Having not heard from Serin for nearly two weeks, Hoon was starting to get anxious. He hoped she was all right. She didn’t always contact him every day, but she had recently been talking to him a lot more than before. Instead of getting worked up over it, he assumed she was busy, and sent her a message instead. He would be back for Christmas in a bit, and he hoped he would get the opportunity to at least see her while he was in the country.

“Sorry. I’ll be in the States at Christmas time visiting my grandparents. I wish I could see you, though.”

Hoon was simultaneously disappointed and excited. Disappointed because he wouldn’t get the chance to see her, and excited because she had said that she wished she could see him. “That’s too bad,” he replied. “I’ll let you know when I get another opportunity though.”

--

“Good luck at the event tonight,” Serin messaged him.

“Thanks, Serin. I’m worried though. Soohyun’s back is bothering him.”

She frowned as she read it. “That’s too bad. I hope he feels better. Tell him to take a break afterwards. His health is important.”

Hoon didn’t answer her, so she assumed he was busy getting ready. It wasn’t like he really had time to message her on a day when he was preparing for a big event. And the new music video was awesome. AJ was finally returning to the group after returning from school. There was much to be excited about, but the news that Soohyun’s back was hurting worried Serin.

What Hoon didn’t know, though, was that Serin had gone to great lengths to make sure he would get a Valentine’s Day gift from her. She had made him chocolate, feeling as though emotional closeness she felt with him warranted specially made chocolate. He was in Japan, and she, having read her fair share of romance manga, wanted him to have a special sort of Valentine’s Day. Her father and brothers and male coworkers had, of course, gotten chocolate from her as well, but she had gone to great lengths to make sure she gave Hoon chocolate. They weren’t technically dating, and no such talk had been brought it up their many messages, but Serin knew she was committed to him. She was so emotionally attached to him that all that needed done to make their relationship official was the formalities.

--

Serin sat, waiting at the restaurant she’d been told to go to. They were well known for their pizza, but they also had a reputation for being a secret dating location for idols. It was extremely late, and Serin was quite tired after working all day. Waiting for Hoon as they’d finally come back to the country, she rested her head on the table, trying not to sleep.

She woke up to her phone vibrating in front of her.  A message. “I’m on my way. Things ran later than anticipated.”

She smiled, groggy. She was excited to see him again. It had been several months. The few times he’d come back to the country, she was overseas for business or was too busy in the office. But though she hadn’t seen him, she was now well aware of her feelings. Before she was unsure, too worried about others. Too worried about hurting him. Now she knew. She answered his message quickly. “I’m still waiting. Hurry up.”

“Go ahead and order. Anything is fine. I’ll have whatever you pick.”

“I thought you were dieting?” she messaged back.

“Just this once won’t hurt. And I’m sure you’re tired.”

Serin smiled and did as he’d instructed, picking out and ordering a pizza for them to share. He arrived right as the pizza did, sitting down in a hurry and stating that he was extremely hungry.

“How go the comeback preparations?” Serin asked, putting a slice of pizza on a plate for him.

“Tiring. Like usual,” he stated, still not taking off his hat or sunglasses even though they were in a private area and quickly taking a bite of the slice he’d been given.

She reached over to take off his sunglasses tentatively, wanting to see his face unobscured, unsure if her action would be tolerated. He didn’t stop her, but he sort of pulled away, not entirely comfortable with her closeness. She pulled them free, and handed them to him, and lit up with happiness as she met his eyes. “It felt too long. Thanks for listening to my trivial complaints while you were so busy,” she told him.

“I am happy to listen,” he replied. “I liked hearing from you.”

She flashed him another dazzling smile. “You’re so kind,” she said. “I was worried that I’d bother you.”

He had finished his slice of pizza quickly, and took a drink of water before changing the subject. “Have you thought things through?”

“What we talked about before you left?” she asked, taking a bite of pizza herself to get time to gather her thoughts.

He nodded. She swallowed the food in . “Yes. I missed you a lot. I was glad to talk to you. In the time I’ve spent messaging and getting to know you better, I’ve made up my mind. You are amazing and talented and kind and–“

“Will you be my girlfriend?” he asked, daring to hope. It felt like his whole life was riding on her answer.

 She was startled at the question after being cut off. She recovered quickly though and knew what she was going to tell him because there was no other possible answer. She, more than liked, was already aware that she was in love with him. She felt bubbly and light as she answered, “Yes. I’d be so amazingly happy to be your girlfriend, Yeo Hoonmin. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you.”

His expression brightened in excitement. “I’m glad,” he said, sounding relieved, as the tension and uncertainty he’d been living with for the last several months lifted all at once. Lee Serin, the woman he’d fallen desperately in love with the very first time he’d met her, was finally his girlfriend.

“I’m glad too,” she admitted. “I was worried that you’d give up on me. To be honest, I wanted to date you from the first moment we met, but I just… wasn’t ready to move on then.”

“I understand,” he told her. “Break ups are hard. Yours was especially difficult.”

“Thank you. For understanding.”

They sat and continued eating, surrounded by an aura of happiness and excitement as they talked about nothing in particular, simply getting trying to get as comfortable with each other in person as they had started to become over the phone and messages. “So what do we do next?” Serin asked.

“Well… this is going to have to be a secret.”

“Of course,” Serin said, nodding.

“I’ll tell the members. You’ve already met Kiseop. And Soohyun is aware of you. My company will probably also want to know. But I guess we’ll just take it slow.”

“I promise I won’t get jealous of your time,” Serin outright stated. “I know your life and schedule won’t leave you with much extra time for me. I’m willing to make sacrifices to see you and date you, but I will not demand to see you when you don’t have time for me.”

Those words sounded like magic, almost too good to be true. “I’ll make sure to keep in contact with you. So you never feel as though I’m too busy to think about you. Already… I’ve thought about you. Quite a lot. You’re frequently the only thing in my head anymore. So just know that.” It was embarrassing to say more, to let her know the true level of attention his mind gave her, so he ended that topic there.

She was also embarrassed by it, flushing pink and averting her eyes. “I see,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to call me even if it’s late. I’m often awake pretty late working. And don’t worry. If I don’t answer, it just means I’m asleep.”

Hoon was excited though. Because of her laid-back, non-demanding demeanor, he felt like they really could stay together for a long time. “Don’t be afraid to lean on me sometimes,” he told her then. “You’re so independent. I want to feel like you need my protection sometimes.”

She nodded, smiling at him. Serin’s phone buzzed then. “Sorry,” she apologized. “My little brother is calling me.”

“Answer it,” he told her. “You can stay here as long as you don’t mind me hearing.” She nodded and proceeded to answer the call.

“Sorry, Hoonmin,” she said when she was done. “Jaehyun is totally wasted and needs a ride home. I’m going to pick him up. Let me know when we can go on another date, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll let you know. I’ll be busy with promotions and stuff, but I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you,” she said. “And it can be late. I don’t mind.”

She walked out then, pulling on her winter coat, and leaving Hoon behind to let the feeling of happiness and bliss sink in. He was finally officially dating the woman he’d spent all his free time thinking about. The one who wouldn’t leave his dreams. She was finally much closer than she had ever truly seemed before, and for that, he was both extremely thankful and extremely nervous.

--

His life felt busy and hectic with nonstop promotions and very little sleep. He’d gotten few opportunities to see his girlfriend of nearly a month. And it was White Day, so he knew he had to do something for her, especially after she’d sent him such delicious homemade chocolate on Valentine’s Day. He sent her a text, explaining that he wanted to meet her when he was done. She said she was busy and didn’t really have time to go anywhere, but he could come over when he was done for a bit and had sent him her address. It was now 2:30 AM, and he was outside of her apartment building debating whether it was too late to bother her. But she had said that it was fine, so he took a deep breath and called her. “Hello, Hoonie,” she said, sounding tired, but not as though she’d been sleeping.

“You’re still up?”

“Yeah. I’m working on a really important proposal right now. It got dumped on me at the last minute, and I need to get it done as quickly as I can so it can be looked over before it’s presented to our business partner.”

“Oh. Okay. Are you going to be on a business trip soon?”

“I will be. It’ll be next week, but I won’t be gone for very long.”

“Do you mind if I come in?” he asked. “I’m waiting outside.”

“Oh gosh. I’m sorry,” she said. “My brain is so scattered right now. I forgot I told you to come over.”

“It’s okay. I can come back later, if you want.”

“Oh no. You came over to see me. I needed a bit of a break, anyway.”

“Okay. I’ll be right up then.” He hung up his phone and went inside. He made sure he had the gift for her and that his face was covered, even though he wasn’t really expecting to run into anyone who’d recognize him at this time in the morning. He took the elevator to her floor and found her room number. She answered promptly when he knocked on the door. “Hi, Hoonie,” she said cheerfully.

“Hey,” he replied, stepping inside and sliding off his shoes. She was dressed simply in a t-shirt and loose pants, her hair down and her face make-up-less. But seeing her like that, so natural and so unguarded made his heart race. “I brought you something.”

He handed her the gift box, as she gestured that he sit down. She opened it and gasped. “Really? This is way too cute,” she said as she gazed at a pink headband, decorated with roses. “Thank you.”

“Happy White Day,” he told her. “I found it in a shop in Japan, and it seemed like something you would like.”

“I love it. Thank you!” She put her arms around him and hugged him happily. She yawned then. “Guess I need some coffee,” she stated. “I’m going to be up all night.”

“All night?” he asked, concerned.

“Yeah. I have to get it done. It’s not any harder than when you film music videos, I’m sure.”

“Ah… yeah,” he agreed. “I’m just worried for you health.”

“Don’t worry. I’m perfectly healthy. Do you want some coffee, as well?” she asked, standing up and heading for her kitchen.

“No thanks. I’d like to be able to sleep when I finally get home,” he explained.

“I understand. How about dinner then? Did you eat anything?”

“I ate earlier today. Don’t worry.”

“Okay,” she said as she poured herself a cup and went back over to sit with him. “Thanks for coming over. Even with it being this late. I appreciate your company. And I really love the gift.”

“You’re welcome. I missed seeing you. I am always so busy. And you are fairly busy yourself,” he explained.

“I know. It makes things tough, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” he agreed. “Oh… I just found this out, but I’m going to be in a musical next month. Why don’t you plan on coming to watch it?”

“Really? I’d love to!” she said enthusiastically. “Just let me know the show dates.”

“I’ll have to double check, but I’ll let you know.” He stayed for a few more minutes, telling her about what he knew about the musical, how promotions were going, and telling her about his family.

“I’d like to meet them some time,” she told him. “Hearing about your mom makes me really miss my own mother.”

“We can arrange something. My mom knows that I’m dating someone, and she’s been pestering me about meeting you. I’ll arrange something here soon. After you get back from your business trip.”

“Sounds good,” she agreed. She took the last gulp of coffee. “Well… I guess I should get back to work. I’ve got four more hours to get this done.”

“Good luck,” he told her. “I’ll see you later.” Standing up together, she walked with him to the door. He slid his shoes on, and she gave him a hug. He let his arms sneak around her waist, embracing her, breathing in her scent. It felt amazing to hold her like this, and despite how tired he felt, he didn’t regret visiting her one bit.

“Bye, Hoonie,” she whispered in his ear. “I’ll be rooting for you. Fighting!” He regretfully pulled himself away from her, and smiled saying his thanks, and left for home so he could get whatever small amount of sleep he could. She went back to her office, headband in tote, getting back to work with a pleasant bubbly sensation filling her body, well aware of at least one accessory she was going to wear into work when she dropped off the proposal.