That night was probably the longest night for Joon and Sowon; the drive to Yerin’s house in Incheon was probably the most grueling in spite the smooth traffic; and the dinner they ate together was probably the hardest to swallow. Everything was hilariously difficult for the two people whose embarrassment could not be undone.

The two oldest ladies were mum during the journey to Incheon. Sowon did not attempt to sit in the passenger seat like she always did and so the younger Eunbi had the opportunity to sit beside the driver who expressly objected to the arrangement. Yerin phoned Joon while en route and was already aware of the accident that transpired in the apartment several minutes ago.

“So eonnie, did you like what you saw?” Yerin’s words were almost inaudible because of the giggling she could not suppress. “For someone who gives advice about self-control, I didn’t know you could be that aggressive. Haha!”

“Yerin-aaaaahhhhh…” Joon clenched her jaw as she spoke to her. “I’ll just call you when we get there, I’m driving. Bye.” She ended the call without waiting for the girl to bid her goodbye.

“So, eonnie…” Sinb started. “Was it a nice view?” She was biting her lower lip but her nose flared in her attempt to control herself from laughing.

“Oh please! Speak one more word and I’ll tell the whole universe why your eyes are swollen shut.” Joon threatened the girl beside her who covered as she mentally replayed the sidesplitting scene she witnessed at home.

“Okay. Let’s just blame the coffee guy for it. Hahahaha!” As always, she could not control her signature diabolic laugh.

“Aish…” The driver was scratching her head.

At the back, it was relatively quiet but murmurs could be overheard. The quiet Sowon wore a thick beige sweater matched with a black bonnet she carelessly donned down to her nose to block her view of the surroundings- her grinning members. Yuna poked her, “Eonnie…”

“Yah! Leave me alone.” The discomfited leader hollered. But instead of giving her the space that she wanted, the three younger ladies started poking her more until she took off the bonnet and revealed her still blushing cheeks.

“Omo! You’re still red!” Eunha did not dare lower her voice wanting the people in front to hear her.

“Jung Eunbi!!!” Sowon frowned at her as everyone chorused in teasing.

“Eonnie, that’s okay.  She’s been in the dressing room with us anyway. And besides, you’re friends with Joon-eonnie.” Umji tried to offer her leader solace even though she herself could not restraint her chuckles.

“Oh yeah! They’re friends! Even closer now for sure! Haha!” That was Sinb interjecting, remembering the conversation she had with Joon about her being close to the two eldest members of the group. Her vicious laugh overshadowed everyone’s voice.

The agonizing teasing went on especially after they picked up Yerin. Once the excited girl spotted the van, she darted toward the passenger side without even checking if it was occupied; the heavy tint somehow made it impossible to see through the glass unless one comes close enough. Seeing her approach her side, Sinb who hid her face in her hood quickly got out and went to sit in Umji’s spot at the back since the maknae occupied Yerin’s.

“What’s wrong with her?” The newcomer asked Joon after Sinb’s puffy eyes did not go unnoticed to her.

“Rubbed pollen onto her eyes. I think. Or was it grapes? Not sure.”

“Is she okay? Shouldn’t we take her to the hospital?” Yerin answered not recognizing the jest in the remark.

“How I wish the hospital could fix her.” Joon rolled her eyes and looked at Sinb through the rearview mirror just to discover that she was staring back at her with a displeased expression. “Don’t worry, she’s fine. She drank her green tea.”

“Green tea?” Yerin was confused and turned her head to the girl who transferred to the backseat. But she was already leaning against the window and the seat in front of her impeded Yerin’s view. “Okay, if you say so. So, eonnie…!” Her demeanor snapped from apprehensive to cheerful.

“Oh… dear… lord! How many times will I hear ‘so, eonnie’ tonight?” Joon replied as she let out a frustrated sigh. “Tease me and you’ll see what I’ll do.” She played her threat cards well.

“What will you do? Teleport?” Yerin whispered to Joon while flashing a mischievous eye smile.

“Yerin-ah!”

“Haha! Eonnie, drive us to… uh, wait. Where do you want to eat?” She turned her head to the preoccupied passengers whose conversations were incomprehensible to her.

“Fast food?”

“Convenience store!”

“Sandwich!”

“Anywhere except in the bathroom!”

“Yah! Sinb!”

“Sandwich it is!” Joon interrupted before a greater chaos could ensue.

>>>

The awkwardness between the two eldest housemates did not last long as the maturity overrun their personalities innately. After a day of hectic TV appearances, everything seemed to be back to normal. Teasing went on sporadically but easily died down every time as the two maintained their tamed reaction to them.

Sinb on the other hand was less distracted and has evidently moderated her time being on the phone as she was scolded every now and then by the observant Yewon. In spite the change in her general behavior, there was no trace that she would admit her yearning for the older girl. Affectionate glances were thrown ever so often, as on-cam flirting continued, but the off-cam stillness also persisted. As vowed, Yewon and Joon kept what they knew to themselves that they did not speak about it even between the two of them. Joon however was half-hearted at staying hushed about the matter since she was well aware of Yerin’s sentiments. If not only for her wanting to be distant and her promise to Sinb, she would have readily exposed what she knew. But in spite the strong resistance to meddle, she could not help but find pleasure in pushing the pair to realize the futility of their plot to forget each other. It was just helpful that the group was distracted by an extensive list of activities and that Joon also had her own investigation to ruminate about.

Unfortunately, the case was in limbo, there was no progress in the search and not a single lead could be identified. The agency did not clear the threat, hence the daily surveillance routine did not stop and the amount of security detail was kept. Joon's agency has continued to work intimately with their company to strategize their move without compromising the group’s career while also assisting in the investigation. As a result, their company has become vigilant in accepting commercial endorsements, rejecting the concepts that required the girls to travel far for filming. Even obviously benign school appearances were also withdrawn due to questionable security conditions.

>>>

“Yerin-ah, did Joon-eonnie say anything? Sowon asked the girl who kept on tossing and turning in the top bunk.

“Say about what?” Yerin’s response was muffled as she spoke under her sheets.

“Nothing.”

Yerin realizing what the question was about, scurried out of her blanket and dangled her head to look at the lady below her. “AH! About the bathroom scene??”

“Yah! Who gave you the right to give it a name?!”

“Unfortunately she did not say anything. You know her, you won’t squeeze a thing out of her if she decides not to tell something.” Yerin disappointedly told her.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“But whenever I about it, she blushes. So, that’s a good indication, right?” Yerin sounded conniving in her response.

“Yah! That does not mean anything… And why would it?” Sowon said under her breath refuting the insinuation. “Oh wait, manager texted. He said we will be picked up tomorrow at 10am.”

“Hmm? Did he say why?”

“I asked him, I’m waiting for his… oh wait, here. ‘To discuss a variety show?’ that’s what he said.” She was confused if she read the message correctly.

“Oh! And we will all be together?” Yerin perked up to the news. Being the member who had the most body gag, it was her cup of tea joining shows of this kind.

“I guess so? He said everyone will be picked up at 10 tomorrow. Wait, I’ll ask which variety show.”

“Probably Running Man or Take Care of my Dog Part 2. Or maybe cats this time! Hehe!” Yerin jokingly professed.

“Oh, here. Hmm… He said he did not know too. He was just told by the company just now.”

“That’s not unusual, maybe it’s another last-minute decision. But I’m sure it will be fun since we’re all going to be together.”

“Yeah, it’s always last-minute. Wait I’ll tell the others.” But even before Sowon was able to get herself up completely, she heard her foreigner friend call everyone to the living room.

>>>

“Everyone! Get out of your rooms! It’s English practice time!” I yelled after receiving a text message from the manager that the girls will be briefed regarding a variety show the next day and he asked that maybe we could be rigorous with our English communication enhancement. The manager did not have any idea what show the girls will be joining in and he most certainly did not have an inkling that I really wasn’t an English tutor, but I have to go with the flow.

The pouting Eunha was the first one to appear in the living room holding her tablet still not giving up the online game she has been wasting her time and money on. Yuju was next and like usual, she was either very quiet or singing. Sinb and Umji came out together with the former surprisingly not complaining about having to study on a beautiful schedule-less Sunday morning. Umji, as expected was holding a book, but this time a fiction that was too academic for her age. Yerin who was still in her sleeping clothes appeared last and headed to the kitchen to grab a drink while listening to Sowon inform the others about the trip to the agency the following morning.

I was seated at the middle of my sofa bed and Yerin sat on my right side like she always does. She did not join the discussion about the whats and whys of the variety show they will be appearing in since she already knew the leader’s answers. Sowon took the space on my left while the younger girls continued their guessing game about which show it would be and what they would possibly be doing.

“Did they tell you what show, eonnie?” The girl on my right asked. “Is that why we’re practicing English?” She glared at me knowing that it was a mere side job trying to help them with the language.

“No, I don’t know either, it was only manager who asked me if we could resume the practice thinking it might be helpful for the show. But he too did not have an idea, he was just assuming.” I answered her in straight English while returning the glaring look.

“Will you be coming with us to the company building tomorrow?” Sowon interrupted as she stood again to get herself a throw blanket from the closet behind us.

“Yup. But I’ll just meet you there. I need to meet up with a cousin who will be laying over for a few hours in Incheon before another connecting flight.” I replied confidently.

“Oh eonnie, I did not know you had a cousin coming.” Yerin said before finishing her water.

I cleared my throat slightly before leaning over to Yerin to whisper “You were the one who told me to invent something decent to tell Sowon when I’m out for a security mission. No. No cousin is coming. I will be surveying the photo shoot location for tomorrow afternoon.” I quickly forced a gummy smile at Sowon who returned to the sofa while Yerin was hiding a chortle behind her hands.

“Good job.” Yerin whispered with her eye smile undeniably persisting while giving me a thumbs-up. I just shook my head in disbelief that I actually took her advice.

The four younger members entertained themselves, excitedly chatting about the anticipated mystery variety show that they started playing around being the usual beagle-ish young women that they are. In their acting frenzy, Sinb accidentally lost her balance while reenacting Sowon’s water strider impression while she was in front of me. Ha! Got you! I stood up to catch her and I quickly sat her on the space I left on the sofa but closer to Yerin just enough to create a gap between her and Sowon. In what felt like a jolt, she was already in the arms of the girl she secretly likes as I sat on her left side pushing her more to the direction of Yerin who was just stunned and gulped her words that remained unspoken.

“Woah! I almost did not see that!” Eunha was surprised by the speed she witnessed. That wasn’t even one percent of how fast I could go.

“Daebak!” That was Umji and Yuna in yet again an unplanned chorus.

“Thank… you…?” Sinb was half frozen like it was her first time to be held by the older girl beside her.

“You be careful next time.” I smirked as I sensed her heart beating frantically faster. “Okay, let’s start. No one should speak in Korean for one hour. Every accidental Korean word will be worth a minute on top of the one hour. Understood??” It wasn’t the first time we’ve played this game. The first time we tried it was in the van on our way to Ilsan and the game extended to three hours that I had to be the one to give up.

“Joon!” That was Sinb being careful at dropping the Korean honorific. “We are hungry. Before we continue with the game, can you please order us pizza?” This was her cunning retaliation against me for catching her.

“Yes please! We’re starving and it’s almost lunch time.” Yuna was swift to conceive her sentence.

“Okay. But just this time! And you exercise after. And nobody tells the manager or else I’ll be jobless when I wake up tomorrow.” It was rare that they request anything from me and so it was sheer compulsion on my part to give in. I took my phone, went to the dining area and called their favorite pizza delivery place. “Hey! Even if I’m on the phone, you’re not allowed to speak your language.” There was a mixture of relief and displeasure in the faces of Yerin and Sinb that after I stood up there was now more space in the sofa that gave them a reason to separate.

“Hello, yes. Can I order? Yes delivery. Park Joon. Yes. Yup, same address.” No, Park is not my surname. My agency was just so adamant at giving me a bogus Korean last name. “Yes, one large 4-cheese piz... huh? There’s 5-cheese?”

“5-cheese!!!” All the girls exclaimed in the background.

“Okay, one large 5-cheese pizza. I never thought I lived with mice. Ah no, nothing. And what? Crust?”

“Thin!!!”

“Yeah, thin crust. Stuffed what??”

“Sausage-stuffed!!!”

“Yes, one large 5-cheese pizza, thin crust, sausage stuffed. Yes.” I said while staring at them confoundedly.

“One more! All-meat!!!” Sinb yelled.

“And one large all-meat pizza, thin crust… no, the other one, yes cheese-stuffed. Yes, that will be all. Thirty minutes? Okay, thank you.” I ended the call. “Pizzas are becoming more and more complex to order nowadays. And for idols, boy you guys have a voracious appetite!”

While waiting for the pizza lunch, the conversation continued. We threw each other random questions and all they had to do was respond in English. The first twenty minutes was a breeze, most of it was spent complaining about the pizza that took so long to arrive and that maybe the delivery guy was already standing outside the door and just did not know how to ring the bell. I just kept on redirecting them to talk about some other topics.

“At what age are you seeing yourself getting married Umji?” I asked.

“Before thirty? They predicted that I will be… first to get married.” She replied smiling like she consented to their forecast. “How about you eonnie?”

“Hmm... I guess between thirty and thirty-five.” I lackadaisically replied as I repositioned myself in the dining table chair. “Eunha, how do you see yourself in 5 years?”

“Uhmm… Maybe I have boyfriend already? Hahaha!” She bashfully replied. “Do you have boyfriend, Joon?”

“Nope.” Why do I get this question a lot? Sinb glanced at me with a restrained smile while pretending to wet her lips. “I never had one. What…”

“Girlfriend?” Eunha quickly continued before I could ask her ‘what she was looking for in a boyfriend.’ Sinb looked at me again but she had to cover her face to conceal her silent laughter. Seriously? Are they using the same script or something? I did not speak; I smiled instead and shook my head as a reply to avoid further interpolation.

“What? What did she answer??” Sowon who avoided looking my direction hastily asked Eunha in Korean.

“Woah! Sowon-eonnie, why are you so interested?!” Yerin blatantly commented in English while she looked at me as I pretended to not understand the giraffe’s sudden remark. The other members as expected followed in the merciless teasing.

“Jung Yerin!!” She jumped from her seat to give her a smack causing the younger Eunbi to be caught in between and be pushed again against Yerin.

Amidst the riot, I heard a soft buzz. Thank you for my hypersenses and thank God for the pizza’s arrival! My face was starting to heat up. “Lunch time!!! Now keep quiet, I’ll answer the door.” I opened the door making sure the outsider does not see the occupants of the house as I paid for the food.

As soon as the pizza boxes landed on their table, all the girls stood up to attack the dining area and an unmanageable English hysteria followed. It was so outrageous that if I accurately reckoned the time equivalent of their mistakes, it would take us another four hours to finish and it would be time for dinner and that means we will never be done with the game.

“The pizza is good!”

“Delicious!”

“Amazing!”

“So tasty…”

“Thank you… very.”

“Much. Just be sure you exercise to burn the calories.” I replied.

“Thank you very much, eonnie!!!” Yerin yelled and caught me in one of the chairs and haphazardly gave me a hug but only trapped my neck that I started coughing.

“Yah…” I tapped Yerin’s shoulder quickly as I could not speak clearly with her arm around impinging my throat.

“Yah! you’re choking her again.” Sinb commented while chomping a mouthful of the all-meat pizza.

“Again??” Reacted the puzzled Yerin. “When did I choke you?” She asked me.

“In the hospi…t…a…l…” Sinb carelessly responded but realized immediately her mistake.

“YOU WERE IN THE HOSPITAL??” Exclaimed both Yerin and Sowon. “You said you did not go inside!?” They were caught in their own Korean realm now and not minding the English-speaking game.

Obviously caught off-guard by her own blunder, Sinb denied “Uh, no...?” as her facial expression turned noticeably distressed.

“Then, how did you…?” Yerin was not quick to give up the discussion.

“Yah… I told her.” I answered still trying to free my neck from her strong clutch. “I told her that you choked me when I woke up, that I almost went back to being unconscious.” I added, trying to inject humor hoping that the suspicious girl would drop the interrogation.

“Ahhh… I did not choke you! Sowon-eonnie will kill me if I did! She’s the one who wants to choke you… with love!!!” In a snap, Sowon and Yerin were running around the house causing pizza toppings to scatter in every corner.

>>>

Everyone was excited as they headed to the company building. As already been known, Joon met them at the conference room after her on-site surveillance of the location for a photo shoot that was scheduled at 2 o’clock. The girls eagerly talked about the many possible shows they can join in as they waited in the room for the marketing and public relations directors who already notified them of their delayed arrival.

“I’m thinking maybe something similar to the Europe variety show or One Fine Day in some other place. I just thought of that because Joon-eonnie was hired to help us with English.” Yuna rationalized her guess.

“Yeah, but maybe they will not take us abroad this time, maybe Busan? I’d like to go there.” Eunha excitedly proclaimed.

“Manager, did they tell you yet which show?” Sowon turned her attention to the manager who was tirelessly texting on his phone to schedule a doctor’s appointment for himself.

“No, they said they were still finalizing the details. But I’m guessing maybe another show with other girl groups.”

“Ah! Yes! Who do you think we’ll be with this time? Maybe they will pair us with a younger group. Omo! We’re getting old!” Yerin’s smile transformed into a playful pout.

Joon situated herself in one corner studying and scrutinizing the digital photographs she took from the location when Sinb approached and sat on the empty chair beside her.

“Eonnie, did you know?” Sinb shyly asked her.

“That you were in the hospital the day I woke up?” Joon did not take her attention off of her phone. “Yup! You were about to enter my room but you saw the love of your life hugging me, so you turned away brokenhearted that you promised yourself that you would kill me when you get the chance.” Joon continued in mix Korean and English as she lifted her head and smirked at Sinb.

“Aiiiiish…” Giving the older girl a strong tap to the arm.

“You’re welcome.” Joon replied in her assumption that the younger girl approached her to thank her for covering up for her and saving her from embarrassment the day before.

“Tsk! But I thought you did not see me.”

“Let’s just say my vision was really good that day.” She winked at the defeated Sinb. “That’s why I cooked spaghetti when we came home. That’s to ease your jealous heart. That’s why you treated me coldly, you thought Yerin liked me, right?”

“Aish…”

“And then you thought she was my ideal girl?” Joon continued probing.

“I’m done talking to you eonnie!” Sinb jokingly claimed.

“So, still not changing your mind about it?” Joon tried to pry on the thoughts of the girl whose eyes were suddenly glued to the girl across the room with the most animated expression.

“Sometimes when I look at her, even in a crowded chaotic room like this, everything and everyone fades away and all I see is her. Her eyes. Her smile. Her face. Have you ever felt that way?” Sinb absentmindedly replied to Joon not realizing the verbiage she used was all in her language.

For someone who senses everything and everyone around her, it was certainly difficult for Joon to agree with Sinb’s statement. But the foreigner smiled faintly as she understood every word but pretended to be needing enlightenment. “I still feel sad seeing that love you have go to waste.”

“I still don’t know how to…”

“Forget?”

“Yes, I don’t know how to forget what I feel for her.” Sinb was not at all terrible with English that day.

“I don’t think you ever will.” Joon gave her a consoling tap on the shoulder which was caught by Yerin who was sitting on the other side of the room. Yerin gave Joon a questioning look but the latter replied with a shrug.

“But I have to. And I will.”

“Maybe in time.” Joon said but not believing her own opinion.

“Yes, maybe.” Sinb said as she stood up to return to her seat beside Yewon.

After fifteen minutes, the chattering stopped as everyone welcomed the directors who came in to facilitate the briefing.

“Good morning girls. It’s nice to see you all healthy. And we apologize for having to make you wait, we know you still have to prepare for a pictorial in a few hours. We just had to meet with the CEO for a few minutes.”

“It’s okay director-nim, it wasn’t a long wait and we enjoyed chatting anyway.” Said Sowon who always knew what to respond.

“Okay, this will be quick since it’s the preliminary briefing. So, we know that after the unfortunate accident, a lot of fans have expressed their sympathy for the you, we’ve heard how much they worried about your safety, and many have gone far to even start some campaign about protecting you as a girl group and also individually. We’ve always marketed you as a group with strong, powerful but innocent aura, but the accident somehow gave another color to your personalities. Now, the general public seems to recognize your feminine, vulnerable and delicate side more. The company actually received this invitation even before the incident, but the CEO did not think it was necessary to have you join in it. Well at that time, not yet.” The director’s introduction was somewhat confusing for the girls to follow but their excited demeanor did not falter.

“So, to somehow respond to the public clamor, the management thought that maybe this show can help display more the feminine side of your personalities and then perhaps show that you could be protected or cared for in other ways.” The word ‘feminine’ did not really appeal to the girls since it was a description that did not go well with the personalities of most of the members, hence they became more baffled by the director’s words.

“And so, the company decided that we finally let you join the show.” The other director handed everyone in the room copies of the briefing agenda and broadcast outline fastened delicately in folders. “You will all be part of it for sure, but we all agreed that our Yerin will join the reality show.” The director enthusiastically declared pointing her hands at the flabbergasted girl as everyone curiously peeked inside the folder’s first page.

“WHAT?!” Yelled Yerin, Sowon and Sinb. All of them sounded in disbelief while the other members were slack-jawed with surprise.

Yerin and Sowon looked at each other both with troubled expression. While Sinb grasped Yewon’s hand tightly in what seemed like a reflex as her eyes darted toward Joon whose face was struck with worry after reading the title page.

We Got Married