Daerim chewed on her thumb nail as she checked the time on her phone for the eighteenth time.

12:53 AM

With a sigh, she listened again for movement in the apartment; her anxieties eased when she heard nothing more than her own breathing.

From the moment that Haejin sent her that message to meet him, an uneasiness had settled over her and she didn’t know what to think.

When she had asked Haejin about why he wanted to meet her, he had been very cryptic. When she had pleaded with him to wait until tomorrow, he said that he couldn’t. When she said that she was scared she’d get caught, he assured her that she wouldn’t. Every concern she gave was met with an unsatisfying answer.

The only thing driving her now was pure curiosity.

Their date had ended on an optimistic note, but she had assumed that at least a day would pass before they would see each other again. What could they possibly do at 1 am in the garden of her courtyard?

She had to know.

Getting up from her bed at a snail’s pace, Daerim walked over to her closet and slipped on a pair of jeans underneath her night gown. She then pulled over a big fluffy hoodie on top, and then slipped on some socks.

She was more concerned with disappearing into her clothing at this point than looking pretty for meeting him.

After dressing, she crept over to her door and twisted the handle ever so slowly, hoping that she could avoid the clicking sound of the metal catch releasing. Holding her breath, she pulled open the door and once again waited for any sounds.

Nothing.

Letting out her breath quietly with a smile, she began the slow walk down the long hallway towards the living room. Thankfully, Siwon and Kyuhyun’s room was at the very back of the hallway, while hers was at the top, Hyunjin’s being in the middle, so she didn’t have to worry about walking past anyone’s room.

But when she neared the edge of the hallway, Daerim could see a glow coming from the living room. She froze in her spot when she realized that the TV was on, with the lowest possible volume setting.

Peeking her head around the corner, she saw that Siwon was sitting on the couch, his head leaned against the back of the sofa, as he was fast asleep.

She inwardly cursed as she leaned against the wall, not sure of what to do. Although Haejin didn’t live too far away, she hated the idea of him waiting outside for her and her having to cancel on him at the last minute.

Looking back down the hall, she realized that Siwon hadn’t moved. In fact, he was snoring, which put her at ease knowing that he was now in a deep sleep.

So she decided to just go for it. If she was slow and careful, she would be able to make it with no problem.

But just as she started making her way towards the living room, she heard a door open behind her and then a voice.

“Noona?” came Hyunjin’s tired voice. “What are you doing?”

Daerim froze and looked behind her. There stood Hyunjin in his pajamas as he rubbed his eyes to get a clearer vision of what was happening.

“Why are you dressed? Are you leaving?” asked Hyunjin now more awake.

Daerim began to panic when she realized how loudly he was speaking. She quickly lunged forward and cupped Hyunjin’s mouth, which made him yelp.

“Shh!” she whispered as she pulled him into the bathroom which was nearby.

Once inside, she the light and closed the door softly.

“Yah— started Hyunjin.

“Jinnie-ah! You have to be quiet or you'll wake up appas!” Daerim hissed.

“Why did you grab me?!” Hyunjin pouted, his voice softer, though still too loud for Daerim’s liking.

“Because there was no other way to get you to be quiet,” Daerim whispered.

“Why are you trying to be so quiet? Where are you going?” he asked.

“I’m not going anywhere,” said Daerim shaking her head.

“Then why aren’t you wearing your pajamas?” Haejin asked shaking his head in confusion.

“I was just on my way to the kitchen and I…got cold,” Daerim tried to lie, but she knew that despite his age, there was no way Hyunjin was going to be convinced. He was Cho Kyuhyun’s child after all.

Hyunjin shook his head with a smile.

“You're going outside—I want to go!” he said bouncing.

“No! I’m not,” said Daerim trying to hush him again.

“Then fine, go to the kitchen then,” said Hyunjin crossing his arms. “I’ll wait.”

Daerim sighed.

“What are you doing out of bed anyway?” she finally asked with a frown.

“I had to pee,” said Hyunjin motioning towards the toilet.

Daerim groaned, cursing her luck that she had to meet Hyunjin on his middle of the night bathroom run.

“Either tell me where you're going or I’ll go wake up Appas,” he said.

“I’m just going for a walk,” Daerim explained, “nothing special.”

“Well, I wanna go!” pleaded Hyunjin.

“Why?” asked Daerim shaking her head.

“Appas never let me go anywhere this late at night. I wanna see what it’s like,” he said with bright eyes.

“Not this time. If you promise to stay quiet, I’ll take you out a different night, just not tonight.”

“You always promise me things and then you never keep them!” Hyunjin whined.

“That’s not true,” she said shaking her head.

“It is!”

“Shhh! Ugh….Hyunjin, please! This is important. I can’t bring you out tonight, but I promise next Saturday night, I will. We can…go get snacks at the corner store and—and I’ll take you to the park and we’ll—play on the swings or something.”

“Really?!” smiled Hyunjin.

“Yes, now please, just go back to sleep and swear to me that you won’t say anything to Appas about me meeting Hae—

Daerim gasped as she covered .

“You're meeting Haejin hyung?! Why?! What are you going to do?! Kiss?!” Hyunjin’s eyes grew.

Once again Daerim lunged forward and cupped his mouth with her hand.

“Oppa just said that he had something to tell me, we’re not going to do anything! Promise me Jin-ah. You can’t tell Kyu appa and especially not Wonnie appa, okay? Please?” said Daerim looking into his eyes.

Hyunjin watched her for a few moments as she slowly removed her hand from his mouth.

“Okay,” he finally said.

“…really?”

Hyunjin nodded. “Even though it’s funny sometimes to see you get in trouble…I don’t like it when Appas get mad. It makes them yell and that makes me sad.”

Daerim gave a weak smile.

“Thanks Jin-ah. That’s…sweet of you,” she said pulling him in for a hug.

She ruffled his hair gently as she felt him bury his cheek in her hoodie.

“Can we get ice cream?” he asked when they broke apart.

“Ice cream?” asked Daerim with a small frown.

“When we go to the mart next Saturday for snacks?” he asked.

“Sure,” she said shaking her head with a smile.

“Good! Now can you go? I really have to pee!” said Hyunjin bouncing up and down.

Daerim slightly grimaced as she quickly made her way to the door, Hyunjin barely waiting for her to leave before he pulled his bottoms down on his way to the toilet.

When she was safely outside the bathroom again, Daerim checked her phone and saw that it was just past one.

With hurried yet quiet steps, she walked into the living room, trying to stay as far away from the sofa as possible.

Siwon was still snoring away on the couch, the glow from the TV illuminating his sleeping face.

As Daerim neared the middle of the living room, her phone suddenly went off, signaling she had a text message from Haejin.

She gasped, scrambling to grab her phone and silence the song that came blasting out. Once it was silenced, she froze, and looked over at Siwon.

A low groan emitted from his mouth as his head slowly moved from side to side. When it looked like he was seconds away from opening his eyes, fear instantly gripped her heart and for a moment, she thought it was all over.  But sudden instinct made her drop to her knees and she hid behind the far side of couch, out of Siwon’s view.

Trying her hardest not to breathe loudly, Daerim waited the long seconds as she heard Siwon stand to stretch and let out a yawn. She then heard him reach for the remote on the coffee table and then moments later the room darkened from the TV being shut off. Standing up from the sofa, she heard Siwon begin to take slow and staggering steps around the couch and in the direction of the hallway that led to their bedrooms. She moved slightly to the right, in order to remain hidden by the couch and out of exposure, despite the almost complete darkness of the room. When he finally made it into the hallway, she heard the bathroom door open and then Hyunjin and Siwon’s voices.

“Appa, did you fall asleep on the couch again?” asked Hyunjin with a laugh.

“I wasn’t sleeping. I was reading for work,” said Siwon, his voice clearly thick with sleep.

“Sure Appa,” chuckled Hyunjin again.

“Well I didn’t expect to get caught by the night guard,” said Siwon, and he must have tickled Hyunjin because Daerim heard him giggling.

“Okay, okay, we don’t want to wake up your noona and your Kyu appa,” Siwon said in a hushed voice.

“Good night Appa,” Hyunjin said before going into his room.

“Good night Jin-ah,” said Siwon.

When Daerim heard the two doors closed she was finally able to breathe easy.

Once outside the apartment, Daerim checked her phone to read the message that Haejin had sent her.

I’m in the stairwell. Please still come…

Looking towards the door marked stairs, Daerim headed over and began the long walk down. Despite the fact that she had made it out of the apartment, as her nervous legs went down one flight after another, she still felt very insecure about breaking what she knew had to be a cardinal rule in her Appas’ handbook. The uncertainty of what they would do if she were to be discovered made her feel the most uneasy.

This fear seemed to build until she was almost at the bottom of the stairs. Just when she thought that she might turn back and return to the safety of her bed, she saw a small light flicker, making her freeze.

“Daerim-ah,” she heard Haejin’s voice call out.

“Oppa?” she questioned softly.

“Yeah, it’s me, I’m here. Come down,” he said walking up a few steps himself so that he could just see her.

Daerim continued walking down the last flight of stairs and was suddenly met with the image of Haejin leaning against the stairwell wall, holding a candle.

Haejin had changed his clothes from earlier. Opting instead for a pair of his black skinny jeans and an oversized grey sweater with his  large black windbreaker on top. He looked beyond handsome in Daerim’s eyes and she was slightly kicking herself for not putting in more effort towards her outfit choice.

“I’m glad you came, for a moment I thought maybe you wouldn’t—are you okay?” he said with a small frown when he saw how big Daerim’s eyes were.

“I almost got caught by my Wonnie appa,” she said, her voice was still a whisper.

“Really?” Haejin asked, his eyebrows shooting up. “He was still awake?”

“No, but he had fallen asleep on the couch. When you texted me, it woke him up. I had to hide until he left. And before that, Jinnie caught me as well,” she said with a sigh.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think it would be that difficult. My Appas go to sleep at midnight, every night, like clockwork,” he said apologetically.

“It’s okay. But what was so important that you had to see me tonight about it?” asked Daerim shaking her head.

“Come on, I’ll show you,” said Haejin holding out his hand.

Daerim extended her hand out and he grasped it warmly, guiding her over towards the gazebo in the furthest corner of the garden.

“Here, sit down,” he said motioning for her to take a seat once they were inside.

Daerim did as she was told and looked around her. Because spring was just in it’s early days, the nights were still cold, but the garden itself looked beautiful. Flowers and tiny green plants had already began to bloom and sprout, giving the setting a very dreamy feel.

As she felt lost in the beauty of the garden at night, she didn’t take notice to the items that Haejin was pulling out of his bag at the moment.

It wasn’t until he sat down beside her again, that she realized his baby blue acoustic guitar was leaning against the bench beside him.

“Oppa, why did—

“Wait,” he said reaching behind him.

He grabbed a brown paper bag that had been sitting behind him and opened it. After reaching inside, he pulled out two small take out coffee cups and a strawberry muffin.

Daerim smiled.

“What’s all of this?” she asked shaking her head.

“I know that we didn’t really get a chance to enjoy dinner or coffee together earlier, so I thought you might be hungry and a little cold. So I stopped at your favorite café to buy you this. Luckily they're open all night on the weekends,” he said with a small laugh, handing her one of the cups.

Daerim brought the cup to and took a sip. Warm velvety hot chocolate met her tongue, instantly warming her in spite of the chilly air.

“Thank you Oppa,” she said with a genuine smile, truly grateful that he took the time to bring her snacks from her favorite place.

“You're welcome,” he said mimicking her action and taking a sip from his cup.

They sat there for a few moments in silence until Daerim motioned towards his guitar.

“Why did you bring that?” she asked.

“Oh, right,” said Haejin glancing beside him. “I wanted to play you the song I’ve been working on for class.”

Daerim nodded as she drew her legs up so that she could get comfortable. Cupping her drink with both hands, she watched with anticipation as Haejin opened his case and then pulled out his baby blue acoustic guitar.

Daerim loved this guitar. But more specifically, she loved watching Haejin play it. Every time he had something new to show her, she would watch in awe as his fingers the strings, coaxing beautiful music out of them. And even though Haejin hated his singing voice, she thought it was the perfect combination of the gentleness of his nature and the huskiness of his speaking voice.

Once it was sitting on his lap, Haejin looked over at Daerim and smiled shyly. He rubbed his hands together, trying to generate a bit of warmth before placing them on the taught strings.

The moment the first few notes flowed through the air, Daerim’s heart swelled. Haejin’s eyes locked with hers as his fingers plucked and strummed the strings, while the words poured out of his mouth.

As he continued playing, Daerim could feel herself slipping slightly into a trance. Every word seemed to stir something up inside, and it wasn’t long before she felt herself blushing when she realized the lyrics were in fact about her.

When the song finally came to an end, Haejin rested his guitar back in his case and then turned to look back at Daerim.

He was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

“Why are you crying?!” he asked panicked as he scooted close to her.

Daerim shook her head as he tried to wipe her tears away with the pads of his thumbs.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly looking down.

“Don’t be sorry. I’m sorry…I didn’t realize it was that bad,” he said with a small chuckle.

“No!” said Daerim with a frown as her eyes shot back up to his. “It wasn’t bad! It was beautiful!”

“Really?” asked Haejin pausing. “You liked it?”

“I loved it. I think it might be my favorite song that you’ve ever written,” she said, a little embarrassed by her own honestly.

“Well I’m glad you think that because…it was for you,” he said softly.

Daerim smiled, she had been right.

“And I meant every word I said. I’ve been working on it for a really long time, but I wanted to wait until tonight especially to sing it to you,” he said taking the cup from her hands and sitting it beside her on the bench.

“What do you mean? Why tonight?” asked Daerim shaking her head softly.

“I’ve been wanting to say all of these things to you for a long time now, but I was always too nervous to,” he said looking down.

“Why?” asked Daerim, still not understanding.

“Because I was scared that … you wouldn’t feel the same way. But then tonight, even though what happened wasn’t perfect, I could see something inside of you that let me know you might feel the same way,” Haejin said as one of his hands slowly found its way to hers, linking their fingers together and then resting on her lap.

Daerim felt a lump rise in when she realized how close she and Haejin suddenly were.

“So I really hope that you were being honest when you said you’d give me another chance,” he said earnestly.

Daerim’s lips parted but nothing came out.

“I have this feeling when I’m around you Daerim-ah….I don’t know how to really explain it, but it makes me always want to be near you, and take care of you. Being with you is so important to me, and I want to make sure that you are always happy. I know that I’m older than you, and that we go to different schools now….and that your Wonnie appa doesn’t exactly love having me around, but I promise you that I’ll never let anything stand in the way of me loving you…as a dongsaeng…or as my yeochin…”

Daerim felt her hands begin to tremble.

“Choi Daerim…will you be my girlfriend?” he asked softly but with the utmost confidence as he stared into her big eyes.

A sharp breath entered Daerim’s mouth as the question suddenly resonated with her. In her mind she was screaming yes, yes! Finally, after all of these months of thinking about Haejin being hers and only hers, it was happening! He had asked her to be his girlfriend. The rush of excitement that filled her body made her heart feel like it had swelled to twice it’s size and her breathing became rapid as she continued to stare into his eyes. Girlfriend…boyfriend…love…these were the only words echoing through her mind until she saw Haejin’s lips moving, and then his voice coming into her head.

“Daerim-ah…is that a yes?” Haejin asked softly, touching her cheek with his free hand.

Daerim blinked rapidly when she realized that she had yet to give Haejin an answer. Looking into his eyes, she nodded, a smile gracing her lips.

“Really? Yes?!” asked Haejin excitedly, as he now cupped her cheek.

“Yes!” Daerim smiled as she touched his hand on her cheek, mirroring back his excitement.

Haejin pulled her into a tight hug, wrapping his arms around her until she was pressed close to him. Laying her cheek on the soft shoulder of his sweater while she felt his fingers gently playing with the ends of her hair, Daerim felt an indescribable amount of joy still coursing through her body.

“I could never say no to you Oppa,” she said so softly she thought it would have gone unnoticed. But a small squeeze let her know that he had heard every word.

“Oh, I almost forgot, I have something for you…will you wear it?” asked Haejin after a few minutes.

Daerim pulled away to see what it was that he was talking about.

Reaching inside of his coat pocket, Haejin pulled out a small bracelet with a wild assortment of rainbow colors on it, which made Daerim slightly giggle.

“What’s this?” she asked looking at him.

“I have one too,” said Haejin pulling up his sleeve. “I thought that a couple’s bracelet would be better than a ring, for now at least, so that your appas saw it, you could just say it was a simple bracelet. But when you wear it, you’ll know that I’ll always be wearing mine too,” he said slipped her bracelet onto her small wrist.

“Thank you Oppa, I really like it,” said Daerim with a happy smile. “I promise, I’ll never take it off.”

She twisted her wrist in the air and then smiled as she looked at it from all angles. Haejin did the same, placing his wrist beside hers. They looked at their arms side by side and then looked up at each other.

 A breeze blew threw the garden, making Daerim shiver. Haejin ped his jacket all the way and opened up the sides. Daerim quickly moved inside and snuggled close to him, leaning her head once again on his shoulder as he enclosed them inside together.

It wasn’t until she could feel Haejin’s heart beating next to hers that she realized that they were now closer than they had even been since they were kids. As her eyes looked up, she caught Haejin looking at her. Her first instinct was to look away, embarrassed at being discovered, just as she thought he would. But instead, she felt a finger gently lift her chin higher until she was looking into his eyes again.

Her heart felt like it was moments away from beating out of her chest, and she could feel that his was close to doing the same. Her face felt suddenly warm, especially where she could still feel his fingers. Everything was happening so fast that she barely had time to think before her body was reacting for her. As their mouths finally drew closer to each other, Daerim followed Haejin’s lead and parted her lips while closing her eyes, waiting for the moment that she had spent so much time dreaming about already to finally happen to her…

It seemed like a sick twist of fate that both of their phones started ringing within moments of one another.

It was Daerim’s that first broke them apart, but then Haejin’s followed soon after.

A disappointed sigh escaped both of their lips as they broke apart, each reaching for their phones.

When Daerim saw the number on hers she jumped up and gasped. Haejin’s reaction was not to far off as he stood up beside her.

They both looked at each other with horrified expressions before hitting the accept call button, their hearts both beating even faster than before.