Birds chirped and the sun shined. It was just another morning to most people. Nothing registered in the book of surprises for most. However, somewhere in the heart of South Korea, a young man was experiencing an internal shock that would have wrecked catastrophe in the lives of millions had it been an actual geological occurrence. His shock would have defied the Richter scale if measured. Oh yes, you guessed it right—Taeng nearly died of a heart attack upon waking up.

 

The last thing Taeng remembered holding onto was his peas. That he was sure of. Hence, he couldn’t for his dear life figure out why he was hugging a very smooth, slender and beautiful leg when he woke up the next morning. He blinked in confusion. He wasn’t much of a morning person to begin with, let alone waking up to such a strange sight. He sniffed at the leg that he clutched in his hands—it was a real leg alright… and definitely female.

 

A feminine voice startled him. “Are you done hugging my leg yet? It’s gone numb.”

 

He raised his head and looked for the head that the voice had come from.

 

OH MY GAWD!!! He screamed mentally as soon as he saw her face.

 

This is a nightmare!

 

No! This is a dream come true!

 

What am I thinking…! This is a disaster!!!

 

But this leg is too beautiful to be a disaster…

 

The owner of the leg grew impatient and decided to kick his arms away. It jerked violently and Taeng almost caught it in his face but he dodged just in time and let the leg go with a squeak.

 

“TIFFANY? WHAT? WHAT? WHY? WAHHH!!!” He dodged the foot but ended up flat on his tummy on the floor.

 

Tiffany leaned over the edge of the bed, her face scrunched up with worry. “Taeng! Are you okay? I’m so sorry!”

 

“Oh… I’m alright. No worries!” His face shone like it had just been waxed and polished. A brilliant smile broke across his face. “Good morning Tiffany!”

 

The raven-haired girl couldn’t take it anymore. She laughed. She laughed harder than she ever had in her life. “Oh Taeng…” she sputtered in between great bouts of laughter. “You’re the best.”

 

She smiled with her ‘fatal-to-Taeng’ crescent moon eyes and leaned forward towards him. She planted a sweet kiss on his cheek. “Good morning Taeng. Thanks for giving me the best morning I’ve had in a long, long time.”

 

Taeng’s heart stood still and his ears turned pink. His hand made its way to the spot that was graced by Tiffany’s lips and covered it. And there he sat, frozen in that moment of time till Tiffany nudged him with her knee.

 

“Aren’t you washing up? It’s time for breakfast.”

 

He came back to his senses and nodded happily at Tiffany before leaping back on his feet and dashing into the bathroom with the dorkiest grin on his face.

 

~~~~~

 

Tiffany laughed at his dorky reaction and shook her head.

 

Taeng… You are more than something…

 

~~~~~

Not so far away from the room of Tiffany and Taeng, was the room of Yul and Jessica. Yul was a very happy man to say the least. He was glad that he had boldly stated that they would share a room. It had definitely paid off in the form of a really sweet night with Jessica.

 

Jessica had been unprecedentedly shy in the room. Yul didn’t know if it was the ambience of the resort or simply Jessica being shy that made him go all squishy and squashy inside. They took turns to take their showers and ended up wearing the bathrobes that they found in the room as they hadn’t brought any clothes to change into.

 

Both of them blushed when their eyes met. Being alone in a room with nothing but bathrobes on reminded them of their recent intimacy on a certain rainy night. Yul cleared his throat and smiled at Jessica, melting her instantly. She smiled back, making his heart skip a little faster than usual. Then he threw her a curveball.

 

“Let’s talk.”

 

“Talk?!” Jessica squeaked in surprise. Oh Yul…

 

“Yeah.” Yul grinned boyishly and pulled her onto the bed with him. He snuggled comfortably under the sheets with her sitting between his legs. He then wrapped his arms around her waist and nestled his chin on her shoulder. It was then that Jessica was certain that Yul was totally inhuman.

 

How am I supposed to TALK with you hugging me like that?!

 

“I want to know more about you. Tell me everything.”

 

Jessica covered his hands with hers and rubbed his calloused palms.

 

His hands are so big.

 

“Mmm I am very rich and very spoilt.”

 

Yul laughed out loud at her simplicity and honesty. “I already know that. Tell me something I don’t know about you.”

 

“Mmm… I hate cucumbers.”

 

“REALLY…?”

 

Jessica raised her head sideways and looked at Yul’s look of disbelief. She nodded. “It’s true.”

 

“Why?”

 

Jessica shrugged. “I really hate the smell.”

 

Yul grinned and gave her cheek a quick peck. “You’re so full of surprises.”

 

“What about you, Yul? Tell me something I don’t know about you.”

 

“Me? I love cucumbers.”

 

“YA!” Jessica pouted and Yul grinned cheekily.

 

“I love swimming.” Yul squeezed Jessica lightly. “Do you like swimming?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“That’s great! We can go swimming together.”

 

Jessica blushed, unknown to Yul. She would have smacked his arm for being erted if he were any other guy but because he was Yul, she knew that he was perfectly serious about it. Still, the thought of wearing a bikini in front of him made her feel shy all the same so she smacked his arm anyway.

 

“Oww… What…?” Then it dawned on him. “I wasn’t thinking about that...”

 

However, now that you mentioned it…

 

Yul felt slightly warmer than before and he cleared his throat uncomfortably.

 

Just then, Jessica shifted herself, causing some friction between the two of them. Oh gosh. He squeezed his eyes shut, determined not to lose track of the conversation.

 

“What about your favourite colour?” Yul asked through gritted teeth.

 

“Pink.”

 

“Favourite food…?”

 

“Ice cream.” Jessica laughed and elbowed Yul lightly. “Why is this turning into an interview?”

 

“That’s because I’m trying to keep my mind on track.”

 

“Why? Is it straying?” Jessica asked somewhat innocently.

 

Yul cleared his throat again. “Er… Yes it is.”

 

Jessica turned around and sat facing him with her legs on either side of him. “Is it straying to me?” she asked with a playful grin.

 

Yul swallowed hard. “Yes.”

 

Jessica leaned forward with a dazzling smile on her face and pressed her lips on his. His lips began to move at once, nuzzling her soft ones, on her lower lip lightly. Her hands slipped under his bathrobe and explored the finer details of his toned chest muscles. Her rather cold hands shocked his warm skin and blazed a trail of goose pimples across his body.

 

“I want your mind on nothing else but me…” Jessica breathed into his ear.

 

Yul smiled handsomely, knocking the wind out of her. “You’re mine,” he declared before flipping her onto the bed and hovering above her, crouching like a predator lying in wait of its prey. Jessica squealed in surprise and laughed out of sheer excitement.

 

“I’m yours,” she reaffirmed as his lips come closing in on hers.

 

~~~

Now, as he tried to wake her up by giving her a gentle shake, he realized just how difficult it was to wake her up. Jessica wouldn’t budge. She just wouldn’t. They were going to miss breakfast if she still didn’t get up. Fortunately, he had the foresight to take a half day of leave from work—a move that had his co-workers waggling their eyebrows at each other. The word ‘leave’ had become synonymous with ‘girlfriend’ when it came to Yul. His boss had approved it happily and told him to enjoy himself with his girlfriend.

 

He grew desperate as he stared at the sleeping beauty. What would it take to wake her up?

 

Ah! I can try tickling her.

 

And so he did, much to his regret.

 

Yul covered his ears as a shrill high-pitched scream that sounded much like a dolphin pierced his ears. He winced and rubbed his ears as she sat up on the bed and shot knives and daggers at him with her icy cold glare.

 

“What gives?”

 

Yul uncovered his ears, feeling relieved that she had stopped screaming. “I was only trying to wake you up for breakfast.”

 

Jessica pouted and folded her arms unhappily but her eyes softened upon his explanation. Yul found her absolutely adorable somehow and couldn’t resist giving her a peck on her forehead. He ruffled her hair and petted her head affectionately. “Get up, sleepy head. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You can’t miss it.”

 

“But I’m tired.” The brunette flopped back down on the bed and stretched lazily.

 

Yul looked at her with pursed lips. “I will carry you to the bathroom if that’s what it’s going to take.”

 

She looked up at him and sighed; so much for lazing in bed. “Alright, I’m up, I’m up. Sometimes, you’re just plain annoying.” She got up grumpily but made her way to the bathroom to get changed nonetheless.

 

~~~~~

They were the last to join the breakfast group. Everybody else had begun tucking into their breakfast.

 

“What would you like to drink, Jessi?” Yul offered to get a drink for her.

 

“Fruit juice.”

 

“Okay, sure.” He smiled charmingly at her and gave her shoulder a squeeze before leaving to get the drinks.

 

Tiffany leaned towards Jessica and nudged her. “Jessi.”

 

“What?”

 

“It’s all very sweet between you and Yul but I’m not too happy about something.”

 

“What is it?” Jessica asked, wondering what could be wrong.

 

“He calls you Jessi.”

 

“Yes, he does. What’s wrong with that?”

 

Tiffany clucked disapprovingly and glared at Jessica. “Have you forgotten our friendship pact?”

 

The brunette’s eyes widened as she remembered the pact they had made on the day that they pledged to be best friends forever.

 

“Only I can call you Tif and only you can call me Jessi.” Jessica giggled as they hooked pinkies and sealed the deal with their thumbs. It was such a childish thing to do at the age of nineteen but it felt great nonetheless.

 

“Everybody else will just have to call you something else.” Tiffany laughed. “I own Jessi now.”

 

“And I own Tif.”

 

The two girls giggled and laughed and hugged each other as their friendship went beyond the ordinary bond—they were officially best friends forever.

 

Now, Jessica realized that Yul would have to call her something else. She giggled and jabbed Tiffany with her elbow. “I didn’t realize just how childish you can be, Tif.”

 

“I’m not being childish. A pact is a pact. I kept my end of it so you have to keep yours too, Jessi.” Tiffany emphasized on the nickname that she owned.

 

Jessica smiled and nodded. Just then, Yul returned with the drinks. Jessica nudged him and whispered in his ear, giggling when she paused. He looked at Tiffany and Jessica and back at Tiffany again. The look on his face said it all—just how childish can they get?

 

Tiffany simply smiled charmingly at Yul and shrugged.

 

“So what do I call you from now on?” Yul looked at Jessica for an alternative.

 

She furrowed her eyebrows for a second. “Call me Sica.” She smiled widely as she followed up with the next line that sent tingles down her spine just by saying it. “Since Tif owns Jessi… you can own the other half of my name.”

 

“Sica?” Yul raised an eyebrow briefly before smiling handsomely again. “Alright, Sica it is.”

 

Jessica beamed and squeezed his hand happily as she nodded. “And together…we are YulSic!” She giggled like a little girl who had her favourite candy.

 

That giggle put a smile on Yul’s face. He was happy when she was. That was all that mattered.

 

~~~~~

 

Sunny was having a rather difficult time. Much to her consternation, both Young and Yoong sat themselves beside her. They got her drinks and buttered her toast. Young even tried to feed her a piece of watermelon. She wasn’t used to this sort of attention and didn’t really want their relationship to turn this way.

 

“Please stop this,” she said to the both of them after pulling them to a quiet corner, away from the breakfast table.

 

“What did we do?” The two men looked puzzled.

 

“This.” Sunny waggled her hands in exasperation. “This overly excessive attention and odd behavior from you guys is freaking me out. The two of you aren’t supposed to be like that. What happened to the two cool dudes that I used to know?”

 

“Erm… We got competitive?” Young offered an explanation.

 

Yoong nodded his head and agreed. “We agreed to play the game fairly. We will both woo you because neither of us wants to give you up. You can decide on who you want and the other will have to give up then.”

 

“Oh my gosh. If this is what it’s going to turn into then I won’t want either of you. Please be your usual selves… Please?” Sunny implored them with her eyes.

 

“Alright, okay… We’ll back off a little. You’re overwhelmed by our romantic gestures, aren’t you?” Yoong grinned.

 

“More like completely freaked out. Please act like your normal selves.” Sunny glared at the both of them before walking back to the table even though she was not entirely convinced that they would soften their approach at all.

 

~~~~~

 

Hyoyeon took the opportunity to talk to Hyun after Sunny pulled his two buddies away from the table.

 

She prodded his arm with her finger. “Hyun.”

 

He ignored her.

 

“Hyun.”

 

He remained unresponsive.

 

“Hyun.”

 

“Oh my gawd... What is it?” He finally responded, feeling totally irritated.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

The sudden and totally unexpected apology stunned him into silence. He merely looked at her, wondering how much of that apology was sincere and even then, was it too little, too late? However, he was forgiving, kind, naïve and easily fooled. He was a genius when it came to numbers but it wasn’t the case when it came to humans.

 

“What are you sorry for?”

 

Hyoyeon looked at him with rather sorrowful eyes. “I’m sorry for making your life so miserable in high school. I really had no idea it affected you so much.”

 

Hyun’s eyes softened upon hearing her rather heart-felt apology. “It’s okay. It all happened years ago so just forget it.”

 

“Does it mean that we are friends again?” Hyoyeon asked excitedly.

 

“Were we ever friends?”

 

“Oh…” Hyoyeon feigned hurt in her chest as she fisted her blouse and scrunched up her face in pain.

 

“Hyoyeon! Are you alright?” Hyun asked in alarm.

 

“You…You hurt me so bad…” Hyoyeon uttered while still looking like she was on the verge of death.

 

“Me? What did I do?”

 

“You asked if we were ever friends. Seriously that hurt me so deep.” Hyoyeon released her blouse and sat up straight with no trace of the extreme pain that she was supposedly feeling just seconds ago.

 

“Geez, I just forgave you for all the pranks you played on me and the first thing you do is play a joke on me and make me worried for nothing?!” Hyun huffed angrily.

 

“Oh come on Hyun, can’t you take a joke? This one wasn’t humiliating or traumatizing was it? Anyway I did feel hurt when you said that. It hurts to know that you did not consider me as a friend back then.”

 

“You can’t blame me for that Hyoyeon. Nobody in their right mind would treat a prankster like you as a friend after all the pain you put me through.”

 

“Let me make it up to you then!” Hyoyeon grabbed him arm with her hands. He jumped in his skin at the touch and extracted his arm gingerly.

 

“Sure, if that’s what you want but please keep a safe distance from me. I don’t quite trust you yet.”

 

For all the hurt that I went through in high school, wasn’t it because Hyoyeon hated me? Why would anyone play so many horrible pranks on me unless they hated me? But why is Hyoyeon being so nice to me now?

 

~~~~~

Sunny plonked herself next to Yul when she got back. She linked her arm with his and smiled like the sun. “Yul oppa!” She called him in her aegyo voice on purpose and although Yul was pretty much accustomed to her aegyo from years ago, he still cringed when he heard it.

 

“Sunny!” Yul managed to smile and ruffled her hair like he used to. He felt Jessica’s hand on his thigh and saw her furrowed eyebrows. Knowing that she was feeling jealous, he cleared his throat and sat straight, trying to extract Sunny’s arm from his but Sunny held on cheekily.

 

“Yul oppa! Do you miss me after so spending so many years without me?” Sunny smiled at Jessica who didn’t quite smile back. She stifled the giggle that hovered dangerously near the surface and continued teasing.

 

“Of course I miss you! HAHA! You’re my favourite little sister remember?”

 

The hand on his thigh gripped him harder. He shifted uncomfortably on his seat. “Er, Sunny…”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Oh…it’s nothing. Never mind.”

 

Sunny giggled and nodded. “Oppa, let’s go out and catch up on good ol’ times, shall we?”

 

“Sure! I’d love that. I want to find out what you’ve been doing all this time.”

 

“Me too!” Sunny fished out her mobile. “What’s your number, oppa?”

 

Yul recited his number to Sunny, all the while, trying to refrain from yelping in pain as the grip on his thigh had tightened so much so that it was more like a very harsh pinch.

 

Sunny saved the number and grinned. “Good! Now I can talk to you anytime I want!”

 

“Yes you can.” Yul’s voice became increasingly strained as he fought to tolerate the extreme pain being inflicted on his thigh.

 

Just then, Yoong and Young returned to the table.

 

“Do you know him?” Yoong asked with wide open eyes and a glint of something unspoken.

 

“He’s my oppa! We were very close in the past but we lost contact of each other. Can you believe it? We actually met again here on my birthday!” Sunny’s eyes turned into lovely crescent moons as she smiled excitedly. “He’s the best birthday present I got this year!”

 

Yul yelped in pain and by this time he was sure that Sunny knew exactly what she was doing for her lips were pressed together tightly, indicating an attempt to stop herself from bursting into laughter.

 

Suddenly, Jessica butted in on the conversation and exclaimed, “I remember you! You were at that dinner!”

 

‘What dinner?’ Sunny asked cluelessly.

 

“The one that Yoong brought you to a while back… the one where we were supposed to be discussing our engagement.”

 

Sunny and Yul turned to each other in surprise. “You were at that dinner too?” they chorused.

 

“Come to think of it, I think I did catch a sight of you leaving with Yoong ssi when I came back from the washroom. I didn’t know who you were back then but I remember thinking that the back view that I saw looked extremely familiar to me,” said Yul.

 

“Well…it has been almost ten years now.” Sunny giggled. “I wouldn’t expect you to recognize me from my back.”

 

“So, you are Yoong’s girlfriend, aren’t you?” asked Jessica.

 

Sunny laughed. “No…we were just pretending. Yoong didn’t want to appear without a girl when you had a boyfriend with you.”

 

“HAHA! What a coincidence! Jessica and I were also pre—OWWW!!! HEY WHAT WAS THAT FOR, SICA?” Yul rubbed his very sore thigh angrily. Then the realization of what he had almost let slip hit him hard. His eyes widened in horror and he looked at Jessica who definitely looked ready to commit murder right now. He gulped.

 

Oh no. That was such a near miss. Sica must be so mad at me! I’m a dead man now.

 

Jessica stood up abruptly and stalked off in a huff. Yul looked apologetically at a very clueless Sunny and Yoong before getting up to follow Jessica.

 

“Sica! I’m sorry! Sica!”

 

~~~~~

 

Sunny watched in amusement as he caught up with the angry brunette and held her arm, only to have her fling it off violently. She stared him down before walking away again. He continued to follow her but this time he kept a safe distance between the two of them.

 

What an interesting couple they are. I must find out more from Yul.

 

Sunny giggled at that thought and shook off the arm that was snaking around her shoulders. She glared at Yoong who gave her sheepish grin.

 

“You can’t blame a guy for trying.”

 

“Well, you can try again…when nobody else is around…” she whispered in his ear as she stood up to get herself a glass of juice.

 

Is it me or is it getting hot in here… All Yoong could do was stare.

 

~~~~~