It was already ten in the evening.

Dance practice has long been done but the Super Junior members were still at their practice room. They were informed earlier that their manager has an important announcement to make and so, they obediently waited. Ironically, the said manager was nowhere to be found and majority of the members were getting impatient.

There was a few minutes of silence before Donghae stood up and announced that he was just going to  grab a drink. The others nonchalantly nodded at him and he smiled  at himself.

As Donghae made his way towards the nearest vending machine, he heard the sound of a ball being dribbled. It was coming from one of the indoor gyms where he and the other members of his group usually play. Curiousity got the better of him so he decided to check on the person who, unbelievably, still had the stength to play basketball at this time of the night. He pushed the gym's door open just in time to see a familiar girl, jumping high up on the air, aiming for a three-point shot. She landed ungracefully on the floor but was still focused on the then-released ball which encirled the rim of the basket a few times, before it went in.

Donghae could not hide his amusement as he watched the girl roll childishly on the floor while shouting, "It went in! It went in!"

As much as he does not want to spoil her celebratory mood, Donghae called her out. He knew perfectly that training sessions ended three hours ago and this certain girl was not the kind to stay behind.

"Yoona, what are you still doing here?"

The girl looked up at her unexpected audience and was quite scandalized when she found out who it was. She hastily got up on her feet and bowed at the older guy.

"Sunbae..." she started.

Donghae frowned at this. He had known Yoona for four years now but she could not seemed to drop her formalities towards him. With the exception of Leeteuk and Siwon, Yoona acknowledged everyone else formally. It's not really big of a deal but for one reason or another, it would make Donghae genuinely happy if she could include him in her short-list of oppadeul. He would be lying to  himself if he say that he does not feel a tinge of jealousy whenever he heard her say Leeteuk-oppa or Siwon-oppa affectionately.

"... your manager told me to wait for him. He was talking about a scheduled work for me tomorrow but then his phone rang and he was suddenly in a hurry."

Donghae's mood and interest perked up with the news. Somehow, at the back of his mind, he had a good feeling about this.

"Well, he also told us that he has an announcement to make. Why not wait for him together at our practice room? I think thirteen handsome oppadeul are better companies than a basket and a ball." he said, smiling as he emphasized the word oppadeul.

It was obvious that his charm has no effect whatsoever on Yoona as her facial expression remained blank. Still, out of presumably customary courtesies, the younger girl agreed.

Donghae was beyond stoked that he hastily grabbed Yoona's hand and entangled it with his. He had totally forgotten about the drink he planned on getting for himself and instead, started to lead the way back to their practice room.

Yoona, on the other hand, was taken aback by the sudden skinship. Although she knew that her sunbae was a gentle person and that some other female trainees would do anything just to be in her position right now, it was also a plain fact that she never felt comfortable doing such gestures with species of the opposite . She was about to politely ask Donghae to let go of her hand when a voice from behind them called her name. 

Both her and Donghae turned their heads to the direction of the caller just to see Super Junior's manager runnning towards them. He immediately apologized for being so late and did not beat around the bush as he led Donghae and Yoona to where the others were.

A sense of momentary relief was felt by the Super Junior members when they saw their manager's face. What surprised them was the added presence of Yoona. Siwon waved at her and motioned for her to sit down next to him. She hurriedly went to his side, completely missing out the small frown that made its way to Donghae's face the moment he released his hold on her.

The manager started his talk. He broke out the news that the group will be filming the music video for their song Marry U the next day. This gained a lot of excited hoots from the members who seemed to forgot that they barely have an hour before the so-called 'next day'. The manager also added that Yoona will again be playing the female lead role which earned her a handful of teasing comments from her seniors.

"But isn't she already the princess of MAGIC CASTLE?" Yesung said, grinning.

"And the U in our U." Ryeowook added.

"Also, isn't she too young to  be our bride?" Heechul said mischievously.

"That's a case-to-case basis, hyung." Kyuhyun interjected. "She's relatively too young if you and Leeteuk-hyung were to be her groom. It's not the case when it comes to me." he continued as if emphasizing his young age.

The room burst out in laughter at their maknae's witty yet sarcastic comment. Yoona was heavily embarassed with what they were all saying but Siwon was quick to assure her that it was all for the sake of good laugh. The manager continued discussing each member's schedule and then moved on to Yoona's.

"I'm saying this beforehand, Yoona. You'll be very busy tomorrow. We need to get you to Gwangju before six in the morning for your CF filming, we then have to go back to Seoul to shoot your parts in the music video. Afterwards, you'll have a magazine photoshoot with some of this lot. Donghae, Siwon and Kibum, take note of this, I'm pertaining to you three." The manager finished, with all the Super Junior members gaping at him.

"Hyung, it's  not like Yoona will be feeding the thirteen of us for the next few months or so, what's up with all the work?" Heechul asked.

"Isn't it too much for a trainee?" Leeteuk added worriedly.

Their manager sighed and said, "Believe me. I tried bailing her out from either the CF or the photoshoot. I even suggested other female trainees but they insisted that they want her."

There was silence again until Kyuhyun spoke. "It's because your face is so blessed, Yoona. You should  have given some to Eunhyuk-hyung."

This gained another howl of laughter from the other members. Donghae have to restrain Eunhyuk from hitting their maknae as he, himself, tried controlling his laughter. It was not until their manager announced that they were all dismissed for the day that the playful atmosphere subsided.

It was almost midnight and the members were all packed and ready to go back to their dorm. It was then when a thought struck Donghae. He nearly shouted at  their  manager, saying "Hyung! Who will take Yoona home?"

Yoona seemed to realized it too as she turned her head to the manager with a questioning and worried look. 

The older man simply waved his hand at them and said, "We'll take her with us. We have to drop Siwon, Kibum and Kyuhyun at their homes as well, anyway."

Donghae saw Siwon smiled at this. The latter then comfortably placed his arm around Yoona's shoulder and engaged her in a conversation. Donghae narrowed his eyes at his friend and inwardly scowled. Unbeknownst to him, a pair of gleaming eyes was also watching his every move. 

"Interesting." the unnoticed guy muttered to himself.