Seorin looked around the rather large house, devoid of any colour on the walls or possessions in the rooms. She gazed upon the giant white canvas of walls, doors, and rooms around her, drawing out details and painting in her mind. Laying out decorations and arranging invisible furniture, her eyes darted about the area, thinking up different concepts for her new client's home.

Struck with inspiration, she pulled out a sketchbook from her purse and several pens. Taking a seat on the floor "mermaid style" with her knees together and legs tucked to the side to keep her black skirt in place, she began sketching designs for the interior. She tucked a stray whisp of her chestnut brown hair behind her ear as she busily sketched out her visions.

A throat cleared behind her and she turned to see her client, a Mr. Kim Jongwoon, standing a couple meters away. Donned in sunglasses and a hat amidst the rest of his casual attire, he always looked as if he was trying to hide who he was, which was true. It would not be easy to be in his shoes, hiding his appearance so that fans would not recognize him. It was obvious to Seorin from the beginning who this man was, none other than Yesung of Super Junior. However, her lips were sealed on that note. With everything going on in Super Junior lately, the last thing she wanted to do was add to the burden he carried.

It was common knowledge that Super Junior was going to disband after the release of the new album. Their "Goodbye Stage" was going to be their final stage. After all the years of hard work and dedication and years of members missing for military service, it was time to end it. ELF had steadily declined through the years, turning to other fandoms, completely abandoning Super Junior altogether. With the lack of support, SM made it clear that things were going to change and members slowly began to have more and more schedules apart from their group activities.

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, Seorin stood up, straightening her skirt with one hand while balancing her sketchbook and pens in the other. "Good evening, Mr. Kim!" she said quietly with a smile. "How are you?"

A faint smile crossed Yesung's face. "Fine, thank you. And you, Miss Ahn?"

"Very well, thank you," she responded politely.

From behind his sunglasses he gazed at her, his eyes falling gently over her light brown eyes that seemed to look like gold at times, especially when they lit up with a smile. "So," he continued. "Have you come up with any ideas for the house?" he asked curiously.

"Yes," she replied, holding out the sketchbook for him to see. "Tell me what you think. I can always adjust it, if need be."

He took the notebook in hand and began pouring over the pages. A grin played across the lower half of his face. "I like it." He handed her back the notebook. "Thank you again for helping me with this. I have never lived in a house this big all by myself before. For over ten years now, I've lived with my closest friends, but--" His cell phone rang, cutting him off from continuing his words. "Excuse me," he said. "I have to take this. I'll leave you to your work." He turned to leave, a frown upon his face with his shoulders slightly hunched forward.

Seorin's eyes followed him as he left the house. She felt sorry for him, knowing that it must be hard on him.

****

"I don't think this is such a good idea, Miss Ahn," he said, shaking his head slightly. "I can't--" He let out a breath. "It would be better if you pick out all the furniture completely."

"You don't want to have any say over what furniture you want in your house?" she asked skeptically, raising her eyebrows. 

He shook his head, still hiding his face behind his sunglasses. "Well, not exactly..." He bit his lower lip, trying to figure out what to say.

Seorin shook her head. He's probably worried someone will recognize him. "Don't worry," she replied shyly with a smile. "I'll be there to help. It's not like you will be there alone to pick out furniture." Her eyes looked at him reassuringly as if telling him that he could trust her.

He looked at her from behind the sunglasses, wishing that he did not have to worry. How can I not worry? She doesn't even know who I am. She doesn't know what I have to deal with on a daily basis.

Looking at her golden eyes, he felt his resolve weaken. Maybe... Sighing softly, Yesung acquiesed. "Alright. Let's do it."

****

Seorin watched him as he glanced around the place cautiously. This was the fourth store that they had come, and he was still nervous.

"So, Mr. Kim," she began slowly, walking around and gazing at the dinning room tables. "Do you see any you like?"

He shrugged, "I'm not sure." He bit his lower lip as if trying to decide on something. "Jongwoon," he breathed out quietly. "Call me, Jongwoon. There's no need to be formal." He glanced around again as if worried that he gave too much away.

Clearing , she decided to try something else. "So, Jongwoon-ah, you have a lot of family...?"

"Huh?" his eyes widened as he tore his attention from an oak dining table. "W-why do you say that?" he asked nervously.

"You told me," she replied nonchalantly.

"Oh, yeah," he answered, chuckling a little. "I have a lot of brothers..." He smiled, thinking about his hyungs and dongsaengs. "They're all pretty crazy, but they're really kind." His smile slowly grew, transforming to a grin. "There was this one time..."

****

She bent over, taking the lid off of the paint can and pouring the paint into the tray. She rolled the paint roller into the paint and then started painting the walls. 

"Need some help with that, Seorin-ah?" a voice behind her asked warmly. 

Recognizing the voice, she turned, saying, "Sure, since the person I hired to help didn't show up..." She tilted her head slightly, remembering something. "I thought you weren't going to be here today."

"I wasn't," he replied in a somewhat hollow manner. "However, I needed to get away." Taking off his hat and sweatshirt, he set them nearby on the floor, still keeping his sunglasses over his eyes. Grabbing an extra paint roller, he dipped it in the paint and set himself to work. 

As they painted, they chatted about different things. That was the strange thing about Jongwoon, he seemed quiet, but once he warmed up to a person he was really talkative. Seorin was naturally quiet and shy, so she did not mind in the least bit that he talked. In fact, she really enjoyed their talks together and often found herself opening up to him, like on today.

"So, that's why I decided to go into interior design," she said somewhat softly.

"Oh, ok," he responded, smiling, as he continued to paint. "That's pretty cool." He paused for a moment, dipping his roller into the paint again before continuing. "I have to say, you're really talented. Those sketches you showed me are really good." 

"Thanks," she replied with a small smile, the color rising to her face ever so slightly. Even though it was just a simple compliment, it somehow sent butterflies to her stomach. 

Yesung bit his lower lip slightly as he continued to paint. "So, Seorin-ah, what does your boyfriend do for a living?"

She coloured even more. "Oh! I don't have a boyfriend," she said, hoping that her face was not as red as it felt. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh! Uh..." He bent down to get more paint on his paint roller, hiding the embarrassement that clearly could be seen on his face. "I just thought that you would have one, that's all." 

****

The little bell rang, indicating that someone had entered her little office. She looked up from her desk where she had been sketching out some new designs for another client of hers, a Mrs. Oh, who was constantly changing her mind about what she wanted. opened slightly in surprise.

"Jongwoon-ah!" she said, perhaps a little louder than normal, as she turned off the music that was playing from the computer on her desk. "What brings you here? Did you get my message yesterday about how the furniture isn't going to be ready for delivery until tomorrow?" She rushed through her words, her face colouring, though she knew not why. 

Jongwoon smiled at her. "I know. I got the message, but I still wanted to come down here today." 

"Oh?" she replied, feeling a little stupid at the response. 

"Yeah," he answered with a grin. "I don't know why, but I just felt like coming." He sat down in the empty chair by the desk. "Nice water!" he said in English with a cheeky grin before laughing.

She chuckled slightly, used to his rather lame jokes, but liking them all the same. "So, how's everything going?"

"Pretty good, actually," he remarked. "Today has been kind of long, but I feel a lot better coming here." His face seemed to twist slightly when he realized what he had just said aloud. He smiled, quickly changing the subject. "So, what are you working on?" He stood up, bending over the desk to get a better look, his hair falling lazily over his eyes. He brushed his hair out of the way with his fingers. "Is it another concept sketch for Mrs. Oh's house?"

"Yes," Seorin replied with a slight giggle. "I think you're beginning to know my clients a little too well."

"Well, I come here a lot, don't I?" Yesung remarked as he moved over to the other side of the desk, standing next to her so that he would not be looking at it upside down. "It looks good."

"Thanks!" she replied, glad that he liked another one of her sketches. Her mind wandered to what he just said. He does come here a lot, even just to talk about random things. Her heart began to beat faster, seemingly for no apparent reason.

As he looked down at the sketch, his sunglasses slowly began to slide off his face without him noticing. The sunglasses slipped, falling to the table with a loud clatter. 

Yesung stared at the sunglasses in horror for two seconds before fumbling with his hands, scrambling to pick them up and return them to their place on his face.

Seorin saw the look of panic on his face. He's so worried about being found out. If only he knew that I... Instinctively, Seorin reached out, placing her hands on top of his hands which were clutched around the sunglasses, before he could put them back on his face. "Jongwoon-ah?" she began to speak softly. 

Yesung kept his head down, avoiding her gaze as if thinking that if he can not see her than she must not see him. "Yes?"

"You don't need to hide who you are from me," she replied, her voice clear and precise though still soft. "I've known who you are the whole time. Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." She smiled up at him reassuringly, telling him with her eyes that she meant what she said.

He looked down at her, his heart swelling with emotions that he had tried to keep hidden. "Really? You knew?" he asked, his voice cracking.

She nodded. "Yeah. I've known all along."

"And you didn't--" His voice dropped to a whisper. "--say anything?"

She looked at him confused. "Why would I? I didn't want to burden you, Jongwoon-ah. You're not just a celebrity; you're a person too."

Before she could process what was happening, Jongwoon threw his arms around her in a tight embrace. "Thank you, Seorin-ah..."

****

Seorin looked around the decorated rooms, surveying her handiwork. Normally, she would be thrilled at the prospect of having completed another job, and this was a big one too. However, this time something was different. It was as if the joy had been zapped from her as a lump found its way to .

Why? Everything was done beautifully and in a way that pleased both herself and her client. 

That's what it was... She no longer viewed Jongwoon as a client, but as a close friend. Would this be the end of their friendship?

She found her mind wandering to all the days spent together to work on this house. She had grown close to Jongwoon, perhaps even forming an attachment. Would he still want to be friends after this or would he part ways?

She took the hair tie from her hair, re-doing her messy bun as she continued to think about things. She did not want this to end. In fact--

"SEORIN-AH!"

She jumped slightly, hearing her name. "Oh, hey Jongwoon!" she greeted in a friendly manner, trying to detract from the rising warmth she could feel in her cheeks.

Jongwoon tilted his head, looking at her with a cheeky grin.

"What?" she asked, narrowing her eyes slightly, hoping that maybe her cheeks were not colouring.

"You were zoning out again. I called your name several times," he replied, walking over to stand right beside her.

"Yeah, I was," she admitted with smile, her heart beating slightly faster than normal.

Jongwoon smiled back, drawing slightly closer. "What about, if I may ask?"

"About how your house is now finished," she replied, forcing a smile, though her eyes did not.

Jongwoon looked down, speaking softly in an unusual tone, "Actually, I don't think it is."

Her eyes widened, her heart beating faster. Is he saying what I think he is?

Jongwoon drew his attention back to her. "Seorin-ah, you've been a good friend to me. You've been a real comfort to me and have always been understanding... And I'm thankful for that, but..." He trailed off, looking rather uncomfortable as he rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness. "...I want to get to know you more. Would you like to maybe go out with me?"

Seorin's eyes lit up as butterflies flitted and floated inside of her. "Yes," she replied, her lips widening in a smile and her eyes dancing.

Jongwoon's whole face beamed with joy, excitement filling every fiber of his being. Possessed with such feelings, Jongwoon leaned down towards her face. Cupping her cheeks in his hands, he kissed her lips sweetly...

...The first of many to be made in that house which would eventually be called both their home.