Today was the day for Mary and I to perform for the whole entire TS building for their anniversary banquet. I was fine going up to perform, but Mary nervously bit her bottom lip while pacing around. I smiled and patted her back, making her jump a bit. 

 

"You'll do fine Mary," I said as she gave me a soft smile. "Don't try to make it sound perfect especially when your voice hasn't recovered. Make mistakes if you have to and let those mistakes make you stronger."

 

She nodded and slowly exhaled. Youngjae came up to me and pulled me away. 

 

"You nervous my Busan Wonbin?" he asked as I glared at him. 

 

"I'm not your Wonbin, nor am I Wonbin over all. Don't ever call me that again," I warned and looked back to Mary. 

 

"You worried about her huh?" he asked as I slightly nodded. "Awwh~ isn't that just cute."

 

"You're so lame, shut up will you?" I said and playfully pulled him in a head lock when Yongguk pulled us apart. 

 

"You're up in a few," he said and did a head nod to Mary. "Will she be able to sing?"

 

"She will," I said and walked up to her to inform her. 

 

"Ahh, I'm so nervous," she said while rubbing her hands together. I chuckled and held her hand. 

 

"You'll do fine," I said and led her up to the stage. The lights were in my eyes, I don't know about her, but it blinded me. I inhaled and slowly exhaled as she looked like she was going to pass out anytime soon. The song began playing and I just swayed to the music as she missed her que. I looked at her, worried as she gripped onto the mic. I then sung her part for her and scooted closer to her, grabbing her hand and held tight onto it, singing more comfortably. It was the chorus and she then started to sing, so I backed off and let her sing. I could feel her grip tighten on my hand as she sung louder. There was a little break for the key change, so I leaned down and whispered, "I'm here. You don't need to be nervous and only look at me."

 

Even though it was my turn to sing, she faced me as I faced her and sung. Her face seemed to have soften and her grip was loosening. Then the bridge came and we continued to sing to each other when the long high note was coming. I could feel her grip tighten again, but I gave her an encouraging squeeze and smiled. She was reaching for the high note, but with her sore voice, she cracked and her face fell. I sung louder as she sung softer, insecure about her voice. I walked closer to her, now only a few inches away from her and softened my eyes. I then caressed her face and slid my hand down her arm, back into her hands. I then turned back to look at the crowd and glanced at her to see her eyes fall in disappointment. The audience applauded and we headed off stage. 

 

"Aish, I'm such an idiot," she said while running her fingers through her hair. "I made us look bad."

 

"Don't say that. I think we did a good job," I said as she turned to glare at me with teary eyes. 

 

"I don't deserve to be a singer if I can't even sing in front of people without cracking my voice," she said, now frustrated. 

 

"Idols make many mistakes, even the professionals," I said, trying to comfort her. "You're not the only one."

 

"Yeah, easy for you to say when you're an outstanding singer," she said now letting the tears fall. 

 

"Mary, why do you think such negative thoughts?" I asked as she sat down on the couch in the waiting room. I sat down next to her and looked at her head that hung low. I gently put her loose hair behind her ear to get a better view of her. "You're an amazing singer yourself, not everyone can be perfect."

 

"But-"

 

"Mary," I firmly said as she looked at me with her teary eyes. I wiped off the tears from her cheeks and cupped her face. "Use today as a lesson. We're still trainees, who's learning new things everyday and whatever that we need to learn. As time goes by, you'll become one of the best singers out there. Don't let today ruin it for you and don't let it discourage you."

 

She blinked at me and sighed as I released her. I patted her head and gave her a warm smile. "I'll be glad to help you on your vocals if you'd like me to. I mean, your vocal trainer doesn't seem to be doing a good job."

 

She lightly laughed and smiled," I'd like that, but Jay's my vocal teacher so..."

 

"We'll he's better at dancing than singing, that's for sure," I said as she was now fully laughing. It then slowed down and she looked at me and out of the blue, she hugged me. 

 

"Thank you Daehyun-ssi," she softly said, almost like a whisper. "Thank you for everything. If I wasn't partnered up with you, I don't know how I'd react after the performance. You're always helping me out. Thank you."

 

"Anything for you Mary," I replied and returned the hug when everyone walked in on us. 

 

"Oh....uh, are we interrupting?" Jihye asked as we pulled apart. 

 

"No, I was just thanking him," Mary said and wiped her cheeks dry. 

 

"Are you sure about that?" Youngjae asked with an eyebrow raised as I gave him my death glare.  

 

"Why didn't you tell me your voice was sore?" Jay asked, sitting down next to Mary. 

 

"I didn't want to trouble you," she said with a sheepish smile as he shook his head at her and ruffled her hair. 

 

"You're over thinking. If I knew, I wouldn't have let you sing up there. You could have damaged your voice," he said as she apologized. "I see I need to work on you some more."

 

"It's fine, Daehyun oppa is helping me out," she said as the oppa caught me by surprise. She looked at me and smiled as I could hear the others murmur stuff about us and our relationship. I returned the smile when Jay told us we should be present in the banquet. 

 

"Do we have to eat here? Can't we eat at a pasta place?" Himchan whined as Jay shook his finger. 

 

"TaeSung hyung won't like that," Jay said and we joined the other trainees and staffs in the banquet hall. 

 

"Great job Mary and Daehyun."

 

"You guys were good on stage."

 

"Your voices match so well together, its like they were made for each other or something!"

 

Mary and I were getting compliments from almost everyone we passed by to get to our seats, which were in the front of the room. I looked at her as she smiled brightly and thanked those who were complimenting us. 

 

"Wow, I guess we did better than I expected," she said as we took our seats. 

 

"You mean you, I was already good," I teased as she narrowed her eyes at me and stuck her tongue out as I softly laughed when the CEO, Taesung, was making some announcements and a speech. A long night has passed and we were heading home. I was going to get in the van with my members, but I saw Mary walking alone, so I decided to follow behind. She was holding herself to keep warm since it was colder than usual, meaning fall was near. I took off my blazer and wrapped it around her as she jumped, startled. She looked at me surprised as I smiled and walked besides her. 

 

"Wear it, you'll catch a cold," I said and looked down to the ground, walking over the cracks and line. "Are you taking the bus back home?"

 

"I think I'll get a cab, it's faster," she said as I looked around to see not a single car in sight. "But since there's not one right now, I'll just have to walk. The bus won't be coming until 30 minutes later, if I walk I'll be home already."

 

"Are you sure you can walk home with those heels?" I asked as she stopped walking and took them off. 

 

"I can always walk without them," she said and caught up with me. I then grabbed her wrist and made her face me. 

 

"You shouldn't walk bare-footed, who knows there could be glass on the ground and you'll hurt yourself. Next thing you know, you can't sing or dance," I said in a teasing manner as she huffed out a sigh. I then bent down in front of her and told her to get on my back. She hesitated at first, but gave in and slowly got on my back. She was lighter than I expected. 

 

"Daehyun-ssi, why are you so nice?" she suddenly asked as a few minutes of silence had gone by. 

 

"Daehyun-ssi? What happened to Daehyun-oppa?" I asked as she giggled. 

 

"Sorry, Daehyun oppa," she said and hugged my neck tighter, resting her head on my back. "So tell me."

 

"Hmm, ever since I met that little girl I just felt like I needed to be nice to everyone," I responded as she nodded. 

 

"Who's the girl then?" she asked as I smiled to myself. 

 

"My first love," I said. "I met her only once and I fell in love with her already. We both had the dream to become singers."

 

"Did she ever become one?" she asked as I nodded. 

 

"She's  not a singer yet, but one day she will become the best," I replied. "For sure she's one amazing dancer."

 

"How do you know? Did you guys ever get to see each other again?" she asked as I chuckled. 

 

"I just know," I said. "We did meet each other too, but she doesn't seem to remember me."

 

"Chincha?!" she shouted as I nodded. "Who wouldn't remember you?!"

 

Pabo. I laughed to myself and continued walking when we reached her door steps. I set her down and handed her, her heels as I was holding it the whole time. 

 

"Thank you for carrying me home," she said as I smiled. 

 

"No problem," I said and waved her goodbye. 

 

"Goodnight, sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite, oppa!" she called out and entered her house. I realized that she still had my blazer, but I didn't mind her having it for the night. I walked home when I noticed some movement from the corner of my eyes. *These idiots.*

 

I snuck around and approached the 5 stalkers, who were hiding behind 2 trash cans. I slowly walked up to them and used my phone to set off a siren, making them jump. 

 

"Oh my gosh, you freakin scared us," Yongguk said, holding onto his chest. 

 

"What were you guys doing?" I asked with a smirk. 

 

"Pssh, we're taking a stroll," Himchan said while stretching his arms up. 

 

"Y-yeah, what do you think we're doing?" Youngjae said and stretched his legs. I rolled my eyes and shook my head at them. 

 

"Idiots," I muttered and started walking home. 

 

"So...you and Mary-"

 

"No hyung," I said, cutting Himchan off. 

 

"You know, I think Mary has a thing for you hyung," Zelo said while scratching his chin. 

 

"Stop saying such nonsense," I said as they chuckled. 

 

"So clueless," Youngjae said and swung his arm around my neck. "Hyung, she obviously likes you."

 

"No she doesn't. She doesn't even remember me," I said as they shook their heads. 

 

"Why should it matter if she remembers you or not? It's not like you two were-"

 

"Shut up and let the kid think what he wants to," Yongguk scolded Himchan by covering his mouth. "But what Zelo and Youngjae is saying is right. She has a thing for you."

 

"So what if she does," I said and walked faster away from them. Honestly, I couldn't control how happy my heart was even if they were lying or not. Does she really like me? But what about Jonghwan?