Warning: Has not been beta'd or edited for enhancements.

In a working environment like his, Siwon faces a lot of pressure from all sides. However, having gone through such a long and rather stressful education, Siwon has learned to separate his personal life from his occupational life quite well.

For instance, he doesn’t bring home his worries for his patients, nor does he carry around the initial depressions and anxiety of watching patients suffer and, sometimes, even pass away before him.

Outside of work though, Siwon is just another ordinary, workaholic type of guy.

Therefore, when Song Qian suggested that he request a sudden vacation from the hospital he works at and join her in Japan, he really was at a loss of what to do.

“I think she might like you,” Sungmin, Siwon’s university buddy analyzes when they’re having lunch together on a work day. “I honestly don’t see why else she would want to see you so bad.”

Siwon thinks Sungmin just doesn’t understand—Sungmin doesn’t know that Song Qian used to be his best friend and that Song Qian is currently working hard to bring her old, laid back lifestyle back into her currently chaotic life.

In a way, Siwon, as well as the other friends of theirs from the young school days, is an escape for her.

“Do you think I should go?” Siwon insists on asking.

Sungmin laughs. “Why not? Japan’s an awesome place to be.”

Ultimately, Sungmin played the role of Song Qian’s anonymous helper. Siwon isn’t very sure yet whether or not he’s grateful for it.

Song Qian takes Siwon out into the busy streets of Tokyo in the striving evenings but every time they approach a shop or turn to a food stand, she stares at him with her large, watery eyes.

“You don’t speak the language?” Siwon returns a look of disbelief to her.

She shakes her head. “I’m always here for work and when I’m working I have a translator.”

Siwon suddenly feels a headache. “I don’t speak Japanese either…”

For some reason, she just can’t help but want to chuckle at his struggling expressions. “English?”

“Medical terminology I’m great at, daily and conventional conversational English I’m still at the basics,” Siwon confesses honestly.

“Great!” Song Qian grins. “Already better than me!”

Of course, Siwon doesn’t know that she’s only joking. She would probably be the field’s biggest joke if she couldn’t even speak basic level English and a bit of every other language that she comes into contact with.

Her job does consist majorly of public relations, after all.

Siwon does notice though that Song Qian has a very natural habit of holding onto something or someone whenever she’s out and about.

The last time they went shopping together in Beijing, she would constantly drag him around by the wrist. When she wasn’t dragging him around, she was hugging her purse to her chest. If she wasn’t doing either, like now, she would hook her arm around his.

She’s so natural about it that Siwon thinks it might make things awkward if he tried to pull away.

“Hey, do you like sports?” Song Qian suddenly asks.

Siwon is a little caught off guard. “K-kind of? I watch basketball and soccer, sometimes.”

“When you’re not working, what do you like to do for entertainment?” She continues.

“The gym, movies, and sometimes catching up with friends,” he says.

Song Qian smiles. “Donghae?”

“He’s not my only friend,” Siwon argues.

She nods. “That’s right, there’s me, too.”

He’s not sure whether he should be crying or laughing. “I have friends, real friends, friends that don’t date back to the old ancient days of history.”

“Are you calling me old?” Song Qian feigns a pout at him.

Siwon thinks his heart might have stopped for a whole second long this time around.

She hadn’t expected for Siwon to be so straightforward, to be honest.

“You look really tired. Have you not gotten much sleep lately?”

Bringing the tips of her fingers to the skin just below her eyes, Song Qian pats the smooth surface of it cautiously. “Is it really obvious? Do I look horrible?”

Siwon laughs a little, grabbing her hands and pulling them away from her eyes. “No, you look fine, just tired.”

And, honestly, Siwon wishes he could honestly say that she never used to look so tired before. However, Song Qian is the busy body type that never really settles down, so, really, he should be accustomed to this.

Lately, he seems to be thinking about things like this more and more often.

“I really am old,” she sighs, “my body just doesn’t take things as well as it used to.”

Siwon shakes his head and places his palm on the top of her head, bending forward and staring into her transparent eyes. “You look great, so stop worrying about it. I was just a little worried, as a friend.”

“This might sound a little odd to you but you seriously just sounded a lot like Wu Yifan,” Song Qian shudders, pulling away from him and rubbing her arms as she continues down another light lit decorated street.

He catches up to her. “That name sounds familiar.”

“It should be,” she nods.

Siwon smiles. “Does he worry about you a lot?”

When she stops to raise an eyebrow at him, Siwon clears his throat and begins to scratch the back of his neck again.

“Sorry, was that too personal?”

Song Qian laughs, hooking her arm around his again as they start walking again. “No worries. If we’re going to be friends, then that means you’ll be seeing plenty of Wu Yifan, probably until the day I die, so you’ll learn about him soon enough.”

Ever since high school, Choi Siwon has made Song Qian feel comfortable.

He’s a little awkward, yes, but he’s prone to details has a good sense of humor. Siwon doesn’t take anything too seriously and he’s always so easy to be around that Song Qian doesn’t feel any pressure around him.

That’s why, back then, it didn’t take very much effort on her part for them to become good friends.

Even now, now that they’re both adults and have changed so much through the tests of time and space, Siwon still makes her feel at ease.

There are things that he may say, or ways he may look at her, that throws her off balance sometimes but Siwon is an extreme gentleman and that alone makes the whole situation a lot easier to pass by than it would be if the same thing happened between her and someone else.

So, when Song Qian takes Siwon out on trips, all she’s really trying to do is bring him out to see the world. And when she watches him, observing his reactions and smiling at how silly he can be, it’s not out of ridicule but of adoration.

In her field of work, such genuine responses are hard to come by, even on her.

“Do you want to drink? My coworkers were telling me about a nice bar around here.”

Siwon considers it. “I’ve been trying to cut down on drinking.”

“Afraid of getting drunk?” She teases.

“I’m extremely tolerable,” he refutes.

Song Qian laughs. “Oh, really?”

“You don’t believe it?” He asks.

She immediately shakes her head. “Of course I believe you! Why wouldn’t I?”

Not very convincing, Siwon thinks, but he lets the matter rest. “Hey, didn’t you—”

“Vic!”

A faint voice catches Song Qian’s attention and she swerves around on her heel and glances in several directions before someone catches up to her and grins widely.

“You walk too fast,” the young girl complains. “I saw you down the block but you didn’t hear me!”

Song Qian laughs, patting the girl on the back soothingly as she takes several deep breaths. “Sorry, Luna, I wasn’t expecting to run into anyone familiar, you know?”

Luna purses her lips. “Is this the friend you were talking about?” She asks, tilting her head towards Siwon.

Nodding, Song Qian gestures a hand towards him and says, “Luna, this is Siwon. Siwon, this is Luna, my advertising director.”

“Boyfriend?” Luna smirks.

Song Qian smiles kindly but pinches the small girl’s cheek. “Best friend, silly.”

----

A/N: Yay for Episode 1 of The Ultimate Group!!! I miss Victoria so much ;P