Hey everyone, 

This part of the story is not laid out in chronological order, they are events that occurred in their lives at differnt points of time that prove that they know each other best. I brought in CHangmin's sisters as well. They are based fictionally of course. ANd for the sake of a moment of changyoon, let's please assume that paparazzi are not as efficient as they really are and that they are disguised/ blended in to certain levels when in public. 

Thank you guys 

***

One is foolish to think that that understanding was only pointed in one direction. Yoona understood Changmin just as well, if not better. None of the many girls he tries to introduce as his potential significant other can come close, not even the gorgeous Victoria.

Victoria bows just before entering the house to her mother, her long hair taking a swish in the process.

“Eommoni, I heard you like Boa so I brought you Boa sunbae’s latest album” with a bright smile, she hands the bag over. The lady smiles, one that only Changmin (and another girl not present) could read as she side glances at him for the slightest moment.

“Oh I’m sure everyone has” the mocking accusation more apparent in her tone than that look Changmin caught. He knew she was still referring to the incident he revealed his scouting experience on a broadcast. But the girl beside him just blinks back at his mother.

The silence is broken by the mother urging them to come into the abode.  Mrs Shim places the bag carefully beside a glass cabinet, the contents in its own glimmering light. But one particular item on the top shelf makes him take a second peek. He does not point it out to Victoria, seeing the almost identical gift that she bought today at the music store. The ‘only one’ album sits at the end of the autographed collection, with the freshest signature. There is no need for him to ponder to know who the gift was from.

“Min ah, will you please help me get the tea from the kitchen cupboard?”

“There’s no need eommoni” Victoria smiles politely.

“It’s a must, you’re a guest any way” the lady is not deterred by her courteous response. Before they leave, Victoria asks where the bathroom is and he points her down the hallway.

As Changmin retrieves the canister and passes it to his mother, he asks

“Yoona came today?” his mother does not appear surprised at his question. She nods in a way as if she visits every day.

“She brought me the album as you have already seen, as soon as it came out today. There was even a little message from Boa as well, such a sweetheart the both of them.” He merely nods. The quietness of the apartment suddenly striking him.

“Where are JI Yeon and Soo Yeon?” he scans whatever floor he can see and adds “and Mandongi?” noticing his missing pup.

“On a walk.” Her frown tells him that it was supposed to be obvious. 

“With who?”

“Did you miss the part I answered that Yoona came today?” there is something almost unreadable on his face. But her mother does not miss it nonetheless. 

 She decided to bring them all for a walk, hearing that you were bringing” her eyes glance momentarily in the direction of the hallway. “Victoria ssi.” Changmin’s brows crease a little perhaps by that honorific or maybe it was something else his mother wondered. Her son almost appears unaffected. Just almost that if she was someone other than his mother it would all become unnoticed.  Continuing to prepare her tea, she explains motherly

“You know how distracting those three can get sometimes.” Her and Changmin stifle a little knowing laugh.

“Don’t go pretending that it wasn’t one of your main concerns of bringing her here. Who knows what can go wrong?” Her attention was still on the tea. As for Changmin, his eyes occasionally traced to what was happening outside and below their window.

***

“Pick something” he pushes the menu towards her. Yoona glances at the variety of flavours and cones and does the same action. She shakes her head.

“I want everything” she eyes the menu with a pout. Changmin sighs.

“Old rules?” this time Yoona gives a certain nod. They play scissors paper rock and Yoona (as always) wins against Changmin. She pushes the ice cream menu closer to him.

“Choose” she tilts her chin indicatively to the menu.

“Wait. But you won”

“Yeah, did you forget that in a situation like this, losers choose?” she eye smiles.

Though having to pick several, everytime he chooses a flavour, he takes a glimpse of her expression to confirm. Perhaps she realised the way he avoided banana. After all, it was the only flavour she is unable to soften up to.

***

Changmin puts down the tray filled with paper wrapped burgers as Yoona does so with the drinks. His sisters’ eyes’ light up immediately.

“Oppa stop sulking” Yoona taps him on the arm. He rests his elbow on the table and rests a cheek on his hand, distorting his grumpy features. She finds it hard not to laugh. The bustling customers of the fast food restaurant blend their conversation into the drone as well.

“Before you came, they hassled me for a good half an hour.”

“They’re only little girls still.” He looks at the two girls in uniform and back at Yoona with a raised eyebrow. “At heart. And since you’re busy promoting with the other four oppas in Japan, these poor little girls don’t get to be spoilt much by their lovely big brother, right girls?”

She shines an eye smile at the two already indulging in their burgers. The two are triumphantly feigning innocence while nodding behind their burgers.

“You two” he is about to reach and pinch their cheeks when he realises the half eaten burger in Soo Yeon’s hand which she just placed down on the tray. Her eyes are glowing when she reaches for the untouched wraps.

“Oppa can I try this one?!!!” Already trying to unravel the paper. Before Changmin can tell them off for not finishing their own burger first, Yoona whispers into his ear.

“It’s got tomatoes in it” she gives him a lopsided smile. Knowing he does not want to lose his favourite pick of the menu to his sister. His smirk hints a little pride as he eyes Yoona. When Soo Yeon and Ji Yeon peek at the contents,

“Ewww it has tomato in it! I’m not eating that” they put it back down immediately and reach for their own burgers again. Yoona giggles beneath her hand.

“And you just touched all the food. What are we going to eat?” Yoona hands him a packet of fries picking a few and push them between his pursed lips. Jiyeon begins laughing.

“Yoona unnie doesn’t mind” Soo Yeon sing songs. “Right Yoona Unnie? It makes Yoona sneak a sympathetic look sideways and just nods. He shakes his head disbelievingly and reaches for a drink. Noticing the condensation on both remaining cups, he lifts both of them and shakes them, only to receive the sound he suspected.

“I told them no ice for your one” he picks up one of the drinks and heads towards the counter once again.

***

“If you win me in scissors, paper rock, I’ll go and buy the drinks” He confidently returns Kyuhyun’s request with a challenge. 

“Rock, Kyuhyun oppa,” Yoona merely says from behind the book she is apparently reading. Minho, Kyuhyun, Yunho and Boa give curious looks at the girl who was silent and occupied throughout.

“Yah Im Yoona, stay out of this!” Changmin calls, and she smirks. But even though he go the evident warning, he still chooses the usual without thinking. And when Kyuhyun did follow Yoona’s tip, he saves himself from a trip down to the convenience store. The table share disbelieving laughter as Changmin gets up.

“Hey trouble trouble trouble, you’re coming with me” he calls to the girl with reference to her latest comeback song. Yoona closes her book and follows the tall man out the door.

He tries to stare her down, but the effect is not what he hopes it is when she just shrugs and says

“Yet, like always, you still do it” she suddenly sings as they reach the fridge. Changmin leans against the fridge, his eyes still not leaving Yoona. He holds out a fist, ready for another game. Without hesitation when she puts out a rock while he delivers a paper. He wraps it around hers. When she looks at him, she spots the evil smirk. She did not need to be taken aback like the way she did, the drumming in her chest being a false alarm.

“You’re paying” he points at her.

“Like I would expect anything else from you” She feigns a begrudging tone and scrunches his nose. She readjusts the basket in her hand before she feels the entire weight being taken away. He walks in front to a particular row, adding a bottle of unrefrigerated juice into the basket. She closes her eyes while shaking her head and smiling before heading to the ahjummoni at the front of the shop.  

 ***

“Oppa, which one looks better?” the girl whines.

Changmin offers nothing better than a shrug.

“Then what colour should I pick?”

It is the same response that makes the first signs of irritation appear on Shim Jiyeon’s face.

“Oppa this is something for you. You’re the one who said we need to wear more formal clothing to the opening party for the SM art exhibition.” Sooyeon makes sure she drags out the accusational tone long enough.

“You two would have to try it on to tell” A voice answers from behind.

There is a moment where the girls’ eyes glitter as they register the approaching female.

“Unnie!” they chorus and run up to her in a tight embrace.

“Hello,” Yoona smiles, as they both wrap their arms around her shoulder.

“The colour theme for this one are the SM colours so white and pink and maybe black. So this purple one would have to wait for next time, alright?” She pulls the hanging dress out from Sooyeon’s grasp.  She receives an obedient nod.

 “Now if you do want to be on time for the party, let’s see which one is better” and they immediately take the cue to run to the change rooms. Yoona lifts the dress and turns to Changmin with a judging look. He unfolds his arms and releases his pursed lips.

“I tried telling them at the beginning” he gestures to the change rooms. Yoona is unable to hold her laugh back anymore.

“Oppa, next time before you make a comment on their clothing, please think about who they would make to go with them.”  He sighs defeatedly, puffing air out of his lips so that his bangs are lifted off his forehead for a little.

“And before taking suggestions from your stylist noona, make sure it perhaps has a section for male apparel so you can at least…” They both scan the feminine colours of the boutique. “You know, perhaps hide?”  Changmin nods dramatically while searching a suitable come back but fails. “Or you could try those dresses over there?” the ones with red lace and feathers. She suggests, failing to hide her laugh.

“Im Yoona” he warns.

And perhaps Yoona vaguely recollects that image of that similar type of dress when it appears at the SM TOWN live tour in Seoul two years later.  As the four unfamiliar ladies sing ‘something’ in front of an audience of a full arena. She passes him backstage and they both give each other a thumbs up.

***

He voices the condition to the trainee. 

“Come on Changmin, the poor girl only needs an autograph for her cousin” Kyuhyun tries to persuade but nevertheless failing. Changmin repeats it with a smile this time.

“I would do it if you pick the correct number. Now pick a number between one and twenty.”

“Why twenty sunbae nim?”

 But before any of them can make a proper reply, the closing of a door to the practice room behind them and the emergence of a girl familiar to all of them, changes the circumstances.

“Eighteen, because it always is” she stops next to the trainee before continuing to walk. Kyuhyun nudges Changmin who appears to be bearing pain. Just for fun, the former calls out to the girl almost disappearing around the corner.

“What if it was from one to ten?” not caring how his voice echoes all down the hallway. She turns back to them. Kyuhyun can almost swear how her eyes twinkle as she smirks at Changmin.

She merely lifts her hand, showing five of her skinny digits. Smiling, she speaks in a normal voice, letting the acoustics of the hallway carry it through

“He was going to give you the signature anyway” she turns her upheld hand into a wave and leaves the others in varying degrees of shock, anger and relief.

As the trainee (almost) skips away with the prize in her hand,

“I get the eighteen, but why five?”

“it’s someone’s birthday month and debut date.” But he knows better than to speak those words aloud especially to a loudmouth like Kyuhyun. Instead, he mutters

“Hers is seven if you want to know. She never changes it either” before pushing past him.  

***

He is reluctant, and it progresses into the stage of regret as soon as he steps into the main building of SM entertainment. As for the two girls in front of Changmin, their giddiness palpable, are already out of control.

“You two behave, just one round of the building like we agreed.” He feels as if he needs to wipe the sweat off his forehead with the back of his sleeve. That choding, Yoona was right his career let alone schedules overseas had taken too many opportunities away from him to connect with his sisters. But they took this advantage too far, whining for the entire morning until his mother made the suggestion of restricted access.

“Yes” they reply sweetly. But they have other ideas.  He is too distracted by his concerns to spot the exchange of looks between the two of them. They peek into every open door, finding every second sight fascinating.

As they reach the second level, the girls are already halfway through the hallway. Changmin begins to suspect that they have something they’re looking for. Just as he is about to catch up, he feels a wisp of air movement and a little voice

“BOO!” It was his choding Yoona. The gleam in her eyes was brighter than the last time she saw her - that time eating burgers with his sisters during her nine month hiatus break, before she disappeared amidst her endless preparations. Perhaps being active brought back the liveliness.

“You think you can scare me?” he pinches her nose. She slaps his hand before he could retract it and pokes her tongue at him.

“Congratulations to you girls, finally showing the world what you’ve got.”

“Ehh oppa stop teasing.” She narrows her eyes and laughs.

“I’m serious, I wanted to congratulate you girls” he tries nodding convincingly when she suddenly asks him

“Why are you here oppa?” she sees the realisation spread through his expression and he bites his lips unsurely. His finger is pointing at where his sisters were last seen before she distracted him.

“Shim Ji Yeon and Shim Soo Yeon are supposed to be.” He is still pointing “there”

She pulls him by the hand to run for the nearest stairs.

“They promised one round of the building.” She can track his plan mentally now so she leads him up to the next level and almost crash into the two crime committers.

“Yoona unnie” they almost pounce at the sight.

“We saw you on tv again” Soo yeon starts

“Many, many times!” Ji Yeon jumps. “Oppa did too” she adds pointing behind Yoona.

“Oh yeah?” Her eyes find Changmin who just covered his eyes with his hands.

“We were looking for you” they whisper into her ears making Yoona laugh.

“and we tried to learn your dance” they show her the crab leg dance. Changmin tries shaking her arm for help while the do so.

“Wow well done!” she exclaims, feeling the silence behind her. “Hey, how about this?” She straightens up, the girls’ eyes follow enthusiastically, watching her turn to their brother. “You wanted to congratulate the unnies and Seohyun right?”

Yoona announces her return to the practice room with a knock on the door. She enters without  waiting

“Unnie, we have guests who want us to show them our dance. And someone who said he wanted to congratulate all of us” revealing the three standing outside the door. The tallest male, distancing himself from the threshold and merely bows awkwardly at the reply of the mixed calls of sunbae and his sisters.

And the nine of them do just that for the two girls. Changmin standing in a corner, not realising that his gaze was fixated on one particular smile in the reflection. He releases a sigh as they end in their final position. Yoona catches his blank staring, and offers him a lopsided smile with a peace sign. Nobody notices being too occupied with the little girls and the girls being too busy hanging their mouths in awe. She reads the gratitude in his eyes before he mouths the words. He gives her a thumbs up before walking up to the crowd to tell the girls to leave.

“They can stay” Yoona says seeing a little unease in his eyes when they solidly refuse.

***

Yoona pulls her coat closer to her as they near the exit of the SM building. Stepping in time with Changmin, her mind is playing back the wake up call he just gave her back in the practice room. He had given her a good portion of an hour of his time afterwards for solitude to reflect, while he tried to become invisible once again. Just laying in the middle of the practice room on the floor boards staring at the light was something she even considered she should do more often.

 He was correct. She was really determined to try to stand up again and help the others as well, she needs to. The draining energy from all that practice finally registers in her mind just as the comfort becomes almost tangible. There were only a few more steps left to go to the exit when someone entered. She does not take notice until he actually calls her name.

“Yoona” Seunggi calls. She feels Changmin freeze beside her, she tries to think that the tension she feels from him as part of her imagination. She lets out a sigh when his lips form a genuine smile.

“Seunggi oppa” she actually tries to smile again – an improvement from a week ago. As her boyfriend makes his way to her and places his hand on hers, Changmin becomes harder and harder to read.

“Sooyoung ssi told me that I would find you here.”

“I’m just finished now.” She smiles and glances at Changmin. They nod at each other politely and reach out their hands politically.

“Well, I guess you don’t need that ride home anymore” there is something in his smile she fails to put her finger on. He tilts his head into the direction of the exit before Seunggi thanks him for taking care of Yoona. Yoona sees only the profile of his smile before he turns towards the exit. There is a part of her that wants to call out to the leaving figure. But Seunggi begins asking her if she’s well.

“I’m a lot better now, thank you.” She says while trying to look into his eyes. “Sorry for making you worry”

Seunggi is not a bad boyfriend, in fact far from it. But every time Yoona looks into her eyes, ends up in his cuddle, there is just something missing…   

***

They finally reached the arcade area of games. Yoona automatically breaks into a little run towards her favourite game. IT was the one she enjoyed most every single visit with Sooyoung unnie, Sica unnie, Seo Hyunnie, Hyoyeon unnie and Chang-. She cut her thought track, hoping to rewind. Her hand already tapped the start button subconsciously although knowing that she still had not swiped her point card.

“Do you want to play?” She turns her head back to the man just catching up.

“No” He said without even a second of considering the game. The tiredness she had just got from walking all around the mall had just returned with the one word that left . She steps away from the machine.

“What do you do?” he asked curiously, staring at the clowns of the machine.

“Oh,” she managed a tired smile and points to the machine, explaining anyway not to be rude “You throw these balls and try to knock the clowns down.”

“Ohh…” Seunggi said, having acknowledged the rules. “Do you want to play?” he finally asks, probably out of courtesy.

But Yoona declines a little too fast, almost before he got to finish his question. Her ‘no’ is a little too short and curt. But she tries to not overthink about it. ‘What’s the point?’ she sighs. Internally deflated.

“Childish” he scorns. Just as Yoona is about to turn, she hears the challenge leave his lips.

“You want to play?” Changmin asks. She continues walking away from the game. He catches her swinging wrist.

“Loser owes dinner.” She catches the blaze behind his eyes and Yoona hides her smirk long enough for him to turn around and lead her to the game.

It is a holiday in Paris for everyone under the label of SM entertainment. A few of the super junior members including Kyuhyun who tags Changmin along approach the machine with clowns slowly. At the same time, a few of the members of girls’ generation reach the same attraction. Having wasted her energy on the other games her members enjoyed, Yoona appears to not have enough life left in her to play. She merely looks at it wearily. There was still nobody out of the flock to actually approach the playing ground. Yoona spots the tall one out of the group of sunbaes. He gives her a knowing smirk after catching her eye.

“What? Scared?!” he quirks up an eyebrow.

“What?! NO! How can that be possible?!” She gasps disbelievingly at his mockery while gently nudging Seohyun and Hyoyeon out of the way. Stepping into the clearing that the group now expanded, she rolls her sleeves up and steps up next to Changmin in front of the machine. Before they swipe their card and press start. Their eyes have a fierce exchange. And the cheering and intensity is still imprinted in her living memory until this day.

***

She steps up to her boyfriend and gives him a hug. Seunggi caresses her head softly. Yoona pulls back after a moment of closing her eyes and tells him that there is something that she forgot to tell her sunbae. He nods understandingly and walks for the exit. She uses the remaining power of her legs to chase after the one who left the building first.

Turning a corner around the main building, she finds him. She lays her hands on her knees to catch her breath. ‘How fast does he have to walk?!’ she mentally yells exasperatedly. But she shakes her head after less than a moment and continues running after him. The night breathing a coolness that numbs her mind is almost enough to make her stop. But as she slows down and looks on the ground, a pair of feet emerge into her line of vision. She smiles, with those warm drops of liquid swelling in her eyes.

“Gee oppa, you need to slow down sometimes.” She huffs, her breath visible as a puff of steam in the air.

“It’s not my fault you’re slow.” He teases. “Did your boyfriend’s car break down?”

She gives him a tired glare.

“Yah! I came after you all this way too” she complains

“whining is a specialty of my two sisters. I don’t need you to make it yours as…” his sentence ends there as he feels her arms around him.

“Thank you oppa” she whispers against his chest. She knows that he heard it. He supports her back up onto her feet. And she feels two distinct not so gentle pats on her head, a familiar one – one she used to receive when they first entered this company. He does not give a direct reply to her statement, but she reads it in his eyes.

“You had a lot of practice today Yoona, and don’t keep your boyfriend waiting.” HE smiles then adds his Changmin touch to it “with your pace, he’ll have grey hair by the time you reach back to his car” And before her fist lands on him, he has already turned around, walking away. She watches him, as he casually waves.   

Yes it is mutual, the understanding between the two of them. But they could never be anything more than what they are now in case one day, it becomes nothing anymore.