So… tvxqprincess and Brittany_sj both reviewed (*again*), so a shout-out to them!

Also, do not hate me for choosing pictures of Soohyun-oppa that openly display his iness, or ABSOLUTE CUTENESS! ^_^

And since I have left you in such suspense for… Well, not that long when you think about it (*-__-*), I shall present you with another update! Enjoy!

-----

“Oppa, do you mind if we stop by my apartment?” Jae Hwa looked up at Soohyun as they walked down the sidewalk. “It’s on the way.”

“PJ, we could stop by your apartment even if it was out of the way!” He smiled, reaching up and scratching his head underneath his hat.

“Why do you wear that disguise if it’s so uncomfortable?” She asked, glancing up at the felt hat he wore with a pair of fake glasses.

“People would never picture me wearing this,” he also gestured at his oversized dress clothes – rumpled khaki pants and an oversized shirt with a sweater vest, “Especially in this heat.”

“Well, the only good thing about my apartment is that we have working air conditioning – unfortunately, it’s year round,” she sighed and shook her head. About five minutes later, they were passing a building that looked rather… unappealing. It looked like it hardly fit in with the modern look of the rest of the city. Soohyun was about to walk past it, but Jae Hwa grabbed his sleeve and tugged him back. “Oppa, this is my building,” she said, pointing at it.

Soohyun made an adorable face, even with his ridiculous getup. He looked between Jae Hwa and the building, his expression a mix of confusion and concern. “Here?” He stretched his arm out completely and tilted his head to the side. Jae Hwa nodded. He dropped his arm and faced the building, his expression becoming increasingly perturbed. He lifted his arm and pointed at the building again, looking at Jae Hwa, “Seriously?”

She nodded again. “Ninth floor,” she told him, holding up nine fingers.

“Out of how many?” He tilted his head to the other side, still looking cute.

“Twelve,” she responded, turning and walking towards the building. She grabbed the large handle of the unnecessarily large door and pulled on it, grunting with difficulty. Soohyun was too busy staring up at the building with his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

He finally noticed her struggling with the door and walked over, “What’s wrong?”

“This door always gets stuck,” she grunted, yanking on it sharply. He reached over her head and grabbed the upper part of the handle. He grunted and pulled on it with one hard yank, and the door made a squeaking noise when it opened, releasing a blast of freezing air into his face. “Gomawo,” she panted and bowed, ducking under his arm and into the building. He walked in after her, his mouth falling open at the sight of the expansive, yet poorly lit, lobby. Soohyun even saw the paint peeling on the walls in a few places, and cracks in the tiles that were stained brown. ‘Jae Hwa lives here?’ He thought, trying not to sweep her into his arms and run back to U-Kiss’ dorm so that he could force her to live with them. They passed a door that was cracked open, and he barely saw an overweight security guard watching some television show. They approached the elevator and she hit the red button with an arrow pointing up.

“What’s the down arrow for?” He asked, pointing at the same button with the arrow pointing down.

“Basement,” she said. “It’s the only place in the building where there are laundry machines. It’s also the only place in the building with heat,” she rolled her eyes. They waited another five minutes before the doors slowly opened.

They stepped inside and after the doors closed Soohyun started to shift on his heels. “There aren’t many people around,” he said, “It’s an awfully small number of people for such a big building.”

“Most of the people who live here are at work right now, or they’re sleeping because they run night shifts,” she shrugged. “It’s a good building for people with low-income jobs.”

“How’s that?” He asked when there was a beeping sound heard as the number two blinked on the 8-bit screen over the buttons.

“It’s close to a lot of restaurants, stores, upper-class hotels, and schools – in fact, I think a few members of the janitorial staff from Dong Ho-ah’s school live here.”

“Seriously?” He turned to look at her, the beep heard again as the counter moved up to three. “Then why do you live here?”

Jae Hwa looked up at him and frowned. “Oppa, although I’m your friend, I’m paid to look after you and the guys. Unfortunately, on the paycheck that I’m given by your company, this is the most I can afford. Besides,” she shrugged one of her shoulders as the counter hit four, “It’s only twenty minutes to your building.”

“Jae Hwa, I haven’t even seen your apartment and I already know that you deserve better than this,” he gestured around the elevator.

She sighed and shook her head as the counter hit five – a second later, a loud beeping sound was heard, more urgent than the beeping made whenever the elevator passed a floor. “Shibal!” She snapped and seized Soohyun’s arm, grabbing onto the rail inside of the elevator with her other hand. The elevator jolted suddenly and Soohyun stumbled into the rail, after which the light flickered out. “… At least the alarm is working,” she said in the dark. The light flickered on, but it was only one of the four panels on the roof of the elevator.

“What happened?” Soohyun yelled, yanking off his hat and the glasses.

“It happens occasionally,” she shrugged and sat down. “You might as well sit down; this could take awhile,” she shook her head, “The landlord said last week that this problem was fixed…” Soohyun stared at her with shock and disbelief. She must have felt his eyes on her and looked up at him, “What?”

“How are you so calm?” He cried out.

She stared at him for a second before leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes. “This used to happen all the time – that’s why I would take the stairs in the morning, and when I got home I would take the elevator up because I would be too exhausted to take the stairs. Also, I didn’t want to be late because this piece of junk got stuck,” she heaved a sigh and opened her eyes. “Mianhe, oppa - The landlord told the entire building that the elevator-problem was fixed. This hasn’t happened for a week, so I thought…” She drifted off and closed her eyes again. “Mianhe…” She whispered, pulling her legs up and hiding her face in her knees, her hair creating a veil around her. The elevator was quiet; all Soohyun could do was stare at Jae Hwa, who looked smaller than usual to him curled up against the wall. He noticed her rubbing her bare legs, since she was wearing shorts. He supposed it was because of the cold; and he also supposed it was because of his “disguise” that he didn’t feel the chill as much.

“Yah,” he whispered, undoing his sweater vest and sitting down beside her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, draping the vest over her legs. “PJ, it’s fine,” he whispered, pulling her into a hug. “It’s not your fault that your landlord is incompetent and takes advantage of your financial status.”

Jae Hwa lifted her head enough for him to see her eyes over her knees. “Oppa, you’ve been wearing your nerd disguise too long. You sounded smart for a second.” Soohyun laughed loudly and tightened his arms around her, pulling her into his lap. He did this often, so she was unperturbed. What surprised her was when he draped the vest over the lower half of her legs and then started slowly rubbing what his vest didn’t cover. “O-oppa, what’re you doing?” She asked, her eyes growing wide.

He chuckled and nuzzled his face into her hair, “Keeping you warm,” he whispered in her ear.

“O-oh,” she muttered, leaning closer to his chest. “Um… You should call the boys and tell them what’s happening.”

“Good idea,” he said. He moved his hand underneath her to reach into his pocket, smirking when she squeaked as his hand brushed her . “By the way, how long should we be stuck here?”

“Jae Hwa shrugged and snuggled against his chest, “The least amount of time I’ve been stuck here is twenty minutes, the longest is an hour and a half.”

Soohyun frowned, which Jae Hwa didn’t see from where she was curled up against him. He held his phone in his hand and glanced at the top of Jae Hwa’s head, and then an idea occurred to him.

He flipped it open and hit speed dial three, and for the first time in seven months, Jae Hwa wondered who he had on speed dial one.

--

U-Kiss, sans Soohyun, were still discussing their manager’s “plan” when Alexander’s phone when off.

“Hang on,” he smiled and flipped open his phone. He frowned in confusion at the screen.

“What? Who is it?” Kiseop asked, perking up a little bit.

“It’s Soohyun,” he told them. “Yoboseyo?” He answered. He listened for a second before his eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “You’re kidding.”

“What? What is it?” Eli whined, scooting over and poking their “leader” in the side.

Alexander only swatted at Eli’s hand, instead listening intently to what was being said from Soohyun’s side of the conversation. Alexander winced after a second and held the phone away from his ear, wincing. All of the boys sitting around him could hear yelling on the other end. “Okay, I get it; you’re going to be late!” His eyed widened with shock, “What?” He yelled, lunging to his feet. “You can’t be serious!” He started biting his fingernails, a habit that the group was sure he had gotten over. He winced and held the phone away from his ear again, and the group again heard yelling from the phone. “Soohyun,” he said into the phone, but frowned. The group could still hear yelling from the phone, “Soohyun-ah!” He yelled and the phone went silent. He frowned and held the phone against his ear again, “Soohyun, just call us when you get a free moment, alright?” A moment passed and he nodded, “Araso, annyeong,” he hung up and turned around to face his manager and dongsaeng’s with an uncharacteristically straight face. The boys immediately started berating him with questions, and he held up his hands until they all stopped. “Jae Hwa is going to move in with us.”

“Bwoh?”

--

“Why did you tell them that?” Jae Hwa yelled at Soohyun, scrambling out of his arms and shoving the vest into his arms. “I knew this was a bad idea!” She moaned, walking over to one of the walls and banging her head on the cold, metal surface. “This is what I get for not wanting to have to put up with my umma’s pestering -”

“Jae Hwa!” Soohyun jumped to his feet and grabbed Jae Hwa by her upper arms, pulling her away from the wall gently. “Jae Hwa, you shouldn’t have to live like this – wait, pestering?” Soohyun released her arms and looked at her in the dim lighting.

Jae Hwa rolled her eyes, “My umma is always calling me and annoying me about getting a bunch of things -”

“First, let’s sit down again,” he gestured to the floor.

Jae Hwa crossed her arms and pouted, “I’m still mad at you for telling the guys.”

Soohyun chuckled and shook his head. He leaned forward a little and cupped Jae Hwa’s face so that she would look at him, “PJ, we all care about you, and I know that the guys would agree with me when I say that you deserve more than this -”

--

I snapped.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled us closer together, pressing my mouth against his. He must have been stunned by my sudden move, because he didn’t move. But I couldn’t stop – I just kept kissing his lips, over and over. I must have kissed him five times before I finally realized what I was doing and let go, staggering backwards. “O-oppa,” I gasped, “M-mianhe!” I cried. He stared at the spot where I had been standing in shock, still leaning forward. He blinked and slowly straightened, reaching up and touching his lips where I had kissed him. He had this stunned look on his face as he stared at me like I was an alien, his fingertips still resting on his lips. ‘I am so fired, I am so fired, I am so fired…’ I kept thinking over and over again, staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Jae Hwa…” He said slowly, “Did you just kiss me?”

I had to force myself to breathe, and restrain myself from hyperventilating at the same time. My arms were behind me, clinging onto the bar as if I would collapse if I let go. My arms and legs were shaking, but I managed to nod.

He turned his head away, his face blank. He turned his back to me and walked back to where we had been sitting, then turned again and sat down, staring at me with an alarmingly calm expression. He just stared at me, and I could feel my heart speeding up – not from his intense gaze, but from his unnerving silence and the lack of his smile.

“Jae Hwa,” he said, his voice ringing in the silence. I swallowed and nodded in response – he lifted his hand and beckoned to me with one finger. “C’mere,” he said, dropping his hand and patting his lap. When I didn’t move, he pouted. “… Seyo?” With shaking legs, I walked towards him. I was about to sit down next to him, but he made his whining sound and patted his lap.

I wanted to. I really, really wanted to. I was already crouched beside him, about to sit, but I was frozen in place by his pout and unspoken request. He groaned with impatience and finally reached over, grabbed me by my shirt, and yanked me into his lap. He cradled me in his arms, pulling me closer until my face was hardly an inch from his. He moved his arms, shifting the one supporting my legs around and dragging his hand up my bare legs, and moving the one behind my back up and cradling the back of my head in his other hand.

“Jae Hwa…” He whispered with a small smile on his lips. I was so nervous I was shaking in his arms and my neck and ears were burning. His smile fell and he looked down, moving his hand and ing the first few buttons on his shirt. The crazy man was wearing another layer of clothing underneath that, albeit it was only a tank top, stretched over his toned chest. He took one of my hands and slid it underneath his shirt holding it over the place where his heart was.

Underneath my palm, I could feel the rapid pounding of his heart. I at the place where he was holding my hand, completely mystified – he was as nervous as I was. Still not believing it, I moved our hands and leaned over quickly, pressing my ear over the spot. Sure enough, his heartbeat was pounding in his chest as fast as mine. I kept my head there, too shocked by this revelation to move.

“Jae Hwa…” He whispered my name again, “Your breath tickles.” I looked up at him and saw him smiling at me nonchalantly, despite his erratic heartbeat – wait. I knew that smile.

That was his stage smile - the smile that he wore to charm audiences when his voice and dancing didn’t.

“This is how you feel before performances?” I whispered, leaning back and putting my hands on his chest. “You’re as nervous in front of them as I am in front of you.”

He smiled and moved the hand he had on the back of my neck and began my cheek. He stared into my eyes and then looked down, nodding sheepishly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and began pulling him closer. “Soohyun -” I cooed his name, and he instantly moved his arms around me completely and pulled me against his chest, covering my mouth with his.

--

 Soohyun kissed her almost mercilessly. In no time he had forced his tongue past her lips and explored , and then began massaging her tongue with his. His body stiffened when she moaned into his mouth, which only drove him to kiss her harder.

After neither-of-them-knew-how-long, Jae Hwa pushed him away, panting heavily. He grinned at her, his breath less than half the speed of hers. “How do you do that?” She asked, poking him in his chest.

“The kissing or the breathing?”

“Both!” She gasped.

He pulled her closer and she thought he was about to kiss her again, but he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, thinking.

“The kissing… Kiseop and Eli are semi-, and are always trying to give me “tips”, no matter how many times a tell them to shut the hell up,” he opened his eyes to glare at the ceiling, and Jae Hwa giggled, and snuggled closer to him, leaning her head on his shoulder and looking up at him.

“And the ability to kiss me again and again without breathing for an extended period of time?” She joked, slipping one of her hands underneath his open shirt to rub her hand over his chest.

He made a sound that was cross between and moan and a sigh and put his hand over hers. “A voice teacher I had when I was younger told me that singing is breathing, but with sound,” he moved his head and smiled at her. “It’s what happens when someone practices with their voice for two hours a day – they develop some nice lungs.”

Jae Hwa laughed and nestled her face into his neck. “Good to know. You’re going to have to teach me some of those breathing exercises so I don’t have to stop you.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he smiled and kissed the top of her head. At that time, the rest of the lights flickered on. Jae Hwa rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Oppa, you might want to grab somethi -” She was cut off by a harsh jump that made Soohyun’s head bump against the bar, and the elevator started moving up again. Jae Hwa easily wiggled out of Soohyun’s arms since he was too busy clutching his head and whining with pain. Jae Hwa couldn’t help but giggle, which earned her a pour from Soohyun. She shook her head and leaned down, moving his hands and placing a kiss where they had been. “Poor oppa,” she cooed. “I have an ice pack in my apartment that you can use while I grab my phone.”

The elevator made the stereotypical ‘ding!’ sound. Soohyun sighed and held out his hands, “help me up.” Jae Hwa laughed and grabbed his hands, grunting with difficulty to help him stand. As soon as he was standing, he grabbed her hand and practically ran out of the elevator, barely remembering to grab the portions of his “disguise” that he had taken off. He stopped in the middle of the hallway and stared around him in surprise.

The carpet underneath his feet was obviously dirty, and he was afraid that if he walked barefoot on it he would cut his feet because it looked so rough. He reached up slowly and touched the ceiling with ease, not even having to extend his arm completely. “Low ceiling,” he commented.

Jae Hwa shrugged one of her shoulders and started rummaging through her purse in front of a wooden door with a doorknob that looked like it was partially rusted. When she put her key in the keyhole, she turned it until she heard it click and then took her key and dropped it back into her purse. Soohyun tilted his head to the side in disbelief when she proceeded to jiggle the doorknob to the left, then the right, then yank on it twice, then actually punch the door in the space between the doorknob and the doorframe. After that, the door opened as if she had just greased the hinges. She saw him staring at her in shock and shrugged. “I’ve lived here for awhile, and the door gets stuck. For some reason that my landlord won’t explain, that gets it unstuck without struggling,” she shrugged again and walked through the door. Soohyun followed her, ducking under the frame, even though he should have had about an inch of space between his head and the top of the frame.

‘Still too close for comfort,’ he thought, looking back at the door. When he turned to face Jae Hwa’s “apartment,” his mouth fell open in shock. The dingy room that he had entered couldn’t have been even considered an apartment.

The walls also had the dingy wallpaper that was out in the hallway and lobby, albeit it wasn’t peeling anywhere nor had any oddly colored stains. The entire floor of the room was the same linoleum as the lobby, except the parts that were only covered by “furniture”. There was a dresser pushed into the corner on the right of the door with only four drawers and a futon beside it, which was what Jae Hwa was approaching. In the corner on the right of the door was a refrigerator, and beside that a linoleum counter with a sink, and only enough empty countertop space to go over the oven, which also looked old. There was a very small row of cupboards hanging over the counter, hanging about a foot over the top of the toaster on the counter – one of the doors on the cupboards was missing a handle. There was a small portion of the room sticking out in a square shape, and Soohyun shifted towards it while Jae Hwa rifled through the things on top of the dresser. He peeked through the door and frowned at the sight of the small bathroom. The shower was small, and the space between it and the toilet, which was right beside the sink, was very small. He looked around the dingy room and could easily guess what belonged to Jae Hwa. The futon looked like it was about to break, but the sheets and pillow on it looked clean. He noticed the folding clothes hamper at the foot of the bed, the same shade of green as the majority of the bedspread, and guessed that those belonged to her. He noted the various pictures on top of the dresser and knew immediately that those were hers, since he could see a picture of him hugging her tightly. He looked into the bathroom and saw the two bars attached to the wall, the top one with a green washcloth and the lower one with two green towels. Green was her favorite color, so he guessed that all of the green items in the “apartment” were hers. And it was safe to assume that there were a few other things in the bathroom that he couldn’t see – perhaps a few food items in the refrigerator.

‘Jae Hwa shouldn’t live here,’ he thought as Jae Hwa let out a triumphant cry.

“Got it!” She smiled and checked the screen. “And I haven’t missed a single call!” She dropped the phone in her purse and whirled around to smile at Soohyun, who was frowning at her. “Oppa, what’s wrong?”

“Jae Hwa, do you own a suitcase?” She blinked at him and pointed slowly in the one corner of the room he hadn’t looked at. He followed her gesture and saw a suitcase and duffle bag.

“I used them when I first moved in – there aren’t any closets, so I just keep them there.”

“The middle of the room is empty,” he stated the obvious, pointing at the center of the room which was, as he observed, absent of any articles of furniture.

“Everything in the apartment is included,” she shrugged. “The refrigerator, the dresser, the toaster, the futon, the futon’s mattress -”

“What is yours?” He asked incredulously.

She pointed at the bed, “Anything green.” She stated bluntly.

‘I thought so,’ he frowned. “And that’s it?”

“Well, I have a few bathroom items, but I was meaning to go grocery shopping for myself as well…” She drifted off and lowered her head. Soohyun was silent, glaring at the wall past her head. “… Oppa?” She said softly, walking towards him and touching his arm.

“You’re leaving.”

“…Bwoh?” She was confused. “What do you mean I’m leaving?”

“You aren’t going to live here anymore. Pack your things.”

Jae Hwa’s eyes widened. “Bwoh? Oppa, what are you talking about?”

“You’re moving in with me and the guys.”

Jae Hwa’s eyes became even wider than either one of them thought possible. “And you’re just going to make this decision without consulting them?” She snapped after recovering from shock.

Soohyun held up one finger and reached for his phone, holding it between them. He flipped it open and hit speed-dial three, followed by the speaker-phone button. Jae Hwa looked between his serious expression and the phone he held between them with the ringing sound coming from it.

“Yoboseyo?” Alexander’s voice came from the phone – his voice was muffled from it being on speakerphone, but there were also sounds coming from the background that sounded like arguing.

“Yah, hyung!”

“Soohyun?” His voice muffled further as he said something over his shoulder, and the yelling in the background ceased. “So, what’s the deal with Jae Hwa’s place?”

“It’s a dump,” Soohyun stated bluntly.

“Yah!” Jae Hwa objected, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him. “That’s not fair! It’s not like I can afford anything better!”

“Jae Hwa?” Alexander sounded puzzled. “Soohyun-ah, do you have me on speakerphone? I thought you said you were going to call me back and give me the details when she was busy?”

“Change of plans – hyung, I want Jae Hwa to move in with us,” he went straight to the reason he called.

“Well, so do we!”

“Bwoh?” Jae Hwa muttered, dropping her arms and staring at the phone with hanging open.

“Ye, we’re already arguing over who’s going to be moving where to make a room for you -”

“You shouldn’t be doing that!” Jae Hwa objected.

“Why are you arguing over who’s moving where?” Soohyun completely ignored her.

“Well, we’re wondering if I should just move out of my room so that she can have mine -”

“I’m still here!”

“- Or if Kiseop and Eli should move into different rooms -”

“Do I have any say in this!?”

“- Or if Dongho and Kibum should move into different rooms.”

It was silent on the other end, and Soohyun’s confused-yet-cute expression replaced his uncharacteristically-serious face. “What about me and Kevin?” He asked.

“Kevin is the only one of us who is a heavy enough sleeper to sleep through your snoring -”

“I don’t snore!” He objected, blushing as Jae Hwa burst into a fit of giggles.

“Yes you do!” Kevin’s voice was heard in the background. “You’d best stop denying it now, since noona is going to find out anyways when she moves in with us!”

“I never said I was moving in with you guys!” Jae Hwa made another feeble attempt at objecting.

“We took a vote, noona!” Kibum’s teasing voice was heard. “Eli and Kiseop are already on their way to help you carry your things here!”

“Bwoh!?” She cried and her jaw dropped. “How do you guys know where I live?”

“It’s easy to find a dumpy apartment building within a twenty minute walk of our dorm. They’re going to call you when they get there to find out which room you’re in,” Dongho told her, and as soon as he told her that, Soohyun started again while restraining a fit of boyish giggles.

“Kibum-ah… Jae Hwa doesn’t actually have that much.”

“… What?”

“Ye, she has enough to fill a duffle bag and a suitcase – what?” He stopped when Jae Hwa stepped closer and tugged on his sleeve.

“All of the green stuff also came in a set,” she sighed, obviously giving up.

“Great, I can carry your duffle bag, Eli can carry your suitcase, and Kiseop can get the bedroom set.”

Jae Hwa opened to object, but Alexander spoke before she had the chance. “Sounds like a plan!” He chimed. “Now, back to those rooming arrangements…”

“Why don’t you have either Dongho and Kibum move into your room, or Kiseop and Eli?” Soohyun suggested. The phone line went silent. “…Hyung?”

“Soohyunnie, did you wear your nerd disguise today?”

“How did you know that?” Jae Hwa asked before Soohyun had a chance to object.

“Something about that disguise is like magic – it makes him smarter,” Kibum said over the phone.

“Whatever, Jae Hwa has packing to do! Annyeong!” Soohyun snapped his phone shut and smiled cheesily at Jae Hwa, who glared at him.

“Soohyun, you have no right!” She yelled, glaring at and poking his chest. He grabbed her hand to stop her in mid-poke. “What?” She snapped, looking up at his eyes, but froze when she saw his face.

He had the softest smile on his lips. “I like it when you do that.”

“Do what? Poke you?” She wrestled her hand from his grip and started poking his chest again at a faster pace.

He giggled and grabbed her hand again, but only pulled her into a tight embrace, “No. I like it when you say my name.”

Jae Hwa tensed up, but relaxed when he started her hair. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head against his chest. They stood like that for a moment in the empty center of her room, and the comfortable silence was broken by Jae Hwa. “Since I have no choice in the matter,” she sighed, “I might as well start packing.”

“Yeah, you might want to get on that.”

-----

I’m sorry that this chapter is SO FREAKING LONG… But I just wanted to fit a lot into it. Also, I’ve been very, very bored. -__-

Somehow, between two projects, three essays, and a different club meeting three days of the week, two on Thursdays, I still find the time to be bored enough to write for this.

DAMN.