“Hey, that’s Leeteuk! There!”

Just my luck.  On the one off day I decided to visit the mall, I get recognized within ten minutes.  Great.  Backpedaling quickly, I turned and ran away, feeling very much as if it was a race for my life.  The fan girls were terrifying, resembling a pack of hungry wolves that were ready to pounce and rip me apart like the frightened prey I was…

I frantically dodged through the crowds inside, praying that no one would get in my way as I clutched my sunglasses to my head in a vain attempt to try and hide my already recognized presence.  The main entrance loomed before me, bright from the rays of the sun and much too crowded.  Steeling myself, I ran out of the mall, nearly knocking several people over when the glass door swung outward as I made my escape onto the busy sidewalk.  I caught sight of taxis drifting along the side of the road and raised my hand to hail one, desperately hoping an empty one would stop in time for me to get away unscathed.

When a white, two door car pulled up beside me instead, I jumped to the side in surprise, but there was no mistaking the driver’s intent when the passenger door was abruptly pushed open and the driver shouted, “Get in!”

I looked over my shoulder and noted the ravenous crowd of fan girls drawing close. I was torn between trying my luck with a taxi or actually accepting this unexpected offer of sanctuary.  Glancing in the car, I had just enough time to realize it was a young woman and she was beckoning urgently with a worried glance behind me.  Possible kidnapping or death by fan girls?  When faced with a choice between the two…

“Coming!” I cried, holding my hand out to the white car as I threw myself into the passenger seat, slamming the door behind me in my haste.

“That was close,” I heard the young woman exhale nervously as she pulled into the flow of traffic, revving the engine to get up to speed.

I took a shaky breath and looked over my shoulder to see the disappointed crowd falling behind us, distraught faces evident even from this distance.  “You’re telling me,” I agreed in relief, batting away the nervous feeling of having just jumped into a stranger’s car without knowing what might happen.

Having survived the crisis, I turned to have a better look at the driver and realized that she was extremely attractive. With wavy, brunette locks that cascaded over her shoulders, she peered at me, her delicate cheekbones prominent in her face with a smile that reached her bright, brown eyes.  “Are you alright?” she asked, brow furrowing cutely in concern.

Distracted by the honest emotion therein, I laughed nervously and ducked my head in embarrassment when I realized I was staring longer than was appropriate.  “I’m fine,” I responded with a chagrined smile, feeling foolish.

“Good,” she giggled softly, bringing her delicate fingers to her lips to hide her smile.  “I uh… don’t know if you want to go back now or... find a place to hide first? My apartment is just-”

I looked up and waved both hands apologetically, murmuring, “I wouldn’t want to cause you anymore trouble or anything.”

“No!” she responded immediately, laughing again with that delightful sound that danced in my ears.  “It’s no trouble at all.  Really,” she beamed, glancing between me and the road with a seemingly permanent smile pulling at her glossy lips.

I didn’t really know how to respond.  It wasn’t like me to accept random rides from strangers, which reminded me that I still had no idea who she was, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to take a break for a bit.  It’s not like I was expected back anytime soon anyway.  “If you’re sure it’s alright,” I offered hesitantly, still not quite positive what I was doing.  She nodded quickly in agreement and chirped in the back of , making the cutest sound.  Then a thought occurred to me and I held up my hand, “What about your plates?”

“Hm?” she hummed in response, tilting her head to the side so that her hair shifted to frame the side of her face, the silky color a sharp contrast to her nearly flawless complexion.  “Oh,” she laughed with a dismissive wave of her hand.  “It’s a rental so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Ah,” I nodded in relieved understanding.  That was good to know.  Chewing my lip thoughtfully, I debated what to say next and finally took a breath.  “I’m sorry, miss, but do I know you?” I wondered.  Maybe she was a makeup artist I wasn’t familiar with which would explain a little more about why she’d randomly stopped to help me.

She looked aghast at the question and cringed in embarrassment, an expression that also appeared strangely attractive on her as well.  Even with her face scrunched up like that, it came off as cute…  “Sorry!” she apologized with a light flush coloring her cheeks.  “I’m Hanee.”

It was a little odd when she didn’t ask me my name in return but I shrugged and smiled back, “It’s nice to meet you, Hanee.  I’m…”  I paused, not sure how to introduce myself.  Should I give her my stage name or my real name?  Surely if she knew who I was, she would have said something by now… right?  Mentally, I face palmed when I realized I had left her hanging again.  “Jungsu,” I answered quickly.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” she beamed at me in response.  I saw her eyes dart back to the road and she inhaled slightly, nodding towards the front.  “And there’s my apartment complex,” she explained, pointing out the five story building for me.

Curious now, I squinted ahead to peer at the building.  It wasn’t anything special exactly but it looked decent enough with no graffiti nearby and it seemed in good repair, if nothing else.  Nor were there a lot of people milling around out front which was even better for me.  “It’s… nice,” I assured her with only a slight hesitation, still not sure what I was doing.  I shouldn’t be going to her apartment of all places, but she didn’t seem dangerous.  Or creepy.  Or like she had any sort of ill intent.

“It works for me,” she nodded happily, pulling into the parking lot.

I remained quiet as she found a spot to park and then eased out with her, patting my hands against my thighs nervously as I tried to hide behind my sunglasses again.  Hopefully they’d be sufficient since they were all I had.

“This way,” she waved with a dainty hand, her shiny, clear-coat nails flashing in the sun.

“Coming,” I nodded, falling into step just behind and to the side of her.  I wasn’t trying to be sneaky or rude, but it was easier to hide behind someone than right next to them.  With a sidelong glance, I noticed that she was just a few centimeters shorter than me in short heels.  Embarrassingly, my eyes traveled up of their own accord and observed toned legs covered by thigh high jean shorts and the back of a sleeveless, button up shirt.

I jumped in abashed surprise when she turned around to speak to me, a flush creeping into my face as a dead giveaway.  She noticed immediately and gave me a bemused smile but magnanimously let me off the hook.  “We’ll have to take the stairs since the elevator was out of commission this morning.”

“I can handle that,” I assured her, putting on a falsely confident expression.  What the hell was I doing?  I had no idea anymore so I just shut my mouth and let her lead the way.  Three flights of stairs were a pain but nothing I couldn’t handle.  Practice sessions were considerably more grueling any day of the week and I needed to be in shape anyway.

When I stepped into her apartment, she finally seemed a bit unsure and ushered me to the living room with a slightly nervous air about her.  Her eyes darted around the room as if she was checking to make sure she hadn’t left anything out and I had to stifle a smile.  I’d been there before too.  Not usually with a total stranger but still.

“Care for a drink?” she asked, tossing her hair over her shoulder carelessly as she headed for the kitchen.

“Just water, please,” I answered, unobtrusively nosing about, eyeing the interior which was pretty sparse.  Her kitchen was partially connected to the living room and there was what appeared to be a storage closet near the front door and another door from the living room into what was likely her bedroom.  The furniture was second hand but in good condition and her coffee table was pushed oddly close to the wall…

“Here you go,” Hanee offered, handing over a glass of iced tap water.

I nodded in thanks and gingerly took a seat on the sofa, nearly sinking into the furniture with a surprised gasp.  “Whoa!”

“Yah!” she cringed, rushing over to make sure I was okay.  “Sorry!” she apologized, failing to hide her smile.  “I forgot to warn you.”

“I’m good,” I waved in response, rather proud of myself for not having spilled water everywhere, despite the fact the couch tried to eat me.

“I’m trying to find a replacement actually,” she admitted, wrinkling her nose cutely.

I edged forward on the couch to make sure I didn’t fall back again and nodded in understanding.  “It’s comfortable at least.”  She smiled agreeably and I nodded at her coffee table with a curious expression.  “Any reason that’s against the wall?”

She immediately clapped a hand over and ducked her head, eyes smiling.  “I um…  I moved it so I could practice dancing,” she answered with an uncertain glance at me.

“Oh?” I responded, shifting towards her more so I could pay better attention.  “You’re a dancer?”

“Ne,” Hanee grinned with an emphatic nod of her head.

“Could you show me?” I asked with a curious smile, holding her eyes with mine.  I could see her passion flicker briefly in the dark orbs before she pursed her lips and ducked her head, hiding behind her fist.

“It’s embarrassing,” she admitted with a giggle, glancing up at me from under long lashes as a strand of hair framed one side of her face prettily.

I chuckled in response and looked around, leaning close to her with a peculiar flutter in my stomach, “I’m a bit of a dancer myself.”  Her eyes crinkled as she tilted her head up to look at me better but didn’t respond.  Instead, she seemed to be waiting for me to continue and the single brow rising in silent inquiry was enough to know I was right.  “Don’t freak out or anything,” I started to say, gesturing at her with my right hand, “But I’m a member of Super Junior.”

She beamed in delight and laughed lightly in the back of , an understandable trace of giddiness evident in her posture.  “I think that’s so cool!” she admitted, unable to stop smiling.  “You said you can dance.  What else do you do?” she asked, leaning forward attentively as she waited for my response.

To her credit, she hadn’t spazzed as much as I expected her to – okay, at all – but it was refreshing and… I liked it. A lot.  Looking back at her, she seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say and she wasn’t clamoring to tell me how much she loved me or how she was my biggest fan or anything like that.  Somewhat embarrassed about explaining my position, I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand and admitted, “I’m actually the leader.  You might have heard of my stage name, Leeteuk?”  She nodded in quick agreement and I laughed at myself, ducking my head before I looked up to meet her bright eyes again.

“Which do you prefer to be called?” Hanee asked sincerely, both hands clasped around the cup in her lap.

I had to think about it for a moment and then I nodded to myself.  “Both.  We go by our stage names so often, I don’t think it odd to be called either,” I admitted with a shrug.  Not to mention I personally liked the aspect of being everyone’s angel, however vain that might have made me.

Hanee giggled at my response and gestured with her hand, “I can see that.  And what about the other members?  Do they feel the same way you do?” she inquired, leaning closer in a manner that felt warm as opposed to over-eager.

For a moment, I mulled her question over and settled in to give a better response.  As I sat talking to her about my group mates, answering additional questions as they came along, I found myself feeling more and more at ease.  There was this honest warmth about her and a joy that seemed to encompass her without effort.  I didn’t even realize when I finished my water until I tried to take a sip and it was empty.  “Oops,” I laughed, flinching when the ice clinked loudly and slid towards my face.

“Oh!” she laughed once, hiding her amusement behind her hand before she reached for the glass.  “Would you care for some more?” she offered, accepting it gingerly as I handed it off.

“Yes please,” I agreed, glancing towards the door that presumably led to her bedroom.  “Uh… I’m sorry, Hanee, but where’s the restroom?” I asked, slightly uncomfortable since I couldn’t see it for myself.

She paused on her way to the sink and glanced at the same door I was looking at with her bottom lip caught between her teeth.  For a moment, she didn’t seem to know what to say and then she laughed at herself, pointing out, “Through that door and immediately to your left.”

I nodded in understanding and stood up, eyeing her as I walked over, wondering why she suddenly seemed a bit nervous again.  When I opened the door, I understood immediately.  “Huh,” I blinked, tapping my bottom lip with my left index finger as I couldn’t help but look around her room.

It was what I’d imagine a girl’s room to be with a more feminine bed, which I couldn’t even acknowledge for long, but what got my attention was her surprising collection of posters decorating the majority of her wall space.  Korean boy bands featuring a fair few familiar faces stared back at me as I glanced around.  Even more surprising was a full size poster of… myself.  Go figure.  I tilted my head to the side and just stared at it until I felt her step up behind me.

“Um… yeah…” she murmured nervously, wringing her hands together as she looked at me with an expression that said she was just about to cringe, her complexion slowly turning a growing shade of red.

“You knew about me all along?” I asked, dumbfounded by how well she’d actually played her ignorance off.  An uncertain smile lit her face and she mutely nodded.  “Why didn’t you say anything?” I questioned, turning around to face her better, not sure if I should be more annoyed or just impressed.

Now beet red, Hanee whined softly in the back of and flailed just a little bit as she actually babbled a response, “I didn’t want you to freak out or anything and you’re my bias in Super Junior and when I saw you running from the crowd I had to stop and… do what I could to help!” she finished, taking a deep breath as she pursed her lips and clasped her hands firmly in front of her while she looked at me from under a slightly downcast expression.  “I’m sorry?” she asked uncertainly, her voice a bit higher than usual.

It was incredibly difficult not to laugh at her discomfit and I managed to turn the sound into a rough cough instead.  “Well then,” I chuckled, nodding in respect.  It wasn’t every fan that could keep herself together as well as she had in the presence of her… bias.  I was slightly embarrassed by that fact, but it was also gratifying as well.  “It’s alright,” I assured her with a calming gesture.  “Thank you.”  When she looked mystified by my response, I had to clarify, “For being normal about me.”

“Of course,” she responded immediately, relaxing just a hair as the flush in her face started to recede.

There was her confident smile.  I much preferred that expression over the uncertain one she’d been showing me and I tilted my head to the side before asking, “So what exactly do you know about Super Junior then?”

Again, she giggled and hid behind her hand, bowing in mild embarrassment.  “A little bit,” she admitted deftly.

“Well now I’m curious,” I chuckled, feeling a slight flush creep into my cheeks in turn.  Why was I blushing?!

“Okay,” she exhaled with abashment as she gestured back towards the living room.  “Perhaps you’d like to have a seat though?”

Oh boy.  Did that mean this was going to be a long conversation?  Better take care of business first…  “Just a second,” I urged, nodding towards the restroom.

Hanee gasped at the reminder and nodded before she retreated with a hurried, “Sorry!”

Aish.  She was ridiculously adorable and not in the least bit overbearing.  I was surprised to find that I was rather eager to hear what she had to say and actually looked forward to it.  With another glance at my younger, poster self, I smiled once and moved on.

Needless to say, she had been a fan for several years and kept up with most of our tours and shows, watching fancams in lieu of actually attending.  She knew the other members from youngest to oldest and some basic bio information but she knew mine and Heechul’s birthday, if only because we were just a few days apart.  Oh, not to mention Eunhyuk as well since he was a dancer, which was something she herself was.  Apparently she was aspiring to become a choreographer and she had the schooling to back it up, but none of the professional hands-on experience yet.

It was actually a surprise when we reached a lull in the conversation and I realized how late it was…  “Wow.  Is that the time?” I asked, glancing at the wall clock which showed it to be nearing six in the evening.

“Aish!” Hanee gasped, clapping both hands over .  “I had no idea,” she admitted with a surprised laugh.

“Neither did I.  Well then,” I laughed into my fist, glancing at Hanee once before my smile widened.

“I really didn’t mean to keep you this long,” she admitted with an earnest shake of her head, looking around the room with a furrowed expression.  “Do you have somewhere you need to be?” she asked in concern.  “Would you like a ride?”

Amused by her response, I waved my hand and answered, “I just need to get back to the dorms before too long but I wouldn’t mind taking you up on that ride.”

“Great!” she beamed, clapping her hands together excitedly before she realized how eager that sounded.  “Not that I want you to go,” she waved, trying to avoid offense.  She cringed at that statement too and added, “But I don’t want to keep you here longer either.”

“It’s alright, Hanee,” I assured her before she could turn any redder.  Aish, she was too cute for her own good.  “Thank you,” I stated simply, leaving it at that.

Relieved, she smiled back and nodded in return, hurrying around the apartment to find her keys so we could head out.  It didn’t long to get to the dorms from her apartment and I hesitated in the car before turning towards her to say my final goodbye.

Hanee played with her fingers as she looked at me out of the side of her eyes.  “It was really nice getting meet you today, Leeteuk,” she beamed, her smile warm with just a hint of wistfulness and regret.

“Ne.  You too,” I replied, reaching to place my hand gently against her shoulder.  “Thank you for your help this afternoon.”

“It was nothing,” she assured me quickly, clasping both hands to her chest in a loose hold.

“It was something to me,” I admitted honestly, unsure what would have happened if the crowd had caught me instead of being rescued by Hanee.

“Oh…” she exhaled around a giddy smile as she looked down into her lap and held a tighter grip on the steering wheel.  “You uh…  you should probably be-”

"Yeah," I replied as I reluctantly stepped out of her car with a heavy heart.  As I trudged towards the entrance, I heard a familiar voice call out my name and I whipped my head around excitedly.

"Leeteuk, you uh... left your sunglasses in my car," Hanee explained hesitantly as she hurried to catch up to me.  Our hands brushed together slightly as she handed my sunglasses back to me, the contact tentative and warm, before stepping backwards towards her car, "Well I guess I should-" 

I watched as she tried to complete her sentence, but she stopped abruptly when her footing faltered, the bottom of her heel slipping awkwardly on the concrete.  “Careful!” I cried, lunging forward to catch her as she fell.  She inhaled sharply in surprise and grabbed onto me with both hands as I stopped us both with her cradled in my arms, her spine arching back in the beginnings of a dip.

“Sorry,” she whispered with a shallow breath, searching my face with her eyes.

I smiled at her, noticing the way the last rays of the sun illuminated the various shades of color in her irises.  The faint flush that crept into her cheeks was impossible to miss and I felt my face growing warm in turn as I was aware of just how close our bodies were, her toned form pressed firmly against mine while her hands continued to hold onto me for support.  I don’t know what I was thinking when I looked at her lips, the glossy shine mostly faded, but they still looked perfect.

Dipping my head, I closed my eyes and pressed my lips against hers to taste the lingering hints of strawberry there, smiling as she tensed in surprise and then hesitantly responded herself.  My heart pounded in my chest as I pulled away and my lids fluttered open to meet her gaze, the look in her eyes matching the surprised intensity in mine.  “Hanee… your ankle,” I started to say, tripping up on my words all of a sudden, remembering her stumble.  She held her breath as she waited for me to continue and I continued, whispering, “Would you care to come inside?”