“Oppa, you’re leaving, too?” Shin Hye asked when she saw Kyuhyun walking downstairs holding his car key. It was Friday and she was about to leave for work.

“Neh. I’ll go with you,” he responded.

“To Sukira?”

“Neh. Tonight will be you first Friday performance, right? I want to watch it,” he said, giving her his cutest smile.

She loved that smile on his face. “Wah! Gomawo, oppa. I’m actually really nervous about it, but knowing that you’ll be there, I think I’ll be fine.”

“What made you say that?”

“Because now I’m sure that someone will clap for me in the audience,” she said jokingly. The truth was that she felt inspired and empowered whenever he’s around.

As Kyuhyun and Shin Hye were walking towards the parking area, a girl approached him.

“Kyuhyun oppa?” the girl said.

They turned to look at her, and he immediately recognized her. “Oh, Seulgi-yah.”

“Uhm, oppa, I heard from a friend that you and Yoon Hye unnie broke up,” she said. “I’m sorry about that,” she added.

Shin Hye was surprised by what she heard. She looked at him, puzzled and worried at the same time.

“Uhm, neh. News spreads pretty fast, huh?” he said, trying to force a smile.

The girl laughed. She looked at Shin Hye, then back at him. “Actually...” she said, slowly inching forward to him. “I was happy when I heard that, if you know what I mean.” she continued, fixing the collar of his shirt.

Shin Hye felt like she couldn’t breathe seeing how close the girl was to him. It was the same feeling she had when he received a call from Yoon Hye at Yubi’s wedding. This time she couldn’t think of a reason why she was feeling that way. She hated to admit it to herself but she wasn’t comfortable seeing him so close to a girl.

Kyuhyun cleared his throat as he moved backward, trying to keep distance from Seulgi. Shin Hye was somewhat relieved when she saw it.

“Mianhaeyo, oppa,” she said with a sweet smile on her face, as she took her hands off his collar. “So, how are you?”

Kyuhyun smiled. “I’m perfectly fine....Uhm, by the way, this is Shin Hye. Shin Hye, this is Seulgi. She also lives here in this building.”

Both women greeted each other. Seulgi scanned her from head to toe with a smirk on her face, and he noticed it.

“Uhm, Seulgi-yah, it’s really good to see you, but we’re kind of in a hurry, so I think we have to go now,” he said, looking at his watch.

“Ah, jinja? Arasso. I guess I’ll just see you around then.”

“Neh, of course.”

“Uhm, oppa, are you okay?” Shin Hye asked worriedly, when they were already inside the car.

“Neh. Wae?” Kyuhyun asked.

“Hmm, nothing,” she replied. He probably didn’t want to talk about it, she thought, so she decided to keep mum instead.

Kyuhyun knew what she was worried about, and he appreciated it.

“If it’s about the...uhm...break up, don’t worry, I’m really okay,” he assured her.

She let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear.” She could see sincerity in his eyes, so she knew he was telling the truth. It calmed her but what bothers her now is why she was feeling jealous earlier, and she didn’t like it. Yes, he’s single now, but they were friends and living in one house. Her rational mind told her that it wasn’t right to feel that way.

She tried to eliminate the thought that occurred to her.

“Focus!” she uttered.

Kyuhyun looked at her. “Did you say something?” he asked. His eyes were back on the road again.

“A-ani,” she said then let out a soft laugh.

Shin Hye was nervous as she came out of the stage. It was Friday and as expected, the bar was jam-packed. To make her situation more difficult, Uee performed right before her and everybody enjoyed her excellent performance. She’s Sukira’s top singer, after all. It was clear to her that most people were there to watch Uee sing. She felt so much pressure, but when she turned to her left, she saw Kyuhyun doing the “fighting” sign, and all the nerves went away. She gave him a smile before she started to sing.

(Shin Hye sang “Love is Like A Snow”)

Thunderous applause filled the bar, and Shin Hye couldn’t believe it. She was so happy, she felt like flying. People were so impressed with her angelic voice that they wanted her to sing another song right away. She assured them that she’ll sing again later on, so after thanking the audience, she went off the stage to prepare herself for her last performance for the night.

Unknown to her, Uee was watching her the whole time from the bar counter.

“Tss, that girl,” she uttered, with one eyebrow raised. Her face was serious. When Shin Hye left the stage, she turned around and then gulped her drink.

At the backstage, the other singers and some of the wait staff congratulated her. She was surprised that even the waitresses who used to ignore her were there to congratulate her. She thanked all of them with a bright smile on her face before she headed to the dressing room.

On the dressing room, she was chatting with the other singers when Uee came in.

“Ohh, so the newbie’s here,” Uee said looking at Shin Hye. Her face was still serious, with no emotions.

“Neh?”

She took a moment to scan her from head to toe, and then smirked. “Tss. You may be pretty and all, but you’re nothing compared to us. Do you think you’ll be better than us? You’ll never be.”

Shin Hye didn’t like what she just heard. She knew the other singers were way better than her, what she didn’t like was the way Uee said it. She felt like Uee was mocking her.

“Mianhaeyo Uee-ssi, but I never thought that way,” she said polit