"Shin Woo-hyung?" Mi Nyu asked as she could not hide her surprise.

Shin Woo stood in place, frozen and in shock.

"Ohohoh, don't tell me you don't like being together," President Ahn said, still unaware. "I know you are ex-lovers, but you two are friends, right? So no worries."

The president told them to sit down together. Then, he explained to them.

"The judges found Mi Nyu's performance heartwrenching that they decided her fit for the role. You did not know, but they took videos of all who auditioned, and they did process of elimination. It was tough, but it led to that decision. As for Shin Woo, they took into consideration your musical background, but your performance placed the biggest weight in the decision making, That is why they allowed you to audition and did not choose you on the spot."

The two nodded awkwardly.

"There were proposed names. We thought that if two guys came together, we'll call them 'Welkin', an English term for sky--actually an old one. For pairs with two girls, or a male-and-female tandem, we settled for a single name. And since we have the male-female tandem, we'll call you 'Zephyr's Kiss'.... What do you think?"

"I'm good with that," Shin Woo said, trying to hide his dismay over the fact that he had to be paired up with Mi Nyu.

"Ahn-sajangnim, what is ze...ze...," Mi Nyu asked, struggling with the pronunciation.

"Zephyr. Zephyr is a cool wind. The zephyr's kiss on your cheeks is one wonderful feeling on a hot, sultry day. Now, on the other hand, welkin is the sky up above. Both the zephyr and welkin give people good feeling of calmness and unity with nature. That is one name we were trying to come up with to match the concept of the tandem--a tandem playing acoustic instruments. Feel-good music. Easy to the ears music. We will not forsake AN Jell and Mars, of course, but we will also try to come up with an idea that will be different in the music industry."

He was trying to explain to them to let them grasp the concept. Shin Woo understood and nodded his head. Mi Nyu looked at him and nodded her head too. The president handed out two contracts and had them sign. Shin Woo signed his furiously, and Mi Nyu signed hers carefully and timidly.

"Ahaha, this is jackpot, eh? Starting today, you will start writing, so that we will be able to record your songs as soon as possible. Please be ready for updates," President Ahn said. "And Shin Woo, be ready to go back to AN Jell dorm."

Mi Nyu's heart cringed. She knew her hyung is still kind, but he changed a lot.

*****

"Hey, I need to tell you something," Shin Woo told his band.

"Ye, you passed the audition. Chukhahamnida, hyung," Min Hyuk said.

Jong Hyun and Jung Shin slapped him at the back.

"Good luck with the Mi Nyu girl. Take care of her," Jung Shin said.

Shin Woo looked at him. "What do you mean by that?"

Jung Shin sighed before answering. "I don't want to believe that you simply have a minor crush on her, hyung. I watched you two during our drinking spree and our lunch last, last Sunday. The aura between you two was not nice--it was haunting, and it seems to give me a hint that something happened between you two. I am sure both of you have a special bond, or else, she would not call you 'hyung'. And besides, with your confession between your previous 'she's my girlfriend' act, there must be something other than a minor crush. Otherwise, you wouldn't have acted as her boyfriend in the first place."

Shin Woo sighed for Jung Shin was right. So, he pleaded, "You are the first person to have read through me, Jung Shin-ah. Please keep that a secret."

Jung Shin agreed. "Jeongmal, you can trust me. It is a secret which needs to be guarded."

Jong Hyun and Min Hyuk nodded in agreement.

"Also, tonight will be the last night that I will sleep in our dorm," he told them.

"We understood it, hyung. It's kinda sad, but we anticipated it the moment we heard that you got in the duo," Jong Hyun said.

Shin Woo tapped Jong Hyun's shoulder. "Take care of your namdongsaeng. Be a good hyung."

Jong Hyun nodded and tapped him back. "We'll miss you, Hyung."

Shin Woo picked up his guitar near the door and left the room. He was starting the afternoon working with Mi Nyu.

*****

When he got in the other recording studio, he saw Mi Nyu tapping the bars of the keyboard. He went in and sat beside her.

"Uh...hi, Shin Woo-hyung," she greeted awkwardly.

"Ige mwoya (What's this)? Why so awkward?" he replied charmingly with a smile.

Mi Nyu clenched her fist to her chest. She tried to keep it from hurting.

"Let's work hard, Shin Woo-hyung," she said, trying to make her voice sound cheerful.

He smiled at her and nodded. They knew it was awkward, but they did their best to be professional and tried to brainstorm as to what topic to write about.

"Hmm...I think...finding a new love," Shin Woo said.

Mi Nyu's heart skipped a beat. Does that mean that he really moved on and wanted to love someone new? Both of them were in the same situation, only that, she was beginning to fall for him.

"I guess, that will do..." Mi Nyu said sadly.

He noticed the tone of her voice. "Gwaenchanha?"

"Uh...ye...ye," she lied.

And so, they set to work.

****

And indeed, that night, Shin Woo slept in the other dorm for the last time.

****

Tuesday morning.

AN Jell dorm was busy eating breakfast when Shin Woo came in the front door.

"Annyeong," he greeted.

Jeremy sprang to his feet and raced towards his hyung. A piece of bread was stuck in between his teeth. The other guys came to him, and helped him get his bags in the house.

"Welcome home, Shin Woo," Tae Kyung said in that fearsome way of his.

"Hyung, hyung, are you really staying here for good?" Mi Nam asked.

The younger guys hugged him and dragged him to the kitchen, where Manager Ma was struggling with his broken chopsticks.

"Good morning, Shin Woo," Manager Ma said with tears in his eyes. "Welcome back."

Shin Woo bowed and sat. Even the ajumma was very happy to have her little Mr. Kang back safe and sound.

"Ya, Shin Woo, did President Ahn told you that I will manage you and Mi Nyu aside from AN Jell and Mars?" the manager asked, while the brunette shook his head. "That's the reason why he told you to come back here. For one, we only have to pay the rent for two dormitories. Second, we don't want you and Mi Nyu to be alone in your own dorm (with a hint of stuff in his voice), and third, Mi Nam is here and he wanted to take care of his sister."

Shin Woo said he understood and that he had eaten breakfast. He said that he and Mi Nyu needed to be serious today.

"Ya, Shin Woo, I wish you luck in your career," Tae Kyung said.

Shin Woo slapped Tae Kyung on the arms. "Gomawoyo. Thanks for thinking highly of me."

Tae Kyung smiled his usual scowl. He could not believe that his previous love rival became his music student, and he even pleaded to the president on the other guy's behalf. Since when did he consider Shin Woo as a friend?

******

Shin Woo and Mi Nyu spent the whole morning trying to put some melodies on the song and arranging their compositions. While he was busy strumming his guitar, Mi Nyu sat beside him and looked at him. He seemed to notice it, and he looked at her.

"Mwo?" he asked.

"Nothing," she lied. "I just want to learn the difference between the guitar and the piano."

They studied about many musical jargons that even I get nosebleeds just studying them. And that afternoon, the melody of the song was almost done, and Shin Woo was more than satisfied with it.

"We should polish this by tomorrow, so that we can start practicing it," he told her.

He taught her rigidly all the things that Tae Kyung had taught him. If Tae Kyung was to teach Mi Nyu, he would have been out of patience already. But Shin Woo was kind. He knew that she had been a member of AN Jell once, but she had never written a song or composed one.

*****

Dinner time.

"Shin Woo-hyung, I am so hungry," Mi Nyu complained, massaging her poor belly. "Let's eat. It's on me."

Shin Woo smiled and looked at the musical scores. "Well, I think it is a good idea. I'm hungry too."

When they stood up, Mi Nyu dropped her notebook, and all the contents fell. The guy helped her get and manage all the papers when he noticed the dry maple leaf. He picked it up and handed it to her.

"You still kept this?" he asked.

She received it and nodded. "I kept it because you gave it to me."

He smiled at her and invited her to go out first, so he will close the door for her. How gentlemanly! Mi Nyu comforted herself, saying that this is just Shin Woo-hyung being kind to her.

*****

They returned to the dorm at almost ten-thirty that night, and when they entered, the house was unusually quite.

"At this time, Jeremy and Oppa would still be watching TV," Mi Nyu said.

They went to the balcony, where Jeremy and the rest greeted them with a happy song. After the song, Jeremy said to them.

"Mianhae," he said. "The store ran out of confettis, and it was too late to make some."

Tae Kyung scoffed. "Yeah, and you won't even sweep them off."

Jeremy only pulled his tongue out for the AN Jell leader. They started their celebration and food trip.

"The food had been waiting for a million years," Jeremy told them. "Where have you been?"

"We were at the studio," Shin Woo reasoned out. "No one gave us a note."

"Oh, but I did!" Mi Nam answered. "I even sent a message to Mi Nyu."

"Oh, but I never received any messages today," Mi Nyu said, checking her phone.

"That's all right," Shin Woo said. "At least, we are all together again."

During their food trip, Jeremy asked if they already started making some songs.

"We wrote two already, and the melody of the first one is almost done," Shin Woo said.

He and Mi Nyu gave a sample of the first stanza and chorus. After the song was thru, Mi Nam and Jeremy clapped.

"So nice! Johayo (I like it)!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"So good. I'm glad I decided not to teach you anymore," Tae Kyung said.