She invited him to stay. 'If there is a God... Thanks.' A silly grin found its way to Hongki's lips, and he even blushed a bit. For a moment he was stunned, or he would have been flustered at feeling so useless. It wasn't like him to not offer assistance, and seconds before the bell rang Hongki snapped out of it, suddenly uneasy, wanting to help but not knowing how. Then the food arrived, and once more he saw the conflict on Uzume's face. Again he offered her a little bow from the waist. holding her gaze all the while. "I would be honored. Thank you for inviting me to join you. It all smells very delicious."

With a touch of unusual boldness he went to the table, pulling out a chair for his hostess. "The least I can do is be a proper gentleman." Standing behind the chair he couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes, the rosy color returning to his cheeks.

  "Thank you," Uzume said softly as she set the food down and took two plates and wineglasses from the cabinet. She took her seat, amazed that he had pulled the chair out. Pulling the food towards her, she proceded to portion it out, thankful for something to do that would keep her eyes off of him,

  "The food here is really wonderful. They do a good job." Having finished with the food, she took  a wine bottle and poured from it. "I don't drink, I'm afraid. I hope sparkling cider is ok..."

After pushing Uzume's chair in Hongki sat across from her, doing his best to keep his breathing steady and even. Having been so close he'd gotten a whiff of her perfumed lotion, and the soft flowery scent made his heart skip a beat. He watched her portion out the food, noting how she avoided his gaze, reading her body language with his usual certainty. As far as he could tell, there migt actually be some warmth bubbling up from under that controlled exterior. If there was, he would find it. Suddenly it was the most important thing to him.

"It's fine. I don't drink either. It damages the body and negatively impacts the mind. I would never treat my body so carelessly." Suddenly hyper aware of himself, Honki folded his hands in his lap. She had seen so much of him during the practice that he was suddenly shy, worrying that she thought him to be just another mindless hunk of muscle. That was the worst possible scenario for him. Quietly he sipped the cider, nodding in thanks and focusing on the flickering candles.

  Uzume looked up sharply at his comment. It was not something she would have expected from a pop idol. "I feel the same," she said quietly, concentrating on stabbing a spear of broccoli that was eluding her fork. She cast through her mind for something to say, something other than foolishness, which was all her mind could find at the moment. She had not had a meal this intimate in a very long time. The thought that he was handsome crossed her mind again, but she tamped it down again, ruthlessly stopping the blush from reaching her cheeks.

  "What brought you to pop music?" was her inane question. She mentaly slapped herself as soon as the words left her lips. What was it about this stranger that threw her carefully maintained facade out of the water?

He watched emotions flash through Uzume's eyes, though saw that her face remained unchanged. The fierceness with which she stabbed the broccolli made him want to chuckle. 'Aw, what did that poor broccolli ever do to you?' But he didn't say it, and he definitely refused to laugh at her expense. Instead he took a bite of the alfredo, savoring it a bit. He'd never eaten alone with a girl before. Up till now, he'd spent all his time working on his music and dancing, keeping up with the demands of his fans and doing making sure that they stayed happy with him. Without them, he would be nothing.

Something in him registered for the millionth time how beautiful Uzume was, especially in the candlelight, until he squashed that typically male thought, nipping it in the bud. Still he couldn't help the split second of appreciation that flashed in his eyes. Her question, as tentative as it was, was enough to distract him from that distasteful train of thought. "I hardly even remember anymore." Ignoring his own blatant lie, Hongki continued.

"My mother took videos of me at school talent shows when I was young, every year until I was in my final year of school. That's when the label contacted me and said that they'd seen the latest video. My mother had sent it to them. They wanted me to be the lead rapper in a group they were putting together. My mother insisted that I accept the offer, saying that it was probably the best I could do. So I did. Now it's three years and I'm still here, working hard to please those who count on me." He studied his hands, keeping his voice as level as possible. "One fan sent me an e-mail two years ago saying that knowing that I had made it this far had given them hope to live, and that they would have killed themselves without me to look to for inspiration. So I guess... Yeah" Finishing lamely Hongki rubbed the back of his neck casting his eyes away. "So, uh, how about you?"

  "Wow... That's... Impressive," Uzume replied, shoving her hair back behind her shoulders. She rarely left it down, because it was heavy and fell into her face at the most inconvienient times, but, for some reason she left it alone for now. "I began playing when I was very young, maybe only around 5 or so. Music... music pulled me through some very hard times. I worked hard to be where I am now, sent in tape after tape, till finally the record label signed me. I chose rock, because it allows you to be angry. Everyone needs to be angry... every once in a while..." She clammed up when she realized how much she had allowed to slip.

  Seemingly frustrated with her hair, she stood and moved to the vanity. "I'm sorry. I'll only be a moment..." Under the cover of deftly securing her hair with two red enameled chopsticks, she regained her composure, hiding her blush. Too soon, she returned to the table. "I apologize. My hair is so rarely down for just that reason. It's heavy and annoying..." She racked her brain again for something to say. "I have chocolate cake..." she finally offered.

He listened quietly, rapt with attention. The way she spoke was so passionate, yet so clearly muted, like a fire shut off behind a wall of ice. The candlelight flickering in his eyes, giving them a strange gleam even as watched the same in Uzume's. When that light caught an auburn glow in her curtain of black hair, it was all Hongki could do to keep himself from reaching out to brush it from her eyes. The urge was a powerful one, but he forced himself to shut it down before he could do something stupid.

Instead he just nodded, smiling. "You must feel very good about yourself having made it this far. All your hard work has payed off. A much more impressive tale of triumph than my own. Now I am ashamed with my laziness. Ah, see? You have made me want to work harder. Surely no good can come of this." He chuckled, eyes flashing with mischief as he grinned up at her fro under tussled bangs. "And now you're trying to kill me with so much food! What did I ever do to deserve this hate? How could you want me dead after one day?" Clutching his chest in mock agony he scrunched his face up, gasping. Once done with the theatrics he chuckled again, pulling off his disarming glance well. "I would rather know more about you. Your hair is beautiful, by the way."

  Uzume gave him a small, uncertain smile. "I feel as though I have accomplished a lot. There is  nowhere to go but up from here. My music... well, honestly, I'm more passionate about it than my fans. But I would like one day to be able to produce what I like. Hopefully people will enjoy it, but, one never knows." At his comment about her hair, she stopped short, frozen in the act of splitting the desert into two portions. "I... thank you." She gave a little self-depreciating laugh. "I've always hated it. It's hard to take care of, hard to brush, but I maintain it because it suits my image. It's become a part of me. What about you? What do you dream of accomplishing?"

   She had noticed his hand twitch towards her before hand, but decided to let it go. She was probably just imagining things.

  Uzume stood, shocked, when he touched her. Had it really been that long? "No, I... I... I'm sorry. I am not used to being so... intimate... with another person. If I have said anything amiss, I apologize." Her face was as red as the candles burning merrily on the table and probably as hot. Once again retreating to gather herself, she slipped into the kitchenette and chose a carton of ice cream from the freezer. When she returned (after cooling her face on the carton), she was once again in control. What is he doing to me?

  "Choreography is an amazing thing to do. I enjoy dancing, but have only ever done the 'dance around the room while I clean' kind. I'm afraid that if I were to try, I would fail spectacularly." Her voice was a little shaky, but she convinced herself that she was steady as she scooped ice cream.

'Well, at least she didn't slap me.' Hongki sighed, taking a kind of reassurance in that. And she didn't seem upset, only... 'Only what? Like she was having a similarly hard time controling herself? Because that would be amazing.' He almost smiled at the thought. Almost. Instead he took a polite bite of the chocolate cake, which was a rare delicacy to the one who made a habit of denying himself anything that might affect his appearance adversely. Despite the tension in the air he made a happy little sound, smiling down at the dessert with playful affection.

"Oh, love. It has been much too long."

Looking back at Uzume he grinned shyly, grinning. "Sorry, it's just that I don't usually eat sweets. I'm so afraid of loosing the appeal I have with my fans, or getting out of shape and losing the energy to dance. But this looked too good to pass up. Thank you very much." Turning his attention to yet another comment that hinted at a lack of confidence, he shook his head. "I have to disagree. You move with natural grace. I'm certain that you would do very well with proper instruction. Perhaps for the video that the label will no doubt want us to make for the song, I could teach you some basic moves and help put together a routine." His eyes lit up at the prospect, containing childish delight.

Without thinking Hongki chuckled, his gaze turning flirtacious. "Believe me, it will. I'm certain that if you were to dance in your videos, your male viewers would increase greatly. I also believe that teaching you to dance would be quite fun." He almost winked, until he realized how inappropriate all this would be. Instead he took another bite of his cake, worriedly awaiting Uzume's reaction.

Hongki allowed himself to relax, Uzume's laugh causing something in him to give out. He laughed with her, wanting to share her happiness. Fidgeting with his jacket, he ran a hand though his hair. "I doubt it. And even if you did, your beauty would make that slight gap in your may talents hard, if not impossible, to notice. Even your greatest critics would be so taken with you that they would have nothing to say." His sincerity shone brightly, his eye upon hers still the slightest bit suggestive.

Catching a hint of the pink on her cheeks before she managed to hide, he smiled. "Of course I do. But those don't seem to matter as much at the moment. The thought of more time spent in your presence rids me of my desire to do anything else. I would be willing to teach you any time you are available. My schedule is at your command." Hongki smiled, flashing one of his dimples as he did.