"Good morning, Miss. What can I help you?" Asked the counter.

"I'm Kim Doah, Mrs. Kawaguchi expects me to meet her today"

"I see, she's on the 28th floor, the only room there" the lady pointed out the directions on the map on the counter. "Thank you, can I ask... is Yurina here? She's my former member" Doah politely asked, grasping her bag straps. She traveled to Japan firstly to have a vacation after their disbandment and secondly, to get her scholarship. She was emailed a month ago by the Kawaguchi group, they wanted her to be their scholar and since her family owns another business, the two companies might be in good relations in the future.

"I'm sorry but Miss Yurina doesn't come here often. She is preparing for college at the moment" Doah nodded then proceeded to the elevator across the room. After making it to the said floor, the guard let her in and she was greeted by a woman sitting on her office chair.

"Hello, Miss Kim"

"Hello, Mrs. Kawaguchi. Thank you for inviting me today" Doah walked toward the older woman. "Wow, Yurina's mother looks so young..." Doah thought.

"My pleasure. Also, I wanted to take you as our future business partner. I heard about your family owning 2 different companies..."

"Ah... yes... not that pretty big thou, he" Doah shyly said. Her family's company is never close to Y/n's nor Yurina's. "We can make it big if you want to. But first, you must accept my deal" Mrs. Kawaguchi linked her fingers together, resting her elbow on the table.

"Sure, I'm happy to be your scholar, ma'am. I have decent remarks and-"

"Not that... I have another deal and I'm sure you're going to like this too..." Doah raised an eyebrow, confused at what Mrs. Kawaguchi is saying. She's afraid she can't understand her follow-up questions because the Japanese words she practiced were only for her application, not for further conversations.

"What... deal?"

"I heard you like Yang Y/n... from that other group? YXY?" Her eyes widened, 'how does she know?' Doah asked herself. "And did you know that Y/n and Xiaoting have a fling?"

"Xiaoting unnie? But she's dating Yurina-"

"That's what I thought as well... now, you like Y/n, right? And I like Xiaoting for my daughter... why don't we team up on separating the two?"

"I would love to!" Doah didn't hesitate and replied immediately. She really likes Y/n and will do everything to get her. "Good, come on sit and hear my plan"

After that day, Kim and Kawaguchi became allies without others especially Yurina knowing. Doah spent her time in Japan with luxury cars and unlimited cash transferred by Mrs. Kawaguchi. She changed a lot, cut her hair short to show she's a new person now. She also knew Xiaoting was visiting Yurina because Mrs. Kawaguchi told her about it.

One day on her way home, Xiaoting was on the same plane as her but she was hidden behind one section of the plane. On their landing, Mrs. Kawaguchi already hired a cab for Xiaoting, and for Doah, she was told that Y/n was waiting at the airport for Xiaoting. Doah waited for minutes until she approached Y/n 'accidentally'.

*chapter 38*

"Yang Y/n?"

"Do I know you?"

Doah lifted her bucket hat above and then revealed herself to Y/n. Y/n must've never realized Doah because of her short hair.

"Doah-ssi. I never recognized you in your new hair. Looks good on you" Y/n complimented that instantly making Doah blush like the cherry on her clothes.

"Thank you, unnie. Waiting for someone?" The little one asked as she sits beside the older girl who was looking around. "Hmm, a friend is coming back today... but it's been so long, I don't know if she missed the flight or something..." Doah mentally laughed at the thought of their plan started working.

"Where have you been? Are you going on a vacation? You got heavy bags with you" Y/n asked. Although it looks like she's not focusing on Doah, she saw how many bags were she carrying behind her.

"I just went back from vacation unnie"

Y/n's POV

"Are you alright?" I heard Xiaoting ask. She was sitting beside me in the backseat. We're heading towards the company then after that, to Han River, again, to talk to Doah. Xiaoting gave me one more time to talk to Doah and that's it, I'll cut off communication with her.

Although I don't like this move, half of me wants to distance myself from Doah after that incident. That kiss was too unexpected and I told myself before "my lips are only for the one I'm going to marry in the future".

"Uhuh, just thinking what will I say to Doah" I felt her hand squeeze mine. I'm not good at words, nor Xiaoting. Both of us are introverted, we don't communicate with others well or talk our feelings out, well, except for each other. We're transparent only to one another.

"Just tell her you're uncomfortable, or busy, or I can come with you, tell her I'm your girlfriend"

"But she knows you're Yurina's"

"I don't care, if it's Doah, I know she will not just let you go just like that... she's been chasing you for a long time now" I still don't get what these girls see in me... Xiaoting is exempted because we've known each other for more than half of our lives. I don't even believe in "love at first sight", that only occurs when a person is good-looking, people will drool over them and say it's 'love' right away.

I believe love takes time. Even to me and Xiaoting, it took me a year before I told her that I love her. 'Like' is different from 'Love'

--

'To my favorite person, Shen Xiaoting. I'm sorry I can't make it to your event, but I will watch it at home, I told Lan to record your performance. Jiayou!'

Xiaoting set the note back in her bag sadly. She's in Shanghai, and Y/n is back in Sichuan where she's finishing her music degree.

One of the main reasons why Y/n left TopClass was her studies. Although she studies in Shanghai as well, it's only for the weekends, unlike Xiaoting who's training in Shanghai full time. "Yah~ you two don't really say 'I love you' to each other, huh" Shengxi nudged her. They were sitting in the waiting room, waiting for the staff to call their names for their performance.

"It's too early for that, Sheng"

"1 year isn't early anymore, jie-jie. Why don't you... try it," Xiaoting sighed, looking at her phone which lit up with Y/n's name popping on time. "Ooh~ it's a sign, come on, tell her you love her" Xiaoting grabbed her phone, hesitating if she'll send it to Y/n. Actually, she tried telling Y/n an I love you before but as a friend. After becoming official, they've limited their words.

宝宝❤
Don't forget to eat dinner, okay?
I'll go to Shanghai tomorrow but I guess you'll go home back to Sichuan as well

Ting🌷
Have a safe trip

Another deep exhale exited her lips. "Come on, you can do it" Shengxi cheered her up. "Alright, alright. I'm doing it"

Ting🌷
I love you

Xiaoting and Shengxi waited for Y/n's response. Every second was nerve-racking, Y/n's icon took so long to see the chat. "Where is she?" Shengxi gripped her hair, mentally panicking at the moment. She thought that the timing was off.

"THERE! She saw it" Xiaoting was slowly losing hope. What if these words will ruin the relationship? She asked herself.

宝宝❤
Did something happen?

Speechless. An unexpected reply was received. "Huh? She's not saying it back?" Shengxi confusingly refreshed the messages in the hope of getting another response. "Is she busy at the moment? I guess not, it's currently 7 in the afternoon..." Xiaoting gave up, Y/n just ruined her mood instead of hyping her up for the event. She was about to put her phone back in her bag when suddenly it starts ringing. The ringtone she usually hears, Meteor Graden's theme song (For You). It was Y/n's choice since she used to love that show.

"Hello? Are you on the line now, baobei?" Y/n asked in a worried tone.

"I'm here... I'm waiting for our turn on stage" Xiaoting replied with a discouraged sigh in the last part. Her mood swings down the hill all of the sudden. "Why do you sound sad? Did something happen? I saw your message... I thought you're somewhere near danger"

"No, I'm fine... I'm in the waiting room with Shengxi... you should go now, sleep early because you got to travel"

"Tell me why you're sad first. I can't sleep without knowing the reason" Y/n insisted. Xiaoting looked on her side where Shengxi sat earlier. A staff just came to fetch her just now. "Nothing... I'm not sad, Yang. Don't worry about me...."

"Then tell me why all of the sudden you sent me that message"

"It wasn't me, it was Shengxi... " Xiaoting started fiddling her fingers as she waited for Y/n's response. The other line became silent, not even a single sound came out. Xiaoting started to worry, "Are you asleep now?"

"Shen Xiaoting, you're coming up in 2 minutes" A staff barged into the room. "Noted... Y/n?" She once again asked. It's still early, Y/n doesn't sleep this early, Xiaoting thought to herself.

"Yeah? I'm here"

"Did something happen there? Your line was silent..."

"Oh, nothing... I was understanding the problem in my assignment so I concentrate for a bit" Xiaoting bought the reason right away. "I should be preparing to go up now..."

"What are you waiting for? It's your stage, Shen Xiaoting... go rock it" Xiaoting started feeling herself smile again. "I'll be cheering here at home and even without watching you, I know you'll do great" Y/n enlightened her more because ever since the start of the call, Xiaoting sounds down.

"Shen Xiaoting in 40 seconds, please go to the backstage already" That staff called her once again. Y/n heard the conversation and decided to say her final encouraging remarks.

"Ting,"

"Yeah?"

"I love you" Xiaoting's breath hitched. Her chest started to ache because her heart suddenly bounced.

"I... me too. I love you too"

--

The two made it to the agency but only Y/n entered the building, Xiaoting was left in the car. It didn't take too long for Y/n to come back. Xiaoting also saw Yeyoung and Ziyin on the second floor so she guessed that the final lineup is practicing at the moment.

"Let's go, Mr. Kim" Y/n told the driver. It's currently rush hour. The couple didn't do much at home, they just slept some more. "What did CEO-nim say?"

"Nothing much, he said he'll talk to us the other day. Something about the group. And also, I told him the real reason I didn't come for today's meeting... I fought with a friend"

"What did he say?"

"He says it's fine. And he said that I'm very honest... I can't lie that much anyway, I feel suffocated when I lie..."

"I feel happy we got an understanding CEO..." Xiaoting clung closer to Y/n who was looking outside the window again. "Now what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing... my mind is blank so I just stare at the view" The city turned orange as the sun begin to set. Students and workers started appearing on the sidewalks, reminding them about their early youth.

"The Uniform here is pretty. We were too sporty, right?" Back in school, students were only allowed to use type A (formal) Uniforms on Monday and Tuesday then the rest is type B (the one that you can see in C-dramas, sports attire). "I kinda like ours though... did you know guys and girls stare at your legs when you have your formal uniform on?" Xiaoting nudged. "What about you? During ballet or tango class, your clothes are so much more revealing... but I didn't stop you or cover you up, right?"

"You didn't because you don't get jealous easily..."

"No, I didn't do it because you're willing to do that lesson. Who am I to stop you from your profession, if you want to learn ballet, go on, wear ballet clothes. If tango, go on, dance with others. I just know that you're running to me at the very end of the day and I'm satisfied to see you happy with your profession. I hope you are to mine too-"

"I am happy! I am very proud of you, don't think about me disapproving your decisions, I am beyond proud of everything you achieve" Xiaoting cooed to the other girl who was just staring at her, smiling as she played Xiaoting's ring around her finger. "Let me finish... I hope you understand that work is work, it doesn't have to do with our personal relationship. I'm going to act with Manchan soon, I hope you'll never get jealous of her. Always remember that you're the only one, okay?"

"I understand, but Kim Doah is an exemption. She tasted your lips already so I can't let her do it again... I should be the only one but it happened already... I will always remind myself, that you only like me. I apologize if my previous attitude affects us and you"

"Hmm... apology accepted months ago... and don't mind your slap, I'll get back to you in the future..." Y/n laughed which made the other confused. "You're going to slap me too?"

"I will"

"Why?!"

"I will slap you not in the face, silly"

"What do yo-, why you-" Xiaoting was about to burst after understanding the joke but Y/n stopped her by launching a soft slap on her shoulders.

"I'll slap you in the shoulders, there... we're even now.... what are you even thinking about? Dirty mind" Xiaoting huffed back on her seat making Y/n laugh at her even more. "Be thankful the driver can't understand Chinese, you pervert"

"I'm not!"

"Yes, you are-" their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a loud thud. Both of them looked outside of the window and saw nothing. "What happened?"

"Someone jumped right in front of our car, ma'am" The driver nervously reported. "Jumped in front? How?!"

"I'll explain later-" Mr. Kim quickly removed his seat belt and then went to get the person who got run over. The people outside were looking in shock, Mr. Kim advised the two to not go outside for their security.

Mr. Kim then returned, holding a bleeding person and getting them inside the car. "Let's go to the hospital, hold her for a bit" As he carried the person inside, it was clear to the two who's the person who got hit.

"Doah-ssi!"