Seo Hyun told them everything from the beginning, how he had texted her in the middle of the night just to see how she was and also telling her he had finished composing a song. While she had slept well for the first time in three days that night, she was worried that Yong Hwa had only texted her because he was too tired from composing that he had forgotten they weren’t filming WGM anymore and would stop once he had enough rest and gotten his bearings back.

But she was wrong. He texted her again later that evening, informing her that he had just woken up after sleeping for sixteen hours straight and that he was hungry and missed her cooking. She was glad that he also enquired about her time at school as it gave her the opportunity to actually keep the conversation going.

For the first week, they texted back and forth everyday about simple stuff. He told her about his schedules and the preparations they were making for the release of their first full album, First Step. And she told him about her schedules and her classes, the things she learnt and the new people she’s met. It was like they were easing back into comfortable territory, trying to establish a proper friendship after WGM.

Seo Hyun felt that Yong Hwa had been very careful to keep things light. He still called her Hyu~n affectionately but apart from a couple of references to their time at WGM, like her cooking and habits, he never tried to seem too familiar. In fact, he had told her honestly that he was thankful to have had the chance to know her through WGM but this time, he would like to do it the right way and get to know her not as Jung Yong Hwa of CNBLUE to Seo Hyun of SNSD but simply as Jung Yong Hwa and Seo Joo Hyun.

She had been touched by his gesture. So often people befriended her because of her identity as a SNSD member that she’s become somewhat wary of people around her. But Yong Hwa was different. He could have used her to boost his image or used his charms to court her but he chose to see past all the pretenses and zoom in on her as a person and that won her respect for him.

As the weeks wore on, texts turned to phone calls and conversations became deeper and more personal. They shared their dreams and hopes, they confided in each other and they lent their support for each other. They had become closer naturally. On days where it wasn’t convenient for them to talk and text messages were too short to convey their thoughts, they wrote long emails to each other.

“Wait wait wait… So what does this all mean? Are you two flirting? Or courting? Or just friends??” asked Jessica, somewhat confused with the whole story. “I thought you liked him, Joo Hyun?” asked Hyo Yeon, sporting an equally quizzical look. “And I thought he liked you back!” quipped Yoona. “Yeah, that’s right! So what’s going on? We’re confused!” Tae Yeon added.

“Errmmm… I don’t know. I did like him during WGM but I was always worried that I was just being swept into the show somehow, although WGM is not as scripted as people think. But now that the show has ended and I’m sort of starting to get to know Yong Hwa oppa again, I think I do like him. Genuinely” Seo Hyun admitted shyly.