Joon hummed softly to himself as he browsed the selection of toys, the giggles and whispering of fangirls ignored as he kept his mind on the task at hand. He remembered the days when he had browsed this very store with Leo, Dayoung and Lauren, remembered how he and Mir had been in competition for the kids love. It seemed so silly now as he thought about it, but he had really wanted them to love him best. Now he felt lucky that they had loved him at all.

Smiling at the memories he walked by a section of the store completely devoted to Pororo and his friends. He stopped and studied the collection, his grin widening as he reached out for a Loopy doll knowing for certain that it was the right one. He snuggled the stuffed doll in his arms as he headed towards the checkout counter.

The clerk rang up the doll and he had no qualms with handing over his card yet again for the little girl that had so quickly captured his heart. He signed his name and waved to a few of the giggling girls as he left the store, his strides in no hurry as he moved about the shopping center.

Joon felt certain that Soo Jin would love his present to her and the smile he hoped to see on her face was enough to make him forget the fans around him who had their phones out clicking pictures of him leaving the toy store. If he had thought about it might had been smarter to send someone else out to buy the toy because he was almost certain that some story or another would be twisted and spewed by the media, but to be honest he really didn’t mind. It wasn’t as if it was forbidden for idols to buy toys and if asked he could simply say it was a birthday gift for a family member…not that he wanted to lie to the media, but he was pretty sure that Yoon Hee wouldn’t abide him bringing her daughter into the spotlight even for something as simple as a stuffed doll.

It was the first time he had really thought about it. He realized that he was going to have to watch his step unless he wanted to drag Yoon Hee and Soo Jin into the dirty world of media lies and propaganda. He didn’t want to expose either of them to that kind of thing because he knew just how harsh the media could be…and the fans now that he thought about it. He knew that there were some fans that could stir up trouble if they found out he, or even one of the others, had become involved with someone even if it was simply on a platonic level.

Platonic level…the thought spun in his mind and Joon decided he definitely wanted to try for more than just a friendship with Yoon Hee. He didn’t understand his reasons for that, but he had never once felt his heart stutter and race at the same time as he did when he was near Yoon Hee, but it wasn’t just her…he wanted to be around for Soo Jin as well. The little girl had wrapped him around her little finer already as she wormed her way into his heart. Although, he thought, she really hadn’t had to worm her way anywhere. Just the sight of her big brown eyes and pixie-like features was enough to draw anyone in and he had been drawn in without hesitation.

He smiled at the thought of the sick little girl and his footsteps hastened as he walked out of the shopping center and towards the curb where he hailed a taxi and climbed into the back, telling the driver where to go. Joon could hardly wait to see the two women that had his heart so totally ensnared.

Yoon Hee woke from her nap and nestled her face in Soo Jin’s hair inhaling her sweet scent before she lifted her head and peered around the room. She wasn’t surprised to find Joon had disappeared. What guy, as handsome and well sought after as him, would stick around a hospital and a sick child that wasn’t even his own? What had she expected? That he would stick around?

She had seen the sincerity in his eyes the day before when she had dragged him out into the hallway, had let herself believe him for a moment and now she was regretting that decision. She knew that Soo Jin had already grown unnaturally attached to the idol/exotic dancer much to Yoon Hee’s displeasure, but she had allowed Joon to stay and keep them company because she had seen how happy it made her daughter. Now she was berating herself for letting her daughter become fond of someone who she should have known would disappear.

Just as the anger began to sizzle and ignite the door to their hospital room opened and in walked the man in question. Yoon Hee stared in silence as he closed the door and slipped off his jacket. She noticed the package he carried and felt curiosity stir and push back the anger. He turned and gave her a smile before coming over and settling down on the foot of the bed.

“Joonie?”

Joon felt his grin grow larger at the sleepy voice from Soo Jin. The little girl awoke just in time and he wondered if she had somehow sensed that he was back. Pushing the thought aside he ruffled her hair. “How are you feeling?”

Yoon Hee helped her daughter sit up as she rubbed her eyes and gave a tiny yawn before her little lips pulled into a smile. “I feel better. The doctor said I could go home tomorrow since my fever is gone.”

“Did he now?”

“Mmhmm.” She spotted the package that he had sat in his lap. “What’s that?”

Joon glanced at Yoon Hee and noticed the curiosity barely hidden in her eyes. He handed the package to Soo Jin. “I thought a present might cheer you up since you’ve been stuck in this dreary hospital room.”

Soo Jin tore into the paper while her mother watched, her eyes shifting back in forth between her and the man sitting so close that she could feel the heat of him. Her heart fluttered at the thoughtfulness that he had of even thinking of Soo Jin and when she saw the Loopy doll, her daughter’s favorite, she cracked a tiy smile. It was the very doll her daughter had been begging for since seeing it advertised on Eun Mi’s television weeks before.

He shifted his eyes from daughter to mother and for a moment he was breathless at the sight of Yoon Hee’s smile. It turned the coldness in her beautiful features into a softness he had yet to see and he thought it suited her. He wanted to see her smile more often and it seemed that the way to do so was through his kindness to her daughter.

Again the thought struck him that these two had had a hard life and he felt bad for them, however he didn’t let his pity show when Yoon Hee locked eyes with him and her tiny smile grew just a little more in what Joon could only say was gratitude. He inclined his head in acknowledgement.

Soo Jin cuddled the doll close, her eyes swimming with happy tears as she moved to snuggled into Joon’s lap. Yoon Hee was about to protest, but the words died in as the idol wrapped his arms around her daughter and began happily chatting with her. It painted a beautiful picture and had anyone walked into the room who didn’t know any better they would have thought for certain that it was a portrait of father and daughter. The thought made her heart ache in an unfamiliar way, but she wasn’t sure whether it was a good ache or a bad one.

She wanted to protect her daughter from having her heartbroken, but at the moment her daughter was more happy than she had ever seen her. Soo Jin seemed completely content to sit in Joon’s lap and converse with him on a variety of childish topics as if she had known him her whole life. It made Yoon Hee wonder for the first time if protecting her daughter from the people around her was really the best choice. Would it hurt to allow her daughter to become close to others? Meeting Joon had raised a lot of questions in her mind and things she had been so certain of before she was now beginning to question.

Joon knew that she was lost in her thoughts, a habit that she seemed to have, but he didn’t mind. He was more than content to sit there with Soo Jin and talk about nonsense things. At the moment the little girl was currently going on in a titter about her neighbor’s cat. The way Soo Jin continued to talk made Joon think that she really had no one other than her neighbor and her mother to talk to. He wondered whether she had any friends her own age to play with, but figured for certain that she mostly did since she was of school age. Whether she did or didn’t, he honestly didn’t know, but what he did know was that he was here and he wanted to be Soo Jin’s friend for as long as she needed him.

Climbing into the van after the concert took all the energy that Joon had left. He was tired, his body worn out and his mind exhausted. He waited impatiently while their manager loaded the multitude of stuffed animals and other little toys the fans had given them. It was then that the idea came to him. He remembered taking Soo Jin and her mother home a couple of days before and it had struck him how sad it that the only toys Soo Jin had were the old hand-me-downs from her neighbor and the Loopy doll he had bought for her the day before her release from the hospital.

Excitement burning in his veins he turned to Seung Ho. “Do we even have any room for any more of those fan gifts? Last I checked the closets were bursting with them.”

Mir piped up from his spot behind their leader answering for the older man. “We really don’t have the room for anymore without filling out our living space.”

“Why are you asking?” G.O asked as he slid the door closed behind him and settled in the seat beside Mir. “Are you thinking of giving some of them to charity?”

“Not charity no, but…” He wasn’t sure whether he was ready to tell his friends about Yoon Hee and Soo Jin so he told a little lie, the words burning his tongue like acid. “A good cause. I know the perfect place to send some of them. If you can help me box some of the stuff up I’ll take it over later.”

Seung Ho eyed him suspiciously. “Is this the place you’ve been disappearing to everyday?”

He shrugged. “Yes and no. I just recently started going here, but it hasn’t been where I go most nights.”

“Want to tell us where you do go then?”

Joon smiled and shook his head. “Not really.” The others groaned. “We’re entitled to our own secrets after all.”

That night he called into the club and quietly explained to the Hak Chan that he wouldn’t be in that night. He kept his voice low so that the other members didn’t hear him as he held the phone between his ear and shoulder so that he could pull on a clean pair of pants.

“You’re not the only one who called in for the night.”

“Oh really?” Joon buttoned up his shirt. “Who else called in?”

“Yoon Hee, but I guess it can’t be helped if she has an emergency.”

It struck Joon as odd, as he hung up the phone, that Yoon Hee didn’t even tell Hak Chan about Soo Jin, but he figured it wasn’t as if she had to tell the night club owner everything. Shaking his head a grabbed the box they had put together and left.

The taxi ride was short and silent and when the taxi dropped him off and pulled away he quickly made his way to Yoon Hee’s apartment. With a big smile on his face he juggled the heavy box and knocked.