Her (Not So) Secret Admirer

1. Tell Me Your Dreams

October 2023

"If you could have anything, simply anything, what would you have?"

The man with crescent eyes and the girl from the land of cherry blossoms were sitting side by side at one of SM's little meeting rooms facing the glass wall and the scene of Seoul.

It's the first time Giselle was willing to have a meal with him, after he tried to approach her for two years. More specifically, he approached her since they practiced for Zoo. It took him ages just to get her to reply his texts more than a few words.

She had lots of walls and barricades, and he'd been trying to push them all down slowly, tirelessly.

For Giselle, Jeno's attention was confusing and scary. It took her a lot to get where she was. A gossip with a male idol with Jeno's caliber could end her career prematurely. She got a lot of hate just by being a half Japanese who dared to debut in SM's youngest girl group, let alone be close to the Lee Jeno.

"If I could have anything?" she asked back.

"Ne. I really want to know. Please tell me?"

She faced the glass wall and there it was, the sad aura sometimes he sensed from her.

"A solo album with songs I write myself. A solo fanmeeting. And one day.....maybe one day, although I don't know how long it will take, a solo concert."

If a pin dropped between them, it would sound really loud.

Despite his handsome appearance and how sexy he could be onstage, Jeno was inexperienced with girls. But he'd be damned if he couldn't sense that she was near tears.

He had sensed long ago that this one Uchinaga Aeri was the best actress in pretending she's a strong girl, but inside, he felt she's hiding a lot of sadness.

True to his suspicion, Giselle suddenly turned to the right, hiding the tears that suddenly flowed outward.

He badly wanted to touch her, but he's afraid she'd run away from him again. It took him two years to just have a meal with her, a day after her birthday to boot. He didn't want to ruin it by crossing the line too soon, yet she's been looking away for too long and –

Against his logic, he reached out and touched her shoulder. Gently, he patted her, wishing she'd understand that he's there, and he wanted to be there for as long as she'd let him.

Giselle suddenly turned to him and he saw her eyes were filled with tears. There's horror there, and disbelief, but maybe there's also a spark of–what? Hope?

Lee Jeno was a man of action, so he hurried to grab some tissue from his bag and handed it to her.

She dried her tears and took several deep breaths, before drinking her iced green tea.

When she felt better, she asked back, "And you? What's your dream?"

They looked at each other again and because he smiled first, she smiled back.

"You know what I want. After all this time, I'm sure you can tell already."

"What is it? I can't read minds."

"Hem......let's see, how much should I tell?"

She raised her eyebrows, "It's up to you."

"I want.....to be the number one on your speed dial."

He could see the shock on her face, like she didn't expect he'd say it out loud that very day, on their first meal together.

"I want to be by your side, on good days and bad days. I want to listen to your stories, the happy and sad ones. Eat sushi with you when you're tired. Buy you ice cream when you're happy. Give you water when you're angry, those kinds of things."