The two had to hear a lot of reminders from their manager before he allowed them to stay longer in the practice room and left them to prepare the car for the rest of the members.

"Rest well, unnies!" Yoona

"Goodnight, unnies!" Joohyun

The older members bid the maknaes goodbye.

"Don't stay up too late, alright? The both of you should also rest," Taeyeon reminded the youngsters.

Yoona and Joohyun looked at each other before giving the leader their answers.

"Yes, unnie."
"We won't , Taeng-unnie."

Taeyeon looked at the girls worriedly, "Message me when you get home, okay?" She knew that both of them were already old enough to take care of themselves but she was still worried. After all, Im Yoona and Seo Joohyun were still part of SNSD's maknae line.

"We will, unnie. Don't worry and rest," Yoona assured their leader.

Joohyun nodded, wanting to reassure Taeyeon, "You should rest, unnie. Jaejoong-oppa is going to pick us up later."

Taeyeon sighed in defeat. She did not want to leave the two but she was already dead beat, "Fine. But you still have to message me."

They nodded vigorously.

Tayeon eyed them before she finally left.

"Bye, Taeng-unnie!" The two said, while smiling and when they could no longer see even Taeyeon's shadow, they sighed simultaneously.

"Gosh, Hyunnie! I thought my heart is going to jump out of my chest!" Yoona said while holding her chest with both her hands.

Joohyun nodded in agreement, "The same goes for me, unnie!" Back then, she would never imagine herself being an accomplice to a crime but here she was, helping Yoona and Donghae have a secret date. Not that dating was a crime per se.

"I feel so guilty about this..." Yoona uttered. Earlier that day, she asked the maknae if she could accompany her in meeting Donghae after their unnies and managers left, reasoning out that the two of them wanted to practice some more. Glad that they bought that reason, Yoona thought. But what choice do they have? It was the only way that they could meet without raising any suspicions amongst the SM Family. Donghae and her unanimously agreed that it was still too early to announce their relationship to their members and friends. Fortunately, Joohyun was thoughtful enough to join her.

The younger belle hugged her. She too, was feeling guilty about this but it was not her story to tell.

"Hyun, I'm really thankful. I hope you know that," she grarefully expressed, leaning her head on the maknaes shoulder. "And I want you to know that you can count on me if you will ever need some help too."

"You're welcome, unnie and thank you for the generous offer."

They were engaged in embracing for a moment before Yoona spoke, "Since we already used practicing more as an alibi, do you want to might as well do it?"

Joohyun seconded, "With pleasure, Yoong-unnie. We might as well dance our guilt away while waiting for Donghae-oppa."

_____

"Since when did you start depriving yourself of alcohol? You're no fun, Kim Jaejoong," his friend told him.

Jaejoong shook his head and then drank his second and last shot of soju. Although his alcohol tolerance was high, he was not going to risk it. "I'm picking up Joohyun later. Can't drink," he cooly responded, eating the grilled pork instead.

"Boyfriend duties, huh?"

He really was planning on hanging out on his coffee shop while waiting for Joohyun and Yoona's little exploit but then his friend, Park, suddenly called him, wanting to hang out and drink. He agreed, on a condition that they drink on a certain pub. He purposely chose this pub as it was close to SM Entertainment building. At least when Joohyun messaged him, he would only be minutes away.

Jaejoong poured a drink for his friend, "That's why you should look for a girlfriend. So instead of drinking with me, you'll drink with her. I'm getting tired of your face," he joked.

Park laughed, "Dude, I'm getting tired of your face too but what can I do? I can't find a suitable woman. Date me instead?" he playfully responded back.

If someone could just hear that exchange of jokes right now, it would surely make headlines tomorrow. Fortunately, they were at the corner of the room, allowing them to have their own private conversation.

Jaejoong chucked, patting Park's shoulder as if showing some comfort and sympathy, "Too bad for you, man. I already found my woman."

"There's that. Cheers to that!" Park raised his glass and Jaejoong could not help but pour himself another glass. It would be bad to decline the celebration of that. It was the last one, he swore.

Park was really happy for his friend. It has been a long time since he last dated. He had always thought that change was good and he could really see some changes in Jaejoong. He was smiling often.

Just when he finished his drink, his phone beeped.

From: Kid Taeyeon
Message: Oppa, will you please bring my babies home safely?

_______

When Donghae arrived at the practice room, he saw both Yoona and Joohyun sprawled on the floor, breathing heavily. Their old song which was very familiar to his ears were blasting through the speakers.

"So both of you were really practicing, huh?"

They looked up at him when he held both his hands to them, offering them help so they could stand up.

"You're here, Hae-oppa," Yoona excitedly voiced out, greeting him with her alligator smile.

Donghae could not help but smile back. He had witnessed this ever since they were trainees, how Yoona's smile seemed so contagious. He messed up her hair, "Hey, Yoong." It was all he could say as with his personality, he was too shy to do any skinships in front of Soshi's maknae.

"Hey, Joohyun," he greeted, patting her head.

Everyone keeps on patting my head, Joohyun pouted.

"Hello, oppa," she greeted back, slightly bowing her head in respect.

Yoona rolled her eyes and muttered, "Joohyun, being formal as ever."

Donghae chortled and draped his arm over Yoona's shoulder, "It's just Joohyun being her self, babe."

The maknae nodded in agreement. Although she was close to Donghae, she still tends to be formal. It was kind of a habit already. She was like that to everyone and Donghae understood that.

Yoona sighed in defeat. She already knew that. She just wanted for the maknae to let go of her inhibitions. Be free.

Joohyun smiled at her unnie, understanding her frustration. But one cannot just break away from their habits overnight.

"Let's eat first?" Donghae interrupted.

He deliberately brought sushi and sashimi for them to eat as he knew that these two loved raw fish so much, despite him, preferring only sushi. The trio enjoyed eating and chatting together. They talked about their trainee days and how they liked promoting together. In Yoona's words, the stage seemed fuller and livelier when SM artsists were in one stage.

Yoona then eyed Donghae, somehow sending him a signal in which, he obliged, "Joohyun. Yoona and I have something for you. It's not much but consider it as our thank you gift."

Joohyun opened the paperback that Donghae handed and her eyes immediately twinkled. There were, in her estimation, a dozen of books in there!

"I hope you like them, maknae-ah. Most of those are your favorite genre but Donghae and I decidrd to add some romance novels. For your future reference, of course."

Joohyun laughed. Yoona-unnie said for future reference., she thought. "Thank you, unnie and oppa! If I ever have some love inquiries, I would directly ask you unnies. I honestly think romance books will provide me limited informations."

Yoona giggled, reaching out to pinch the maknae's cheeks, "Oh. You're learning. I