August  9th, 2013

Both Seul-ki and Sunggyu went stiff just as their lips met. Sunggyu's lips were slightly parted and he could feel Seul-ki's lips in the between them and their breathing hitched for a few seconds before Seul-ki pulled away abruptly, gasping when she did. She looked at Sunggyu who looked really startled and her lips were shivering as she opened to say something but she was having difficulty to even organize her words. Sunggyu let her arms go and shut his eyes, as if he was bearing with something painful and he was holding his temples with one of his hands. He took a deep breath, and looked at her again while cupping his mouth. "Lee Seul-ki-"

"I'm sorry." She said, with her lips still trembling. "I didn't mean to-"

"Why are you-"

"I'm sorry!" She cried, pushing Sunggyu away violently that he almost loses his balance and watched in despair as Seul-ki was limping out of the bathroom.

"Lee Seul-ki, wait!" He shouted after her and pulled her arm and made her face him again. "Why are you saying sorry?"

"Eh?" Seul-ki was unfocussed as she stared into Sunggyu's demanding eyes. "Because..."

"You don't have to say sorry." He said, calmly. Seul-ki watched him questioningly while he sighed. "There is no need to. Lee Seul-ki is... my wife after all."

Seul-ki felt her face burning at that moment and she gulped hard and reflected on her deeds. She couldn't believe that she had just kissed him on his lips! His lips! Those pinkish wet-looking plump lips which felt so soft, she thought, before she snapped out it and felt Sunggyu's grip on her arm was getting a bit stronger.

"Lee Seul-ki, I-"

"Hyung!" Woohyun was knocking on the door and Seul-ki realised that Sunggyu had actually locked it. "Seul-ki?"

"Kim Sunggyu-sshi...?"

"Just ignore him," Sunggyu said, not looking at the door. Woohyun was banging on it endlessly, calling out for them and though Seul-ki was feeling uncomfortable, Sunggyu on the other hand, looked rather calm. He sighed through his mouth and grabbed the sides of her arms again, and made Seul-ki nervous again.

"When you kissed me last night, I thought I was going crazy." He began, almost as if he was angry. "Even it was only on my cheek but... Oh well, you know." He said, finding himself not making any sense. Seul-ki waited for him to finish his sentence but he was only blinking and blinking while looking into her eyes.

"Are you mad?" She asked, with a hushed tone.

"I'm not." He sighed. "Why are you always thinking that I'm mad?"

"Because... I don't want Sunggyu-sshi to hate me..." She said, looking sideways as she couldn't bear his stare anymore.

"I don't hate Lee Seul-ki." Sunggyu said, as if it was something ridiculous. Seul-ki said nothing as she gulped a few times. "Does what happened in the bathroom is considered a kiss for me?"

"I was going to kiss your cheek!"

"You should've said it. Then I wouldn't have turned my face." Sunggyu said, as if he was angry. "And what should I do? You're kissing me around without my permission."

"How could I say it? Like, Sunggyu-sshi, I'm going to kiss you now so keep still, like that?" She asked, finally looking at him again but she was still feeling embarrassed. Sunggyu laughed a bit.

"That will be good. You're always giving me heart attacks seriously, Lee Seul-ki." Sunggyu said, sighing again.

Seul-ki pouted and felt her face burning again. "I'm sorry..."

Sunggyu smiled kindly before his hand crept to her face, and under Seul-ki's shy gaze, he her soft cheek that felt warm, gently so. At that moment, he heard the door being banged loudly by Woohyun and blood rushed to his head as he hissed. "Lee Seul-ki?"

"Hm?"

"I think we should get rid of Woohyun soon, don't you think?" He asked, cheerfully.

"Eh? But... poor Woohyun-sshi... He's got no place to go..."

"But he's such a nuisance!" Sunggyu cried, pouting. "And because of him I have to let my wife sleep on the floor in the next room and what does that make me?"

"Sunggyu-sshi..." Seul-ki felt so touched by his words that she started smiling shyly. "I don't mind the floor. I'm always sleeping on the floor at home."

"But I don't like it! I want to sleep with Lee Seul-ki!" Sunggyu said, sulking and noticed that Seul-ki was turning even redder. "I mean, sleep in the same room on the same bed!" Seul-ki offered no answer for a few seconds as the door was banged loudly again. "Let's just tell Woohyun!"

"Eh?"

"Let's tell Woohyun that we're married." Sunggyu said, looking determined. Seul-ki was getting dizzy. She thought Sunggyu wasn't ready to let his friends know that he's married, but here he was, looking all excited. She found herself grabbing Sunggyu's arm when he was about to walk towards the door.

"Kim Sunggyu-sshi!" She called out, pulling him to her. Sunggyu stopped and looked at her questioningly. "Are you sure you want to tell Woohyun-sshi?"

"Of course.Why?"

"I'm- I'm-... I'm not ready." She admitted. She couldn't be sure but suddenly telling Woohyun that they were married wasn't something that she could register at that time. "Besides, Woohyun-sshi is still feeling sad over his breakup and should we really tell him something like this?"

"He'll get over it."

"No!" She cried, holding him firmer. The conversation over arranged marriage with Woohyun from the other day floated into her memory, making her felt down. 'I know there are things like arranged married and everything but can you actually live with people that you don't even know and love?' 

"Let's not tell Woohyun-sshi... Just yet."

"Is there something wrong?" Sunggyu asked, looking at her while trying to find an answer.

"I... I don't want to tell Woohyun-sshi, just yet." She said, quietly.

"Lee Seul-ki." Sunggyu was feeling dissatisfied when Seul-ki wasn't giving him a straight answer. He peeled off her hand of his arm and grabbed her shoulder. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

"I'm not ready. Sunggyu-sshi, I am only like this. I am still not qualified to even be called as a wife... And... It'll only make it a burden for me if you tell people that I'm your wife. Then people will say how someone like me is a wife... I can't even do things properly and I'm always making you worried. So... Until I can be that wife that people expect me to be, let's not tell people..." She said, her voice trailing off.

"Why should other people define my wife? Lee Seul-ki is my wife. Why do I need other people's opinion?" Sunggyu asked, getting a bit impatient.

"Sunggyu-sshi..." Seul-ki was about to cry, Sunggyu could already tell when he saw how she was biting her bottom lip and she wasn't blinking while looking up at him.

"I only expect Lee Seul-ki to be my wife. That's all." He said, smiling and holding the sides of her head, he pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. "But if that's what Lee Seul-ki wants, then I'll just follow her words. Besides, remember the jujube we shared on our wedding? Lee Seul-ki was the one who took the larger bite."

"I thought that was for who will handle the money?" Seul-ki asked, feeling dizzy over Sunggyu's kiss on her forehead. (In Korean tradition, during the passing of the jujube, the partner that takes the larger bite of the jujube will be the one handling the money.)

"Same thing." He shrugged. "Anything for my wife."

"Thank you." She said, timidly and looked down on his chest. When Sunggyu said nothing, she looked up and saw as Sunggyu was pouting a bit and her heart just went crazy and she bit her lips again. "Uh... I think we should open the door now..."

"But Woohyun has stopped knocking for a while now."

"Really? I didn't notice that..." Seul-ki said, looking at the quiet door.

"Maybe he had left?" Sunggyu suggested. "Then we can have some time alone and-" Sunggyu watched helplessly when Seul-ki left her stance and went to open the door. "...we can do this and that..." Sunggyu added, with a low voice, sighing.

Seul-ki opened the door and looked around and saw Woohyun sitting on the sofa, looking crossed. He got up immediately and walked up to her. "Seul-ki, you're okay? What were you doing in the room with Sunggyu-hyung?"

"I was bandaging her feet." Sunggyu said, with a bored tone.

"You took that long? And do you really have to lock the door?" Woohyun asked, bewildered. "I was so worried!" Woohyun said, and he really looked like he had been worrying.

"Why were you worried?" Sunggyu asked, shooting him a sceptical look.

"Well, for one thing, hyung, even though you're Seul-ki's cousin, you're a man and who knows if you hold inappropriate thoughts for her?" Woohyun asked, glaring at him from the end of his eyes.

"When did I!" Sunggyu cried, feeling his throat blocked when he saw Seul-ki turning scarlet. "I won't do such thing! You think I'm crazy?"

"People go crazy over many things." Woohyun said, with a quieter voice. "Seul-ki-ah, be careful of hyung oh? You know, during uni days, he was the one with the most yadong collec-"

"Yah Nam Woohyun you want to die?!" Sunggyu shouted, feeling like he really wanted to throw off Woohyun off Namsan. "Lee Seul-ki, don't listen to him!"

"But it's true!" Woohyun said, with his eyes widened.

Seul-ki was looking from Woohyun to Sunggyu and although she wanted to believe Sunggyu, the memory of Sunggyu flipping her bra came into her memory again. She blushed and left them both in the living room, limping to her room. Sunggyu was left devastated and Woohyun was smiling victoriously.

"Huh. Looks like Seul-ki believes me more than you." Woohyun said, with an air.

Sunggyu laughed mockingly. "I wonder?" He left Woohyun in the living room and went into his room to change his cloth. When he got out of his room again, Woohyun was still shooting his dissatisfied look over his words but he said nothing. "Tell Seul-ki I'll be a bit late today.

"Where are you going?"

"I got something to do. Just go ahead and have dinner without me.