Why did people have to complicate things for them all the time? 

First it was Park Jeongsu, and now it was Nichkhun. 

Taeyeon needed an answer to that; she had been lying in bed for the past few days after knowing that Yuri was in an arranged marriage like all other heirs to a rich fortune were. She knew her girlfriend didn't like it any more than she did but Yuri couldn't do anything but to abide if they wanted to keep being protected from Baekhyun and Jeongsu. Those two didn't seem to have any plans at the moment since it was already vacation period but God knows what they were planning to do once the vacation was over. Honestly though, Taeyeon didn't know if she regretted asking Yuri's grandmother for help.

Her phone vibrated atop the bedside table once more, causing Taeyeon to groan. There were messages coming in from Jeongsu and she didn’t want to see them at all.

“Why am I such an idiot?”

Dinner was not very enjoyable, of course.

Yuri couldn’t stop checking her phone every ten minutes; she knew she wasn’t supposed to bring out her phone when she was in the presence of someone else during meals but she couldn’t help it. She hasn’t received messages from Taeyeon, not even a hint of a message and it was driving her nuts. They always texted each other whenever they couldn't spend time together, whether it was Taeyeon or Yuri who initiated the conversation... it didn't really matter since the conversation would continue even if they didn't put in a hundred percent effort. 

“Yuri-ah, are you okay?”

“Yes,” Yuri looked up and felt bad the moment she saw the pair of puppy eyes in front of her, “I’m fine… just a bit worried.”

Nichkhun didn't want to pry and force Yuri to tell him because she would only start opening up when she was ready to reveal her own problems. He knew Yuri since they were kids and that was her pattern of behaviour back then, but God knows how much the latter has changed. After all, she has turned from a tomboyish imp to a beautiful girl; for all he knows, her personality might have changed more than he expected too. Yuri was not a very pleasant person to be around when she was pissed off either. 

Not that she was very pleasant at the moment; all she did was check her phone without caring about the food on her plate. 

“…” Yuri mumbled under her breath when she saw the simple one-word reply she got from her girlfriend; there was definitely something wrong. “Just what did I do?”

Taeyeon hated giving or receiving one-word replies and she never did that but now that she was doing it to Yuri, it was saying something. Yuri knew Taeyeon was most likely upset because of how she simply maintained her ill-timed silence when her grandmother introduced Nichkhun as her future husband but what could Yuri do? She was way too stunned to react at that unexpected statement, hence not even realising Taeyeon's departure the moment Nichkhun tried to initiate a conversation with her. 

That was probably it. 

“I’m sorry, Khun,” Yuri finally kept her phone in her pocket and lowered her utensils, unable to put a smile on her face for as long as she sat there, “let’s just have dinner another day?”

Nichkhun didn’t even get an opportunity to speak, because Yuri had left the restaurant with a frown on her face and she was obviously rushing to be somewhere else. He sighed and put down his cutlery as well, wiping his lips with the napkin; it was not as enjoyable as he thought it would be. In fact, he could clearly remember how much he missed Yuri when he left for Europe to pursue his studies all those years ago. One could only imagine the horror when he was told Yuri had disappeared along with everything she had on her.

Of course, the reason was clear now - she didn't want to be a part of the company business.

“I should have came back earlier…”

Taeyeon was not being petty, she really wasn’t. She just detested the fact that Yuri could forget about her in front of another man; one that she had known for some time. She couldn’t imagine losing Yuri to someone else at this point in time, not when they had spent a few months together and she had fallen in love with the latter. For the fact that she was willing to break rules and even put her career at risk for someone, it was saying a lot about that person she was doing this for. 

“God damn it,” Taeyeon groaned when she felt a sharp pain just above her stomach; she knew it was going to come in time but this was really not the right timing.

Her body curled into a ball and she clutched her pillow tightly, holding it closely against her abdomen. She hasn't had gastric pains in quite some time but it was most likely because she hasn't eaten anything since last evening and the whole of today either. Thank goodness her brother wasn't here or she would be lectured for one to two hours at least. Taeyeon didn't know that gastritis was such a in the past but it was really starting to get on her nerves now; it was a mistake to stay in bed all day.

When her phone vibrated on the bedside table, Taeyeon immediately grabbed it and took the chance to text one of her best friends from university back then.

To: Heechul

Oppa, can you bring me some food? I haven’t eaten all day and I can’t get out of bed… :( I’ll buy you a drink when I’m well again, I promise!

Taeyeon often forgot to arrange dinners with Heechul although they were close, especially after she was confirmed to be a full-time teacher at Seoul High School. She had to manage all her assignments along with her precious girlfriend at the same time, something Taeyeon was never good at was multi-tasking. Of course, there was literally no reason for Taeyeon to choose assignments over her girlfriend when Yuri was the one who could make all her stress disappear. 

It was a pity but this was life.

If a person wanted to maintain her friendships then she would have to make sure she didn’t neglect that person.

From: Heechul

I'll be right there with your favourites. 

*

Yuri didn’t care about the scolding she might be receiving from her grandmother for blowing Nichkhun off; to put nicely, she had more important things to care about but to put it bluntly, Yuri couldn’t be bothered about him. She was literally a few steps away from Taeyeon’s house but her heart was pounding against her ribcage, and definitely not in a good way like it normally did. Taeyeon was not going to let her in easily. The mistake was definitely made by her, and Taeyeon had every right to get angry but Yuri could only pray repetitively that Taeyeon wouldn't be too hard on her.

“Taeyeon-ah, Oppa’s downstairs. Shall I come in?”

Yuri’s ears perked up and she peeked over the hedge, eyes widening when she saw the guy standing right outside Taeyeon’s door. She hasn't seen this particular guy before, neither has Taeyeon mentioned any close guy friends for the past few months. She knew she couldn't jump to conclusions so easily, knowing that Taeyeon was a responsible woman and she wouldn't hurt another person by cheating on her. 

Though it was difficult to stop herself from pouncing on him when he entered the front door, Yuri managed to swallow it down and make her way there peacefully. 

Sighing at the consta