Nichkhun woke up with an enervated groan. His eyes felt so heavy he can barely open them.

    “What time is it?” He mumbled to himself as he tried to sit up but his body suddenly throbbed in pain. Nichkhun tried remembering back what had happened. He wasn’t drunk that’s for sure since this wasn’t like the usual hangovers he’s had before. This was different. He felt exhausted and disoriented and his back, abdomen and thighs were the only parts that actually hurt when he tried to move.

    “What the hell happened?” He mumbled again as he slowly rolled to his back. He opened his eyes and saw a flamboyant looking chandelier. His thoughts quickly became tangled with questions.

   Nichkhun carefully pushed his torso up and leaned against the headboard, it felt cool against his . His eyes scanned around the dark room, only lit by a small table lamp, and then to himself. His eyes widened when he noticed the tux he wore last night on the edge of the bed. Nichkhun quickly scrambled out of the white sheets wrapped around him and was shocked to see himself stripped bare.

    He sat back on the edge of the bed, a hand massaging his temples as he tried recalling last night.

    He remembered being at the hotel for the after-party but people were prying all over his ‘new’ relationship that he quickly snuck out to get some peace of mind. He spent most of the time just staring blankly at the city’s view when all of a sudden… Victoria!

    He finally remembered that part.

    Victoria came and they both talked. They talked about everything. Confessing about how they felt during WGM. They were having fun. They laugh, they played around, a sense of familiarity washed over the two and… amidst the moment of affinity he leaned down and suddenly kissed her. It just happened and Victoria kissed him back. It was like they finally realized they both had feelings for one another after 4 years.

    “.” Nichkhun muttered under his breath when he finally remembered it all. But then a sense of regret and ambivalence washed over him like a shocking tsunami. Who knew the affinity we had on screen was actually real, I thought it was all pretend. I thought I was pretending and she was pretending as well. Maybe we weren’t, he thought as he sighed, confusion dominating his mind.

    Then it suddenly occurred to him, where was Victoria? Nichkhun looked around the room and guessed it was still before dawn. She must’ve left earlier to avoid suspicion. But Nichkhun suddenly wished she was still here, images of last night flashed in his mind and he wondered how Victoria felt about this.

    But after a long minute, he finally concluded.

    It was a mistake.

“Khun can you get me something to drink? Coke.” Tiffany said while they were both enjoying a movie at Nichkhun’s company. Since the entire world knew about their relationship, Jinyoung, the CEO of JYP was kind enough to let the two have their dates at the company. So this made it easier for the two to meet often.

    “Sure.” Nichkhun smiled as he removed his arm around her shoulder and left the TV room towards the vending machine downstairs.

    He was smiling and laughing so much earlier with Tiffany but now that he’s all alone, the thoughts of that night crept back insidiously in his mind. Was it wrong for a man who has the girl of his dreams in possession yet still thinks about someone else? Of course it was wrong. He was eligible enough to receive the title as a big-time jerk.

    But it’s been a little over three weeks and he still can’t stop himself from thinking about the incident. There was so much left unanswered. But he wasn’t even sure what the questions were really.

    Nichkhun stopped walking when he reached the vending machine and got himself two cans of Coke. The machine grunted to life and Nichkhun quickly picked up the drinks.

    Why did he sleep with her? That was probably one question Nichkhun wanted to ask. But the answer was with him. He was the one who initiate the first kiss and he was the one who willed to do it. But why?

    Did he have feelings for Victoria? That was another question. Nichkhun thought about it and honestly he didn’t know. How is it possible that he never felt anything all this time? Sure during WGM, there were some feelings being stirred but that’s because he was supposed to act as a loving husband. Even when he was already dating Tiffany during that time, it still didn’t stop the mix confusion he felt when he was with Victoria. Sometimes he would take it too far like casually initiating skinship with her or text her during ordinary days. It was all the effects of the show.

    But even so, it was all acting. Nichkhun thought it was all just an inane façade, nothing more.

    Why did Victoria sleep with him? Another question unanswered. Did she have feelings for him? Nichkhun tried calculating the possibility and it was entirely impossible. Or maybe it wasn’t and that he was just too blind to see it.

    “Hey Khun, what are you doing?” Nichkhun’s chain of thought broke by the sound of Tiffany’s voice. He didn’t realize he was already by the doorway. Nichkhun quickly shook his head and smiled at his girlfriend.

    “Sorry. Here.” Tiffany let out a ‘yay’ as she took the can from his hand.

    “Is the movie over?” He asked as he sat back in his seat and took a sip of the Coke.

    “Yeah, you should’ve seen the ending. It was amazing.” Tiffany was flipping through the channels and she settled on one of those entertainment news shows. “I wonder what delicious scandal is discovered today.” Tiffany commented with a giggle as she sat herself comfortably on the sofa. Nichkhun only smiled.

    Nichkhun wasn’t interested on the latest celebrity gossip so his mind was easily distracted by his earlier thoughts.

    Maybe Victoria really does have feelings… for me, Nichkhun thought.

    “Oh god!” Nichkhun was startled by Tiffany’s sudden shriek. Tiffany had a finger jabbed towards the TV screen, her face stunned. Nichkhun turned his full attention towards the screen and the next thing he knew his face was mimicking Tiffany’s.

    “Shocking news! Earlier in the morning, the CEO of SM Entertainment, Lee Soo Man had unexpectedly called for a conference. Reporters drew question marks by the sudden exploit.” The reporter said as he stood in a large hall filled with other press media swarming around in commotion. “In the last few months, SM had already made public dating announcement of three members of SNSD, Yoona, Sunyoung and recently Tiffany. Speculation are spinning round that an announcement of a new couple will be revealed in a short moment.”

    “Is this live?” Nichkhun asked and Tiffany nodded, her brows pushed together in confusion. “Do you know what this is about?” Tiffany shook her head. “Is someone dating in your company?”

    “Not anyone who is serious enough to make it official.” She countered. They both continued staring at the TV.

    The conference was crowded with people flashing their cameras around and typing menacingly on their laptops. After a minute or two someone finally entered the room and went up the small platform.

    Lee Soo Man took a seat at the right side end of the long white table propped in the middle of the platform and adjusted the microphone in front of him.

    “I’m sorry to keep all of you waiting and I’m sorry for the suddenness of this conference.” The moment Soo Man stopped to catch his breath, reporters were already bombarding him with questions. He only chuckled. “Calm down everyone, I assure you all your questions will be answered after this.”

    The whole hall immediately went silent, only the sound of cameras flashing was heard.

    “The reason that I’ve gathered you all here is too share some joyous news, news I’m genuinely excited for.” There was a small pause causing everyone in the room to squirm with suspense, even Nichkhun and Tiffany reacted in the same way. “Two of my artists are getting married.” Boom! The whole hall almost shook by the reporters’ sudden explosion of questions.

    “What?” Both Nichkhun and Tiffany shouted in unison.

    “Is he serious?” Tiffany almost shouted in shock.

    “You don’t know?”

    “I haven’t heard a thing from anybody about this.” Tiffany suddenly pulled out her cell phone and there were a dozen of messages from her members and friends about the news.

    “Who’s that?” Nichkhun asked as he glanced at her phone.

    “No one knows anything. Not my members, not the other groups in the company… no one.”

    “Yes, I know. It comes as a shock.” Soo Man continued and Nichkhun and Tiffany listened attentively, curiousity gnawing their minds. “But everything we’ll be explained soon. In fact, the future bride and groom even insisted on explaining it all themselves.”

    A door suddenly swung opened and a number of men in suits escorted two people towards where Soo Man sat. The two people smiled brightly at the press and bowed before seating down.

    Nichkhun and Tiffany couldn’t believe their eyes, especially Nichkhun. He even rubbed his eyes a couple of times to make sure he wasn’t mistaken. And unfortunately he wasn’t.

    It was Victoria and…

    “Kangta Oppa?” It was like Tiffany had finished the sentence for him. “How, what…?” Tiffany’s phone suddenly rang and she quickly picked it up. “Hello? Taeyeon Unnie? It’s Kangta Oppa and Victoria Unnie! Did you know they were dating? What did the other members say? Did you ask Jessica Unnie? Maybe Krystal knows something.”

    Nichkhun was having an out of body experience at the moment. So when Soo Man asked the reporters to proceed with the questioning, Nichkhun had no choice but to listen numbly.

    “Why the sudden wedding?”

    “Why didn’t you announce you were dating before?”

    “How long have you been seeing each other?”

    “When is the wedding?”

    “Is there a hidden reason for the sudden marriage announcement?”

    And the questions kept coming. Kangta looked completely composed but Victoria on the other hand, looked nervous. She kept glancing around nervously and her smile would fade in and out occasionally. Nichkhun wondered what was going on in her head.

    Kangta turned to look at Victoria and he could tell she was anxious. Kangta placed a hand on hers and held it tight.

    He tapped on the microphone a few times to regain back the silence.

    “I fell in love with her the moment she walked into my company building.” Kangta stated, his eyes on Victoria and then a small chuckle escaped his lips when Victoria made a face at him. Kangta turned back towards the wave of reporters and continued on. “It’s no secret that everyone knew how I felt about her. I even admitted to the press several times. But whenever I tried asking her out, some guy would always beat me to it. To keep it short, she had too many admirers for me to even have the tiniest chance. So we remain friends. Close friends.”

    “Victoria, were you knowledgeable of his feelings?” A reporter quickly asked and Victoria couldn’t help but giggle.

    “No.” She answered honestly and giggled again when Kangta glared at her. “Sorry.” She just shrugged at him.

    “It was difficult.” Kangta pointed out with a sigh. “She was busy with work and so was I. We both had too much on our plate to date. But somehow, we found ourselves spending our free time together. And the relationship naturally progressed into something more.”

    “But why are you both having thoughts on marriage so quickly?” Another reporter asked.

    “Actually we’ve been thinking about marriage for a long time now. I’m soon going to be in my late 30’s and Victoria—” Kangta chuckled when Victoria elbowed him, shushing him on her age. “Needless to say that it’s the perfect time for us to settle down.”

    “When’s the wedding?”

    “That’s confidential… but like I said before, we’ve been thinking about this for a long time and our parents already knew about our plans months back. So the wedding will be sooner than expected.” Kangta explained and reporters started throwing questions again, but this time it was Soo Man who answered.

    “I think that’s enough for now. The happy couple is currently busy with the wedding planning so we’ll have to continue this some other day. I hope that everyone would support these two and give them their blessing.” Soo Man quickly got up and Kangta and Victoria followed.

    Nichkhun didn’t blink the whole time, his eyes glued to the screen. Tiffany was practically frantic over the phone with her members. It seems everyone was shocked. Nichkhun continued staring at TV screen.

    Cameras kept flashing, hands kept rising, mouths kept shouting and questions kept unanswered.