"Pick up, please"

Myung Soo pleaded nervously as the phone rang for a never-ending minute. The call finally went through, and he begged Sung Jong for help without even taking the time to explain the situation. Fortunately, his friend did not have a schedule and promised to come over immediately. After he hanged up, Myung Soo sat on the couch, thinking hard to try and analyze Eun Ae's odd reaction. He knew for a fact that she had feelings for him because she had confessed on two occasions already, so there was no reason for her to end their blossoming romance so suddenly. Minutes became seconds as he thought of a possibility, and the sound of the doorbell almost startled him. He ran to the hallway to welcome his savior Sung Jong, the one and only person who was able to read a woman's heart.

They sat together. The younger listened with attention as Myung Soo told of how his wife desired the end of their marriage in spite of their mutual feelings, leaving him speechless. The two of them agreed on the fact that such behavior did not seem logical. As they racked their brains in search of a solution, the youngest made random guesses as to what could be going on in Eun Ae's mind.

"Maybe she's pregnant. Hormones can make her a bit crazy, you know."

"We haven't slept together."

"Oh, you haven't." Sung Jong's cheeks turned red at the blunt reference, but he quickly got over his shyness and tried another guess: "she doesn't love you ?"

"She does!"

"She thinks you don't love her ?"

"Come on, Sung Jong-ah! We're married!"

"Your proposal wasn't romantic enough ? Did you use it all ? Flowers, candles, music, ring, a beautiful declaration of love ?" The look on Myung Soo's face told him that he had found the source of the problem, thus he asked: "how did you propose ?"

"I went to her place."

"Um..."

"I told her I wanna marry her."

"That's it ?"

"No... I, I thanked her for helping me during the scandal. I told her my life's been better since she became my girlfriend 'cause she's like a sunshine to me, to my fans, to the CEO even! She's that incredible!"

"You, talked, about your fans, and the company's CEO ?"

"Yes."

"Okay... fine..." Sung Jong replied hesitantly, "but you confessed to her, right ?"

"I said I like her."

"You like her ?" he waved his arms in the air frustratedly. "Hyung! You can like your friends, your family, your cat, but you should love your wife!"

Myung Soo felt ashamed even though he could not understand the difference between the two terms.

"If I get it right..." the youngest spoke again, "you talked about the scandal, the fake relationship, the fans and the CEO, and you said you like her ?"

Myung Soo confirmed with a nod.

"That's not a proposal, Hyung!"

"Why ?"

"It's a business transaction! Basically, you told her you got out of trouble and became a hot topic thanks to her, so your wedding is just another promotion."

He shook his head, "no, no, that's not what I meant."

"That's not what you meant, but that's what you said."

"What should I do ?" he ruffled his hair in annoyance. The more he listened, the more the hypothesis sounded plausible. Eun Ae would certainly reject his affectionate gestures if she believed that theirs was a marriage of convenience. She had sacrificed herself at the beginning of their relationship, which already made him feel guilty, but he felt even worse now that he realized that he had not confessed properly. Thankfully, Sung Jong had the brilliant idea of organizing a second proposal, for a succesful confession.

They ran some errands after requesting some help from Sung Yeol. The latter could not stop making fun of his friend's failed attempt to propose romantically, so Myung Soo forced him to buy a couple of expensive decorations and other items as a way to retaliate against the mockeries. He planned on decorating the entire apartment for his second proposal, and promised himself that, this time, he would talk solely about his love for Eun Ae.

Sung Yeol was still laughing uncontrollably after they got back to the apartment. Unable to contain his amusement anymore, he decided to call Woo Hyun to share the story of the unromantic engagement with him, and as a result, their friend decided to join them too. Sung Jong and Sung Yeol were busying themselves with balloons and Myung Soo was going through his photo albums when Woo Hyun reached the place. Thanks to his help, the apartment was decorated in less time than expected. They sat on the floor to enjoy some beer and a nice conversation once they were done, and insisted on providing Myung Soo with advices so that the latter would not repeat his mistake.

"Just tell her what's on your heart." Sung Jong said.

"And don't forget to use your best aegyos." Woo Hyun added while showing a compilation of his famous heart signs.

"Will that be enough ?"

"Well, Eun Ae loves you, and you're already married, so you just need to confess properly."

"Or you can skip all that and take her to the bedroom." Sung Yeol shrugged innocently, as if he did not mean anything indecent.

His friends seemed offended, but Myung Soo was too focused on his own thoughts to pay attention to the remark.

As he wanted his confession to be perfect, Sung Jong proposed: "you could use some kind of rehearsal."

"Yes, we can listen to what you have to say."

"Um... let me try it then." Myung Soo was embarrassed to talk about his feelings in front of his bandmates, but it seemed to be the only way for him to perfect his speech. So he started speaking: "Eun Ae, I want to let you know that you're very important to me. I think we're well-suited for each other because you're everything I'm not, and you help me grow as a person. At first, I thought of you as a good friend. But the way I felt changed when you became my girlfriend. You made your way to my heart, little by little. I'm sorry for letting you misunderstand the reason for our marriage. I admit it was stupid of me to believe you'd guess my feelings if I proposed."

"Very stupid indeed." Sung Yeol cut him off, earning disapproving glances from Woo Hyun and Sung Jong.

But Myung Soo did not even hear him, and continued: "I didn't propose because of my career. I just... wanted to marry you. I want to be your husband, now and forever, because... I'm in love with you, Eun Ae."

"Wow!" Sung Jong said as he clapped his hands joyfully.

Woo Hyun's opinion was summed up in one word : "amazing!"

"Not so bad." Sung Yeol chuckled, then added in a serious tone: "I'm sure Eun Ae will be touched."

Their reactions and comments filled Myung Soo's heart with the hope that his beloved wife would accept his heartfelt confession.