“You don’t know how pissed Nichkhun was when I told him that I was having dinner with you,” Victoria said as she sat down across from Kyuhyun.  “You’ll be lucky if he doesn’t call you and give you hell.”

            “He probably did already but I have my phone turned off.  He should know that I’d never try to steal you away from him.  I could if I wanted to, but I’m not that mean.”

            “Yes, you are,” she argued.

            “He’d die.”

            “He would,” she agreed.

            “God, I’m so hungry tonight!” Kyuhyun said, picking up the menu and looking it over with great interest.

            “You haven’t been eating?”           

            “No,” he said, whining.  “I ate a little bit of what Ryeowook left in the fridge last night but that’s the last thing I ate that was any good.  I haven’t been home much.”

            “Listen to you talk!” she laughed.  “I can go weeks between good meals and you can’t last a single day!  And I don’t live with two chefs like someone I know.”

            “I have been a bit pampered up to this point, I admit it, and I will have to eat out every night or hire a cook if I ever move out,” Kyuhyun admitted.  “So, back to the hot topic of Khuntoria.  Has he popped the question yet?”

            “Of course not!  Maybe in another five or ten years!” 

            “You career women!” he accused, leaning back and taking a drink of his water. 

            The waiter came by and they ordered their food and drinks before continuing their playful bickering.  “So, are you going to fess up to why you asked me out to dinner or am I going to have to guess?”

            “What?  Can’t a guy ask a female friend out to dinner when her boyfriend is out of town?” he asked, playing with his napkin.

            “After all this time, you call me up to have dinner now?  I don’t think so,” she argued, smiling sweetly at the waiter when he brought out their drinks.  “You’re either trying to impress someone or make someone jealous.”

            “I would never use you like that!”

            “Oh, I’m not offended, trust me.  It isn’t like this doesn’t benefit me either.  For one, you offered to pay, so I’m going to eat as much as I want for a change and, secondly, if the fans catch wind of this and take a few pictures, it will make my ratings soar.  Any affiliation with you is considered a good thing these days.”

            “Ah, now our friendship makes sense.  You love me for the ratings only,” he said, trying to sound indignant.

            “And you’ve been extra popular lately with SJM and KRY’s singles out.  And that y new hair style,” she said, reaching across the table to ruffle his hair, which he quickly put to rights.  “Now…who are you trying to impress?”

            “No one,” he insisted.

            “I’m going to get to the bottom of this eventually.  Even if I have to call Ryeowook to get all the dirt,” she threatened, sipping her fruity cocktail through a pink straw and holding her gaze on him.

            Kyuhyun stiffened in his seat and looked away uncomfortably.  “Why do you assume that he’d know?”

            “I don’t know.  Why are you blushing?”

            When Kyuhyun looked back at her with startled eyes, she broke out her wide smile and laughed at him, covering with her hand. 

            “You’re so obvious sometimes!”

            “What’s obvious?”

            “Why are you taking me out to make Ryeowook jealous?”

            “What?” Kyuhyun said, sitting up straight in his seat and gripping his armrests tight.  “What makes you think something crazy like that?”

            “You told him you were going out on a date with me earlier and he called me up this afternoon and asked me how things were going with Nichkhun.  Clearly, you’re doing this to get some reaction out of him.”

            “That’s not it!  And I didn’t tell him it was a date, Jongwoon did!”

            “You’re trying to tell me that you aren’t having a lover’s quarrel and using me to make him jealous?”

            “No!” he swore, shaking his head.  “I just found out that he had feelings for me from Jongwoon but I don’t feel the same, so I’m trying to distance myself from him.  I thought that if he saw me dating someone, maybe he’d give up on me.”

            “You’re such an idiot,” she said, covering her forehead with her hand.  “I can’t believe this.”

            “Jongwoon said it was for the best, so that he could move on and find someone who will love him,” Kyuhyun explained, feeling the need to justify his actions.

            “Someone else?” she questioned.  She then burst into hysterical laughter that rivaled any of his sinister versions, as she managed to catch the attention of everyone in the room.  “You must be the most clueless person I know.  Wasn’t it you, less than two months ago, that insisted that if Ryeowook was going to kiss any girl onstage at the MAMAs, it had to be me?  And can’t we assume that the reason being is that I already have a boyfriend?”

            “You were the prettiest woman there and I thought he ought to have the very best,” Kyuhyun insisted. 

            “I love the way you try to flatter your way out of things and totally fail at it.”

            “I don’t care who he kisses!”

            “Really?”

            “Really!”

            “You’re going to eat those words one of these days, Cho Kyuhyun!”

            Kyuhyun was starting to get nervous and dug a tissue out of his pocket to wipe the sweat beginning to form on his forehead. 

            “Of the two of you, you act way more possessive of Ryeowook than he does you.  You throw little tantrums if anyone tries to take his attention from you.  And trust me, everyone knows it.”

            “You’re imagining things.”

            “Kyuhyun-oppa, if I had told Nichkhun that I were going to dinner with anyone else, he’d have boarded a plane by now and he'd be enroute to interrupt this whole interlude,” she said, her amusement evident.  “Nichkhun isn’t actually intimidated by me having dinner with you because he knows you’re gay.”

            Kyuhyun’s eyes went wide.  “What the hell?  Why is everyone starting to accuse me of being gay for real lately?  It’s one thing for people to joke that all the members are but I think they really do believe it about me.”

            “Okay,” she said, nodding and leaning forward.  “If you’re completely straight, why aren’t you around with all the pretty girls like your other members.”

            “Because I’m a nice guy, I’m not like that!” he defended himself.  “And not all the members do that—Shindong and Leeteuk don’t—and even the ones that used to be like that hardly ever do now.”

            “Even if you aren’t the type to sleep around, you’ve never—and I mean never—dated any of the singers or dancers or even a fan before.  There isn’t a single believable rumor out there.  The only ones that vaguely sound like they could be true involve me and I happen to be in the position of knowing they’re not.”

            “I’m a private person.”

            “You’re a liar.”

            “Okay, fine.  I don’t date.  That doesn’t remotely mean that I’m gay.  You’re making an awfully big jump,” he said.

            “Settle down, hun,” she finally said, sighing.  “If you’re sure than I’ll just have to take your word for it.”

            Kyuhyun relaxed once they changed the subject and even began to enjoy himself a bit once they got talking about his recent travels in China.  She began quizzing him on his Mandarin and he had almost forgotten all about their earlier conversation by the time he was bringing her home.  Always the gentleman concerned for his female friends, he walked her to her apartment. 

            “Thanks for paying for dinner tonight,” she said, smiling sweetly as they headed down the hall to her door.  “You’ll have to let me take you out next time.”

            “Ah, I’ll have to think of someplace really expensive to go,” he teased.

            They were almost to her door when she suddenly pushed Kyuhyun back against the wall.  He was so stunned, he froze, watching her in confusion.  Before he could think of how to respond, she pressed her body against his and, grasping his head in her hands, kissed him.  With high heels on, she was just at the perfect height so she didn’t have to stand on her tiptoes and she pushed her s into his chest.  She moved her lips over his while Kyuhyun stared at her, still too in shock to react.  He kept his hands flat against the wall to avoid accidentally touching her.

            When she pulled back and opened her eyes, she started laughing hysterically.  “Oh my God, you should see the look on your face right now!”

            Kyuhyun stared at her, scared to move.

            “I knew I was right!” she squealed, smacking her hand against his chest in amusement.  “And you tried to tell me you liked women!”

            “I d-do,” Kyuhyun said, trying to argue against her once he realized what was going on.  “Seriously, I was just surprised because you’re dating Nichkhun.”

            “Oh, no!” she insisted, shaking her head.  “If you were straight, you’d have pounced on that without thinking.  It’s not like you’re friends with him.  Trust me, Kyuhyun-oppa, you won’t be deceiving me anymore.”

            “I’m not gay,” he told her sternly.

            “I’m not trying to prove whether or not you’re gay.  That really isn’t the point,” she admitted.  “Although both you and I know Ryeowook is and even he kissed me back at the awards.”

            “HE KISSED YOU!” Kyuhyun yelled in disbelief.

            “I’m offended that he didn’t brag at least a little, even if he is gay.”

            “You’re lying!”

            “Ask him yourself if you don’t believe me,” she told him, fishing her keys out of her purse and heading for her door.

            “If the point isn’t to prove I’m gay, than what is it?”

            “You’re in love with someone else,” she said before opening her door.  “Goodnight, oppa.  Thanks for dinner.”

            Victoria disappeared and left Kyuhyun in the hall, so confused he couldn’t think straight.  He debated knocking on her door and demanding an explanation but he felt certain that she had no intention of elaborating on her words and he was just a little afraid that if he argued with her further, she’d end up demonstrating why he was wrong some more.

            Eventually, Kyuhyun walked back downstairs and got into his car.  He the car and let it run, resting his arms on the steering wheel and thinking over what had just happened in the hall and what they’d argued about before dinner.  Was she right?

            Kyuhyun had dated several girls before he joined Super Junior and became famous.  He’d even slept with a couple.  But ever since he joined the group, he’d dodged women because they seemed to only want to be with him since he was famous and he was too busy and tired to worry about finding a girlfriend most of the time.  But if he compared himself to some of his hyungs, who obsessed over women and couldn’t stop themselves from checking out each remotely y one that passed their way, he wasn’t like them at all.  But he’d never checked out a guy either.

            Frustrated, he the car and headed out for a drive, not ready to go home and deal with his roommates yet.  There was too much to think about without them trying to pry about his date.  And, above all, he didn’t want to run into Ryeowook. 

            Who'd kissed Victoria.