“Alright, I guess we’re done with the first paragraph.”

Taeyeon read through all that they have accomplished and gave a satisfied nod. “Good enough, I’d say.”

Stephanie yawns. “We should be able to finish this by today.”

“Awesome. But… I’m not available after twelve.”

“Why—oh, right. Jungsoo.”

Taeyeon clenched her fists. “No, no, this isn’t going to work. School is more important. Screw that guy and his toe, he’d be fine without me for half a day.”

Stephanie folded her arms, an accusing look creeping up onto her face. “You’re spending so much time with him lately… Any chance for some love to spark alive?”

Taeyeon gave her a look that made her shut up almost instantly. “Are you serious, Fany? Park Jungsoo? Me? Love? Did your lack of sleep give you a concussion or something?”

“Geez, chill out, babe. It’s just a joke.”

They leaned back into the wooden chairs on Taeyeon’s porch, taking in a bout of fresh air as they did so. After all the writing and reading and checking, they felt oversaturated from schoolwork.

Then Stephanie snapped back up, back straight, staring right into Taeyeon’s eyes. “I think there’s something you haven’t clarified with me.”

“What is it?”

“About the plot. You said you got it from someone you knew. Who is it?”

“And why do you ask?”

“I’m curious! Is this a true story? Because if it was, it’d be so cool. I’d love to get to know this person.”

“Well, it’s also cool to not be a busybody, you know.”

“Oh, come on! We’re friends. It makes perfect sense for you to tell me about such gossip.”

“Unfortunately, it’s none of your business, and it’s not my liberty to say anything more about it.”

“Sheesh, why so secretive? It’s not like you’re the girl in the story.”

The look on Taeyeon’s face spoke volumes; volumes that Stephanie couldn't hear at all.

=

Jungsoo opened his email to find one new unread message.

“Hey, buddy! I know it’s been ages since I’ve last written to you, but today I come bearing good news. I’m coming back in a few days! See you soon, alright?”

He looked at the sender’s name and cursed.

=

Jongwoon and Yuri stood by the side of Kyuhyun’s room, watching as the smart guy gets to work on his little romantic gesture to Stephanie. The two lovers were grinning, almost proud of how well they have taught Kyuhyun.

But Kyuhyun was this close to flaring up and giving up, as he surveyed how his heart-shaped chocolate box was supposed to turn out, now with random strips and pieces of paper sticking out from every edge. He put it down after five minutes, finally done with the basic skeletal structure of the box. “Okay, this is the best I could do.”

Yuri squatted down. “It needs some touching up.”

Jongwoon squatted down after her. “A lot, actually.”

Kyuhyun cursed. “I told you I’m horrible with handicraft!”

“It’s not how good it looks that matters, Kyu. It’s the thought that counts.”

“I agree with Yuri. Plus, worse comes to worst, you can always sing for her.”

“Sing?”

“Yeah! I did that once for Yuri’s birthday, and she pretty much melted into a puddle of tears.”

“Guys, I appreciate your suggestions but… Please suggest something I’m good at. Like math, or something.”

“But you can sing! We heard you while you were in the shower just now. Your mom let us in secretly.”

Kyuhyun cursed again.

=

Taeyeon set the pitcher of iced lemon tea on the table, and settled into her wooden chair. She stretched a bit. “Alright, we’re done with the first page.”

Stephanie gulped down a mouthful of tea in a split second. “And I’m done with my life.”

“Oh, come on! You lazy ! Come on, get up, and let’s continue!”

“I’m not a morning person, Tae! Can we take a break, and do something else?”

“Like what?”

“Like… talk!”

“I’m fine with that if our conversation topic isn’t me.”

“But what else could we talk about?!”

“You?”

“What’s there to talk about for me?”

“Well, you haven’t exactly gotten through the whole romance issues thing, you know. We did get through the whole deal with me, but I don’t think we got through yours.”

Stephanie shifted uneasily. “There’s nothing to get through for me.”

“By nothing, you mean everything, don’t you.”

“Tae, come on. I’m fine like this, I like the way everything is.”

“But you know it’s not going to stay this way for long, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“There is a guy who likes you, and there is a guy you like. The two guys are best friends. It’s like your typical Korean drama love triangle, except now it’s realized and you have no idea what to do.”

“Was that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Kind of, but judging by your expression I guessed it didn’t.”

“How smart of you.”

“But, seriously. If Kyuhyun and Siwon have talked it out, Kyuhyun’s going to act, soon.”

“Act? What do you mean by that?”

“He’s going to lay his moves on you.”

“What moves?”

“God damn it, Fany. He’s going to woo you.”

“What?! But—but I don’t want that!”

“Did you talk to him?”

“No, I didn’t get any chances to.”

“Well, you should. Before things get out of hand. It’s not going to be pretty if he thinks he stands a chance with you.”

They shared a look.

“It doesn’t mean I’ll stand a chance with him, either,” the shorter one quickly added.

“I get it, I get it…”

“But, honestly though, why don’t you take your chances with Kyu?”

“Is it not obvious enough that I still like that idiot Choi Siwon?”

“Ah. Right.”

Stephanie sighed. “Sometimes, even when the right to like somebody has been taken away, you just can’t help it but to like that person. It’s almost inevitable.”

Taeyeon heard those words clearer than anyone else, and it sunk deeper into her than anyone else. She knew exactly what Stephanie meant, but unfortunately, she didn’t want to.

The skeletons in the closet should remain in the closet – that was Taeyeon wanted.

=

Hyukjae and Hyoyeon were studying together at a Starbucks branch when they saw Donghae and Jessica walking in from the main entrance, shining and glittering like a couple in love does. They grinned at each other.

“Looks like our little boy has struck gold.”

“Oh yeah.”

They headed up to say hi, but stopped short behind a pillar when they saw Jessica giving Donghae a surprise kiss on the cheek.

“Well,” Hyoyeon stammered, “that’s a surprise.”

Hyukjae gulped. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt if you did such PDA with me, too.”

She smacked him. “I think we’re way past the PDA stage.”

Her words elicited a lecherous giggle from Hyukjae, and she rolled her eyes to walk back inside. “Let’s not disturb them, Hyuk.”

He nodded and went back to his seat. “But aren’t you curious?”

“About?”

“Them!”

“So what if I am?”

“Well… There’s always something we can do.”

=

Jungsoo paced back and forth, up and down, within the quarters of his bedroom, trying to decide on the best solution to everything. He tripped on the leg of his bed and went flying to the ground, almost injuring his toe again. He yelped and rolled over, and found himself face to face with his phone, which had fallen to the ground earlier on.

“Oh, god,” he muttered. “Is this fated? Am I really supposed to tell her?”

=

“Hyuk, this isn’t right!”

Ten minutes later, Hyoyeon was the one rushing Hyukjae to hurry up. “Come on, you slowpoke! Hurry the hell up! Get your here! We’re going to lose them soon!”

“But—you said—this wasn’t right…” he panted, trying to catch his breath as he caught up to her behind a pillar.

Donghae and Jessica were up front, looking at the little accessories one of the stalls sold. The other two stood behind a pillar, quietly observing the lovebirds.

“Hyo, I know I suggested following them, but that was because I thought they were going to do something interesting, something I could blackmail him with. But clearly that kiss is the most interesting thing that could happen between them!”

She cleared . “I do not concur.”

“What?”

“Something else is going to happen, and we’re going to get front row tickets to see it!”

Hyukjae wondered why Hyoyeon was such a feisty one sometimes.

=

Stephanie and Taeyeon finished their essay before evening time, and they wrapped up swiftly. They shared a high-five for a job well done.

“Guess this is the end!”

“Yay!”

“You should get home, soon. It’s getting late.”

“Oh, can’t I just relax in your room for a while? My brain hurts!”

Taeyeon shrugged good-naturedly and waved her friend in. “Okay, okay.”

As Stephanie made her way upstairs, Taeyeon packed up the stationery on the porch table and went in. Her phone vibrated then, and she had to struggle to pick up the call.

=

Donghae and Jessica were sharing ice cream from one cone when Hyoyeon and Hyukjae had taken up a hiding spot right opposite the lovebirds. They had a clear view of the two lovers, smiling and playing and basically flirting with the ice cream, all while hiding behind a menu.

Hyoyeon whisper-squealed. “That is so absurdly sweet!”

“Ice cream does work wonders with couples…”

“Hey, hey, look!” Hyoyeon swatted at Hyukjae’s arm with one hand, the other one picking out her cellphone from her bag. She leveled the phone right above the menu to get a good shot.

=

Donghae grinned, his lips masked with a layer of strawberry ice cream. “I never used to be quite the fan of strawberry ice cream, but with you this tastes amazing.”

She giggled. “I never used to be a fan of ice cream at all, but with you ice cream seems like food from the gods.”

He poked her gently in the nose, and she retaliated by flicking him in the forehead. He almost dropped the ice cream, but she caught it with her hand. Now the pink got onto her hands, and they laughed.

She shoved her hand to his face, causing ice cream to get onto his cheek. He gasped and wielded the ice cream cone, which he had been holding for the two of them, as a weapon in her direction. He swung in towards her face and got a swipe of pink onto her cheek, and they laughed harder.

“Stop it! This is getting dirty!”

“All the more why I shouldn’t stop, right?”

They laughed more, and she whipped out her cellphone from her pocket. “Then we should take a photo, shouldn't we?”

They smiled and posed for the camera, both wearing sweet smiles on their faces. But at the last second, right before Jessica pressed the capture button, he turned and put his lips to her cheek, giving her a sweet (literally) cheek kiss.

The shutter went off, and she squealed and whacked him on the head. “Hey! No fair!”

“How do you propose we make it fair? You kiss me on the cheek as well?” He waggled his brows, amusing her once again.

She pushed the ice cream cone into his face, getting ice cream onto his nose. “Ha! Now that’s what I call fairness!”

He laughed at her. “Fairness isn’t too bad, after all.”

They went back to sharing their ice cream, not even bothering to clean up the mess they caused.

=

Hyukjae was the one who whisper-squealed this time. “Okay, that is so absurdly, ridiculously, amazingly sweet!”

They looked at Hyoyeon’s cellphone, now sporting a good, clear shot of Donghae and Jessica’s selca moment.

“You know how you just want to keep beautiful moments as snapshots sometimes?”

“Yeah?”

“This is one of those beautiful moments.”

=

Stephanie was at the top of the staircase when she heard a resounding bam from downstairs. She looked down the stairs to find Taeyeon, one hand pressing a phone to her ear, and the other one lying limply at her side. Their stationery had fallen to the ground.

=

“Kangin’s coming back.”