Note: Everytime Evie talks to Seunghyun, it's in English because they're more used to talking to each other that way. But she speaks Korean to others unless mentioned.

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“So you had no idea whatsoever that he was an idol star in Korea?” Jung Mi queried. After she had gotten over her initial shock and nervousness, she was back to her normal self which was loud and curious.

 

“Nope.” Evie shot a scowl towards Seunghyun who looked apologetic.

 

“None at all??”

 

“None at all.”

 

“I knew you were clueless but this clueless?! Come on! Anyone not blind can see that he’s not normal!” Jung Mi said incredulously.

 

“Yah! What’s that supposed to mean?” Seunghyun interrupted.

 

“You know what I mean. As in not everyday you and me kind of people. Just look at him! He oozes charisma and is practically on a stick!” Yeap. Jung Mi was definitely over her nervousness.

 

Seunghyun coughed uncomfortably and tugged on his collar.

 

“Trust me. He definitely did not look like ‘ on a stick’ when he was in the US.” Evie smirked.

 

Although in her opinion he had still been pretty hot, she kept that thought to herself. Seunghyun didn’t need to know that.

 

“What do you mean? How can this – “ Jung Mi gestured at Seunghyun “ – look any different?”

 

Evie dug into her pocket for her phone and unlocked it. Before she could browse through her photos, Seunghyun snatched her phone from her hands.

 

“Hey! Give it back!” Evie jumped to for her phone when Seunghyun held it high out of her reach.

 

“Not a good idea, Evie. I know what you’re going to do.”

 

“Jung Mi wants proof that you didn’t look like you and she needs to know that I’m not really that blur. So. Give. It.” She jumped once for each of her last three words.

 

“Guys, what’s going on?” Jung Mi asked bewildered.

 

“Still not a good idea, Evie. It’s probably going to end up on the internet and my image as ‘iest namja’ is going to be destroyed.” He cried woefully and pinched the bridge of his nose dramatically. At that moment, Evie finally managed to grab her phone from him.

 

“Yes! Got it.” Evie said gleefully. “Besides, I’m only going to show it to her. Not post it up anywhere or anything.”

 

“You promise?”

 

“Yeap. Promise.” She agreed easily.

 

“Does she promise?” he eyed Jung Mi warily.

 

They both looked at Jung Mi and she shrugged. “Whatever. I promise. Just show me already!”

 

“I’m so going to regret this.” Seunghyun predicted.

 

“There, there.” She patted his arm and smirked evilly. “In the end, it’s your fault for wanting to dress up like that.”

 

“Yah. That’s not fair. You know I wanted to stay under the radar.” He whined while she scrolled through the pictures on her phone.

 

“I know that now. But not then and that is why I have pictures of you stuffing your face with food, drooling while sleeping and other incriminating photos.” She grinned. “Found it!”

 

Evie clicked on the picture of Seunghyun in what was his usual getup in university. Messy hair, thick glasses, horrible coloured sweater clashing with his shirt and sweatpants. In the picture, he was biting into a hot dog and had sauce smeared slightly on his cheek. Evie flipped the phone around and showed it to Jung Mi.

 

Jung Mi stared at it for awhile with a slight frown on her forehead, as if trying to figure out whether it really was Seunghyun. Finally realizing it really was him, she burst out laughing. Loudly. Everyone turned to look what was going on and soon the dancers, stylists and everyone else were crowding around trying to get a glimpse of the photo.

 

“I knew I was going to regret this.” Seunghyun groaned.

 

“This is payback.” Evie merely laughed.

 

Someone handed her phone back to her but it was already too late for Seunghyun to do anything. The picture was already in all their phones. Jung Mi must have sent the picture to herself and then to some of the others who in turn sent it to the rest of them there.

 

“Well, it could have been worse.” He looked resigned to his fate. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

 

“How about Jung Mi?” Evie and Seunghyun turned to look for her friend. Jung Mi was in the middle of talking to a really good looking guy… who looked exactly like the guy next to him.

 

“Leave her. The Kwon twins will get her home.” He laughed.

 

“You sure?” Evie said, uneasy about abandoning her friend.

 

“Mm-hmm. I’ll text them if you want.” Seunghyun nodded.

 

“Yeah. Okay. It’s getting kind of chaotic in here.” She agreed.

 

“That, and I’ve had enough of just standing here while my picture gets laughed at.” He grimaced and slung his arm around Evie’s shoulder, pulling her with him towards the door.

 

“Seunghyun, are you mad that I showed Jung Mi the picture? Because if you are, I truly am sorry. I really didn’t mean for it to get circulated.” She said apologetically.

 

“Nah. I’m not. Besides, it’s not like the guy in the picture is really me.” He said jokingly.

 

“That’s true…” Evie mumbled and stayed quiet while they walked out of the room. She thought he had a point there. The guy in the picture had been him and yet not him. Merely a persona created to be able to remain anonymous. She didn’t really know him at all. He had this whole confident, charismatic side to him that she never would have believed he possessed.

 

“Hey… Evie. I didn’t mean it like that.” He had caught on to her thoughts. He stopped walking and faced her. “The person I was in Chambourne is still the person I am now. There may be a slight difference to what you see now, but at heart, the person I was in Chambourne was probably the most honest ‘me’ I have ever been. I’m still Seunghyun, your best friend.”

 

“Are you?” she said softly. Even if he was telling the truth, Seunghyun still had that whole other side to him that she didn’t know. How could they still be best friends when he had kept such an integral part of him hidden from her? How could she even claim to like him if she didn’t truly know who he was? Just as well she had never confessed to him. He would never have liked her back. How could he when he had probably met famous women more beautiful than she would ever be? Her ex had done the same, dumped her the minute he found a pretty girl.

 

“Yes, I am. And I’m sorry you think that way but I’m still me. Still the same person you met and became friends with at university.” For a moment, he looked hurt. Then, he turned away and started walking again.

 

“Come on, I’ll send you back home.” He said curtly.

 

“Seunghyun, wait.” She called out. He turned and just looked at her, waiting for her to say something.

 

“I-I’m sorry. It’s just… I’m not used to seeing you like this, alright? This - ” she gestured wildly around her. “ – is not how I pictured your life to be here in Korea. Famous with tons of fans, charismatic and y; completely opposite to the nerdy you.  I feel like I don’t even know who is the real you anymore. In terms of distance I may be close to you, but in truth, I’ve never felt further.”

 

Seunghyun walked up to her and closed the distance between them. Before he could reply however, she put up a hand.

 

“But. There’s a ‘but’. If you say you haven’t changed and you’re still you, I’ll get used to it and will find you in there somewhere.” She said with a small smile.

 

With a tender look in his eyes, he pulled her into a hug and she hugged him back tightly. For some reason, they’d been hugging a lot recently. So much for his non-skinship. Not wanting to analyze it further, she simply absorbed the feel of him around her. He kissed her hair and she felt wonderful.

 

“So… you find me y?” he said softly in her ear with a small laugh. Shivers ran through her whole body. Damn that voice of his.

 

“YAH. Was that all you picked out from what I said?” she said with a blush. She pulled back from the hug and shoved him playfully, both of them grinning.

 

“Well, in my opinion that was a pretty important thing to remember.” He .

 

“Oh my god.” She covered her face with her hands, embarrassed. Next, he was going to start teasing her about liking him and that she could not handle.

 

Clearing his throat, he took hold of her wrist and tugged her along with him. “Come on, we better go.”

 

Looking around them, she realized they were garnering a lot of stares from the staff and other celebrities. It was then she realized she was openly hugging the famous no-skinship TOP of Bigbang in the hallway backstage of the SBS studio. .

 

Hurrying along with him, she had no idea where they were going when suddenly someone called out to them.

 

“Hyung! TOP-hyung!” A guy with black hair dressed in a white suit was walking towards them. He had very prominent eye bags under his eyes.

 

“Oh Seungri-ah. Hyung is going home first. Jiyong already went back, so you’ll have to get Manager-hyung to take you back.” Seunghyun explained.

 

“Aish. He drove back by himself and left me here?” The guy complained. Then, he noticed Evie standing slightly behind Seunghyun. His eyes widened when he saw Seunghyun’s hand was attached to her wrist.

 

“H-hyung? Is she your girlfriend?” That was when Seunghyun let go of her wrist as though she was on fire.

 

“N-no. She’s a friend.” He answered. Evie was blushing so hard she looked anywhere else but at Seunghyun. For a second, she couldn’t help but imagine them together as a couple. Before Seunghyun could introduce them, Seungri took the initiative.

 

“Hi there! I’m Seungri. Youngest member of Bigbang. Pleased to meet you.” He held out his hand and flashed a brilliant smile. Oh, this one was a charmer. He spoke in heavily accented English but clearly he could charm a girl even when not using his mother tongue.

 

Evie couldn’t help but laugh a little. She got the feeling that this Seungri was quite a character and thought highly of his own looks. Not in an obnoxious way though. He was cute.

 

“My name’s Evie. It’s nice to meet you.” She replied back in English.

 

“Yah, hyung. If she’s not your girlfriend can I have her? She’s pretty.” He whispered to Seunghyun in Korean but she managed to catch it. She slapped a hand over to stop from laughing when Seunghyun slapped the back of Seungri’s head lightly.

 

“No. She’s off limits to you.” Evie couldn’t help but be pleased that Seunghyun was looking out for her.

 

“Aw, hyung. Why not? Anyway, she can decide for herself. She’s really pretty and I’m sure with my looks I’d be able to win her over. I’m taller than her too!” Seungri turned back to her and flashed her another killer smile that this time looked slightly devious. Evie pretended not to understand a word he way saying.

 

“No. Remember Jiyong’s cousin? He nearly beat you up for that one and I’m sure I can do worse.” Seunghyun told him menacingly.

 

“I didn’t know she already had a boyfriend.” Seungri grimaced. “Besides, all the girls I know are all the same. They always like you more, hyung. This one probably does too.” He complained. Oh, he did not know how true his words were.

 

“We’re going to go now. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Seunghyun said with a rueful shake of his head.  “Come on, Evie. I’ll take you back.”

 

“Goodbye, Evie-sshi. I hope we’ll meet again.” Seungri said in English, ever the charmer.

 

“Annyeong, Seungri-sshi! You’re cute but you’re not my type. Thanks for the compliment though. See you next time!” Evie replied him cheekily in Korean, letting him know that she had understood every word that he had said to Seunghyun about her.

 

Seungri stood there looking stunned, then embarrassed. After that, he started to laugh.

 

“See you tomorrow, hyung. Take care of her. You’ve caught a good one.” He recovered smoothly. Now it was Evie’s and Seunghyun’s turn to look embarrassed and that only made Seungri laugh even harder.

 

 

They both hurried away from the sound of Seungri’s laughter and took the lift to the basement car park. For some reason, there was a definite awkwardness in the atmosphere between them as they were walking to Seunghyun’s car. Evie just couldn’t think of anything to say after the whole interaction with Seungri and Seunghyun somehow wasn’t volunteering anything either.

 

They reached the basement and Seunghyun fished his keys out of his pocket. He clicked the button and a car to their left beeped in response. Evie turned to look and her eyes widened and she stopped breathing for a moment. Seunghyun walked up to it, lifted the door open and got in.

 

When he realized Evie wasn’t getting in, he got out of the car only to see her standing there with gaping open.

 

“Evie! Come on, get in,” he laughed at her. Her expression was priceless.

 

“Am I even allowed in that thing?” she breathed out.

 

“It’s just a car, Evie. Now, get in.” He tried to shrug it off.

 

“That is not just a car. It’s not even just a sports car. You own a freaking Lamborghini Aventador and didn’t tell me?!” she shrieked.

 

“The topic never came up.” He said carelessly. “I’m going to be late. Let’s go.” He turned and slid back into the driver’s seat.

 

Evie took a deep breath and walked towards the sleek vehicle. It was painted matte black with tinted windows and had unobvious dark red almost black decals running across its side. Evie was almost scared to touch it. When she pulled on the handle, the door gave a slight hiss before opening and lifting upwards. She carefully got in, not wanting to scratch the leather and pulled the door close. Amused at the way she was acting, Seunghyun smiled and started the car. Truth be told, he was proud of his baby. He’d always wanted a car of his own and when he had found this, he immediately knew this was it. It’s engine started up and gave the most wonderful purring sound. Evie closed her eyes and sunk back into her seat, absorbing the smell and feel of the car.

 

“Mmmm. Oh my god this feels wonderful. Seungie, I think I’m in heaven.” She murmured and took a deep breath in. When Seunghyun didn’t speak or pull out of the parking lot, Evie opened her and looked over at Seunghyun. He had a strange look on his face.

 

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked, clueless. When he still didn’t reply, she sat up and frowned.

“Seunghyun, are you okay? You look a little weird.”

 

“Wha-? Uhh… y-yeah. I-I’m good.” He cleared his throat loudly and fidgeted in his seat a little. Evie shrugged and settled back in her seat. However, she was jerked forward when Seunghyun reversed and braked the car a little too quickly.

 

“Yah. Are you sure you know how to drive this thing?” she questioned him.

 

“Y-yeah of course. What are you saying? I’ve had this baby for almost a year now.” He laughed nervously.

 

Just before he left the basement carpark, he pulled over to the side and stopped the car.

 

“My sunglasses,” he muttered before reaching over to the glove compartment in front of Evie. He pulled it open and that was when they realized two things. One, the glove box wouldn’t open because Evie’s long legs were preventing that from happening. And two, Seunghyun’s arm was inappropriately resting between those said legs.

 

He coughed uncomfortably and muttered a sorry. Evie shifted further up her seat to allow him more space. Her movement caused her thigh to rub against his arm and she shivered. Rummaging through the glove box, Seunghyun still couldn’t seem to find his sunglasses so she reached into the glove box to help him. Their hands brushed a couple of times before she found it.

 

“Got it.” She breathed. They removed their hands from the glove box and shut it before she handed the case to Seunghyun. Their fingers brushed and Evie jerked her hand away when she felt a strange electricity run up her arm. She looked at him and saw him staring at her with a piercing gaze. All thought drifted away and even the sound of the purring engine faded out. His eyes flickered down to her lips and back. Suddenly he broke the tension by looking away and shoved his sunglasses onto his nose. They both coughed uncomfortably and Seunghyun tugged on his collar.

 

He put the car into drive and drove out of the car park.

______________________________

Seunghyun shut the front door of his villa behind him. Leaning against it, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had just reached home after sending Evie back to her place. The drive to her place had been awkward to say the least. Then, sitting in his car filled with the scent of her had not helped his senses in any way during the whole long drive back. He had been so tempted for a smoke but hadn’t had any on hand. He had kicked the bad habit while he was in the US.

 

What in the world was that incident in the car park? All that tension. ual tension. He could only name it that. It had never happened between him and Evie before. They had always been safely platonic. At the back of his mind he always knew that he felt a little bit more for Evie than just friends should and that if he let himself, they would probably be more than that. He had no idea whether Evie felt the same as he did; she had never given him any sign. Adding to that fact was that he always knew he’d have to come back to Korea and knew that a relationship would never go anywhere.

 

Then why did you write her that letter before you left? His conscience asked him. He groaned and closed his eyes. He wondered if she still had it.

 

Thinking about her led him to thinking about how good he had felt when his arm had rubbed against her thigh back in the car. Then when their fingers had brushed at the weird electricity had rushed up his arm. Not to mention that he had very nearly kissed her. Those soft, plump lips that he yearned to have a taste of. He didn’t know where he had found the willpower not to.

 

He broke out of his reverie and looked down, grimacing. Thank god he lived alone now. Otherwise, the other guys would have known something was up, in more ways than one. He sighed and went in search of that cold shower he so badly needed.

_______________________________

 

Evie pulled the letter out of the little shoebox she kept her precious things in. Gently opening it she re-read the few written lines for the thousandth time.

 

“Dear Evie,

 

I know that we have our own separate paths to take and might not ever meet physically face to face ever again. I should probably say goodbye and then we can move on to the next chapter of our lives. But me being the selfish person that I am, have one hope. That maybe, just maybe, you would come to Korea to live there. You know that because of certain circumstances I can’t leave Korea permanently but I know you can. Leave America I mean. So… just maybe.

 

And if you came, I’d be there. Waiting for you.”

 

The letter was signed simply ‘Seunghyun’.

 

After the first time she had read it, she had gotten so confused and over analyzed everything until she hadn’t known what to think anymore. She didn’t want to hope and keep getting let down the way she had during three years in university with Seunghyun.

 

But now, after the day’s events, reading it again, hope flared inside her.

 

Maybe, just maybe, it meant what she thought it meant.

 

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