The gif has little to do with the story, other than the fact that it is outside.But it's late and I'm tired. But I wanted to finish the chapter for y'all and for their 4th year anniversary. Congrats on four years INFINITE (especially Woohyunnie) and hopefully there'll be a zillion more! I am really tired. hehe

“Let me describe the nature of man and what has happened to it; for the original human nature is now, but it was different. There weren't two genders, but three; there was man, woman, and the union of the two. The original man was round, his back and sides forming a circle; and he had four hands and four feet, one head with two faces, looking opposite ways, set on a round neck and precisely alike; also four ears, two private parts, and basically double of everything. He could walk upright as men now do, backwards or forwards as he pleased, and he could also roll over and over quickly, turning on his four hands and four feet, eight in all, like a gymnast. Now there were three genders because the sun, moon, and earth are three; and the man was originally the child of the sun, the woman of the earth, and the man-woman of the moon, which is made up of sun and earth, and they were all round and moved round and round, like their parents. Terrible was their power and strength, and  their hearts were great, and they attacked the gods. An argument arose among the gods: should they kill them and annihilate the race with thunderbolts? But then there would be an end of the sacrifices and worship which men offered to them; but, on the other hand, the gods could not suffer their unrestrained insolence.

At last, after a good deal of reflection, Zeus said: ‘I have a plan which will improve their manners; men shall continue to exist, but I will cut them in two and then they will be weakened, and the population will increase. They shall walk upright on two legs, and if they continue to be insolent, I will split them again and they shall hop about on a single leg.’ He spoke and cut men in two. After the division the two parts of man, each desiring his other half, came together, and throwing their arms about one another, entwined in mutual embraces, longing to grow into one, they were on the point of dying from hunger and self-neglect, because they did not like to do anything apart; and when one of the halves died and the other survived, the survivor sought another mate, man or woman as we call them, and clung to that. By the mutual embraces of man and woman, humans may breed, and the race might continue; or if man came to man they might be satisfied, and rest, and go their ways to the business of life: so ancient is the desire of one another which is implanted in us, reuniting our original nature, making one of two, and healing the state of man.

Each of us when separated, having one side only, like a flat fish, is but the indenture of a man, and he is always looking for his other half. And when one of them meets with his other half, the actual half of himself, whether he be a lover of youth or a lover of another sort, the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and would not be out of the other's sight, as I may say, even for a moment: these are the people who pass their whole lives together; yet they could not explain what they desire of one another. For the intense yearning which each of them has towards the other does not appear to be the desire of lover's , but of something else which the soul of either evidently desires and cannot tell, and of which she has only a dark and doubtful presentiment. Suppose Hephaestus, with his instruments, to come to the pair who are lying side, by side and to say to them, ‘Do you desire to be one; always day and night to be in one another's company? for if this is what you desire, I am ready to melt you into one, so that being two you shall become one, and while you live life as if you were a single person, and after your death in the world below still be one departed soul instead of two. Do you want this?’ There is not a man who would reject this offer. Why? Because human nature was originally one and we were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called love.”

After reciting this passage to his class, Sungkyu closed the book he was reading from and leaned onto his desk with his arms crossed. “That was a passage from Plato’s Symposium, which is his discourse about love. Here we see love through the eyes of Aristophanes, a comedian at the time. So what did you guys think?” The class fell silent. “Did you pay attention? Do you want me to read it again?” Sungkyu began to open the book again, but then class loudly objected. A boy in the back of the class suddenly his hand into the air. “Yes, Doonjoon?”

A erted smile swept across the young teenager’s face. “So in the beginning, did we have both parts, like both a pe-”

“Not all,” Sungkyu broke him off before his language got any more vulgar. “Remember that there are three types of humans in the beginning: female, male, and a mix of the two. And remember that this is a myth told by a sarcastic comedian, so we could assume that he’s trying to be funny.”

But Doonjoon continued. “But could the people with the male and female parts f-”

“Doonjoon-ah, don’t even finish that thought,” Sungkyu warned through gritted teeth. The classroom laughed at the immature joke, and Doonjoon shrugged casually and leaned back into his seat. “Anybody else have anything else to add that isn’t erted like our friend here?” Sungkyu teased as he gestured to Doonjoon, who took it as a complement. A mousy girl in the front with red-framed glasses slowly raised her hand in the air, just barely enough so that Sungkyu could see it. “Yes, Hyeyoung-ah?”

“So…” she began hesitantly, picking at the ends of her hair. “Is it kind of like soul mates?”

A small smile broke across his once stern face. “Yea, I guess it is.”

Woohyun turned away from the altar towards the aisle, lined by rows of simple white chairs, and Maeri was walking up towards him with a nervous, quick pace. Her eyes were focused on her feet, her high heeled shoes sinking into the grass causing her to walk like she was limping. Woohyun chuckled. He told her not to wear them, but she insisted; they were the shoes her mother wore for her own wedding. Once she reached Woohyun at the end, she finally looked up and gave him a shy smile. He took her hands in his and returned the smile. His eyes then gazed down to her feet, the shoes once again sinking into the ground, making her shrink a couple of centimeters. Woohyun sighed. If she really wants to wear those shoes, we’ll have to put some kind of hard surface for her to walk on for the ceremony. After that thought, Woohyun turned to the middle-aged woman next to them. “It’s perfect. We’ll book it.”

Maeri squeezed his hands as he whispered, “Woohyun-ah…”

Woohyun was all too familiar with that tone of voice. Maeri was so practical. It was only a matter of time before she found something, anything in his perfect place to disagree with. He held up a finger to the wedding planner to give them a second. With a groan, he asked, “What is it now?”

“It’s beautiful, but…” she began, her eyes scanning the flower garden surrounding them and the large tree they were standing under. She had to admit. It was romantic, and Woohyun always had a knack for finding places like these. But there was still doubts nagging in the back of her mind.

Woohyun rolled his eyes. “But what?”

“It’s outdoors. What if it rains?” she challenged.

“It won’t,” Woohyun immediately answered with a confident smile. But it soon fell from his face after Maeri threw a  doubtful look in his direction. He shrugged his shoulders. “If it rains, we’ll put up a tent,” he suggested.

“Then we might as well get married inside,” Maeri retorted with a slight laugh. Because now she wasn’t only worried about bad weather, she was watching bees flit from one flower to another with a cautious gaze. She hated bees.

“Maeri,” Woohyun whined, calling Maeri’s attention away from the buzzing bumbling bees. Her fiance was shaking his body in frustration. “Honey, pretty please,” he begged. And he told me I was too old for aegyo.  He then leaned in and wiggled his eyebrows. “I’ll let you have chocolate cake.”

Maeri wrinkled her forehead in thought, and then gave in, “Alright.” Woohyun smiled in triumph and gave her hands a squeeze in gratitude. “The things I do for cake...and for you,” she joked.

“Me or chocolate cake? Who do you love more?” Woohyun asked, looking up at her with what he thought was an adorable expression. There was no contest. He was her future husband.

Maeri didn’t even take a second to answer, “Cake. It doesn’t talk back or try to manipulate me.” She started laughing at Woohyun’s crestfallen face, obviously painted with exaggerated hurt. He hung his head and sulked away, dragging his feet in the grass. Maeri rolled her eyes as she jogged after him. “Sweetie, I was just joking.”

“Unnie, do I look weird?” Maeri asked, peeking her head behind curtain. She slowly walked out of the dressing room from behind the curtain  to reveal herself wearing a white ballgown.

Hani shook her head, getting up from the chair she was sitting on and walking up to her friend. “No, you look beautiful,” she insisted. Maeri turned towards the mirror and tilted her head as she studied herself in a wedding dress. It was weird, and seeing herself in a white gown (even though she was wearing loafers underneath and her hair was in a messy bun) made everything thing seem more real. She was about to marry Woohyun, but maybe not in this dress. Hani sensed her insecurity and placed her hands on the younger’s waist. “It makes you look so tiny,” she complimented.

Yea, tiny because the dress is eating me alive, Maeri thought. She was swimming in white fabric, with so many fluffy layers that she felt like a cupcake. “You don’t think it’s too frilly?” she turned to Hani.

Hani giggled, playing with the many layers. “Maybe just a bit,” she answered honestly, biting her lip. Then she ran around to Maeri’s back. She picked at a bunch of ribbons that Maeri didn’t even know was back there (she could barely even see Hani behind the dress). “And what’s up with this bow? It’s like you’re pooping ribbons,” she joked.

Maeri turned around in circles to try to see it, but couldn’t. “Huh? I didn’t even see that. Ew. And this is why I needed your help. Thanks for coming,” she said in exasperation.

Hani raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t your mom and Woohyun’s mom want to be here for this?”

Maeri hung her head, feeling guilty. “Yes, and they’ll probably die once they hear about this.” She lifted her head and defended herself, “But they would drive me crazy if they were here. Dressing me up in the biggest dresses they find. Crying everytime I came out. But this is a lot more calm, and I can actually make a decision.” Then she frowned looking at the dresses covered in protective plastic  lining the walls of the dressing room. She had randomly pulled them because the store manager had left her alone among the racks after saying that she would personally help her and disappeared. And looking at the dresses again, she was starting to think that maybe picking the first five to catch her eye was a bad thing. They seemed to have caught her eye for all the wrong reasons.

“What’s wrong?” Hani asked, giving her friend a back hug and cheery smile.

Maeri put her hands over Hani’s and whined, “There’s just so many choices, Unnie.”

Hani hummed in thought, her eyes scanning the dresses. She let go of Maeri and walked over to the dresses. She dramatically turned back to the younger. “How about we narrow it down?” she suggested. “What kind of style do you like?”

“I guess a long dress,” Maeri thoughtfully spoke. “I can’t wear a short dress to my wedding, right?”

Hani snorted. “No, silly. What style? A-line, fit and flare, mermaid, trumpet, ballgown, empire waist, embellished, lace, chiffon, tulle…And your eyes are glazing over.”

Maeri looked at the other with wide eyes. “How many types of dresses are there?”

“Well, in this store, I think they have over 100,” Hani stated.

Maeri sighed, sulked over to the chair in the corner, and slumped in it. “Maybe I should have brought mom, or ahjumma. Even Soyeon would be some help,” she whimpered with her head in her hands.

Hani walked over and knelt down next to the other. “Maeri, would you mind if I pick out one?” she suggested. “I have a feeling that I might be better at this than you,” she ended with a slight giggle.

“Well, you can’t be any worse. Go ahead,” Maeri gave in. Hani patted her back before she left the dressing room on her self-appointed mission. When she had told Woohyun that she was going to go wedding dress shopping, he had buckled over in laughter. He said it would take years for her indecisive mind to find a dress when she could hardly choose what flavor of ice cream she wanted. But she eventually does always decide on a flavor, so she will find a dress. She just hoped that she would find one before the ceremony or else she’d be walking down the aisle in a bathrobe.

This...is could actually be THE dress. Maeri twirled around in the dressing room, watching the dress slightly flow from her body in waves. It was a flowy chiffon dress with little embellishment save for a brooch at the waist. And it was longer in the back, forming a little train. Maeri wouldn’t call it plain;  it was delightfully simple. “Oh, Unnie, I think I like this,” she cooed with a laugh, still twirling her dress around. “It’s comfy, I can breathe, and I look like a lady.”

Hani walked up to her side and snorted at Maeri’s innocent comment.“Pbft! That’s good. Even deserves to look like a lady on their big day.” She then walked in front of Maeri and tucked her messy fly-aways behind her ears, smiling gently. “I’m glad that I came back here. I wouldn’t want to miss this,” she confessed softly.

Maeri grabbed one of Hani’s hands in her own.“I’m glad you’re back too, Unnie,” she said back with a squeeze of a hand. Then her eyes grew big having remembered something. “Oh, that reminds me. I can’t believe I almost forgot to ask you.”

“Ask me what?” Hani asked with a tilt of her head.

Maeri took both of Hani’s hands and put on her most pleading face.“Unnie, will you go on a blind date on Saturday with my friend Sungkyu?” She had forgotten that she was responsible to rope Hani into this double date. And from the looks of it, Hani was a bit surprised by the request. Maeri would have to build Sungkyu up, which wouldn’t be a problem. “He’s really smart and nice, although he could be a bit of a butthead sometimes.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what every girl dreams of dating, a nice butthead,” Hani teased.

“If it helps, he’s not terrible looking,” Maeri added.

Hani laughed again. “Maeri, you really need to work on playing up people you want me to date.” Maeri frowned. True, she could’ve done a better job, but she felt weird ‘playing up’ another man because, well, of Woohyun. Hani squeezed her hands. “But I’ll go for you, if it makes you happy.”

Maeri bounced up and down excitedly, shaking both of their arms side to side. “It would make me very happy! You can be our fourth wheel!”

“Hm? Come again?” Hani asked, bouncing around with her.

“Oh, it’s a double date on Saturday. You, me, Sungkyu, and Woohyun,” she explained, and Hani responded with a forced back giggle. “What’s so funny?”

“The way you worded it. It sounds like I’m going with you, and that Woohyun and Sungkyu-ssi are together,” she explained.

Maeri looked up at the ceiling and mused, “It really feels like that sometimes though.” Those two boys got close very quickly.

“YOO MAERI! YOU HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!”

“Oh ! It’s my mom!” Maeri cursed now circling around the dressing room looking for an escape. There was none. Hani was staring at her, trying hard to hold back her laughter because of the seriousness of the situation, but her younger friend looked like a dog chasing its tail, or in this case her train.

Now there were angry footsteps seen underneath the curtain. Maeri was toast. “DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD BUY A WEDDING DRESS WITHOUT US?”

“And Mrs. Nam. ! We got to hide!” Maeri whispered as she pulled down Hani and hid behind her on the ground.

Hani looked back, completely confused. “How did they find out?” she whispered back.

All the sudden an image of the shop owner rushing into the back room, picking up her phone came into Maeri’s mind. She was ratted out. “I think the owner called them. Aish! This town is too friggin’ small!” she cursed.

The curtain to the dressing room ripped open, revealing two very angry mothers. Maeri crouched down even lower and dug her fingers into Hani’s shoulders, causing her to wince. Mrs. Yoon stepped into the room with an triumphant smirk on her face. She pointed right at Maeri (it’s hard to hide when you are wearing a white dress behind someone smaller than you). “Aha! There’s my little sneaky baby girl, going behind my back.” Then her eyes drifted to the blockade hiding her daughter. “Oh, and hello Hani. When did you come back in town?”

“A couple of months ago, ma’m,” Hani answered quietly as she bowed to the mothers.

“Well, I would say it’s nice to see you, but seeing that you helped my daughter to betray me,” Mrs. Yoo spoke with her arms crossed on her chest. “You can see why I’m not so happy.”

Hani bowed even lower. “I’m sorry.”

Mrs. Yoo ignored her apologies and stepped behind her, grabbing her daughter by the ear to pull her up. “And you, what are you wearing? That’s way too simple, don’t you agree?” she asked Mrs. Nam.

Mrs. Nam shook her head at the dress, following the Yoos as the mother dragged her daughter out of the dressing room by her ear.“Our girl deserves to look like a princess on her big day,” Mrs. Nam said dreamily.

“Oh and Woohyun could be her prince,” Mrs. Yoo cooed.

“But I don’t wanna…” Maeri fought back, tugging against her mother. But her mother just tightened her grip, causing Maeri to wince in pain.

“Hush! Just let your mommy and auntie take care of this,” she hissed.

Mrs. Nam clapped her hands together then gestured excitedly to her friend. “I think I saw a dress in the front that will make her look like a little doll. It had pick-ups and a jeweled belt and…”

While Mrs. Nam was gushing about a dress Maeri thought only existed for porcelian dolls, Maeri turned her head (or as much as she could) to Hani, who had just stepped outside of the dressing room, confused as to what to do next. Maeri mouthed to her,“Unnie, help me.”

Hani smiled apologetically and mouthed back, “Sorry.” And she watched as the two mothers overtook the appointment.

“So that’s why you shouldn’t tell a girl that she has toilet paper attached to her shoe,” Dongwoo preached. He set down the weight that he was holding with a grunt.

Hoya shook his head as he was still finishing up his set. “I can’t believe she ran out like that.”

“Yea, it wasn’t the best date I ever had,” Dongwoo confessed with a sad chuckle and sat down next to Woohyun, who handed him a bottle of water. The three of them were at the gym together. Apparently since Woohyun had been switching out his work-out sessions with Hoya for wedding planning with Maeri (there was no way that he could trust her doing it on her own), Dongwoo had become Hoya’s new exercise buddy. And Woohyun could see how deep their newly formed bond was running. He felt slightly guilty for abandoning them for a girl and also slightly jealous that they replaced him with each other so easily.

“Wait. I’m sorry. Who are we talking about again?” Woohyun asked as his eyes darted in between the two.

“Boram-noona,” Dongwoo gurgled, his mouth still full with water.

Woohyun asked again. “Bo-who?”

A large clunk rang through the gym as Hoya put down his weights. He faced his friends and rolled his eyes. “And this is what happens when you are too wrapped up in your own love life to notice ours. Bo-ram,” Hoya pronounced slowly and carefully for Woohyun. He then sat down next to Dongwoo, who handed the bottle of water over to him. “Dongwoo has been dating Boram-ssi for a month now,” he explained before greedily finishing the bottle.

Dongwoo bounced up, ready to continue onto the next exercise. “Was dating,” he clarified as he picked up a new set of dumbbells. “We decided that we made better friends than boyfriend/girlfriend.”

Woohyun got up to join him, but before he picked up his own dumbbells, he patted Dongwoo on the back. “Sorry, buddy.”

“It’s okay,” Dongwoo grunted, lifting his weights. “It was mutual. Besides, wasn’t really my type.”

Woohyun cocked an eyebrow and retorted, “How so? I thought your type was women in general.”

“Yea,” Dongwoo responded, putting down the weights after finishing his set. “But preferably women who have a job and direction in life. Boram-noona’s ultimate plan in life was to marry rich, and so things kind of went downhill when she found out that I was an oriental doctor and not the medical kind,” he ended with a resigned sigh.

“At least Boram was single,” Hoya countered, wiping his mouth. “Sora’s husband keeps calling her every time we’re out. It’s like he can tell whenever we’re together.” He threw the water bottle onto the ground out of frustration.

“They’re not divorced yet?” Woohyun asked.

Hoya got up and picked up the heaviest weights within reach. “He refuses to sign the papers. It’s kind of annoying,” he mumbled.

“I’m surprised that he hasn’t shown up to one of your dates yet,” Dongwoo laughed.

Hoya turned to the other with a worried face, “I bet he will soon. The jerk.” He sighed. “I really like Sora-ssi too.”

“Why?” Woohyun asked. “Isn’t she like a self-professed maneater?”

Hoya looked at his muscles flex in the mirror as he continued to lift. “I like a challenge.”

Woohyun let out a slight chuckle, “With her husband, I think you have more than enough of a challenge.”

“And this is why I’m glad that I’m happily married.” Sungyeol suddenly popped up next to Woohyun, wearing a stereotypical gym outfit, with sweatbands around his wrists and head. He looked a bit out of place, standing with the other three who were obviously regulars at the gym. But based on the weight of the dumbbells that he just picked up, it wasn’t his first time (even though his arms was still slender). And while Woohyun was gawking at his coworker’s sudden appearance, Sungyeol’s mouth was still running, “Although Soyeon has been having these weird cravings lately, waking me up in the middle of the night to buy her pickles and pudding. Then she eats them...together. It’s gross. Trust me, I tried it.” He shivered at the thought.

“Sungyeol-ah!” Dongwoo bounded up to Sungyeol and hugged him. “Good to see you again!”

Sungyeol peeled the other off of him, grimacing a bit because Dongwoo was glistening in sweat. But he was still smiling. “You know I wouldn’t miss gym time, and Soyeon doesn’t let me either. She said she always wanted a man with a six pack. And I have a two pack already,” he said proudly, patting his slim stomach. Woohyun could have sworn that his coworker used to have a paunch there. “ I’m getting there. And check out these guns!” He flexed his biceps, and they slightly bulged.

“Oh! Nice!” Dongwoo praised as he squeezed them.

“Hey, I have another question,” Woohyun interrupted them fawning over Sungyeol growing body. All of the others turned towards him. “When did you all become friends?”

“Seriously Woohyun, where have you been?” Hoya scoffed, putting the weights back.

“Hey guys, can we stop working out now? I’m bored,” Sungjong begged as he pedaled on the exercise bike behind them. He was slumping onto the bike’s frame bored out of his mind.

Woohyun looked behind him at the youngest incredulously.“When did you get here?”

“Really? All of them were there?” Maeri asked sitting on the bed as she watched Woohyun fuss around in the bathroom.

Woohyun poked his head through the doorway as he was putting on his tie. “I miss two weeks working out with Hoya, and when I come back, it’s like I haven’t been there for years. Did you know that Dongwoo was dating Boram-ssi?” he asked and returned into the bathroom to see his reflection and straighten his tie.

“Who’s Boram-ssi?” Maeri titled her head.

“My point exactly!” he exclaimed. Then he peeked out the door at this fiancee. She was putting on her shoes. She looked up sensing Woohyun’s gaze. He wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh, and things seem serious with Hoya and Sora-ssi.”

Maeri laughed a little. “That one I knew,” she admitted. Woohyun pouted, thinking that he had shared a bit of juicy gossip. He retreated back into the bathroom to fix his hair. “Sora goes into great detail about their dates. He’s actually kind of a romantic. It’s sweet,” Maeri continued with a dreamy lilt in her voice. Woohyun laughed imaging his self-proclaimed macho friend acting like a sweet boyfriend, giving her flowers and showering her with cheesy compliments. The image came a little too easily to him.

“You’re going to have to fill me in later, but right now,” he spoke slowly putting the last piece of hair in place. He swiftly walked out of the bathroom door and tapped Maeri on the shoulder. “We’re late. Come on let’s go.” It was going to be embarrassing if they were late for the double date that they set up. He could imagine Sungkyu sitting there quietly with Hani, sweaty hands on his knees that were nervously shaking. Like with the picture of Hoya as a sweet boyfriend, it came a little too easily.

Maeri popped up from the bed, grabbing her purse. “I’ve been ready for a while. You were the one still preening,” she teased, sticking her tongue slightly at him.

Woohyun leaned in and said in a hushed tone, “And who’s the better looking one out of the two of us?”

“You’re lucky that I already agreed to marry you, Sweetie,” Maeri said in her fake sweet tone. She reached up and ruffled the hair that Woohyun had just perfected. She laughed at his shocked face underneath the newly messed up hair.

“YAH!” he yelled and brought Maeri into a headlock, messing up her hair underneath his knuckles. He chuckled once he saw Maeri’s bird nest of hair on her head after wiggling out of Woohyun’s arms. She frowned and lunged at Woohyun, her hands entangling in his hair.

“Do I even want to know what you two were doing?” Sungkyu asked with a shake of his head. He was sitting across from the couple, who (tried as they might to tame the mess) had hair a little too ruffled and tangled to be normal.

“Someone can’t keep their hands off of me,” Woohyun teased, nudging Maeri. And to that, Maeri brought her hand to his head and messed up his hair again. Woohyun immediately slapped her hand away. “Yah! We’re in public,” he hissed, wagging his finger at her. Maeri put her hands in her lap and embarrassingly looked down at them. Then he heard a strangled laugh from the other side of the table and saw Sungkyu trying hard to muffle his laughter behind his fist. “What?” Woohyun asked curiously.

Sungkyu waved his free hand. “Nothing,” he said in a strained voice. Then after he finally regained his composure and asked, “So where is this beautiful girl I’m supposed to meet?”

Maeri raised her head from her lap and answered, “She should be here soon.” She stretched her neck to look at the entrance of the restaurant (which was thankfully not too far away). Within a few seconds of watching the door, Maeri saw Hani enter with her hair in perfect curls and in an elegant red dress. Maeri automatically stood up after catching sight of her. She waved her over to the table. “Oh! Unnie, over here.” Hearing her dongsaeng’s voice, Hani faced her, happily waved back, and walked up to the table. Once she arrived, Maeri stood next to the woman, holding her arm. “Unnie, this is our friend, Kim Sungkyu,” she introduced her. Sungkyu automatically stood up and bowed to Hani, extending his hand to grasp hers. “Gyu, this is Oh Hani,” Maeri finished. Hani bowed in response as Sungkyu helped her into her chair.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Hani said as she sat down.

“You too,” Sungkyu responded with a nervous smile. Woohyun noticed his friend’s jitters and chuckled.

“Gyu, don’t look so nervous,” Woohyun joked. “Noona isn’t going to eat you. She’s nice.”

Sungkyu glared across the table at his friend. “I’m not nervous,” he muttered. And to prove that he wasn’t, he turned towards his date and attempted to make conversation (a somewhat stumbling attempt but it worked), “Uh, so Hani-ssi, what do you do for a living?”

“She’s a librarian,” Woohyun answered for her, and Hani nodded in agreement.

Sungkyu shot a glance at his friend. Then he faced Hani again. “Oh, is that so?”

“Yes,” this time Maeri answered. The couple turned towards her. “And Gyu is a high school philosophy and ethics teacher,” she added.

“Oh, what school?” Hani asked Sungkyu.

“The one right across from the library actually,” Woohyun cut his friend off from answering.

Maeri lightly hit Woohyun’s upper arm excitedly. “Oh, it’s like fate,” she cooed. Woohyun nodded enthusiastically. Maeri pointed at the couple sitting across from them. “You guys can go out to lunch together.”

“I wouldn’t mind that,” Hani interjected, playing with the napkin in her lap.

Sungkyu pointed at the two overly eager people sitting across from them.“So how do you know these two?” he asked in a low voice, hoping that the other two wouldn’t hear.

But they did. Woohyun jumped in again,“She went to high school with us, right Noona?” Hani nodded with an amused smile. “Just a year above.”

“What about you?” Hani asked Sungkyu.

“You know that’s actually a funny story,” Maeri interjected with a slight giggle. “I was appraising Gyu’s house and…”

“Will you just let us answer the questions?” Sungkyu remarked in a curt voice, narrowing his eyes on the two noisemakers across from him.

Maeri pouted. She had only tried to help facilitate the conversation between the two strangers, help them get to know each other and to have these four wheels travel smoothly on the ground. She looked quickly at her fiance next to her, and he was wearing a similar expression. “Fine,” they both relented with a sigh.

Maeri put up her hand and mouthed to Hani, “Butthead.” Hani let out a slight giggle. Maeri smile in response, but she then felt a sharp pain on her shin, replacing her small smile with a grimace. She knew exactly where it came from, the man sitting right across from her. Kim Sungkyu had kicked her. She bent down slightly to rub her sore shin, glowering at him.

“I saw that,” Sungkyu said through gritted teeth. Maeri shot a look to Woohyun, seeing if he would retaliate to protect her honor. He didn’t. He just laughed and shrugged at his fiancee, thinking that she had deserved it. “Anyway, Hani-ssi,” Sungkyu continued. “It’s like Maeri said. I met her while she appraised my house. And I met Woohyun through my roommate Dongwoo.”  Maeri rolled her eyes. He retold the story in the most bland way possible. What about the fact that Sungkyu had came to their party not knowing that Maeri was the hostess? That was the cute part, but he had glossed over it like it had never happened. Instead he just returned to asking Hani questions as if it were an interview, “So you’re from town? Do you still live with your parents, or-OW!” This time both Maeri and Woohyun had kicked him in the shins and silently (and obviously) signaled to Sungkyu not to pursue the subject, shaking their heads with wide eyes. “What?”

“Guys, it’s alright,” Hani told them with a small smile, but Maeri knew that it was forced. Hani turned to Sungkyu, “It’s just me and my dad. What about y-”

“I have an idea!” Woohyun practically shouted to cover Hani’s question. The last thing they needed to revisit during this date (which may or may not be spiraling down the drain) was to bring up any of the other couple’s family history. “Let’s just not talk about families. Who wants to talk about them anyway? They’re crazy,” he joked, spinning his finger around his temple.

Maeri leaned onto Woohyun and spoke to him in a hushed voice, “Speaking of crazy, I forgot to tell you. Our moms ambushed Hani and me at the wedding dress shop.” She picked up the wine glass and took a long sip. “It’s like they have spies everywhere.”

“You know what, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Woohyun responded with a chuckle. His eyes then darted surreptitiously around the dining room. “They probably have some here,” he whispered dramatically.

Maeri cringed, taking his joke seriously (she was always so gullible). “You really think so?” she asked, her eyes scanning every waiter and busboy who slightly looked in their direction. Woohyun nodded seriously, perpetuating his ruse. She looked even more nervous, and her hand unconsciously grabbed at his knee. Woohyun chuckled. This was almost too easy.

His eyes then drifted towards the couple across from them. To be honest, he was a bit skeptical about the match. He had known Hani since high school, so he could guess that she would be nice and cordial to her date, but perhaps a bit too cordial so that he couldn’t gauge whether she was genuinely enjoying it or not. Sungkyu, on the other hand, he hadn’t known for as long and couldn’t guess how he would be on a date. But Woohyun would never expect his friend to be so nervous (he didn’t blame him. Hani was beautiful). The moment he saw Sungkyu practically bouncing in his seat in nervous anticipation, waiting for his date, Woohyun thought this date was going to be a failure. Hence the reason why he interjected (perhaps a bit too much) into their conversation, acting as a wingman to his friend. But now he could see that his friend could fly solo, as he was holding a conversation with his date on his own. Woohyun smiled, feeling all the sudden a sense of pride. Perhaps this match would work. He nudged Maeri who was still glowering at the wait staff. “Hey look,” he whispered to her. “They’re talking to each other, and without our help.”

“Aw! They look so cute together,” Maeri cooed.

“Yea,” Woohyun agreed. “But not cuter than us.”

“Psh! Of course, cutest couple ever.” Maeri and Woohyun fist bumped under the table.

“This was nice,” Woohyun declared while stretching. The four of them had just finished with their meal. The food was good, and the conversation was pleasant. It beat the time they went out with Sungyeol and Soyeon because they weren’t questioned like it was the inquisition. After stretching, he put his arms over Maeri’s shoulders as they walked out into the parking lot. He stared at the other couple who were standing apart from each other by a respectable distance. Looks like they still need some encouragement. “We should do it again sometime,” Woohyun insisted. “Hey, what are you guys doing next weekend?”

“I have no plans. Do you, Hani-ssi?” Sungkyu answered and looked towards his date.

Hani smiled happily and shrugged, “No, I don’t.” Then she turned and pointed excitedly towards Woohyun. “Oh, you know what we should do?”

“Are you thinking about what we talked about yesterday?” Woohyun asked. Hani nodded. Woohyun let go of Maeri to clap in agreement. “Call!”

“Call?” Maeri was confused and scratched her head. “What did you just agree to, Sweetie?”

“Hiking up the mountain,” Woohyun said plainly as if it were obvious, which it was to him. The other day when he went to the library, he had caught Hani reading a book about their town. He had jokingly asked if there really was anything worth seeing in their tiny town. She surprisingly answered yes and showed him pictures from the summit of the local mountain. They were beautiful, as if you were looking at the town from a cloud. He was enamoured and determined to see it for himself. And Hani did too, saying that she used to go up there with her family when she was little and hadn’t gone since. So Woohyun wasn’t surprised when she had suggested it, but someone else was.

“HUH?!” Maeri exclaimed.

Right. Maeri had become increasingly lazy in her old age and not to mention that this hike also incorporated one of her largest fears. But Woohyun wasn’t willing to give up his new dream so easily. “Come on, it’ll be a lot more fun and exciting than eating at a restaurant again. Besides, Honey, didn’t you say you wanted to work out more?” he joked, poking at her side, reminding her of her self-imposed bridal diet.

Maeri groaned, looking at her feet, “I say a lot of things.”

Hani grabbed her hand and begged, “Please, Maeri. It’ll be fun.” She then turned to her date with a brilliant smile. “Sungkyu-ssi, you want to go too, right?”

Sungkyu looked surprised to be included in this discussion and pointed to himself. But he quickly put down his finger. “Uh, okay,” he stammered.

“Perfect! It’s a date!” Woohyun exclaimed happily. He then faced Hani. “Hey, you know what else we should do?”

Hani stepped in closer to him and shook her head. “No. What?”

And while those two were busy planning making Maeri’s life difficult (or at least that’s how it seemed to her. She had no interest in mountains, or bridges, or anything high off from the ground), Maeri walked up next to Sungkyu and nudged him the the shoulder. “That didn’t sound too enthusiastic,” she spoke to him in a low voice.

“Yea,” Sungkyu admitted with a sheepish smile. “I kind of prefer my boring dinner dates.”

“I hear you,” Maeri agreed. Her eyes flittered over to the other two who were busy planning their hike already and perhaps a couple other potentially exhausting excursions. Maeri shook her head. Woohyun really liked to plan things, elaborate things. And Hani did too. She had been on several committees in high school which planned several events like the end-of-the-year festival. Maeri wouldn’t be surprised if in a few weeks, the four of them would be on a boat to some random and desolate island. She could already hear Woohyun say how romantic it would be to camp out on the beach, under the stars, a beach all of their own (with the exception of the other couple of course). Maeri, on the other hand, didn’t mind the so-called boring dinner dates. There was comfort to her in mundane things. She shook those thoughts from her head. “But look how excited they are,” she pointed out to Sungkyu. “Maybe it will be fun.” She looked at the other who was frowning at her dubiously. Maeri giggled, “Well, at least they will have fun. So did you enjoy your date?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Yea, I did,” Sungkyu answered with a wide smile.

“Good.”

Woohyun opened up the car door and sighed at the sight in front of him. Maeri’s head had been resting on the car window, but after Woohyun had opened the door, Maeri was just hanging half-outside the car, completely asleep with a small line of drool dribbling from her chin. Sadly, it was a sight that Woohyun was all too familiar with. Woohyun poked her in the cheek, setting her head back straight. “Honey, you hafta wake up. We’re here,” he urged softly.

Maeri’s eyes blinked open, looking somewhat confused about where she was. But then she remembered, and Woohyun watched her recollect with an amused expression on his face. “Why did we have to wake up so early?” she whined while she stretched and unbuckled herself from her seat. “It’s Saturday.”

“Yea, but it’s a long walk to the top,” Woohyun explained. He looked up at the mountain standing in front of them. The sky was still a mix of orange and pink, which contrasted nicely with the earthy tones of the mountain. Didn’t this sight alone make it worth it to wake up so early? He looked back down at Maeri who was squatting next to the car, huddling for warmth in the chilly morning air. Apparently not for everybody.

“Why are we doing this again?” she asked, her sleepy eyes almost closed shut again.

Woohyun grabbed her hands and pulled her up. “It’s going to be fun trust me,” he promised, placing his arms around her shoulders. “Noona and I planned everything. She even woke up early today to make fresh kimbap for all of us.”

“She’s so...nice,” Maeri said with a large yawn. Her head slowly began to rest on his shoulder.

“And probably awake too,” he muttered. “Yah! Stop drooling on me!” he shouted, shaking her off his shoulder.

“I’m not!” she fought back as she wiped the drool with the back of her hand. Liar.

The sound of crunching gravel caught Woohyun’s attention. He looked up and saw a car parking next to theirs. Woohyun smiled. He had convinced Sungkyu to borrow Dongwoo’s car to pick-up Hani and drive her here with him. He eventually agreed to it after much convincing. Now his friend was helping his wide awake and chipper date out of the car, while he, on the other hand, was dragging his feet and his eyes looked practically shut. Woohyun left Maeri and ran over to them. “Hey guys! Are you ready?” he greeted them

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Sungkyu answered as he slowly put on his backpack.

Hani ran up next to his side and carefully patted his shoulder, slightly surprising the other. “Come on, Sungkyu-ssi, it’ll be fun,” she encouraged. “Outside, breathing in the fresh air, feeling the sun on your skin.” She lifted her arms and took in a deep breath before continuing, “And I heard the view from the top is beautiful.”

“Yea, that’s why I always wanted to do it, but someone’s a little lazy,” Woohyun joked staring at Maeri who had just lazily shuffled over next to them.

“Huh? What are we talking about?” she asked, perking her head up.

“Nothing, Honey,” Woohyun responded patting her on her back. “So let’s go! Come on!” he yelled as he started off towards the hiking path.

“I’m coming. I’m coming,” Maeri mumbled as she followed behind him.

“You know, this isn’t that bad,” Maeri said slightly out of breath. They were about halfway up the mountain, and the climb was getting steeper and rockier, causing Maeri to grab onto Woohyun multiple times to help pull her up. And even though Maeri was slowing him down, they were still several steps in front of Sungkyu and Hani, who appeared to be taking their time up the mountain. Woohyun, on the other hand, wanted to get up it as quickly as possible and was a little impatient when Maeri paused to rest again. She stood up straight and breathed in the crisp air. “Unnie’s right. The air does smell good here.” Then she suddenly grimaced and started coughing. She spat several times onto the rocks beneath her. “I think I swallowed a bug,” she explained in a strained voice.

Woohyun chuckled looking at his fiancee trying to rid the taste of insect from . “Fresh air’s good, but there’s another reason why I said we should do this,” he confessed as he pointed to the couple behind them.

Maeri turned around to see where Woohyun was watching, and she saw Sungkyu helping Hani to step up onto a rock. “Aw! He’s holding her hand,” Maeri said excitedly in a hushed tone. But as soon as Hani had regained her footing, Sungkyu let go of her hand. “And now he let it go. Keep holding it, Gyu,” Maeri encouraged.

“Don’t worry. It’ll happen again,” Woohyun stated nonchalantly. Maeri looked at him skeptically. Was he psychic? “Activities like this always gives opportunities for skinship.”

“Oh, you’re sneaky,” she teased pushing him playfully.

“I’m smart. Come on,” he said, grabbing her hand and began pulling her up the mountain (probably the only way he’d get up the mountain quickly was if he dragged her behind him). He was especially impatient knowing what wonder lied ahead of them in just a few more steps. “Let me show you another reason why we’re doing this.”

“Whoa!” Maeri exclaimed after laying eyes on the sight in front of her. It was a fresh water stream, flowing down the mountain side. The clearing was so peaceful, and the babbling of the water was soothing. And we can finally rest, Maeri thought in relief. “I didn’t know this was here. Woohyun, Unnie, how did you know about this?” she asked the two as they were on either side of her.

“I read about it in a book,” Hani explained, bending over to untie her shoes. Maeri and the others followed suit. The cold water would feel good against their worn feet. “Surprisingly, there’s actually a tourist book for this little town. Who knew we had hotspots?” She stood up and placed her shoes aside. “Come on, let’s go in,” she urged as she walked straight into the stream and began exploring it. Woohyun immediately went in after her.

Maeri, however, went downstream, a few feet away from the other two explorers. She knew that Woohyun would splash her if she was anywhere within reach of him. She was not willing to risk being soaked in cold stream water, especially since the sun hadn’t even reached the middle of the sky yet. After sitting down, Maeri slowly placed her feet into the water. Aish! It’s cold, she mentally cursed.

“Ah! Cold. Cold. Cold,” Maeri heard her thoughts being voiced by the person next to her. It was Sungkyu, who was probably staying away from the other two for the same reason Maeri was. He was shutting his eyes tightly as he carefully plunged his feet into the water.

“It’s not cold, you big baby,” Maeri teased with a voice quivering from the cold.

Sungkyu scoffed and pointed at her arms full of goose-bumps and trembling. “Then why are you shivering,” he retorted.

Maeri frowned and quickly pulled down her sleeves. “I’m shaking with excitement,” she defended herself. “Yay water!” But her voice did not sound excited at all although she was shaking her fists into the air.

“Big fat liar,” Sungkyu mumbled.

“Yah!” Maeri yelled back, startling him. “If anything, I’m a skinny liar,” she ended with a giggle, knowing that her comeback was weak. Sungkyu laughed as well.

“Maeri-ah, come over and look at this!” Hani shouted to her dongsaeng and motioned her over next to her. Maeri waved goodbye to Sungkyu as she walked over to Hani, but Sungkyu wasn’t alone for long. Right after Maeri left, Woohyun snuck up on him, splashing water in his face (which earned him a vicious glare and a few splashes in his own direction).

Right as Maeri reached her friend, Hani showed her the palm of her hand, where a brown salamander was slithering against her skin. Maeri poked at it curiously. “Wah! It’s so cute. Look at those big eyes,” she cooed, staring directly into the amphibian’s large dark eyes.

“I know,” Hani agreed petting its spine with her forefinger. “I just want to take you home and keep you as a pet,” she said in a baby voice. Maeri sputtered into a short laugh. Keeping such slimy creatures as a pet did not seem to jive with Hani’s elegant appearance. Even with her hair pulled back into a high ponytail, Hani made it seem like a chic up-do. But at heart, Hani was still that tomboy Maeri had befriended years before. And if she’s still the same... the gears in Maeri’s head began to whir.

“You know who would like this?” Maeri whispered, wiggling her eyebrows mischievously and nodding in the direction of the two boys, who seemed to have called a truce in their splashing wars (which left the both of them quite damp).

“So Gyu,” Woohyun began as he fiddled with his hair. “Are you having fun?”

“Yea, this isn’t bad. And the fresh air smells good,” Sungkyu declared and leaned back, taking in a deep breath. His mouth was hanging wide open as he breathed.

Woohyun all the sudden had a sense of deja-vu.“You’re gonna swallow a bug with your mouth hanging open like that,” he warned his friend.

“Hm?” Sungkyu hummed. But as soon as he opened his mouth again, a bug flew in, and he began coughing and spitting. “Ew. What was that?” he asked with a strained voice. Woohyun just laughed in response, watching his friend frown and trying to rid the awful taste from his mouth.

Woohyun was about to say something snarky, but the words immediately flew from his head as he felt something move on his head, something lightweight but obviously alive. He turned to Sungkyu, panicked with wide eyes. “Huh? What’s on my head? Gyu-ah, what is it?” But Sungkyu was just staring at his head with an amused smile, not offering any help or answer. Woohyun started to violently shake his head to rid his hair of the creature, which was holding on tightly to his locks. Eventually the creature fell to the ground, and Woohyun was finally able to see it, a brown salamander. He let out a girlish squeal as soon as he saw it and jumped up from his spot. He knew exactly who was to blame. “Yah! Yoo Maeri!”

“Wasn’t me,” Maeri’s voice chirped downstream from them. “I was over here the whole time.” Her expression was of false innocence. She might not have done it, but Woohyun knew full well that she was the originator of the plot. But he still needed to bring the perpetrator to justice.

He turned around behind him to see Hani with her hand over to stifle her escaping laughter. “Yah! Noona!” Woohyun yelled as he got up and chased Hani, who was trying to run away from him (but he eventually caught her and got her as equally drenched as he was. But Maeri didn’t get off scot-free either. Being the only dry one now, the other three her and splashed her until she was two times wetter than they were).

By the time they reached the first look-out point, their clothes were partially dry, and the high sun was sending its warm rays on their skin. The view, thankfully, was clear enabling one to see for miles. You could really see how small the two truly was, and its surrounding towns as well. “Woah!” Sungkyu exclaimed. “This is beautiful.”

“Gyu, the view is even better out here,” Woohyun declared with a chuckle. He, with Hani, was standing closer to the edge of the look-out point, the edge of a steep cliff. Sungkyu, on the other hand, was several feet away, with a hand securely wrapped around a tree branch, anchoring him to the earth.

“Ah, no. I’m  fine,” Sungkyu insisted, waving his friend off.

Woohyun scoffed looking at his timid friend. “What are you afraid of heights or something?”

“Uh, yea,” Sungkyu sheepishly admitted, his grip tightened onto the branch.

“I don’t blame you,” a small voice came from besides Sungkyu. Next to him, Maeri was hugging the tree. And Sungkyu had been so wrapped up in his own fears that he hadn’t even noticed the woman’s presence.

“You afraid too?” he asked. Maeri nodded with her eyes fixed on some point in the distance.

Woohyun rolled his eyes. He couldn’t believe his luck. He knew that it would take some convincing to get Maeri beyond this point and to the next look-out at the top of the mountain, but he had done it before. He had pushed Maeri to her limits to conquer her fear. They had ridden in cable cars, hot air balloons, and onto the roofs of sky scrapers (but surprisingly, her fear still subsisted). With a bit of effort and an excessive amount of pleading and aegyo, Maeri would yield. But he wasn’t yet an expert in trying to persuade Sungkyu into what he wanted. And now Woohyun feared that the two would become a united front, giving into their fear.  “Come on, you guys! We aren’t even at the top yet. The view is even better up there,” he exhorted them, pointing at the peak of the mountain.

Maeri’s eyes followed his finger. Her eyes widened at the sight. The peak was still a long ways up and quite steep as well. “Up there? You want us to go up there?!” she sputtered.

“Come on, Honey, stop hugging that tree,” Woohyun joked. He walked up to his fiancee and began to peel her from the tree and dragging her closer to the cliffs edge.  He could hear the sounds of her heels digging into the dirt to slow him down. But he just ignored her and pulled harder. “It’s not that far up.”

“Woohyun…” Maeri whimpered. She normally gave into Woohyun’s whims like going onto those stupid rooftops and that even worse hot air balloon, but today she felt especially stubborn, and her heart was pounding in as she was dragged closer and closer to the cliff’s edge. The rational side of her told her that Woohyun would never put her in danger, but her irrational siding was screaming, drowning out the rational voice. She yanked harder against her fiance.

“Come on. Stop being a baby,” Woohyun had hoped to spur some bravery in her with his words (it worked more often than not).

“Hyun, stop it,” Maeri spoked darkly, tearing her hand out of his grasp. “I  hate you so much right now.” She then retreated to the comfort of her beloved tree, leaving her Namu behind (haha word-play).

Woohyun’s eyes then darted nervously to the other couple who had just witnessed his rejection, not knowing how to react to it. So Woohyun broke out into a fake chuckle to ease the tension. “She’s just kidding, right Honey?” Maeri nodded silently, wrapping her arms tightly around the tree. Woohyun sighed, maybe just this once he’d let Maeri be. She obviously wasn’t in the mood. He turned to Hani. “Noona, do you still want to go up?”

“Yea, but they don’t really want to. I’m more than happy seeing the view just from here,” Hani sweetly answered, looking at the two refusing to step any closer to the edge of the cliff, and they weren’t even close to the top.

“Nah!” Woohyun dismissed her worries. “The scaredy cats can stick together. Gyu, you’ll watch over her, right?” he asked. Sungkyu looked over at Maeri, whose cheek was squashed against the tree (she obviously became more rattled after Woohyun’s ‘urginings’). Sungkyu nodded. Woohyun then continued, “I don’t know about you, but I didn’t come all the way here for this view. You wanna come?”

Hani looked at the others nervously, mulling over the decision. “Okay,” she eventually agreed. She waved at the two glued to the tree. “We’ll be back soon, okay? See you later, Sungkyu-ssi! Bye Maeri!” Woohyun waved too as the both of them made their way up the path to the mountain’s peak.

When Woohyun and Maeri were just a speck on the rocky dirt path, Sungkyu finally broke the silence that had grown between Maeri and himself, “We’re not scaredy cats.”

“Nope,” she agreed with a silent voice but she was shaking her head strongly.

“We’re just smart,” Sungkyu proposed.

Maeri picked up on it and expanded, “Yup. It’s smart to be scared. Like self-preservation.”

“Yea. we stay safe here,” he said, patting the tree for emphasis. “And they go risk their lives to go see a better view. They probably will fall off a cliff.”

“With Woohyun leading, probably,” Maeri joked darkly, but quickly said a prayer in her head wishing that it wouldn’t happen.

Sungkyu let out a slight laugh. “I’m gonna miss them,” he jested.

“Me too,” Maeri added. Finally feeling comfortable again, although her heart had not yet stilled (probably because she was still so close to the cliff), Maeri let go of the tree and began to look for a more comfortable place for them to rest. Then she found it. Smooth pane of rock situated underneath an overhang, which would shield them from the increasingly harsh rays of the sun. It somehow looked cozy, in a prehistoric way. She nudged Sungkyu and gestured over to the spot. “Hey, let’s go over there.” Sungkyu nodded and allowed her to lead the way. Once they got there, the two immediately sat down with matching groans. Sungkyu opened up the bag and brought out two rolls of kimbap; one he gave to Maeri. “Thanks,” she said as she accepted it.

“Thank Hani-ssi,” Sungkyu said as he munched on his roll. “She made it. She’s really nice.”

“I know,” Maeri responded as she sunk her teeth into her own roll. She peeled back the aluminum foil as she ate more of the roll. “I have the best Unnie in the world, she mused and chewed. “She’s like a real sister.” She heard Sungkyu hum in acknowledgement (or was that some smacking noise, Maeri wasn’t really paying attention). Before she knew it, she had already finished the kimbap. She rolled the foil up into a ball. “So...do you like her?” Maeri carefully asked as she played with the foil ball in her hands. But after waiting for a few seconds, Maeri frowned and turned towards Sungkyu, ready to yell at him. The choice words, however, fell from her tongue. Sungkyu was fast asleep already with a half-eaten kimbap laying on his stomach.

Maeri blinked at him, wondering what to do now. He looked so peaceful (and that kimbap also looked good. She had considered for a few seconds about finishing it for him, but settled for wrapping it up and placing it back into his bag instead). Maeri laid down too against the cool rock. It was oddly comfortable, yet still hard. She turned her head, studying Sungkyu’s profile. It was so different from Woohyun’s. Woohyun’s nose was smaller and sharper. Sungkyu’s nose was a bit bigger but straight like a ruler. Maeri pondered for a second what it would be like to trace her finger along that bridge like she did with Woohyun’s several nights earlier. She immediately shook that thought from her head and opted for her own nose instead, unconsciously. She then fell asleep a few seconds later with her finger still on her nose.

“Thanks for coming up with me,” Woohyun thanked as he pulled Hani up onto the rock with him. “It’s hard to talk Maeri into these sorts of things.” But that was a lie. He could normally talk her into anything. But for some odd reason, just today, for something so simple, she was being stubborn. Woohyun didn’t understand, but he should have known that it would happen eventually. But why today? And why in front of them? They were supposed to be the example couple, the ideal couple, for the other to follow. But instead she rejected and said that she hated him. Woohyun knew she was joking and just said anything to make him stop (or at least he hoped), but it still hurt his heart.

“You know, you don’t have to do these things with a girl,” Hani began, interrupting his thoughts. “You can go by yourself. Or with a friend.”

“But the view is romantic. Don’t you think?” Woohyun argued, pointing to the view growing increasingly more ethereal. The view he had wanted to share with someone special. To gaze upon the place where he grew up and spent most of his life, exchanging reminiscent stories with the other.

“Yea,” Hani agreed with a hesitant voice. “Maybe next time Maeri will be brave enough to come up with you,” she suggested with a bright smile.

“I’m not betting on it,” Woohyun said glumly. He didn’t know when they would come back to this mountain if ever. They had lived here for most of their lives, and this was the first that they ever stepped foot on it. “I can’t believe she’s still afraid of heights after all the things we’ve done.” He had really tried to help her conquer it, but the fear was as stubborn as she was.

“I guess some things you just can’t get over,” Hani mused outloud. She quickly glanced at Woohyun and cleared . “Uh, come on. I’ll race you to the top!” she exclaimed and started up the mountain. Woohyun started after her, but stopped dead in his tracks as he watched her slip and slide down against the abrasive rock.

“Woah! Noona! Are you okay?” Woohyun shouted after her, finally registering what had just happened. He ran next to her and cupped her elbows helping her back up to her feet.

Hani winced as she stood up. She scanned her legs and sighed, “It’s just a scratch. It’s okay.”

Woohyun followed her eyes down to her legs. It was ‘just a scratch’ but a rather large one, a bleeding one on an already dirty knee. Why did she have to wear shorts? Woohyun pushed her gently into a sitting position. “Here, let me clean it up for you,” he commanded as he digged through his bag.

“O-okay,” she relented, allowing him to straighten her knee. He brought out some disinfectant and bandages.

“Now, this might sting a little. It’s a good thing we came prepared for this. Maeri can be such a clutz, and maybe you too,” he gently teased as he dabbed the stinging disinfectant onto her knee, cleaning up the mess. He was trying to distract her from the pain with his conversation, and it was working. She was smiling slightly at him and not frowning in pain. He smiled too. This was easy, easier than it would have been with Maeri. She would fight and insist that she could do it on her own. Stupid independent woman tendencies. It’s okay to rely on someone. But Hani allowed him to care for her, and they barely knew each other (well at least not as well as he knew his fiancee). Why couldn’t it be this easy all the time? “That’s a good girl,” he found himself saying as he pasted the bandage against her knee. He then realized how awkward that might have sounded and cleared his throat. “Uh, there all done.” He stood up and extended a hand to help her up. She took it.

“Thanks, Woohyun-ah,” she genuinely spoke.

“No problem,” he responded happily. And now that her guard was dropped, it was the perfect time to renew their race. “Ready, set, go!” he yelled as he shoot up the trail.

“Cheater!” Hani yelled back with a giggle as she chased after him.

They reached the summit soon afterwards (Woohyun had won the race, but not by much. Hani proved to be quite the competitor), but they didn’t the view for long. Woohyun felt slightly guilty for abandoning the other two at the first look-out point. But after returning back to them, he realized that all of his worries were for not. The two were completely passed out underneath an overhang, close to each other probably because they were cold underneath the shade. “Aw! Look at the old people sleeping under a rock,” Woohyun whispered to Hani as they approached the two sleeping ‘beauties.’ Woohyun wasn’t the least bit surprised to find out that this was how they passed their time. Maeri had been wanting to sleep ever since she woke up that morning.

“I think we wore them out,” Hani said back crouching down next to them and watching them with an amused smile.

Woohyun. on the other hand, wasn’t going to be so gentle. He preferred to wake people up rather than to watch them sleep. He knelt by Sungkyu and yelled into his ear, “Gyu-ah, are you sleeping with my wifey?”

Sungkyu blinked his eyes open, looked at Woohyun and then to the dozing woman next to him, then automatically snapped up into a sitting position. “Uh? What? No!” he defend himself frantically. “We were just napping.”

“Chill. I was joking,” Woohyun assured his friend as he crawled over to his wife. He whispered into her ear, “Maeri-ah! Maeri-ah! Wake up!”

“Uh? What?” Maeri grumbled as she stirred. She then saw Woohyun hovering over her and slowly realized where she was and what she was doing. “I’m awake. I’m awake,” she mumbled with her eyes still closed, but she was sitting up.

Eventually, the two sleepyheads had woken up enough to gather themselves and their belongings. “So you guys ready to head down? Or do you need a bit to recover?” Woohyun asked.

“Nah. I’m ready,” Maeri answered. But her words weren’t so convincing as she then yawned so large that it cause her to stumble slightly.

“Sure,” Hani teased with a giggle. She then wrapped her arm around Maeri’s upper arm. “Here, Maeri, let’s go down together,” she suggested. Maeri nodded enthusiastically. And the two girls made their way down the trail, practically skipping.

Picking up the girls’ notion, Woohyun did the same and wrapped his arm around Sungkyu’s. “Come on, Gyu! Let’s go down together,” he mimicked Hani.

“Let go of me,” Sungkyu grumbled with a smile, weakly struggling against Woohyun’s grasp.

“Never!” Woohyun exclaimed, tightening his grip and pull his friend down the trail. But after a few minutes, Woohyun let go because it proved to be difficult to descend down the steep path in tandem. They instead walked closely (and slowly) together down the path. But also quietly (probably because Sungkyu was too preoccupied with not falling down the path). Woohyun wasn’t able to take the silence any longer and asked, “So you guys really just slept the whole time?”

“We ate too,” Sungkyu answered with furrowed brows as he carefully stepped over a large rock. “But, yea we mostly slept. Can you blame us? You made us wake up at the crack of dawn. You said it was a long hike up, but I’ve been watching the clock. We could’ve slept an hour or two later,” he ranted, suddenly forgetting that he was scared of falling and began to walk down faster.

Woohyun titled his head as he looked at the other. This reaction felt so familiar, in fact, Sungkyu as a whole felt familiar. But then it suddenly came to him.“Wah! It’s no wonder why I like you. You’re like a male version of Maeri,” Woohyun shouted his realization. Sungkyu loved to sleep, so did Maeri. The both of them had similar fears and interests, including Woohyun himself. It was no wonder the three of them got along so well.

“Really?” Sungkyu challenged. “Because you guys are basically twins. You’re so in sync. You can even tell what each other is thinking.”

“Pbft! Yea right,” Woohyun snorted. “I’m way cooler.” He could see Sungkyu rolled his eyes out of the corner of his own. Woohyun decided it was time to change the topic. Maeri was boring to talk about. But Sungkyu and his blossoming relationship was more interesting to him. “But you know the real reason why I chose this time.” Sungkyu looked at him curiously. “It’s because once we get down, it’ll be dinner time. And you can take Noona out,” he explained.

“You are unbelievable,” Sungkyu said with a shake of his head.

“I’m brilliant,” Woohyun countered. His eyes flittered down to the girls in front of them, who unlike Sungkyu and Woohyun, had still tried to walk down the mountain in tandem. They were both struggling to find their footing. He gave Sungkyu a slight shove in their direction. “Now go help Noona down the mountain. Maeri’s practically dragging her down. You should go save her,” he advised. Then Woohyun walked down to the ladies and reprimanded his fiancee as he watched her pull Hani down as she slipped for the hundredth time,, “Yah! Yoo Maeri! What are you doing?”

“BED!” Maeri exclaimed as she ran and jumped onto the bed, snuggling her cheeks into the comfortable, cozy sheets.

“Yah! Yah! Yah!” Woohyun yelled following her into their bedroom, standing beside her. “You’re dirty and smell bad. Get off the bed.”

“No,” Maeri whined. She then pulled down Woohyun to lay beside her; he gave in and joined her on the bed (and he had to admit. It did feel nice after a long excursion outside). “We can wash the sheets later.”

Woohyun chuckled as he watched Maeri eyelids flutter closed. “Didn’t you already take a nap today?”

She lazily nodded. “On a rock,” she answered with a pout. “So it doesn’t count.”

“You’re silly,” Woohyun joked, poking at her nose. Maeri shifted awkwardly. His eyes then scanned her, searching for the reason why, and he found it.  Her right knee was caked in dried blood and dirt. He looked back up at her with worried eyes. “And hurt. When did that happen?”

“What?” Maeri asked, confused. She looked down and saw it. “Oh, I must’ve fallen,” she said as if it were normal. She then sat up and left the bed. “I’ll go clean it up, so it doesn’t mess up the sheets.”

Woohyun rolled over onto his side, watching her enter the bathroom. “Do you want me to do it?” he asked, remembering what had happened with Hani earlier that day.

Maeri shook her head as she already had her leg propped up on the toilet seat and dabbed the blood away with a cloth. “I think I can handle a little scrap,” she coolly replied with a smirk.

“I thought so,” Woohyun mumbled to himself with a sad sigh. He reluctantly watched her patch up her knee. He played with the sheets under his fingers. “Honey, do you still hate me?” he asked the question nagging in the back of his mind.

“Huh?” Maeri looked up, surprised.

“Earlier, you said that you hated me,” his voice was slightly muffled against the pillow beneath his head.

Maeri smoothed out the bandage on her knee with a sigh. “Sweetie, you know that I could never really hate you,” she replied. She had forgotten how Woohyun, even after years of teasing and curt words, didn’t like to fool around with words like ‘hate.’ While she might have meant it at the moment, the feeling had already fled. But she knew that Woohyun would need more assurance than just that. “You’re my husband, and I love you,” she said cheerfully,kneeling at his side. But he said nothing, nothing at all. And his eyes were closed, and soft snores were passing through his lips. “YAH! Are you asleep?!” she exclaimed in hushed tones. She laughed to herself. It looked like she wasn’t the only one worn out from the day’s activities. She got up and laid next to him, threading her fingers through his hair. “I could never really hate you,” she repeated as she drifted off into sleep herself.