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Not too long ago, the trees along the sidewalks were engulfed in green colour. Now all of a sudden, the leaves turned into brown, red and orange and fell on the ground slowly without a sound. The sky was covered with grey clouds but it wasn't supposed to rain today. Min Hee didn't bring an umbrella. She looked around while waiting outside and stared at the falling leaves. It was only now Min Hee realised the change of season, she never paid lots of attention to the scenery as well. Gazing the trees near her apartment in Seoul, she felt lonely. Just like how the leaves were carried away by the wind and left the branches bare. And lonely. As lonely as Min Hee. New leaves would grow in spring again but Min Hee's loneliness wouldn't disappear easily. She felt the cold wind blowing against her so she put her hands in her coat pockets. It was freezing.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I kind of got off work late. Did you wait long?" Kang Won Ho smiled apologetically at Min Hee.

"Yes, actually I did. It's unusual for me to be the punctual one so I assumed you were still at work, but you are here now. Shall we?" Most people would have shaken their head or denied these questions but of course, Min Hee wouldn't. Won Ho took Min Hee to a small but nice place for dinner. There were not many people thus the two were undisturbed and could eat quietly.

A normal meal, not an official date. Whatever, call it what you want. They met up a few times since being back in the city. Min Hee considered their meetings as normal, friendly hangouts between friends. She wasn't leading him on or giving him any hope. She did caught up on why Won Ho contacted her more these days, though. He was always the first one to reach out to Min Hee.

"You're barely touching your food, that's suspicious. Everything alright?" Won Ho questioned her, pulling her back to reality. "You don't usually daydream. Especially when there is food. Whatever you were thinking of, it must be serious when you didn't even react after calling you four times." He laughed softly, asking her to try the food. He was right. Min Hee usually didn't. What kept her so deep in thought was Yixing, unsurprisingly.

Min Hee has only been here for a week or two but she thought Yixing would contact her at least once to see how she was doing. He's forgetting to sleep, how should he text me then? Why do I keep building up hopes on my own?

After finishing their meal, they went for a walk outside in one of the several parks near the Han River. Normally it was crowded but it was too cold to stay outside for long. Every now and then, Min Hee spotted people working out and going for a jog along the river. It's been too long since the last time she promenaded in Seoul. I was always in China.

All of a sudden, Won Ho stopped walking resulting in Min Hee almost bumping into him since she was deep in her thoughts again.

"What is it? Is something the matter?" Despite asking, Min Hee caught on quickly. The setting, the atmosphere, the mood. The Han River, firstly, might seem somewhat romantic because the scenery was beautiful, in fact. The atmosphere, they went for a walk together to digest the food and take in the fresh air. The mood, judging from Min Hee's experience and the signs Won Ho has given her, it was obvious he had something to say. Something which Min Hee hoped wasn't true because she wouldn't know how to react. Then again, she knew what expected her because she was in the same shoes a while ago. Liking someone who can't return your feelings. 

"I'd like you to listen carefully to what I'm going to say now. It's really important." Won Ho explained sincerely, his face showing no signs of nervousness. Instead, he was confident. Confident enough not to fear the answer or rejection he would receive. "I am aware you didn't see our hangouts as dates, but this time I'm asking you out. Not as a friend. I realised when you suddenly left for China again without a word and I didn't hear anything from you during that time. It made me worry and think of you all the time. First, I thought it's because I missed you as a friend and because of your frequent visits, however, it turned out I've already fallen for you. If you feel the same way about me, will you accept my confession, Min Hee?"

Min Hee was right, after all. Now it was her turn to answer. Even though she expected Won Ho's confession, it still surprised her. If only Won Ho confessed before, if only they had liked each other at the same time. Everything could've gone smoothly. But nothing's easy, right? You simply like someone, you can't decide when you do, it just happens. Min Hee looked up into his eyes and smiled softly. We were not meant to be, I guess. 

"Actually, I feel honoured to have someone like me. It's not easy to like someone with my personality." She responded to him honestly. A person liking Min Hee would have to keep up with lots of things. "To be honest, there was a time where I wanted to ask you out, too. A while ago. My feelings weren't deep enough so I moved on fast."

Kang Won Ho raised his eyebrows in surprise. He didn't expect this kind of answer. "The past tense?" He watched Min Hee nod her head and understood the message. A rejection it is, then. "I had the feeling you weren't reluctant. I was hoping I still have a chance."

"I've gotten over it quickly after realising how great of a friend you are and how my feelings were leading in another direction, I'm sorry." Min Hee replied, only noticing afterwards that she revealed something else. It awakened Won Ho's competitive side as well as his curiosity. There was no fair play in matters of love. He was curious but didn't pry further. Without being told who it was, Won Ho was confident in winning her heart and convince her otherwise. Min Hee wasn't taken yet and since it wasn't impossible for her to change her mind, Won Ho wouldn't give up.

Kang Won Ho stared into her eyes with sincerity and smiled. "I understand, it's fine. I won't force you or put any pressure on you. It doesn't matter if your feelings are for someone else at the moment. I don't expect you to fall for me right away. I'll accept the rejection, but at least let me try and give me a chance, Min Hee."

Upon receiving the text message from Yixing's manager, Min Hee rushed to the hospital. The group's managers informed the studio about Yixing fainting at the airport before boarding the plane to Japan. Yixing had to be carried away on a stretcher and was driven to a local hospital. The flights have been cancelled and they would take the next flight once Yixing recovered. I've been gone for maybe a month and now this happens. He has not taken care of himself properly again.

The Korean managers in front of the hospital room didn't recognise Min Hee and wouldn't let her enter. Despite showing them her ID, the managers remained suspicious and preferred not risking letting her inside. Well, I've only met them once or twice anyway. They wouldn't recognise someone like me. 

Some members sat in front of the hospital room because there wasn't any space inside. Sadly it's not the hospital Won Ho is working at. That moment, the group's leader Kim Joon Myeon came out of the room briefly and locked eyes with Min Hee. They have met less than Min Hee met their managers yet the leader recognised the familiar looking face and voice immediately.

"You must be Ms Yang if I am not mistaken." Joon Myeon said, greeting Min Hee politely. "I didn't know you were coming. You are here to see our Yixing on behalf of the staff?" 

"Yes, that's right. I received a message from the studio about the fainting incident and came as fast as possible. Am I allowed to go in?" Min Hee questioned carefully, glancing at the managers who realised their mistake. Some managers are weird at SM Entertainment, I never liked the agency anyway. 

When Min Hee entered the hospital room, she was met by the rest of the group who sat there quietly. She hasn't seen them personally in a while and greeted them, then proceeding to take a seat on a free chair. The members seemed surprised at her appearance, not having expected Min Hee to come over or seen the need since Yixing was in good hands now. Silence filled the room and Yixing still hasn't woken up yet. Mentally, Min Hee would scold him for not taking care of himself and having too much work. Funny, isn't it? As the head of the management team, she wasn't in the place to decide how much work he should do.

While the members observed Min Hee curiously, the female thought of what to ask first. The first time they encountered each other, she did give off the feeling of a strict and blunt woman which Min Hee couldn't blame them for. "Has he already woken up? What did the doctor say?"

"Hyung is still unconscious and getting some fluids. The doctor said he will be fine after having plenty of rest first." It was the youngest who answered, Oh Se Hun. Min Hee recognised his face.

"Hyung tends to overwork himself and forgets to take care of his health. He always tells us not to worry about him but we can't help it when he is far away and working hard." Member Byun Baekhyun added sadly, joining the conversation. "He isn't much different in China, is he?" 

 "That's the bad habit Yixing has." Min Hee let out a sigh and watched her friend lying on the hospital bed. "I remember Yixing being really excited and happy about going on tour with you. The studio is always worrying about his condition, too, but it's hard to make him rest. I'm glad you have each other." She smiled softly and saw the concern in the other members' eyes. They were his second family, the studio staff members were his third family. And seeing the incredibly strong bond between them was heart-warming.

"Hyung mentioned you sometimes from what I remember, but he doesn't talk about the studio often. He is surrounded by good and caring people, that's for sure." One of them tried to lift up the atmosphere or else, the awkward silence might return. They chatted a bit more and Min Hee mainly updated them on how things were going in China. 

They didn't know how much time has passed, but when Yixing regained consciousness, they didn't care about anything else. Relief overcame them and the first thing Yixing did was to apologise for worrying everyone and stopping his group from the schedule. Member Chanyeol temporarily left the room to call a doctor and inform the managers. The rest of the members would probably take the next possible flight for the concert preparations while Yixing would stay at the dormitory until tomorrow.

"You really do know how to make people worry, Zhang Yixi