She was quiet, contemplating.  After a few minutes--minutes that seemed like an eternity for HyunJoong--she had arrived at an answer.  Her face remained stoical as she spoke.

"HyunJoong-ssi," she sighed, taking a deep breath. "The answer is--"

"Please say yes." he pleaded.  His eyes were so sad, as if he already knew the answer she was going to give him.  "Just say yes...please."

"The answer is...no." She said. "I'm sorry."

"Why?"  his voice was tight, as if he was trying to restrain a strong emotion.

"HyunJoong-ssi, just remember the way we were in the beginning.  We hated each other."

"What is this?" he scoffed as she pulled her holey work-out clothes from her torn bag.  She rolled her eyes, ignoring his comment and asked another member where she could change.

It had been a brisk day in Fall of the preceeding year when the pair had met.  HyunJoong's dance partner had been stupid enough to get herself pregnant just in time for her stomach to be a watermelon for the spring concert SS501 had planned.  The dance wasn't very difficult,--a line of body waves and simple steps around the shirtless members--just not very appealing when looking at a seven-month pregnancy belly.

So she needed to be replaced.  The managers had held a set of auditions, judging according to appeal and height relative to HyunJoong.  In the end, it was her that was chosen.  That--that thing.

"You look like a stripper," he said when she had finally returned from changing.  She clenched her fist, relaxed it with a sigh, and passed him up to stretch on the floor.  She didn't meet his eyes as she touched her toes.

Throughout the entire practice, even while she traced her finger on his chest and back as she circled him, their eyes never met.

"Guys, guys, guys!"  KyuJong said mid-circle. "You have no chemistry whatsoever!  How are you supposed to look y on stage together if you can't even look at one another?!" --he motioned her away from HyunJoong and told her to watch-- "You have to be like this...really close."

He was grinding on HyunJoong, performing body waves up against him.  The sight brought a smile to HaeJung's face and laughter easily followed.  One by one, the members joined her, all but HyunJoong, laughing cheerily at the awkward scene before them.

They had decided to settle down for lunch, after KyuJong had finished properly apologizing to HyunJoong for feeling the need to demostrate so forwardly, sitting in a circle on the floor.  The SS501 boys' manager had brought them Chinese from the resturaunt down the street--black bean noodles, egg rolls, the works.

HaeJung had brought her home-packed lunch--some rice and kimchi.  The mess of rice had been mushed with a variety of mis-matched ingredients, something that caught a laugh from HyungJoon.

"What happened?" he chuckled. "Accident in the kitchen?"

His statement brought a light-hearted smile to her face.  "My son made it."

The SS501 members almost dropped their lunches.

"Y-You have a kid?!"  "MILF!"  "That is not the body of a mom!"  "You're so young though!"

"It was just some simple fling probably...or was it a one-nighter?  Did you even try to use protection? ...What a ."

She gritted her teeth after hearing the last comment.  She knew exactly whose mouth it came from, too.