“Oppa, I didn’t tell you this before because I didn’t see the need to,” said Sooyoung. That was a long time ago and I’ve picked myself up since. Telling you would only have caused you more unnecessary pain, regret and worry,” said Sooyoung.

Sooyoung pulled Sungjae into a hug and patted his back, as tears streaked Sungjae’s cheeks. “I’ve told you before, I have never blamed you in the slightest. I’ve been thinking a lot these days, ever since you proposed to me. I think what’s important now is for us to look ahead together, rather than to regret our past. I remember you told me before oppa, all of this has been a test on the strength of our relationship and we’re definitely stronger than any test that could possibly come our way,” said Sooyoung.

Sungjae didn’t say anything but kept Sooyoung in his embrace. “Try not to blame Joohyun-unnie for this, all right? She’s been there for me all this while, so it’s only natural for her to react this way,” coaxed Sooyoung.

“I will never blame her or anyone for hating me because I left you. After all, that was all I intended. I’m just horrified at what happened and how much it deviated from what I intended,” said Sungjae. “Are you hiding any more horror stories from your past that I’ve caused, baby girl? Please don’t hide things from me like that anymore.”

“I swear that’s the only episode that I’ve kept from you, oppa,” assured Sooyoung. Sooyoung pulled away from their hug and gave Sungjae a quick peck on the lips, before she went back to attending to his injuries.

…

Minjae waited outside the movie theatre, his nerves making his palms sweat.

FLASHBACK

“Minjae-ah,” called Sungjae.

Minjae and Eunwoo were at Sungjae’s place working on music again. As the pair worked in the basement, Sungjae called Minjae from behind and beckoned him over.

“What is it, ahjussi?” asked Minjae.

Sungjae reached into his pocket and pulled out two movie tickets. He handed them to Minjae, as he said, “Minjae-ah, I heard from Changsub that this movie is nice. You should go catch it with her.”

“Bwoh? Who?” asked Minjae in surprise.

“You know who I’m talking about, Minjae-ah,” replied Sungjae with a sly smile. “Think of this as moral support from me.”

“Ah, jahmkahnman Sungjae-ahjussi. This is…” began Minjae hesitantly.

“I’m not taking those tickets back, Minjae-ah. I have no use for movie tickets even if you gave them back to me. Make sure they don’t go to waste, arasso?” said Sungjae.

“A-arasso, ahjussi,” replied Minjae.

…

Minjae laid in bed looking at his handphone. Sure, he was close to Hyeri but he had never asked her out alone before. Even if they met alone, it would be because they had to work on something together. This would be the first time he was asking a girl out for a movie. The screen showed Hyeri’s contact and all he had to do was to press “Call”. But doing so now seemed near to impossible. Minjae was in such deep thought that he didn’t realise that his grip on his phone was loosening. The phone eventually slipped out of his hand and hit his face, before tumbling to the floor. Minjae scrambled and saw, to his horror, that he had dialled Hyeri’s number when his phone hit his face. The phone was already ringing by the time he picked it up. Before Minjae could end the call, it was answered and a voice on the other line said, “Yoboseyo?”

“Ahh… Yo-yoboseyo?” stammered Minjae.

“Ah, Minjae-oppa,” came Hyeri’s bright voice.

“Ah, Hyeri-ah. Er… er… a-are you f-free this Saturday?” Minjae tried to stop himself from stammering but failed miserably.

“Neh~ Do you need me to do something?” asked Hyeri.

“I-I got t-two tickets for a m-movie. W-would you be interested?” Minjae gave up trying to stop stammering.

“Oppa, you don’t sound well. Are you feeling okay? Yes, I’m free then and I would love to go. But if you’re not feeling well then you should stay home and rest,” replied Hyeri in a concerned voice.

“Anni~ I’m fine. See you then!” replied Minjae hurriedly before hanging up, not even giving Hyeri a chance to reply.

Minjae collapsed on his bed feeling like he had just run a marathon.

Omg… She agreed…

END OF FLASHBACK

“Oppa!” a voice from a distance shook Minjae out of his reverie and made him look up in the direction of the voice.

“Ah, Hyeri-ah!” replied Minjae with a bright smile.

“Sorry I’m late. Have you been waiting for long?” asked Hyeri.

“Anni~ Kwenchana. Let’s go, the movie’s starting soon,” replied Minjae.

As they sat down, Hyeri’s arm brushed against Minjae’s, causing Minjae to blush.

Thank goodness it’s dark.

Minjae didn’t even look at the movie title on the tickets when he received them from Sungjae. It was only when the movie title appeared on the screen did Minjae realise that it was the new romantic comedy that a few of his friends had been talking about, making him do a mental facepalm.

Oh gosh, it’s a romantic comedy. What is she going to think?

Try as Minjae might, he simply could not bring himself to focus on the movie, as he was too nervous sitting next to Hyeri in this setting. Occasionally, he would sneak a peek at Hyeri and he would smile when he saw her laughing at the jokes in the movie.

The movie finally ended and Minjae and Hyeri walked out of the movie theatre.

“How did you find the movie, oppa?” asked Hyeri.

“It was nice,” replied Minjae.

I can’t remember much of what I saw because I kept looking at you. But you’ll kill me if I say that.

“That’s it? You don’t sound like you enjoyed the movie, oppa,” said Hyeri.

“Anni~ I did. I just don’t really have a specific part that I like in particular,” said Minjae.

Well, there was. I especially liked the parts when I could see you laugh.

“So what’s the special occasion, oppa?” asked Hyeri. “You’ve never asked me to watch a movie with you before.”

“I just wanted to use this chance to tell you I like you, Hyeri-ah,” said Minjae without thinking.

“Bwoh?!” said Hyeri in surprise.

WAIT! DID I JUST SAY THAT OUT LOUD? THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE INTERNAL MONOLOGUE!!!!!

“I said I wanted to use this chance to thank you for your help. You helped me a lot with my recent song assignment,” replied Minjae in a panic.

That's it! No more internal monologues from now on!

“That wasn’t what you said, oppa,” insisted Hyeri.

“Hyeri-ah, I…” began Minjae.

“Did you mean what you said, opp