A/N: Hi all, this is a fic I’ve had for a while and wanted to post it for Aisha’s bday though it’s not a bday fic in particular, and I am a day late. I did write this and felt it would be okay to post, it's a pretty long fic, so if anyone does take their time to read this I am grateful. Please enjoy!

 

 

The unexpected sound of fingers randomly hitting keyboard keys startled a guitarist who was quietly nodding off in a corner. At least the guitarist was trying to catch a quick nap in the corner, until she heard her fellow bandmate ask a question to the pianist.

 

“What time did she say practice was supposed to start?” 

 

“5:00, why?”

 

“And what time is it now?” 

 

“5:30.” The pianist admits with a sigh. But it’s nothing new. Anytime they are scheduled to meet the singer for her practice she is nearly always late. 

 

“I get she’s a super busy star and everything. But this is kind of ridiculous. This isn’t my only job.” 

 

“It’s going to be okay, Eunji.”

 

That’s the last thing the guitarist hears before closing her eyes once again for her nap. Since the signer is late there is no reason she can’t take a quick power nap. Or so she thought until there’s a not so gentle tap on her shoulder.

 

“Yoorim. Really?” A shorter blonde woman with dyed purple tips looks at her with a slight frown. “You’re going to sleep now?”

 

“Oh, Eunji.” The woman, Yoorim yawns, and leans onto her guitar for support. “Is practice over?” Now she’s just messing with Eunji, as she knows very well practice isn’t over.

 

“Haha, you’re very funny, Yoorim.” Eunji flicks her fingers across Yoorim’s head in a playful manner. “Seriously, how can you sleep at a time like this? 

 

“Because I’m tired?”

 

There’s soft chuckling from the pianist who tries to cover before Eunji looks at her with an overly exaggerated expression of betrayal. 

 

“Really, Serimie? I thought you were on my side.”

 

The pianist named Serim shrugs before wrapping her arms around Eunji in a way that causes the shorter woman to groan. Yoorim has to hold back a laugh because Eunji looks like an aggravated cat when she’s making that face. 

 

“Aw, Eunji, you know I love you most.” But she whispers to Yoorim that she also loves her too. 

 

“Yeah, yeah… that’s what you say. Seriously, guys this is really ridiculous. Her company doesn’t even pay us enough to put up with this.” Now, Eunji is back in business mode. 

 

Yoorim thinks about what Eunji is saying. While it is true that the singer’s company doesn’t pay them enough to deal with a lot of the things they deal with. Yoorim has to think about other factors. Herself, Eunji, and Serim do have other careers. This isn’t their only source of income, thankfully. The main reason they were hired as a band together is because of their talents. Yoorim is sure she’s not seen a pianist as good as Serim or a drummer as talented as Eunji in some time. She honestly enjoys working together with them, and finds herself grateful they have struck up a friendship of sorts too. Because they could have just as easily seen this as work, never spoken a single word to one another otherwise, and collected their checks when it was time. 

 

“I don’t know, it’s not so bad.” Yoorim smiles in a charming way. “We get to spend so much time together.”

 

“Ugh,” Eunji shakes her head, but sits down in the empty seat next to the guitarist. “I still think I’d rather have the money. No offense to you two or anything.”

 

Serim and Yoorim laugh, as they know Eunji well enough to know this is really her humor. 

 

“That’s just Eunji saying she loves us.” Serim admits. “But yeah, it is getting late. I don’t mind going up to the cafe upstairs and getting us some coffee or…” Serim doesn’t even get to finish her statement. As the door to the practice room opens it reveals, a brunette, dressed in a pretty pink dress, makeup fully done, and looking like she probably just finished a radio show appearance. 

 

“Hi!” The boisterous voice could startle anyone awake.

 

“So much for that nap.” Yoorim whispers to Eunji who can’t even bring herself to comment she’s just stunned at the appearance of their long awaited singer. The very reason why she, Yoorim, and Serim even met and ended up forming this band. 

 

“I’m so sorry that I’m late. I didn’t mean to keep you all waiting. I brought you guys some coffee and mini cheesecakes as an apology.” The brunette smiles in a way that would make most anyone forgive her.

 

“That’s alright, Sihyeon.” Serim is the first to speak. 

 

“It’s not…” Eunji was about to complain but Yoorim carefully placed her hand over .

 

“It’s fine, Sihyeon.” Yoorim smiles. “Thanks for the coffee and cakes too. But if you don’t mind, we'd really like to start practicing. Some of us have big plans tonight.”

 

“Since when do you have big plans?” Eunji, who has moved Yoorim’s hand away from and is now focused on her taller friend. Who cares if Sihyeon is finally here when it’s much more interesting to have banter with the guitarist?

 

“Why are you so interested? Do you want to hang out?” Yoorim pretends to blow an exaggerated kiss toward the blonde. Sihyeon wonders if is interrupting something, and should she come back another time. 

 

“Uh….” The singer begins.

 

“Guys, guys!” Serim breaks them up suddenly. “Enough with your weird flirting. We should really practice, because Sihyeon is here, and I’m kind of excited about the song she sent us to listen to. Aren’t you?”

 

Having successfully turned the attention back to what matters. They are here to practice or get in whatever practice they can before the singer’s upcoming concert. With timing always being an issue, they figure they’d be lucky if they get at least one more good practice in before any live stage rehearsal.

 

“Oh yea, it’s a great song. It’ll be great if we get to practice some time tonight. So I’m absolutely ready.” Eunji heads over to the drums.

 

Before picking up her guitar, Yoorim turns to look at Sihyeon with this warm smile on her face. It’s the kind of smile that contradicts everything about the woman, at least physically. Sihyeon remembers when she first saw Yoorim. Before she even knew that she was to be the guitarist for her band. The first thing the singer thought was that Yoorim probably had to be one of the most stunning women she’d ever seen. Yoorim was tall, taller than her with dark hair, and these beautiful brown eyes that had an intensity to them.

 

Sihyeon truly thought Yoorim was a model auditioning for her company, or perhaps an idol too. Finding out the woman was the guitarist picked for her band had been quite a shock to the singer. She can still remember how it took several conversations before she could look Yoorim in the eyes. Sometimes even now the guitarist makes her nervous, in a good way. Like the feeling of being around your crush and you don’t know what to do with yourself.

 

“Alright, Sihyeon. We’re ready to play, you just wow us with your amazing voice.” Yoorim says it in such a sincere way. That Sihyeon is momentarily at a loss for words. Sure, the singer has heard plenty of compliments from people about her singing. It just feels different when it comes from someone you’re attracted to, and have interest in. 

 

“T-Thank you.”

 

Yoorim smiles. It’s cute to see Sihyeon so flustered all because of a simple compliment. It’s amazing how the same woman who came in loud and boisterous, can also be shy and adorable too. Yoorim honestly wonders if she will be able to keep her eyes on her guitar and off of the singer. Something she had a hard time doing as practice began and Sihyeon sang. The singer has such a lovely voice and it’s almost captivating. Thankfully, the guitarist pulls it together long enough to keep her eyes on her guitar. The last thing Yoorim needed was to be the reason why they had to stay longer, or certain parts of the song were messed up, all because she couldn’t keep her eyes off the woman singing.

 

If only Yoorim noticed that a certain someone would look at her too, out of the corner of her eyes as she tried to focus on singing the lyrics. Sihyeon never found herself as distracted by another person in her life. The feelings were scary but in an exciting way. The singer reminds herself that even if she does find Yoorim fascinating. There’s not much that could possibly come from it, and she has no idea what the guitarist is thinking. She notices that Yoorim is friendly and nice to everyone. It didn’t mean that Yoorim found her special in some way.

 

Thankfully, Sihyeon was able to make it through the entire practice without too much trouble. She thinks she might have looked back at Yoorim once more, but she didn’t think the guitarist noticed so it brought the singer a sense of relief. For Yoorim, she also didn’t think Sihyeon noticed she might have had her eyes on her more times than necessary.

 

“Thank goodness.” Yoorim breathes a sigh of relief. She didn’t want to think about how awkward it would be to explain to Sihyeon that she can’t seem to keep her eyes off of her. However, just because neither woman didn’t think anyone noticed. It didn’t mean that no one noticed. 

 

Yoorim had barely put her guitar away when Eunji came over to her with this curious look on her face before nudging the taller woman.

 

“You’re really good at multitasking.”

 

“Thank you?” Yoorim isn’t sure what else to say to the drummer’s random statement. 

 

“You were staring so much at Sihyeon. I’m surprised you didn’t make any mistakes while playing. You didn’t tell me you had a thing for her.” Eunji does whisper that part, thankfully since the singer is still in the practice room chatting with Serim.

 

Oh, so someone did notice….

 

Luckily, Yoorim doesn’t let anything betray her cool, calm, and collected demeanor. 

 

“No, Eunji. You know you’re the only one for me.” The taller woman throws her arms around her in a dramatic way, which has Eunji squirming to get free.

 

“Haha, so funny you are, Yoorim. You’re beautiful and all but not my type, sorry to break your heart.”

 

“Oh no, how will I recover?” She says it in such a dry way that has Eunji laughing. The drummer has always appreciated their fun dynamic and how easygoing Yoorim is. Certainly practices are never boring when she’s around.

 

“Seriously. Since when do you have feelings for Sihyeon?”

 

Now didn’t exactly seem like the time or place to get into such a conversation. Especially not when Sihyeon was still in the room.

 

“Can we talk about this later, I do have plans tonight. Sorry, Eunji.”

 

“Plans tonight, huh.”

 

“Yes, glorious plans that involve a glass of wine and falling asleep in my comfortable bed.”

 

“Oh….hey!”

 

Yoorim is already waving goodbye and laughing at her friend’s surprised expression. 

 

“Fine. But we’re talking about this sooner or later.”

 

Sihyeon seemed to have heard that part. She wonders what is going on there. Though she feels she can’t really ask. Sure, Eunji, Serim, and Yoorim are all friendly enough. But they tend to keep a respectful distance from her. Sihyeon does understand since the three of them came together for the purpose of being her band. Sihyeon just wishes they all felt more comfortable to simply join her for lunch sometimes, or joke around with her. Just because she was an idol it didn’t mean she wanted them thinking that meant they couldn’t be friends.

 

“I’m heading out.” Serim is the first to say. “I do have work in the morning. I’ll see you all next time.”

 

“Bye, Serimie.” Yoorim is over to her quickly with a warm hug. Sihyeon notices that too and wonders how nice it would feel to be hugged by the guitarist in that way. Yoorim looks like she gives the best hugs.

 

“Wait for me!” Eunji speaks and gives Yoorim a not so subtle look. “I needed to be out of here at least an hour ago. Oh, no offense, Sihyeon!”

 

“None taken. I really am sorry that I was late this time. I’d love to make it up to you all by treating you to dinner.”

 

Everyone sort of looks at the singer as if she has grown another head, or said something strange. Sihyeon laughs uneasily.

 

“Is there something wrong with free food?”

 

“No, of course not. We love free food, why do you think we took this job?” It’s said so seriously that Sihyeon wonders if Eunji is actually being serious.

 

“Don’t pay her any attention.” Yoorim says next. “But yes we do love free food. Are you sure, Sihyeon?”

 

This is exactly what Sihyeon is hoping to change. She understands that the other three might want to keep a professional distance from her. Sihyeon just wants them to feel more comfortable. She wants to be able to get to the level of joking around with her band, just like she sees the three of them having fun joking with one another. That can’t happen unless she starts somewhere.

 

“Yes, I’m sure. You guys can let me know what your schedules look like, and text me in our group chat. I should be free…” Sihyeon takes a moment to look through her phone and the schedule for the month. Though she loves her job and can’t imagine doing anything other than singing for as long as possible. Sihyeon does recognize the cons too, such as not having enough time to simply enjoy regular activities like meeting friends for dinner, or in this case trying to plan a dinner to get to know potential friends.

 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure we will figure something out.” Yoorim could see the look on Sihyeon’s face, as if it were stressing her out just trying to find her next free day. 

 

“Yea, don’t worry about it too much, Sihyeon. I think you’ve got enough on your mind with your album release soon.” Eunji, who has somehow forgotten that she was pissed off earlier, tries to be comforting to the singer. Or maybe she recognized that Sihyeon genuinely wanted to make things right with them. 

 

“I think us having dinner together would be great. We can talk about it at our next practice. Have a good night, everyone.” Serim tells them as she and Eunji leave the room together. It doesn’t take long for either Sihyeon or Yoorim to notice that they are left on their own. The guitarist wonders if this was done on purpose in some way. She didn’t have time to really ponder that possibility. 

 

“I guess it’s just you and I now.” 

 

“H-Huh…” Sihyeon notices that she stutters ever so slightly. Yoorim is looking down at her with an amused expression. She really does think that Sihyeon is adorable.

 

“I said it’s just you and I now. I’d love to walk with you outside, Sihyeon. If that’s alright.”

 

How could the singer say anything other than yes? She’s been wanting a chance like this to be alone with Yoorim. This would be the perfect time to talk about anything? Sihyeon could ask her how she really feels being a part of her band? She could ask her if she always wanted to be a guitar player, or if she had any other future goals?  Hell, Sihyeon could even ask her a simple question like what her favorite color was.

 

Only none of those things happened as they made this quiet walk up entrance of Sihyeon’s company. While the brunette cursed herself for being too shy to talk to Yoorim. The guitarist seemed content to lightly .

 

“You don’t talk a lot, huh.”

 

“Oh, I…”

 

It wasn’t that at all. Sihyeon considered herself very good at small talk, in fact most of her fellow idols praised her making them feel comfortable by asking questions to ease any tensions. For the life of her, Sihyeon couldn’t understand where that person was now. Why wasn’t she asking random questions and easing the tension?

 

“It’s okay, it gives me more time to stare at your beautiful face.”

 

“You….” Sihyeon could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. She is positive she hasn’t met a person quite like Heo Yoorim. “How can you say such things?”

 

“What, true things?” 

 

Now, Sihyeon is positive she’s blushing. She is amazed how someone can make her blush this easily. She thinks she’ll turn into a huge mess by the time her driver comes to take her home, so hopefully Yoorim goes easy on the flirting. At least, that was her worry until the text came in that the driver would probably be twenty minutes late.

 

“I guess I can go wait inside then…”

 

“Is something wrong, Sihyeon?”

 

The singer looked up immediately to see that genuinely concerned expression on the guitarist's face. Sihyeon could easily say nothing was wrong, but then Yoorim would probably wonder why she was standing here and not heading into a car at some point. No, the best thing to do would be to tell the truth.

 

“My driver said he’d be late. So I was just going to wait inside.”

 

“Did he say how late he would be?”

 

“Twenty minutes, why?”

 

Yoorim knows she can’t just leave Sihyeon here by herself. Even if twenty minutes isn’t that long to wait, and the singer can probably find something to pass the time while she waits. Yoorim knew she wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving Sihyeon here on her own, and so she came up with another suggestion.

 

“If you are fine with it. I don’t mind giving you a ride home.”

 

The singer’s first thought was how nice it was of Yoorim to offer her a ride home. Her second thought was would she survive being so close to the beautiful guitarist? The only reason Sihyeon decided to go ahead and take the ride is because she didn’t want to be rude. 

 

“You know what, sure.” Sihyeon agrees with a warm smile. “I’d love a ride home.”

 

“What, really?” Yoorim laughs a bit. She didn’t expect for Sihyeon to say yes. So now that she has, Yoorim supposed she better make good on her promise. Not that she would have gone back on her word, because she wouldn’t have.

 

“Yes, I won’t be rude to turn down your offer. Besides, it’ll give us a chance to talk.”

 

“Alright, then. I’ll be right back, Sihyeon.” The taller woman grins excitedly in such a way that it makes Sihyeon smile back too. She hopes this time they really will get to talk on the drive home. As she stands there waiting for Yoorim. Sihyeon thinks about all the topics they can talk about. She is truly curious about the other woman and wants to know as much as Yoorim is willing to share. Before she forgets, Sihyeon does send a text to her driver to not come after all because she will have a ride home after all. The moment she’s done sending her text. She hears the sound of a motorcycle pulling up, and it causes Sihyeon to look up.

 

“What in the world….”

 

“Your chariot awaits, my lady.” Yoorim has that familiar charming smile on her face. Sihyeon has to admit she is very distracted by how attractive Yoorim looks on that bike. She hopes that the guitarist doesn’t notice her staring as hard as she is.. But what brings the singer back to reality is the fact that it is a very real motorcycle before her.

 

“You’re driving that!” Sihyeon didn’t mean to scream or freak out, but she was expecting a car.

 

“Yes, until my Lamborghini gets out of the shop I’m afraid I have to slum it on this bike.” Yoorim is clearly joking with her and Sihyeon would normally appreciate a good joke as much as the next person. She just can’t seem to look away from the motorcycle itself, as pretty as it is with its rich black color, and dark purple highlights. It takes no time for Yoorim to realize that Sihyeon is probably nervous. The taller of the two gets off of her bike and walks over to Sihyeon. 

 

“Hey..” her voice is gentle in a way that causes the brunette to look up into those pretty eyes. “Are you sure you’re alright? It’s really not so scary, and I promise I’m a good driver. You can hold on really tight too if you need.”

 

Sihyeon is sure her mind has gone into a meltdown mode of sorts. All she’s heard is holding on tightly to this beautiful woman, and that is nearly enough to make her forget about any fear she might have.

 

“Well, alright. But this is because I really, really want to go home and sleep off this busy day.”

 

Yoorim nods with a soft laugh. “That sounds like a great reason to me. Come on, I’ll get you home in one piece. Just hold on tight, Sihyeon.” It’s repeated in a comforting way that does put the shorter woman at ease. Sihyeon doesn’t even hesitate to take Yoorim up on that offer. The very moment she’s on the back on the bike, she wraps her arms around Yoorim’s waist so tight, and holds on for dear life.

 

“Okay! This isn’t so bad!” 

 

“We haven’t even left yet.” Yoorim turns to her with a smile. “You’re going to be fine, Sihyeon. Trust me.”

 

The scary thing was, though Sihyeon didn’t know Yoorim as well as she wanted. There was something about the other woman that calmed her, and made her feel as if she could let go and trust what she said. In short, she did feel like she’d be safe. Which is why she calmed down and did what Yoorim suggested, which was hold on. Once getting over the initial nerves. Sihyeon had to admit this did feel nice. Maybe a little too nice as she held onto Yoorim’s waist as they drove down the city streets. Yoorim also kept her word when she said she was a careful driver. Making the singer feel even more comfortable.

 

“See, not so bad, right?”

 

“No, it’s not so bad.” Sihyeon whispered and leaned her head on the dark-haired woman’s back. 

 

Yes, she was getting a bit too comfortable. However, if Yoorim minded she didn’t say. The only thing Sihyeon wished now was that they could have had a conversation. She couldn’t complain too much when she was riding on the back of Yoorim’s motorcycle, with arms wrapped around said woman. She knew there would be future times for conversation. Right now, Sihyeon had been so relaxed she didn’t even notice when they were outside of her apartment complex. Not until Yoorim spoke and told her.

 

“Home sweet home, Sihyeon. Did you fall asleep back there?” 

 

“H-Huh…” and she yawned on cue. “I’m sorry, you’re comfortable.”

 

Yoorim feels glad that Sihyeon can’t see the very slight blush on her face at the moment. 

 

“You’re welcome then. Not bad for your first motorcycle ride, huh?”

 

“No, it wasn’t.” Now, Sihyeon had to get off the bike and she had to admit she felt somewhat nervous about that. What if she tripped? She is kind of clumsy now that she thinks about it.

 

“You’re fine, don’t worry.” As if sensing what the other woman was worried about, Yoorim was being comforting as usual. Sihyeon slowly removed her arms and got off the bike. Naturally, she nearly stumbled but two hands reached out to grab her own to steady her.

 

“Are you alright, Sihyeon?”

 

“Yes, I’m…” once again she finds herself lost in Yoorim’s eyes, and forgetting what she wants to say. The next thing she knows there’s the sound of cameras and she turns to the where two or three photographers are suddenly standing around.

 

“Where did they come from!”

 

“I can’t believe it. Kim Sihyeon coming home from a late night date!” One of them starts.

 

“Kim Sihyeon dating a hot mystery woman?”

 

“I thought she was dating that actress, Wang Yiren.”

 

“Hey, wait just a minute!” Sihyeon shouts after the photographers who are already running off, probably to sell their photos to any publications they can. This is going to be a disaster. Yoorim gently touched her arm and knew she needed to try and calm her down as best as she could.

 

“I wouldn’t worry about this, Sihyeon. Your company is really good at handling rumors and I don’t think it’ll be so bad. I’m just sorry you have to worry about them following you around all the time. That must be stressful for you.”

 

Sihyeon is in between still feeling shocked and pissed off by those nosy photographers, and touched by the kindness that the guitarist is showing her. 

 

“Thank you, Yoorim. It’s not as if I’m not used to this happening. I feel bad that you had to be caught up in this, but maybe you’re right and it will be fine.”

 

“Don’t worry about me. Besides, did you hear them? I'm the hot mystery woman.” Yoorim beams. “No one’s going to try and identify me.”

 

Sihyeon laughed. She wasn’t sure if Yoorim was still trying to make her feel better or being somehow strangely optimistic. Either way it was working and at least for the moment, Sihyeon didn’t feel so bad.

 

“I think you’re selling yourself short, Yoorim. But thank you for making me feel better, and thank you for the ride home.”

 

“Anytime, Sihyeon. Have a good night, and we’ll talk soon.”

 

“Have a good night, Yoorim.” She stood there and waved to the other woman until she no longer saw her bike in view. Sihyeon wanted to think that everything would be fine and nothing major would happen. She would go upstairs, fall asleep, and proceed with her schedules like usual. After all, would anyone really care about what had been some very innocent photos of her standing next to someone who happened to be stunningly gorgeous. And it might have possibly looked like she was getting dropped off from a date. Would anyone really care?

 

 

 

 

The short answer was yes. The following morning the first thing that woke the singer up was the sounds of incoming texts, emails, and social media notifications. Not all from her company either, as even friends of hers wanted to know if there was any truth to these reports.

 

“Oh my god…” Sihyeon facepalms as she reads one of the links someone sent her.

 

“Is Kim Sihyeon dating her hot guitarist.”

 

Not being able to read any further than that. She closes it out only to see other titles of other similar articles with the photos of her and Yoorim last night.

 

“Kim Sihyeon coupled up with her guitarist Heo Yoorim.”

 

“Kim Sihyeon is finally off the market! Spotted with the guitarist of her band.”

 

“This can’t possibly get worse.” Sihyeon sighs and throws herself back into bed. Only it could get worse as her phone rings. She didn’t even want to answer it in fear it could be her company.

 

“And of course it’s someone at my company….”

 

Knowing it would not help her to ignore this call. Sihyeon answers it to find it’s her manager. 

 

“I’m going to say this isn’t about the small request I made to change the style of my albums so it’s easier for my fans to open, right?” Sihyeon laughs a little on the phone and then hears a bit of a sigh from her manager. 

 

“I’ll take that as a no.”

 

“Hi, Sihyeon. You’re not in trouble or anything, believe me. But could you come down to the company as soon as possible. We need to talk to you.”

 

“Right, I figured. I’ll come down as soon as I can. See you soon.” The moment she’s on the phone, Sihyeon really does let out a huge sigh and sinks back into her bed. Didn’t Yoorim just tell her last night that she shouldn’t worry?

 

Speaking of Yoorim….

 

“Oh, no. I hope she’s okay…”

 

Because no matter what, Sihyeon does recognize that this current situation isn’t affecting only her. If people are sending her links to articles, then they are probably doing the same to the guitarist.

 

But Yoorim had a plan for her morning. She planned to sleep until twelve at least because she didn’t have any work related gigs until night time. She isn’t really a morning person and doesn’t wake very easily, but will if she has an obligation of some kind and has to be up. She looked forward to another few hours of sleep until there was loud banging at her apartment door.

 

“W-What….” Yoorim is startled out of her sleep so badly she nearly falls out of bed. Just what in the hell is going on and who is out there banging on her door right now. With a yawn, she gets up, puts on her favorite pair of Rilakkuma slippers, and slowly makes her way to the front door.

 

“I’m coming.” She yawned again. With eyes half-closed she didn’t recognize who was at the door. “It’s not a loyal fan with breakfast for me, is it?”

 

“You wish!” The shorter woman laughs. “It’s not fair how you can roll out of bed and still look this pretty, Yoorimie.”

 

It’s the voice that does it and wakes Yoorim up even further. She opens her eyes to see her best friend and well-known dance choreographer Park Jiwon. Yoorim smiles and is just about to hug the brown-haired woman when Jiwon holds her hand up.

 

“Not so fast.”

 

“Hey…” Yoorim pouts. Jiwon never rejects her hugs, unless she’s just messing around. “What’s going on, Jiwonie?”

 

“Only this!” Jiwon shows her phone with the article that reads  “Has Kim Sihyeon found love with her hot guitarist Heo Yoorim.”

 

If Yoorim had any desire to get back into bed and sleep after this it was all gone after seeing the article. She looked wide awake now and wanted to ask Jiwon if this was a joke. Which is exactly what she did.

 

“Is this a joke?”

 

“You tell me, Yoorim. How dare you cheat on me after I gave you the best four years of my life!” It’s said in exaggeration and Jiwon dramatically places her hand over her  chest.

 

“At least be dramatic inside, what will my neighbors think?” Yoorim proceeds to let her best friend in her apartment, though she is very curious about this article. Jiwon explains to her that it isn’t the only one out there.

 

“Apparently you are dating Kim Sihyeon now, but I take it you didn’t know about that?”

 

Yoorim reads the article on Jiwon’s phone and sees the accompanying photos. From the angles of the photos they do look more intimate than what happened last night. The only thing she did was help Sihyeon before she tripped. Okay, so maybe there was some gazing into one another’s eyes. But truly, did it need to lead to all these articles about them being a couple when they aren’t.

 

“I was giving her a ride home. These photos are taken out of context. But I guess I should be flattered that they took the time to find out my actual name.”

 

Jiwon nods. She has worked with and has friends who are idols who have told her many stories about what they can or can’t do in public without it being taken out of context. The very idea that paparazzi would photograph someone and claim it to be more than what it is, isn’t very shocking at all. Her main concern is Yoorim as she is her best friend and she wants for her to be okay.

 

“I believe you, Yoorim. I came over to make sure you were okay.”

 

“Oh, I’m fine.” The guitarist gives a nod. “Thank you for coming to check on me. But I’m sure Sihyeon’s company will put a stop to this before it gets even further out of control. I hope she’s alright.”

 

Jiwon takes notice of the concerned tone in her friend’s voice. She already knows Yoorim as a kind and considerate person. It’s why she isn’t surprised to hear Yoorim be concerned about Sihyeon in this case too. She just wonders if there’s something more going on.

 

“Yoorim?” She wants to ask, but doesn’t get to when Yoorim’s own cell phone starts going off with tons of notifications too. Many of which the guitarist does ignore except the one she kind of can’t ignore.

 

“Is something wrong?”

 

Yoorim could only give one of her bright smiles. “No, but I am being summoned so I better head down to Sihyeon’s company. I guess there goes my plan to sleep until 12.”

 

Jiwon patted her shoulder and tried to be comforting to her best friend. “I’m sure you can sleep after you handle this situation, oh hot guitarist from Kim Sihyeon’s band”

 

And at a time like this, Yoorim did appreciate her best friend who could make her laugh so easily. Because she really needed it probably now more than ever. While it was true that Yoorim wasn’t really worried about herself at this moment. She had to admit this kind of situation was brand new for her and she didn’t know what to expect. 

 

All she could hope for was that everything would turn out alright. She hated to think of a worst case scenario, like Sihyeon getting into some trouble all because she offered the singer a ride home. Then there was the possibility the company would ask her to leave the band. It would be disappointing for Yoorim not because of the money or anything like that. But because she enjoyed making new friends in Serim and Eunji, and it would be disappointing to have to say goodbye to Sihyeon this soon. Especially when they haven’t really gotten to know one another that well yet.

 

“Thanks, Jiwonie. I can always count on you.” It’s said in a sincere way as she hugs her. “Well, I better get ready to see what they want to talk to me about. Wish me luck, Jiwon.”

 

“You won’t need it. You’re so charming, Yoorim, if there’s anyone who can get out of this situation it would be you. But even so, good luck!”

 

Yoorim wasn’t sure how much charm she’d need to get out of this. All she could hope for was the best possible scenario, whatever that might end up looking like.

 

 

 

 

While they weren’t necessarily rushing Sihyeon to get down to the company. She knew the sooner she did get there the better. That didn’t mean the singer wasn’t also taking her time in doing so. Whether that meant an extra long shower, finding things that suddenly needed cleaning in her apartment, or finally writing down those lyrics for brand new songs that couldn’t seem to wait any longer. Sihyeon knew she was stalling but her nerves were starting to get the better of her.

 

She couldn’t help but to think of worst case scenario situations.

 

“What if somehow her new album was canceled, along with upcoming promotions.”

 

“What if they decided it wasn’t worth her having a band anymore and got rid of everyone.”

 

“What if some of her fans decided to turn on her because of these baseless rumors.”

 

Sihyeon hadn’t even had the chance to get to know everyone as well as she’d like, and then there was Yoorim. She was now just as involved in this whole mess too, and all because she offered her a ride home. 

 

“I hope she’s okay.”

 

Sihyeon knew she was overthinking and it would get her nowhere right now. The best thing she could do was calm down, take a deep breath, and face what was to come. 

 

“Okay, you got this, Syeon. Everything’s going to be okay.” She gave herself a mini pep talk before finally deciding it was time to go. She wasn’t really the sort of person who put things off for long. Especially not when they were important and mattered. As she grabbed her bag and phone. Sihyeon looked down to see a message from someone she hadn’t been expecting and yet it made her happy to see.

 

Heo Yoorim: Hey, I’m just checking in to see how you’re doing, Sihyeon. I hope you’re okay, and not too shaken up by all this. But you’re a superstar, Kim Sihyeon so please don’t let this get you down.

 

It was sweet and thoughtful. Sihyeon couldn’t help but to feel touched and wanted to send her a message back. Only what could she say? Nothing seemed good enough or at least she could think of nothing quite as good as what Yoorim just sent to her. Sihyeon opened her text message with Yoorim’s name. She was sure she’d figure it out by the time she got to the company.

 

“Dear Yoorim…..

 

 

 

 

Yoorim was almost out the door herself when she could hear the text notification on her phone.

 

“Who could this be?” The guitarist wondered before checking her phone to see something that surprised her. 

 

“Oh…”

 

The text from Sihyeon had been an unexpected but not unwanted surprise. 

 

Kim Sihyeon: Dear Yoorim. Thank you for checking in. I am so sorry you’re caught in this mess with me too, but hopefully it will be handled quickly by my company and maybe next time it’ll be my motorcycle we ride on and not yours.

 

The message has this comforting vibe with a joking tone t