He takes her out for a simple ice cream date. 

Right after their double date with Taeyeon and Baekhyun, Apink had been absorbed into their new comeback and EXO had also been gifted a well deserved vacation in a foreign country, which left them not seeing each other for a while. And even though he was thankful for the opportunity to relax, he would admit that he felt just a tad bit empty. 

Or maybe that was just the part of him wishing he was on this island with Eunji instead.

Either way, the two had kept in contact through texting and face calls, and she had always seemed a bit more tired than usual, and there were times when she was unavailable to speak completely. But when she was there, she'd always joke that he needed to take her out on a simple classic date when he got back from vacation.

So he did. 

The two were currently walking along the Han River and eating their ice creams. He had planned so that they'd be out at night (he knew an amazing 24 hour ice cream stall he and the others would frequent during their trainee days) and not be disturbed by raving fans at all. So here they were, eating ice cream at 2 AM while walking along the Han River.

"This is nice," Eunji commented, sighing.

He turned his head slightly. "You liked it?"

She nodded. "Even though a date in the middle of the night isn't exactly what I envisioned, I still like this."

He chuckled slightly. "Maybe we'll have another role where we have a date in daytime. You can always look forward to that." 

She smiled. "I guess so." She looked up at the dozens of stars twinkling above their heads, like a sparkling canopy. "You sure know how to plan a date, though," she dreamily said.

It was then that he noticed something was wrong.

"Hey, is something up?" 

He looked behind him, his brow furrowed. He then wordlessly put his arm around her shoulders and lead her back to the car at a quickened pace. He opened the door for her, looking around until she got in and then got into the other side.

"Junmyeon-shi, what is-"

"Shh," he silenced her, "Duck."

Now she was beginning to feel fear crawling in her stomach. Clenching her fists, she ducked so that they were unseen from the outside. With extreme thoughts running through her mind, her only consolation was Junmyeon's hand on her back, keeping her down.

After what seemed like hours (but was only actually a few minutes), Junmyeon peeked from behind the dashboard. He then let out a breath and straightened up, letting his hand slide off from her back. He leaned back against the chair, and she noticed a few beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Junmyeon-shi," she softly said, grasping his hand, "what happened?"

"Saseangs," he simply said.

She froze at that word. "Wh-which ones?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," he said. "But judging from the way they're out in the middle of the night, I'm guessing the ones with a grudge against us."

This just got a whole lot worse...

She was now starting to feel the cold chills clutching at her heart. "What do we do now?"

"Us? I'm taking you back to your dorm," he said, starting up the car. 

She nodded silently. In the situation they were currently in, heading back to the dorms to hide out was the best course of action. 

He drove down the familiar street to park opposite her dorm building when he stopped the car a block away, noting something gone wrong. Right in front of the building was a vehicle, a small car that none of them would ever use.

A car not in their league parked outside Apink's dorm at 3 AM...

"Dammit," he swore. "I never thought they'd be here too!"

She craned her neck to catch a sight of the car that shouldn't be there. She turned back to him. "What does this mean?" she asked him.

He folded his arms on top of the steering wheel, thinking. 

If they were lying in wait for Eunji, and knowing how relentless they were, there was no way Eunji could go back to her dorm tonight.

But then where could he take her?

He thought about taking her back to his dorm, but then shook that idea off. It wasn't the fact that he was taking her to his home; he was worried about his members. 

Knowing them, they would definitely pounce of Eunji, though maybe not in the way one might imagine. The second Eunji would walk through the door, they'd grab her in a headlock and demand she recite the numbers from 1 to 100 backwards in the tune of "Mr. Chu."

Was he overreacting? Maybe, but he didn't want to take a chance.

That plan anyway came to a bust when he received a call from Chanyeol with a simple message: there was another car parked right outside their dorm, don't come home tonight.

At the moment, Eunji was looking to him to have a plan ready. He didn't really hate it, but seeing her tensed and afraid was something he realized he hated seeing. 

After about ten minutes, he sighed. "Let's go," he told her.

"Where are we going?" she asked as he started up the car and did a u-turn.

"Someplace where they can't get us..."

***

He pulled up into the parking lot of a nice-looking hotel. It wasn't massive or "five-star-ish" as she liked to call it, rather it was modest yet with a flair for class. The building looked to be about seven storeys from what she could see, and it was almost as wide as the parking lot itself. 

This must be a popular place, she thought. 

He led her into the reception, and when they finally entered the air conditioned lobby of the hotel did he finally relax. 

She decided not to probe too much into what this place was as she sat down on one of the sofas as Junmyeon made their entry. She had already realized she wouldn't be able to go back, hence she took the time to send a quick message to Chorong telling her not to worry as she'd find a way back home as soon as possible. 

She also noticed that Junmyeon seemed to be very friendly with the receptionists. 

He was standing at the counter, talking and laughing with a man who seemed to be in his early twenties and a woman in her late twenties or early thirties. After a while, he took the key they handed him and walked back to her.

He definitely noticed the questioning look she was giving him and sat down on the seat opposite her. "I guess I should tell you why we're here," he said.

She nodded. "Please do," she said. "I'm dying of curiosity."

He smiled. "This is my uncle's place," he said, gesturing to the hotel. 

She turned to take in the full grandeur of the lobby. "Your uncle owns a hotel?"

Junmyeon nodded. "Ever since I joined SM as a trainee, he's been adapting this hotel into somewhat of a "refuge" for idols who have no place to go," he explained. "There have been quite a few times when either one of the members or all haven't been able to return to the dorm because of issues. Instead of going to a sauna, they come here." 

"But what about paparazzi?" 

"My uncle specifically adjusted the security so that neither press or saseangs can get in. Only idols or registered clients can come in."

She smiled. "This place is amazing," she said, looking around. She felt a wave of relief over her, washing away the worry and tension from her heart. 

He held up a key. "Come on, I booked you a room." 

***

He inserted the key into the door and opened it to show a nice, big room that in her opinion, was way too classy for a night's stay. 

The room had a living room with a large couch and a television, with a tray having two glasses of apple juice on the coffee table. It was connected to a kitchen area with a counter and stove and a mini fridge stocked with wines (not that they were going to drink anyway). 

She peeked into the bedroom to see a massive king-sized bed with a thick quilt and fluffy pillows. On the bed, folded and arranged nicely, were two bathrobes, towels and sachets of shampoo should they need it. The bedroom was connected to a white tiled bathroom with a shower-cum-bathtub. 

She came back to the living room after exploring the entire suite. "It's just a one night stay," she told him. "Why did you have to book a suite?"

He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah...that...was a misunderstanding," he said. "I was going to book two of the cheapest rooms since I didn't have much money, but since I always book a suite when my members and I crash here, they used almost all my money to book a single suite." 

She sighed, then smiled. "Then I guess all we do is make ourselves comfortable," she said, plopping down on the couch. 

He nodded. "You sleep on the bed, I'll take the couch," he said, sleepily removing his jacket and hanging it over the arm of the couch. 

She nodded, stifling a yawn herself. "I guess I'll go in then," she said. 

He nodded. "Sleep well," he called after her as she closed the door behind her.

***

A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!

To celebrate, have another chapter!

And THANKS FOR OVER 1K READS!!! I honestly had no idea any story of mine could even gross a thousand reads, but here we are! 

Thank you, to everyone who's been reading this story, to everyone who's left votes and comments! 

It may seem cheesy, but you guys are really the ones who continue to inspire me to write.

Merry Christmas once again!