“Hey, Minhyuk, are you going somewhere?” Minyoung looked up from her book.  “We don’t have school today.”

“Yukwon texted me.  He wants my opinion on something.”

“Huh?” She frowned.  “He asked you and not me?”

Minhyuk shrugged.  “It’s probably a guy thing, so don’t worry about it.”

“Hmph.  Fine.  If you’re going to hang out with Yukwon without me, then I’m going to Taeil oppa’s for lunch.  Do you want anything?” Minyoung stood up and stretched.  “Ah, I should use some of the coupons he gave me for our birthday.”

“No need.  I probably won’t be back for a while.  Yukwon says it’s, and I quote him directly, ‘an emergency’.”

<:>

“I need your help,” Yukwon said.

Minhyuk looked him up and down, deciding that Yukwon looked perfectly fine.  “When you said emergency, I thought it would be something exciting.”

“I don’t even know if I can say it.”

“Well, you better.” Minhyuk glared.  “I did not give up my free time for you to keep your emergency a secret.”

“Promise you won’t strangle me?”

“Hah.  No.”

Yukwon frowned and wondered if telling Minhyuk was worth endangering his life.  “I…”

“C’mon, Yukwon, we don’t have all day here.”

“I don’t know how to confess to your sister.”

Minhyuk scoffed.  The more he tried to hold in his laughter, the more he found Yukwon’s situation amusing.  “I thought you two were official?  I mean, you already slept with my precious little sister…”

“You guys are twins.”

“But I’m still the older one,” Minhyuk replied.  “Anyway, just do it like you usually do.”

“Minhyuk, I’ve never confessed to a girl before.”

“What makes you think I have?”

Yukwon sighed.  “Would a rooftop confession be good?  Or would it be too cliché?”

“Dunno.”

“Well, what about a romantic dinner?  With candles and flowers and—”

“I think,” Minhyuk said, “that she’d absolutely hate that.”  He caught a glimpse of Yukwon’s face then, and thinking that Yukwon looked pathetic, offered to call Taeil, who seemed to be an expert in dating.  Holding out his phone to Yukwon, he grumbled, “Here, talk to Taeil hyung.”

Yukwon accepted the phone and waited for Taeil to answer.  “Hyungnim, I need your help,” he said as soon as he heard Taeil’s voice.

“Yukwon-ah?  What is it?”

“I’m going to confess to Minyoung.”

“Great.  How are you going to do it?”

“That’s what I need help with.” Yukwon laughed nervously.  “I want it to be special.”

“Why don’t you lead her on a scavenger hunt?”

“A what?”

He heard Taeil sigh.  “Like…um…I saw a post online, and this guy asked out this girl through a book.  Minyoung likes the library, doesn’t she?”

Yukwon nodded, momentarily forgetting that Taeil could not see him.  “I think I know what to do now, hyungnim.  Thank you so much.”

“No problem.  Listen, I gotta go…Minyoung just came, and I’m pretty sure she’s hungry.”

“I’ll see you later, hyungnim.”

“Bye, Yukwon-ah.”

He waited for Taeil to hang up before handing the phone back to Minhyuk.  Books…, I should’ve paid more attention when we were discussing literature in class.

Minhyuk took the phone with an amused smirk.  “So?  Did hyung help?”

“Minhyuk, do you know what kinds of books Minyoung likes to read?” Yukwon asked.  “I think I know what I’m going to do.”

“She likes books written in English.”

Yukwon felt his legs get weak.  “E-English?  What about Korean books?”  Bad memories of English class in elementary school came to mind, though Yukwon tried to ignore them.

“What was your idea?”

“Well,” Yukwon replied, “it was actually Taeil hyungnim’s idea, which was to confess to Minyoung through a book.”

Minhyuk shrugged.  “The easy way out?  Well, since I can tell that English isn’t your…uh…favorite subject, I can help you if you need anything.”

“Please.”

Minhyuk sighed.  “This had better work, Yukwon.”

They decided to carry out the plan on Monday.

<:>

Minyoung sat next to Minhyuk in the school library, eating ramyun and studying for an upcoming test.  Because Minhyuk knew that they would be the only two in the library at that time, he told Yukwon to confess that morning.

Minyoung’s phone went off.  “Huh.”

“Who is it?” Minhyuk tried to act curious, or else Minyoung might figure out their plan.

Her eyes widened.  “It’s Yukwon.”

“What does it say?”

“It says, ‘Can you please look for a copy of The Notebook for me?  Sorry.” She read aloud, raising an eyebrow.  “Hey Minhyuk, you guys are reading this book in class?  Isn’t it a book that girls would like?”

He nodded. 

“I’ve never seen you with this book before.”

“I…it’s embarrassing.”  Minhyuk silently cursed himself for being a horrible actor.  “The assignment was to choose a book written in a foreign language, and—”

Minyoung nodded.  “Say no more.  I’ll go and get it.”

Even though she knew that Minhyuk was hiding something from her and knew that Yukwon was probably in on it, she complied, since she had always loved walking through the library and searching for books.  Grabbing the only copy of the romantic novel, Minyoung returned to her seat next to Minhyuk.

“What’s that stuff sticking out of the book?” Minhyuk asked immediately.

She shrugged.  “Bookmarks?”

“Why would there be bookmarks?” He continued to ask, hoping that she’d pick up the book and look inside of it.

“Dunno.  Best not move them.  Maybe the person who borrowed this before will get mad if we do.  Remind me to tell Yukwon not to move these pieces of paper.”

Minhyuk sighed.  Damn it.  He opened the book, allowing for the slips of paper to fall out.  “Oops.”

“Minhyuk.” Minyoung rolled her eyes.  “Didn’t we just agree not to open the book?”

“Did we?”

“Very funny,” she replied.  As she moved to pick up the pieces of paper, she noticed something written on each.  “This is…”

“Hangul?  In an English book?” Minhyuk said.  “I wonder why.”

The strips of paper with hangul written on the back bothered Minyoung, and she began to rearrange the strips.  “Ah.” Minyoung’s eyes widened, and a faint blush started to appear on her cheeks.  “I think…no way.”  Reaching for her phone, she began to text Yukwon.

“He’s in the courtyard.”

She gave her brother an incredulous look.  “You were in on this?”

“Get down there.  The guy’s probably about to cry right now.”

“Thanks, Minhyuk.”  She smiled.  “You like Yukwon after all, don’t you?”

He scoffed.  “Whatever.”

Minyoung ran out of the library.  Minhyuk glanced down at the letters that Minyoung had rearranged with a smile.

나랑 사귈래?

Poets often describe love as an emotion that we can't control, one that overwhelms logic and common sense. That's what it was like for me. I didn't plan on falling in love with you, and I doubt if you planned on falling in love with me. But once we met, it was clear that neither of us could control what was happening to us. We fell in love, despite our differences, and once we did, something rare and beautiful was created. For me, love like that has happened only once, and that's why every minute we spent together has been seared in my memory. I'll never forget a single moment of it. –Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

a/n: Korean phrase translates to “Will you go out with me?”