After managing to emerge from our first dance as a couple with some shred of grace (Kai was a dancer, it turned out), we decided that it wouldn’t be too horrible to disappear for the rest of the wedding, considering that it was more tedious than anything we’d ever learned in school.

We wouldn’t be missed. After all, there were few ways to fail the simulation and therefore senior year. One of them was to die, though of course only the consciousness would be dying. The others included severe mutilation, extreme forms of addiction, kids that grew up to be serial killers, things of that nature.

But it was a long stretch from failure to excellence, to that elusive A that everyone in our school never stopped chasing. I wondered what I would have to do to get that A, as Kai took my hand and led me to a nearby balcony, my dress rustling over the rough surface of the floor.

“You know,” he said as we watched the ever moving cityscape. “My parents always told me that marriage isn’t built on love.”

That wasn’t a surprise to me, but I still asked. “Then what is it built on?”

“It’s time,” he replied. “Because with time, comes love, comes understanding, and comes belonging.”

“Or you just give up fighting after long enough,” I said. He laughed. “Or that.”

…

At around midnight, our parents (minus my father, who called just before his flight left for New York) were drunk enough to pack us off into a limousine that would take us to our apartment (which we were told we had picked out ourselves not a year ago). We would spend our wedding night there before leaving for our honeymoon in the Caribbean.

We weren’t supposed to talk about the simulation in front of projections of the simulation, that is, people that weren’t students and weren’t real. Kai called them NPC’s, non-player characters. So we made awkward small talk on the way to the street and when we finally collapsed into the limousine we began talking about what was comfortable for us again, what we knew.

About five minutes from our apartment, according to my phone’s GPS, we began to wonder how we became partners.

“Honestly,” Kai said. “I didn’t think you had much in common with me. Our partners were assigned based on common interests, right?”

I shrugged. “I don’t even remember filling out a questionnaire. I probably put down whatever.”

“What a lucky coincidence, then,” he laughed.

Strangely, his comment made the corners of my mouth turn up slightly, and I was grinning. “Very lucky indeed,” I agreed.

When we reached the apartment, the limousine sped off into the night, and we took the elevator up to the top floor. Our penthouse suite featured a stunning vista of Seoul, as well as two bedrooms and a spacious living area with many adjacent rooms.

I had changed out of my wedding dress before we left the venue, so all that remained was for me to take off my makeup and shower before I could go to sleep. When I checked the master bathroom, I found that all of my usual beauty products were arranged neatly in the medicine cabinets and drawers on one half of the bathroom. On the other side were some products I assumed belonged to Kai.

In the apartment, we could talk freely about the simulation. Kai had let me shower first, and I had dried my hair and changed into a bathrobe while he showered.

“Do you think we’ll be able to find the other students in the simulation?” he asked as we both looked through the walk-in closet, which we found was full of our clothing, as well as some items I didn’t recognize, but must have belonged to me since I didn’t think Kai was the type to wear the tight bustiers and ethereal slips that I found.

“It can’t be that hard,” I commented as I got some pajamas out of a drawer on my side of the closet. “Seoul is a small place when you really get to know it.”

Kai nodded as I disappeared into the bathroom to change into my pajamas.

…

When I padded back into the master bedroom, the carpet plush under my bare feet, Kai was sitting cross-legged on the king-sized bed. I had anticipated the awkwardness that was to come while I was changing, and the way he wouldn’t meet my eyes only confirmed my suspicions.

“You know,” he commented, almost too casually. “We’ll probably get a better grade if we sleep in the same bed. It shows we’re trying to get to know each other and stuff.”

At the look on my face, he added, “I swear, my intentions are solely to get a better grade. I want to get out of here just as badly as you do. But if you don’t want to, I totally understand.”

I knew what kind of tricks he was playing, but I played along because I knew that it really would get us a better grade. I sat on the opposite side of the bed and leaned against the headboard for a moment. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, almost as if it was trying to escape through my throat.

“Just letting you know,” I warned. “The last time I had a sleepover I kicked my friend off the bed. This information is completely for your own benefit.”

Kai looked stricken, and I laughed before tucking myself into bed. “Good night,” I said as I turned off the lamp on the night stand.

As soon as the light turned off and the room was covered in darkness, Kai spoke. I slowly turned and propped my head up on my arm so I could face him.

“Do you want to make a deal?” he whispered, even though (or maybe because) we were alone and it was utterly quiet around us.

I raised an eyebrow, even though I knew he couldn’t see the movement. “What do you mean?”

“It’s a mutually beneficial relationship. We said we’re in this together, right? I won’t make any trouble on my end, you don’t make any trouble on your end, and we both work together to get the good grade. We’ll tell each other if anything is bothering us, and we’ll figure it out so we can move on. We’ll always have the goal in mind. And we’ll keep our boundaries.” The last part sounded almost like an afterthought.

His words made me a bit nervous. It sounded too much like commitment. “I’m pretty sure they can hear us, you know,” I said. I didn’t need to say who they were.

“It doesn’t matter. We’re supposed to work together to get a good grade. It builds character and stuff. You know how it is.”

I closed my eyes for a moment to contemplate. He was really right, but I wanted to have the final say. I wanted to have the control. I didn’t know Kai, and I was a little bit scared about the prospect of the next day, let alone the many ‘years’ we would spend in the simulation.

“How about we make it a bit more concrete?” I asked. “Every time one of us wants something, that person has to give something in return. If you get something you want, I get something I want. We don’t complain, and we don’t cheat. We just give and take.”

Kai made a noise of approval. “I’m okay with that.”

“Okay. Then it’s settled.” I settled back down onto the pillow, and silence fell.

I could hear his breathing over the faintest noises from the city below us. It was irregular, loud. My body was turned away from his and I was staring at the night stand, the covers wrapped around my shoulders, but I could almost feel his eyes on my back. I tried to ignore it and relax -- we had our deal, after all.

We had been lying in silence for a few minutes, and I was beginning to feel my eyelids droop, when I heard Kai murmur something.

“What did you say?” I whispered. My back was to him and I didn’t feel like turning over.

“I said you smell nice.”

I turned over and glared at him in the darkness. “Lying in bed on our wedding night isn’t exactly the best time for a come-on, Kai.”

He laughed, and I went to sleep with that memory in mind.