“Put your fingers here.” Hajoon moves behind me, positioning my fingers on the guitar. He grabs my other hand to strum the note. “How does that feel?” I feel his breath tickling the hair near my ear. Does he not realize he is so close?

“So, it’s like this?” I strum the four chords he’s been teaching me and he nods.

“See? You got it.”

We’ve been working on a song that fits my voice. After accepting help from Hajoon, I’ve spent most of my time trying to work on this song while taking care of Mom.

Hajoon moves back to his position, grabbing the paper that has the lyrics written down.

I pause mid strum to look at him. “What are you doing?”

“Being an artist is more than pouring your heart out and helping people. It’s about presentation. Look at me.” He waves a hand at himself. “I’m known for my good looks and sparkling personality. It’s all for the camera though. When you’re on stage, you’re not allowed to be shy.”

I shrink back. “I’m horrible with stage fright.” Just the thought of standing in front of people singing what my heart wants, makes me want to break out in hives.

“Because you feel like everyone will laugh at you?” When I nod, he chuckles. “They will.”

My smile fades.

“Everyone has a critic. You just need to let them see that it doesn’t affect you. Your voice is beautiful. With some training you can probably rock everyone to their core, but you have to have some confidence. If you don’t believe in yourself, how can anyone else?”

“You’re making me nervous.”

He lies on his stomach. “Sing to me.”

“Okay.” I quickly look away.

“To me, Yuna.” He stresses the words.

I pluck the strings nervously. “I got this.” It is only Hajoon. My voice starts out shaky. Staring into his eyes, I try to lose myself in the song. Towards the end, I feel better about being able to sing in front of him, despite the butterflies in my stomach.

“Not bad.” He comments with a thumbs up. “You’ve gotten past the biggest barricade. Next time when we try this, you’ll probably even out sing me.”

“Is that possible?” I tease.

His stomach grumbles, reminding me that we haven’t eaten yet. We’ve spent all evening working on this song. How could I get so caught up in it?

“We should get you some food.” I stand up. Laying the guitar on the couch, I walk to the kitchen. “What would you like?”

“I’ll eat pretty much anything.” He calls out. I grab the stuff out of the fridge and pantry before laying it out on the counter. The other nights we’ve ordered out to save us time, but I want to cook for him. I just hope I don’t screw this up.

“Do you need help?”

“You’re my guest. I’ll cook.” I remind him as I chop the onion.

He leans over to grab the knife from my hand. “By the time you get done chopping, my stomach will be eating itself. I don’t mind helping. Cooking is something I enjoy doing.”

I purse my lips, opening the bag of rice. “You’re helping too much.”

His knife pauses over the onion. “Should I stop?”

Seeing him look hurt and slightly confused makes me feel guilty inside. It wasn’t a bad thing. I just didn’t know what to expect from him.

“I like it,” I admitted. “We can both be ourselves, right?” When he nods, I relax a bit.

Sometimes I couldn’t figure out if he likes me with the way he acts or if he’s just being nice because of my situation. Absently, he wipes the sweat from his eyes, hissing at the sudden burn.

“Ah.”

I quickly turn the water on, dousing a tiny hand towel. Tears are running down his face and I hear him cursing himself under his breath.

“I thought you said you were a good cook.” I tease as I wipe his face. He blinks rapidly.

“I am,” he says slightly offended.

I can’t help but laugh. His face softens while he watches me. My hand pauses. The wind from the open window ruffles my hair, sending tendrils of it floating in front of my face. Without warning, Hajoon brushes it behind my ear. My heart races, the sound loud in my ear.

“We should get cooking.” I say breathlessly.

“And actually not injure ourselves.” He jerks his hand back before looking away.

I return to the rice while Hajoon goes back to cutting the vegetables. Turning the rice cooker on, I grab another knife to help him.

“What is this? Do you know how to cook?” He teases as I chop the rest of the vegetables.

“I was nervous before. You love food and I didn’t want to screw it up. Seeing you nearly blind yourself with onion juice, I think it’s safe for me to pull out this trump card.”

He flashes me a grin “So, you’re hiding things from me?”

I laugh. “Everyone has secrets.” Mom groans in the back room. I immediately put the knife down to go to her aid.

“Mom?”

She sits up, trying to reach for the cup of water.

“I told you if you needed me to just call my name. Don’t do anything that’s going to hurt yourself.” I chastise with a click of my tongue before I hand her the water. With her heart failing, I didn’t want her straining herself.

“You shouldn’t be stuck here taking care of me,” she rasps.

“And who are you to tell me what I should do with my life?”

“That boy comes every evening.”

I wince. “Are we being too loud?”

“It’s so nice hearing you sing and laugh again,” she whispers.

“He’s nice.”

“Does that mean grandchildren soon?”

Choking on my gasp, I lean back. “Mom!”

Her laughs turn into pained chuckles. “The look on your face is worth it.” She reaches up to stroke my cheek. “You remind me of your father.”

“You say that every day.” I scrunch my eyes at her. “Do you want some food?”

She shakes her head. “I’m still full from this morning. Go back to that boy. I’ll be fine.”

Watching her lie back down with her face contorted in pain, I want to cry.

When I go back out to the kitchen, it’s empty. Instead of something fancy that I imagined would suit an idol’s taste, a simple kimbap lays neatly on the plate. I can hear him playing the guitar in the living room. I grab the plate, making my way to the living room. Hajoon sits cross-legged, a pen in his mouth as he strums the chords to my song perfectly. His plate is mostly empty.

“Eat.” He nods to my plate. “I hope you like something simple.”

“This actually works out better.” I admit. I eat my food, sighing at how good it is. When I’m done, I set the plate to the side.

“Do you want to go out for a bit?” he asks without looking at me.

I frown. “Out?”

“For like an hour. It wouldn’t be far. There’s a place I want to show you.”

Glancing back towards Mom’s room, I rub my hands nervously against my thighs.

“Ah. Wait a minute.” He stands up ,holding his hand out. “Can I see your phone?”

Tilting my head, I lean toward where I keep my wallet and phone before handing it to him. “I’ll be right back.”

I watch him leave the living room. A few seconds later I hear him coming back. My mother’s soft snores grow louder when Hajoon hands me my phone.

“I figured you wouldn’t want to leave her alone. It’s not exactly the perfect plan but we’ll know if something goes wrong.”

My insides twist up. “Thank you.”

“Are you ready?” He grabs his own car keys.

“Ready.” I stand up.

We walk to the door where I slip on my shoes. “Where are we going?”

He glances toward me. “It’s a secret.”

                                                          ***

The ride is quiet and peaceful. I watch as the sun sets on the horizon. Hajoon pulls into a parking spot and shuts the car off.

“Come on.”

I slowly get out of the car, staring at the large fountain in front of us. The bright blue jets of water slowly fades back into the ground before it shoots back up in different colors. Orchestra music plays in the background. I watch people play in the water as both of us walk toward the fountain.

“Whenever we would finish the fansign event, I would come over here and watch the water. It helps clears my thoughts. I thought you would enjoy the tiny break even if it’s as simple as this.”

“It’s beautiful.”

Hajoon sits on the edge of the fountain and dips his hand into the water. He scoops his hand and aims the water toward me.

“Hey!” I jump back but still manage to get some on me. “Now you’re in trouble.”

I rush forward to splash him, laughing as it goes right into his face. He slicks his hair back, a challenge rising in his eyes.

“Hajoon!” Jay bellows. I turn seeing the other members of Wish approaching us.

“What are you doing here?” Hajoon straightens instantly.

The others glance curiously in my direction. “Shouldn’t we be asking you that? Manager is going nuts trying to figure out where you’re at.”

I move away, giving them space. Pulling my phone out, I pray that it still works. Mom’s soft breaths are still there. Thank God I muted the phone before leaving the house so I wouldn’t wake her.

“We’re here on business.” Jay reminds him.

“I know we are.” Hajoon responds calmly. “I can do both you know.”

Don’t listen to their conversation, I warn myself. It’s rude.

“If anyone finds out about this, they’ll target you next.” Dragon warns.

“Because I’m hanging out with Yuna?”

Sunshine sighs. “Because she’s a girl who can be used as a dating scandal. You could have jeopardized everything.”

Hajoon scoffs. “I don’t care what they say about me.”

“What about her?” Jun asks.

“She’s right there, you guys. She can hear this conversation.” DaeDae’s voice lowers to a whisper. “Why are we fighting in the middle of a public place? People are watching us.”

He was right though. Being with Hajoon, could ruin his career. My happy mood somewhat diminishes as guilt takes over. I would never want to see him in a bind.

My phone rings in my hand, the hospital’s number showing as I answer it. “Hello?”

“Miss Lee” One of my Mom’s nurses says cheerfully over the phone. “We have good news.”

“What?” Please tell me we can do surgery soon. Please.

“We found an opening for surgery tomorrow instead of waiting till Monday. Do you think you can bring-”

I can’t believe this. “Y-yes. I’m on my way. Thank you. Thank you.”

A happy sob breaks free. Home. I need to get home.

“Yuna?”

I turn to Hajoon. “I need to go home. Now.”