-- Min Woo

Today's the big day. My heart jumps around in my ribcage, sending erratic pulses of blood straight to my head so I feel confused. Taking in a deep breath, I try to calm my heartbeat, but it doesn't seem to work. As Dong Hyun walks past me, I feel my stomach do a somersault. 

It's time.

I straighten my back and force a smile to my nervous lips. Running a hand shakily through my hair, I catch Dong Hyun's eye as he does a roll-call and nod. As one, Boyfriend walks out onto the stage. 

Everything is dark as they set up the stage for us. Glints of light reflect off the stage into my eyes, but other than that I can barely see anything. I make my way to the nearest one and take my position, watching as the others do the same. We wait in silence for a while, too far away to say anything to each other. Soon we hear the crew yell out our cue to get ready. I sink into my opening pose.

The lights slowly fade in, and a roar comes out from the audience. My smile is genuine now - it makes me really happy to know that there's a bunch of people out there who support us. And that they're willing to cheer us on... if I think too much about it, I'll probably cry or something, which is not good to do before a performance. I drag my mind back to the stage and the performance I'm about to give with the rest of my group members. 

"3, 2, 1... Go!" someone says into my ear through the earpiece. As the music starts to our song, we move in unison.

As the crowd cheers and applauds us, we walk off the stage in relief. That was a good performance, and we all know it.

"No mistakes," our choreographer says as soon as we appear backstage.

"It's nice to see you too," Hyun Seong jokes, earning a slap on the arm by our manager, who's standing close by.

"You guys did a good job out there," he continues, moving away from Hyun Seong towards the front of the group. "It was a great comeback."

I grin at the others, feeling a sense of pride as I think of what we accomplished out there. Hopefully we'll have as good a run tomorrow, and subsequently. As a relatively new group, I want us to be able to show the world what we're capable of. I want us to earn the audience's respect.

"You guys can go home, now," our manager says then. "You've done enough today."

Throwing an arm in the air and whooping, I'm the first to run out of the small holding room and into the corridor. I race to the dressing room. The others follow at a more sedate pace. 

"Min Woo-yah," they call. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

My eyes disappear into crescents as I reply, "I'm meeting someone!"

Kwang Min narrows his eyes at me, probably thinking that I'm going to meet Geum Min. He looks suspicious of my sudden happiness. 

"C'mon, hyung," I tease, just to antagonise him. "You think I can't be happy?"

He rolls his eyes and pushes me away. "Go crazy somewhere else! I don't want to be seen with you when you're in this mood."

I stick my tongue out at him and grab my clothes off the rack, changing quickly. Frowning at my reflection in the mirror, I run over to the washbasin and splash water on my face, scrubbing to get all the makeup off. My hair is stiff from hairspray but I guess that there's nothing I can do about that yet. Glancing at the door, I quickly grab my bag off its hook and dash out into the corridor, calling out a greeting to the rest of Boyfriend. I run out of the building as quickly as I can, rushing a little bit so I can board the bus that's already waiting at the stop. 

As I get on, I stop moving. Panting, I grab a seat and stare out the window. It looks like it's about to rain. Instead of upsetting me, my heart lifts at the news.

This is going to be perfect.

-- Geum Min

"Hey, guys!" Yoo Min calls out from beside me, waving at all of them. "That was great!"

Nodding furiously, I grin at them. "You two didn't embarrass me, for once," I tell my brothers, who playfully punch me on both arms. "Ow!" I protest.

Young Min smirks. "Your favourite Boyfriend member just ran away from you," he informs me.

Confused for a second, I blink at him. "Who's that?"

My other brother rolls his eyes. "Who do you think?"

Yoo Min laughs at me as I scan the crowd in the dressing room. Only the youngest seems to be missing.

"You mean Min Woo? Where'd he go?"

Dong Hyun chuckles. "Nobody knows. He just dashed out of here as if he had a hoard of devils on his tail!"

Everyone laughs, but I remain thoughtful. Where could he have gone? Did he leave just because he didn't want to see me?

Somehow my heart gives a painful lurch at the thought. 

Turning back to Boyfriend, my twin catches my eye, looking worried. I ignore her and smile at the rest, joining easily into the conversation. I'll worry about that maknae later.

My phone buzzes on the bus as we head back home with the group. Yoo Min is talking in the corner with Jeong Min, and I'm sitting beside my brothers. The younger of the pair and I were busy teasing Young Min about his scandalous lunches with Yoona. His face is thoroughly red now. He keeps looking down and rearranging his fringe to cover his face, but the gel in his hair makes the strands jump back up again. Kwang Min and I laugh at his attempts to hide. 

As he continues to make fun of his twin, I turn to my phone. The message is from Min Woo. As I ponder whether I should bother to check or not, a raindrop splats onto my window. Smiling at it, I make up my mind and slide open my phone. 

I have a surprise for you at the playground! Remember? :)

Tilting my head, I stare at the screen. Should I go? He's been so cold to me lately... maybe this is his way of apologising? Straightening, I quickly type out a reply, then sit back and stare out the window. Familiar scenery flashes by me, and I take a deep, shuddering breath as I wonder what I'll find at the playground. After the events of the past two weeks, it scares me to think about my friend. Will our friendship ever be the same? It's one of the very few times that we've ever had a serious misunderstanding, and I don't like to think that this could change our relationship. I turn my attention back to his message. It seems like Min Woo forgave me. He even put a smiley face there! And the guys also said that he seemed real excited about something, earlier. Smiling absently, I decide to act normal towards him. 

"... Skye?"

At the sound of my friend's name, I turn back to Kwang Min, who was talking to me. "Sorry?"

"Where's Skye?"

I shrug. "Her parents didn't allow her to come over because of her bad leg. They were afraid she'd exert herself. She said that she saw the live performance on television, though. She said you did a great job!"

He smiles and sits back in his seat silently. Young Min and I exchange glances - it's uncharacteristic of Kwang Min to act this way. Then my brother's gaze sharpens, and he smirks. Raising an eyebrow, he asks me a silent question, and I grin back. Turning on Kwang Min now, we start teasing him about Skye.

"You like her, don't you!" Dong Hyun joins in, poking the younger's head.

Kwang Min turns beet-red, and refuses to answer.

"Ooooooooooh!" I taunt, snickering at his expression. "Kwang likes Skye!"

Glaring at me, my brother abruptly stands up and alights from the bus. Belatedly, I realise that we've reached our stop. Hooting with laughter, the boys, Yoo Min and I follow Kwang Min off the bus. He has started walking already, presumably to avoid our teasing. 

"Tch," Young Min complains. "He's no fun."

I playfully whack his shoulder. "Neither are you."

Hyun Seong laughs at our antics, herding us home like a shepherd does his sheep. We chat almost all the way, and eventually Kwang Min drops back to rejoin us, carefully regarding us to ensure that he won't get embarrassed again.

As we walk past the turning to the playground, I hesitate. "You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up later!"

Dong Hyun raises a hand to acknowledge me. "If you find Min Woo, tell him to come over!"

"Alright!"

Turning, I take a tentative step on the path towards the playground. My heartbeat quickens, and my cheeks flush with warmth. I dread what I'll find at the playground, but at the same time I'm excited to see what Min Woo has in store for me. For some reason I get a sense that whatever it is, nothing will be the same after this...

It starts drizzling a few seconds before the playground comes into view. Stopping short, I look in the direction of the playground - and I'm seized by apprehension. The raindrops fall into my hair, tickling my scalp and running down my face. Encouraged by the coolness of the rain, I step forward slowly. A light feather-like substance falls onto the tip of my nose, and I squint to see a snowflake. Glancing up, I realise that snow has mingled with the rain. 

First snow. It's a magical feeling.

My heart beats faster than I've ever felt it beating, and I summon up all my courage to take myself into view of the playground.

At first I'm overwhelmed. Balloons of all colours are floating around, and I'm too distracted by them to realise what's underneath.

"Geum Min!" Min Woo calls, attracting my attention to him.

I don't think I'll ever forget that view of him - surrounded by a rainbow of balloons, smiling sweetly at me, the image of perfection. Wind blows gently through his hair, making it float and bounce. Snow has landed on it, and the white amongst the brown looks cute. He's smiling at me, looking really happy. Slowly he stretches his arm out to me and beckons, amusement in his eyes. I realise then that I've been gaping at him like an idiot, and I hurriedly shut my mouth and move towards him.

Gesturing around him, I ask, "What's all this for?"

He smiles. "Remember that surprise I had for you?"

I nod. "I thought you gave me a ring already!"

"There's more," he says, winking.

And with that, he brings out what he was holding behind his back, a small bouquet of beautiful flowers. I gasp.

"I know they're not roses - I thought roses would be too typical for something like this. So I got you these instead."

To my alarm, I feel tears prick the corners of my eyes. I struggle to hold them at bay and keep my voice steady as I say, "No, Minwoo, these are perfect."

He extends the balloons and the bouquet to me, his nerves making his hands shake ever-so-slightly. "So, Jo Geum Min."

I look up at him, into those familiar eyes that I know so well. They're filled with warmth, and somehow the sight of them puts me at ease. Maybe the sight of me makes him relax too, because his voice doesn't shake as he speaks next:

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

Nothing I try to do stops the tears from breaking the barrier and sliding down my face. 

"Yes, No Minwoo, I will be your girlfriend!"

His smile widens into a grin, and he holds his arms out. I throw my arms around him as he curls his own around my waist. 

"You don't know how happy I am to hear that."

Laughing, I brush my tears away impatiently and take the flowers from him. "These are beautiful. Everything about this is perfect!"

Min Woo looks shyly at me and smiles as he takes my hand. In his other hand, he holds the balloons, and in my other I hold the flowers. In between us are our grasped hands. As a warm feeling engulfs me, I look to the pink-streaked sky and smile as snowflakes float down onto our entwined hands. 

This is perfect.

A/n:

This brings me to the end of JTSF~ It's been over a year since this started, but I'm proud of myself for finishing it. Well of course it's not entirely done, I mean the twins haven't debuted yet! So there'll be a sequel for sure. I'll be posting it up soon, once I'm ready to write the next chapter and all. 

Thank you for bearing with my not-at-all-frequent updates, and for supporting me through all this. I hope I made you smile and laugh while reading this, especially at the end :)

Hope you subscribe to the sequel! And please comment to tell me how you found this story! I'll still be editing it although it's complete :) BTW sorry about there being 3 chapter 29s LOL

Lots of love, 

Ces :D