WooHyun’s POV

I led Dambi all the way to the kitchen, where I was sure no one would see us, and then I automatically let go of her hand.

“I’m sorry”, I said immediately, “I acted selfishly and out of impulse. I didn’t have any prior intention of utilizing you like that.”

“Oh…I…I…I suppose I shouldn’t have interrupted your guys’ conversation like that. It was my fault, really”, Dambi replied shyly. I swear I just saw her smile. In fact… by any chance, was she blushing?

No way. I’m just a stranger, there’s no way she’d fall for me already. But if she has… Now is my chance to gain the most beautiful and fitting trophy wife!

“By any chance, you wouldn’t mind continuing this act, would you?”, I proposed, my eyebrow raised. I felt slightly ridiculous offering her a position as “trophy wife”, but it was now or never. 

Dambi looked up at me, surprise written all over her face.

Perhaps I made the wrong move…I winced internally. It’d be terrible if news got out that I, Nam WooHyun, was scouting for a “trophy wife”.

Dambi hesitated for another nerve-racking minute before she finally said, “All right, I’ll do it. But I have a few conditions of my own.”

“Name them.”

“One, you pay me $50 every month and $10 extra for every time you call me out… including dinners or dates or whatever. Two, Hae Young and I will work as baristas here at your café.”

“Fine”, I said immediately, trying to keep from rolling my eyes. Everyone wants money, money, money. And that’s the one thing I have so much of that it’s practically worthless to me.

“Three, every week, you will do one thing for me that my ex-boyfriend used to do for me.”

What the hell…? Were girls always this sentimental?

You’re asking for awkwardness… I thought of saying, but refrained from voicing that thought. “Fine”, I replied, “In return, you keep our affairs absolutely secret, act like it’s real at all times, and are punctual in your duties regarding a barista.” 

Dambi nodded, “Sounds fair enough.” She held out her hand, “Deal?”

I took her hand and shook it, “Deal”.

“Now”, I continued smoothly, “let’s go check out those foam designs before I leave to check out the renovations on the hotel here.”

So Eun’s POV

“Eun…ah…”, Myungsoo said weakly as I furiously packed my bags, “Eun-ah…this isn’t what I meant.”

“I have all the money that my parents gave me before they left and I still have money in my bank account, so don’t worry about that”, I told him, slinging my bag over my shoulder.

“See you at school, then”, I said, with a smile.

I have to say, it felt somewhat good to do this, to move out… Maybe I had been very sheltered as a child, but now that I think about it, I’d been just as restricted as I was sheltered.

I turned to leave, but Myungsoo grabbed my wrist.

“Please, you’re overreacting…Eun-ah, it’s dangerous-”, he stated.

“I know”, I interrupted firmly, cutting him off.

I looked straight at him and said, “Oppa, don’t worry about me.”

Myungsoo in his cheeks, a habit he does whenever he is extremely frustrated or anxious.

I gently brushed his hand off my wrist, “See you at school”, I said again. But this time, my voice was less joyous. 

I’m not trying to hurt you, Myungsoo Oppa. But I hate that you see me as a child… And I hate the fact that you may possibly be right…

I left, shutting the door behind me with a soft click.

Hae Young’s POV
My mother, Sunggyu, and I sat around the table for dinner, eating rice and kimchi. The atmosphere was not all that great.

“Kids”, my mother said heavily, to start the dinner off, “your father got laid off from work today.”

Sunggyu and I glanced at each other, before we quickly looked away and started shoving rice into our mouths, it may be the last meal we have in a while.

My mother sighed and said, “I have enough money to put Sunggyu through private high school, but Hae Young-ah-.”

God damn it.

I slammed my fork on the table, “I told you, Umma, I’m finishing high school even if it means I’ll die!”

My mother looked down at her plate, tears threatening to spill. I felt a pang of guilt… but it can’t be helped. If I budge, even a little bit, I really won’t finish high school.

“Hae Young-ah”, my mother said, her voice trembling, “I really can’t afford to put you through high school. Even if I sold the house… we…the textbooks and the-” My mother suddenly burst into tears. She hurriedly left the table, slamming the door behind her as she left the house.

GOD DAMN IT!

I angrily threw my fork at the wall, where it pierced through the plaster and stuck to the wall.

“Is it a sin to want to graduate!?”, I yelled.

Sunggyu sighed and said, “Hae Young. Stop.”

I turned to him, rage boiling inside of me.

“Sunggyu oppa, whatever you do won’t convince me-“, I started furiously, but he put his hand over my mouth.

“I know that”, he said, “Just. Listen.”

“You’re ranked first in your graduating class right?”, he asked me.

I nodded, unsure of where he was going with this.

“And you’ve been offered the opportunity to skip senior year, yes?”

I pushed his hand away from me and answered, “But I need to take the graduating exams… for a certain fee. A very large fee…”

“I can pay that”, Sunggyu answered.

“How?”, I asked skeptically, crossing my arms.

“My life savings.”

His life savings?! My eyes shot wide open. No! He’s been saving that penny by penny… since first grade! How the hell am I supposed to-?

“You said you want to graduate high school no matter what, even if you die”, Sunggyu said solemnly.

Okay, but there’s still a big problem here, I thought.

“Say I did graduate high school, what then?”

“WooHyun, Dongwoo, Sungyeol, and I have always dreamed of going to Ren University. You know why, right?”

“Sure, because the yearly cost is practically nothing, you could pay it on your own…”, my voice trailed off as I realized what he was saying.

Was my brother totally out of his senses?

“Sunggyu”, I said, confused, “There’s one problem with Ren University… one very big problem.”
“And what’s that?”, Sunggyu asked, his eyebrow raised in anticipation, as if he truly didn’t know.

How could you forget, oppa?

“Ren University is an all-boy’s university”, I stated.

“Yeah, so?”, Sunggyu asked me.

“All… Boys…. Only…. Males….”, I repeated again, slowly. 

Sunggyu smirked and simply replied, “Yes, I know.”    

“Oppa!”, I shrieked.

Sunggyu held up one finger and responded, “No, it’s hyung.”