Disclaimer: Sadly, I still own nothing.

***

Kai followed her behind right after Suho hyung talked to her. It wasn’t a secret that his hyung had a big crush on her since they were a trainee. His hyung had been relentless, and patient even as the girl had never reciprocated his feelings over and over again. He felt sorry for him, everyone felt sorry for him, even Soojung herself—his endless effort obviously had put her in a very uncomfortable position, since they need to work in the same agency for God knows how long, and both of their respective groups had only just begun.

It didn’t help that he, Kim Jongin, also had grown some feelings for her. He didn’t know when exactly those thoughts came upon him, maybe somewhere since they have photoshoots together, maybe just because they had too much practice together, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that her name, her face, her smile, had came across his mind a lot lately.

He should’ve been happy when out of nowhere Soojung said that she liked him, too. Never in a million years he thought that such thing would happen, Soojung was so shy around him she turned to the other way everytime she saw him, but it did. But he was stupid, and clueless, as he rejected her on behalf of his respected hyung. Up until now, he truly believed that it was the right thing to do. He was hoping and praying every night that giving up on his own feelings for the sake of his group members is the right thing to do.

It was torture.

The ‘ice princess’ acted impossibly cold towards him and all the EXO members afterwards. Everyone’s been wondering what the hell had happened with her, thinking that maybe it was Suho’s doing, only to find out later that it was Kai. It was hard to keep a secret when you’re living together; it was even harder when his leader had stopped talking to him and half of the other members had blamed him for it. Fortunately, Suho hyung came to his senses not long after, considering that they need to keep out personal business from work.

Kai sneaked out of his hiding place, carefully tried not to bumped into anyone especially Suho hyung, then walking fast to the direction where Soojung direction was. He wanted to talk to her; it’s been a while since they have a nice conversation and he kind of missed it. Maybe they could be just friends, that would be enough for him other than this awkward silence between the two of them. Suho hyung needed to accept that; Kai had sacrificed his feelings enough so Suho hyung had to understand and be the bigger guy this time. He saw her headed to the parking lot, passed the security check and suddenly stopped with her phone still glued to her ear. There’s no one else around beside them, it’s a blocked passage especially made for the idols so they could come and go without the fans surrounding them, so no one could get in here unless they were idols or had an ID pass.

He figured out that she must be waiting for her sister to pick her up. He smiled, typical Soojung. While other idols would take their time to mingle or simply rest after the show, Soojung would be the first person who left the stage and the building if only she had her own way. He had a mischievous idea to put a prank on her by sneaking up from behind her. It was suicide really, bu he could already imagined how furious she would be, when a tall figure beat him to it.

It was a man, he could tell by his figure, and he was wearing black from head to toe it was suspicious. Kai’s eyes bulged out in horror, as he realized that it was possibly an attempted abduction right in front of his eyes. They were at least 100 meters away from him, he couldn’t make out who it was because the guy had his back on him, and he was about to sprint up to save her when the mysterious guy turned her around and she was throwing a fit at him.

Kai immediately hid behind a nearby pillar before she saw him. It seemed like that Soojung knew the guy very well since she didn’t hesitate to throw several punches on him, kicking and screaming while the poor guy doubling over his stomach, laughing so hard and only managed to yelped out an ‘ouch’ or two. What a brave guy, Kai admitted. There’s only a few people who had been that close to Soojung, and they were all his hyungs from the same agency as him. He wondered if this guy was one of them, so he must have recognized him.

He watched them interracted as he learned that there was something different with the way Soojung behaving towards this guy. Normally, there’s always a bit of shyness in her that made her hold back, no matter how close they were. But with this guy, there’s no holding back; she looked awfully comfortable with him that she didn’t hesitate to throw tantrums. It wasn’t disrespect either, since the guy seemed like enjoying himself even though she probably left multiple bruises on him by now. But what surprised him the most was the next scene that happened in front of his eyes. His eyebrows taut together, mouth agape, frowning as suddenly the guy was kissing her right on her lips, and she was kissing him back.

A fist formed on Kai’s right hand. His nails digging into his palm so hard it might drew blood, a wake up call that the scene before him was real. He wasn’t in a somekind of sick, twisted, worst nightmare he ever had, no matter how much he wished it was. Is it really Jung Soojung? The girl who had confessed to him months ago with blushes on her cheeks, was now kissing some random guy in the parking lot? And he thought she was all cute and innocent, how stupid it was for him to think that she’ll probably hold on to her feelings for him for at least... well, a few years after?

How naive.

To make things worse, as the kiss had finally stop, Soojung was looking up to the guy with her face as red as a fresh boiled crab, with the brightest smile he ever saw on her. He was so curious; who is this guy who could make the ‘ice princess’ warmed up to the point of almost bursting out with happiness? In the span of less than a few months? The guy now wrapped his arms around her shoulders, turning to a direction further away from where Kai was hiding. But Kai finally catch a glimpse of his face from the side. He swallowed a lump in his throat as he recognized that face.

It was Kang Minhyuk.

***

“Oppa!”

A series of punches landed on Minhyuk’s chest and arms with full-force as she was releasing her anger to him. Who knew that a skinny girl like her could throw some decent punches? Luckily his body had been used with such violent aggression that he didn’t really mind. Soojung was irresistible when she’s being like this; so he gripped both of her arms gently then pulled her body closer to him and crushed his lips on hers.

God, he missed her so much.

He didn’t let her go from his arms as she scolded him after the kiss, “Yah, are you trying to give me a heart attack? I thought I was going to die then...”

Another peck landed on her lips, a sweet gesture to show her that he was sorry, “I thought you’d like the surprise...” his head was tilted to the side before he continued to ask, “Don’t you miss me at all?”

Her hands immediately encircled around his waist, squeezing him in a loving manner that made him smile, “I miss you so much,” she said with her eyes peering up through her eyelashes, her face every shades of bit red.

He loved the fact that he still could make her blushed like that, even though they had been separated for more than two weeks. It was a stark contrast since they used to see each other everyday during filming, so it kinda hard to adjust with their new situation. The reality hit him hard that this is what they should expecting from now on, and the fear of his past relationship haunting him like never before.

“By the way, oppa,” Soojung’s voice shook him out of his dark thoughts, “What are you doing here? I thought you said you’ll be spending Christmas in Japan with your band.”

“Ah... actually, I went straight to the airport once we finished our concert. I told them that I wanted to spent Christmas with my family,” he grinned, not even felt sorry that he had been lying to his hyungs for this.

“Eyy...” Soojung scrunched up her face with her boyfriend behaviour, “And they believe you for that? On Christmas night? Aiishh... nappeun namja... What if they knew that you were lying? I don’t want you to fight with them over this, it would make me feel bad...”

Minhyuk really wanted to laugh with her statement, no one had ever said that he was a bad boy. That was a first. But he appreciated her concern for him, it was very adorable.

“Yah, what was so wrong with wanting to spend Christmas with my pretty girlfriend?” Minhyuk said, defending himself, “Other girls would be swooning over this. Not every guy would prefer their girlfriend over their band, you know?”

Soojung clicked her tounge, “Ara... but don’t make a habit of this, okay? I don’t want to be the reason for your irresponsible behaviour. Your fans would kill me for that.”

So that was the real reason. He still couldn’t get why this girl of his was very scared of the fans. It was still a very sensitive topic for her and even though he’s curious, he wanted to hear all about it right from , not from some gossip sites that he’d sure would find something easily if he would only bother to search the web. Maybe someday. For tonight, he just wanted to spend some time with her.

Minhyuk released his hold on her, “Yes, ma’am. Now,” he turned her to where he parked Yong’s car before putting his arm around her again, “I’m going to kidnap you for our very first date. Kajja!”

Soojung giggled seeing his enthusiasm. She let herself being dragged by him, practically jumping for finally having their long awaited first date.

Once they were seated in the car, Soojung asked him, “Where are we going?”

Minhyuk started the car, humming while thinking of something, “I’m hungry. What about you?”

Her eyes sparkled at the mention of food that Minhyuk’s auto-smile mode , she was jumping in her seat, batting her eyelashes while suggesting, “Gogi?”

“It’s gogi, then,” Minhyuk drove the car out of the building, with Soojung clapped her hands happily. Some other girls would blanched at the mention of meat at this hour of the night, not to mention idol girls like her who had to undergo a strict diet to maintain their shape, but Soojung had no problems with it. She ate everything she wanted, whenever she wanted, and not a single fat would be found in her belly. Other girls would kill to have such advantageous ability.

Minhyuk took her to a 24-hour Korean barbeque restaurant around Seoul, Bukakjeong, one of the best and most favourite place around Cheong-gye cheon. If they came a little bit earlier, this place most probably would be so crowded and they might bumped into someone they knew, or worse, some fans that recognized them. But it’s a couple of hours before midnight, so most people hopefully had went home. Besides, both of them had put on a thick jacket that covered them from head to their knees, trying their best to blend in looking like a normal couple. Minhyuk took a secluded seat where other people couldn’t sneak a peek on them before he placed an order for both of them.

While they were waiting for their food to come, Soojung moved her seat to Minhyuk’s side. Instead of seating across from him like most couples did, she preferred this arrangement just so that she could get closer to him. It’s easier to share the food this way. Besides, Minhyuk oppa could put his arms around her occasionally.

It just felt so good everytime he did it.

Soojung basically loved being hugged. Before she met him, it was restricted only for her sister and her band members. Everyone else’s who tried to do that without her consent would get her icy glare and a few kicks here and there. But Minhyuk oppa’s hugs are very addicting; everything about him is addicting. His smiling eyes, his soothing voice, his gentle caress, his warm hugs, his sweet kisses... Oh my God, she loved everything about him.

Wait. Did she just think about love?

She shook her thoughts away. It was just their first date, how could she even think about that?

Her phone suddenly ringed and she took it out of her purse. She stared at the caller’s ID, then glancing to her boyfriend.

It’s Suho oppa.

Gosh... what a way to ruin my first date!

She pushed the reject button, earning a questioning glance from Minhyuk oppa, “Who is it?”

Soojung put her phone away on the table, glaring at it like she was going to kill it if it ever ringed again. She replied to Minhyuk, “Nothing’s important.”

Minhyuk didn’t buy it, but he let it slide. He didn’t want to ruin her mood since it was their first date. Being a good boyfriend that he is, he decided to cook the meats for her once their food had came. Soojung’s mood visibly elated as she took the first bite of the cooked meat.

“Mmm...!” It was so delicious that she forgot about the call immediately. She feed him another perfectly cooked meat. She watched him savoured the taste with his eyes closed, and together they were enjoying their meal when her phone interrupted their romantic moments once again.

“Aiishh... jinjja!” Soojung grumbled as she took her phone; it was a message from Suho oppa.

 

Suho oppa

Soojung-ah, where are you? Your manager had been looking for you. She said Sica noona couldn’t come to pick you up. Did you came home alone?

 

Ugh, damn it! Soojung hit her forehead with her phone, she totally forgot to inform her sister and her manager. They must thought she was still in the concert area, looking for her. Right on cue, her manager’s now calling her. She answered it without thinking, “Ne, oppa. I’m sorry, I totally forgot. I’m already at home now. Ne, I took a cab.”

“Yah don’t you know it’s very dangerous for you to take a cab alone at this hour? Why don’t you asked me to send you home?!!”

Her manager’s yell could be heard throughout the phone, piercing her ear. Even Minhyuk oppa’s head turned with shock written all over his face. Soojung winced her phone away from her ear as her manager keep on ranting on the phone.

“Mianhe, oppa. Ne. Next time I’ll asked you first. Ne...”

Soojung let out a heavy sigh as she ended up the call. She didn’t put it down though, she knew her manager would call Sica unnie for this, then she would have a second round of yells from her sister.

Minhyuk tried to feed her, but she shook her head lifelessly, “Just eat, Jungie-yah. Is it your sister just now?”

“Ani,” Soojung shook her head again, her lips jutted out before her eyes shifted to look up at him, “It’s my manager. I'm pretty sure that he’s going to report me to my sister. Tsk... hmpfh... Pabo yah!” she hit her own head, “How could I forget? What should I tell her if she knew I wasn’t home yet? Oppa...”

Minhyuk squeezed his arms around her shoulders, trying to think of something, “Hmm... what about the truth?”

An angry hiss and a pinch on his stomach was his immediate answer, “Yah! Do you want to die? My sister would definitely kill you for this!”

He chuckled lightly as she sulked, trying to keep a distance from him. Of course, he didn’t let her, “Wae? You’re not planning to tell her about us?” He tried to look casual as he asked her even though he was very curious. He wanted to know how serious she is with him, but he didn’t want to scare her off either. She needed some time, he knew, it was just their first date anyway.

He could feel her body stiffened, and he cursed himself from throwing that question out of a sudden. His expression didn’t change though, so he offered another meat to and this time she accepted it without any protest.

“Is it good?”

She nodded, chewing on the meat slowly. Carefully, she watched him to see any changes on his face. She hadn’t answer his earlier question yet. To be honest, she wanted to keep this a secret as long as she could, just because she wanted to enjoy some time alone with him. Once her sister knew about them, it was most likely the whole company would know it, too. That’s how bad her sister at keeping a secret. Then people would start asking this and that. Gah. They were just came out from the disaster that the filming set was, she really needed some space to think through all of this and see where is this going. But how the hell she was going to explain that to her boyfriend without any misunderstanding?

He would probably think that she was just playing around if she didn’t say anything!

Ahh... I’m really going crazy over this!

Her phone ringed once again, it was from her sister, just as she predicted. “Ne, Sica unnie...”

It was fortunate that her sister hadn’t been home yet, so Soojung could tell her the same lies that she told her manager earlier. Seemed like that Sica unnie had called her group members to pick her up and they would have a Christmas party with other idols, probably the same party that Amber attended to. Knowing her sister it would take a while before she came home. Soojung stole a couple of glances to Minhyuk oppa, smiling secretly, that meant she could spend some more time with him. The thought alone had already lifted her mood up a few notch.

Minhyuk kept up his calm face, trying to dismiss the troubling thoughts at how smooth she was lying to her own sister. He caught her lying several times at other people on the set, but that was when they were asking about their relationship. He wondered how many times did she lied to him, and how many times did she got away with it. The first date excuse suddenly seemed not enough to hold his curiosity. It seemed like there’s so much things that he didn’t know about her that he needed to catch up with.

Once Soojung ended her call with her sister, Minhyuk was elated that he finally got her full attention. She looked equally relieved so he thought there’s no one else that would interrupted their date anymore. But he was wrong. Her phone ringed once again, and Minhyuk swore he would throw that phone if it didn’t stop ringing. After her manager, her sister, who is it now? Her mom?

Soojung gave him an apologetic look before she took a glance at her phone for the umpteenth times. He let out a breathy sigh, didn’t even bother to ask who was it, when Soojung put the phone back to the table, unanswered.

Now, that’s even more suspicious.

“You’re not going to answer that?” Minhyuk inquired, frowning at her and her phone simultaneously. She wouldn’t ignore her mom’s call, right?

“It’s not important,” Soojung said curtly. She was totally ignoring her phone, acting like it didn’t ring over and over again. It annoyed the hell out of him.

Whoever it was, he had a bad feeling about this person. He recalled those times when she was ignoring his calls everytime she was mad at him. Is this how she reacted everytime someone annoyed her? So he wasn’t the only one she gave this kind of treatment? Wait, is it a guy?

His curiosity got the better of him. Since Soojung seemed determined to stick to her own decision, he decided to take her phone once and for all.

Soojung was shocked with his bold moves. She desperately trying to grasp her phone before he saw the displayed name on her screen. But damn his long hand, she couldn’t reach it and before she knew it, it was too late. He already saw it. She was pissed. Both of them were.

She snatched her phone away from him once he stopped moving. She thought he was going to answer it by himself, thus creating a whole new mess that she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle. But he didn’t. He was sat still once he read the name, and she was holding her breath to see what he was going to do next.

He took a deep breath before he faced her with cold eyes that made her shivered. She had never saw him this angry. Jealous yes, but not mad. Never at her.

“Suho oppa?” He said with malice in his voice she winced, “Isn’t he one of that EXO boys? What is this? You’re not cheating on me, aren’t you?”

Her answer was immediate, “Ani! I don’t even like him, you see it yourself I was trying to avoid him. How could you accused me of cheating?”

Minhyuk narrowed his eyes at her, “Jinjja? Like those times you were avoiding me? How is it different with me then?”

“Yah!” Soojung was equally mad now. How could he? “If I like him, I wouldn’t be here to have a date with you!!”

Her breath was hurried, that was what happened when she was holding her anger. Minhyuk could see that she was on the verge of tears, and he cursed himself for being the cause of it.

Congratulations Kang Minhyuk, you just made the worst first date scenario ever.

To top it all off, her phone ringed again. Minhyuk rolled his eyes.

God, this guy is relentless.

“You should answer it,” Minhyuk said to her. His tone now much gentler than earlier, it soothed her angry state a bit. But she wouldn’t listen to him. If he was that mad when she didn’t answer the call, she couldn’t imagine what he was going to do if she did.

When she didn’t do as he said, he tried to persuade her with softer tone, “That kind of guy would only keep on calling you if you don’t answer it now. Talk to him once, and turn off your phone for the rest of the night. I don’t want him to bother our date anymore than this.”

Soojung glanced at him skeptically, “You still want to continue our date?”

Once again, Minhyuk took a deep breath to keep his calm. Without hesitating, he pulled her closer to him like they weren’t arguing just now, and fortunately, she wasn’t resisting. “Of course, Jungie-yah. There’s no way I would let you keep this as a memory of our first date. I’m going to made it up for you. Besides, there were some places that I needed to show you.”

Now it’s Soojung turned to narrowed her eyes at him, she’s not completely convinced, "Places? It’s near midnight in winter, is there any place that still open for public at this hour?”

Minhyuk smiled, knowing that it was his best shot at winning her mood back, “You’ll be surprise,” then he kissed her forehead gently.

With her head leaning on his arm, Soojung finally answer Suho oppa’s call, “Yobuseyo?”

“Yah, Soojung-ah! Why didn’t you answer my call? I was so worried, you know? Is it true that you’re taking a taxi alone?”

Soojung took a peek at Minhyuk who was rolling his eyes. She didn’t put the call on loudspeaker, but seeing at how close they were, she was certain that he could hear a snippet of her conversation.

“Ne, oppa, no need to worry. I’m sorry I didn’t pick up your call earlier, I’ve fallen asleep already,” she said flatly. She even managed to make her voice sounded sleepy, hoping it would make Suho oppa realized that she wasn’t interested to talk to him right now.

“Oh, jinjja? Sorry for waking you up then. But, are you really okay? Yah, you should’ve just told me if Sica noona couldn’t pick you up. I’m always up to give you a ride home, you know that, right?”

She could see from the corner of her eyes how Minhyuk oppa glared at her phone. She hurriedly reply, “There’s no need to do that, oppa. I could take care of myself. Look, can we talk later? I’m really sleepy right now...” she faked a yawn to give extra effect.

“Oh, geude? Okay then. Goodnight, Soojung-ah...”

“Night, oppa...” then she push the end call button as fast as she could. She shifted her gaze to her still glaring boyfriend, “Happy, now?”

He frowned at her like she was growing two heads, “What was that? You were acting way too nice for someone you didn’t even like. Tsk, no wonder he didn’t stop chasing you.”

She slapped him hard on his chest, pushing him away from her, “Yah, oppa! What should I do then? I can’t be too mean to him, he’s my sunbae. We’ve known each other for years and we’ll be working under the same company for God knows how long! I’ve felt uncomfortable with him as it is, are you going to make me went through hell for this?”

“Yah, yah, yah, that’s not what I meant...” he reached out for her. Once she settled back in his arms, sulking cutely, he rubbed his hand on her arm to soothe her, “I’m just saying that the only way to make him stop was to say that you already have someone else to send you home. You don’t even have to tell him it was me, he was mature enough to put two and two together and see that he had no chance.”

“Are you saying that I have to tell him that I was taken? Yah, Sica unnie would kill me if he told her about this!”

Minhyuk massaged his temple hard as the sudden headache attack him. This is getting ridiculous. As much as he wanted to claim her as his, he couldn’t do it if she wasn’t on the same page with him. It’s not like they’re going public, he just wanted to at least tell their respective families and band members so they didn’t have to sneak up everytime they wanted to meet each other. Being in a secretive relationship like this was exhausting, what with the excuses and the lies they had to tell everyone around them. Sooner or later they would found out about it, and Minhyuk preferred to tell them soon before any rumours spread out.

The only problem now was that Soojung wasn’t ready for it. It was obvious and there’s nothing he could do about it but to follow her pace. It was making him crazy, especially now that he knew that he had a competitor. Knowing her, he probably had a plenty of them in line, he just didn’t know who were they.  

Soojung still staring up at him with that big eyes of hers, one of her hand clutching on his shirt tight. He smiled, at least she didn’t made an attempt to runaway or giving up on him. As a reward and a thank you note for her, he kissed her on the lips. The kiss was soft and gentle, it was meant to soothe the raging fire that were ignited in both of their heads.

Both of them sigh a breath of relieve once the kiss ended. He tucked a strand of hair from her face, looking at her straight in the eye, he said, “Fine, we’re doing it your way. For now,” he waited for her agreement before turned to the long forgotten meal on the table, “Now, let’s finish this. You need to eat more, I’m not taking you home if I didn’t wear you out tonight.”

That earned him a giggle from her, “Is that a challenge?”

“Yah, don’t you know that I’m an expert at dating? Now eat. Aaaa...” he offered her a meat that she happily accepted.

They did finish their dinner date in peace. No more interruptions, not a single phone call or text to bother them, not even some curious passanger who usually took random pictures when they saw someone they might recognize. After that, he took her for a walk at The Luminaries, not far from the restaurant they’ve been before. Holding hands along the way, the beautiful lights all around them had not only warmed their hands, but also their hearts.

“Wah...” she couldn’t hide the excitement as she admiring the complicated patterns made by hundreds of small colourful bulbs, pointing her finger here and there, jumping and occasionally squealing everytime she found something amazing, she looked exactly like a little kid in a candy store. “Oppa, come here!” she linked her arms with his, dragging him to a tree replica made of lights, with a few blinking lights that representing flowers, “We should take a picture! Palli!!”

He fished out his phone from his pocket, pulling her closer before taking a few pictures with the tree as their background. He even managed to stole a peck or two on her cheek and lips, saving the evidence as his phone’s screensaver. They took several more pictures with different objects when he suddenly gripped her wrist and exclaimed, “It’s almost midnight, kajja! There’s something you need to see.”

“Where?”

His answer was only a secretive smile as he told her to walk faster. Apparently, he dragged her to one of the biggest Christmas tree in the square of Cheong-gye cheon. Just as she was about to voice out a series of admiration pleasantries, the spiralled Christmas tree lit up with circling bulbs all around it from bottom to top, then bursting out laser lights creating breathtaking show that made everyone stop on their tracks.

Soojung laughed happily as she very much enjoyed the show. Minhyuk could only stare at her, admiring her beauty between these thousands of lights, smiling so bright reserved only for his eyes to see. He didn’t remember ever seeing a prettier sight to behold like this. He didn’t know he could make someone looked that happy beside him. He couldn’t even remember he ever felt this happy around a girl before.

His world had stopped right at this moment.

Soojung took both of his hands, dragging him into her own bubbly little world. The brown haired girl asked him to take more pictures in front of the Chirstmas tree, this time with his arm around her waist from behind. He complied. But she surprised him with a kiss on his cheek, just like he did a few moments before.

She turned her body around to face him then put her arms around him, squeezing him tight. Peering up through her eyelashes she whispered, “Thank you, oppa. This is absolutely an amazing date.”

He was smiling from ear to ear hearing that, “I know, right? But,” he poked the tip of her nose with his, “we haven’t finish yet.”

“Heol... there’s more?”

“I told you I’m going to wear you out, remember? Don’t tell me you’re tired already?”

“I’m not,” she quipped back. “Now, where are we going then?”

“Somewhere to warm up your hands,” with that, he held her hand and once again dragged her around.

They went to where he left the car and left the square of Cheong-gye cheon. They passed another Christmas tree around the City hall, where an outdoor ice rink was visible from where they were. But he didn’t stop there, and she didn’t even try to hide her disappointment.

“Oppa, don’t you want to go ice skating?” she pleaded with her doe eyes, jutted out her lips for more dramatic look.

“Oh, do you like ice skating?”

She nodded her head multiple times, “Me and my sister used to go there before we became an idol. It’s been a long time since I played one...”

Normally, it would be hard for him to say no when she’s pleading like that, but this time he couldn’t grant her wish, “I’m sorry, Soojungie... But it’s already past midnight, I bet all of the ice rinks had been closed for today. Maybe next time, hmm?”

She pursed her lips, knowing that he was right, “But... when will next time would be?”

“Aigoo...” he ruffled her hair out of habit, “You can’t even wait for our next date? As soon as we got some days off. Prepare yourself, okay? You’re going to spend your whole day with me you won’t move a finger the next day.”

“Eyy... how could you be so confident?”

“But that’s true! My ex-girlfriend was so tired—“ he stopped himself before he said anything more the moment Soojung was squinting her eyes at him at the mention of his ex.

“Oppa, you really know how to ruin a date, aren’t you?”

“Mianhe... it was an accident,” he parked the car in front of an alley, making her suddenly aware of their surrounding. Minhyuk oppa had gotten out of the car and went to her side, opening the door for her and releasing the seatbelt like he always do. Seeing her still haven’t said anything, he thought she was just still mad at him, “Jungie-yah, I swear that won’t happen again, okay? Come out, we’re here.”

Soojung was still hesitating, taking in her surrounding, the alley was quiet dark and there’s only a few people around. A frown formed on her forehead, “Oppa, where is this? You’re not taking me to some weird places, aren’t you?”

“What if I am?” He laughed as soon as her eyes widen in fear, she was obviously taking him seriously. She hit him hard for making fun of her, and he only laughed even harder, “Yah, who told you to have such a dirty mind? Byuntae!” He flicked his finger on her forehead.

She hissed at him. How could he said that she was the ert one?! Seriously, this guy really know how to get on her nerves! One moment he was making her so happy, the next moment he irritated her to no end. He even made her almost cry earlier, all of that happened in one day! Gosh, how could she liked someone like him? He made her world turned upside down like a freaking rollercoaster!

“What are you waiting for? C’mon! Or do you want to be left alone in this dark alley?”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

The guy had some audacity to smile, “You’re right. C’mon, hmm?”

For the nth times, he succeeded on persuading her to do everything he said. Stomping on her feet, she followed him through even smaller alley, his hands never left her even once. It’s not a long walk when he stopped in front of an old house. A dim light highlighting a small wooden sign on it’s door, Shin Old Tea House. Minhyuk ringed a bell that she didn’t know was there, then not long after, an ahjumma greeted us with a warm smile and invited them in.

She was busy taking in the interior of the tea house, despite the creepy alley out there, there’s hidden an amazing, cozy, traditional tea house like this. There’s two more couples already, having a conversation while keeping their voices low which was kinda useless, because she still could hear them. It seemed like Minhyuk oppa have been familiar with this place, since he pulled her to one of a secluded yet cozy corner, where they could rest their back on a concrete wall, while staring at the pillow patterns that was hanging on the other side of the wall.

The ahjumma offered them a menu, then Minhyuk oppa instantly ordered for a cinnamon tea and told Soojung some of his favourite beverages before she settled on a ginger tea and a plate of tteokbokki to share with him. It didn’t take long for the ahjumma to return for their tea, and Soojung didn’t forget to thank her politely. The ahjumma smiled back to her, asking her if it was her first time to be here. She said yes of course, and the ahjumma told her to enjoy her time in here.

“Oppa.”

“Hm?”

Soojung gave up to her inner turmoil to sink into the tempting fluffy pillows all around her, propping her chin on his shoulder, “How did you find these amazing places?” She shifted her gaze back to admire the wooden floor, to the crafted old table, the ceramic tea cups, some antique sculpture placed carefully around the room, up to the ceiling where some dim unique lanterns hanging down beautifully.

“You like it?” he asked her before he took a sip of his tea, closing his eyes to enjoy the warm liquid slid down his throat.

She was staring at his handsome face, her eyes lingered down on his adam apple as he swallowed his tea, “Hm,” she hummed quietly. Blame it to the dim lights, why did she suddenly found him so y for sipping a cup of tea for God’s sake? She wasn’t drunk, they had agreed not to drink any alcohol tonight since he was driving and she didn’t want their first date memories left in some blurry images that she won’t remember when she woke up the next day. She wanted to remember every detail of this night, etched them into her brain and cherished them everytime she felt like to. And this, to be able to stare at him up close like this, would forever burnt inside her brain.

He took another sip and it took all of her will not to kiss him up his neck to his jaw and lips. Great, she was turning into a real ert. She decided to take her eyes off of him before her mind went further and take a bite of the delicious looking tteokbokki without thinking. Of course, the hot and spicy cake burnt her tounge immediately. Minhyuk put down his cup of tea and offered her a glass of water to help her.

“Yah, be careful, Jungie-yah...”

The ahjumma earlier even came down to bring her another type of sweet rice cakes for her to eat, she said it would help her burnt tounge. She took the cake gratefully, then after she was indeed feeling better, she hid her face on Minhyuk’s chest out of embarrassment. The ahjumma smiled knowingly, telling her to be careful next time. Minhyuk couldn’t hold his laughter once the ahjumma left them alone, with her burrying her face even deeper into his chest.

Once his laughter died down, she peeked up from her hiding place, biting her lower lips. Minhyuk put his thumb on her lips, asking her if she was alright. She nodded slightly, and resumed her position earlier. He wrapped his arms around her and tucked his chin on top of her head, looking at the other couples who were apparently getting ready to get home.

He sneaked a glance at her untouched tea, “Jungie-yah, your tea is getting cold. Are you sure you wanted to waste it away? The ahjumma won’t let you come here again if you do that,” he whispered the last sentence to her ear, an effective way to make her jumped out of his arm.

She wrapped her hands around the warm cup, blowing some air into it just in case. True to his words, because of the cold weather and it’s already late at night, the tea had cooled down significantly. Even though it was warm enough not to burn her tounge (again), but she wished she did drink it a bit earlier. The combination of the warm tea, in a warm place, within his warm embrace, really put her in some kind of peace and serenity. She really wouldn’t mind to come here everyday.

Minhyuk took a bite of the tteokbokki, and offer it to his girlfriend very carefully. While enjoying the beverages, they talk about everything and nothing. Minhyuk told her that he came here quite often during his trainee days along with his hyungs. Until now they still came here occasionally just to chill out and reminiscing the old days. Soojung was listening to him intently, she could imagined the younger version of him came here after a hard day of practicing with his band, all sweaty and tired but still happy. It must have been quite noisy back then, she imagined how pissed the ahjumma must be everytime they came. Came to think about it, this place was a perfect place for young couples who were looking for a nice and quite romantic place to hang out, not for some hormonal young teenage boys.

That’s when a disturbing thought came across her mind, “Wait. What about your ex? Don’t tell me you often brought her here!”

Minhyuk freeze at the mention of his ex. “Hmm...” he bought some time to prolong his answer, but she was already standing up and threatening to leave him there when he pulled her down by her wrist, “No. Fortunately, I’ve never brought her here.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, “Jinjja?” she asked, not trusting him at all.

“Jinjja... you can ask the ahjumma if you don’t believe me.”

She contemplated his answer, she thought there’s no way the ahjumma would have agreed to keep his secret, she seemed so nice and sincere... “But, wae?”

Her oppa then looked struggling to find an answer for her, “To be honest, I don’t really know why. I’ve been planning to take her here all along, but I guess, I’ve never had the chance.”

There was a silent pause after he said that. He seemed like lost in his own thoughts, and Soojung didn’t know how to take his attention back to here and now, with her, his current girlfriend. She suddenly realized that his feeling with his ex-girlfriend must’ve been quite deep, that even a short reminder of her could affect him this much. Some unpleasant thoughts had crept up to her mind, slipping through between these new things about him that she had just learned, tainting his image of him who she thought had eyes only for her. This side of him made her realized that she liked him more than she thought, that she didn’t want him to think about anyone else but her. Soojung wondered if she had as much effect to him as his ex was, if their relationship would last long enough for her to get that much effect to him.

 

‘Your first love isn’t always the first person you kiss, or the first person you date. Your first love is the person you will always compare everyone to. The person that you will never truly get over, even when you’ve convinced yourself that you’ve moved on.’   –Unknown

 

Her heart felt restricted, like someone had put it in a cage that it hurts with every beats. Seriously, what was so great with her besides being his first love?

Oh right, people said that first love remained forever.

 

‘Maybe your first love is the one that sticks with you because it’s the only person who will ever receive all of you. After that, you learn better. But most of all, no matter what, a piece of you forever remains left behind in the heart of the one you loved – a piece no future lover could ever get. That piece holds innocence – the belief that love really can last forever. It holds friendship and pain, trial and error, the one kiss you’ll never forget, and that night under the stars you can never get back. It holds youth and everything you thought love would be, everything that was proven wrong...’     –Unknown

 

She didn’t like it. She didn’t like it one bit with the way he looked right now, spacing out with the mention of her. She decided that whoever she was, she hated her. She hated her for being the first girl who ever gotten his heart. She hated her for breaking his heart. She hated her because she would be the one who he compared to every girl he ever met. She didn’t want to be compared to her. She was just a part of his past; and Jung Soojung is his girlfriend now. Unless... could it be... that he still had any feelings for her? Some unfinished business that he couldn’t get over with?

Mustering up all of her courage to take him back, she leaned forward to catch his eyes, reminding him that she was still here with him. She hoped he could see how worried she was through her eyes, how scared she was when he left her here alone with these scary thoughts of her. He opened his mouth to say something to her, but she shut him out with a kiss.

It was a plea. There’s some desperation in her kiss, some uncertainty to test his heart out if there’s still a room for her somewhere inside. He kissed her back to let her know that he wanted to let her in, that he wanted her to fill the empty spaces in his heart.

She ended the kiss with her hand caressing his jaw. Eyes still searching into his, as if she could look straight into his soul. He could feel her breath blowing softly on his face as she called his name.

“Oppa.”

“Hm?”

“Look only at me.”

He cupped her hand that was still holding his face in a loving manner, “Okay.”

“Think only of me.”

His lips curved into a soft smile as he kissed the palm of her hand that he was holding, “Okay.”

Love me with all of your heart.

He waited for her to say something more, so when she didn’t, it was his turn to kiss her again, “I’m sorry. Let’s not talk about her ever again, okay?”

“Okay.”

He let her buried herself in his arms, sipping their own cup of tea and finishing the rest of the tteokbokki. They were talking about some funny moments back during filming, wondering how everybody else’s doing now. They’ve even shared their schedule to see if they could meet during one of the SBS awards. Turned out that the SBS Gayo Daejun was the only event that both of them attending together.

“Ahh... I really wanted to attend the SBS Drama Awards. All of the cast must’ve been there,” Soojung sulked cutely, “It must be fun to see them again. Oppa, I’m so jealous of you.”

“Yah, I’m the one who should be jealous because I couldn’t see you in a beautiful dress. Don’t even think to wear that kind of minidress while I wasn’t around,” he said, referring to the blue minidress she wore during filming, “I’m going to kidnap you and locked you up in my room if I ever saw you wearing that kind of dress ever again.”

Soojung clicked her tounge with his threat, “Tsk, your jealousy won’t get you anywhere, oppa...”

“Heol... Said someone who was jealous over someone who was in the past.”

“Oppa!”

“Wae? At least I have a real reason to be worried, there’s someone close enough to my girl who have every intention to steal her away from me.”

“Would it make you feel better if I tell you I won’t pick up his call ever again?”

“Could you even do that?”

Her silence was enough answer for him to know that she couldn’t.

“Now that I think about it, Lee Bona must’ve been a very strong girl.”

“Yah, why are you talking about Lee Bona all of a sudden?”

She turned away from him intentionally, looking at her nails like it was the most interesting thing in the world, “I mean, how could she be friends with Cha Eunsang? If I was her, I don’t think I could even put up a fake smile if I ever met her,” she emphasized on the last word, and Minhyuk knew that she wasn’t talking about Chanyoung’s relationship with Cha Eunsang.

He pinched both of her cheeks playfully, “Ara, ara. Fine. You won. I thought we’re agreed that we won’t talk about her anymore?”

“Yah! You’re the one who brought her up first!”

He swore he could’ve eat her right now if she’s going to keep acting like this. The thought sounds so tempting, but he settled on locking her head with his arm around her neck. He kept the playful act to keep the atmosphere light until it was time to take her home. He even took her on a short piggy ride from the old tea house to the car.

She was fallen asleep within the first 10 minutes of their way home.

He should’ve patted himself on his back. Mission accomplished.

When they were arrived at the front of her house, he bought his time to stare at her sleeping form. Today he had learnt something about her, and so was she. He really wanted to know about her better, and he hoped there would be plenty of time for that. He didn’t have the heart to wake her up, but both of them would be found frozen if he didn’t take her to a warmer place than the car. So he got out of the car to her side, and pick her up bridal style to her front door. She had woken up once she felt that someone had lifted her up from her seat, only to settle herself further into his arms when she saw that it was Minhyuk oppa. He kissed her once to wake her up, not knowing what to do if he couldn’t open the door or pushed the door bell with his arms all over her. Instead of waking up and walking on her own feet, Soojung pulled out the key from her bag to her front door and unlocked it, and told him to take her up to her bedroom.

It was so hard to step in to the house without making any noises. If her family found them sneaking in like this, he swore they would kill him right on the spot. It was another difficult task to make his way upstairs, since it was so dark inside the house. Fortunately, finding her room wasn’t that hard, since there was her name hanging on a slightly opened door. He used his back to push the door open wide and let himself in, then he plopped her down on her bed. He took her shoes, socks, and jacket off before he tucked her under a thick blanket.

He watched her again for the last time that night, when she draped her arms around his neck and pull him in for a kiss. Well, who was he to deny a sleeping beauty like her? After she was feeling satisfied, she pushed him away and practically kicked him out of her house.

“Go home, oppa, before someone caught you here. Oh, just take the key with you, I’ll take it back in a few days. Goodnight, oppa...” and she went back to sleep just like that.

 

‘Something about first love defies duplication. Before it, your heart is blank, Unwritten. After, the walls are left inscribed and graffitied. When it ends, no amount of scrubbing will purge the scrawled oaths and sketched images, but sooner or later, you find that there’s space for someone else, between the words and in the margins.’   --Tammara Webber, Where You Are

 

Meanwhile, Jessica had just arrived home after partying all night. She was drunk, and so was Yoona, Tiffany, and Yuri who were also in the car with her. The only one who wasn’t drunk was Seohyun, who was driving them home. They were about to park in front of Jessica house when they saw someone coming out from her house into a car.

“Unnie, you see that, right?” Seohyun asked her sisters, “There’s a guy coming out from your house! Do you know him? Omo! What if he’s a bad guy? Is your sister alone at home?”

“Yah, Hyunnie! Stop scaring me like that! My parents were home, besides, I didn’t see him bringing something out of my house. Right, girls?” Jessica said somewhere between her consciousness and her drunken state.

The other girls nodded in unison. Yuri added with slurred voice, “Trust me, a bad guy didn’t look like that.”

“Ne,” Yoona chimed in, “But why do I feel like I’ve seen that car somewhere before...”

Seohyun took a deeper look to the car before it set off. She had a glimpse of its license plate, then she rememberred, “Oh! It’s Yong oppa’s car!”

“Huuhh?” The girls yelped together as if they were on cue.

“Hyunnie... don’t be ridiculous. Why would Yong oppa at the front of my house? I had nothing to do with him. Nothing!” Jessica exclaimed.

“I know, unnie. Besides all of CNBLUE members were in Japan right now. Huh, that was weird. I was pretty sure that it was his car.”

“Eyy... Hyunnie, you’re still in contact with Yong oppa, don’t you?” Tiffany teased their maknae and laughing hard. “At least, you’re stick to one guy, unlike this loser beside me,” she pointed to Yoona who was glaring at him. Yuri and Jessica laughed hard as Yoona pulled Tiffany’s hair out of anger.

“Yah, unnie, stop it both of you!” Seohyun tried to stop the girls, “God! Seriously, when will any of you start to growing up?”

“Maybe next time, ahjumma! Aahahahahha... ” Yuri shouted from the top of her lungs looking at the frustrated maknae. Jessica laughed along with her while she was struggling to open the car door and bid her goodnight to her girls, leaving Seohyun all alone with all the mess.

***

A/N: This chapter consist of 9000++ words and almost 30 pages long, it was 3 times longer than my normal chapters. I hope it was enough to make up for the long wait. I hope I didn't bore you off, I was just busy trying to lift up my awful mood these days.

Here are some of my references:

Bukkakjeong

Cheong-gye cheon

Shin Old Tea House 

PS: I don't know if f(x)'s manager is a girl or not and how do they call her.

PSS: I just knew that f(x)'s manager is a guy! All that I knew, all of SM's managers are guys.