Part V:

                “Are you nervous?” Hyukjae’s laughing voice broke the silence. From the time I woke up to this point, I was a bundle of nerves. I continuously fidgeted around while barely being able to utter more than a few words at a time. The time I had been dreading finally arrived. My parents invited the two of us to eat with them. The last time they had offered a meal to the man I was seeing, it ended disastrously. I didn’t think my nerves could handle such an experience again. Yet I couldn’t relay that news to him, so I simply smiled his way.

                “Why would I be nervous?” I awkwardly forced out a chuckle. “They’re my parents after all.”

                “That’s good. I was starting to grow worried. Should I be nervous?”

                “Of course not!” I gushed. “You’ll be fine, it will be fun.” I secretly tried to use such words to reassure myself.

                “I never doubted the ‘fun’ part.”

                Snorting, I quickly fell back into my pool of silence. My nerves were definitely distracting, but if I focused hard enough then I could control myself. I couldn’t have my feelings affecting the man beside me. It could make matters worse, and I didn’t want that.

                “What’s that face for?” Hyukjae questioned as the car came to a stop. Shocked out of the trance I must have fallen into, I turned to glance his way. “Your eyebrows were scrunched together to the point where you looked like you were going cross-eyed. It was a scary sight. Are you sure you aren’t nervous?”

                “Was I really?” I gasped, putting a hand to my face. Laughing, the man took a quick second to look my way only to tap me on the nose.

                “No, you weren’t. But you were frowning mighty hard, which you shouldn’t do. It distorts your beautiful face.”

                “Oh, talk about cheesy.”

                When he made no sign of retorting, I turned to face the front again and leaned back. Bit by bit, I was beginning to wonder if this man was the best choice for me. He cared, listened, didn’t raise his voice, and didn’t demand anything from me. He took into consideration who I was as a person and actually tried. Despite the typical reservations I had about him, I couldn’t help but feel that all of this was so comfortable. Maybe this was what love between childhood friends felt like. Easy and comfortable. There were times when I found that the passion I felt with Changmin was tiring, so maybe this change was good. It was what I needed.

                “Come on,” Hyukjae urged as he turned the car off.

Seeing that we had finally arrived at my parent’s house, the nerves kicked in once more. Quietly, I moved to open my door with a shaky hand only to have Hyukjae gently stop me. Confused, I stared his way as he got out and skirted around the car. Without a moment to spare, he pulled open the door. Smiling in thanks, I quietly stepped out and headed towards the front door. Behind me, the man shut the door and rushed to my side, grasping my hand at the last second. When I hesitated, he gave a reassuring squeeze. I suppressed my nerves at that moment and opened the door.

                “Ma! Pa! We’re home!” I called out as I stepped inside and pulled out two pairs of slippers.

                “Oh, hey Noona,” my brother greeted while Hyukjae struggled to take off his shoes. From the light jacket he was wearing, I could tell that he was just now leaving. I gave him a slight look which he understood all too well. “Chung Pil and the others are all going out. I was asked to join,” he mumbled, with a slight bit of caution.

                “Oh, that’s a shame,” Hyukjae interceded. As if he just now realized that he was here, my brother’s eyes widened.

                “Hello Hyung,” he softly greeted. Sighing, I pulled Hyukjae out of the way so that he could leave.

                “So, where is Mom? And Dad for that matter?”

                “Dad is supposed to be on his way, and mom is quickly grabbing something from the store.”

                “Why didn’t she contact me? I could have…”

                “If you weren’t early, it would have been fine,” he sniffed. Right. I wasn’t typically early whenever it came to a family get together. I used to dread being late. But after Changmin, I found myself dwelling in the extra time. That is, until I met Hyukjae. “Well, I’m going to be late. Bye,” my brother concluded, nodding to Hyukjae before leaving. Suppressing my frustration, I turned towards the only one left with me and smiled.

                “If you want, you can go wait in the living room. I’m going to check on what’s been prepared in the kitchen in case there is anything I could help with.” I then took a step toward the kitchen. Before I could get far, the man’s hand latched onto my wrist.

                “You better not go near there. I’m your guest, it’s poor etiquette to leave me on my own. So if I’m waiting in the living room, then you are too. Oh and where should I put these?”

                Realizing that he was hinting at my poor cooking skills, I pressed my lips together and looked at the bag of fruits he brought as a present. Without another word, I took it from his hands and led the way to the living room. As I set down the bag on a small table off in the corner, Hyukjae turned to face the TV. Due to the trauma of what he did to my own, I couldn’t let him touch this one. If he ruined this one, it would not bode well with my parents—let alone my father.

                “Oppa, don’t!” I gasped as he leaned forward to press the power button. Shocked by my sudden outburst, the man looked my way. “Please, I’ll do it myself, okay?” I pleaded while the confused look on his face refused to subside. “My father works really hard to pay for stuff like this, so he doesn’t let just anyone touch it. There are things in this house that even I can’t touch.”

                What I said was only half true. It was actually something I bought for my parents with my hard earned money. My parents could care less if others messed with something so intricate since they could replace it. But it was the first gift I was able to provide for them. So, I didn’t want it to get destroyed so easily. Seeing how serious I was about this, he quietly stepped away and found a place on the couch. Content, I picked up the remote and the TV. While the screen loaded, I settled in next to him. But he was so rigid.

                “Here,” I sighed, handing over the remote. Unsure as to how to react in this situation, the man glanced between the contraption I was handing over and me.

                “I thought…”

                “Using the remote is fine, touching the TV as a whole probably wouldn’t be.” I then pushed it towards him. Still a little hesitant, he slowly accepted the remote. The moment my hands were empty, I curled up and rested my head on his shoulder. He froze for a split second. I didn’t typically make movements as that so it must have taken him off guard. But he quickly relaxed and moved to put his arm around me. Just as we were settling into a comfortable silence while he flipped through different channels, the front door flung open.

                “I’m home,” my father’s tired voice sounded from the hallway. Without even a warning, Hyukjae shoved me away from him. A frown crossed my face as I stood up to go greet my father. If he was that nervous, why didn’t he say so? “Oh, you’re here?” my father questioned, surprise filling his eyes the moment I appeared in front of him. “Your mother should be back soon. I’m going to change.”

                “Hello, Father,” Hyukjae piped up behind me, making me jump. I was not expecting him to appear so suddenly. My father must have forgotten that we would have a visitor as he had stumbled back in shock.

                “So, this…this is that little Anchovy?” my father whispered. Smiling widely at such an old name, Hyukjae stepped forward to receive the welcoming embrace that had been offered. “It’s been so long! How have you been?”

                “I’ve been well. Better now that I’ve been able meet everyone again. How have you been, Father?”

                “I’ve been well,” my father chuckled. “We’re definitely happy to see you again. Especially since you’ve decided to accept our daughter into your heart.”

                “Your daughter is surely a blessing in my life, Father.”

                Warmth filling his eyes, my father patted the man on the shoulder and moved past the two of us. He then disappeared up the stairs in order to change into clothes more suitable for the house. Once he was comfortable, he joined the two of us in the living room. There, the TV had been forgotten as the two men discussed things like politics, business ideas, and other aspects that they agreed on.

                I didn’t even know when I last saw a glint of such excitement in my father’s eyes. He was genuinely happy to have someone who held a similar personality to sit within his presence. Seeing his reaction made my heart feel at ease. It was good to know that my parent’s approved of my best friend. But my mind continued to remember what it was like when they hated the one I was with. When they couldn’t stand the man standing before them. How it felt to see how hard he tried to be accepted for my sake.

~*~*~*~*~*~

                On the armrest beside me, a hand nervously tapped out a small pattern. It had been going on for most of the car ride already, and each tap made my heart twist in worry each time. I silently grabbed it and started to massage circles into the back of it. All I wanted was to ease the anxiety in the owner’s heart. I glanced in the direction of the person. Our eyes met and the sour expression masking the man’s face explained everything. He didn’t want to formally meet my parents, but they had insisted. If I wanted to continue seeing him, they wanted to meet him. They wanted to enforce the fact that he couldn’t keep neglecting me if we were to continue. There was nothing the two of us could do about it aside from agreeing. So, that’s what we did. However, I could tell just by the look in his eyes that his stomach was a series of knots. And none of this soothed the turmoil in my own.

                “We’re here,” the cab driver announced the moment the car came to a stop. Prying my eyes away from Changmin’s gaze, I realized that we were, in fact, at our destination. Heaving a sigh, I moved to pull out money from my wallet. But Changmin nudged me in the side.

                “I’ve already met your parents. Why do I have to attend a dinner with them?” he whispered, wrapping his arms around me. A trill of excitement rippled across my skin at his touch. “I’d rather spend time with just you than in their presence.” And I wanted to do the same. Actually, my heart practically screamed to do the same. Yet I knew what would happen if we skipped out on this dinner.

                “You aren’t spending time with just me,” I breathed while nodding toward the cab driver who was staring at us through the rearview mirror.

With his distraction, I used all of my energy to pull away and push open the door. Changmin grumbled in distaste and handed over the money that was due. As he stepped out, I quickly wrapped my arms around his waist. Sighing, the man ruffled my hair and directed us up to my parent’s doorstep. Even as we properly entered and switched into house shoes, we continued to stand so close that we brushed against each other with every small movement.

                “You’re late Noona!” my brother yelled from the living room.

                “She’s here?” my mother called out. She had obviously been pacing, wondering where we were. Wondering what had taken so long.

                “It must be that boy, he’s always making her—Oh, hello,” my father started as he left his office only to stop at the sight of Changmin by my side. Not uttering a single word, my hand found his while my heart twisted for him. It was my fault for the way they were treating him. I used to run to my mother after every horrible fight I had with him. She used to be my shoulder to cry on, that is until I realized that their attitudes had turned sour towards him. It was because of me that made them view him as the worst person in the world. And I felt so regretful for that.

                “Food is ready,” my mother announced, not daring to look at Changmin. Squeezing his hand, I slowly led him to the dining room followed by my father and brother. Hesitantly, the two of us took our seats only to have my father sniff in distaste.

               “You should have waited until I was seated, boy,” my father grunted. Caught off guard, Changmin softly apologized.

                “Did you bring anything?” my younger brother inquired. I inwardly grimaced. Before we left, I had a feeling that we were forgetting something. And that was it. We forgot the most important thing to a formal meeting—a small present for my family. I glanced at Changmin’s face only to see he had gone pale.

                “Let’s just eat,” my mother sighed. I didn’t dare to move, though. I was so worried about Changmin and the hostility he was facing. Acting as if nothing was wrong, he slowly picked up his chopsticks and moved to grab food from the middle plate. But my father’s own chopsticks intercepted, making him double take. After the third time it so “coincidently” happened, I gave my father a look. I then picked up my own chopsticks and grabbed some food to put in the poor man’s bowl.

                “You shouldn’t always rely on a woman to always feed you,” my father mumbled through his food after I had given him a few dishes.

                “Of course not,” Changmin quietly replied, his knee bumping into mine as if to say that I needed to stop.

                “Also, while we’re sitting here, I must ask something of you. When is this little…fling…between you and my daughter going to end? She’s still really young and shouldn’t be weighed down by someone like you.”

                “Dad!” I snapped and slammed my chopsticks down. “I didn’t bring him here for you to attack him!” I added while shoving my chair back and standing up. “Sorry Ma, but I don’t think I can stay any longer.” From there, I stormed out of the room with Changmin awkwardly scrambling after me. When I was greeted by the night air, he finally caught up with me.

                “Ji Eun-ah,” he softly called out, his hand brushing against my arm. But I ignored his touch and the electrifying feeling that came with it. “Ji Eun, stop!”

                “Why?” I snapped, still walking. Mumbling under his breath, Changmin jogged around me and forced me to stop in my tracks. Not daring to even look at him, I turned away.

                “Look at me.”

                “I can’t.”

                “Why?”

                “How could I ever look at you after how my father treated you?” I whispered, tears filling my eyes.

                “That was how your father chose to act, not you. Of course you can look me in the eye. Did you think about what would happen to me if I couldn’t see your face anymore?”

                “You would live a life full of freedom and happiness.”

                “Well…there’s that,” he agreed, making my heart stop for a second. “But if I could see your face ever again, I probably wouldn’t live that long. You’re practically everything to me.”

                “Stop with the cheesy stuff. It’s not like you.”

                “That’s true too, but I’m serious Ji Eun-ah. If I couldn’t see you, then I wouldn’t be able to do this.” He then ruffled my hair. “Or this.” He squished my cheeks together. “Not even this.” He pinched my nose. All the while, I refused to look him in the eyes. “Most of all, I couldn’t do this.” Unexpectedly, his soft lips pressed against mine, sending the usual butterflies into chaos.

                “I’m sorry,” I whispered as he rested his forehead against mine.

                “For what?”

                “I’m sorry for what my father did. Not to mention, you didn’t eat a single thing,” I said while finally looking him in the eyes.

                “I am a bit hungry.” I smiled at that and put my hands on both sides of his face. We stared at each other for a few seconds before I gingerly placed a kiss on his lips. It seemed as if he forgot about his hunger because he wrapped his arms tightly around me and lengthened the kiss. When I grew overwhelmed by the feelings swarming throughout my heart, I broke away.

                “Let’s go before it’s too late,” I managed. Changmin’s dazed eyes remained on mine and he leaned in for another kiss. I didn’t want to get lost in that same passion again, so I merely brushed my lips over the skin of his cheek. Taken aback, he merely blinked at me. “Food, Oppa,” I added.

                Almost instantly, he let go of his tight embrace and took a step back. He then turned to search for a cab. As he looked, I fished my phone out of my coat pocket and treaded off to secretly call for one. As soon as I heard that one was on its way, I quickly grabbed Changmin’s arm and pulled him over to a nearby convenience store. Outside were some plastic tables where I forced him to sit.

                “We’re not eating convenience store food, are we?” Changmin groaned as I turned to head towards the door. I just rolled my eyes and continued on my way. However, the man chose to follow me as I wove through the small aisles to the drinks.

                “I just wanted you to wait for the cab,” I softly said only to receive a bit of annoyance flash through his eyes.

                “You called for one? I could have—”

                “Not in this neighborhood, you couldn’t have. I was going to keep it a secret but…” I sighed and picked out two cold drinks. With that, I spun around and placed them to the sides of his face. Cringing, he took a slight step back and gave me a look. I merely shrugged and gave him an apologetic look until his tense shoulders relaxed. Smiling, I brushed past him to head to the cash register. Once our drinks were paid for, I left and settled into an empty plastic chair. It wasn’t long until Changmin threw himself into the chair across from mine and snatched his drink from me.

                “Hey,” he started after a little bit of silence.

                “Hm?”

                “Want to do something different?”

                “Like what?”

                “Like going to the beach?”

                “At night?” I coughed on my drink, glancing at the sky which was purple with the setting sun. Any moment now, the sky would be pitch black with only stars and artificial light to illuminate the world.

                “Yeah, why not?”

                “That’s so like the dramas, Min.”

                “But it won’t be!”

                “How so?”

                “We can do something…different.” It was then that I noticed the odd glint in his eyes.

                “I can’t…I have to help with the theatre tomorrow.”

                “Come on, Ji Eun-ah, I do too. But we could hop on the first train in the morning and we’d be back in time.”

                “What about food?”

                “We’ll eat at the hotel.”

                “Before the beach?” He nodded.

                “What do you say?” he asked while nudging my leg with his foot. Taking a sip of my drink, I looked away.

                “Okay,” I whispered. “Let’s go.” Though I knew that I would regret it at one point.

                Satisfied, the man took a swig from his own can and settled into a comfortable silence until the cab arrived. We then directed it to the nearest train station. There, we were notified that the train we needed was about to leave. Eyes widening, Changmin grabbed my hand and ran, tickets crumpled in his other. It must have been his long legs, or his strange determination to make this specific train, but we somehow made it—gasping for breath. As we sat next to each other, our chests heaving, we turned and smiled at each other.

                As time passed, Changmin leaned over and nuzzled up against me, his long legs taking up all of the space. It seemed like almost an hour until the train came to our stop. I didn’t realize until our destination was announced that he had fallen asleep during that time. Trying my best to suppress a smile, I nudged him a little bit until he groggily blinked up at me.

                “We’re here,” I whispered, pecking him on the nose.

Nodding, he pulled away, the warmth of his body instantly leaving me cold. It was as if my outermost layer had been stripped away from me. Bracing myself from such a chill, I followed him as he stepped off the train and headed out of the train station. The sky around us was a deep velvet color with a large amount of stars sprinkled across the sky. It was more than one could have asked for within the city and it left me in awe.

                “Where should we go now?”

                “To find food.”

                “Yes, but where?”

                “Anywhere.”

                “Oppa!” I whined, stopping in my tracks. When he realized that I wasn’t following him any longer, he began to mumble under his breath.

                “Fine, we can go to a place near the beach.”

                “Not to the hotel first?”

“It’s too expensive.” I simply rolled my eyes in return and moved to his side in order to link arms. With his free hand, he gently ruffled my hair and we then began our journey to find food.

A little ways from the beach sat a small café where we decided to take our refuge. By then, Changmin was biting his lip in order to refrain from complaining about the extreme hunger he was facing while my own stomach was beginning to grumble uncomfortably. We thankfully ate our share, paid, and left in order to go on with our night.

                At first, I walked ahead of him, mesmerized by the vast ocean. The dark waves being pulled in to shore only to be pushed out once more nearly made me fall into a trance. If it wasn’t for Changmin’s presence behind me, I probably would have grown lost in a matter of seconds.

                “Have we ever come here with just the two of us?” he breathed when we came to a stop.

                “No,” I answered, my eyes glued to the lively waters. Without another thought, I shed myself of my shoes and closed the distance between where I stood and where the water lapped at the sand. Although the sand had been warm from the heat of the day, the water was still freezing cold due to how early it was in the season. Shuddering, I stumbled back only to knock into Changmin’s sturdy frame. Chuckling, the man wrapped his arms tightly around me and buried his face into my hair.

                “You’re so beautiful.” I heard him sigh. An unexplainable warmth spread like wildfire throughout my entire being. With that, I turned around and placed a slow and sweet kiss onto his cheek. Before he could do anything, I broke away and trod into the water. Taking it as a test of what he would do, Changmin’s chest puffed up before he tore off his shirt and began to slowly his pants. My eyes widened and I rushed back up to him, scanning the area for anyone passing by.

                “What are you doing?”

                “Going for a swim.”

                “It’s in the open!”

                “Isn’t that how they do it in the movies?”

                “No!” I gasped, shocked that he was so oblivious.

                “Oh,” he said with a little bit of disappointment. “Well then,” he sighed and quickly slipped out of his pants. Taken aback, I picked up his shirt and wrapped it around him as I glanced about once more.

                “This isn’t like you,” I hissed, my cheeks flaming.

                “And it isn’t like you,” he added as his arms s around my body to my dress. Dropping his shirt as if it had suddenly sprouted into flames, I stepped back. “Come on, Ji Eun-ah. Let’s just be crazy just this once. Let’s not think about it until tomorrow. You can scold me all you want then,” he pleaded, not even moving to cover up.

Trying to keep my gaze on his face, I noticed that he was merely trying his best to cover up how awkward he felt. This urgency was merely a way to cover up some other emotions. It was possibly a cover for the emotion of disappointment, or hurt, due to what happened earlier. Taking a deep breath, I let my dress slip from my body, pooling at my feet. Almost instantaneous, his eyes traveled from my face down the entire length of my body, forcing my cheeks to flush and I darted into the water. He followed after me until the two of us were up to our chins in the ravenous waters.

                “It’s cold,” I stated through chattering teeth.

                “But refreshing,” he concluded while wrapping himself around me and pressing a kiss to my lips. I too, tangled myself around him and allowed our kisses to grow more intimate. It was a matter of time before we had lost ourselves in the night. Instead of the hotel we were originally planning on, we merely stepped out of the water, dressed, and used each other for warmth as we walked along the beach until the sun’s rays barely scraped at the sky.

A/N: Omg! 안녕하세요 여러분~ Hello everyone~~~~ 오랜만이에요! It's been so long since I've written something and actually posted it! I am so, very sorry about that! Anyways, I thought I should write this more. And it's kind of crazy now. Although I have all of this story hand-written (just needs to be typed), and had it done by the time I started to post the first chapter, I realized that I really do relate to IU (Ji Eun). I started a relationship with a guy recently, and I can't believe how closely her relationship that I wrote about has been so closely tied to mine. (With some differences of course *sigh*) Oh and I wanted to state that the italicized text is her "flashback"/time with Changmin compared to the time with Eunhyuk. Also, I do the split versions due to the fact that the song is similar. I apologize for all of the confusion. I hope I still have readers after this long~~~ Miss you guys so so soooooooo muchhhhhh <3 <3 And I love youuuuu! Please stick with me! I will get this story finished soon! We're more than halfway done! 고마워요~~~~~ <3 <3 <3 사랑해요~~~~~<3 <3 <3

p.s. Should I mark this as M? It's KIND of suggestive? Not totally but...still...