With a goofy grin, Yoseob leaned down to kiss me again, but was interrupted by his own stomach growling. He withdrew, a soft blush dusting over his cheeks.

“Come on then,” I laughed, giving him a quick peck before withdrawing from the warmth of his arms and off the bed. He exhaled loudly, rolling over and squishing his face into the plush pillows.

“Come back, breakfast can wait.” He whined, reaching haphazardly for me with one arm. His voice was partially muffled by the pillows. I smiled at his childish antics before grabbing the ends of the comforter and yanking them off in one grand sweep.

“Up.” I ordered sternly.

He rolled off his stomach and onto his back, giving me a sullen look. “Why?”

“Food, that’s why.” I answered mimicking his pouty tone.

With a dramatically painful noise, he forced himself up into a slouched sitting position. His dark hair was slightly ruffled and stuck up in the back. “Do you have work today?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.

“No, but if I did, I would be a few hours late.” I said, depositing the sheets at the foot of his bed.

“What time is it?”

I grabbed my wristwatch off the nightstand. “Almost 10.”

He nodded and shoved himself off the edge of the mattress. After stretching until his back popped a few times, he walked over to the drawn curtains and pulled them open. We were greeted warmly with the sight of the gardens in full bloom. Roses in every shade of red and pink stood proudly in their designated rows, while multi-colored tulips lined the grassy pathways like neon light sticks. White daisies gathered in the middle of the gardens, and while short, they too stood, proud and bright among the sea of green grass.

In my moment of awe, I didn’t realize I had walked up to the window until Yoseob wrapped his protective arms around me.

“So tell me. Is it merely the workings of fate that my window overlooks the place where we fell in love?” he asked, dropping his chin so it rested on my shoulder.

“I believe that you had it arranged so that you would end up with this room and that fate had little to do with it.” I said, rolling my eyes.

He played fake hurt and betrayal at my words, but his grin broke straight through within milliseconds. “Truthfully, I had picked out this room before you and I met there. And before you ask, yes, it was for the view.”

I smiled. “But why did you have to pick a room? I thought you had one already.”

“Yeah, but Dad was doing that remolding thing, remember? He wanted to turn my room and the one next to it into the living room.”

“You didn’t what to keep it?”

He shook his head. “Nah, it was too dark and I didn’t like how stuffy it was.”

“When did he have you pick?”

“He asked me to pick one before I left for the states, so that he knew which one to leave alone during his remodeling. But after coming back and spending one night in here and being woken up by loud birds and sunshine that was too bright, I was going to just pick a different room and let him do as he pleased with this one. Except…” he winked. “Then I had that talk with you in the gardens, and I knew that I had to stay in here.”

“How romantic of you.” I teased. However, I still rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek.

“Only for you.” He replied, smiling. Butterflies fluttered around my stomach at his words and I couldn’t help but kiss him again.

“Okay, Mr. Romantic. Let’s get some food into you.” I say, pulling away. He smiles before taking my hand, leading me out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the dinning room. Thankfully, we don’t encounter Seungri at all on the way.

In the dinning room, we are pleasantly greeted by a young maid with purple hair and bright porcelain skin. It is my childhood friend, Nora. I got her a job here as a special favor when she was laid off by her previous employer and in danger of losing her home.

“Good morning you two,” she grins, “I was being to wonder when you love birds were going to come down and eat.”

I wink at her. “Good morning Nora.” I say, making sure my voice is heavy with clear notes of purity, before sitting down next to Yoseob, who repeats a similar greeting. Frowning at me and without a wink.

“What will you be having?” she asks. And with a sly smile and a wink back, adds, “and before you ask, no. You can’t have each other.”

Yoseob coughs awkwardly and while blushes to the tip of his ears, looks away from me. “We aren’t even like that!” He protests.

Nora smirks, looking directly at me. “I’m sure you aren’t.” Now I know for sure that she got my message. This was a game that Nora and I played quite often. It was called The-Make-Yoseob-Uncomfortable-Game. We’ve played since we were kids, and it never grew old. Even now, it is still a favorite of mine.

“Of course we aren’t,” Yoseob says hastily, knowing what we were up to and trying to shoo Nora away before we got worse, “and I think we will just have pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Thanks.”

Nora nods politely, but her smile is all fox. “Would you like some melted chocolate on your breakfast?”

I feign innocence as I turn to Yoseob. “Which do you think will taste better? White or milk?”

Yoseob blinks. He is confused, but he is not stupid. Seemly innocent questions should most definitely not be interpreted so, especially when Nora and I are in the same room. “On pancakes?” he murmurs. I can see the wheels in his mind turning. “On you?” he asks dumbly, looking back and forth between us.

Nora’s little smile confirms it for him, and he gawks at the two of us in dismay, his cheeks heating up, impossibly more.

“Well, I’ll go tell the cook,” Nora says, smiling brightly at the both of us, but as she walks away, she adds, “It’ll be 10 minutes. Try to keep your hands to yourselves, but if you can’t help yourselves…all I ask is don’t do it on the dinning table, I just polished it.”

Yoseob shouts, “Nora! We are not like that!” at the same time I shout, “Damn! I was so looking forward to defiling the table!”

 Nora raises her eyebrows before scampering back and high fiving me. “And that’s why you’re my best friend.” Then she is gone.

I fight the urge to giggle as I sneak a glance at Yoseob, who is still looking at me indignantly with his mouth gaping open. He breaks my concentration when he says my name. “Mei Rin.”

That does it. I’m laughing until my sides feel like they are going to spilt while Yoseob just watches me. Disapprovingly. “Oh…hahaha…come on,” I tease, barely getting words out in between my laughter. “It…haha…was fun…ha…ny.”

He raises an eyebrow. “You are the worst. Just when I think you are on my side, you—” He cuts off, looking over my shoulder.

“What?” I ask, still laughing, “I wha—” The words and laughter die on my lips as I turned to see what Yoseob was looking at. “Oh. Good morning Seungri.”