“Oh,” DooJoon said surprised as he and RaeIn re-entered the party. “Your flower is gone.”

“What?” RaeIn asked confused.

“Earlier, when you performed, you had a yellow flower in your hair. Didn’t you?”

“Oh,” RaeIn laughed. “Yeah, I did, but…”

“Are you guys ready for MAKIKO to perform again?” MC JiYoon interrupted.

“Let’s call them back up with ‘Telephone!’” MC HyunAh continued.

“Aigo~ Sorry, Oppa! I’ll see you later,” RaeIn said, giving DooJoon’s hand a light squeeze before running off to meet with JulSu and KaHee.

——-

“You’re so funny,” JulSu laughed, slapping the table.

“But it’s true,” DongWoon replied, laughing as well. “And then you should’ve heard what Hyung said afterwards…”

“What did he say?” JulSu asked when DongWoon trialed off, trying to catch her breath as she spoke.

“Hey, look there,” DongWoon said, looking up and pointing to a nearby booth.

“Oh,” JulSu said surprised as she looked over. RaeIn was cuddled up next to DooJoon; they were holding hands and RaeIn was looking up at DooJoon, laughing as he spoke. “That’s surprising.”

“I guess they made up,” DongWoon said grinning. “That’s great.”

“Eh… I guess so,” JulSu said, feeling a little overprotective of her leader. “RaeIn-unni does look happy; she was pretty sad lately.”

“Oh, man, you should have seen DooJoon-hyung! At first it seemed like everyone in the dorm was turning against him. He was miserable! It was very sad.” DongWoon reminisced.

“Was he really?” JulSu asked.

“Yeah,” DongWoon replied, nodding his head. “DooJoon-hyung really likes RaeIn-noona a lot, so I’m really glad they’re not fighting anymore.”

“Hmm, they do look very good together.” JulSu mused, looking back at the couple. She smiled. “So I guess I am very happy for them as well.”

“It’s the last song! Everyone, grab a partner, and welcome Bakery to the stage!” said the MCs.

“Wow! That much time passed by already?” JulSu exclaimed. “I can’t believe it’s already the last song!”

“Yeah, I know. Time really flies,” DongWoon replied.

“Yeah, especially when you’re having a good time,” JulSu added, smiling at DongWoon, causing him to feel a little flustered.

“I can’t believe we’ve been sitting here the whole time,” he responded, a hint of a blush on his cheeks.

“I know, I didn’t even dance,” JulSu laughed.

“I didn’t either,” DongWoon said, mustering up his courage. “In that case, shouldn’t we—“

“JulSu!” HyunSeung yelled as he ran over to the table. “I’ve been looking for you, have you been here the whole time?”

“Hi, HyunSeung-oppa,” JulSu said. “Yeah, I have. What’s up?”

“Hi, DongWoonie,” HyunSeung said, making sure to greet his maknae. He turned back to JulSu. “Actually, I was wondering if you’d like to dance with me. It’s the last song of the night!”

“Well, uh,” JulSu hesitated at first. She was still a bit hurt from not being asked to dance earlier, and she would feel bad by leaving DongWoon by himself when he kept her company the whole night. She looked over at DongWoon.

“Go,” DongWoon said, smiling. “Go dance. You haven’t danced all night.”

“A-are you sure? Will you be fine here?” JulSu asked.

“Of course!” DongWoon laughed. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll find someone to dance with.”

“Well, okay then…” JulSu said, before taking HyunSeung’s hand, which then led her to the dancefloor.

“This song is really nice; Bakery is doing very well so far,” HyunSeung said, nodding at the stage. JulSu agreed. “You guys, MAKIKO, are doing very well also,” HyunSeung added with a smile. “Congratulations.”

“Well,” JulSu said, blushing and looking down. “That’s partly what the party’s for, but we’ve still got a long way to go.”

“So how has your night been going?” HyunSeung asked as they continued to dance.

“It’s been going great, actually!” JulSu answered. “It started off kind of slow, but DongWoon…” JulSu looked over at her table and found that DongWoon was still there. He hadn’t looked for anyone else to dance, and actually he looked a bit bored at the moment as he sat twiddling his thumbs. “DongWoonie-oppa kept me company.”

“Ah, I see. Yeah our maknae’s a considerate one.” HyunSeung complimented, chuckling a bit. JulSu stayed quiet for a moment.

“Oppa,” she said finally, though she avoided looking at him. “Thank you so much for asking me to dance – I was actually hoping you would ask me earlier – but I’ve got to…” HyunSeung could only watch as JulSu broke free from their dance. He stood frozen in the middle of the dance floor at first, not comprehending the situation at first. However, he understood once he saw JulSu walk back to her table, to where DongWoon was sitting, and offer him a hand. DongWoon merely looked at JulSu’s hand in front of him, confused as well.

“HyunSeung-oppa, you’re not dancing with anyone?” GaYoon asked, tapping him on the shoulder. HyunSeung turned to her.

“Actually I was, but not anymore.”

“Shall we dance then?” GaYoon asked shyly. HyunSeung smiled at her, grabbing her hands.

——-

“Finally, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for attending!” KaHee was designated the role of wrapping up the party. The members of MAKIKO each gave a short speech, but KaHee’s was last since she was the birthday girl. Since CUBE Entertainment hosted the party, the CUBE family stayed latest while they bid their guests adieu. 4Minute left after all the guests departed, and soon MAKIKO and BEAST would follow.

RaeIn yawned, stretching her arms over her head. “That was a really fun party, but I’m really tired now.”

“Do you want to go to the van now, Unni?” JulSu asked. RaeIn nodded in response. JulSu looked at SaRang.

“All right, let’s go,” Manager SaRang said.

“I’ll walk with you!” DooJoon said immediately, wrapping an arm around RaeIn so he could support the sleepy girl. She instinctively wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes as he walked her out. “Hey, that doesn’t mean you can fall asleep already. You still have to walk to the van!”

“Let’s head back to the van too,” YoSeob said, yawning as well.

“Yeah, I’m so tired,” DongWoon agreed. He looked around and asked, “Where’s JunHyung?”

“He’s already in the van,” HyunSeung answered.

“All right, let’s go then!” Manager JiYong said, walking towards the door. Everyone followed him in a herd.

“Ah, I’ll follow you guys in a bit,” KiKwang said. His friends mumbled in acknowledgement, though they were too tired to say anymore. He grabbed KaHee’s arm so she could stay behind with him. She was a bit drowsy, so she stumbled a bit.

“Yah~” KaHee said sleepily. “I’m trying to go hooome~”

“KaHee-ah,” KiKwang said.

“Yes?” KaHee asked, dully, still wanting to follow her friends to the van.

“Er… Here.” KiKwang gave her a small box wrapped with a yellow bow on top.

“Oh! A present!” KaHee gushed, suddenly feeling awake. She ripped the paper open, but not before sticking the yellow bow on top of KiKwang’s head. Opening the box, she found a black band.

“Is this your ring?” KaHee asked confused.

“Nope,” KiKwang said, holding up his hand, revealing that his ring was still there.

“Then what’s this?” KaHee asked, now holding up the box.

“Couple rings,” KiKwang said smiling. He grabbed the box from her and pulled the ring out. He took his ring off as well and put them side by side. “Look.”

Both rings were engraved on the inside with the phrase “KiKwang ♡ KaHee.” KiKwang smiled again as KaHee read their names. He replaced his ring on his finger, and grabbed KaHee’s hand so he could place her ring on her finger as well.

“Thank you,” KaHee said, almost breathless.

“You know, it’s really a shame,” KiKwang said, interlacing their hands. KaHee felt as their rings hit each other as their fingers touched. “I wanted to be the one to say it first.”

“Say what?” KaHee asked, bringing up their hands so she could have a better view of her ring.

“Say that I love you,” KiKwang said. Surprised, she glanced at KiKwang and found him staring intently at her. She looked down as she blushed.

“W-what are you saying?” Kahee asked shyly.

“KaHee,” KiKwang repeated, lifting her chin so she would face him again. “I love you.”

“I meant,” KaHee started. “What are you saying? I never said that earlier!” she continued stubbornly. She swatted KiKwang’s hand away from her chin so she could be free to look away from him; she was not about to let him see her cheeks turn the same shade as her dress. KiKwang laughed anyway; this was the exact reaction he was expecting. He squeezed her hand, and with his other hand brought her in for a hug.

“Happy birthday,” he said. He felt her relax in his arms.

“Thank you.”

——-

“Ahh~ That party was so tiring. I’m going to take a shower first!” JunHyung announced to the members before they could beat him to the bathroom. He stripped off his vest and hung it on a hanger. Before he left the room, JunHyung noticed the yellow flower in his vest. He picked it up feeling a tinge of heaviness in his chest as he remembered what he and YoSeob overheard. However, thinking back he remembered the moment RaeIn placed the flower in his vest pocket, and he smiled. Without a second thought, he opened up a drawer and placed the flower carefully inside. Then he finally exited the room to take a shower.

“Aigo~” DooJoon said, poking his head into the room and looking around. The room was empty, and soon he heard the shower running. “I guess JunHyung’s already taking a shower.” He walked across the room to their closet and started opening up random drawers. “JunHyung-ah,” he said out loud to the non-present rapper. “I’m going to borrow some tape…”

He continued opening and closing drawers in search for the tape, though something caught his eye. DooJoon carefully picked up the yellow flower, recognizing it from MAKIKO’s performance earlier at the party. He gulped as he felt a weird sensation overtake him. “JunHyung… what is he doing with this?”

——-

In MAKIKO’s dorm, RaeIn and DooJoon cuddled up together on the couch facing the television.

“It’s October 7,” RaeIn giggled. “I can’t believe the CF is finally airing!”

“Yeah, I know,” DooJoon said smiling. His arm was around her and he rubbed her shoulder with his thumb. “I’m really excited to see it.”

They looked at the screen and the commercial started playing. In thirty seconds, they watched as RaeIn and JunHyung acted out their parts. Starting with JunHyung’s “yeobo,” the scene changed to JunHyung feeding RaeIn chicken, and finally the dance sequence at the end. All the while, RaeIn’s and JunHyung’s singing and rapping voices could be heard in the background.

“How was it?” RaeIn asked, looking up at DooJoon with sparkling eyes.

“Well, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” DooJoon mused.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” RaeIn asked offended. She tried to get up, but DooJoon pulled her back so she couldn’t leave his side.

“I was prepared to get extremely jealous of JunHyung, but it wasn’t too bad. Actually, your CF was great! You guys worked hard,” DooJoon said as he forced RaeIn closer to him so he could plant a kiss on her forehead.

“I have more good news, by the way,” RaeIn said. “I wanted to wait until after we watched the CF.”

“Go on,” DooJoon urged.

“Director Jang gave me a call, and he told me that JunHyung-oppa and I are going to film a music drama!”

“Ah, I see,” DooJoon said. “That’s great! But let me know if JunHyung tries to make a move on you. I’ll make sure to take care of it!” DooJoon said this jokingly; however as he remembered the conversation he had with Shin SeKyung the day of their photoshoot as well as the yellow flower from last night, he couldn’t help but feel some seriousness about his words.

“What are you talking about, Oppa?” RaeIn punched him playfully on his side. “You shouldn’t think that JunHyung-oppa would do something like that; it’s weird!”

“You’re right,” DooJoon laughed, forcing his worried thoughts away. “Don’t listen to what I’m saying. Is that what’s on your schedule for today?”

“No, today MAKIKO has an interview to film. I’m a bit nervous.”

“Don’t be nervous. You guys will do fine,” DooJoon squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “I have news too, actually,” DooJoon continued nervously. “I’m filming a CF as well.”

“Oh that’s great!” RaeIn gushed, she hugged DooJoon.

“Yeah, I’m supposed to head over there in a bit…”

“Oh okay,” RaeIn said, still smiling at him. “Just tell me when you need to go; I don’t want you to be late!”

“I have to tell you something about it though. I’m filming the commercial with Shin SeKyung-ssi…”

“Oh, I see,” RaeIn said. Her smile faltered a bit as she absorbed the news.

“…But you trust me right?” DooJoon asked hesitantly.

“O-of course, I do!” RaeIn answered, trying to hide her disappointment. “It’s just a job, anyway!”

“All right,” DooJoon smiled, feeling a bit reassured at her answer. The two got up and RaeIn walked DooJoon to the door. “I’ll see you later, okay? Good luck with your interview.” RaeIn answered with thanks and yes, she would see him later, and he kissed her on the cheek before heading to the filming location. RaeIn sighed as she closed the door.

“It’s nothing,” RaeIn said out loud to herself. “It’s just a job.”

So special guy is me we fly~

“JunHyung-oppa, what’s up?” RaeIn answered her phone when it suddenly started ringing in her pocket.

“Hey, Director Jang said the scripts are ready. Do you want to pick them up together?”

“Yeah, sure,” RaeIn answered. “I have an interview with MAKIKO to do first, though. I’ll let you know when we finish.”

“All right, I’ll talk to you later then!”

“Yeah, definitely.” RaeIn was about to hang up her phone, but JunHyung continued speaking.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” RaeIn replied, surprised. “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“Nothing, you just sounded different just now.”

“You’re quite the observant one,” RaeIn said laughing. “I guess I’m just a bit tired.”

“Oh okay then. Be sure to get some rest!”

RaeIn smacked her forehead after she finally hung up with JunHyung. “Get a hold of yourself, RaeIn! Don’t worry about that Shin SeKyung! She’s got nothing on you! Just don’t think about it! Argh… I can’t believe even JunHyung-oppa noticed something was wrong!”

——-

“DooJoon-oppa! We’re advertising something together again,” SeKyung said once DooJoon reached the filming area. She immediately grabbed on to his arm.

“Y-yeah, how fun,” DooJoon said nervously as he tried to shake her off.

“Glad you two are here!” Director Choi exclaimed as he caught sight of the lead actors of his CF. “Let’s get you two ready…”

A couple of assistants ushered SeKyung and DooJoon to their respective make-up artists and stylists. DooJoon sat down on a chair letting out a small “oomph,” and almost immediately, numerous coordi-noonas hovered over him to get him ready.

“Let’s see what we can do with your hair this time!”

“Your skin is very nice; good job with taking care of it!”

“Let’s just add a bit more eye-liner…”

“Ah, we have to take this necklace off…”

“What?” DooJoon asked, surprised. “Do I really have to take the necklace off?”

“Yes, it doesn’t go well with the concept of the CF!”

“But…”

“It’s not like you’re never putting it back on!” one of the coordis said as she unclasped the chain and placed it on the table in front of her.

“B-be careful with it though, please, Noona,” DooJoon cautioned as another stylist continued to play with his hair.

“Of course, of course,” she reassured him as she headed over to help SeKyung get ready as well.

DooJoon sighed. “Okay,” he thought. “I just need to film as quickly as possible and get away from SeKyung as quickly as possible so that I can get back to RaeIn as quickly as possible…”

——-

“Ah, thank you for all the hard work!” DooJoon said, bowing as he made his way out the door. He had quickly stuffed his belongings into his bag and evaded any lengthy conversations that may keep him at the filming site any longer. Catching a glimpse of a nearby SeKyung from the corner of his eye, DooJoon gave a final wave and a final bow and left.

“DooJoon-ssi!” yelled one of the stylists. “You forgot… this…”

“What did DooJoon forget, Unni?” SeKyung asked sweetly.

“Oh, he forgot his necklace,” the stylist said, holding up the pendant shaped like double eighth notes.

“That’s what he forgot?” SeKyung scoffed. “That’s it?”

“It seemed really important…”

“I’ll bring it to his dorm then,” SeKyung offered. “I’m heading in that direction anyway.”

“Thank you very much! I’ll leave it in your care.” SeKyung smiled at the stylist as she accepted the necklace. She had noticed DooJoon wearing it during their photoshoots. She observed the shape of it, and finally her eyes spotted the engraved letters “D” and “R.”

“Hmm,” SeKyung thought, smirking. “Well, that’s interesting.”