Hey guys! It's been a long time. Over two years, in fact. I honestly didn't think I would be back but here I am. Here's a 'new' Gtae fic for you. I actually wrote this two years ago but left it unfinished and just decided to come back and finish it off. 

Nothing too romantic. It's honestly more about GDYB's friendship and YB's relationship with his 'cousin' Taeyeon but yeah, a bit of Gtae in there. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy. It's not very well written and pretty rushed, but like I said, I just wanted to release it, rather than having it collect dust. For new readers, check out the contents page and read through them to see if you might like some of my other stories as well!

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August 27th, 2005

"Oppa. Can you lend me some money? I forgot my wallet at home."

"Aish... I swear this is the third time this week you 'forgot' your wallet at home. I feel like you're just taking advantage of me now," Youngbae grumbled, fishing out his wallet and handing over some notes.

"Thanks, oppa!" she said happily, quickly kissing him on the cheek and skipping back to her group of giggling friends.

"Dude, she totally has you wrapped around her finger," Jiyong chuckled, watching as the group of girls walked away.

"Hey, as long as she's happy, right? I've gotta look out for my cousin," Youngbae said knowingly. "What the hell's that guy think he's doing?" he mumbled to himself when he saw a guy walking up to the girls.

"Dude, relax. He's just talking to them," Jiyong chuckled, although he grew a little nervous at the same time, already knowing what was about to happen.

"Looks like he's trying to ask her out," Youngbae said, quickly getting to his feet and walking over.

Jiyong sat on the table in the courtyard of their school, watching as Youngbae practically manhandled and scared the crap out of the other guy, chuckling when he started lecturing his cousin.

He'd always been like that. Youngbae just had this protective instinct to keep guys away from her, even when they seemed completely harmless. In Jiyong's view, he was a little overprotective but he couldn't do anything to change his best friend's attitude. He was just like that. He had good intentions after all.

Even though he didn't agree with the way his best friend acted when it came to his cousin, he completely understood though. Taeyeon was much more than a cousin to Youngbae. After a horrible accident had claimed the life of her parents, she had practically become his younger sister, and she had relied heavily on Youngbae during her time of need. Even though the accident had happened when they were just kids, Youngbae still took it upon himself to always protect her from harm.

"Well that's taken care of," Youngbae came back, dusting his hands off as if he just took out the trash. "Man, I'm sick of all these guys asking Taeyeonie out. It's starting to become a hassle for me," he sighed.

"You know you can't do that forever, right?" Jiyong laughed. "Sooner or later, she's gonna get herself a boyfriend and you won't be able to do anything about it."

"Yeah, well if it was up to me, she wouldn't get married until she's like fifty!" Youngbae proclaimed. "None of these punks are good enough for her."

Jiyong just snorted at his declaration, however absurd it was. He watched as the group of girls walked away, walking bye to them. Yeah, he definitely had a big problem. And he had absolutely no idea what to do about it. You see, he, Kwon Jiyong, Dong Youngbae's best friend, was totally in love with Kim Taeyeon, his best friend's cousin.

He had no idea when it happened or why it happened. Maybe it was because he spent so much of his time over at the Dong residence. Or maybe it was because Taeyeon always wanted to tag along whenever he and Youngbae were doing something. He had always seen her as just Youngbae's little cousin. The one that loved to play with dolls or have makeovers with her friends. The one that loved to dress up and have slumber parties with her group of friends.

But then she became something more. As she grew older, she became more beautiful then she already was. So beautiful that Jiyong had to slap himself to stop his mind from wondering at times. But that was the problem. He couldn't do anything about it. Youngbae was completely against boys even looking at her, let alone date her.

There was one time recently that he had almost broached the topic with Youngbae, but when he was about to say something Taeyeon had walked into the room with some guy that was clearly flirting with her. He had watched Youngbae leap to his feet and beat the living crap out of the guy, warning him to not to ever come near his cousin ever again. And because of that, Jiyong had kept his feelings a secret.

"What are you thinking about?"

"What?" he visibly startled by the sudden question, looking over at his friend in bewilderment.

"What's got you all jumpy?" Youngbae asked, looking at him as if he just grew a second head.

"N-Nothing!" Jiyong said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I-I've gotta go to class," he said before walking away quickly, slapping himself subtly for being so careless.

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September 5th, 2005

With earphones plugged in, Taeyeon quietly jogged around the park, the lamp posts illuminating a clear path for her. It was her routine almost every night. She would blast her music and run around the park until she couldn't run anymore or until she got hungry. It was her way of spending some time alone, but it also doubled as a stress reliever.

Yeah, her life was quite stressful at times. Why? Because of one, Dong Youngbae. She loved him to death, obviously. Not just because of his relation to her, but also because he treasured her. But he could be too much at times. Well, all the time.

Even if a boy came and talked to her, he'd be there to scare him off, even when the guy just wanted to talk. It wasn't like she wanted the attention from all those boys. No, she just wanted the attention of one boy. But that one boy happened to be the one that she could never have. Yes, Kim Taeyeon was in love with Kwon Jiyong, her cousin's best friend.

When did it happen? She guessed it was always there. He had been in her life for as long as she could remember and she had always seen him as someone that was incredibly important to her. She remembered one memory when she was only ten or eleven years old. She was about to go to sleep when she'd spotted a large spider near her dresser. She had run from her room screaming and calling out for someone. Jiyong was staying over at their house for the weekend because his parents were away and he had come and got rid of the spider for her, smiling at her reassuring, telling her that everything was going to be alright.

Noticing someone from the corner of her eye, she turned to find Byun Baekhyun running beside her, a charming smile on his face when he turned to her. She internally rolled her eyes at him. She knew all about this guy. He was from another school not too far from her own, and word had spread that he was a total player, spotted with a different girl on his arm every second week.

This wasn't the first time they bumped into each other when she was on one of her runs. It had been happening more and more in the recent weeks and she had a suspicion that it wasn't by accident either.

"Seems we keep running into each other huh?" he laughed, looking at her brightly.

"Yeah, seems like we do," she said half-heartedly, taking out her earphones.

"You're not stalking me, are you?" he asked playfully, hoping she would laugh along with him. She just politely laughed along with him, not wanting to be rude and tell him to get away from her. "So, what does a guy have to do to take you out on a date?" he asked, no longer beating around the bush.

"E-Excuse me?" Evidently, she was caught off guard by the sudden question, causing her to slow down her pace until they were both walking. "Um..."

"Come on Taeyeon. Just one date. That's all I'm asking. I promise you'll have a great time," he smiled charmingly at her.

She had to admit he was extremely handsome. She couldn't fault girls for falling for him. But considering everything she'd heard about him? Nah, there's was not a single chance in the world she would go out with him.

Looking around nervously, hoping to find something or some way to get her out of this sticky situation, "Um... S-Sorry, but I actually have a boyfriend," she said when she spotted her escape route.

"What?" Baekhyun blanched, not expecting her to tell him that. "Since when?" he asked incredulously.

"S-Since last week! Look, he's over there if you don't believe me," she pointed towards the caged off area in the middle of the park where a basketball court was located. She watched nervously as he narrowed his eyes and tried to see who it was.

"Anyways, it was nice talking to you, but I'm going to go say hi to my boyfriend now," she quickly said, briskly walking towards the basketball court, nervously glancing behind her every so often to see if he was still watching her.

Evidently, he was, so she had to do something so he would stop him from asking her out all the time. "H-Hey oppa!" she called when she had entered the caged off area, closing the gate behind her.

"Tae? What are you doing out here so late at night?" Jiyong asked in surprise upon hearing her voice.

"U-Um... I was just on my run and I saw you here," she smiled nervously, walking up to him. Subtly looking over his right shoulder to see Baekhyun's hawk-like eyes watching her, she quickly wrapped her delicate arms around Jiyong's neck, catching him by surprise.

"W-What are you doing?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"Just play along, okay? I'll explain everything in a second," she whispered to him.

It was weird. Whenever she'd envisioned her first kiss, she thought it would be after a romantic date where the guy would be sending her home, kissing her gently on her front doorstep before wishing her a good night. But she'd never imagined her first kiss, let alone her first kiss with her long-time crush, would be to chase away some other guy that couldn't take a damn hint.

Pulling away from the kiss, she looked up at his face, watching as his eyes slowly flickered open. "S-sorry oppa," she said quietly, extracting her small arms from around his neck. She took that chance to look over his shoulder again, sighing in relief when she saw Baekhyun's retreating back.

Jiyong's eyes flickered open as he breathed deeply, looking down at her in a daze. "Why are you sorry?" he asked breathlessly, finding his arms still firmly but gently wrapped around her small waist.

When she looked up at him in confusion, he took that opportunity to lean down and capture her sweet lips in his again. He kissed her motionless lips for just a moment before he felt her respond wholeheartedly, their lips moving together in perfect harmony.

Eventually oxygen became a necessity, forcing the two to break away from each other, their breathing laboured. She leaned into his chest, hiding her heavily flustered face from his view.

They stood in each other's arms for a few moments, just taking in the moment. The contented smile on Jiyong's face suddenly changed as his eyes widened dramatically, realisation finally hitting him about what they just did.

As if lightning had struck him, he jumped out of her grasp, startling her. ", , . What the hell did we just do?" he said, moreso to himself than to Taeyeon. ". Youngbae's gonna skin me alive if he finds out about this," he continued to mumble.

She watched him as he panicked, fumbling over his words as he tried to gather his senses. She quietly walked back to him and wrapped her arms around his neck again, stopping him from moving. He looked at her in confusion and worry, not sure what was happening.

"Shhhh oppa. You don't have to worry about anything," she said quietly, hoping to alleviate his worries. "I-I like you oppa. I've liked you since forever," she gathered her courage to confess to him. "I just..." she didn't know what else to say. She just leaned into his body, her head resting gently into his chest, the sound of his heartbeat soothing her.

"You like me?" he asked, moreso to himself. "I can't believe this," he whispered in shock. He felt her move from his arms as her eyes became misty with tears.

She gently wiped away her tears before they could fall, "It's okay if you don't like me back oppa. I just wanted you to know how I felt," she said, her voice shaky.

"W-What? What are you talking about?" he asked in a panic as he took a few steps forward and wrapped his arms around her waist again. He gently tilted her head up from the ground so he could look at her properly, delicately wiping away a few more tears.

He smiled at her and pressed a gentle kiss on her lips, smiling when he saw her watery smile. "You have no idea how much I like you Tae. Or how long I've liked you," he said quietly.

"Really?" she asked quietly, gently holding him again.

"Really, really," he nodded and kissed her again. He gently pressed his forehead on hers as they looked deeply into each other's eyes, their smiles matching one another's. "Come on," he gently took her small hand in his and led her to a nearby tree where he sat down and patted the ground next to him. He delicately wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him, planting a soft kiss atop her head.

"So, was this your ruse to confess to me or something?" he broke the silence, chuckling a little bit.

She giggled next to him and hugged him closer to her, "No, some guy kept trying to ask me out so I told him I had a boyfriend when I saw you playing over here."

"Oh..." he said disappointedly. "So, you only kissed me to scare off some guy?" he asked playfully.

"Nooooo..." she sat up and kissed him to reassure him. "Well, yes, but I've also wanted to kiss you for so long. Two birds, one stone, if you know what I mean," she giggled.

"Wow. Way to put it so romantically," he said sarcastically, causing her to break out into a fit of giggles. They sat in silence for a while, hugging each other as if their lives depended on it, something they've wanted to do for such a long time.

"What are we going to do?" she asked quietly after a while. "You know how Youngbae oppa is when it comes to me and boys."

Jiyong just sighed and closed his eyes, not wanting to think about it. "I really don't know Tae. I... Even though I'm his best friend, I know he would kill me if he knew I liked you. I've liked you for so long... but... but I can't afford to lose my best friend."

She nodded slowly onto his shoulder, not knowing what else to do. "I understand oppa," she said quietly, hugging him closer to her body.

"But... this... this just feels so right," he pulled her closer to him. "I don't want to lose this feeling. Not when I've finally got you. I just... I don't know what to do Tae," he said defeatedly, leaning against her for support.

"Don't worry oppa. We'll get through this together," she smiled up at him reassuringly. He smiled down at her and kissed her gently again, not wanting to ever forget this moment.

***

"Crap, is that the time?" Jiyong said suddenly when he looked at his watch. They had been sitting under the tree for quite some time, just happy to be together. "I should probably get you home, huh? They're probably wondering where you are," he said as he got up to his feet and pull her up.

Taeyeon quickly wrapped her arms around his neck again, looking up at him with as much aegyo as she could. "Can't we just stay for a little bit longer?" she pouted cutely.

He chuckled, quickly kissing her. "No, it's getting late. I need to get you home."

She just pouted and looked back at the ground, "Fine."

"Hey, don't be like that," Jiyong chuckled, lifting her head and kissing her again. "It's not like this is the last time we're going to see each other."

"Promise?"

Jiyong laughed again before pulling her with him in the direction of her house. "I promise. But you need to promise me something to."

"What's that?"

"You can't use your aegyo as a weapon against me anymore because you know I won't be able to say no to you," he laughed.

"Fineeeeeee," she said with aegyo, causing him to break out into more laughter. They quietly made their way to her house hand in hand, just enjoying each other's company.

"So, I'll see you at school tomorrow?" he asked when they were at her front doorstep.

"Of course, you will. It's not like I'm transferring or anything," she giggled. "Good night oppa," she said quietly, leaning in to kiss him good night.

"Good night Tae," he whispered back, leaning in to meet her half way. Their lips were just about to touch when they heard footsteps coming from the other side of the front door, causing them to immediately spring apart.

The door violently swung opening, revealing a worried looking Youngbae. "There you are! Where have you been? We were worried sick!" he said, walking up to her and pulling her into a hug. Only then did he notice the presence of his best friend. "Ji? What are you doing here this late?"

"I- umm..." he stuttered, not able to think quickly on his feet.

Taeyeon, noticing his troubles quickly stepped in, "I ran into Jiyong oppa when I was on my run and he was teaching me how to play basketball! I guess we lost track of time. Sorry oppa," she said sheepishly.

"Yeah, sorry man," Jiyong quickly caught on. "That's entirely my fault. So, I walked her home. Couldn't have her walking from the park all by herself this late at night, right?" he said, nervously rubbing the back on his neck, hoping his friend would buy their little white lie.

Youngbae looked between the two before nodding his head. "I couldn't ask for a better friend than you man," he said with his trademark eye smile, quickly pulling Jiyong into a brotherly hug. "Thanks for walking her home."

"N-No problem man. Happy to do it," Jiyong smiled back nervously. "A-Anyways, I'd better head home. I'll see you two at school tomorrow," he said, before waving at them and walking away, turning back to see them both walking into their house, Taeyeon also looking back at him. They shared a small smile with one another, but that didn't help his clouded mind as he made the trek home.

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October 10th, 2005

"Stop it oppa!" Taeyeon laughed, playfully hitting him on the arm. "Give me some," she said with as much aegyo as she could, successfully getting a bite of their lunch.

Jiyong sighed and pouted playfully, "Didn't you promise not to use aegyo anymore? I can't defend myself against it," he said, earning an adorable giggle from her.

"When I really want something from you, then I know what I need to do to get it," she laughed, taking another spoonful of their lunch.

It had been over a month since that fateful night in the park, and it was the happiest month that they'd ever had. Just being with each was all they could ask for and that was enough for them. Every chance they could get, they would spend with each other, whether it was a few minutes at school, or whether it was a few fleeting moments when Jiyong was at Youngbae and Taeyeon's house.

They hadn't said anything to Youngbae about it yet, and he was none the wiser. They felt horrible about it, deceiving him, but they knew it was the only way they could be together, and that was what was most important to them.

Every time they broached the topic of telling Youngbae about their relationship, they would always say the same thing. 'We'll deal with it when the time comes.' And thankfully, that time hadn't come yet. At least, that's what they thought.

***

"Where are we going oppa?" a young girl by the name of Seo Joohyun asked, as she was being dragged along up a staircase.

"I wanted to show you something. Besides, didn't you say you wanted to spend more time together?" Lee Seunghyun, a.k.a Seungri, asked as he guided her up the hollow staircase.

"Yeah, but where are we going oppa? Are you up to something again?" she asked suspiciously, pulling her hand away from his and crossing her arms over her chest, her eyebrow raised at him dangerously.

He laughed nervously at her, rubbing the back of his neck out of habit. "I'm not up to anything babe. Why do you always think I'm up to something?" he laughed, stepping closer to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

She merely scoffed at him but still uncrossed her arms and placed them