Suggested song: Eunji & Yoseob - Love Day (or not, I can't really find a suitable song for this)

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Nine.

What is the number nine to you? The number of members in SNSD? An unlucky number? An age where you were still young, pure and innocent?

To Michelle, nine is the toughest mountain to climb in her relationship. Nine, to her, is an enormous .

 

“The old man lifted the dating ban! Great, isn’t it?” Yunqi said, stretching her arms up in the air.

“Hm? Oh, of course!”Michelle replied, smiling to herself.

Yunqi shook her head in disbelief. As lovable as Michelle was, she really was oblivious. Practically everyone in SM knew about her relationship with Luhan. And there the poor girl was, thinking she was keeping some sort of big secret.

Truth be told, she was bewildered when Lee Sooman lifted the dating ban. What had he been thinking?

 

“We can date freely now! Isn’t that great, Luhan?” Michelle said, gazing innocently at her first love.

“Sure…” Luhan said, staring far off into the distance. Michelle frowned.

“Luhan, what’s wrong? Aren’t you happy?” she asked.

Luhan’s gaze finally settled on her. He asked, his expression the epitome of seriousness, “Do you think we’ll last?”

Michelle was taken completely off guard. “What?”

“Us. Do you think we’ll have a stable relationship? I mean,” Luhan ruffled his hair in frustration, “You’re only sixteen, and I’m twenty-five. Do you get me?”

“What’s wrong?” Michelle asked, furrowing her eyebrows. “There are so many couples with huge s these days. Look at Tony and Hyeri, or Lee Byunghun and Lee Minjung.”

“I know, but…” Luhan trailed off.

“It’s all right, Luhan,” Michelle said, tiptoeing to give him a peck on the nose. She took his hand with both of hers, beaming. “We’ll work it out, okay?”

Finally relenting, Luhan nodded, giving her an uneasy smile.

 

“Mr Lee,” Michelle glanced at Luhan. He gave her a dazzling smile in reassurance and nodded. “We… would like to make our relationship public.”

“You know that’s not possible, Michelle,” Lee Sooman replied sternly. “You’ve just debuted, and I don’t want any scandals going around. Wait until you’ve secured your fanbase, and in a few years, we can talk about it again. If you’re still together, of course.”

“Mr Lee,” Michelle snapped, trying her best not to show her temper. “What makes you think our relationship won’t last?”

Lee Sooman raised an eyebrow. “There are many things,” he started, “your , for one. Luhan’s crazy fans. The harsh media. Your friends and family. I’m sure there are many people around you who disapprove of your relationship, Ms Pan.”

“But no one knows about our –”

“I beg to differ, Ms Pan,” Lee Sooman interrupted. “Another problem: your naïveté. Why don’t you ask your group members about their honest opinion on your relationship? I assume you’ve long known that everyone in SM is aware of your relationship, Luhan?”

Luhan nodded.

“Well then,” Lee Sooman smiled, “you’re dismissed.”

 

The door swung open with a large force, revealing Michelle standing at the doorstep.

“You knew?” she asked, storming in. “You guys knew about my relationship with Luhan?”

“Michelle,” the leader hurried to answer, standing up. “We –”

“You’ve been deceiving me all this while!” Michelle wailed. “You guys could’ve just told me!” With that, she proceeded to rush out, leaving her members in a state of confusion.

 

Michelle had been sobbing quietly at the park for at least an hour. No one had called after her or stopped her. It was upsetting to know how little her members, whom she treated as sisters, cared for her.

“Hey.”

Michelle looked up, squinting through her teary eyes. “How’d you find me?”

“I had a little tip-off,” Luhan told her, shaking the mobile phone in his right hand. “But I thought I’d let you have some alone-time first.”

“Go away,” Michelle mumbled, turning to face the other way.

“Come on, Michelle.” Luhan sat down beside her, trying to wrap his arms around her.

“No, Luhan!” Michelle burst out, shooting out of her seat. “You’re just like them. You never said a word to me. You don’t love me anymore, do you? You don’t want our relationship to go on, so you won’t support me! Why don’t you love me? I can make this work, I promise!”

Michelle paused, panting heavily.

“Do you know how it feels like?” Michelle asked. Fresh tears were sneaking out from her eyelids. Her lips trembled. “It feels so… lonely. Like the whole world is against me. Like… like I’m the only one.”

“Michelle…” Luhan stood up and made his way to her, locking his arms around her.

“No!” Michelle tried to fight back. “Don’t touch me!”

“Just listen to me, Michelle,” Luhan whispered beside her ear. Slowly, she stopped thrashing, and all became silent.

“I’ll be by your side,” he continued. “I’ll support you. I have never stopped loving you, Michelle, so don’t you dare think of it. You aren’t alone. We’ll make this work together, so believe in me, okay?”

Luhan’s arms slid down to Michelle’s hand. He intertwined them and brought them to her face-level.

“We’ll be together, forever. I won’t let you go.” By then, big fat tears were rolling down Michelle’s cheeks. The finale was yet to come. Luhan cupped Michelle’s face in his hands and gently pressed his lips against hers.

It wasn’t her first with him, but it was the most thrilling.