He put on the sunglasses and hat – his usual disguise accessories. If it was in Korea, he might have to put on more. In Japan, privacy was highly regarded, so he could comfortably buy a bottle of mineral water in the nearest convenience store. Yet he had to take caution at times, paparazzi was a creative writer and illustrator for even the most normal picture. He was going to meet Jaejoong hyung for their long desired drinking session. He crossed the street, looking left and right, and made it to the entrance of the club.

Once he stepped in, the music and smoke intrigued him. It’s been a long time since he clubbed. He really missed the wonderful times dancing wildly with others and drinking like nobody’s business. Now that he’s more popular, it’s quite impossible to repeat what he used to do.

As he walked towards the room he’d booked under his manager’s name, a person whizzed past him, brushing against his shoulders. He would have ignored it and continued walking. It wasn’t wise to cause trouble. Yet he could not help but stop and turn to see who the person was. The scent had captured him.

“Hey,” He held onto the shoulder of the source, making her turn to face him, “you!”

His jaws opened and stayed that way even after the woman had run off and disappeared into the crowd.

It couldn’t be…could it?

.

The next moment he was pushing around on the dance stage, his eyes rummaging the entire place, searching for the one lady who stopped his heart for a minute. No matter how he tiptoed and ignored the excited gasps of some fans who spotted him, the lady could not be found. He was sure he didn’t imagine it. The scent was identical. Only she had it.

Where did you go? Why do you always come and go, leaving me behind?
He persisted in his hunt and then he saw a familiar shadow close to the DJ stand. Panting, he elbowed his way through once more towards it, in spite of the glaring white light shining into his eyes. He felt his vision blur into the realm of whiteness.

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“Hyung! Wake up! It’s already eleven o’clock!”

Yoochun screamed and pushed away the maknae.

“Are you trying to make me blind, Shim Changmin?” The groggy man growled menacingly. That idiot had pried open his left eye and shone torchlight at it.

“Sorry hyung, Junsu left a note telling me to do so. He said it’d wake up for sure.”

“That bastard,” cursed the elder one. It had been some time since he swore but he was just about to reach her! The one he’s been waiting all this time, just to see her face again. And Junsu’s retarded idea spoilt everything! Now his dream’s shattered!

Reluctantly, he threw the pillow aside and advanced towards the bathroom for a wash-up. It was going to be a long day, yet again.

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Junsu swung in his chair from left to right while waiting for Jaejoong to return from the washroom. It was his best show by far. His imitation of a girl was so good that a thread on that topic was formed almost immediately after it was broadcasted. He felt more confident of his on-air performance. The other members were typically doing better than him; he was the only one who made the atmosphere awkward.

However, in the earlier show, Yunho and Jaejoong hyung did not perform as well as they usually did. They sounded fatigued, lacking energy which was essential to keep a radio show lively. It was, then, Junsu’s turn to shine and he did it pretty well.

Junsu speculated the reasons why the other two were so restless. Jaejoong probably hadn’t recovered fully from the side effects of alcohol. Yunho might have practiced dance by himself again the previous night. Whatever the reasons were, Junsu felt that he should do something to motivate his hyungs.

Just as he was thinking hard of what to do, a knock interrupted his thoughts and as the door opened, a recognizable face popped up with a smile.

“Aki-san!” Junsu’s dolphin-like voice never failed to amaze Aki.

She beamed again and handed him 5 VIP tickets to the musical she’s in. She hadn’t known how she managed to muster the courage to do it and she was somewhat relieved that it was Junsu she’s going to pass the tickets to. If it had been HIM, she might not even dare to knock on the glass door.

Junsu, in his usual cheerful and friendly self, accepted the tickets gratefully and promised that they would watch her perform. He had liked that girl since they first met in the music show. She was so gorgeous and talented but she only took pride in her work, never herself. To Junsu, Aki felt like a combination of the DBSK members: His fullest efforts put into each performance; a drop of Yoochun’s charisma; a pinch of Changmin’s wit; the power found in Yunho’s dance moves; and a tinge of Jaejoong’s tenderness. They might not have interacted much but Junsu knew that Aki was a good friend worth making. His intuition about people was never wrong and there was no doubt that Aki was a precious one.

“Oh Aki-san! I’ve been wanting to ask you but I always seem to forget about it!”

“Yes, Junsu-san? What is it?”

“Shall we exchange numbers? It’ll be easier to contact you especially when you’re going to help appear as guest in the concerts!”

“Oh…haha. Sure!” Without hesitation, Aki fished out the mobile phone from her bag and began keying in his contact number.

“…Aki-san?” Another voice was heard from behind, a deep one.

She spun around and saw Yunho with a puzzled expression. She felt like laughing at his funny face but she managed to control herself. The other party might mistook her as being rude.

“Good afternoon Yunho-san! I’m in a musical right now and I hope that you guys can come watch me perform if you have the time,” she said it formally. It was different between Yunho and Junsu. She could speak very comfortably with Junsu but Yunho was like some authority figure to her. It would need some time before she could communicate with him the same way she did so with Junsu.

“No problem, we’ll definitely be there to support you!” Yunho’s smile reassured her and she felt slightly more at ease standing beside the leader.

“Jya… mata ne!” Aki wished the disappointment in her voice wasn’t palpable; she had purposely raised it to sound more jovial than she actually was. She’d even slowed her pace in hope to see Jaejoong around. Yet she could not catch even a glimpse of him before she left for her next show.

Maybe it’s not fated, she thought.

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And indeed it wasn’t fated. Just like a classic scene in a drama, the male lead had to arrive when the female character left in a car.

“Jaejoong!” Junsu’s loud voice cut off Jaejoong’s deep thoughts and the latter responded by looking up at him, the gaze soon shifted to the younger boy’s hands.

“What’s that?” The tickets in Junsu’s hands were too conspicuous to miss.

“Musical! It’s VIP tickets so we get to choose the date to attend and we get the best seats! I haven’t watched a musical for years! Let’s discuss with Manager now!”

“Woah! Who’s so generous?”

“Aki-san! It’s a pity you didn’t get to meet her, she was here just a while ago…” Junsu replied, “she’s a really nice girl. Other people send their assistants but she delivers tickets herself…”

Yunho tapped on Jaejoong’s shoulders, indicating that they should leave the room for the next show. He nodded and tagged behind the other two members.

Yeah yeah yeah. The whole world loves Aki. She’s perfect, wasn’t she? And he’d made a fool out of himself in front of her last night. It was somewhat a relief that he lingered long enough in the washroom such that they didn’t meet. He might have been too embarrassed to say anything.

However, it was essential to explain to Aki. He had to, or else she might tell others of his unglamorous side. The musical would be an opportunity for him to do so.

“Oh I can’t wait!” Junsu continued harping on the musical; he’d always been interested in such things.

“Yeah, me too…” Jaejoong added, obviously focused on a different reason.

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I was too lazy to update, sorry about that. >< Please don't abandon Esoteric Amour!! XD

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