-- Yoo Min

I clasp hands with Jeong Min as we stroll leisurely away from my house. He looks really good in a simple outfit – just jeans and a decent green tee-shirt. I try to calm my nerves as we walk to the place he wants to take me to. Somehow, I can’t keep myself from worrying about what will happen during the date. I want it to be something we can look back on and remember as really sweet, and one of the most memorable dates we ever have. But I don’t want it to be memorable in an embarrassing way.

It has to be perfect.

I’m so caught up in my thoughts that I don’t notice Jeong Min staring at me intensely. “Are you worried?” he asks.

“Actually, I’m a little nervous,” I say honestly.

He squeezes my hand. “Don’t be, everything will be fine!”

“How do you know?”

“I know because you have me! I’m the awesome Jeong Min, how can anything not be perfect when I’m around?”

I laugh at him. “Things will only be perfect, because I’m here, you pabo!”

He pouts. “I guess so, yeah.”

“Aww, you’re so sweet!”

“And that’s why you love me…” he jokes.

Unknowingly, I reply, “Yes, that’s why!”

Then I stop to stare at him as I realize what we’ve both said. Jeong Min, mouth agape, also looks stunned at what we’ve said by accident. I decide to reach over and shut his mouth, and we both grip each others’ hands tighter as we continue walking in silence – not talking about what just happened. I know he thinks it’s sweet too, and I can tell he’s happy about what I said. In turn, I feel glad for making him happy.

“Yoo Min-ah,” he trails off.

“Neh, Oppa?”

He stops me and turns to face me. “I love you, too.”

I blush furiously and tug him forward. He chuckles, and it’s so obvious that he’s laughing at my reaction. Surprisingly, I don’t mind at all. This feels like what we should be doing. Smiling with him, we start throwing jokes around and talking like usual on the way to the place we’ll be eating dinner today. He takes me down a cute little side road and we cross the main road to get there as soon as it’s free of cars.

“Oppa, where are we going?” I ask, for the millionth time tonight.

He grins back at me, “You’ll see.”

“But I want to know now!” I pout, knowing he’ll give in immediately.

He turns away, unexpectedly. “Don’t use aegyeo on me! You'll see when we get there!”

“Oppa,” I wail insistently.

Jeong Min turns to me and places a finger on my lips. “Don’t do that! I want to give you a perfect surprise!”

“Aww, Oppa you’re so sweet…”

“I know, right?”

“Yah,” I whack him as he snickers. “You don’t have to be so arrogant about it!”

He shrugs. “I know you’ll love me anyway, so what’s the point of not bragging to the whole wide world about how absolutely awesome I am?”

“Oppa, now you’re being impossible.”

“Doesn’t matter. You’ll still love me because I’m perfect despite my flaws.”

“That makes no sense.”

“When the amazing Jeong Min says it, it does, arasseo? Now stop arguing with me and let’s find that place…”

I glare daggers at him, folding my arms. “Are you serious? We’re lost? I should have let Kwang Min oppa continue to threaten you!”

“No! Look, stop panicking arasseo?” he replies, turning me around slowly. “There you are. We’re eating there tonight.”

“But that’s like my favourite shop!” I cheer, flinging my arms around him.

He smiles. “That’s why I brought you here, pabo.”

“Let’s go…” I start to drag him inside.

“No,” he states, holding me back. “First, you have to say ‘Jeong Min-oppa is the best!’ and give me a kiss on the cheek.”

I roll my eyes and do what he asked me to. The kiss is swift, but it still makes both of us blush like crazy. Jeong Min slides his hand into mine and guides me into the café that we are to have dinner in. It’s a quaint roadside café that has a cheerful inside during the day – at night the interior seems more romantic. The little restaurant sells the best western food around, and everything on the menu is very delicious despite also being cheap. Jeong Min could not have picked a better place.

We are guided by a friendly-looking waitress to a two-seater table in the corner, near a window. Outside, we can see the lights of Seoul and people walking up and down the sidewalk, passing us by as they go about their own businesses. It’s so peaceful that I relax immediately. The waitress leaves us alone with the menus to decide what to order while she roams around the café taking other peoples’ orders and serving food.

“What are you going to order?” Jeong Min asks, scanning through the menu.

I glance down the list too, noticing that they have a variety of dishes to choose from – sandwiches, pasta, steaks and seafood. Everything seems interesting. But the pasta seems even more so, and I decide to go for that.

Glancing up at him, I answer, “I’m probably going to go for the pasta!”

“Me too,” he smiles.

Suddenly, I find that we are staring at each other – into each other’s eyes. Everything seems to fade around us, and his head is framed by fairy lights – the lights of the city playing on the glass behind him. A curve traces his lips, and I find my heart beating faster. Suddenly I realize that I’m smiling too. Our hands reach out and find each other’s of their own accord as our gazes lock.

“Would you like to order now?”

The timely arrival of the waitress ruins our moment, and I turn my head down, fighting the blush that rises to my face. Jeong Min clears his throat, and calmly orders what he wants. When she turns to me, I also tell her what I want, and she primly takes our menus and walks to the kitchen to drop off our order. Jeong Min’s hand reaches out for mine again from under the table, and I grasp it happily. We both look out the window and admire the view of nighttime Seoul. It’s beautiful.

“Isn’t it pretty?” I ask him, looking at him to gauge his reaction.

It’s me he’s looking at as he says, “Yes, the view is beautiful.”

I look away, feeling the blood return to my cheeks. Jeez, this guy is really making me blush. I’ve never known myself to turn so red before! And not this often, either. There must be something special about being with Jeong Min.

We start another conversation while waiting for our food. The ambience is really good, and it makes us feel more at ease with each other, despite it being a public place. The soothing light auburn colour of the walls, and the red trim, provide for the intensity we experience as we just chat. But the music, light and easy, keeps us talking just like that. It’s so comfortable, I feel as if we can stay there forever and not get bored of it.

Even when the food comes, and we start eating, the banter doesn’t stop. And all the while, our left hands are clasped tight under the table – the only sign to any outsider that we are more than friends. Jeong Min and I have been good friends for as long as we’ve known each other, but that blossomed into more than friendship early on. And we knew it, too, it’s just that we chose to let our feelings grow and mature at their own pace. It paid off – since now, after a long wait for the silent agreement that it was time to bring our feelings into the open – we are now dating, and it’s the sweetest feeling ever.

Hence why we are so comfortable with the idea of this being a date. It just feels natural after waiting so long.

We are meant to be together.

-- Geum Min

Youngkwang, Skye and I are in my room, just hanging out. I’ve just taken a shower and I’m sitting around on my bed, just generally being lazy as I wait for Young Min to come back so we can start having more fun. My wet hair hangs in front of my eyes, and I have fun trying to blow it out of my face. Kwang Min is sitting at my desk watching Skye do her English homework. Speaking of that, I get interested and walk over to see how good her English is. Tip-toeing, I peer over her shoulder with Kwang Min and watch her pen move across the page. She’s just writing out the short diary entry we’re supposed to do as homework.

I read the first paragraph and my eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. Her English is much better than most Koreans I know, but that’s probably because she’s not from around here. I notice Kwang Min furrowing his brow as he reads her story. His English is quite terrible, much worse than mine or Yoo Min’s. He’s not bothered, though, because he claims he would never have to use English and knowing fluent Korean is good enough. I always tell him that if he learns English he’ll get more fans, so he has been trying harder lately.

“Skye, your English really isn’t bad!” I compliment, startling her.

Skye smiles at me. “Gomawo! But I really need to improve on my Korean!”

“We can help you there,” Kwang Min says, grinning at her.

Just then, Young Min bursts through the door with his towel in hand. “I’m done!” he calls.

I roll my eyes at him. “Young Min! You forgot to dry your hair again!”

“So did you!” he says, glaring at me.

I put my hands on my hips. “You’ll catch a cold!”

He steps towards me and lunges for my head with his towel. I sit down – hard – on the floor from the impact and I’m too shocked to retaliate as Young Min ferociously dries my hair with the towel. When he’s satisfied, he steps away with a grin.

“Gosh, is that what it feels like whenever Eomma does it? I don’t know if I have any hair left…” I moan.

Young Min inspects his towel. “Oh no,” he groans. “I’ve got Geum Min-hair on my towel! Ew!”

I shake my head – Kwang Min and Skye laugh. Sticking my tongue out at Young Min, I slowly climb back to my feet.  A beeping sound surprises us all, and my blonde brother drops the towel immediately, diving for his phone which is hidden under my blanket.

“Oh no,” he whispers, staring in mortification at the screen. “Its… her.”

How dramatic. “Young Min! What or who’s been texting you?”

He clutches his phone closer to his chest for an instant, contemplating whether or not to show us the message. Eventually he sighs and holds the phone out to me so I can take it and read the new message. Grinning excitedly, I swipe the phone out of his hand and read the message.

‘Annyeong! I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me tomorrow at the mall, Oppa!’

I look back up to stare at Young Min. "'Oppa'? Who sent this to you?"

Kwang Min stands up and walks behind me to study the message as well. His twin's biting his lip on the bed, looking extremely out of place. He refuses to look up, but keeps staring insistently at his nails.

"Wow, you have another crazy stalker fan who must have found your number! Or is it someone from your class?" Kwang Min asks. "Why is your life suddenly so interesting?"

Skye's on my other side and reading the message too. She reaches out and taps the screen a few times, before a dialogue box pops up with a few words on it. I gasp.

"Young Min, have you been getting texts from SNSD's Yoona?"

Kwang Min does a double-take, clutching his heart as he stares at the screen in disbelief. His mouth opens to form words but he is speechless as he gestures uselessly at the phone and then at his elder brother.

“Y-you…”

Young Min blushes. “Yes, Kwang. Now what should I reply to her? Yes?”

Both Skye and I laugh in unison. “You’re so dumb,” I mention.

“She called you Oppa!” Skye says. “And she’s older than you, isn’t she?”

Due to my two brother’s insistence, Skye has been listening to Korean songs. They introduced her first to SNSD, then to Big Bang (since Kwang Min adores them). Yoo Min and I have yet to introduce her to Super Junior, our favourite. Anyway, Skye now knows everything about SNSD, especially Yoona, since Young Min's her biggest fan.

“Age is not a matter,” he grumbles.

“But the thing is,” Skye clarifies, “She can’t mean you if she’s calling you ‘Oppa’, right?”

Kwang Min stares at her. “So she’s got the wrong number?”

“Probably,” I confirm.

Young Min collapses on the bed. “That’s perfect. Just, perfect.”

Skye’s eyes light up, however. She approaches my devastated brother with a determined look, and she sits down beside him, taking his phone. He glances over warily.

“You can use this to your advantage," she mutters.

Young Min suddenly turns to her with eyes double their size in his sockets. “How?” he demands.

“Just act all mysterious and get her to guess who you are! She’ll be lured in for sure. You have to be charismatic, though.”

My brother grinned. “I am the Prince of Charisma too! I will be fine!”

Kwang Min coughed. “Is that why Hyun Min was saying your charisma was so – awesome… today?”

Young Min glared at him.

“What happened?” Skye asks me as the twins start a round of bickering.

“Hyun Min was just kidding. He knows my charisma is daebak.”

“Really? You just don’t want to admit that even a five-year-old knows that your 'charisma' is hopeless.”

I ignore them and just tell her about the incident. “This morning, Young Min walked up to our little brother Hyun Min and asked whether his charisma was good. Hyun Min just stuck his tongue out in response and informed him that he was a failure. So of course Young Min got annoyed and started threatening him, and they both started bickering. But since Hyun Min is that awesome, he won against his hyung. Young Min was asking why he thought so, and the younger boy replied that even his own charisma was better since Young Min can’t wink. So he got mad, saying that both of them are really similar so the standards of their charisma should be the same. Young Min then asked Hyun Min to wink, when he asked Young Min to wink. Both of them tried to showcase their failed winks.”

Skye’s laughing uncontrollably by the time I finish. “Oh my goodness Young Min… I thought you can wink?”

Kwang Min speaks up then. “He can only wink when he trains his eye to wink.”

“Are you serious?!”

“Yes, hard to believe, isn’t it?” I mention.

Skye grins and stares straight at Young Min as she winks – first her left eye, then her right. Then she proceeds to wink in beat with the music that is blasting from his laptop. I feel my jaw slacken, and my two brothers and I let our jaws drop open as we watch her play with her winks with so much ease.

“I’m jealous!” Young Min wails.

“ANDWAE!” Kwang Min yells.

I pout and shake her gently. “I want to be able to wink at least one eye! How do you do it?”

She shakes her head to motion that she doesn’t know, winking all the while.

Young Min quickly gets tired of her act. “Tell me how to get Yoona to fall in love with me!”

We both sit down on other sides of him and prepare to give him top-notch information. “You have to seem extremely mysterious so that she feels attracted to know more about you,” I start.

“She has to be intrigued,” Skye continues. “When she gets interested enough, she’ll want to know more about you, which is stage two of our operation! You have to ask us for help on what information you give her, because she’ll like to know random things about you –”

I pick up, “While the things you tell her have to be manly at the same time. So you desperately need our help.”

“That’s the first two stages, and if you make it through there, you have a chance!” Skye cheers. “Hwaiting!” she motivates Young Min and pats his shoulder.

He stares cluelessly between the two of us. “That's so complicated.”

Skye sighs impatiently and takes the phone out of his hands, hurriedly typing out a short message. ‘I think you have the wrong number, but it’s fine. Would you like to guess who I am?’

“That’s it?” Young Min asks, incredulous.

I nod in reply and help him press 'send' since I know he’ll sit there and debate with himself for hours if I leave him to it. “Yah, why did you send it so soon?! I wasn’t sure I even wanted to send it!” he wails behind me.

Skye pokes him. “Do you or do you not want to get to meet her?”

Young Min nods solemnly. Skye shrugs, “Then, you should trust us!”

“I trust you,” he says, “But I don’t trust her.”

“For the record, Jo Young Min, I don’t trust you either,” I bitingly reply.

Kwang Min shakes his head at me. “What happened to respecting your Oppas and using honorifics like a good little girl? You should learn from Skye – you see how polite she is?”

Her head whips around at the mention of her name. “Kwang Min, I have never called you, Young Min, or anyone else for that matter, 'Oppa'.”

“You could have just played along,” he pouts.

I shake my head. Young Min shrieks just at the same moment, and the other three of us turn to pin stares on him. He glances up sheepishly and points, victorious, at his phone.

“Young, did you just shriek?!” Kwang Min asks, stunned.

Young Min glares daggers at his twin. “I am the mighty charismatic Young Min – I never shriek!”

“Then we just heard the ghost that haunts your house?” Skye asks, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

Now it’s her turn to be stared at, which makes her turn a faint shade of pink. “Who shrieked, then?” she alters.

Young Min ignores her and holds the phone out to me. I beckon towards my friend, and Kwang Min invites himself over to read the message.

‘O.O You’re not Jonghyun oppa? Mianhamnida! Who are you?’

This time, it’s me who types in the quick reply. ‘Guess. ^^’

Kwang Min chuckles at the short but impactful message, which attracts Young Min’s attention. He reads the message over my shoulders.

“If this works, I will be in your debt forever,” he says.

Just then, his phone sounds in my hand. We all hold our breaths as we read her reply, ‘Minho, this isn’t a joke! Keke why do you love teasing me so much ^^;’

‘It isn’t Minho! Try again! Hwaiting!’ Skye replies.

‘O.O Not Minho? Molla! Maybe you could give me a hint? Please?’

‘I’m a singer in my group. ^o^’

‘Daesung?’

Young Min snatches the phone away and laughs. This time, he types out, ‘Mweo? Ani! If you can’t guess, I guess you’ll never know… Ppyong~’

“Wow!” Skye remarks. “Young Min you really got the hang of this!”

Kwang Min and I nod, agreeing with her. Young Min looks satisfied. We hear a knock on the door at that instant, and we all turn to find Eomma framed in the doorway.

“Skye?”

“Neh?”

“Your mother just called me and I informed her that you’re here. She’s asking whether you want to stay here for the night or –”

“NEH!” everyone except Skye yells. Kwang Min and Young Min each grab one of her arms, suprising her.

Eomma laughs. “Arasseo then,” she agrees, turning back to the phone in her hand and leaving the room.

I jump up and down, intensely excited. “Sleepover!”

“YES!”

Young Min grins widely from ear to ear. “Now you can help me woo Yoona!”

Kwang Min whacks his twin. “Yah, do you know how selfish you are?”

“I don’t care! Yoona!”

Skye and I are too busy celebrating the good luck to notice Youngkwang bickering away again. “You can sleep on my bed!” I suggest.

Young Min turns around. “Then where will I sleep?”

“They sleep in your room?” Skye asks.

“Neh, normally since they don’t get much time to spend at home, we do all sleep together when they are. You two can sleep on Yoo Min’s bed or on the floor,” I reply, sticking my tongue out at them.

And amidst all the ruckus, Young Min’s phone rings.

‘Are you Mir?! <3 you are awesome!’

Young Min looks heartbroken.