Jeon Hwana's eyes were glued. Not really on anything in particular, but of the brightly lit screen of her phone. As it was just a simple weekend, her mother had wanted her to do an errand. She was to grab some things from the nearby grocery for tonight's dinner. However, this was just in the middle of Hwana's drama binge.

She was currently watching 49 Days. And, my goodness, so many secrets and plot twists were being revealed all at once. Hwana couldn't dare to take her eyes away from the show. Not right now when juicy things were about to happen!

And so, as her mom told her to be on her way, she kept the drama playing on her phone as she left the house. Her stroll out of the neighborhood has been successful, her feet automatically leading her down the familiar pathway to the grocery store. Her eyes did dart around, in case of any unexpected run ins. So far, she had been fortunate.

She made it to the grocery store just fine. And she went around buying the small list of vegetables she had to get. Once that was done, she had set out to go home.

Her feet lead her to the stoplight, waiting for the right time to cross the street. On her screen, an intense scene was unfolding before her and Hwana couldn't contain her fangirl squeals. It was too much for her young heart to take in!

Across the street, the walking sign blinked on. Hwana was already stepping off the curb to hurry ahead, but then...

She was falling backwards. A force pulled her away from the street. And just as her back hit against some object behind her, her eyes caught onto a silver car that zoomed past her, only a few feet away. Eyes wide with horror, Hwana realized what could have happened if she succeeded in that extra step forward.

Another force had grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around. She was met with the stern face of a boy she wasn't expecting to see today.

"Hwana-yah!" Ha Sungwoon shouted. She blinked back at him, a little too out of it from the possible death. He didn't look one bit happy. His eyebrows were knitted together and a frown tugged deeply at his lips. "What the hell were you thinking?! You could've been run over by that stupid driver!"

Guilt and dread swelled up in Hwana. It really was sinking in that she could've died just now. The thought of it got her eyes stinging with upcoming tears.

"H-Hey... Hwana." Sungwoon's grip on her shoulders softened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to blow up on you like that."

The girl quickly wiped at her eyes. She felt so dumb right now... and horribly embarrassed. How could she even face her crush right now? "No, you're right. I wasn't really thinking."

A silence passed the two of them. Hwana still desperately tried to stop herself from crying over her own stupidity. Sungwoon stood there, appalled at the situation. As mad as he was only seconds before at the reckless driver that beat the red light, he couldn't bring himself to continue doing so. Not when the girl before him was having a breakdown.

"Hwana-yah, let's go get some spicy rice cakes? Hmm?" He gave a gentle squeeze on her arm. Hwana peered at him through glistening eyes.

Sungwoon didn't give her much time to answer while he cautiously grasped on her hand and lead her away from the bustling street. Instead, he lead her to a nearby food stall. Before them, plenty of delicious street snacks were set out in a line for them to get.

His eyes told Hwana that she could get anything she wanted from the stall. He already asked the lady of the stand for one order of the spicy rice cakes. Once he paid, he held the small paper plate towards her to try.

"Too spicy..." Hwana meekly asked for a small cup of water and as she plucked one rice cake from the red sauce, she dipped it into the water, to rid of most of the spicy taste. She then popped it into her mouth and chewed gingerly. Sungwoon smiled lightly at this, seeing she was feeling a little bit better. There was a small glimmer in her eyes as she ate.

With that, the two classmates ate the spicy rice cake in peace. They let the moment pass, the high from the near-accident before already fading from their minds. They were just two young teenagers that wanted to have a midday snack.

And from there Sungwoon felt somewhere deep inside as he gazed at Hwana.

She was just a delicate flower that needed space to grow. If she were to hit something so suddenly, she might crumble too easily. Jeon Hwana was someone that needed to be pushed in the right direction.

And he wanted to help sprinkle water whenever she needed it.

A raincloud, that wants to protect that pretty flower.

• • •

It has been a long while since the episode 8 recording of Master Key, now fresh into the new year of 2018. And ever since that day, Hwana made sure to keep her promise to stay in touch with Sungwoon. Casually, they messaged each other about their day and whatever came to mind. It was honestly a refreshing feeling to message someone as animatedly within busy schedules. And the more they talked and grew closer as friends again, she wasn't sure if she had made the right choice of agreeing to this.

Her crazy crush on the guy was back to its ultimatum.

Through the five years, she was able to pass these feelings for Ha Sungwoon like a crush on an idol, as that was how it was. While she had been still a rookie model, she listened upon HotShot's music and gushed about them like any other fan. She gazed at Sungwoon from afar and supported him through his musical journey.

But this? Now that she was able to be friends with him again, it was like she was thrown back to her high school years. A simple text message was enough to send her through the clouds. Stomach twisting and heart racing at a good morning or a good night. It was a nervousness that both overwhelming and thrilling.

It was scary.

Now that people knew that she and Sungwoon were classmates from their Master Key episode, if her name gets brought up in conversation, Wanna One's Ha Sungwoon will soon be mentioned too. Always along the lines of "Did you know they knew each other in high school?" And somehow, some faculty member from their high school had released their old pictures together to use in some shows. Even more talk had happened ever since those photos were released.

Was this really something to get all fussy about?

She guessed so since he's a member of Wanna One after all.

It was only about time that someone exposes her long-time crush on him too...

"Hwana?"

The model-actress looked over at her manager. They were currently in Queen Kona's coffee shop, as they had a break in their schedule to do so. Hwana was currently drinking her coffee while reviewing the script for the next episode of Jugglers. They were already near to done with the drama. Time really flown by fast.

Daeyeol set down a small booklet in front of her. Hwana gazed upon it curiously and read the title that was etched on the front.

Eulachacha Waikiki.

She picked it up and flipped through its pages. It was a new drama in the making that was supposed to start airing in February. This looked to be a comedy, it did prick Hwana's interest.

"The writer recommended you to play a supporting character in this drama. She said she really liked you in Jugglers and would want you to play this character," Daeyeol told her. "The character is supposed to be the ex-girlfriend of the main guy. She has a pretty big part throughout the series."

"Really?" Hwana quickly read through its synopsis. She beamed, this looked to be a fun production. And just to think that someone wanted to give her a role for it got her feeling giddy. "This looks really fun!"

"Cool, I'll make an appointment with the producer and see if this'll pull through," Daeyeol nodded as he went ahead to make the call. He stood up and turned away so he could have his privacy to talk to whoever. Hwana went back to drinking her coffee, as she gazed at her work before her.

Sometimes, she doesn't believe she's a working actress, and one that was recommended at that!

A buzz caught her attention. Eyes trailed down to her phone and realized she gotten a text message. Upon opening the text, Hwana's heart was already bouncing against her ribcage.

From: Sungwoon ❤️
> Hwana~
> Want to have a drink tonight?
> Some of the boys suggested to invite you!

Hwana blinked. Some of the boys?

This would be the first time she'd be able to see Sungwoon out of work. It made her happy to think about but... what if she were caught with them?

From: Sungwoon ❤️
     > Do you know where Small Delight's is?
     > That's where we'll be in a couple hours for dinner! It's an awesome place
     > it's lowkey so you don't have to worry about anyone recognizing us!

Well, at least that worry was dealt with.

"Daeyeol-sshi, can we go to this one restaurant for dinner?" Hwana asked her manager, just as he was returning back to their table. At his curious expression, she continued. "Small Delights, supposed to be a good place. And it's lowkey so we don't have to worry about paparazzi."

"What brought this up all of a sudden?" Daeyeol asked with a raised brow. It was then his eyes flickered to the phone in her hands. A sliver of a smile pulled at his lips. "Wait, don't tell me. You have a goofy look on your face, so it has to be related to a certain someone."

Hwana huffed, cheeks blown up, "What do you mean goofy? This is my normal face!"

"No, it's your I'm thinking about Sungwoon face." This was mortifying. Hwana held up her index finger at her manager, shushing him immediately. She glanced around. Thankfully, the upstairs of the cafe was deserted today. Why must he be so cheeky?! "So, he invited you to dinner? What is this, a date?"

"N-No!" Hwana hissed at him. "Of course not! It's gonna be with some of the other boys too. It's not a date."

"But you wish it was."

Hwana shot a glare at the older man. If only she could wipe away the smirk on his face, she would. "Manager-nim, is there a reason you're being extra mean to me today?"

"I'm not being mean," Daeyeol laughed. "I'm just being supportive."

"In the most annoying way possible! You're acting like a 13 year old, Daeyeol-sshi," Hwana shook her head at him. "This was something I'd expect from Kisum or Sungok."

"Maybe, sometimes you need this kind of push." He took a sip of his own coffee before continuing. "Sorry, maybe it's the caffeine talking but I've known you for years, Hwana. You've been pining for that boy for as long as I could remember. Now that you get to reconnect with him, I can't help but feel giddy. I feel like a proud older brother or something."

"Aren't brothers supposed to reject the boy first?" Hwana asked with a raised brow.

"Ah, I'm not that kind of person. Plus, you have good judgment in people. Surely, you've been in love with him for this long for good reasons."

The young model pursed her lips as she stared upon her manager. She guessed it was nice to have someone older she could turn to in times like these. Hwana was basically stuck with Daeyeol majority of her days anyway, so it wasn't something unexpected. She liked having someone like Daeyeol in her life, for sure. He really was like the older brother figure she never had as she was a single child.

"Anyway, yeah, we can go to Small Delights for dinner. Make sure not to drink too much, you have an early schedule tomorrow."

Hwana beamed brightly. "Thank you, Daeyeol-sshi!"

.

Later that night, after finishing a meeting at the company building, Daeyeol had dropped Hwana off at the address Sungwoon had provided for them earlier. At this point, Hwana made sure to quickly change out of the clothes she had been wearing majority of the day, which was an oversized t-shirt with jeans. She wanted to look much more presentable to the boys, to show that she really was of model-actress status. But Daeyeol just had to make a note that she had changed for her crush.

Ugh.

How annoying.

Both her and Daeyeol left the car and entered the small restaurant. Upon going inside, Hwana had to admit she liked the interior. It was tiny compared to other places but it had a nice, homey feel to it. It felt like she could get comfortable right away. Sadly, it was lacking customers.

A woman, around her age and with a ponytail and a black apron on, had approached them the moment they entered. "Hello, welcome to my restaurant! Will it be the two of you today?"

"Rohui-sshi, they're with us!" Hwana glimpsed over to the owner of the voice, and instantly she spotted Sungwoon and the rest of Wanna One at the corner of the room. Just the way all the eyes had turned to her made her sheepish but she kept her calm facade. She can't simply freak out in the moment. Not in front of them.

"Oh I see! They haven't ordered anything yet so you should go ahead and sit with them and decide on something, okay?" The woman, Rohui, smiled warmly at her and lead her to the table. "I'll make sure to make tonight's dinner really delicious for you!"

"You always say that to us, noona," Wanna One's Jihoon chimed in teasingly.

Rohui sighed. "Shush you. Have I ever made anything less than satisfying?"

"Of course not," Hwang Minhyun replied next. "Everything you made for us has been wonderful, Rohui-sshi."

"Thank you, Minhyun-sshi," she grinned. "Alright, I'll give you guys a couple more minutes then I'll come back to take your orders!" Rohui then shuffled to the back door that looked to lead to the kitchen.

Now that who seems to be the owner of the very restaurant, Hwana finally turned her full attention to the 11 boys before her, as well as some other people who probably tended them too. She respectfully bowed at them in greeting. "Hello, I'm YGKPlus's Jeon Hwana, I feel honored to meet all of you. And this is my manager, Lee Daeyeol."

"Welcome, Hwana-sshi. I'm Wanna One's manager, Ha Jongsuk. Glad for you to join us. The boys were very compelled to inviting you," one man at the corner of their table chimed in. "Go ahead and sit down and get yourself acquainted."

Her eyes immediately glazed over to where Sungwoon sat. Maybe they had planned for the empty seat next to him, since they knew of their history. Sungwoon looked upon her and patted the seat, his expression enough to tell her that that was her seat. She gave one last glance at Daeyeol before allowing herself to the chair. She sat in between Sungwoon and her fellow past teammate from Master Key, Seongwoo.

Seongwoo had been so incredibly friendly and nice to her, it took literally no time for Hwana to feel comfortable with him. But also with Kang Daniel. They were all comfortable to a point that they can be informal with each other.

"Noona, we're really happy you're here!" Seongwoo chided. "We weren't sure you'd actually come."

"Ah, why wouldn't I?" Hwana replied, as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't think I'd ever get this kind of amazing opportunity. As you know, I'm a fan of you guys."

She scanned the whole table carefully. The model wanted to take in every face of Wanna One in detail. She really was sitting in front of the nation's boy group. It was so unreal... but here she was.

"Oh my gosh, Jeon Hwana-sshi, it's really an honor!" One of the younger members, Daehwi, beamed with the brightest smile. Hwana couldn't help but grin back at him, his joyous aura was contagious. "I can't even function right now, I've been a fan of you for a while!" Actually, Daniel and Seongwoo had told her that Daehwi was her fan before, haven't they? It was much more heart warming to have the boy tell her himself, like a confirmation. "I only really began watching Jugglers because you were part of the cast!"

That very statement brought a sparkle to Hwana's eyes. And someone else may have noticed this too with a warm smile on his face.

The group went on to order the dishes they wanted. Rohui had returned to the table and swiftly and perfectly gotten each order. She bared one last warm smile and hurried over to the kitchen to start their dishes. Hwana had realized, along with the rest of the boys, how Hwang Minhyun's gaze had lingered after the chef before she disappeared from view. The model didn't want to say anything that might come off as rude, but the other members had beat her to the punch.

They were already quick to tease the 95-liner about how obvious he looked. Hwana felt like she was out of line all of a sudden. Was she getting the hint, too, that Minhyun had a crush on the restaurant owner? That was what every boy was saying or, at least, joking about. And as if to confirm it, Minhyun was a blushing mess, most of it showing in his ears.

"I think it's very cute," Hwana suddenly murmured in the midst of Wanna One's teasing of the vocal. "She's really pretty and nice, after all."

She... wasn't sure what compelled her to say that. But maybe because she could feel what Minhyun felt. This crush? His heart must be beating so rapidly right now, his stomach churning at the very sight of Rohui. She was in the very same situation in this very moment. She can barely focus with her own crush sitting next to her, Hwana can fully sympathize with Minhyun.

"A-Ah, thank you, Hwana-sshi. She really is," Minhyun stammered back in reply. This got the whole table howling, loving how deep this man was on his crush. Hwana was right, this was cute. And it seemed so natural.

Hwana had always dissociate herself of her model/actress title, because she knows herself as herself. She lived every day like every other person who has to eat, sleep, and work. But then she forgets that others, idols like these boys, are just the same. They were all just normal people with glorified titles. Of course they were allowed to have crushes and romantic relationships. Those feelings were just as valid as any other person.

The dinner continued on and when the food arrived, Hwana couldn't hide her hunger any longer. She was very excited to see all the mouth-watering dishes before her. It was a nice surprise, since she learned that Rohui had made all of these herself. They ate with gusto too, Hwana was not disappointed. This was definitely a restaurant she'll have to return to.

The night went on, Hwana felt gradually closer to the boys and even their staff. When they reached a point of the night, the minors of the boy group had to be taken back to their dorms. They whined in protest but knew of the company rules, so it was no use in the end. Hwana said her goodbyes to each of the younger boys, with even a promise that she'd love to buy ice cream for them on a random day.

"Oh my god, Hwana-noona, this is such a dream come true!" Daehwi quipped as he went to give her a quick hug.

"We look forward to that ice cream, noona," Woojin added in with a cute snaggletooth grin. And so, Jihoon, Woojin, Jinyoung, Daehwi, and Guanlin left with most of the staff to be brought to the dorms.

And so Hwana was now left with only the older members of Wanna One (and both their managers). This was more of a chill-down time, but with much more alcohol. Soju and beer were passed around, being poured in each other's cups like the good friends they all were. Hwana decided to just stick to a couple shots of soju, she felt pretty relieved that she wasn't alone on drinking so little. She had Minhyun, who didn't like alcohol to stay sober with her.

She really was having a good time with these boys.

"Hwana-sshi, you should tell us about how Sungwoon-hyung was like in school," Jaehwan questioned her all of a sudden. Some of the boys were at the point of being tipsy, but still functional.

"Yes, I want to know more about Sungwoon's past too!" Jisung cut in, waving his hand up in the air. Oh dear, seems like the leader had one shot too many. It was actually an interesting sight, as he still smiled so brightly with the alcohol influence. "How did you two meet?"

The question earned the two past classmates to glance at each other. It really was so long ago since that day. And for some reason, Hwana wasn't sure what she wanted to tell the boys and she had to look at her crush to get some kind of go to do so.

Sungwoon took this chance to lean over the table, in a somewhat cocky manner, and told all of them, "So, I may have been Hwana's knight in shining honor."

What... an embarrassing thing to say.

Hwana couldn't help but burst out laughing. Not because Sungwoon had called himself a knight in shining armor. No, it was because it really did sound like something she had said in high school, always so mushy and in love with Ha Sungwoon because he had become her savior that one day. The fact Sungwoon did see himself as her knight in shining armor after all these years, was so humiliatingly funny.

And her laughter was joined in by the others.

"Hwana doesn't seem to think so!" Daniel snickered before taking another drink of his beer.

Sungwoon glanced at her in bewilderment. "Why are you laughing? I sure damn was, Hwana-yah!"

Hwana was laughing so damn hard that tears were starting to form in her eyes. She knew she should stop because, really, he wasn't lying. But the alcohol must've really loosened her up too much. She tried to recollect herself. "S-Sorry, Sungwoonie."

Sungwoonie?...

Where the hell did that come from?!

To cover herself from the overkill of the sudden casualty of the name, she downed another shot of soju. God, was she always a mess when she gets this much alcohol in her system? It wasn't even that much.

Maybe, it was because Sungwoon was just. Right. There.

"Anyway, no, he's basically right, guys," she finally said to the rest of the boys, after calming herself down. "Sungwoon had helped me from some bully trouble."

"You were bullied?" Seongwoo questioned, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Yeah, but that's ancient history now." Hwana reached over to get the bottle of soju again to pour herself more, but she noticed two hands reaching out for it too. One had won, and held it away from her. That arm belonged to her manager, who sat just across from her. Right... she shouldn't drink too much. Her hands fell to her lap, so to stop herself from getting anything else.

"Yo, good job, Sungwoon-hyung! Saving such a pretty girl, huh?" Jaehwan teased, nudging the very man's shoulder.

Hwana interjected, "I wouldn't say I was that pretty back then."

The others all interjected how what she said was utter nonsense. But really? Hwana knew she wasn't, not during her freshman year of high school... or even the rest of high school for that matter. She always had been that tall, stalky, awkward girl, despite some instances that had happened.

"Hwana, you were pretty." Her eyes met Sungwoon's. She was frozen in place with the kind of gaze he gave her. "You've always been pretty, mostly when you smiled."

What was this?

Why does it suddenly hurt to hear him say that?

"I think it's about time Hwana to get home," Manager Daeyeol said, standing up from the table. "Her roommate should be expecting her soon."

"Is it Siyeon?" Sungwoon asked out of curiosity. Hwana nodded at him in reply. "Tell her I say hello. Maybe we can all hang out one day."

With that, Hwana tried to stand, however the amount of alcohol she consumed was enough to make her feel dizzy. A strong grip on her hand helped maintain her balance. Again, she was met with the eyes she loved so much, and they were so close.

"Let me help you out, okay?" Sungwoon asked of her.

With the two of them standing, they were exactly at the same height. Sungwoon must be wearing his insoles again... Good thing she wore flat shoes.

"Okay." She meekly turned to Wanna One and gave them her farewells. They all said their goodbyes so warmly, and they chimed that they all should have another hang out just like tonight. Ah, what nice boys. Hwana really did like them a lot.

Sungwoon had told her to hold on to him, while he kept an arm around her waist to keep her from toppling over. Hwana couldn't even speak, she was far too mesmerized by the closeness they shared right now.

Daeyeol had tried to pay for half of the meal, but Wanna One's manager had cut in that since Hwana and him was their guest, they would pay for everything tonight. Without any success to convince them otherwise, Daeyeol bid his goodbyes as well and helped lead Hwana out of the restaurant. There was also one last goodbye to Rohui before the three exited the establishment.

"Sungwoon-sshi, I can very well take Hwana from here to the car," Daeyeol told the younger man.

Sungwoon was quick to answer, "It's okay, I'm fine. I'll help her."

Daeyeol couldn't even say anything else, more so now that the very girl looked quite too tired to process what was happening. And so the three of them continued on to go to the car. As Daeyeol opened the car door, Sungwoon had helped Hwana carefully into the passenger seat. The same-aged boy even made sure to click in her seatbelt.

Hwana stared at him in a daze. Still tipsy, still tired, and still quite flustered.

"Make sure you go to sleep when you get home, okay?"

"O-Okay."

"Goodnight then, Hwana-yah."

This was absolutely making her go crazy inside. It didn't feel right. None of this did. Why was this boy acting this way to her right now? Her heart can't take it anymore. She loved him. She loved him so much and it hurts that this was all that there is. This was only because they're friends again.

Just friends.

Couldn't he see how much this was tearing her apart?

"Goodnight, Sungwoon-ah."

A/n: I couldn't help but add in Rohui from my Minhyun story here! Thought it'd be a cute little appearance, haha~

But anyway, Sungwoon and Hwana are acting extra cute (I'm hoping) in this chapter! Maybe we can expect more fluffy stuff in the next chapters too~

I also didn't expect this chapter to be so long but whoops here it is! I hope you guys enjoyed it! Please leave comments and vote it up!

—Bianca