V.

Sooyoung was amused by how easy it was pretending to be married to Seungwan.

It seemed it was crazy at first, but when she really thought about it (which obviously happened in the span of a few minutes because that was Sooyoung’s mind for you), it actually sounded like a lot of fun. And, like she’d said, it would salvage her from telling her sorrow story to every single person they met on this boat. Plus, she was already on a honeymoon cruise with her childhood best friend because she got dumped three days before her wedding — honestly, what’s the worst thing that could happen?

Perhaps the signing them up for a couples’ challenge was pushing it but well, they could always drop out if they were making too much of a fool out of themselves.

She tried not too reflect too much on the whole thing —the real reason why she’d agreed to it, the implications or the consequences— because there was no point, really. Afterwards, Seungwan and her would go back to their regular lives, whatever happened here nothing more than a good story to share with friends over dinner on a chilly winter night.

She’d texted their group-chat last night, after spending a huge part of the day hanging in the pool and the rest exploring around. She sent some pictures and asked about their day, but got no reply. Probably because of the time zone difference. She thought about telling them of her agreement with Seungwan but she didn’t want them to get worried over nothing. She knew them too well and, despite being the oldest, the other two acted like mother hens over her sometimes. Especially right now after everything that’s happened.

So no, she decided that she would keep this to herself a little longer.

They woke up pretty early the next morning —"Nine-thirty is not early, Sooyoung, you’re just lazy.” The older girl had told her, how rude— since they wanted to have breakfast before showing up to the first activity of the day.

“You’re taking this way too seriously. Do you really think we have a shot at winning against actual married couples?” Seungwan tells her as they wait for someone to assign them a table.

“Not with that attitude!” She waves her finger in front of Seungwan’s face. “You know i’m competitive.”

Seungwan sighs. “Yeah, i know. No pressure.”

Sooyoung just grins as the hostess waves them over.

The buffet looked delicious, both Korean and American food shining under the counter’s light. They pick as much as their plates can take and sit back down.

“So, what else are we supposed to do aside from winning this lovely competition of yours?” Seungwan asks as she takes a bite from her food.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been on a cruise.”

“Me neither.”

“Really? I assumed maybe you had.”

“Why?”

“Aren’t you from Canada? Maybe you had gone of one of those trips to Alaska or something.” Sooyoung shrugs.

Seungwan tries to stifle a laugh. “That’s the wrong side of the coast, Sooyoung.”

“Fine.” She says dramatically. “We still have to find out what we’re going to do though.”

She takes out her phone and opens the e-mail she’d gotten with the ship’s schedule.

“Parting from Miami the first day. Second day, cruising only. Third day it’s a port day. Costa Maya, Mexico.” Sooyoung reads out loud. “Fourth day, cruising. Fifth day: Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Sixth day is more cruising. Seventh day, Santo Domingo.”

“I guess we should’ve taken some spanish lessons.” Seungwan raises her eyebrows. “Mine stops at ‘hola’ and ‘gracias’.”

“It’s okay. We always have mimic.”

“Are you good at it?”

“Yes.”

“If you say so.”

“Anyway, as i was saying before i was rudely interrupted by my very own wife.” She says, overly-loud, which causes Seungwan to roll her eyes. “Day eight is cruising. Nine is the final port one in Puerto Rico. Then we get back to Miami.”

“So the romantic dinner is in Puerto Rico? Well, at least we’ll be able to follow the instructions when we win.” Seungwan’s words are mocking.

“Wan, come on.” She pleads. Seungwan lets out a small cough. “Promise me you’ll try?”

She was full-on pouting but she didn’t care. It seemed to do the trick though, because Seungwan just stares at her with mirth. “I promise.”

-

They get to the main pool a little before midday, the game schedule posted on a wall above a small table with a microphone next to it.

FIRST DAY
Say what?
Heart to Heart
Honey, we’re famous!

SECOND DAY
Dance the Ring Away
Drama Club
How Well Do You Know Your Spouse

THIRD DAY
Bag a Mate
Ice Cream Race
Kiss-Off

FOURTH DAY
The Ultimate Dream Scavenger Hunt

“What do you think?” Sooyoung asks Seungwan when it seems like she’s done reading.

“I think someone’s putting too much effort into this.” She snorts. “But it’ll be fun i guess. Let’s wait until we actually find out what the games are about because those names aren’t telling me a whole lot.”

“Except the how do you know your spouse one. That one’s probably a lost case since, you know, we haven’t seen each other in years.” She finishes skeptically.

“Who knows, maybe we know more about each other than we let on.” Sooyoung winks, but she kinda agrees with Seungwan on this one. Oh well, they’ll just have to excel at the rest of the games.

She chooses to ignore what one called Kiss-Off could actually entail.

Soon enough the area starts to fill up with couples, young for the most part, and they also see Kim Yerim approaching the mic, holding a box filled with what she guesses are the props needed for whatever it is they’re about to do.

She’s wearing her characteristic coral uniform and her hair is up in pigtails. Suddenly another girl who looks just as young, tiny with tattoos in her arms and short black hair walks towards her. She whispers something in Yerim’s ear who only nods in reply.

Sooyoung’s pulled out of her staring only when she hears Seungwan whisper oh my god. She turns around, alarmed, trying to catch whatever Seungwan’s looking at. “What is it?”

“Bae Joohyun’s here.” She mutters quietly, like this Bae Joohyun person could hear her even when there’s no one standing next to them at least within one meter of distance.

Sooyoung frowns. “Am I supposed to know who that is?”

“I suppose not.” Seungwan turns to her. “Her father is the CEO to Velvet Model Management, and she’s bound to inherit the company. Also she’s like, the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“Well, that sounds great for the person she married.” Sooyoung crosses her arms and huffs.

“Her wife’s not far behind, actually. Have you heard of Kang Seulgi?”

“Kang Seulgi as in, director and choreographer Kang Seulgi?” Seungwan nods. “Of course! I’ve watched all her movies. Momo loves her. I’m pretty sure she got us to learn one of her choreographies back in college.”

“Yep. So they’re pretty much a power couple to us mortals. Oh, Jisoo would flip right now.”

Out of nowhere, a loud noise explodes from one of the speakers, making people’s heads turn towards it. Yerim adjusts the mic and the sound stops. She smiles apologetically and brings it to her lips. “Sorry about that, we always have technical problems on the first day.”

The guests who were chilling at the pool pay it no mind, going back to whatever they were doing. The ones standing at the activity area keep their eyes trained on the blonde girl, though. It appeared like everyone who was participating had already arrived.

Yerim’s probably had the same thought because her next words echo through the speaker. “I guess it’s time to make it official then! Welcome to the Dream Weaver Couple Competition, where you all will be participating for the grand prize of a romantic dinner and, hopefully, to have a great time. You don’t get a refund if you don’t anyway.”

Sooyoung can’t help but let out a sharp laugh at that, the irony too much. Non refundable.

“As you may have already seen on the schedule, we have 3 games programmed per day, except the last one, which will be a scavenger hunt. We hope you’ll know your ship by then.” She grins. “The first game for today is Say What? And even though points will be awarded as a couple, we’ll be making up teams for it.”

That seems to get the audience talking, whispers can be heard from around the crowd.

“The game is simple — we’ll make the four of you stand in a line and we’ll put headphones over your head, blasting with the finest music selection. Then the first one of the row will be shown a short phrase, and you’ll have to pass it on until it reaches the last one of you, who’ll say it out-loud. You earn the points if the phrase is correct.” She finishes. “Does anyone have any questions?”

“So we can’t utter the words out-loud unless we are the last person in the line?” A tall guy with brown hair asks.

“You can, that’s what the headphones are for. But only what the last person says is taken into account for the score.” Yerim replies. “Anyone else?”

There’s a few shrugs and more whispering but the game sounded simple enough.

“Alright then, my lovely friend Chaeyoung here will be picking papers at random to form the teams, all fair and square.” She takes a jar with pieces of paper inside it and extends it towards the short haired girl from earlier.

Yerim puts the mic in front of Chaeyoung’s lips. She takes the first piece and reads it. “Bae Joohyun and Kang Seulgi will be teaming up with…” Everyone seems to be buzzing with excitement. “Park Sooyoung and Son Seungwan.”

Sooyoung’s eyes go wide and she can hear Seungwan’s breath hitch from where she’s standing next to her.

“Well, there you go! Our first team! Please step forward so we can see you.”

“, Wan, that’s us. Come on.” She takes Seungwan’s hand and drags her through the crowd to where Yerim and Chaeyoung break into some clapping, the rest following slowly.

The blonde girl greets them. “It’s great to see you again!”

“You too.” Sooyoung also throws a smile Chaeyoung’s way for good measure.

Just as Yerim’s about to voice something through the mic again, coming out of the multitude, appear none other than Bae Joohyun and Kang Seulgi.

She can feel Seungwan’s hold on her hand tighten.

“Hello Yerim.” The smaller one says, her voice silky and quiet, a tiny smile on her lips. Her long, straight black hair was covered by a beach hat and her attire looked as expensive as you would expect from the heir of a model company. Seungwan was right, she was probably one of the prettiest women she’s ever seen.

“Hi Joohyun!” Yerim greets back. “Thank you again for being here.”

“Anything for my best child, i suppose.” Joohyun replies, her words sarcastic but her smile still soft. Seulgi, on the other hand, had a huge grin plastered on her face. “Don’t let her fool you into thinking that she’s not enjoying this.”

Joohyun just nudges her on the ribs.

“Well, what are we waiting for then?” Yerim brings the mic back to her lips. “Ladies and gentleman, let’s give it up for our first team.” A small cheer can be heard from the audience. “Now, please wait for us over there while we assemble the rest of the them. We’ll start really soon.”

They’re ushered by another member of the staff to a place on the sidelines. Sooyoung can see through the corner of her eye how Chaeyoung gets her hand into the jar again, but she’s not really paying attention. Instead, she’s focused on Seungwan, who hasn’t said a word ever since their names got called. She leans in and whispers in her ear. “Are you okay?”

All the response she gets is a stiff nod. She’s starting to feel guilty about pushing Seungwan into this whole thing when suddenly a voice addresses them.

It comes in the form of Bae Joohyun.

“Is she alright?” She asks, eyes concerned while looking at Seungwan. “She’s a little pale.”

That seems to spark Seungwan out of her reverie. “I’m—um—i’m fine, Miss Bae. Thank you for asking.”

“Are you sure? Do you want us to fetch you a glass of water or something?” It’s Kang Seulgi who speaks this time, her voice also filled with worry.

Sooyoung can tell their attention is just stressing her out more, so she waves them off. “It’s okay. My frie—my wife here is just a little shy. She just needs a bit of air. Right, darling?” She tries to communicate with just her eyes. Hopefully Seungwan understands.

Seulgi tilts her head. “But we’re outdoors?”

“It’ll just be a minute, we’ll be right back.”

She guides Seungwan away from the group, to a small room around the corner. She closes the door, Yerim’s voice on the mic sounding far away. “Please tell me what’s wrong.”

Seungwan looks up. She still looks pale, but maybe a little less than before. “Sorry. I think I kinda panicked back there.” She runs her hands through her hair.

“We don’t have to do this, you know?” Sooyoung tells her gently. “We’ll just call it off and go on our merry way. There’s plenty of ways we can spend our time.”

She wasn’t lying yesterday when she said the least thing she wanted was to make Seungwan uncomfortable or uneasy. This was never part of the original plan anyway.

“No.” Seungwan keeps her hands behind her neck. “We’re going through with it. I said i’d do everything i could for you to have the best time here.”

Sooyoung feel’s warmth bloom in her chest at Seungwan’s words. The fact that the Canadian girl is willing to go so far for her to have a good trip makes her heart grow three sizes. She still doesn’t want her to do anything she doesn’t want to, though. “I’m perfectly fine just being here with you. Without the extras.”

But Seungwan seems to have made up her mind. “Let’s win that dinner.” Her voice is strong and determination flaring is in her eyes, no trace of the doubt that was engulfing her a few minutes ago.

Sooyoung just shakes her head, feeling amused. “Okay then. Let’s do it.”

They walk back to the meeting point, more specifically, to where their now teammates were whispering and pointing at the still-going sorting ceremony.

Sooyoung looks at Seungwan one last time, who gives her a firm nod and a close-lipped smile. She didn’t see that expression in her often, but it made her look damn attractive.

“I’m sorry about that.” The older girl begins as they stand next to Joohyun and Seulgi. “Pre-competition nerves, i guess. I’m Seungwan and this is my lovely wife Sooyoung.” She extends her hand out, both girls shaking it calmly. Sooyoung does the same thing, trying to flash her best charming smile.

“It’s alright! We were just worried, you went as white as a ghost for a moment there.” Seulgi’s grin is as big as earlier, her eyes crinkling. She was also wearing a pair of shorts and a crop top that looked straight from a designer’s table. Or however high-end fashion worked. “I’m Seulgi. This is Joohyun.”

“Hi.” Joohyun smiles sheepishly. Her whole aura gave off elegance and class yet there was nothing snobbish about it. It was the same thing with Seulgi. If Sooyoung didn’t know better, it would never cross her mind that they’re a couple of famous millionaires. Alright, maybe yes to the millionaires because of their clothes but the point still stands.

“Oh, we know who you are.” Sooyoung smirks. “Seungwan here is a huge fan, aren’t you?”

She enjoys the way Seungwan’s cheeks color. The older girls just snicker quietly. “Don’t listen to her, she’s being annoying. But yes, i’ve followed some of your work and you’re both really talented.”

“Thank you.” They say in unison, making them both beam like it’s something that happens often. How cute.

In the background, Yerim keeps calling names to the front. Sooyoung wonders how many people actually signed up for this.

“There’s quite the turn up, isn’t there?” Seungwan voices, as if she’d read her mind.

“Well, Yerim can be quite convincing.” Joohyun replies before Sooyoung can say anything.

“Her energy is contagious. It looks like she’s putting so much effort into this.”

“You have no idea.”

“Do you guys know her?” Sooyoung asks curiously.

“We do.” Joohyun’s voice is laced with affection. “She’s kinda the reason why we’re here, actually.”

“What do you mean?”

“Joohyun and I first met on a cruise just like this, a few years ago.” Seulgi’s eyes sparkle as she recalls. “We were dancing circles around each other the whole trip until one night, Yerim convinced me to ask her out. Turns out, she’d convinced Joohyun too.”

“A menace, she is. Calls herself a mastermind.” Joohyun shakes her head. “We kept contact with her but she’s a free spirit. Always traveling all around the world.”

“She does seem like that type.” Seungwan agrees, glancing at the bubbly girl who was hyping up the crowd.

“We didn’t expect to run into her here. We picked a honeymoon cruise because well… we’re romantic, i guess.”

“Aww, i think it’s sweet.” Sooyoung coos. “And the fact that Yerim’s here. Destiny!”

“And now she’s managed to convince us to join her couples’ challenge thingy.” Joohyun concludes.

“You’re saying that like you aren’t the most competitive person in the world.” Seulgi tells her. Joohyun just shrugs. “Maybe.”

“No way, blood will be shed then. We’ll end up wifeless, Seulgi.” Seungwan clutches at her heart dramatically, making the other two girls laugh.

“Thank you for your support, honey.” Sooyoung replies sarcastically.

They make some more conversation until Chaeyoung comes over, taking a small bow and asking them if they’re ready to begin. “Have you picked your places?”

“What do you mean?” Seulgi questions.

“As in, who’ll be standing first in line and all that.”

They all look at stare at each other, looking lost.

“You can switch between rounds by the way. In case the original order doesn’t work.”

“Oh, alright. Um, what do you say, i’ll go first, then Sooyoung, Seulgi, and Joohyun at the end?” Seungwan suggests.

“Sounds fine by me.” Joohyun nods.

“Any particular strategy to that order?” Sooyoung raises an eyebrow.

“Nope. We’ll just have to do our best.”

“Okay then. Let’s go.”

-

Turns out that first order had not worked. At all.

Sooyoung didn’t want to admit it, but she was a black hole.

She was having the hardest time understanding what Seungwan was trying to say. No matter how much she opened and tried to slow the spelling of the words, her time was running out and she’d already missed half of the phrase.

Then when she passed it on to Seulgi, things did not get better at all. She could see confusion plastered over the older girls’ face, her eyebrows in deep frowns as she failed to decipher whatever Sooyoung was trying to convey.

That’s how they’d ended up changing the phrase ‘adventure starts today’, into ‘anybody explains the paint’. Which made absolutely no sense and was not even a little bit close to the original.

So they’d had to have a team-back of sorts while the others went through the first round to figure out the best order.

In the end, they’d settled for switching her and Seungwan’s places, Sooyoung arguing that she had to admit for the greater good that she was terrible at reading lips and that it would be better if she was the opener.

Second round came and in a god sent miracle, they managed to do a lot better.

In a twist of events, Seungwan could actually read lips a lot better than expected, and she and Seulgi seemed to have a mutual understanding of what was going on.

They’d managed to bag 2 out of 3 points when, ironically, Joohyun got one of the words wrong despite the rest of them getting it through correctly.

By the third round, they’d already gotten the hang of it, getting themselves a full score.

The points were given out by couple, so Joohyun and Seulgi had earned 50 points (each word got 10 points) just like them. They were tied in third place, two of the other teams with 70 & 60 points respectively.

“Third place is not so bad, we could’ve done a lot worse. Especially with that disastrous first round.” Seungwan says as she looks at the scoreboard.

“I agree.” Seulgi says as she sips from one of the beverages that had been delivered to them while they waited for the staff to arrange the next game. “Plus, it was fun! I can’t believe you didn’t get that last word, Joohyunie.” She chuckles quietly.

“Don’t even get me started. We would be tied for second place.” Joohyun facepalms.

“We still have plenty of games to go.” Sooyoung rubs some sunscreen over her arms, the daylight harsh on her pale skin. “Even though this young friendship may be about to wither.”

“How come?”

“Because the next games aren’t played in teams.” Seungwan completes. “We’ll have to go against each other.”

“Exactly. It’s a shame we’ll have to leave you in the dust. I’m sorry, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.” Sooyoung smiles mischievously.

Joohyun just crosses her arms, looking every bit like the boss she probably is in her daily life. “We’ll see about that, kid.”

-

A/N: Hi everyone! I just wanted to apologize in case you keep getting notifications about updates without there being any. I've never used AFF before so i'm still getting a hang of the site, i probably keep pushing the wrong buttons lol. Also to let you know that the updates will probably be a lot slower (and shorter sometimes) since life and uni are consuming me irl and i don't have a lot of time to write. But don't worry because the story is all planned out and slowly but surely we'll get there. Hope you're all enjoying it so far and thank you for your lovely comments!