Taeyang's eyes glinted when he spotted the familiar petite figure as GD and him pulled up the old Volkswagon in front of IU's house. He wasn't sure about the idea of IU coming along to the party, but he could not help but smile at the thought of having a chance to spend more time with her.

'Get in the car IU,' GD said as he popped out his head cheekily out of the window. 'Taeyang's in the car already,' He added, making IU turn into a red hue.

IU chose the back seat beside Taeyang. As she seated with a soft plomp, she couldn't help but notice how suave Taeyang was looking that day. He was clad in a simple v-neck shirt and acid washed jeans, but still was able to look truly amazing.

The journey was short, and they reached the destination in minutes. IU stumbled out of the car clumsily. It was her first time wearing heels, and she still wasn't quite used to it. As she stood unsteadily, she almost lost her balance when a sudden shrill voice pierced the air.

Just then, she felt a strong steady hand holding on to her, saving her from the fall. She instinctively looked up, and her eyes met Taeyang's.

'You almost had a tumble there, clumsy head,' He said cheekily, 'Be careful all right?'

'T-thanks,' IU murmured, unable to hide her abashment. The party hadn't even started, but she already found herself caught in an embarrassing situation.

'Young Bae! Ji Yong!' The one with the shrill voice piped in, interrupting IU and Taeyang. 'I missed you two so badly!' He said as he hugged GD and Taeyang, almost strangling them in the process.

'Daesung! We missed you too!' Taeyang and GD replied, returning the heartfelt hug.

'Who's that?' Daesung asked politely, as the three good friends finished their warm welcome.

'Yeah, she's pretty,' Seungri, previously lurking behind them suddenly said, 'Introduce her to me okay? I'm looking for a girlfriend these days.'

IU felt uncomfortable as she felt Daesung and Seungri's gaze on her, especially when Seungri was looking at her as if he was about to eat her for dinner.

'Don't harbour any fancy ideas, Seungri,' Taeyang said protectively, pulling IU to his side, 'She's with me.'

GD raised his brows curiously, this was what he was hoping for. He was hoping that IU and Taeyang would become closer during the party, and Taeyang's sudden statement was an indirect revelation of his feelings already.

'Let's go into the house first,' GD suggested and pushed all of them into the house.

IU was greeted to a disturbing sight. It looked as if the party had already started before they arrived. Many of Daesung's friends were lying scattered on the floor, completely drunk. As the drunkards sang songs which were out of tune and continued their utterance of nonsense, an embarrassed Daesung quickly stood in front of the group, trying his best to block the view out of sight.

'Let's go to the balcony, it's quieter there,' Daesung suggested, leading them to the patio. 

'Why not we play a game?' Seungri suggested cheekily, 'The one where the loser would need to down the whole can of beer. We've been playing it for years now, and I still can't seem to get bored of it. It's going to be fun tonight, especially when we have a new member.'

Taeyang grew worried, he had a good alcohol tolerance and so did the others, but he didn't know about IU. He eyed IU suspiciously as she lost the first round of scissors-paper-stone, and confidently drank the can of beer gulp by gulp, until not a single drop of it was left.

'Are you okay? Don't force yourself if you can't take it okay?' Taeyang asked anxiously, not wanting IU to be drunk.

IU shoved him a little too violently, 'Of course I'm okay!' She said loudly, bursting into uncontrollable laughter while her face turned into a deep shade of red.

'Oh no, she's drunk already,' GD sighed, 'It was only one can.'

'I already told you, I'm not drunk!' IU protested like a kid, drinking more cans of beer to prove her point, until she out.

Taeyang's protective nature of IU surfaced again, as he lifted the unconscious IU to the nearby sofa, away from all the noise and chaos.

'I'll stay by her side till she wakes up,' Taeyang conveyed to the rest quickly, whilst carrying IU in his arms.

He sighed a little as he laid IU onto the sofa. He didn't know what he was going to do if IU did not wake up before the deep night. He couldn't even send her home since he did not have her address. As he sat beside her, silently praying that she would come into consciousness soon, he noticed how pretty she was even when her face was still crimson from all the drinking. He brushed her hazelnut brown hair out of her eyes, and her cheek affectionately. She seemed so delicate and fragile, that Taeyang promised himself that if she were to give her timid heart to him, he'll treasure it forever, knowing that he'll never want to break that brittle heart of hers.

'Where am I? What happened?' IU queried, as she aroused from her seven long hours of sleep, still feeling lightheaded.

Seeing Taeyang sitting beside her, she immediately bolted up and looked down sheepishly.

'Don't tell me it was the alocohol,' IU's voice trailed off as she held a hand to her head, 'Ouch, my head hurts.'

'Yes,' Taeyang smiled coyly as he watched the clumsy IU take in what was happening, 'You had a little too much to drink. Are you feeling better now?'

'I'm still feeling a little ditzy,' IU mumbled, 'I want to go home.'

'All right, I'll drive you back.' Taeyang responded, 'I don't think Ji Yong would mind if I drove his Volkswagon.'

IU stumbled out of the house, with Taeyang's arm holding on to her, they successfully made their way to the porch, but no car was to be seen.

'Ji Yong must have headed home already, or has went somewhere else to party with Daesung and Seungri. What are we going to do?' Taeyang asked frustrated.

'I recognise this street,' IU said softly, 'My house is just down the road.'

'Really?' Taeyang asked suspiciously, he was afraid that she was still drunk and didn't know what she was talking about. 'Come to think of it, it was a really short drive from your house to here.'

'My house is really down the road!' IU said, she was starting to get impatient. Indeed, she was still a little bit tipsy but she was certain her house was down the road.

'Okay then, I'll accompany you back.' Taeyang said firmly. 'It's the dead of the night now, there's no taxis anywhere. So I'll walk with you home.'

IU nodded sheepishly but as she took her first step, her heel broke.

'Oh what rotten luck! The heel of my shoe broke!' IU wailed, desperately trying to fix it back.

Taeyang stared at IU amused, 'there's no way you can fix the shoe back. I guess you have to walk barefooted then!' He teased.

'You're right,' IU said defeated as she took off both her heels and started to walk barefooted, 'The ground is not too hard anyway, it's okay that I walk barefooted.'

Taeyang stopped IU after a few steps and hollered at her, 'What are you doing? I was just kidding when I said you should walk barefooted. It's so dark that you can't see what's lying ahead! What if you accidentally step on glass shards?'

IU was stumped by Taeyang's outburst of anger. She tried to refrain from crying, knowing that it would only make matters worse. It was all her fault anyway. She should have never come to this stupid party, drank the stupid cans of alcohol, and accepted Taeyang's stupid offer of walking her home.

'Taeyang must be so disappointed in me now,' IU thought sadly, 'It was only a matter of time anyway that he realised that I wasn't the girl he envisioned to be. I'm only a silly clumsy head.'

'Get on my back,' Taeyang said suddenly, interrupting IU's thoughts, 'get on my back and I'll carry you home.'

IU stood rooted to the ground. Just a second ago, she was thinking how this guy in front of her must have hated her to bits, but right now, he was asking her to get on his back?

Seeing IU in a trance, he stood infront of IU, and took both of her arms which he then positioned round his neck.

'Hold on tight,' He warned teasingly, as he lifted IU, 'Like it or not, I'm going to carry you the whole journey home.'

As the two of them headed for home, the moon and stars shining on them seemed to be glowing brighter than they did on any other night.

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading and supporting my fanfic!! You're comments and subscriptions really made me happy. ^^ Please leave more comments, so I'll know what you guys think and will improve further on my writing! Last time, I was a silent reader too, but after I began writing my own fanfic, I realised how happy it is to have comments! So please do comment! ;D Anyway, hope you guys like the story plot till now! IU x Taeyang forever! ♥