1^st stage

Shim Changmin. Just from hearing his name, people could act differently. Some would cringe because of fear, some would nod their head in acknowledgement, some would throw respectful smiles and some would hiss at it. He was, after all, the most highly regarded business man in Korea. In such young age he has proved himself to be a very well-educated, well-polished heir of Trance; the biggest fashion line in Korea. In his hands, Trance has grown immensely, shocking both his father and the rest of the world. But Shim Changmin was well known to be the most-not-nice guy ever. He was cold, to those whom he doesn’t know. He was scary to his staffs. And he was known to be all-business when it comes to his work thus taking professionalism to an unbelievable level.

But hell broke loose when he saw her flee into the photos hoot site. She was wearing a white dress; her hair fell so perfectly, framing her glowing face. The air was caught up in his throat as he took a glance of her. It was his first time to be so affected by the model of his company. She, Seo Joohyun, the rising model of Korea was in front of him, bowing endlessly to the staffs politely while flashing the most gorgeous smile he had ever seen. She was effortlessly stunning, and very, very well-mannered, that he realized. His eyes were glued to her, following every of her move until she stopped right across him. Her lips formed a little smile as she extended her hand.

“Annyeonghaseyo, Seohyun-imnida” her voice was the softest to his ears and he needed 5 seconds to register it.

His poker face was gone instantly and for the first time, his staffs saw him forming a very tiny smile, but a smile nonetheless. His hand clasped with hers, shaking it for sign of respect.

“Shim Changmin-imnida” he says, a little shakily at first but managed to get back to normal. He couldn’t understand what was going on with him. He had never felt that way, moreover, not with someone whom he had to work with.

“Please take care of me, Sajangmin”

“Oh no, call me Changmin”

“Changmin-ssi” she corrected right away, a smile still stayed on her lips.

As hard as he could, he tried to be cool about it. But damn, she was enchanting. His eyes moved on their own, trying to seek for her face for over and over again. He saw how she was the least interested in him, unlike how other girls would do. He remembered how some previous models even tried jumping on him, throwing their pride and dignity to lure him. But not Seo Joo Hyun, or Seohyun as what her model name was. She was elegant and confident without even trying. She didn’t try to ignore him so that he would be interested, no.  Just, she was being herself. Her polite but somehow distant self. At the end of the day, Changmin was doomed. That was the day he stayed the longest for the photoshoot, as well as the day he swore to make her his’.

2^nd Stage

One month and still, the longest line she ever said to him was about work and promoting as the face of his company brand. Never once she would approach him to talk about something else nor did he have the guts to. His friends mocked him, knowing how Changmin was the Casanova, to see how he fell so hard for a girl he barely spoke with. Changmin never, repeat, never fell first. It was always started with the girl hitting on him and he followed along. They would be the ones trying and he would be the one receiving all the attention. That wasn’t the case with Seo Joohyun, though. She was so hard to be close with. She’s still polite and well-mannered, still smile and laugh when she needed to, still speak to him and never ignore him purposely, but that’s it. That was all she did and that frustrate him.

“Then tell me how to!” was his exclaim to Kyuhyun, his most-trusted right hand as well as best friend.

“Be a very cool guy, like you know, show off you are rich and very smart!”

So he did, just like what his best friend said. He, after contemplating so hard on his own, finally asked her to meet up with him. She was perplexed at first, wondering what its purpose was but then agreeing in the end. They went for dinner in a very expensive restaurant, for him to flaunt his money in a way. He bought the most expensive wine, asked her to eat whatever she liked and in the end, he paid like it was nothing at all. It was, but she didn’t seem to be impressed at all. She was just being her polite self, again, by thanking him for the good meal and bowed at him when he took her home.

“It wasn’t working! She didn’t care for money!”

“What about pretending to be a bad guy? Like playboy? Nappeun namja? Bad boy always has their own charm” was Ryeowook’s suggestion.

With that in his mind, he tried to be the coolest bad guy on earth by flirting openly with girls. To no avail, she glanced at him once only and smirked at the way he sweet talk to a girl right in front of her, no traces of disappointment on her face. It wasn’t that long after their date and he expected her pride to be hurt a bit so that she could feign annoyance at him. What he got was none. Instead, she carried on as usual, sweet smiley girl and indifferent of his act. She wrapped up her work, bowed at him and said “Thank you for the hard work” while walking away from him. He sighed, it’s not working either.

“You idiot, girls like her are not interested in bad boys. What about being the romantic guy?” Minho, his dongsaeng, advised him seriously. Changmin thought why not, it was worth a try anyway.

Ten texts and five phone calls, he finally got her to go with him. The preparation was all done by himself. The place, the food, the event, he had everything in tact when he picked her up that morning. She gave him her infamous sweet smile, getting inside his car and buckled the seatbelt. He watched it intently, how she turned to find the black stretched rubber to then clasp it in its place. She turned to him, finding him staring at her then she blushed. The first time he saw it, he thought he was going to die from happiness. It was too cute for words how she lowered her gaze, her cheeks turned a bit pink due to his attention on her. After what seemed like eternity, she finally spoke first, asking him to use the seatbelt and drive off.

Along the way, his respect to the girl had escalated unbelievably. She was just too amazing for words. She’s smart, had her goal and worked hard for it, and she knew what she wanted to do in her life. All of this information he got from spending one hour with her, exchanging thoughts and ideas on things along with discussing minor private lives. He was worried how the day would turn out to be. He was afraid to fall even harder only to find her being all oblivious and not aware of his feeling. But then when she started to open up a bit by laughing louder than usual, he knew he still got his chance. He didn’t know what he did along the way, but she seemed much more comfortable with him after the ride. Well, he really couldn’t concentrate of faking his character, saying cheesy lines like how Minho said he should do. Because he was concentrating on the road, and his attention was divided.

“I like the place” she said, basking in the view.

“I am glad, then” he placed the mat on the grass, putting the basket on it and sat down. “Come and join me” she turned her body around, a surprised expression came on her face for a second before she walked towards him and sat not too far away.

“Are you always like this?” asked Seohyun, her hands motioned at the basket.

“No, actually. Never. It’s my first time”

“Then… why? Why me?”

He took a deep breath, not knowing what to say. He questioned if it would be okay for him to reveal his intention. “I want to get to know you better, I suppose”

“That has been clear, hasn’t it?” she joked with him, letting out small pleasurable giggles for his ears. He couldn’t help but to follow along, his lips formed a grin which rarely happened.

“So you’ve known”

“Well, if it wasn’t for my manager then I wouldn’t”

“You know that you are giving me a chance here, right?”

“Yes, Changmin-ssi. I agreed to go with you, didn’t I?” hearing her words, his heart jumped a lap. She was saying that she was giving him a try to win her heart, and she let it out in the open. The happiness he felt was indescribable. He looked at her eyes.

“Why?”

“I find you amusing”

“I am not a toy, Seo Hyun...ssi”

“I am not saying you are. But you’re very unique. Somehow, you are more innocent than you seem to be. And very childish at times, just like how you tried to flirt with girls in front of me but ignoring them when you thought I was away”

“You saw…”

“I did, everything” she laughed again, louder this time. It was so addicting to see her joyful face.

“So you have interest in me”

“Yes, to be honest. From our very first date”

He was hurt a bit, thinking that it was when he showed off his money. “Oh”

“When you weren’t being a rich spoiled jerk that you showed me most of the time that night, you were actually nice. You couldn’t act for long, you know. You would scrunch your nose when you picked your food, and smiled so contentedly when you sipped your wine, then you also munched your food excitedly like a child getting their favorite candy. Those rare times, you showed me the real you and I was… intrigued”

“I have been played all along?”

“No, I have been giving you a chance to show yourself all along, Changmin-ssi”

“A smart girl indeed” he sighed.

“To make up for your idiocy, may I request something?”

His eyebrows raised, a nod followed seconds after.

“Introduce me to your best friends. Not friends. Your BEST friends. Like the ones you trust the most. Your own pact”

“Oh hell no. You won’t be able to stand them” his mind flew off to his gang. Evil Kyuhyun, noisy Ryeowook, Jonghyun the weird one,Victoria Umma and her endless nags, Sooyoung the loose lips and Minho the secretly even more evil than Kyu, and Suho but he could careless since he mostly absent anyway. Still, hell no. No chance.

She looked at him, pleading from her eyes. Which was totally unfair for him because he knew he has lost right there.

“Fine then. With one condition, you will call me Oppa”

She was shocked for a moment, eyes turned from determined to hesitated. She looked down, fingers fidgeting before finally said a low yes.

“Try it”

“Changmin-ss…. Ch—Changmin… Opp—Opp—Oppa”

“One more time, one breath this time” he just wanted to hear it badly, no matter how long it would take.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes before gazing at him.

“Changmin Oppa”

He smiled, the biggest one that any other people than his friends had ever seen. “That would do”

And the day ended with them being much closer, with her feeling comfortable talking with him and him, having new resolution to find a way to her heart. Whatever it will take.

3^rd Stage

Their relationship had bloomed into a comfortable friendship, or so what she thought it was. Because for him, it was the courting-period, in which he could show his affection openly but not yet getting there. He was contended to see how she could share stories with him and stop being too stiff when they met. Then again, the happy times couldn't go on forever as the day he dreaded finally came.

It was the second Saturday of the month, the time he usually spent his weekend to have a wild, crazy getaway with his best friends. If it was just their normal pact, he wouldn't worry and would enjoy every second of it as it was his precious time to let loose of everything. However, the persistent girl he had been pinning on, insisted to come. Also, he already promised to take her if he has another gathering with his friends.

Having nothing to cancel it, he gave up by picking her up that morning, all ready to go to a countryside that Kyuhyun chose. She gave him that electrifying smile, making his stomach churn in fear. He wasn't sure if she would have the same smile by the end of the week. Because him combined with his troop means disaster. A big one. And he didn't know if it was going to be alright for her to peel off another layer of his'.

"Let's go?"

He gulped, not really wanting to do so. He was so scared of showing his side that he never showed to anyone else except for his childhood friends. Not even his parents knew how goofy he could be. Once, he showed it once, to the girl he really liked. Turned out that revealing his true self didn't work out, as his girlfriend at that time told him to stop acting like a child and degrading himself. It hurt, but at that time he was sure he's going to pick his friends. Now, everything seemed different. He was so in love with Joohyun and he couldn't bear the thought of not having her, nor that he could imagine life separated with his friends. He cursed inaudibly, starting off the engine while hoping his friends hadn't burned the villa down, yet.

Of course, his wish didn't come true. When they arrived and hopped off the car, the scene greeted them was too embarrassing for him to watch. There was Minho, holding onto the toasted croissant as if his life depended on it while running with all his might. Victoria chased him, feigning anger on her face.

"My goodness Minho!!! Your appetite is one of monsters'"

"If I wait for Changmin Hyung to be here, I'll be dead by lunch time, Noona!"

"That was your third, you food beast! I told you no one eat first before Changmin and his girl come here! Minho!!!"

The young guy had already run so far ahead, making it impossible for the woman to catch up with him. What she didn't realize was that Sooyoung was sitting by the table, muching food happily without getting caught.

The other side was not much different, as Kyuhyun and Jonghyun mercilessly spraying Ryeowook with water gun. The poor guy was wet, and cold. "Wookie, you still cannot run"

"I CAN! I JUST DON'T WANT TO!!!!"

"Pffffftttt, yea right man!"

"Holy cow!! Can you lower your voices, I am trying to concentrate here. Old granny wants me to fix this damn swing and I'm so distracted by sound of laughter. I want to jo--ouch!! Ouch!!! Noona, I did wrong!! Ouch!!! I'm sorry!!!!" Suho, his other dongsaeng, was there too. And that made him even more nervous because that Suho guy could spell trouble in a very different way. He was usually busy with his band stuffs and would skip most of the time. Today though, out of any other days, he chose to show up. Talk about perfect timing.

The corner of his eyes caught how Seohyun's eyes were observing them quietly. Slowly, his eyes traveled down to her lips. Much to his surprise, there was a grin plastered there, and a low chuckle came out. She found his friends funny, that's a good start, wasn't it? So he bravely took her hand, and dragged her with him to meet them.

"Omo! Look who's here!!" Victoria gained her composure, and like a mother, ran to the girl and hugged her.

"She's so pretty!" From the side, Changmin could hear Minho said lowly. He glared at the younger boy, making him stuck out his tongue instead.

"I am Minho! I hope we can be friends, I reckon we're of the same age. Joon Myun there too"

"Oh, yes. I hope we can be friends. I am Joohyun" he jerked up from his place. Did she...? Real name...?

"You are soooooooo tall" funny how the taller girl said a thing like that while she was towering almost them all.

"You...too... Unnie"

"I like how you call me Unnie! You're so cute!! Let this Unnie give you a hug!! I'm Sooyoung, by the way"

"Stop suffocating her, I'm Cho Kyuhyun"

"I'm Ryeowook. Sorry for this... It's all because of these two evils"

"I'm Jonghyun, it's really nice to meet you. You're very pretty, can I have your autograph?" That gained him a smack on the head by his hyungs, while Suho and Minho stared at him wide-eyed.

"I'm Suho... Well, Joon Myun is my real name. We have met, in one show"

"Oh yes, of course, I remember you. Thank you for your help that day" she flashed a smile to everyone, politely greeting them each.

Victoria nudged Changmin out of his trance. "I like her already. This time, I approve" she whispered.

"Just like that?"

"I cannot see why not. She's blending well with them" she averted her sight to the group, finding the youngest girl being handed a toy. Water gun, shocker! He thought. But she surprisingly accepted it with a grin.

"I will take Ryeowook Oppa's side" making the two men flabbergasted.

"He's lame! He cannot run!"

"I CAN RUN!"

"Well, you already have two people in your team, Oppa. And also, I can and WANT to run. So it'll be fair" she smiled, enchanting them all. Kyuhyun and Jonghyun exchanged a look, nodding curtly.

"Alright"

"I want to be in her team"

"Me too"

"Me three"

"Yah!!! What the heck?! That isn't fair! Wait! YAHHHH! I'll kill all of you, just you wait!!!"

He chuckled to himself, seeing how Kyuhyun, their supposedly leader, being cornered up. Even Jonghyun switched side and attacked him. They all had these big satisfied smiles, including her.

"I cannot see why not"

"Don't waste your chance this time, she's a good girl"

"I won't"

"I know..." Victoria gave him a pat on the shoulder before stopping the chaos by one word. "BREAKFAST?"

4th step

After that day, she grew even closer to him and his circle. It was a big shock for him how she adored his friends and how she didn't mind his behavior around them. As long as he could remember, he dropped his act mid-day by following his boys to trick on the girls like how they used to do, teasing the Maknae Minho about his fail attempt on girls despite being the good advisor he was, or annoyed Suho when he was sleeping peacefully. The bottom line is, he was being a total joker and she witnessed it all. But when they got back, he couldn't find any trace of disappointment or unsatisfaction on her face. What he saw was only happy smile along with her being such a talkative. He was overjoyed, of course. Though wondered how in the world she made everything so easy. How she didn't expect him to be proper and well-behaved, or be the cool guy people usually see, rather, she just enjoyed him being himself. All goofy and mischievous.

Every now and then, Changmin would get a text from one of his friends, telling him they really like her so he should make his move before someone snatch her away. The thought haunted him until he couldn't sleep at night, possibilities of her being taken away were clouding his mind.

So when she visited his apartment that night, ready for another cooking-lesson with Victoria along with spending time with his fellas, he braved himself to let everything out. She was washing the vegetables when he suddenly wrapped his hand on her hips, startling her.

"Oppa?"

"Hm?"

She took a deep breath. "What are you doing?"

"Hugging you" he answered nonchalantly.

"W-why?"

"Because I want to"

Gulping down her nervousness, she finally turned around and found his eyes. They're filled with so many emotions she couldn't read, or chose not to in order to not have her hopes high. "What's wrong?"

"This has been going on for so long. Please save me from the suspense and be mine, Joohyun. Be mine"

To say that she was shock was an understatement. It was happening too fast for her, his words came into her ears one by one as if playing tricks on her mind. But no, upon seeing how serious he was, she knew she heard just right.

Snaking her arms on his neck, she leaned closer to him. "And I thought you'd never ask"

5th stage

Changmin was rushing madly into the apartment, his hand clenched into a fist, trying hard to control his emotion.

"Where is she?" Was his first question to Tiffany, her model friend.

"Inside my room. I'm so sorry Changmin-ssi" the woman trembled from fear and guilt. Guilt of dragging her friend to her that day, and fear after seeing how angry the guy was.

"Just... How did it happen?"

"I... Forced her to go. She has been missing too much and I start to think she closes her world on us, for you. Because it's always about Changmin Oppa this and that. So I begged her to go despite you not agreeing. She was having a good time talking to us, before she went to get a drink. The next think I knew, I saw her being carried by Suho-ssi. Her dress had torn apart and... And..." She couldn't continue on, her tears had fallen so hard after remembering how her friend looked. Luckily, Seohyun was not hurt, not that way. Not until that level. She couldn't, wouldn't forgive herself if the younger girl experienced it.

Changmin got his phone out, steadying his raged breaths. "Joon Myun? Check the glass?"

"Ask Minho to take care of that bastard. Does Kyuhyun think she needs to go to hospital?"

"Okay, I get it. Listen, that has to pay for this. If not from police, he'll get it from me"

A click and the phone went off. "May I see her?"

"Yes, of course. I'm..."

"No need, Tiffany-ssi. I get that your intention was good. I'm sorry for taking away her time with her friends. I won't do that again. But do me a favor of telling me when you want her to go with you guys, inform me so I can take precautions. I'll die on the spot if this happens again" there was a smile on his face, a faint one, but it was enough to lessen the guilt she was bearing.

He his heels, opening the door quietly. There lied his girl, looking so pale and disheveled. His jaw clenched tightly by looking at the sight.

"Baby... Hey..."

Her eyes fluttered weakly. "Op--Oppa"

"I'm here"

Suddenly, she cried so hard in his arms, pouring every pain she went through and the horror she just experienced. "He... He held me... And he... Was... Trying to take off my... My dress..." She hiccuped. "He t--touched me... He--"

"Sssh it's okay, baby, you're safe now... It's fine, sweetheart. I'm here... Oppa is here. It's okay now..."

Her tears wouldn't stop, instead, it got even harder. Series of Sorries were heard but he shook them away. She was shaking so hard, despite her being covered by layers of clothes. She said she felt dirty, and his heart sunk at that. No matter how hard he tried to pacify her, it didn't work. So he kissed her all over her face, telling her that she wasn't at fault. That everything was over, she's fine and he would always be there for her. He would never leave her side, never. That night he knew that he was ready to give everything he got for the happiness of his woman. He would do anything to protect her, anything to put only smile on her face, anything to make sure that she would not be hurt in any way.

6th stage

It was their 4th anniversary already, time flew by in a blink of an eye for them. She was having a hard time forgiving herself and forgetting the happening; having this idea of her being not worthy enough for Changmin though nothing happened. He stayed by her side as promised, ensuring her that it was fine and would never happen again, he would guarantee that himself. So she moved on, trying to let go of that night which still haunt her in her dreams. After all the depressing days, his heart was at last filled with joy when he caught her sincere smile and how she finally could laugh out loud months after that unfortunate night.

He thought for over and over again, how he have changed over the years. Now his world centered in her, his days were about her laughs to his lame jokes, her little nose scrunch whenever he said his cheesy lines, her bright shiny eyes during their gathering with his friends, almost everything was about her. She colored his life, completed every cell of him in most unbelievable way. He realized his state of bliss was the highest ever, and he would never want to let go. Because no matter how much they fell, they would rise up even higher than before. No matter how hurt their fights were, the make-up sessions would always worth it. This time, he knew this was it. Because his life was in her hands as hers in his'.

"Marry me" he whispered to her ears. Softly, gently, lovingly. She shivered under his touch, her bare body against his'.

"Oppa..."

"Marry me, Joohyun" he kissed her forehead. "Let's get married, have kids, grow old together. We can build your dream house on the hill, raise our children there the way you want it, give them the proper lessos you have planned. Let's do it all..."

"Oppa..."

"I can only picture my future with you in it... Help Oppa out this time too?" His eyes showed his affection, pouring all his love into them as they sparkled in the dark, letting her see how much he meant his words. While hers got teary, body shuddered from joy.

"Yes... Yes, Oppa. I'll marry you" just like that, she made him the happiest man on earth. He scooped her body towards him, kissing all parts gently. His smile got wider and wider while he chanted endless Thank You to her. They laughed as she hit him weakly, both having the time of their lives. And their hearts become one, beating for one another; ready to start the new journey ahead.

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SHE-DBSK

ANGEL-EXO

I really recommend those songs to be the background music while reading this xD

credits to uploaders (seobaby1st and kyuuutquh777). I am a big fan of their videos :)

I hope you like this.

Sorry for all the spelling and grammar mistakes~

ENJOY~~~