October 13th, 2013

Sunggyu woke up feeling lightheaded the next morning, as if he had been drinking too much the night before. He was sweating, and feeling uncomfortable as he went down the bed, and wobbled to the door to open it. The balcony was still closed and he saw Woohyun sleeping on the couch, looking a bit weary. He spent a few seconds of just standing there, looking down on the younger man before he shrugged and walked to the kitchen, to where he could hear the sound of someone chopping something.

Seul-ki was so focused on chopping up the carrots that she didn't notice that Sunggyu had appeared at the entrance of the kitchen and was staring at her with a slight frown. Only when she finished her work then that she finally noticed him and Sunggyu thought that it was probably just his feelings but at the moment their eyes met, he felt that Seul-ki was looking at him differently; somehow distant before she quickly smiled.

"You're awake! Is Sunggyu-sshi feeling better?" She asked, cheerfully, and Sunggyu attempted a smile which came out a bit awkward.

"Um. I feel okay."

"Breakfast will be ready soon. Will you take a shower first?"

"Um." He nodded, and his smile faded slowly after returning hers. He then watched her savaged the fridge, sitting on her heels, ignoring him, so he walked back to his room. His eyes diverted to the side table, where a bottle of water and a glass sat and he was wondering what happened the night before as he couldn't really recall anything apart from sleeping throughout the day.

Woohyun was still sleeping when they were having breakfast and they were both quiet, to not disturb him. Sunggyu was still feeling groggy but Seul-ki' porridge made him felt a bit better somehow. She didn't raise her head all the while and Sunggyu, feeling lethargic, couldn't even start an argument. When they had finished, Seul-ki picked up all the bowls and washed them in the kitchen and Sunggyu was still sitting there, staring at the leftover food. She came back to clear the table and wiped it clean and he was just watching her fingers in silence.

"Do you have class today?"

"I do."

"I think... I'll take a leave today."

"Oh." She nodded to herself. "Sunggyu-sshi should rest some more." She said, and went back to the kitchen to do a minor cleanup before she retreated to her room, got ready for uni and left after saying goodbye to Sunggyu who was still at the table. Sunggyu got up from his chair and walked over to Woohyun, and kicked the sofa to wake him up.

"Wake up." Woohyun only groaned, and covered his face with a pillow, and turned the other way. "Yah Nam Woohyun, wake up!"

"I just got home..." He moaned.

"Just got home?" Woohyun only moaned again and fell asleep again, leaving Sunggyu no choice but to go back to his room and sat on the bed, wondering how to spend the rest of the day. As he was sitting on the bed, his eyes went down on the floor just next his bed, and he was unsure of why he felt rather odd looking down on the floor, as if something or someone was there.

Seul-ki tried hard not to bump into Myungsoo whom she predicted would be asking tons of questions once he saw her. She skipped lunch and stayed in the library instead, reading update tweets from the day before about the Kim Jaejoong's showcase that she had missed. She felt rather lonely but she didn't feel the slightest remorse, remembering how Sunggyu was burning up when it was near midnight. She had tended to him closely, making sure that his temperature dropped again, by wiping his face and body with the towel soaked in cool water. It was almost 3 in the morning before Sunggyu started abating, much to her relief.

Myungsoo had been texting and calling her all morning but she ignored him and eventually fell asleep in the AV room in the library, missed her afternoon class and woke up feeling muzzy. She dragged herself out of the library, just to bump into Myungsoo who was looking rather cross.

"Hello." She said, trying not to meet her gaze.

"Where were you all morning?"

"Class."

"Why didn't you answer my calls?"

"I was in the library."

"Doing what exactly?"

"Reading." Myungsoo kept on staring at her, knowing well that she was lying, and she was only looking down, at his shoes, and she was gulping a few times though she was more to feeling sleepy as she stood there, with her shoulders slouching.

"You could at least reply my text."

"I was about to."

"Lee Seul."

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm okay."

"You look tired."

"I'm okay."

"What happened yesterday?"

"I told you didn't I? Sunggyu-sshi was sick..."

"Was that all?"

"Uh-huh."

"You missed Kim Jaejoong's showcase because you were taking care of him." He stated, somehow angry.

"Of course. I am his wife anyway..."

"Lee Seul."

"What?" She was getting impatient and was started to frown slightly.

"Aren't you going to ask how it was?"

"I bet it was fun."

"It was." He said, taking a deep breath. "But I was looking forward to go with you. And I was finishing this up the day before even." He said, pulling out an LED board, with Kim Jaejoong's name on it. Seul-ki took it in her hands, and looked down on the red LEDs on the board, slowly brushing them with her fingers.

"You did this?"

"Well... Not really. I bought it from a shop... But I was the one to write your name there." He said, smiling faintly, showing her name at the bottom.

"Did you use it during the showcase?"

"You're crazy? Of course not."

"What a waste. Kim Jaejoong-sshi would have loved this." She said, laughing. "Did he see you?"

"I don't know. Does it matter?"

"Of course it does!"

"Well, it doesn't matter much to me!"

"Because Myungsoo has someone else?"

"What someone else?"

"The other day you said you were going somewhere with someone and wouldn't tell me..." She said, pretending to sulk.

"Ah... I was only going out with a friend who promised me to show the shop which sells these kinds of things."

"Is it a girl?"

"No." He retorted, as if Seul-ki had said something ridiculous.

"Really?"

"Of course. Why? Are you going to get jealous if I went out with a girl?"

Seul-ki's face changed a bit but she quickly smiled and laughed nervously. "Of course. I will be lonely and probably cry a little. And wish that you're gay instead."

"Yah!"

"I'm just kidding." She said, holding the board to her chest. "But it'll be a bit lonely..." Her voice trailed off as she casted her gaze down again, holding the board tighter, her mind drifting off to Sunggyu.

"You have your husband." He stated, watching her reaction.

"I do, don't I?" She said, smiling wide and took a deep breath, "But if one day Myungsoo gets himself a girlfriend, you should stop hanging out with me. Since... she'd probably... be sad if she knows."

"Then why are you still hanging out with me when you have a husband?"

Seul-ki looked up, staring into Myungsoo's somehow judging eyes and felt a bit intimated by them when she turned sideways and smiled weakly. "Should we stop hanging out together then?"

"We're only friends."

"Of course we are, but... People would probably think otherwise..." Her voice trailed off as she stared at the empty corridor behind him.

"Lee Seul, is everything okay?"

"I'm good." She smiled and looked at him again, trying to look convincing but she felt lumping up and before Myungsoo could even notice her glassy eyes, she turned away. "I'm keeping this, okay? Thank you, Myungsoo-yah! See you!"

She then headed home, without really thinking of anything and boarded the subway and fell asleep again, even missing her stop and had to change the trains when she realised that she was 5 stations away from home. When she finally got home it was late evening, and just as she was about to take off her shoes, Sunggyu appeared to greet her.

"Where's the milk?" He asked, looking at Seul-ki's empty hands.

"Huh?" She looked at him blankly, not knowing what he was talking about.

"I texted you to buy milk on your way home. Didn't you read it?" Sunggyu asked, his bottom lip jutting out a bit.

"Really? I'm sorry. I didn't notice it. I'll go and buy it now." She said hastily, her eyes going wild and hurriedly put on her shoes and turned away.

"No, it's okay, you don't have to-" Sunggyu began but she was quick to open the door and left the house, making him feel guilty but when he opened the door again, she was already gone and came back 5 minutes later, her face a bit red. She then straight away cooked dinner, with Sunggyu waiting in the living room with Woohyun who was reading something on the sofa. He got up and peeked on her in the kitchen, watching her carefully. "Seul-ki."

"Yes?" She raised her head, and widened her eyes at him, a bit surprised.

"Do you need any help?"

"No, I'm fine!" She smiled and went on cooking, and Sunggyu felt a bit lonely as he went back to the living room and sat with Woohyun who was so immersed in his book. He tried to bother him but Woohyun was unrelenting and kept on reading, telling Sunggyu to shush away. After dinner, the three of them were sitting on the couch, watching some drama with Seul-ki in the middle of the two men. After a moment, Seul-ki excused herself and went to her room, leaving Sunggyu a bit devastated.

"Aren't you going