16 ∞ who can see the truth

CHANGMIN - - -

The wind was cool in Jeju island when we arrived by late afternoon. It was refreshing (calming), that I felt a little more at ease when I breathed the open air, than when I was stuck in the flight with Yoona at my left and Yuri at my right. Whoever it was in the airline that gave us those tickets must have been playing a dirty trick on us. I thought, looking around on the balcony of Yuri’s family home in the island.

You could definitely count on the Kwon family in combining luxury and comfort all at once in their home. The house was tasteful, fully furnished and isolated from the other houses, and was closer to the beach than I had expected. It had three huge bedrooms: The girls (Yeonhee, Sooyoung, Yoona) were going to share one room, Kibum and Donghae another… and the master bedroom for me and Yuri. Of course I didn’t make the arrangements (I thought I was rooming with Kibum and Donghae, which I would have preferred) but Yuri did. And somehow I knew not to bother arguing with her about it.

“Stuck in your thoughts, Shim?” Sooyoung’s voice cut through the comfortable silence and I winced. She saw my expression and hit me lightly on the shoulder. I smiled slightly at her in greeting.

“You’re too noisy.” I said, leaning forward on the banister. She chuckled, “And you’re too serious. Lighten up.”

“Sharing a room huh?” Sooyoung said, a teasing glint in her tone. I rolled my eyes.

“It wasn’t my idea.”

I could see Sooyoung nod her head out of the corner of my eye. “Of course it isn’t. Just like this wedding isn’t your idea either.”

She sighed loudly. “Are you really just going to stay quiet this whole time? Forget anything happened?” I opted not to respond.

Sooyoung looked at me expectantly. “I know about what happened four years ago.” My ears perked but I made no movement to show my surprise. Sooyoung continued, “Yeonhee let it slip when I rode with her and Kibum earlier today and I was as shocked as she sounded when she was saying it.”

The waves crashed in front of us, just as the wind blew stronger. There wasn’t much left I could tell Sooyoung anyway, since she basically already knew everything now. I sighed.

“I havta say, Shim. I didn’t think you had it in you. I thought it was just Yoona the whole time… but, just wow.” She smiled. “Were you really going to propose?”

I didn’t reply, and instead breathed in a little more deeply. Sooyoung stepped closer, leaning against the wood of the railings and let out a short laugh. “I know I haven’t been the most supporting person when it came to you and Yoong but… as a friend– your friend I mean, I’m worried.”

“Wow. I’m touched.” I joked, earning a hard smack on the shoulder. Sooyoung wrinkled her nose at me (though the serious stare in her eyes told me she meant her words) and I smiled slightly.

“It’s hard being friends with Yoona and Yuri, seeing as Yuri’s getting married to you and we both how screwed up you and Yoona are right now. But it’s even harder being friends with you and those two.” She frowned. “Do you realize how difficult a situation like this is? It’s a warzone, Shim!”

“Sorry,” I mumbled, shrugging my shoulders. I continued to stare out into the water, absentmindedly reaching up around my neck to touch the ring dangling from my necklace. “Don’t worry about it so much though. Things will be fine.”

Sooyoung moved away from the railing and shook her head. “No, it’s not Shim. Seeing you hold on to that”—she pointed at me, at the ring—“tells me everything you don’t have the courage to say.”

I pulled the necklace under my shirt. “Reflex, Choi. That was a reflex.” I said, but even I didn’t believe my own words. I looked back out to the water and sighed.

Meanwhile, Sooyoung – beside me – sniggered.

YOONA - - -

 “I’m so hungry!” Yuri exclaimed, jumping face down on the bed I had chosen to sleep on. I smiled, gently pushing her off a bit and joining her there.

“Should we eat out? I saw a cute restaurant on the other side of the beach. What do you think, Yeonhee?” I said, brushing the hair off of my face. Yeonhee shrugged, putting her things together, and said nothing. Her silence was beginning to worry me, and I decided to wait until after dinner to grab her and make her talk.

Yuri’s loud sigh brought me back to reality and I looked back at her. She was looking out the window thoughtfully. “How about we just cook din