*SHK’s POV*

I woke up late this morning, which is very uncharacteristic of me. I usually wake up even before my alarm clock goes off, but today, I slept through it. I had difficulty sleeping immediately last night, it felt like all my nerves were on edge and every part of my body was charged. I found myself tossing and turning, thinking back on what happened during that dance.

He was near. So near. He was about to kiss me and I was ready to let him. Oh my goodness. I kept burying my face in my pillow, still couldn’t believe what almost happened. After that surreal moment, the music started working again then played a lively beat and before we could even say anything to each other, we found ourselves being dragged by our friends in opposite directions, urging us to dance with them. Forming a big circle, both groups of friends started dancing to a dance remix of Afrojack’s The Spark.

Lee Jin clasped my left hand while Jiwon held the other and as the beat progressed, they both started raising our hands while swaying to the beat. Kwang Soo shouted out the lyrics, while both Ah In and Chulhwa raised their drinks behind him, laughing. I looked around to see everyone around me laughing, enjoying and feeling the moment and felt goosebumps run down my arms. Feeling all the energy around me, I closed my eyes, smiled and let myself get lost in the rhythm for a while, dancing like there’s no tomorrow with my friends.

Still caught in the moment, I felt a pair of male hands encircle my waist and looked around to see a grinning Joong Ki behind me. He grabbed my hand then spun me playfully and I laughed happily, while the others around us bathed in pure bliss.

We all continued soaring through the night, enjoying the temporary freedom from our usual busy lives, too absorbed in the rhythm to even mind what others around might think of us. To others we might seem like a bunch of crazy stuck-up kids, but to us, we’re just a group of young people enjoying that rare moment of liberty. I couldn’t forget how I ecstatic I felt at the moment. Everything felt so surreal. So right. So perfect. So purely magical.

I couldn’t believe that the night that I’ve been dreading turned out to be one of the best nights of my life. It was indeed a beautiful night surrounded by people close to my heart. My friends who have always been there for me and Joong Ki.

Joong Ki… Even after a few hours after that near-kiss encounter, I still find my heart racing just as the thought of it. And all that can’t breathe, can’t speak, my heart’s fluttering like crazy moment. What was that all about? Was any of that real? Am I really starting to fall for my fake fiancé? 

I rolled over, burying my face in my pillow for the nth time. No, stop it Hye Kyo. It can’t be… It can’t be right? You were just carried away by everything at that moment. You’re just confused and overwhelmed. Nothing more. Okay. Enough thinking about it and go to sleep.

I closed my eyes, hoping to fall asleep but all I could think about was how near his face had been to mine, how longingly he looked at me, how his lips were about to touch mine.. how… Oh my goodness. Even falling asleep’s so hard.

Finally, after several failed attempts and plenty of burying thy face in my pillow moment, I managed to fall asleep at around 3:00am. And now here I am, sleepily taking my breakfast at 11:00am and feeling like a zombie.

Drinking from my glass of orange juice, I grab my phone to read my new messages. The first one’s an incoherent message sent by Jiwon last night. Hmmn, silly girl, she must’ve drunk texted me. Another was sent by Lee Jin, complaining that she woke up to a terrible headache and the last one’s from Joong Ki, which he must’ve sent early in the morning.

Good morning, beautiful, it says and I find myself smiling. I think back to what happened last night and my heart starts racing. Uh-oh. Here we go again. I immediately dismiss the thought and focus on calming myself.

Beauty: Good morning J

Of course that’s the only reply I could muster given that my brain is still filled with topsy-turvy thoughts. His reply arrives almost immediately. Has he been monitoring his phone?

Big Boss: Did you eat?

Beauty: Still eating. I just woke up.

I reply then put my phone down to take a bite of my toast when it lights up, telling me that I have an incoming call. Of course from Joong Ki.

“Yeoboseyo?” I answer, wondering why he called when we’re already texting.

“What happened? Are you sick?” he asks worried, and I smile while stirring my cereal. Always so concerned, Joong Ki.

“No. Don’t worry. Just suffered from insomnia last night. Happens all the time,” I say. Of course the last part’s a lie. I couldn’t exactly tell him that I found it difficult to sleep with thoughts of his lips bothering me all night.

“Are you sure?” he asks, slightly panting and I wonder what on earth he’s doing right now.

“Yes. Stop worrying,” I tell him and he laughs softly in the other line. “What are you up to?”

“I’m running,” he says and I stop from stirring, confused.

“At this hour?” I ask.

“Yes, I’m at the gym,” he says and I smack myself mentally. Why didn’t I think of that? “Why are you so surprised? I usually squeeze in a quick workout at the gym on Saturdays and whenever I’m free.” Oh, so that explains his toned muscles and abs. Oh no, you didn’t just go there Hye Kyo. Stop it, I scold myself as I feel my cheeks burning red.

“I’m not,” I try to say indifferently and he laughs, not believing my act.

“Anyway, I’m almost done here. I should get ready to go to my parents’ house,” he says and I hear a clicking sound in the background. Must be from the treadmill. “Want to go with me?” he asks and I begin to remember what we talked about last night in the car. About how long he has avoided visiting his sister despite how much he misses her. Last night, he helped me face one of my fears, it’s time that I help him overcome his, too.

“Uh, sorry. I have to meet with Ah In and Yumi at TMI later,” I say.

“It’s okay, I understand,” he answers and I start debating whether I should push through with my plan or not.

“Um, are you free tomorrow, though?” I ask with fingers crossed and hope that everything goes well.

“Yes, Sunday’s my rest day. Why?”

“Will you accompany me?” I ask, my heart beating erratically in apprehension.

“Sure, where?”

“Somewhere special,” I simply say, not trusting myself to say more. Say yes, say yes.

“Okay, shall I pick you up at 8am, then?” he asks and I stop myself before I could sigh in relief.

“8am sounds great. Thanks, see you!”

“See you. You take care of yourself today, arasso?”

“Arasso, you too,” I say, hanging up and burrowing my face into my hands. Ugh. You’re really asking for trouble, Hye Kyo. Good luck with that.

--- 

*SJK’s POV*

I arrive at the Songs’ residence 5 minutes before 8:00am. Min Ji opens the gate for me and I wait at the living room while she goes to Hye Kyo, who is still getting ready. I wonder what she’s planning for us to do today. She’s not exactly predictable and she has her ways of surprising me, so I’m quite a bit clueless of what she has in store this day.

“You’re early,” she says, smiling at me while descending from the stairs and I smile back. She looks radiant today, I can barely take my eyes off of her.

“Not really. Coffee?” I say, handing her a cup of coffee I picked up while I was on my way here and she takes it.

“Thanks,” she says, warming both her hands with it and sighs. “I’m ready, let’s go?” she says and I nod while reaching for her hand while we exit the house.

As usual, I open the door to the passenger seat for her and help her get settled first before I go to mine. Once I secure my seatbelt, I take a deep breath, readying myself for today’s adventure and turn to her.

“So, where to?” I ask, still wondering about her plans and she gives me a smile.

“Let’s drop by at the nearest flower shop, first,” she says and I look at her, confused. Instead of answering, she only turns her attention to the scene outside the window, leaving me with no other choice but to follow her instruction.

“What do you want to buy?” I ask her the moment we enter the shop.

“I don’t know yet,” she says as she roams around, assessing the flowers first and occasionally stopping by to smell them. I, on the other hand, just stand here, crossing my arms and watching her as she moves from one bouquet to another, intent on finding the best flowers. Oh how adorable she looks at the moment.

She notices me staring and raises a brow at me while I try to avert my eyes, embarrassed of being caught observing her.

“Some help here,” she says beckoning me to come closer. Of course, being the lovesick puppy that I am, I don’t protest and obey immediately. “Can you help me decide which ones look best?” she asks and I give her a confused look.

“Well, you seem to like sending me nice flowers from time to time, so I’m guessing you have a keen eye for spotting the good ones,” she says, clarifying the question in my head. “Unless, it wasn’t you who picked the flowers,” she says, crossing her arms around her chest now.

“Don’t tell me you only wrote the cards and let your secretary do all the work? Aish. Jinjja, another set of effortless moves,” she says, shaking her head.

“Of course not. I personally picked them for you,” I say, insulted. Does she know how much effort I exerted every time just to find the perfect flowers for her?

“Really?” she asks, a brow raised and I scowl at her. I can’t believe it. She really doesn’t believe me. “Fine, I believe you,” she says, laughing softly at my expression. “You can stop pouting now, it makes you look like a baby,” she adds, still laughing as she returns her attention to the flowers and I scowl even more.

“I’d rather you call me your baby,” I mutter quietly. Or carry my babies.

“What’s that?” she asks, looking at me, wondering what I just said and I give her an innocent look.

“Nothing. I was just saying how nice these dahlias are,” I say and she rolls her eyes at me. Joong Ki = 1, Hye Kyo = 0.

Still smiling at my inside joke, I stroll towards where already assembled bouquets are displayed and study them.

“This looks nice,” I say, picking a bouquet with a variety of pastel colored flowers in it and showing it to Hye Kyo. She comes nearer and her eyes light up the moment she sees the bouquet.

“That looks beautiful,” she says, eyes still on the bouquet. “Nice choice,” she smiles approvingly.

“Of course, I only choose the best,” I say smugly and she shakes her head at me. What did I do now?

“Let’s get this,” she says, reaching for the bouquet to pay for it when I stop her.

“I got this,” I say, hurrying to the counter to pay before she could even protest.

She glares at me the moment I sit in the driver’s seat and hand her the bouquet. “What?” I ask her, confused as to why she’s sulking.

“I can pay, you know,” she says sulkily and I smile. Aish, this girl. All my efforts to show her I care and she’s still not used to it when someone pampers her.

“I know. I just like doing things for you. Please don’t get mad,” I say and she huffs while I try so hard to stop myself from laughing at how cute she looks. “Pleaaasseee?” I plead, pouting and giving her my best pitiful puppy look, which I know she couldn’t ever resist.

“Fine!” she says, finally softening and I smile at her. “But please, let me do things on my own next time. I’m fully capable, you know,” she says and I sigh. Of course, always the independent girl

“Fine,” I say in defeat. “Who are these flowers for anyway?” I ask and she sits up straight, seeming to remember something.

“Someone important. Let’s switch seats. I’ll drive,” she says and I’m taken aback by what she just said. Why is she not telling me who we’re going to meet? And why the sudden offer to drive instead of me? What is she really up to?

-- 

*SHK’s POV*

I try to concentrate on driving while feeling him staring at me intently.

“What?” I ask, no longer able to hide my discomfort.

“You look cute when you drive,” he says and I feel my cheeks starting to burn in embarrassment.

“Aish, stop it,” I say, wanting to smack him while he chuckles. I’m nervous as it is, there’s no need to irk me further.

“We’re here,” I say the moment we arrive and Joong Ki slowly opens his eyes. He decided to have a quick nap on the way, which I’m thankful for since without him pestering me, I was able to compose and prepare myself for whatever reaction he might project the moment he knows where I took him. He looks around first, studying the surroundings and his eyes widen as he realizes where we are. Oh boy, here goes.

“What are we doing here?!” he demands and looks outside the car to the sign of the memorial park. After we talked yesterday, I decided to call Jong Suk to ask if he has any idea where Joong Ki’s sister was buried. Luckily, he knew about it and gave me directions on how to get here.

“We’re visiting your sister,” I say matter-of-factly and feigning confidence, but deep down I’m a bit scared he might get mad at me.

“I told you I can’t do this,” he says, his tone a bit cold.

“You can,” I say, trying my best to encourage him. This is going to be hard. I go out of the car before he could protest and look around. Whoah, there are a lot of graves here. I turn to look at him still sulking inside the car, not planning on ever coming out and I stride towards his side of the car.

“Come on, let’s go,” I say and he ignores me.

“Joong Ki!” No response.

“Joong Ki-ssi!!” No. Nada. Aigoo, how do I get him to get out of the car?

“Oppa!” I yell, slightly embarrassed, but well, it’s not like I have any other choice. I have to retort to the best strategy that I could think of. Finally, with his ears turning red, he turns his attention on me. Uh, what now? “Uh, stop sulking like a kid and come here!” I order.

“What if I don’t want to?” he challenges and I groan. “I’m not ready.” He can be very difficult if he wants to.

“You don’t really have a choice. Remember, this is a dare and it’s against the rules to back out,” I say and he returns to his “Ignore Hye Kyo” game. I sigh, exasperated.

“Aish! This is so frustrating. For a man, you are quite a scaredy-cat. It’s been years, you should be over it already. Stop being a coward and face your fears!” I stomp, closing my eyes in frustration when he suddenly opens the door, comes out and stops in front of me, his face barely a few inches from mine and my breath hitches.

“Who’s a coward?” he challenges, his face so near I can feel his breath. I try to take a step back but he holds both my hands, holding me in place while he leans in closer and I gulp. “I’m not a coward,” he says. Okay, you’re not. You’re not. I nod, speechless and he pulls back a bit, smirking.

After a few seconds of pulling myself together, I finally find the nerve to speak. “Okay then, let’s go,” I say, taking a deep breath while I retrieve the flowers. I lead him to where Jong Suk told me his sister would be and he follows quietly. Gosh, where is it? It should be here somewhere, I keep telling myself as I struggle while looking for his sister’s grave.

“It’s this way,” Joong Ki says from out of the blue, seeming to sense my struggle. I almost forgot that he’s here with me since he’s been really quiet. We continue walking around the graves when he suddenly stops and he steadies me as I bump into him. I look at him confusedly why we stopped when I notice that we’re already in front of the grave of a person named Song Min Ah.

Realization hits me that this must be his sister’s grave and I immediately kneel in front of it, reading the words engraved in the stone.

Song Min Ah. Gone but never forgotten. I dust the leaves that are covering her name before placing the bouquet of flowers Joong Ki picked. I look around to see him frozen at where I left him a few inches away.

“Annyeonghaseyo, Min Ah. I’m Song Hye Kyo. But you can call me your Eonnie,” I say to the grave as if I’m talking to a real live person. “You must already have heard about me, or are you watching us from up above?”

“Hmm, I should’ve introduced myself to you as your brother’s fiancée, but you already know about this little scheme of ours, don’t you?” I say, laughing a little, finding comfort in talking to her grave and adjusting myself to a sitting position. “You must think I’m crazy for agreeing to this, I know I am, well, sometimes, but please don’t hate me.”

“I’m already being too chatty, your brother’s here, too,” I say, glancing at Joong Ki and urging him to come closer, but he stays in place. Fine then.

 “Can you see the flower we brought you? He’s the one who picked them, nice choice aren’t they? He really does have good taste in flowers, huh?” I say, smiling and pausing for a bit. “It’s been a while. You must also miss your brother a lot. Well, I wasn’t born with a sibling, so I don’t exactly know how it feels. I’m just relying on my assumptions.”

“But if you do, you should know that he also misses you. He’s just kind of shy right now, but he does miss you. Well, you know how he is sometimes. Don’t worry about him, I’ll look after him,” I say, meaning it. “And besides, your brother is a tough man. He’s fully capable of handling himself, well except for moments when he’s sick or drunk. He’s a hopeless case,” I say, laughing softly, remembering how just so out-of-it he was.

“I’m not,” he says, surprising me as I see him now kneeling next to me. “So, you’re backstabbing me to my sister now?”

“I wasn’t. I was telling the truth,” I say, trying to argue with him, but actually feeling touched that he’s now having the courage to come near his sister.

“Hi, Min Ah. It’s been a while,” he says quietly, while caressing his sister’s engraved name and I stay there, watching him. “Do you like the flowers? I didn’t know it was for you. I should’ve bought you sunflowers. I know they’re your favorite.”

“You must hate me now. I’ve been a bad brother to you,” he says, his eyes starting to glisten and I reach for his hand and squeeze it. He slightly smiles at me gratefully then returns his attention to her grave.

“I shouldn’t have pushed you to take that ride with me. You must still be alive if it wasn’t for me. I’m sorry. I only wanted to be a brother you could be proud of, but I ended up being the worst,” he says, tears now streaming down his face and my heart reaches out to him. I should comfort him, stop his tears but I shouldn’t interrupt. He needs this, this is his chance to let it all out. This is the closure that he needs.

“And even after you died, I continued to be. I wanted to say sorry, but I was too terrified to even visit you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being a terrible brother, for being a coward during all these years. I’m sorry I disappointed you,” he cries. “I hope you forgive me, Min Ah. I miss you so much.” His eyes are red now and his face is streaked with tears. No longer able to hold myself from comforting him, I reach out and place an arm around his shoulder. He finds comfort in this and I sense him leaning on my shoulder, crying softly and I let him.

I let him cry and pour his heart out for as long as he needs and eventually I hear his sobs hushing. He finally calms down and slowly sits straight. I then stare at his still tear-streaked face and reach out my hands to wipe his tears away. If I could only wipe his pain away as well.

 “Are you okay?” I ask, looking in his eyes, worrying when he slowly smiles at me.

“Yes,” he answers softly.

“Do you want to go?” I ask, wondering if he’s had enough for today and he shakes his head.

“Not yet,” he says. “Can we stay here for a few more minutes?” he asks and I nod then he turns towards his sister’s grave and closes his eyes. I close mine, too, and whisper a short prayer.

Min Ah, please help Joong Ki be okay. Please guide him and help him be strong.

I open my eyes and find that his are still closed. Staring at him, I notice how serene he looks, like some sort of weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. After a few minutes, he opens his eyes then turns to me and smiles.

“Let’s go?” he says and I nod, returning his smile. He stands then holds out his hand to help me get up and I wobble. My legs must’ve fallen asleep from sitting down like that. After making sure that I’m already okay to walk, he assists me like I’m an elderly.

“Ya! I’m okay now, you don’t have to hold me like that. I’m not that old,” I say, releasing myself from his hold and he chuckles. It’s nice to hear him laugh after seeing him cry like that.

“But is it okay to hold you like this?” he asks as he slowly wraps his hand around mine, intertwining our fingers as we continue walking. I could only watch him, surprised. “What? This is what couples do, right?”

We walk quietly towards the car, him seeming to reflect on what just happened today and me trying to calm my erratically beating heart as I feel his thumb rubbing circles at the back of my hand. “Thank you,” he says and I look at him, stunned.

“For what?”

“For asking me to do that. And for being by my side while I faced my fears,” he says softly, looking down. “I don’t think I could’ve done that alone.”

“Of course you can,” I protest. He really underestimates his own self sometimes.

“In a few decades maybe,” he says, laughing softly. “I feel so light. I didn’t know I was carrying that heavy of a load before,” he adds and I soften, smiling and feeling happy for him.

“So, what was that about earlier?” he asks and I wonder what he’s referring to. “Oppa?” he asks and my smiles fades, causing him to chuckle. I knew it would backfire to me.

“You were ignoring me. I had to catch your attention. I didn’t mean it!” I protest. Oh my goodness, how embarrassing.

“You did. If I know, you were dying to call me that,” he teases and I scowl at him.

“I wasn’t!”

“You were. How about that time when you called me your jagiya?” This should teach you to think before saying anything even in desperate situations, Hye Kyo.

“It was necessary! Or else that Seolhyun girl wouldn’t believe us,” I try to reason out while he grins.

“Jinjja?” he challenges. Ugh! He really likes teasing me. I am about to argue when I realize that we’re already in front of the car. He opens the door for me and I buckle my seatbelt as he adjusts his. Fine! I’ll let it go, just this time. Let the guy who had been crying like a baby earlier have fun.

“Where to?” I ask, it’s almost lunch time now and I’m starving.

“To somewhere nice. I think I’m ready to claim your debt now,” he says and I look at him, confused. What is he talking about?

“You owe me a date,” he says, smiling at me while he starts the car. Let’s have a date, then. 

--- 

*SJK’s POV*

I drive quietly, feeling tranquil after today’s surprise encounter with my sister. We just had a sumptuous lunch and now I’m taking her somewhere. I didn’t see that coming, Hye Kyo taking me to h