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EPISODE 13
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Place: Heechul & Jessica’s WGM Apartment
Time: 11:02AM

Jessica’s POV

I’ve decided to arrive early to surprise Heechul. It’s his birthday today after all.

My heart was beating a little fast and my stomach was tied up in a knot. I was so nervous, I was afraid that I wouldn’t know how to react when I see him. What if he won’t talk to me? Or worse, what if he doesn’t show up for shooting?

As I entered the apartment, the PD crew was already setting up the cameras around.

“Oh, Jessica. You’ve arrived very early today, you do know that shooting only starts at noon, right?” The PD unnie came towards me with a smile and then whispered, “Today’s Heechul’s birthday~ If you didn’t know that already~”

“Ne~ I do know.. That’s kinda why I’m early,” I smiled at her.

“Oh that’s good~ He’s in the bedroom, maybe you wanna go there, we haven’t set up the cameras in there yet,” She winked at me and went away.

I was surprised that Heechul had already arrived. Does he always arrive so early during shooting?

I opened the door but to my surprise, Heechul was changing his shirt. I gasped but I quickly covered my mouth so that he wouldn’t hear me. His back was facing me so he probably didn’t know that I was watching him.

He was whistling a tune as he tossed his shirt onto the bed and grabbed his frog shirt that was lying closely next to it. Luckily I remembered to wear my cow shirt today or else I would just kill myself.

“Hey beautiful, you’re early today,” He spoke coolly without turning around.

“I.. I.. Yes, I am.. Happy birthday Heechul!” I tried to sound happy.

I’ve practiced this line so many times in front of the mirror back at the dorm but somehow, it’s not how I wanted it to turn out.

“Let me guess, the PD noona told you?” He scoffed as he walked towards me.

“No.. well she did, but I knew it even before she told me,” I couldn’t tell him that I knew it from reading his letter but I think he knew it himself.

“Funny. That’s a first,” He smirked.

“Look, you’re not still mad at me about what happened last time, are you?” I asked nervously.

I was afraid that bringing up this matter again might cause him to recall what did happen and make him sad again.

“Me? Mad at you?” He gave out a sarcastic sigh and whispered into my ears, “You only made me want you more..”

---

Heechul’s POV

For the past week, I’ve been thinking... Why would Jessica pick Taecyeon over me?

I don’t know him personally, but I do know that he’s got a big built, he’s tall and he can speak English. It’s not that I want to be like him, but maybe those are the points that Jessica likes in a guy.

I’m trying my best to work out, but with the company feeding us such little amount of food, how am I supposed to gain weight?

And the height.. well, I think I’ve stopped growing but 178cm isn’t such a bad number.

And as for English, I can just learn from Kevin hyung but well.. it’s not really working out well so maybe I could just cut this off my list.

Or could it be? That I’m making it oh-so-obvious all the time that I like her and she’s really getting bored of it? Maybe I should pretend to be a tease to her. Then she’d start liking me more.

“Princess, why do you put your hair like that? You look sooo y with your hair pushed back,” I said seductively as I combed my fingers through her hair.

“What’s wrong with you?” She pushed my chest but I simply laughed at her reaction.

“What’s wrong with me? You wanna check me out and see what’s wrong?” I snickered as I went closer to her again.

“Heechul..” She smirked as she held the side of my face and whispered ily in my ears, “You know.. Guys like you.. Are always trying too hard.”

She pinched my cheeks and stuck out her tongue, “Blehh~~”

“Sica, you always know how to make me laugh~” I chuckled as I chased after her.

“Ta-da!” She stopped running and pulled out a soft toy in front of me.

“Oh! What’s this?” I smiled as I took the toy and examined it. It’s a toy frog and it was relatively the same size as the toy cow I gave her.

“It’s your birthday present!” She smiled excitedly. She looked just like a little kid and it made my heart flutter seeing her like this.

---

Jessica’s POV

 “Wow.. That’s really nice of you..” I could tell that he wasn’t really satisfied with it. It’s as if he wanted more than just this toy.

“You don’t like it..?” I asked disappointingly.

“Nooo! I love it! I’ll name it Jessi!!” He smiled happily, “I’m gonna show this to all the PD crew! Hehehe.”

He quickly ran around the house with Jessi in his hands. Seeing his innocence, just like a small child, made my heart warm. He might not be my ideal type of guy, but he does give me that warm feeling inside sometimes.

*bzzzt*

From: Taec ^^
Hey Jess, we eating dinner tonight?

I was so happy to see a text from Taecyeon. Recently, he’s been cancelling out on our outings. So this really made me brighten up.

To: Taec ^^
Ok. Pick me up ard 8pm at the dorm. Nw im having shooting so I cant text much.

From: Taec ^^
Alright. Cant wait

To: Taec ^^
Me too.

“Hey Sica, who are you texting?” Suddenly Heechul appeared creeping behind me.

“No one. I thought you were showing Jessi off to the PD crew?” I kept my phone in my pocket quickly.

“I did! I did it twice,” He chuckled, “Where’s Chullie?”

“He’s sleeping at home~” I pinched his nose and giggled.

---

Time: 12:09PM

Heechul’s POV

Shooting has just started and everything was going well. Jessica wore her cow shirt, I wore my frog shirt, she’s happy and I’m happy.

“Princess, sit with me,” I sat on the sofa and patted the seat beside me.

“Okay, let’s open the housewarming gifts together then,” She took the gifts and placed it on her lap.

“Couple hoodies, pink and blue. Hmmm, it’s from.. Tiffany and Taeyeon~” I smiled as I held the blue one up.

“Hmm.. Photo frames..?”

“Well, we do need some pictures to lighten up the apartment~” I chuckled.

“Remember to put pictures of your.. babies in here… from Minwoo, Hyungsik and Dongjoon.. Your members?” Jessica read a note that was stuck onto the frames.

“AH… Those maknae trio, I’m really gonna get them when I go home,” I blushed and took the frames from Jessica’s hands.

“Hey, what’s this doing here?” Jessica took out an envelope from the gifts. It’s a mission envelope!!

“To Heechul <3 Jessica: Both of you must wear something to signify that you are married to each other. Use this money given wisely,” She read the mission slowly and with a little bit of a disappointed tone.

“Erm.. We’re wearing couple shirts.. does that count?” I asked her, somehow trying to cheer her up. Something tells me that she doesn’t want to get a ring or anything like that.

“Couple shirts don’t signify that we’re married,” She sighed.

“Then what should we get..?” I asked softly.

“A necklace? Nah.. I can’t imagine you wearing one,” She giggled.

“It’s okay, I’m fine with that,” I smiled at her, “As long as it makes you happy..”

“Heechul.. We’ll get a ring,” She smiled warmly at me, “By the way, there’s more to this letter.”

“With the money, you also have to ride the public transport to Kangnam-gu and find your special items there,” She read in surprise.

“Cool. We can wear our couple hoodies while we’re at it,” I smiled cheerfully as I put on my hoodie.

“What? I’m not gonna take the public transport! What if the fans ambush us?” She opened her eyes really big.

Suddenly the PD interrupted us, “That is why none of the camera crew will follow you two.”

“Then what’s the point of the whole thing if there’s not gonna be any shooting for the entire time?” Jessica asked.

“Well, today the other couples are doing shooting too so we’re lacking in camera crew, but we’ll be sure to be there when both of you arrive at Kangnam-gu,” The PD-nim smiled cheekily at us.

---

After the first part of the shooting had ended, Jessica and I went into the bedroom to get prepared. Both of us agreed on wearing our couple hoodies over our cow and frog shirts.
 
Jessica was gonna wear sunglasses while I wear a black surgical mask to hide our identities from the public.

“What are you looking at?” She asked me as she combed her hair.

“Is it only fair that you saw my upper half and I haven’t seen-”

“It was by accident! I swear!” She shouted at me as she used her hands to protect her chest.

“Okay, okay. I was just playing with ya~” I chuckled, “I wasn’t gonna let you strip in front of me even if you’re willing to. Heh.”

 “Well I wouldn’t!” She rebutted.

“I wouldn’t let you,” I said with a grin.

“I wouldn’t want to!”

“I wouldn’t care,”

“You would care!”

“Why would I care?”

“Because you like me!”

“Exactly why I wouldn’t let you do it.”

“You’re crazy!”

“Yes, crazy in love with you~” I chuckled. Suddenly the PD noona came into the room.

“Are you kids ready? We’ll sent you off at the subway station,” She smiled, “I swear sometimes both of you sound just like a real married couple~”

I knew Jessica was gonna strangle me as the PD noona left but before she did, I had to leave the room too.

“Muah!~” I pressed Jessi’s face against Jessica’s cheek and ran out of the room.

---

Place: Subway

Time: 13:39PM

Jessica’s POV

As we waited for the train, Heechul suddenly held my hand tightly. I looked at him but he simply looked straight, waiting for the train to arrive.

“Why are you holding my hand for?”

“It’s getting crowded, I don’t want you to get lost,” He took a glance at me and then looked around to see if the train is coming.

“Or is it the other way round?” I giggled as I poked his waist.

“Hahaha. Ne~ I’m afraid that I’d get lost~” He made a childish voice and locked his arms around me.

“Haha stop it~ or I’ll start treating you as a little kid~” I poked his head and he immediately let go of his embrace.
                                                                         
“Then if I stop, you’ll treat me as a man?” He spoke seriously, all traces of teasing was gone.

“Erm.. hey, I see the train!” I pulled his arm and stood closer to the door of the train.

---

“Hey.. you look tired, are you okay?” I asked him as the area around his eyes looked dark.

“It’s been like this since..”

“Since..?”

“Nothing.. I’m fine, I’ve never been better,” Since he was wearing that black surgical mask, I couldn’t tell whether he was smiling or not.

Suddenly the train got crowded and I was pushed against the wall of the train. Heechul was using his body to shield me from getting touched by the other passengers.

He placed his hands on the wall behind me and everytime he gets pushed by a passenger, he’d make sure that his chest doesn’t hit mine.

“Your face.. it’s red..” He spoke softly.

“Ah..? Oh.. I’m just cold,” I lied. I’ve never had a guy done this for me before so I felt a little shy.

“Oh!” Suddenly the crowd got even bigger and Heechul’s chest hit mine, even our cheeks brushed against each others’ lightly.

He looked away from my eyes but I knew that he was actually grinning to himself behind that mask.

“Owh!” I purposely took out my arm and hit his face, “Sorry, my hand was kinda stiff so I needed to stretch a little.”

He chuckled a little and moved his face close to mine, “You know.. you’re one-”

Suddenly the crowd pushed him again and our lips touched. Well, not really, my lips touched his surgical mask. There were even traces of my lipgloss on it after he moved his head back.

“Wow, I never thought our first kiss would be on a train,” He chuckled.

“NO! That’s not a kiss!” I whispered harshly to him.

“Then what is a kiss? Care to show me?” He joked, making me smack his arm.

---

Time: 15:01PM

Finally we’ve reached Kangnam-gu. As we exited the subway station, the PD crew was already waiting for us.

“OMONA!~ It’s The Arrogant Couple!!” Some fans were shouting in excitement as they saw us taking off our disguises.

“I’ll keep that,” I took Heechul’s surgical mask as he took it off his face.

“WAE????” He asked me desperately.

“God knows what you’ll do with my lipgloss mark there,” I chuckled as I placed it in my pocket.

“I won’t do anything… I SWEAR I’M NOT A SICKO!!” He panicked a little.

“No, I mean.. sell it off online or something like that,” I laughed at his misunderstanding.

“Oh… Haha..” He scratched his head.

---

Heechul’s POV

“Annyonghaseyo, we’re a newly married couple and we’re looking for some wedding rings,” I greeted the salesperson in a jewelry store.

“Y-you guys are t-the arrogant couple! I’ll call my boss to attend to you,” In an instant, he disappeared into a door.

“Heh. He makes us sound as if we’re really that arrogant,” I whispered into Jessica’s ears, making her giggle.

“Welcome, welcome! How may I help you today?” A plump-looking man walked out of the door with a big smile on his face. I’m guessing he’s the boss of the jewelry store.

“We’re a newly married couple and we’re looking for some wedding rings…” I felt weird repeating what I said again because it felt like déjà vu.

“Of course, of course! The Arrogant Couple!” He laughed like Santa Claus.

“You’re a fan of ours?” I asked.

“No, no. My daughter is a fan,” He laughed and hit my back.

“Ah~ I see,”

“Well, aren’t you two a little too young to be married?” He squint his eyes as he looked up and down at us.

“Uhh… Sir, we’re not really married. It’s just a show..” I chuckled, “But we do make a good couple, don’t we?”

I placed my arm over Jessica’s shoulders and smiled cheekily.

“Yes, yes. A very good couple indeed,” He hit my back again. I swear, if he hits my back once more, I’m gonna get a bruise.

After we’ve had a good look on the rings, Jessica and I finally found a pair that looked really nice. And after we had paid for it, we each took our turns to wear the rings on each other’s finger.

“Now, you may kiss the bride,” The cheeky boss of the jewelry store joked. I laughed at his sense of humor but Jessica wasn’t really amused by it.

“Let’s take a picture together!” He squeezed between me and Jessica while one of his workers took a picture of us.

“I will frame this right over here~” He pointed at the window of the shop. Everyone who enters the store will definitely see the picture.

“Wow, mister. Thank you so much,” I bowed to him.

“No problem, child. Now both of you run along~ And don’t let Santa catch both of you being naughty this Christmas~” Once again he laughed like Santa Claus.

“Okay… Hehehe.” I chuckled.

---

Jessica’s POV

As we made our way back to the apartment, the PD decided to give us a lift. They said that shooting for today is over and we’re just going back to fetch our belongings and then we can go off.

In the car, Heechul and I sat with a seat left empty between us. We were quiet but a part of me wanted to talk to him.

“Sica..” He spoke up.

“Ne?”

“I was just wondering.. Since it’s still quite early.. Erm.. Do you want to eat dinner with me?” He asked shyly, “I mean, it’s okay if you don’t want to.. But, I just thought.. Well, what do you say?”

“I..” Of course I wanted to say yes to him but I had already agreed to eat dinner with Taecyeon, “I’m sorry, I can’t..”

“Oh.. you have another schedule after this?” He asked innocently. I felt guilty having to lie to him, “Yeah.. I do.. It’s right after this so I don’t have time to eat dinner.”

“What? But we haven’t eaten anything today! Jessica.. Even if you don’t eat with me, please eat something..” He pouted and held my hand comfortingly.

It made me feel even guiltier.

“Don’t worry about me, Heechul. Just take care of yourself,” I smiled at him.

“It’s so easy for you to say that..” He sighed, “If you ever fall sick.. I’m gonna blame myself for it..”

“Heechul…” I brushed his hand with mine but he kept silent and looked out the window. It really made me feel warm inside knowing that he cares for me so much.

---

Place: Heechul & Jessica’s WGM Apartment

Time: 19:40PM

Heechul’s POV

"Saengil chukha hamnida~ Saengil chukha hamnida~ Saranghaneun uri Heechul~ Saengil chukha hamnida~" As Jessica and I entered the apartment, the PD crew surprised me with a birthday song and a cake!

I was so happy and when I looked at Jessica, she was smiling at me while clapping her hands.

"Aww, thanks everyone! We'll eat it together after we've done packing up," I laughed. The PD crew agreed and went off to keep the cameras.

"Jessica.." I turned and looked at her, "You're staying right..?"

"I.. yeah, of course," She smiled and I hugged her, "I knew you'd stay.."

Suddenly she pulled me into the bedroom because she wanted to have a talk.

“Heechul.. why do you like me so much?” She asked me out of a sudden.

“I don’t know how to explain it to you.. I just do,” I shrugged my shoulders but she wasn’t ready to let me off the question.

“Seriously, I wanna know why..” She looked into my eyes, searching for something.

“I don’t know.. It was weird.. The first time I saw you, the whole world stopped for me. Everything was muted and the only thing that I could see was you..” I tried to describe how I feel to her, “It’s… magical.”

She kept silent and looked away from me.

“That’s when I knew that.. You’re the one I want to spend the rest of my life with,” I smiled warmly as I thought of what I was saying.

Unexpectedly, she slapped my face hard. I was so shocked. I looked back at her while touching my cheek.

“Don’t you dare have the guts to say that! You’re just saying those things to make me fall in love with you! You really think I’m that naïve to fall for the things you say?!” She shouted at me and breathed heavily as if she was gonna cry any moment.

“Sica.. I would never, ever, say things that I don’t mean,” I held her shoulder comfortingly.

“Hey, what’s happening? Why was Jessica shouting?” Suddenly the PD noona came into the room.

“I’ll handle this, please just give us some time alone,” I assured her and she unwillingly left us alone.

“Last week.. I thought I broke your heart so badly.. It made me so angry at myself.. I’m really so sor-”

“Sshh. Why are you apologizing to me?” I said softly as I held the sides of her head to make her look at me, face to face.

“It’s true, my heart was broken so bad that night.. I didn’t thought that I’d recover from it.. and I didn’t... but that didn’t matter, you’re the only thing that matters to me,” I placed her hair behind her ears and smiled.

“Heechul.. please don’t say that.. you’re making me confused..” She tried looking away from my eyes but as soon as she looked away, she looked right back in.

“But even with a broken heart.. I’m still not even close to giving you up.. So stop confusing yourself, because I’ll tell you the truth right now,” I moved my head closer to hers.

She closed her eyes shut as I leaned towards her. I paused a while just staring at her perfect face, tears forming on her eyelashes while her eyes shut lightly.

“I love you and.. you love me too,” I kissed her forehead lightly.

She opened her eyes and trembled as she looked up at me.

“I’m sorry.. But you only made me more confused..” She whispered and when she was about to run out of the room, I grabbed her arm tightly.

“Jessica, please… Don’t run away from me.. I’m really sorry, I hate it whenever I make you feel uncomfortable. I won’t do it again, I promise,” I told her sincerely.

“I don’t know..” She said softly.

---

Jessica’s POV

Heechul was making me feel all confused. One moment, I feel like he’s just a weird kid. And the next moment, I feel so in love with him. I know he’s just playing with me.. It’s illogical for someone to feel like how he described.

“Hey, the PD crew told me that I would find you guys in here.. What’s going on?” Suddenly Taecyeon appeared at the door.

“Taec.. What are you doing here?” I wiped the tears that were forming in my eyes.

“Picking you up from your shooting so that we can have fun,” He chuckled and looked at Heechul, “Hmm don’t think we’ve met. You are…?”

 “Annyonghaseyo, I’m ZE:A’s Heechul. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Taecyeon sunbaenim,” Heechul bowed at Taecyeon respectfully.

“Ah.. yes, yes~ Sica’s make-believe husband right?” He pat on Heechul’s back while laughing.

“Ne…” Heechul gave him a forced smile.

“So, are we going or not?” Taecyeon pulled my arm before I could even answer him.

I took once last glance at Heechul and saw that he had his head held low with his hands clenched into a fist. I knew he must’ve been frustrated that Taecyeon suddenly appeared and took me away from him. And he just couldn’t do anything about it.

---

Time: 21:12PM

“Why Taec? Why did you have to do that to him?” I asked Taecyeon as we rode in his car.

“Do what?”

“Appear in our apartment and take me away as if I belong to you or something,” I looked at him sharply.

He didn’t answer me for a while and then he went to stop the car at the side of the road.

“He was kinda hurt, wasn’t he?” He laughed but I didn’t find it amusing at all.

“Why did you have to come to the apartment? I told you to meet me at the dorm,” I folded my arms angrily.

“I did go to the dorm, but the girls said that you were still out shooting so I asked them for the address and went down to your apartment to surprise you,” He said with that cheeky smile still plastered on his face.

“You should’ve just waited for me at the dorm…” I sighed.

“Oh come on, Jess. Don’t tell me you actually have feelings for that kid?” He groaned in disbelief.

I kept silent as I didn’t know what to say. Maybe I do have feelings for Heechul. Suddenly he held my hand as if trying to comfort me.

“What the.. Don’t tell me Heechul gave you this as a cheap excuse for a wedding ring? Pfft. Jess, can’t you see? He’s just using you to boost his popularity!” He grabbed my arm but I flung it off me.

“Like how YOU used YoonA to boost YOUR popularity?!!” I shouted angrily at him, “You’re not any better than Heechul!”

“Yes I am! Because unlike him, I actually have REAL feelings for you!” He tried to kiss me on my lips but I pushed his chest away before he did.

“NO! How would you know if Heechul has real feelings for me or not? You don’t even know him!” I shouted.

“It’s all just scripted! All the things that he says are just to woo you!”

“It’s not scripted! It’s NEVER been scripted! On and off camera, he still calls me beautiful and tells me that he loves me!”

“It’s gone into your head, hasn’t it? All this virtual marriage crap. You really think he likes you, huh?”

“I know he loves me, that’s why I’m leaving right now,” I opened the car door and went out before he could say anything else.

I didn’t know what was wrong with me. The way I argued with Taecyeon, was like as if I was really in love with Heechul. It made me so confused.

What was I fighting for? I’ve just lost a friend.. and it’s all because I couldn’t accept the fact that anyone else could love me more than Heechul does.