this question?"

"I like her. I'm falling for her." Yong Hwa declared without hesitation.

Hyun Joong stared at him as the night of the party flashed back in his mind.

He was standing at the dark corner of the room, hiding behind the tall flower vase and watching as the Park Quintet took position on the stage. His eyes followed the slender form of Shin Hye as she gracefully sat on a chair and took the instrument as if it was a deadly weapon.

'She has blossomed into a beautiful young lady these past few months we've been apart.' he thought with a smile.

He noticed when she threw a smile at someone on the front row. This smile is different from the impish smiles that she usually has on her face. It's no longer child-like. Not the usual blown-out smile when she's happy or doing something naughty or rebellious. It's just a little quirk of the lips that shows off a glimpse of her pearly white teeth. It's more mysterious. More lady-like. More.... radiant. He wanted to see who she smiled at but he was too far from the front row. All he saw were heads of men and women alike.

When the quintet started to murder Mozart's musical piece, Hyun Joong stepped out of the room and wandered along the hallway. He spent a few minutes revisiting the places where he and Jung Min used to play. Then he went to the garden where he and Shin Hye used to spend their time together.

As he stared at the bench where they usually sat, he smiled recalling the adorable face of Shin Hye when she begged him for favors.

He went back inside and saw that the musicale is over. He then went searching for Shin Hye. He was at the door of the dining room when he saw her talking to a guy.  They were looking at each other as if there are no other people in the room.

He saw the guy grab her hand and pulled her towards the door. When they were near him, he went to block their way and said. "Hi baby girl! You're beautiful as always!"

Shin Hye's eyes widened in recognition when she saw his face, exclaiming "Oppa!"

Just like a little girl, and the Park Shin Hye that he always knew and adored, she rushed to him and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her, savoring the sweet smell that he missed. 

He and Shin Hye chatted animatedly but was interrupted when the guy cleared his throat. Shin Hye introduced them to each other. The other guy's name is Jung Yong Hwa. He can see the jealousy in the other guy's eyes. If he is not mistaken, he is probably wishing him to vanish to the ends of the earth.

But he gave him little thought. He just wanted to have Shin Hye all to himself. He missed her so much. His days in France were empty and lonely since the day she came back to Korea.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to steal this lovely young lady for a while." he said to Yong Hwa, pulling her to his side and away from Yong Hwa. He knew that the other guy wanted to protest but he was too quick for him to voice out his protest.

Hyun Joong led her to the garden and made her sit on the bench.

"So, how are you Shin Hye? How have you been?"

"Great! I'm so glad that I came home this time. I've never been this happy before!"Shin Hye gushed happily.

"Does it have anything to do with the guy you were with inside?" he asked, looking deeply in her eyes.

"What? How did you know?" she asked shyly, covering her blushing cheeks with her hands.

"You like him." he stated, his heart sinking to his stomach. "Maybe even falling for him. Am I right?"

"Oh no! Am I that obvious?"

"I don't know. Maybe to others it's not. But I know you too well, Shin Hye. You can't hide these things from me. From the quirk of your lips to the squinting of your eyes, I know what you feel or think."

"Well, I guess you're right." she sighed. "I like him. Maybe even falling for him." she repeated his words. "But I don't think he feels the same way."

"Why do you say that?" he asked. "Is he involve with another girl?"

"No. But we didn't exactly start on a good foot. And besides, he never said before that he likes me or even hinted a little that he's falling for me." she pouted.

"Oh! So, he's not yet your boyfriend?"

Shin Hye shook her head.

'Am I too late Shin Hye?' he thought sadly. 'Did I wait too long for you to grow up? Did I waste my chance with you by keeping my promise to your brother? Are your feelings for that guy too deep already?'

"So what if you like her? Does it give you the right to interrogate me and ask me personal questions?" the look he threw at Yong Hwa is condescending.

"Just answer my question! Do you like her?" he asked impatiently.

"What if I do?" Hyun Joong replied. "What are you going to do about  it?"

"I knew it! I knew you like her! Just get back to wherever you came from. She doesn't need you here." Yong Hwa knew that he sounded like a petulant child throwing tantrum at having his goodies taken away from him. But he can't help it. He is scared. If Kim Hyun Joong will confess his feelings for her, she might fall for him. Or worse, she might already be in love with him.

"You don't have the right to order me around, Jung Yong Hwa!" Hyun Joong said softly but menacingly. "You only knew her for a short period of time. How long have you known her, huh? One week? One month? Three?"

He stepped forward until their faces are just inches from each other.

"You've known her just recently. I knew her and cared for her since she was in nappies. I watched her grow up and blossom into a beautiful young lady. I am a part of her life whether you like it or not. I won't disappear just because you want me to. Besides, you can't decide for her as to whom she needs in her life. YOU ARE NOT HER BOYFRIEND!" 

"She doesn't like you! She likes me!" he declared confidently while deep inside he cringed at his arrogance. 

Hyun Joong knew that what Yong Hwa said is true. But he hated to admit it to this guy. 

They were interrupted when they heard footsteps approaching. Shin Hye grabbed both their arms, her smile leaving her face when she saw the expression on their faces.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked in concern, sensing the tension in the air.

The two guys shook their heads in denial.

"I'll just get the car so we can go to the bar." Yong Hwa said then left them.

"Shin Hye," Hyun Joong whispered her name. She turned to look at him. "That guy Yong Hwa, do you really like him?"

She smiled shyly as she nodded in response.

"Does he make you happy?"

Another nod from her.

"Yong Hwa makes me feel a lot of things. He makes me happy, giddy and at times mad or annoyed. He's made my life more exciting and more colorful. Even though we are just friends right now and I don't know if he feels the same way, I am content. Just seeing his face every day is enough for me."

Hyun Joong saw the different sparkle in her eyes while she explained her feelings for Yong Hwa.

"You really are in love with him." he whispered softly as if talking to himself. "He's very lucky."

'I want to be happy for you, Shin Hye, but I can't' he thought in despair, his heart clenching painfully in his chest. 'My heart is filled with too much pain right now. I'm a fool. I was too confident that you were just there. I should have grabbed my chance when I had. Now, someone else stole your heart. Should I still fight for you? I don't know. But I want you to be happy. I just wish that you can be happy with me.'

********************

The three went to the bar together. There was an obvious tension between Yong Hwa and Hyun Joong but Shin Hye didn't know what caused it. She was hesitant to ask what's wrong, afraid that it will only aggravate the situation.

Yoon Gun was very happy to see Hyun Joong again. He boasted to them that Hyun Joong was the campus heart throb during their time.

"Do you know, that despite his being a heart throb, he never dated or courted anyone in College?" Yoon Gun confided loudly. "He was oblivious to all the girls who flirted with him. I think he was in love with someone that time. When the guys asked him, all he said was that he was waiting for someone to grow up."

Yong Hwa stiffened when he heard this bit of information.

"Really, Oppa?" Shin Hye teased. "Was I the one you were waiting for? You should have told me that. Hahaha!" Shin Hye laughed, unknowingly hitting the mark dead center.

"Could be. You never know. But it seems I waited too long." he murmured meaningfully.

Yong Hwa threw a deadly glare at Hyun Joong when he heard it.

At seven that night, people started coming in and in no time at all, the bar was crowded with students and other customers.

Yong Hwa and his band performed several songs which livened up the whole room. After they finished their first set, Yoon Gun went to the set and requested for Hyun Joong to render them a song number. Without hesitation, Hyun Joong went up the stage and took a guitar as he sat on a chair.

After he sang, the room was filled in silence. Girls wiped the tears from their cheeks. They were so touched by his emotional rendition of the song.

"I wonder who the lucky girl that Oppa fell in love with." Shin Hye whispered to Yong Hwa.

"I'd rather you don't find out." Yong Hwa muttered mysteriously. "Shin Hye, we need to have that talk right now!"

Thank you all guys for still being there supporting me. I hope you like this chapter. 

jadepizarro: haha... JYH reaction is something most of us wish we could do at that situation, but unfortunately it will only cause more trouble. hahaha... hope you enjoy this chapter ^_^

hanaplor: you're right chingu. leave yonghwa to shin hye. he can be with us anytime hahaha

citaphils: yeah, i kinda miss their bickering too. maybe on the next chapters I will make them bicker again (possible spoiler alert: not too much bickering, i also want them to share a little sweetness hehehe)

laz_15: thank you for waiting chingu ^_^ yeah, KHJ is definitely 100% original flowerboy. he caught my attention in bof and i fell head over heels for him. JYH should make a move for PSH or else I just might make KHJ win her heart (WAIT! I am the writer of this fic hahaha... I definitely won't do that! hahaha)

BlaCK-LoVE: chingu, did you like KHJ answer? did I live up to your expectation? i hope so... thanks for supporting me ^_^

miss-hitomi: i'm glad I made you laughed at this... I also laughed while I wrote that part. I wanted to picture KHJ as an old man but I'm afraid that he still looke handsome to me despite being old hahaha (KHJ bias!)

Eviegurl: hi chingu, glad to hear from you ^_^ i hope this chapter will make you scream more hahaha (evil laugh) ^_^

filipino-korean; chingu, please don't hate KHJ (he's not that bad.... just a torn in JYH side) hehehehe

Randomskee; yeah, he does.... on later chaps I'll reveal more of KHJ history with PSH (but that would be much later) please don't hate him... pretty please ^_^

anjellie_ka: chingu! I updated already! please don't threaten my life! hahahaha! i still want to write more chappies for this story! hahaha! I hope you like this chapter.... by the way, still waiting for your update on your fic (same threat sending over hahaha) peace! ^_^

Guys! Please subscribe and comment! I really want to hear your thoughts!

Hugs and kisses 

graeye82