Shin Hye was stirred from her sleep when she heard footsteps going down the stairs. With her eyes half-opened, she caught a glimpse of someone walking towards the front door. She closed her eyes again, but was fully awakened when she heard the door open and then close. The door was shut gently but enough to wake her up.

‘Was it Kyuhyun oppa? Did he just leave? Where is he going? Or was it just a dream?’ she asked herself, still lying on the couch. She stretched her arms and heaved a sigh. She then pulled herself up from the couch and made her way to check on Kyuhyun. She slowly and quietly went upstairs to see if he was there. She took a quick peek into his bedroom, but he wasn’t there, in which she felt kind of relieved. She wouldn’t know what to do if he will catch her checking on him.

Then she went downstairs again, but he was nowhere to be found – not in the music room, not in the bathroom.

“It wasn’t a dream after all, he really left,” she said softly to herself.

She went back to the couch and sat on it. She then reached for her phone on the table. Looking at it, a feeling of disappointment came over her. He didn’t text her like he used to whenever he goes out and she’s still asleep.

She let out another sigh as she headed to the kitchen to prepare her breakfast. A smile etched on her lips when she saw that there was food on the kitchen countertop waiting for her. Kyuhyun would always leave food for her if he was first to get up and had to leave his apartment early. But this time something was missing – no note stuck on the cover.

He must really be in a hurry, she thought. She knew she should not expect him to do those things for her all the time. They were just friends. But she missed those things, and she felt sad about it. What made her even sadder was the fact that she didn’t know if he will attend their New Year’s Eve party later at Sukira. By the looks of it, it was either he forgot about it or he didn’t feel like going, she told herself. As much as she wanted him to come, if he didn’t want to, then she couldn’t do anything about it.

She tried to wash away her thoughts and decided to get herself a cup of coffee. She then brought her coffee and the food that Kyuhyun prepared to the dining table and ate it.

Late afternoon came and Kyuhyun was still not home. After she fixed herself up, Shin Hye checked her phone, but he hadn’t called yet, and there wasn’t even a message from him.

“I guess he’s not really going to the party,” she uttered, disappointment in her voice.

As she was about to leave, she suddenly thought of something. It bothered her that he still hadn’t called or sent her a single text message. It’s not like he had to, but he wasn’t like that before, so she decided to call him.

“But wait, what am I going to tell him if he’ll ask me why I called?” she asked herself as she sat on the couch, and then stood up again. “Think Shin Hye, think.. Uhm, should I ask him if he will attend the party? Yeah, right, that’s it!”

She pulled her phone from her bag and called him. He’s not answering her call, but she could hear a sound coming from the mezzanine above.

She ended the call, and the sound also stopped. She walked towards the stairs and tried calling his number again. Still, he’s not picking up, but then she could hear the sound again from upstairs. She figured it must be his phone, he must have left it upstairs. She climbed up the stairs to his room. She dialled his number again, so that it would be easier for her to find where his phone was.

“There you go,” she uttered when she saw his phone on the bedside table. She went to get his phone and was surprised to see her picture in it. It was a picture of her asleep and he set it as a contact photo. She recognized the dress she’s wearing in the picture, it was taken on Yu-bi’s wedding day.

A smile slowly formed on her face. She didn’t know that he had a picture of her in his phone. She found it funny that both of them keep a ‘sleeping’ photo of each other. She was also glad and relieved to know that the reason why he hadn’t contacted her was because he left his phone in his room. Everything made sense to her now.

She suddenly became hopeful. Thinking he might show up at the party later, she decided to bring his phone with her.

“Oh oppa! You’re here.” Shin Hye exclaimed, surprised and happy to see Kyuhyun. She had just exited the apartment building when Kyuhyun’s car stopped in front of her.

He flashed her his cutest smile. “Neh, get in,” Kyuhyun said as he opened the passenger seat door from the inside.

Shin Hye climbed in the car and buckled her seatbelt.

“Oppa, I thought you weren’t –”

“Yah, Shin Hye-yah, what took you so long to go down? I’ve been waiting for you for almost an hour now,” Kyuhyun whined jokingly, cutting her off, as he started the engine and drove off.

She didn’t expect it. “You mean—“

“Neh. I wanted to surprise you, so I couldn’t go upstairs,” he explained. “I thought you already left.”

“Ah, jinja? But you could have called me, so you’ll have at least an idea what time I’ll be leaving,” she said, sounding apologetic but she was actually trying to play a joke on him.

“Hmm, well I couldn’t call you because—“

This time, it was Shin Hye who cut him off. “Because you left your phone in your room?” she asked.

“How did you know?”

“I tried to call you earlier, then I heard a phone ringing from your room, so I went upstairs to check it out, and it was there.”

“Ah jinja?” he uttered, and then suddenly he remembered something. “Uhm, d-did you, by any chance...” He couldn’t finish his words.

“What?” Shin Hye looked at him. “Did I see something I shouldn’t have?” she teased. “Like a picture of someone sleeping saved in your contacts?” she continued.

Kyuhyun could feel the warmth of his blood rising over his face. “Uhm, w-well, that...” he stuttered, feeling embarrassed.

“Don’t worry, oppa. Since you’re giving me a free ride today, well, I know you always do, I wasn’t mad anymore,” she joked.

He let out a sigh of relief, as he gained his confidence back. “Mian, Shin Hye-yah. But it wasn’t a bad picture, right, so you shouldn’t be upset about it,” he said as he stepped on the brake when the traffic light turned red. “It’s actually very beautiful,” he said as he looked at her in the eyes.

Their gazes met and Shin Hye froze on her seat, but she tried her best not to make it obvious. Looking at his eyes, she could see sincerity in them and that was enough to make her blush. She slowly broke their gaze and turned to the car window to hide her pink-stained cheeks.

“G-Gomawoyo. Uhm, o-oppa, can we turn the music on?” she asked, avoiding his gaze.

A smile formed on the corner of his lips looking at her reaction. “Sure,” he said and then drove off.

The party had already started when they arrived, and most of the employees were already there. Shin Hye was snatched by her handler right away when she saw her came in. She looked back at Kyuhyun who was left behind, and gave him an apologetic smile. He smiled back at her as a sign that he’ll be okay, and then decided to just join Geun Suk at his table. Little did they know, some of their co-workers were staring at them when they entered the bar together– the girls being jealous of Shin Hye and the boys envying Kyuhyun.

Ms. Choi, the wait staff supervisor, was the emcee of the party. While all of the employees were having fun, she called Geun Suk to come on stage and asked him if he could sing a song for them. Most of the employees knew that their manager can sing really well, although they had only witnessed it once during the opening of the bar.

People then started cheering for him, but Geun Suk was hesitant, as he wasn’t used to singing in front of so many people, let alone in front of Sukira’s employees.

“Hyung, they want you on stage. Sing a song for us,” Kyuhyun teased, and then grinned at him.

Geun Suk chuckled. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Of course you can. You have to, that’s an order,” he more.

Geun Suk gave him a smirk that made Kyuhyun laugh. “Ah jinja? Well, then, if that’s an order, I guess I have to do it,” he said as he stood up and made his way to the stage.

Loud applause, cheers and whistles filled the bar when Geun Suk stepped on stage. Ms. Choi gave him a microphone, and as soon as he took it, he began to talk.

“A moment of silence, please,” Geun Suk said with a smile on his face. Everyone fell silent. “This is really embarrassing for me, but since it’s New Year’s Eve and you guys requested for it, I’m going to do it... but in one condition.”

“We’d love to hear you sing, Manager Jang, so whatever that condition is, we would be happy to comply,”Ms. Choi replied.

People started to cheer again in agreement.

Geun Suk cleared his throat as he looked at Kyuhyun, giving him a teasing smile, and then at Shin Hye. “I want to do a duet with Sukira’s top singer, Park Shin Hye. Ms. Park, would you mind coming up on stage?” he asked.

All eyes were on her as she looked around. Then she stood up and smiled. “It’s my pleasure, Manager Jang.” Everyone cheered louder when they heard her answer.

Geun Suk looked at Kyuhyun again, and then gave him an evil smirk. He was actually trying to suppress his laughter seeing the look on his friend’s face. He looked like a kid whose favorite toy has been unfairly taken away from him.

(Geun Suk and Shin Hye sang Still)

credits: JangGeunSukkk

While they were singing, Geun Suk kept glancing at Kyuhyun’s direction trying to make him envious. If Kyuhyun wasn’t in the picture, he might have developed feelings for Shin Hye, any man would, he thought, but since he knew from the start that his friend has feelings for her, there wasn’t a chance for him to see her in a different way, but a younger sister since he treated Kyuhyun as his younger brother.

Kyuhyun shook his head as he watched his hyung play a joke on him. He knew Geun Suk was trying to make him envious, or probably jealous, but he wouldn’t fall for it. He was just surprised at first because he didn’t know what his friend was planning. When Geun Suk looked at him again, Kyuhyun gave him a nod and a smile to show his hyung that he wasn’t affected.

After their song was over, people wanted them to sing again, but Geun Suk politely refused their request and let Shin Hye go down the stage. Seeing his friend’s grinning face, Geun Suk thought of something so as not to disappoint the people.

“Listen up, guys... or should I say girls, as this is a treat for all the ladies here tonight. I’d like to invite my very good friend here on stage.” His gaze went to Kyuhyun once again. “Kyuhyun-ah, why don’t you give us a song?” Geun Suk suggested and then went off the stage to convince his friend.

“What was that, hyung?” Kyuhyun asked, still surprised.

Geun Suk sat beside him and tapped his back. “Eyyy, I know you want to,” he teased.

Kyuhyun gave him a blank stare as the ladies were already cheering for him.

Geun Suk chuckled. He thought of a way to convince him. “Alright, it’s okay if you don’t want to. Mian, Kyuhyun-ah. I’ll just ask Shin Hye to sing with me again on –“

His words were cut off when Kyuhyun s