“It’s been a while since everyone’s been together, right?” Mi Young was on her phone with Hyesung hovering over her shoulder as he listened to the conversation.

                The two had just gotten out of a meeting regarding recording an opening for a drama and Hyesung was looking worn down from all the solo work. Noticing his exhaustion and knowing just the cure for his depressed temperament, Mi Young took the initiative and called up the other members so they could catch up with each other.

                “Yeah, it has.” Minwoo agreed, his voice sounding tired even over the phone. Luckily for her, the dancer was on the same page. “Should we all meet to get some drinks later tonight?”

                Hyesung brightened considerably at the mention of alcohol—a little too brightly, in Mi Young’s opinion—but she shrugged. Maybe a little alcohol would help the main vocalist de-stress and unwind. “That would be nice.”

                “Cool, I’ll call Dongwannie and Jin-ah and tell them. I’ll see you there.” Minwoo didn’t bother raising his voice, knowing Hyesung was already eavesdropping and could hear him just fine.

                “Sure, I’ll call Eric-ahand Andy-ah.” The main vocalist nodded, happy with the arrangment.

                Mi Young and Hyesung arrived first. As the manager, Mi Young got a table for the group and waited as Hyesung parked the van, trying to find a parking spot close to the bar that wouldn’t be too far to walk.

                The bar wasn’t very crowded and she sat at the table alone, timidly accepting a glass of water and waiting for the others to arrive. She pulled out her cell phone and browsed through her text messages idly, frowning as she glanced at the door impatiently.

                ‘Aish, how long does it take to park the car?’

                She avoided the glances of the other bar goers, trying not to draw too much attention to herself as she nursed her water glass. Another five minutes ticked by, each second without one of them walking through the door feeling like an hour.

                She jumped when a waiter tapped her on the shoulder. “O-oh… What is it?” She asked.

                The waiter nodded towards a group of men her age. “Those gentlemen over there have purchased you a drink and would like to speak with you.”

                Mi Young turned to him pointing towards four unfamiliar men sitting across the bar and her eyes widened as she realized that she had just been booked. “U-uh, no… I’m waiting for someone…” She stammered. The men didn’t appear too frightening—they looked friendly enough—but she could still feel the anxiety clawing at her heart.

                “Please, I insist.” The waiter took a hold of her arm, pulling her to her feet. The contact immediately made her cringe and she began struggling.

                “No, really! I have to wait… I have other people…” She said, her voice rising in pitch. Images began flashing through her mind. A cold alleyway, spinning darkness, the flash of a knife. Her breath caught in and she realized she was on the verge of having a panic attack. “P-please…”

                “Mi Young-ah!”

                She whipped around at the sound of her name and found Andy—who was standing in the doorway—looking surprised and angry.

                “A-Andy-ah!!” She wrenched her arm away from the waiter, almost tripping on her own two feet as she stumbled towards him.

                Andy took in the situation in a second, moving so he was standing half-beside her and half-protectively in front of her. “I’m sorry, she’s with me.” He addressed the waiter and the other men coolly.

                “Oh, I see. I apologize for the misunderstanding.” The waiter commented. “You see, many women say they have another party waiting for them to avoid being spoken to. I did not know…”

                “I had to go park the car,” Andy slipped his hand into Mi Young’s—a  gesture that was so smooth it almost looked completely natural. His fingers tightened around hers, reassuring. The movement didn’t go unnoticed and the men and waiter dipped their heads in apology.

                 Mi Young met his gaze, knowing that he was lying for her benefit. However, once the waiter had left, Andy pulled her back to their table and sat her down. He didn’t let go of her hand and she didn’t object or pull away. Something about his touch grounded her, calmed her down.

                “It’s okay. Hyesung-hyung shouldn’t have let you go in alone…” Andy pursed his lips.

                “I-I…” Mi Young shivered, noticing for the first time that she was trembling.

                “Take a deep breath,” Andy instructed her. “Your mind just needs a minute to calm itself down.”

                She nodded, following his instructions. She wasn’t in any danger. Those men weren’t going to attack her; they just bought her a drink. Being booked was a normal thing… It was more a compliment, really. “Thank you, Andy-ah.”

                Just then, Hyesung walked in, smiling as he spotted familiar faces. He headed over to their table, completely oblivious to the situation that had occured. “Andy-ah!”

                Andy huffed, accepting the main vocalist’s hug reservedly. “Hyesung-hyung…” He muttered.

                Hyesung relinquished the enthusiastic grasp, blinking at the change in atmosphere. “What’s wrong?”

                Andy frowned and glanced down at Mi Young, who was still concentrating on breathing evenly. “Mi Young-ah almost got booked.”

                Hyesung paused and after a moment, shocked realization dawned on his face. “Ah, I… I’m sorry…”

                Mi Young shook her head. “It’s okay. I was just startled, that’s all.”

                “Aigoo, I should have gotten the table instead. I’m really sorry, Mi Young-ah…” Hyesung rested his head on his arms, guilty for spacing out.

                “No, I’m all right.” Mi Young took one last deep breath before smiling. It was a forced smile that didn’t reach her eyes, but neither Hyesung nor Andy commented on it. “Don’t worry about it.”

                Hyesung folded his arms, taking a seat across the table as Andy sat down again beside Mi Young. It was quiet for a moment before the door opened again and the others came in.

                “Yah, I hope you didn’t start the party without us!” Dongwan said chipperly, throwing his arms around Hyesung’s neck.

                To Hyesung and Andy’s surprise, Mi Young was the one to reply first. The stressed lines in her face had all but vanished and her voice was light and cheerful. “Of course not! We couldn’t start the party without all six of you, now could we?”

                After an amusing night with plenty of drinks and lots of laughter and happiness, Mi Young found herself in a familiar situation—driving the drunk Shinhwa members home.

                ‘How long has it been… Or is it supposed to be ‘how long will it be?’’ She thought, shaking the thought away and focusing on her driving.

                Behind her in the middle seats, Hyesung was staring drowsily out the window, deciding not to be apart of whatever conversation was going on around him. On his left, Jun Jin continued to carry the atmosphere, cheerfully keeping pace with Minwoo and Dongwan—who were moving around so much in the back that poor Andy was squished into the window—and Eric, who was sitting in the passenger seat next to Mi Young.

                She also ignored the conversation and turned towards Minwoo’s place, deciding to take the longer route back to avoid any traffic and to give the members a little more time to chat with one another.

                It was amazing how the six of them seemed to energize each other—each had walked into the bar looking worn and exhausted, but it had only taken a few minutes of hugs and jokes being exchanged for the atmosphere to light up to the familiar warmth that only Shinhwa could create. Perhaps it was Minwoo subtly working his ability so everyone could enjoy themselves more, but Mi Young knew that even without the power that they were more than capable of recharging themselves with just smiles and laughs.

                “Yah, I don’t know who the most popular member is. That always changes, doesn’t it?” Jun Jin’s words caught Mi Young’s attention, drawing her out of her thoughts.

                “Most popular?” Mi Young repeated, her knowledge of her fellow Shinhwa Changjos immediately appearing in her mind. “I think right now Eric-ah is most popular because of all of his acting…”

                “Really?” Eric seemed a little embarrassed. “Minwoo-yah’s new album, though…”

                “Yah, my album was just released about a week ago. You’ve been appearing everywhere all year.” Minwoo waved his hand conversationally.

                “Minwoo-yah is right.” Mi Young confirmed. “All of your commercials and Super Rookie has made you a common name, even in households that don’t know of Shinhwa.”

                Eric—ever the humble leader, even when inebriated—shrugged his shoulders, scratching the back of his neck.

                “That’s all really interesting, but Mi Young-ah, who do you think is the best?” Dongwan asked, leaning forward in his seat and placing his head in his hands cutely.

                Mi Young pursed her lips, not seeing the gesture. “The best? What kind of question is that? You all excel at different things and are likable for different reasons.”

                “Hm, then who is your bias?” Dongwan elaborated. “That is the word the fans use, right?”

                “Yeah, that’s the word.” Eric nodded.

                “My bias…” Mi Young echoed. It had been a while since she had given the term a thought.

                Several memories flashed through her mind: the first time she danced Venus with Hyesung as a dancer partner; the playful jokes the group threw at him for being so shy and awkward; his potty-mouthed, ‘angry Pil Gyo’ side that came out when he wasn’t on camera or trying to put on appearances… They were all the sides of her original bias that she had discovered during her time at Shinhwa Company.

                Had all of Hyesung’s un-prince-like tendencies changed her opinion of him, or made one of the other members more appealing? She considered it a moment before answering.

                “I don’t think my bias has changed.”

                “Oh, a loyal fan,” Jun Jin quipped, grinning. “Who is it though?”

                Mi Young didn’t reply right away—focusing on making a safe turn instead—and she realized the van had gotten very quiet. She chanced a quick glance through the rear-view mirror and saw that all six of the men were waiting intently for her response.

                “My bias is Hyesung-ah, but—”

                “OOOH!!” The van was immediately filled with a chorus of loud exclamations as Minwoo, Dongwan, and Jun Jin all burst out shouting. Next to her, Eric also joined in with the hoots, but much more reservedly—he was too busy watching Hyesung’s face, which was flushed under his white hat. Behind Hyesung, Andy was covering his ears and sniffing in mild annoyance at his over-exuberant hyungs.

                Mi Young made a face, also a little peeved by the group’s overreaction. “Aish, just because he’s my bias doesn’t mean that I like…” Unfortunately, under the cacophony behind her, her muttering was drown out and went unnoticed by everyone but Eric.

                A bright smile appeared on Eric’s face and Mi Young pouted. Why was he so happy that she didn’t like Hyesung? What a weirdo.

                She tried again, changing the subject and raising her voice over the others. “Yah, we’re here!” She hit the brake, stopping the van with a definitive jerk.

                “Haha, okay then.” Minwoo clambored inelegantly over Hyesung’s lap to get out of the van, aiming a playful punch at the main vocalist’s shoulder as he went. Hyesung pouted at him, a glare in his eyes as he slammed the van door shut.

                “And just so you know, even though my bias hasn’t changed,” Mi Young rolled down her window as Minwoo and Eric thanked her for transporting them. “I still think all six of you are equally stupid and dorky. Having a bias doesn’t really mean anything.”

                “Of course not,” Eric nodded in agreement. He completely ignored the fact that she had just insulted him—or maybe he was too pleasantly drunk to be annoyed by it.

                “Make sure you drink water and eat something before going to sleep.” She instructed, waving her finger at them.

                “Yes, Mom.” Eric and Minwoo laughed, waving and nodding as she drove away.

                “Okay, Jin-ah’s home next.” Mi Young cleared , waiting as Jun Jin crawled into the front seat beside her.

                The car quieted down and Mi Young checked on the remaining Shinhwa members. After some urging from Dongwan, Hyesung stopped brooding and turned to the stubborn vocalist, putting up with his affections. Andy—taking a leaf out of Eric’s book—was pretending to be asleep, only opening his eyes to check on their location every couple of minutes before sinking back into his seat.

                Jun Jin had calmed down as well, staring out the window and taking sips of his water bottle. It wasn’t very long before Mi Young pulled up to his place.

                After instructing the others to watch the car, she walked Jun Jin up to his door, giving him the same reminders to eat and drink that she had told his hyungs. There was a moment of silence before Jun Jin spoke up.

                “I’m doing a lot better now.”

                Mi Young blinked, meeting his gaze. His hair was getting longer—was he trying to grow it out like Hyesung’s? Or was it just the style of the time? She didn’t really know. “Is that so?”

                He nodded, his expression serious. “Sometimes I find myself with a lot to think about, but it’s not as bad as before. I think the depression and anxiety is starting to go away... Or maybe is becoming easier to handle.”

                She agreed somberly. “Everyone has their days. Some are harder than others… But you learn to live with the more difficult days and enjoy the better ones. You’re doing really well, Jin-ah.”

                Jun Jin smiled, halting in front of his door. “Thanks, Mi Young-ah. I’ll be seeing you.”

`               Mi Young returned to the van, stepping in and noticing that Hyesung had moved to the front seat and Dongwan was in the middle, leaving Andy alone to nap in the back seat.

                “Mi Young-ah, do you have any CDs on you?” Hyesung was going through the glove compartment of the van, frowning at the selection.

                She started the vehicle back up again, handing him the CD that Minwoo had given her that afternoon—Ilnd Winds. “That’s the only one I have.”

                Hyesung’s expression brightened and he immediately loaded it into the player. It looked as if some of the energy he had gathered while drinking was coming back in full-force—either that or he was so tired he had passed into delirium.

                Dongwan surpressed laughs as Hyesung began singing Minwoo’s songs. Mi Young did her best to ignore the enthusiastic singer, who kept turning in his seat to serenade Dongwan. It took a few minutes for her to realize that Dongwan had actually pulled out his camera and was recording the entire spectacle from the middle seat.

                “M… Second album. Coming to you!” Hyesung whispered in what he probably believed to be a seductive voice at the camera, shoving the jewel case into the lens.

                Mi Young grinned as Minwoo’s most famous song from the album, Bump, began playing and Hyesung set down the case and began flailing around in his seat, turning up the song so the bass shook the entire van.

                “Aish, this hyung…” Mi Young glanced up and saw Andy—either woken up by the sudden increase in volume or just too amused to pretend he was sleeping anymore—rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

                “Get it, get it, get it on da flooh…” Hyesung half-yelled in time with the recording, reaching up and trying to create some sort of strobe effect and stage lighting with the lights on the passenger mirror.

                Mi Young snorted as Hyesung turned almost all the way around in his seat to sing the ends of his phrases to Dongwan’s camera. It was a miracle that the other vocalist wasn’t reduced to hysterics right then and there.

                “FEEL ME!” Mi Young shook her head, ignoring Hyesung’s clipped singing and random English outbursts, and it wasn’t until he began slapping the sun visor uncontrollably and curled up in his seat that she started laughing.

                “You’re embarrassed now?” Andy asked, exasperated.

                “What the hell was I doing?” Hyesung groaned, making Mi Young laugh even harder. “That wasn’t me just then, that was Jinnie-ah!”

                It took only a few minutes for Hyesung to recover from his sudden mood swing before he resumed his hyper-active dancing and lip-syncing. Mi Young looked into the rear-view mirror and saw that Dongwan was still recording, a huge grin on his face.

                ‘Hyesung-ah’s going to regret this in the morning…’ Mi Young thought.

                “AOW!”

                Mi Young laughed again as Hyesung managed to single-handedly rock the entire car with his exuberant motions.

                “Yah, if he danced like this in performances…” Andy quipped, watching as Hyesung lost his hat and attempted to shove it back onto his head without messing up his precious hair.

                “I think he would be the dancing machine of the group.” Mi Young joked, smiling back at the maknae before returning her attention back to the road.

                Hyesung was too far gone to hear either of them, focused on Minwoo’s second verse. The vocals were progressively getting louder, building to the high point in the song.

                ‘Aish, is he…?’ Mi Young thought, hoping he wasn’t about to do what she thought he was going to do.

                Of course he was. Hyesung sat back in his chair, attempting to belt out Minwoo’s highest note and failing terrifically, making the windows vibrate with the resonation of his voice.

                “AAAAAAH! HAAH!” Hyesung’s voice cracked and he wailed, laughing at his earsplitting mistake. In the back, Andy was covering his ears and Mi Young envied him—if she had free use of her hands, she would’ve done the same thing.

                However, Hyesung wasn’t fazed by the botched note in the slightest; as soon as the chorus started up again, he continued dancing and grabbed a pack of gum out of Mi Young’s purse, using it as a fake microphone. Thankfully, he was done with actually trying to sing and just mouthed the rest of the lyrics, leaving Mi Young with the task of avoiding his wildly thrashing arms and sparing her ears the pain of listening to his drunken screeches.

                It was another ridiculous ten minutes before Mi Young finally pulled up to Hyesung’s apartment. “Okay, you’re here. Please get out…” She pointed at his building, ushering him out of the vehicle and pinching the bridge of her nose.

                “Hyesungie-ah, wait…” Mi Young blinked as Dongwan also got out, slinging his arm over Hyesung’s shoulder.

                “What…?” Hyesung was confused, staring blankly at the older vocalist.

                “I’m going to go with you and sleep over.” Dongwan announced, his bag swinging as he shut the van door.

                “Why?” Hyesung began whining as Dongwan hauled him back towards the apartment complex. “Yah, Dongwan-ah…”

                “Because I love you, of course.”

                Mi Young watched them for a moment before shouting after them, not even bothering to get out of the car. “Don’t forget to eat something and drink water before sleeping!!”

                “We won’t!” Dongwan yelled back cheerfully, his voice easily loud enough to wake up half the residents as he dragged a still-complaining Hyesung behind him. “Bye bye!!”

                “Aish…” Mi Young considered going after them, wondering if they would really be able to get all the way to Hyesung’s apartment without getting injured or disturbing the entire building on their way up.

                “They’ll be all right. Dongwan-hyung was steady enough for the both of them.” Andy’s voice was suddenly much closer and she jumped as she saw that he had moved up to the middle. Really, sometimes these men were too fidgety… They were acting like the van was a game of musical chairs or something.

                “…Did you use your powers to see that he was sobered up?” Mi Young asked, a little skeptical.

                “Actually…” Andy grinned sheepishly. “I’m too drunk and tired to use my ability right now.”

                Mi Young gaped at his blunt honesty for a moment before shaking her head and starting the car once more. “Okay… Well, I guess that’s all right, then…”

                The ride back was quiet and Mi Young felt a strangely reminiscent feeling run through her—even though the Andy behind her was a little over eight years younger than the one she remembered in her mind, his mannerisms, formal speech, and even the way he leaned against the armrest and gazed absentmindedly out the window was all the same.

                She couldn’t help but smirk at the thought, catching Andy’s attention.

                “What is it?” He asked.

                “Oh, nothing.” Mi Young waved a hand, pulling into a nearby parking spot. “Well, we’re here…”

                Andy nodded, opening the side door and stepping out, stretching his legs out.

                “Uh… Will you be okay getting back to your apartment?” Mi Young stood in the refreshing night air, looking a little uneasy. She didn’t mind accompanying the Shinhwa members back to their homes and making sure they ate—it was for their own good and it ensured that they wouldn’t be sick the next morning.

                But with Andy… She felt too awkward.

                “Hm?” Andy straightened out. “Oh, yeah.”

                Mi Young gave him a strange look, set in a thin line. “Just make sure you eat something before you sleep so you don’t wake up feeling bad, all right?”

                “Yeah, I will.” He nodded.

                She tipped her head to one side, not quite sure what else to say. “Um… Good night then.”

                Mi Young made a motion to get back into the van but Andy’s voice gave her pause.

                “Wait, can I ask you something?”

                Mi Young nodded timidly. “Of course…”

                “And this isn’t because I’m drunk, but…” Andy fidgeted with his hands, too nervous to look her in the eye. Truthfully, he didn’t actually know if it was the alcohol in him, but he couldn’t stop the words from leaving his mouth. “Mi Young-ah… Will you go on a date with me?”

                Her eyes widened in shock. “A-Andy-ah…”

                He pursed his lips, feeling the dread of rejection weigh on his shoulders. ‘What am I doing? She said Hyesung-hyung had been her favorite… There’s no way she would say ‘yes’ and choose me over him. Ah, why am I so stupid?!’

                Andy was so convinced of his imminent denial that he didn’t even hear Mi Young’s reply. “I understand,” He bowed, more out of his drunken habit more than anything. “I’m sorry to have bothered you with it.”

                “Huh?” Mi Young’s voice was bewildered and he looked up from his bow. “Andy-ah, I said yes.”

                It was Andy’s turn to sound confused. “Eh?” He said blankly, not comprehending what she had told him.

                She laughed, covering in an attempt to not be rude. “Yes, Andy-ah.” Her smile and blush were almost too cute to stand. “I would like to go on a date with you.”

[Ah, well Spring Break is upon me and I decided to take the opportunity to write another chapter for everyone in honor of Shinhwa’s 16^th anniversary and successful concerts! I’m a few days late; I got sidetracked by all the fancams of Here and the APPEARANCE OF ANDY AT THE CONCERT that I had trouble writing.

Writing drunk Shinhwa and embarrassed DyDy is always fun. Booking was something that I wanted to touch on, since its so common in Korean bars. I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do for the date though… apparently over there women are supposed to bring a friend along to the first few dates so they don’t look ‘easy,’ but how would one write something so awkward? Maybe I’ll have the friend leave after a little while… But would that be acceptable for the culture? Anyone have any input or more knowledge relating to it?

Inspiration for this chapter was taken from a video where Hyesung does, in fact, appear to be drunk and sings Minwoo’s songs in his car. I don’t think any of the other members were actually present with him in the van at the time, but I changed it to fit the story, so… Yeah. Here’s the link if you want to see it, with credit belonging to whoever posted and created it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJw2enM-WBY

So, on a completely different subject, is it bad that I really, REAAAALLY want to write out the shenanigans that no-doubt occurred while they were choreographing and practicing the dance for Mannequin? I’ve seen the footage from the concert and DAMN that dance is hot… I hope they’ll continue performing it a LOT future so I can see Andy working his hips, too… Yum.

For writing Mannequin, it’s too bad that I’m nine years behind the timeline… Well, maybe I’ll write it and include it later on. It’s something to look forward to way, WAY later on, I guess.

I think I’m getting my spunk back for writing again, but I still feel a little weird with my style. Then again, I have a feeling the only reason I was able to get back to this work was because of the concert… Shinhwa hasn’t been doing much lately and so my motivation for writing about them—and particularly, Andy—has been a sad little puddle of ‘nope.’ Knowing that they’re all doing well—and that Andy will be back come October—makes it a lot easier, so hopefully I’ll be able to continue with more regular updates.

Let me know what you think, and to all my readers who have dealt with my finicky update habits and kept up with the story, thank you and I love you!!! Have a great rest of the week!]