“Ya, don’t call me that” said Juhyeon, with slight tone of embarrassment in her voice. It seemed so that she didn’t like getting called that.
“Don’t worry I know about it already” said Taemin.
“M-mwo? H-how?”  asked Juhyeon. She sounded so curious, so eager to know how he found out about it.
“I wasn’t able to sleep right? I sort of grew hungry. Not sure what time that was but I went out to go grab a slice of pizza in the kitchen and I was surprised to find Joy there. She was also eating. We startled each other at first, and then we sat down and had a talk while eating. We hung out and eventually I got to ask about the ‘Daegu Princess’ thing” said Taemin. “I know already, don’t worry. I know you don’t wanna go out much because of it. But you wouldn’t be alone tonight, you don’t have to worry”
“Komawoyo…”
“So can we go to the groceries now?” asked Taemin.
“Oppa-ya, are you sure? Do you feel better? What if someone notices you” replied Juhyeon.
“Shhh, you’re as paranoid as I was before I debuted” hushed Taemin softly. “I’ll be fine, I’ll be extra careful, so c’mon. We need to eat and it’d be fun to hang around outside. I didn’t get out of Seoul to just stay indoors all day. I’ll get dressed now, you should too”

After ten minutes or so, Taemin went out of his room dressed in a long-sleeved gray sweater, black plants, a beanie and a surgical mask to hide his face. As he walked to the living room, he was surprised to see Juhyeon wearing something similar, with a purple handbag slung on her shoulder and two empty grocery bags in her hands. Their outfits were nearly the same; from the loose grey sweater and fit black pants, just not the mask and the beanie.  The two stood awkwardly stood in front of each other.
“……I’ll go change” said Juhyeon.
“Why not wear that? You look fine” said Taemin. Although Taemin was completely fine with this, Juhyeon didn’t want to wear the same clothes as Taemin’s. Couple culture is huge in Korea, and so are couple outfits. It’s not that Juhyeon didn’t want to be mistaken as a couple with Taemin because they aren’t a couple, it’s just that she wanted to protect Taemin. She knew that the guys out there are after her and was afraid that they may hurt Taemin if they thought that he was her man.
“It’s just that--”
“Baechu-ah, let’s go. You’ll be fine okay?” said Taemin as he placed his hand on her arm and pulled her as he walked towards the main door.
“But you might not be fine…” Juhyeon thought. Her fears and burden to protect him were pushed aside by his confidence and persistency. She had no time to disagree.

Taemin and Juhyeon walked out of the house, locked the doors and headed out to the grocery store. Taemin offered to carry the grocery bags for Juhyeon, and so Juhyeon handed them over to him.

“Kamsahamnida, oppa” said Juhyeon.
“Neh” said Taemin. As they walked side by side, Juhyeon remembered about Taemin’s concern the day before. She didn’t want to make Taemin feel uncomfortable by bringing it up, seeing how fine he already was but she felt like she just had to ask him as his “nurse”.

“Oppa-ya, I don’t mean to give you discomfort but I just remembered that you told me yesterday that you think you have memory loss?” said Juhyeon. Although Taemin had a mask to hide his mouth and nose, Juhyeon still saw the change of emotion in Taemin’s eyes. His walking pace slowed down as well.
“Yeah?..” said Taemin gloomily as he remembered the short struggle he had yesterday. If he weren’t distracted with Joy and the others, he might have sunken in that thought all day long.
“Why do you think so?” said Juhyeon.
“Didn’t I tell you that after I talked to my hyung? Well….”
“Hmmm?”
“He mentioned something about a past lover. He reminded me in a way that tells me that I haven’t moved on from that. As awkward as it may seem, I told her you were nursing me and he told me that he hopes you take good care of me enough for me to forget the ‘last one’, implying that the person was some sort of disease to me” said Taemin.
“Can’t you remember who it was?” asked Juhyeon.
“I tried to dig in and dig in, but I just couldn’t find anything. I don’t remember being in love, I don’t remember having a girl in my life. There was nothing at all. I liked some girls before but I never fell in love nor got engaged in a relationship with one. All I remember was putting my head in my work and that’s it..” said Taemin.
“I see.. I think I know what’s happening here” said Juhyeon.
“Hmmm?”
“It seems like you have partial amnesia” said Juhyeon.
“Hmmm?”
“I’ve read about it before. It’s due to a post-traumatic stress of an incident. It’s sort of like a memory loss of a person you had an endearment attachment with, or a person that gave you memories that are too painful to recall. I don’t know whether that kind of memory loss is permanent or temporary, that’s all I know… mian…” said Juhyeon. Taemin kept his vision straight on the road and just continued walking; he didn’t say a word and his eyes refused to show any emotion. Juhyeon felt bad about this and tried to think of some way to comfort Taemin. He looked badly troubled about this thought, and though it was already a past memory, it still haunted him even after his mind had already thrown it away. She felt his pain, his frustration and his paranoia through his aura and she knew what Taemin was going through wasn’t easy at all. Juhyeon thought of how much Taemin had shown care for her when she got badly frightened, and thought she’d do the same. She linked her arms around Taemin’s arm and rested her head against it. This was the best way of comforting that she knew. Taemin’s eyes grew as he was  surprised by the warm and soft embrace of the petite girl. No word had been said from then on. He shivered as his heartbeat pounded violently. It was nearly the same feeling from yesterday’s hug, but this one felt different. It wasn’t a hug out of fear or natural instinct; it was a warm hug of sincere, gentle comfort.
“Irene…”
“You held me when I was scared, now it’s my turn to be here for you that you’re hurt. You are my first guy friend, maybe even my first new friend in a long time and you never made me feel lonely these past days. Kamsahamnida oppa” said Juhyeon as she continued to cling on to Taemin’s arm. As those words lingered in his ears, the fears and worries of his lost memory slowly faded away. Taemin’s focus was shifted from what has gone to what was happening now; Juhyeon.
“Come to think of it,” said Taemin. “Though I lost a portion of my memories, it was past already. It’s done. I couldn’t change that anyway”
“And like I said it could be something too painful to recall” said Juhyeon.
“Then this amnesia could be good then, why would I want to go back to such a heart-wrenching memory right? Plus Onew-hyung wanted me to forget about it. I did without even trying. Right? Right??” said Taemin and looked at Juhyeon straight in the eyes. Juhyeon smiled her held-back smile and Taemin did the same with his eyes. He started to laugh.
“Yaaaa, what now??” asked Juhyeon while giggling.
“Nothing….it’s just that after these past days you still look like a 5 year old to me” said Taemin, causing Juhyeon to release Taemin’s arm and playfully push Taemin away. Taemin just responded with more laughing and poked Juhyeon’s cheek. He realized that maybe it wasn’t so bad that he lost a portion of his memory. If it was painful, why go back? Why try to recall? What matters now is that he was enjoying his friendship with Juhyeon while he was resting from work.
 

As the two continued walking on the sidewalk, they found some suspicious-looking young men walking on the sidewalk parallel to the one they were on. Taemin noticed how they kept staring at him and Juhyeon as they passed by. They didn’t look so happy either seeing her walking beside him. They actually looked pretty shocked to see her with a guy for the first time ever. They were threatened so one of them to tried to steal her attention.
 

“Daegu Princess! Ey!” called out one of them.
“Ya, you look extra beautiful today!”
“Glowing more than ever”
“Ya! You should hang out with us and ditch that guy, we’re going for a drink at my place! We’ll have a fun time!”

“Well it seems that these guys are also aboard the Daegu Princess fever” said Taemin who was starting to feel more and more annoyed over how these guys catcalled Juhyeon. As they continued doing so, Juhyeon looked more frantic, she hugged her handbag close and bowed her head. They were following her; shameless enough to continue harassing her even when they already saw that she wasn’t alone.
“So this is what you have to go through every time huh?” asked Taemin as he tried to come up with a plan. She nodded back, her face hidden in her long pitch-black locks.
“Hey, mind helping me get rid of these guys?” said Taemin. Juhyeon raised her head and gave Taemin a puzzled look.
“Hmmm?”
“Put your arms around me again, and I’ll hold you close. I’ll pretend to be your namja chingu (boyfriend) so they’d leave you alone” said Taemin. She was very hesitant about doing so; she was scared that if those goons would think Taemin’s actually her boyfriend, they might gang up on him. She didn’t want Taemin to suffer from another accident; all the more she didn’t want to be held responsible for Korea’s top idol getting mugged by Daegu thugs.

“Y-ya, o-oppa-ya andwae they might---”
Taemin immediately side-hugged Juhyeon with both his arms and leaned his head on top of Juhyeon’s. Juhyeon was stunned by how Taemin quickly wrapped his arms around her, her jaw dropped and her eyes grew wide open. The guys on the other side of the road drew back; they have never seen Juhyeon let a guy hold her that closely. What intensified their emotions towards what they saw was the fact that Juhyeon avoided them and whoever guy that tried to get close to her. Then here comes this new guy in a mask holding her closely. The girl they’ve been struggling to woo for years was already in the arms of a guy that they have never seen around before. It was drastic for them; what once seemed impossible for Juhyeon to do was now happening. It enraged them.
 

“Yo! Daegu princess ain’t going with any other guy, so you better cut down on the catcalling and get your desperate asses home” shouted Taemin, tightening his hug. One of the guys stepped forward furiously, cracking his knuckles. Taemin gave them a sharp stare and clenched his fists to prepare for whatever may happen, while Juhyeon held on to Taemin tighter. Luckily enough, the guy’s pals held him back and they eventually walked away from Taemin and Juhyeon.

“Ya oppa-ya! I told you!” said Juhyeon slapping Taemin’s arm.
“Told me what?” said Taemin.
“It’s unsafe! What if they actually think you’re my man and plot something against you??” said Juhyeon who still had a frightened expression on her face.
“I admit I was a bit rash back there” said Taemin.
“You were, don’t do that again. Please? I’m still scared…” said Juhyeon.
“It’s just that I get this different kind of confidence and strength from your hug”
…

…

…

…

…

…

“Do I make you feel uncomfortable by hugging you?” asked Taemin.
“Aniya..” said Juhyeon.
“I’m sorry if I haven’t let go. Do you want me to let go?” said Taemin.
“Aniya. Gwenchana…” said Juhyeon. Taemin could still feel her nervousness from the incident in the tightness of her hug.
“Jinjja??” asked Taemin.
“Neh. I feel safer. I feel like you’re a real older brother to me” said Juhyeon.
“But we just met didn’t we? I actually feel guilty doing skinship with you right away, even just as friends” said Taemin.
“But you did it for a purpose. You wanted to protect me, you didn’t mean to take advantage of me like those other guys” said Juhyeon.
“You didn’t even doubt me?” asked Taemin, who couldn’t believe the amount of trust Juhyeon had given him.
“I did a bit before you woke up, I didn’t know if you were like one of those guys back there. Now I’m very relieved to find out that you’re different from them. Kamsahamnida oppa, it’s the first time someone had protected me from them like this” said Juhyeon.
“So what if I woke up and I was like them? Would you still keep me in or kick me out?” asked Taemin.
“I would still treat your head but I’m pretty sure I won’t let you stay in my house. I may be nice but I have my limits too” said Juhyeon.
He remembered Yeri telling him how clingy Juhyeon really is, and being said that he was like a brother to her, it explains why Juhyeon developed this connection with him. Taemin felt honored that Juhyeon saw her as family. The last days may have been short, it may have seemed too soon, but they sure had shared several nice memories already. He got a bit sad upon realizing that Juhyeon must have been so lonely that if she finally grew comfortable with a friend, she gets too clingy. Being her very first guy friend, he wanted to make sure and be careful that he wouldn’t break her fragile trust.

Soon enough they arrived in the grocery store. They walked through the grocery isles happily. They grabbed whatever they needed. Taemin showed his playful side and goofed around with some of the store products, causing Irene to laugh loudly that the other shoppers batted suspicious looks at them. Taemin rode on the grocery cart and nearly knocked over some displays if only Juhyeon wasn’t there to stop him. He even asked her if she wanted to ride on the baby seat on the cart since she looks 5 anyway, but Irene just slapped him playfully on the arm once more. The two had so much fun while doing shopping that they didn’t mind everyone around them; forgetting that they were both public figures. Soon enough they had everything they needed and walked over to pay for their goods. Juhyeon was still caught up in the fun she and Taemin had that she didn’t notice that the store ajumma was her mom’s old friend. The store ajumma smiled as she saw Juhyeon so joyful (and with a guy) for the first time in a long time. She remembered the last time that she saw Juhyeon smile that widely was when she saw Juhyeon walking hand in hand with her parents many years ago.
 

“What makes our Baechu-ah so happy today?” the ajumma couldn’t help but ask. Juhyeon faced the ajumma and realized that it was her mom’s friend, Mrs. Oh.
“Mrs. Oh, a-annyeonghasseyo!” bowed Juhyeon timidly, starting to get conscious for the things she did with Taemin around the store. Mrs. Oh looked at Taemin from head to toe and saw that he was fine young man.
“I see you’re having fun with your new friend here” said Mrs. Oh gladly.
“A-ah, neh” said Juhyeon very shyly. It felt sort of awkward for her to be seen with a guy by her mom’s friend.
“Annyeong hasseyo, omeoni” said Taemin after pulling down his mask to politely greet Mrs. Oh with a smile.
“Annyeong hasseyo. Are you by any chance, our Baechu-ah’s boyfriend? You’re very handsome” replied Mrs. Oh.
“A-aniyo Hahahaha kamsahamnida. But, I’m just a friend, omeoni, please don’t misunderstand” said Taemin and glanced at Juhyeon who looked back at him with her big beautiful eyes.
“Ah I see. You two look very good together! I was watching you two from afar a while ago and thought ‘what a beautiful couple having so much fun together!’. Then I realized it was Baechu-ah, my good friend’s daughter” said Mrs. Oh.
“Aigoo you think so omeoni? Hahaha ya Bae Juhyeon, you hear that?” said Taemin and lightly nudged at Juhyeon. Juhyeon just glared at him.
“Omo, you guys are so cute. You two should get together hahaha” laughed Mrs. Oh. The two just awkwardly moved about, not knowing how to react to what the ajumma had just said.
“Alright, alright, I might be keeping you two. That would be 45,280 won please” said Mrs. Oh. Juhyeon quickly reached for her wallet in her handbag. She took out her cash and realized she only brought 35,000 won with her. Her heart sank right away.
“Omo, I only brought 35,000 won. Eotteohkke??” said Juhyeon. Her feet were nervously tapping on the floor and her eyes were blinking uncontrollably. Taemin quickly grabbed his wallet from his pocket, and took out 50,000 won from it.
“Here you go, omeoni” said Taemin as he handed the money to the Mrs. Oh. Juhyeon was left speechless as she stared at the money in Taemin’s hand.
“Aaaiigooo, you’re so sweet, paying for our Baechu-ah’s groceries. Kamsahamnida, you may take your bags” said Mrs. Oh. Taemin grabbed and carried the two heavy grocery bags for Juhyeon.
“You two kids, have a good and fun evening. Take care!” said Mrs. Oh.
“Neh kamsahamnida. It was nice meeting you again, Mrs.Oh. Have a pleasant evening” said Juhyeon.
“Bye bye omeoni, kamsahamnida” said Taemin.
“Neh~” replied Mrs. Oh with a bow.
The two exited the store and proceeded to walk home. Taemin felt funny on the inside remembering Mrs. Oh’s words. He may have been very close to Juhyeon today, he even initiated to act as a couple in front of her predators. But never had it crossed his mind that he and Baechu looked good as a real couple.  He feels a weird but satisfying sensation on the inside being around Juhyeon but he never knew exactly what it was. He realized that he hasn’t been fully honest with himself these past days because although he likes Juhyeon as a person, he didn’t know if he had actual feelings for her. All the more, he avoids the thought of falling in love with her; it just might come true because of how amazing Juhyeon is. It was good that he had been hardened by years of challenges that he knew how to not let his emotions control him. He didn’t want to risk his newfound friendship with her. Not for now at least. He wanted to be a responsible man and a responsible friend to her.

Juhyeon on the other hand, felt the same. Unlike Taemin who had a background in falling in love and liking girls, Juhyeon NEVER EVER liked any other guy and never even thought of falling in love. Whenever her friends talk about the guys they like, they always ask Juhyeon at the end of every conversation what her ideal type is and why she hasn’t fallen in love ever. Juhyeon always answered that she doesn’t know. Though the girls just think this was an alibi to avoid spilling secrets, Juhyeon was really honest about not knowing what her ideal type is and that’s because she never really thought about it. This was the very reason why they tried to pair Taemin with her. Juhyeon remembered how the girls kept talking about him earlier this morning. They kept asking her about him, they kept trying to tell her how much they wanted Taemin for her and this was not only because they found out he was a superstar. They liked Taemin as a person and they loved how he took care of Juhyeon the previous night. They have never seen any guy respect and be that sweet to Juhyeon at the same time since her late father. Maybe she didn’t have time to think about it because she had to prioritize and stand up for herself early or because the guys that surrounded her were total jackasses. She feels what Taemin feels. She didn’t know what to feel towards him. Like Taemin, she was scared to fall in love. She was scared because falling in love was a concept she never grasped. She doesn’t even know what crushing on someone even feels like. Besides, Taemin was her first guy friend; it was natural for her to feel this funny feeling towards him. She wanted to avoid thinking about it but her heart was starting to beat for Taemin.

“Oppa thank you for paying for the groceries. You really didn’t have to” said Juhyeon.
“It’s no problem. Don’t you worry about it” said Taemin.
…

…

…

…
“Oppa-ya?” asked Juhyeon.
“Hmmm?” said Taemin.
“I never got to ask…how did you find out about my favorite nickname?” asked Juhyeon.
“Irene?” said Taemin.
“Mhmm” said Juhyeon.
“Um uh….Yeri” said Taemin.
“Aigoo…what did she say about it?”
“She said it makes you feel beautiful. So I tried to call you by that name to calm you down when you were so scared” said Taemin.
“Kamsahamnida. What else did Yeri tell you?” asked Juhyeon.
“Um uh….haha, can’t tell you. It’s our um….oppa-dongsaeng secret” said Taemin, trying not to break their code further.
“Oppa, malhaebwa (tell me)?” asked Juhyeon cutely. Taemin was so bedazzled by her natural aegyo that he was caught in a trance. Taemin snapped out of it and looked away.
“Ya, I just told you” said Taemin.
“Fine. No dinner for you tonight” said Juhyeon.
“Fine. I’ll just remove my head bandage and bang my head against the wall until I die” jokingly threatened Taemin.
“Aniyaaa!” said Juhyeon and glared at Taemin.
“Just kidding hahaha” laughed Taemin.
“Nado, nado” giggled Juhyeon.
“Why do you like that name so much anyway?”
“Oh it’s a pretty long story..”
“I got time. I have the rest of my days here in Daegu with you so just tell me”
“Fine. Didn’t I tell you I was active in performing when I was younger? Well my teacher wrote this original play for us back in preschool and she gave me the role of “Irene” a goddess, because she said I was the prettiest in class---”
“I’m sure you were” cutted in Taemin.
“Aniya” denied Juhyeon with her insecurity kicking in.
“Peaceful goddess. Why would I call you a peaceful goddess yesterday if you weren’t as beautiful as one” said Taemin, making Juhyeon blush.
“Y-ya, just let me finish my story” said Juhyeon.
“Go”
“Anyway. I forgot how the story of the play goes, but because I was really young back then, I enjoyed my role so much that I was able to perform well. Because I had a nice performance, it made a mark on my classmates and their parents. They called me Irene-yeoshin. I felt so beautiful as a little girl. Wendy and Seulgi were the first ones who called me that--”
“How about Joy?”
“She was still a crawling baby back then”
“and Yeri hasn’t sprung into existence yet”
“Haha yeah. Now, not many people remember about that nickname of mine since I don’t even go out much. Just my friends call me that now. The rest call me Baechu, my original nickname”
“Baechu is also a cute nickname” said Taemin.
“Yeah but I think I like Irene better” said Juhyeon.
“So do you want me to call you Irene more often?” asked Taemin.
“….Neh…that…that would be nice I guess..” said Juhyeon.
“Alright then…..Irene” said Taemin. Just like that, it did make Juhyeon feel beautiful. She shyly brushed her hair behind her ear and smiled at the ground.

Soon enough the two arrived home. They removed their shoes, entered the house and went straight to the kitchen to unload the groceries and place them in their proper places. As they were rearranging the groceries, a thought popped up in Taemin’s head.
“Irene?” asked Taemin.
“Neh oppa?” said Juhyeon.
“What did you feel when you found out who I really was?” said Taemin.
“That you were an idol?”
“Neh”
”Well…..I wasn’t as surprised as I thought I would be”
“How come?”
“You looked and dressed differently. You looked so different from the people around here. To be honest, I just couldn’t believe you were a superstar because I was too overwhelmed. Overwhelmed that I had to be more responsible with taking care of you and treating your injury knowing how valuable you are in Seoul…..or maybe even internationally. If something goes wrong with you, someone might press charges against me. I was also overwhelmed by the fact that the first guy I took in, the first guy I became friends with was no ordinary guy. It’s not everyday that a silver-haired guy with glowing skin and fancy clothes drops unconscious in front of my house.”
“I see…well then. I promise to be a more responsible friend to you. And don’t you worry, if something goes wrong with me, I’ll be the first to blame it on my own clumsiness. If something worse happens to me, I want you to still be my nurse okay?” said Taemin.
“But I’m not a real nurse. I’m just a nurse’s daughter, if something worse happens to you, I can’t guarantee to heal you completely by my own” said Juhyeon.
“Then, just stay by my side. That could be enough. If I was your first guy friend, you are the first female friend to ever take care of me well in the last decade of my life. Surely you would know more about me better than those nurses and doctors whose job is to just cure me” said Taemin. The two stared at each other for a while. Juhyeon pushed Taemin away and continued packing up the groceries.
“Ya.. Why are we talking about such worrisome matters? You should just relax and enjoy the rest of your vacation” said Juhyeon.
“Just saying. You’re always so tense, I had to ease you down somehow. Besides, if I do get in some sort of worse condition, I may not have the time and strength to ask you to stand by me” said Taemin.
“Well, if you continue talking about unfortunate events, it just might come true. So stop” said Juhyeon.
“Are you worried about me, Irene?” flirted Taemin, flashing his signature playful smile at the girl.
“……Why wouldn’t I be worried if one of my friends fall into a horrible state” said Juhyeon, closed the cabinet doors and faced Taemin.
“Speaking of horrible state. Sit down” said Irene.
“Eung? Wae?”
“Your head, I haven’t checked it today” said Juhyeon. Taemin sat down on the chair and removed his beanie. Juhyeon started to unwrap the bandage slowly, reapplied the ointment and wrapped a new piece of bandage around Taemin’s head.
“How is my head nurse Irene?” asked Taemin.
“Better but still pretty fresh. Still gonna take a while” said Juhyeon.
“More time for me to stay here then” said Taemin. He then stood up and led Juhyeon to the stove from behind.
“Yeodongsaeng, you might be forgetting about our dinner” said Taemin.
“What? Yeodongsaeng? Why call me that?” said Juhyeon removing Taemin’s hands from her back.
“You said I was like your older brother”
“I didn’t mean it to the extent of you calling me yeodongsaeng” replied Irene. “I still am older you know, don’t press your luck”
“Okay then….it’s not my fault you look kindergarten or something” mumbled Taemin.
Juhyeon started to look pissed by Taemin’s over-childishness. She puffed her cheeks, pressed together, and her eyes looked sharper than usual. As she took the ingredients by the stove, Taemin felt the tension in her movements. Suddenly, she felt two warm, firm arms wrap around her shoulders. She gasped.

“Sorry Irene, that was a bit overboard. Enough teasing for today. Cook well” whispered Taemin gently into her ear.