“What did you think of me when we first met?”

Changmin was quiet, blinking at her profile without a word for a whole minute while he processed the question in his mind. He hadn’t thought about it really… it had been years since he first met her, and the feeling from then and now were different. In the present time, he was meeting Yoona as a dongsaeng-turned-“wife” while back then it was simply just two kids meeting for the very first time. There were no cameras filming every move; no one judging from the other side of the screen… it was easier.

He turned to look at her fully this time, tilting his head just so to capture every angle of her familiar face into his mind. Yoona had matured from the scraggly preteen he had played catch with in the park, and finally into the Nation’s maiden he’d only gotten to see when during the times he worked in Korea and during SMTOWN concerts. To say that she grew up to be attractive was an understatement (and an insult, Changmin thought) because So Nyeo Shi Dae’s Im Yoona was certainly more than just a pretty face. He’d always known since the beginning that she would grow up to be spectacular. No matter how quiet he’d been to keep to himself back then, Changmin had always believed that she would learn to hone her skills well. Yoona could act, dance and sing (he knew she could; perhaps not as angelic as Taeyeon or Tiffany but she could and well enough if only she was given a chance) – she was a triple threat and one of SM Entertainment’s prized gems.

Changmin grinned unknowingly, tapping Yoona on the shoulder to turn her attention back to him. He smiled wider when she blinked back at him with those bright, doe eyes and he raised an eyebrow at her. “What? Did you think of answer already?” she asked, her lips slowly turning upwards into a smile in return, “Just tell me honestly. You don’t have to be nice for the camera.”

“I wasn’t going to be,” he replied, smirking at her as he put an arm on the top of the bench. “I remember this one time—back in the day—during the time before Dong Bang Shin Ki’s big debut and you and Leeteuk-hyung snuck into our practice room with bags of chicken and beer.”

Yoona’s eyebrows shot up at the mention of alcohol and she blinked. “I don’t think I’m familiar with that memory,” she said, arching her eyebrow at him. Wrinkling her nose, her eyes narrowed and she pouted. “What are you implying exactly?”

“Nothing illegal, Yoona. Just that… you were different from all of the other female trainees back then.” Changmin said, shaking his head at her and smirking. He let out a deep sigh and leaned against his seat, his arm comfortably placed up on the edge and behind her head.

[ MC#2: His arm is around her! Skinship!

MC#1: No, he doesn’t! It’s the camera angle!
His arm is behind her head, that’s all.

MC#2: [pauses] Okay, fine – but you have to admit.
They look almost natural together right now…

MC#1: [grins] Almost. ]

“You know, you’re not really answering my question here.” Yoona said, pouting at him. She blinked bright-eyed at him, the way she always did whenever her managers or Super Junior tried to evade a question from her. It usually worked this way: they’d look at her pouting and then spill whatever secret they were hiding. However, it didn’t seem to be working all that well for her at the moment.

Changmin raised an eyebrow at her pouting face and then started laughing, shaking his head. “That look doesn’t really work on me, sorry.” He said in between laughs, smirking at Yoona with his uneven eyes. Admittedly, that look of hers would have worked on him when he was 16, however, much time had already passed and Changmin wasn’t the type to be easily swayed by looks any longer. He – they – were older now, more mature. “I’m immune, I think.”

Yoona laughed as well, shrugged good-naturedly. Somehow she expected this type of reaction from him. She might not have been close to him much this past years, but she’d always known that he was different from the others. For one, he’d never did try to baby her – he was always so painfully honest. To everyone, in fact. It was one of his traits that made his fans like him so much.

“I thought I’d give it a try,” she admitted, shrugging her shoulder. “You’re so serious all the time, sunbae. You could try to at least let a girl charm you, you know.”

“Not when said girl wants to know what I ‘honestly’ thought of her though.” He replied, raising an eyebrow at her. Changmin stared into her eyes, intrigued by the way the sun seemed to catch light in them and reflect back. Im Yoona really was very pretty – there was no doubt about that. “You were like one of the guys: loud, playful and fun. You weren’t afraid to get a little dirty, wrestling with guys over a basketball and running races…”

“I thought you were fun.” Changmin said simply, shrugging his shoulder and looking up to the sky. The sun was bearing down on them now, high up and indicating it was nearing noon. “I was the quiet guy, remember? I was usually the one standing in the background, watching everything go down and mocking every stupid trick we did as kids.”

“You thought I was fun?” Yoona repeated, a smile widening in her lips. It was a simple answer, almost clichéd, really – but one that she liked a lot given their history of non-communication. She cast him a curious look and pressed her lips together into a small (but thankful) smile. She didn’t think he would actually have something good to say about her, especially since she was such a noisy child way back when. Yoona traced the lines of her shorts and shrugged. “I always thought I was nuisance to you – I mean, you were always studying whenever I saw you during breaks.”

“I’ve always been serious, you know that,” he grinned, nodding his head. “But even though you were usually too loud when you entered the room… I always thought that you also made things interesting.”

They fell silent for awhile, weighing the words that were just spoken in their heads. They looked thoughtful, staring out into space in silence just like they always seemed to end up in whenever they were (if it ever happened, and it was rare) stuck together alone. The birds fluttered around them in joyous harmony, signaling the beginning of a beautiful summer and they gazed at children that had noisily started running towards the playground. They looked at each other for a moment; identical smiles etched on their lips and simultaneously stood up.

It was like a flash of telepathy. A mutual understanding that neither of them knew they could possess.

[ MC#2: Woah. Why did they suddenly stand up?

MC#1: Shush! Be quiet! It looks like they both thought of something. ]

Yoona spoke first, lacing her fingers behind her and smiling, “You know… somehow, I feel like going to the company and looking around the practice rooms we used to train in.”

“That was exactly what I was thinking.” Changmin replied, grinning as well. He scratched a part of his nape and looked at her with his uneven eyes slanting one way. The sun was reflected off of Yoona’s hair (all soft and silky looking; he had to stop himself from reaching out to touch it) as she looked back at him with a mischievous grin.

It was only mid-day. There were bound to be a couple of their friends in the company at this hour. Changmin wasn’t particularly sure if he was ready to face the endless teasing yet, especially since the first episode had just come out the night before. However, the twinkle in Yoona’s eyes made him feel just a bit courageous. A little daring, even.

“Are you up for it? The others could be hanging out there today.” He said, raising an eyebrow at her.

Yoona nodded, shrugging. “I don’t mind. They already know about us, anyway,” she replied, her cheeks rosy as she spoke. The word ‘us’ felt a little different on her tongue… but it was nice.  “Are you scared?”

Changmin laughed at her attempt at teasing him and shook his head. “Never.”

* * * *

[ MC#1: I’m really interested to see how the other artists in SM will react.

MC#2: Oh, I bet they’re so nervous right now!
Especially since they’re a new couple and in the same company too! ]

The couple entered the company with relief that no one they knew (so far) was in sight and headed straight towards the upstairs training rooms – to one in particular that overlooked the other buildings in the vicinity. This one hadn’t been used in a while… at least, not since late 2009 – but neither of them wanted to talk or think about that now.

Changmin felt a wave of memories hit him as he opened the door and entered first, breathing in the faint smell of dust from the unused room. The windows were shut, but the sunlight poured in and filled the room with life despite it being abandoned for awhile. Everything more or less looked the same to him: the chair with the flattened cushion he remembered sitting on during breaks was still there at the corner, and the wallpaper at the right side of room was still the same bright blue sky he stared up at whenever he lai