Seo Hyun began to feel distant from Yong Hwa. Yong Hwa’s schedule had been filled to the brim the last couple of months with filming Heartstrings and promotional activities for CNBLUE that he had texted and called less and less. Seo Hyun on the other hand, was also busy with SNSD activities as well as school. Because she missed school so much, she had put in extra hours whenever she could to make up for it.

It was the middle of august and SNSD had another concert in Japan. But this time CNBLUE were also performing at the same concert. And due to the overwhelming popularity of YongSeo couple in Japan, the organizers decided to include a segment where Seo Hyun and Yong Hwa would perform the Banmal song. Yong Hwa had just wrapped filming of Heartstrings two weeks prior and had now fully launched himself into the promotional activities of his music.

For the first time in 18 months, Seo Hyun started to doubt her feelings for Yong Hwa. She had also been spending so much time with Kyu Hyun that she seemed to forget all about Yong Hwa from time to time. It was awkward at first when they had to do the duets but it was getting easier and Seo Hyun was actually enjoying spending time with Kyu Hyun and practicing with him. Kyu Hyun had a great voice and was a great singer, and whenever she practiced with him, he always helped her and gave her pointers that she felt she improved much with his guidance.

Because of their busy schedules, Seo Hyun and Yong Hwa did not have the chance to practice their song before the performance, only managing to coordinate everything the day of the event. Yong Hwa had been happy to see her. He hasn’t seen her in months since Heartstrings began filming and it didn’t help that whenever he had a day off to rest, Seo Hyun happened to be out of the country for SM concerts worldwide. He had been rather jealous of her duet with Kyu Hyun but had understood that it was just a professional performance. It also bugged at his mind that he still hadn’t managed to meet up with Lee Soo Man sajangnim to get his approval to date Seo Hyun, hence he wasn’t officially her boyfriend and didn’t feel he had the right to be jealous about her duet with Kyu Hyun.

Yong Hwa sighed as he thought about his love life predicament. Suddenly his phone vibrated, “Hello?” Yong Hwa answered. “Ahh.. Hello Jung Yong Hwa-ssi. Do you know who I am?” asked the caller. “Hello.. No, I’m sorry, I do not recognize your voice. May I enquire who are you?” asked Yong Hwa cautiously. He rarely got prank calls but he was cautious all the same. “Yong Hwa-ssi, this is Lee Soo Man” Lee Soo Man chuckled as he introduced himself. “Ahh!! Lee sajangnim! Annyeonghaseyo.. Is there something I can do for you?” Yong Hwa replied nervously. Suddenly worried that they’ve been found out before it all started.

“ Ah.. I just wanted to wish you luck for your performance tonight. And also, sorry to trouble you but please help us to guide Seo Hyun-ssi during your duet tonight as she did not have much practice for the Banmal song that you wrote” Lee Soo Man explained while chuckling some more. “Don’t worry Lee sajangnim, Seo Hyun is a very talented singer. She is a genius, so she will be great tonight” Yong Hwa replied, sounding very relieved.  “Hahaha… Yes yes, I remember you always said she was a genius when both of you were on WGM. I’m a YongSeo fan, by the way!!” Lee Soo Man replied.

Yong Hwa made a split second decision to ask Lee Soo Man there and then for permission, since he brought up WGM. “Lee sajangnim, since you mentioned WGM, I have something that I need to speak to you about. But because I’ve been so busy, I never had the opportunity to see to you personally. Do you mind if I speak about this now?” Yong Hwa plucked up the courage to ask. “Oh? Sure Yong Hwa-ssi. What is it that you want to speak to me?” asked Lee Soo Man.

“Lee sajangnim, firstly I apologise for not being able to meet you personally. And I hope that I do not come across as rude for not being able to do so. Secondly, I hope you will not be upset at me for saying this but, I sincerely like Seo Hyun-ssi and would like to ask your permission to date her. However, just so you know, Seo Hyun-ssi and I are not dating yet. We decided that we should get the approval from you and Han Seung Ho-sunbaenim first before we decided if we wanted to date officially or not. Again, I apologise that it took me so long to seek your approval as I had already gotten the approval from Han Seung Ho sunbaenim three months ago. Please forgive me for the delay” Yong Hwa blurted everything out before he could think.

“Yong Hwa-ssi, actually I already know about this. As you know, Sunny-ssi is my niece. By the end of last year, she had already told me that Seo Hyun-ssi seemed genuinely interested in you. And after you spoke to Han Seung Ho-ssi, he called me to tell me. I have no objections and as I already mentioned, I am a YongSeo fan. But I have to admit, the real reason I called you today was to give you the opportunity to ask me for my permission as I’ve been waiting too long for you to have the time to come see personally!!” Lee Soo Man laughed as he explained to Yong Hwa. Yong Hwa was speechless! Lee Soo Man, like Han Seung Ho were supportive of him dating Seo Hyun. He was happy beyond words. “But Yong Hwa-ssi, please remember, don’t let the press or fans or netizens get hold of any evidence that the two of you are dating. Else, we won’t be able to protect both of you. You know how fans and anti-fans can be” Lee Soo Man warned.