“YOU know that I love like a brother, right?” Sungmin was trying to ease Donghae into his role. “The church wedding won't be until next year. So you will have more time to get used to her...again.” he still confused as to how Ninz and Donghae became astranged. They were getting along famously in Boracay. But when they went back to Korea, Donghae would wince whenever he mentioned his girlfriend's bestfriend.
“I don't want to get used to her. She's a splinter that you have not allowed me to remove. She was in every freaking concert that your girl attended. I had to escort her since the other guys found her too exhausting to be around. She thought she was my girlfriend when she still wasn't...” And she cheated on me when she already was. He never told Sungmin that the maid of honor for this wedding broke his heart. He didn't admit it to anyone, not even himself for a very long time. So he didn't want to see her or talk to her. Least of all, he didn't want to play guide to the one girl he didn't want to share a cab ride with.
“Look, we are older now. You are wiser. You can handle her.” Donghae was living a more low-key life than his other friends. He was, for all intensive purposes, a local soccer coach. He teaches Music as well. He remembers that his father loved music so much that he was influenced by him. So he built a music school for children who didn't have money for music lessons. He does MVs and modeling gigs once in a while. He earned a lot from the time he was in SuJu and acting. But he has decided to give back to society rather than choose the post-idol lives of some of his peers. He was currently on a break and focusing on the music school when Sungmin bugged him into being the best man for the wedding. He promised his father that he would take care of his mother and himself well. It's too bad his father never met his wife, well, not even a decent girlfriend.
He didn't know why the image of a smiling Ninz flashed in his mind.
“I am older. But no one can say for sure if I am wiser. If I was I would be wicked rich like you guys.” he teased Sungmin who eventually had to take over some of this father's businesses. Mr. Lee is enjoying his retirement and consultant status. Sungyin is being groomed to be the heir and Sungmin is just a regent. He wanted to focus on his music and his future family.
“Just let bygones be bygones.” Sungmin patted Donghae's back. “It's the winter vacation. You don't have anything to do. It wouldn't hurt if you let Ninz bother you a little bit.”
“It's not a bother. It's just been too long. She might not even recognize me.” the flashy clothes were gone and he had matured. He tried to shed his soft-hearted image after their trip to the Philippines. He was still sweet and endearing to his hyung and the other members of the group but he limited his encounter with women to those who are in his family or were his friends before he went on that impromptu vacation. BoA had noticed that he spent more time with old friends than making time to find a girlfriend. He remembered that everyone tried to set him up with their sister, cousin, or friend just to see what his type was. But all he said was that his love needs to be evenly shared amongst his fans. Even after all the scandals that people tired to pin on them, everyone still thinks he is a virgin.
Boy, were they ever wrong.
