All the time Hongki and Shinhye were walking away from the crowd, Hongki was cursing himself. He was so absorbed in his thinking that he didn’t even realized that Jonghyun was just a few steps behind them. He was asking himself why the heck did he kissed Shinhye in front of everyone especially in front of her boyfriend. But he also realized that the short kiss that they had shared is the best kiss he had experienced in his entire life. He also knew that if there were any doubts earlier with what he feels with Shinhye, they were all gone now.

As soon as they were out of sight and earshot, Shinhye stopped walking. Hongki thought his heart stopped beating. “This is it. She’ll tell me she hates me now. I’ll lose her now forever.” He told himself. Slowly he looked behind him and found himself face to face with his bestfriend. He also realized that Jonghyun was behind her. “Let me explain.” He started.

Shinhye then threw herself at him and hugged him. Hongki was so shocked that he was caught off guard then he looked at his brother and he just shrugged his shoulders. Hongki then smiled and hugged the girl he loves but soon realized that this happiness was just short-lived as soon as she opened .

“Lee Hongki. Thank you so much my friend. I was so sad. I thought you don’t care about me anymore. I thought you hated me when I made Wonbin my boyfriend but now I know you’re still the best friend a girl can have. Imagine who would’ve thought you’d even kiss me just to fool those stupid fans of his.” Shinhye then broke away from the hug and kissed Hongki in the cheeks. “I really missed you.” She said.

Hongki then pulled her again for another hug. This time Jonghyun saw the unshed tears in his brothers’ eyes. Right then and there he knew how much pain his brother is experiencing because of the girl he loves. “I will always protect you. I’ll always be there for you. Sorry if I distanced myself from you lately. But I promise I won’t do that anymore.” Jonghyun heard Hongki say to Shinhye. He then hugged the two and said, “I will also be here. Don’t forget about me.”

Soon the three laughed at their sudden outburst of emotions and soon they were back to their old selves. “By the way, do you have anything to do tonight?” Hongki asked Shinhye.

“I don’t know yet. Why?” She asked.

“Noona’s pregnant and Hyung’s treating us out for dinner. Noona wants you to come. Can you?” Hongki asked.

“Wait. I’ll just call Wonbin.” Shinhye said. Jonghyun then patted the back of his brother to comfort him.

“Hello?” They heard Shinhye say on the phone.

“Yes I’m fine... The twins are with me... “ Then a long pause and Shinhye’s face showed as if she’s getting annoyed about something. “You don’t know what you’re saying. At least he saved me from your fans. What did you do to protect me? Nothing!” She cried out. The twins then backed away a bit but not that far that they won’t be able to hear Shinhye talked.

“He did that to save me and your career. You should be thankful for what he did and not be angry. Hongki knows I’m an aspiring actress and that kiss is just an act... No! I won’t let you badmouth my friend and no, I’m not ending my friendship with him... How can you ask that from me?... Don’t you trust me?... I think I know my friend more than you do and guess what, I’ve known him longer than you... What? You want me to choose?”

When Hongki and Jonghyun heard the last phrase they knew they should do something or Shinhye will do something she’d regret later. Jonghyun then took the phone from Shinhye and Hongki stopped Shinhye when she tried to get the phone back.

“Wonbin, this is Jonghyun.” Jonghyun said. “Don’t act foolishly. You two are just confused right now. You two should cool down first then talk again when you’ve got it together... Of course he’s with us. He just saved your and our friend. You should be thankful we were there or we don’t know what could’ve happened to her if Hongki didn’t do that. You don’t even have the guts to tell them that she’s your girlfriend... I know, I know it’s in your contract but still you were supposed to protect her. Let’s just end this talk. Cool down first.” Jonghyun then ended the call and took out the batteries of Shinhye’s phone and handed it back to her.

“I guess you won’t be busy tonight.” Jonghyun told Shinhye and she just smiled at his friend.

“By the way, who would you choose?” Hongki asked. Jonghyun gave him a warning look but he ignored his brother. Shinhye then looked at him and said, “Of course I’ll choose you. Not accepting my friends is like not accepting me at all. Though he’s my boyfriend, you’re still my best friend.”

That night everyone was at the party. Even Yonghwa and Seohyun were invited on the last minute. Everyone was having fun. Eunjung was blooming. It seems like pregnancy made her more beautiful. Jangwoo became a very protective husband. He’s ready to pounce on someone who would upset his wife and would be very sensitive to her needs.

Their table was the noisiest one in the room. No alcoholic drinks were allowed on their table because Jangwoo read somewhere that alcohol is bad for a pregnant woman so he banned alcohols to everyone much to the disappointment of Hongki.

Then after dinner instead of going to a karaoke bar, they went to FnC’s studio. The boys set up the instruments and soon they were all singing along. One of the highlights of the night was when Jangwoo called the boys and told them the song that he wants to sing.

Soon Jonghyun began his intro. It was an acoustic version of the song “Nothing on You.” Jangwoo sang the verses and Yonghwa rapped. While they were singing it, Yonghwa and Jangwoo went to their girls and Seohyun and Eunjung stood up and danced to their man as they were singing. Jonghyun looked at Yoona who too stood up and went beside him and everyone shouted when she began to dance ily to him. Suzy then stood up and pulled Jaejin who kept on shaking his head while telling her that he can’t dance but still this didn’t stopped her.

IU, Minhwan, Hongki and Shinhye laughed and cheered all throughout the song. Especially when Yonghwa began to stutter, when Jangwoo began to forget his lines and when Jonghyun kept on missing his chords. But they laughed more when they saw Jaejin stood in the middle like a log while Suzy danced around him.

Soon the song ended. The girls kissed their men who were blushing hard while the audience laughed their hearts out. Soon the audience were grossed out when the couples began to get out of control. Minhwan poked IU but Hongki shot him a warning look. Hongki then said out loud, “I guess the party’s over. IU, Minhwan and Shinhye I guess we should go.” Then the four of them left the room.

As the four people were walking outside Hongki asked Minhwan if he could bring IU back home then he added a warning for the boy to behave himself. Minhwan of course was very grateful and soon the two young people left Hongki and Shinhye.

“You know you’re such a good hyung. You even let Minhwan bring IU home now. You really like that guy for your sister huh?” Shinhye asked Hongki.

“Not really. I guess I missed you more than I thought. Is it wrong for me to spend more time with my bestfriend?” He questioned.

“No and I am  glad that you decided to bring me home. I would want to apologize for Wonbin’s reaction earlier.”

“No it’s okay. I totally understand how he feels.”

“Oh really? But I never saw you act like that towards your girlfriends.”

“You want to know why?” Hongki then stopped walking and Shinhye looked at him. “It’s because I was never in love with them. I don’t know if Wonbin loves you because he didn’t even protected you earlier but if I were in love with my girlfriend, no one can touch my girl much more kiss her.”

Shinhye pondered on Hongki’s words. She knows he’s right and understands why Wonbin’s acting that way but somehow she can’t find fault with the kiss that they shared earlier and she doesn’t know why.

“Are you happy?” Hongki said cutting her thoughts.

“I am but since it’s my first relationship it’s hard especially when we can’t tell people that we’re together. His contract forbids him to go public if ever he’s in a relationship. They said it’s for the protection of the idol and the other person. I guess with what had happened earlier I understood the knowledge behind that stipulation but still it’s very disappointing. Earlier I was waiting for him to defend me or at least try to protect me but he just stood there. It was really a good thing that you came along or else I would’ve fought with those girls.”

“Do you love him that much that you can endure all of that?” Hongki regretted the question as soon as it came out of his mouth. He knew the answer could destroy him or make him extremely happy. He looked at his friend who seemed to be thinking how to answer his question. Somehow he became hopeful.

“I know I like him. He’s a good guy. True he has his faults but he has good points too. He really takes care of me, at least when we’re alone and fan-free. I can’t doubt his sincerity that’s why I was so disappointed earlier. It was the first time he acted that way. But you’re asking me if I love him right?” Hongki just nods. He’s really nervous. Then Shinhye continued, “Well I guess I’m not there yet. Let’s just say right now aside from my family, he’s in the top 3 of the most important boys in my life.”

Hongki was confused. He stopped and pulled her to stop too. Shinhye looked at him with confusion. “What do you mean by top three?” He asked.

“Well you see Lee Hongki, I have these two important boys in my life. They’re actually my bestfriends in this life. Ask me to choose, I’ll choose those two stupid boys over him. Especially with what had happened today.” She explained and somehow smiled when she saw Hongki smiled widely.

“You mean, me and Jonghyun are more important than him?” He asked.

“Of course. Honestly, if one of you had prevented me to go into relationship with Wonbin before, I would’ve rejected his offer. But since both of you seems to be okay with it, I accepted it.”

Hongki doesn’t know if he should be happy with her answer or not. So he just asked another question. “What if I tell you to break up with him right now, would you do it?”

Shinhye thought about his question then answered, “I don’t know. It was different then and now. Now, I have come to know him better and I found out how great he is. I wouldn’t want to hurt him. Unless you have a very good reason why you want me to break up with him, I just might.”

“Is that so?” Hongki again asked.

“Yes but it should be a very, very good reason.”

“What if I tell you to break up with him because what happened earlier can happen again and you might get hurt more. Isn’t that enough reason?”

“Actually, what happened earlier was quite expected. Somehow I knew a day like this would come but I didn’t knew it will affect me this way. But if he can assure me that he can make it better next time, I don’t think that will be enough reason.”

Just then they reached Shinhye’s house and right there at the gate Wonbin was standing waiting for her. They were still out of earshot. Shinhye looked at Wonbin and the guy kneeled and said out loud, “I’m sorry.”

Hongki then looked at his friend and knew that she’s on the way to forgiveness. She then turned to him and said, “I guess I can take it from here. He and I need to talk. I don’t think it’s best that you and him meet just yet. Thank you for today. I really missed you.”

Just when she was about to leave him, Hongki suddenly grabbed her hand and said, “What if I tell you to break up with him because I’m in love with you and I’m the only one who can make you really happy?”

***********************

A/N: Back with another update. Hope you guys will like it.