“I’ll be right there,” Jae Hyo said. I nodded from my side and after a quiet ‘goodbye’, hung up. The sight of Hoya refusing to even look at Kairi made me wince. My best friend looked over at me and I shook my head.

“I have no idea what to say,” I murmured, making her lips tremble. She took in a deep breath and gave a small smile.

“It’s alright,” she said. “No one saw that coming.”

“Kairi Inada married?” I replied. “Nope, not a chance.” I walked over to her and pulled her wrist, motioning for her to follow me. We walked inside the big closet that had been used as a storeroom for the wedding day dresses, both for me and for the bridesmaids. I sat down on the carpeted floor, crossing my legs and resting my elbows on my thighs.

(Listen to Love Like This (네게로) by SS501: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5gGR5lVQLk)

“Start,” I said. “How on earth is it that the wild guy loving Kairi Inada exchanged vows with a teddy bear like Yang Yoseob.”

Kairi pouted her lips. No matter how much she didn’t like my cynicism, she was wrong too. Heaving a sigh, she played with her fingers and said, “Do you remember that management course I took in Osaka?”

I nodded my head. “Sure I do, it’s the first time you were hell-bent on doing something.” I could still remember Kairi’s shaking voice when she confirmed to me about her placement. She was now working at a seven-star hotel in Tokyo, one of the best things that had ever happened to anyone I knew.

“So, you were in Seoul.” Kairi bit her lip and for a moment, paused. She shook her head and murmured something to herself in Japanese. “That’s not the right way to start…”

“Just,” I stretched out my palms and smiled at her. “Say whatever you want, okay? I’m here for you. Even if you did something as crazy as tattoed his name on your body, I’m here.”

Kairi flinched. “I met him during a practice run on how to deal with emergencies like an earthquake or a fire and we instantly connected. He might look like a kid but Yoseob is amazingly smart, he’s got character, I’m telling you. When there was a scandal between him and a co-ordinator called Jae Kyung, some y girls started spreading rumours about her. The way he handled the whole situation…I was blown away. It was more than just a crush.

“After that workshop got over, we flew down to Macau, both the hotel interns and the Red Cross group. It was a celebration being offered to us by the hotel owner. Most of the Red Cross people weren’t ready to tag along but once Yoseob said ‘yes’, they all hopped in on the bandwagon. I was quite happy that I had met and befriended a guy like him but I was wondering whether we could have ever been anything more than friends. You know how much I hate casinos, right? I mean, it’s just addictive and stupid. So I landed up going for an indie-band’s performance at a pub and I was flattered when Yoseob said he’d come with me.”

Kairi was now repressing a smile and I rolled my eyes. “Seriously?”

Our eyes met and she sputtered a laugh. “What?”

I shook my head and closed my eyes. “Now you’re going to tell me that both of you confessed to each other, tried to experiment with a long distance relationship and when suddenly Yoseob decided that he was going to choose Tokyo over some fancy American city as his main working place, you both flew to the church and got married. Right?”

Kairi blinked at me. “How do you—”

I widened my eyes. “, you actually did that? I was just kidding!” I crawled over to Kairi, attempting to apologize with a hug. She sat limply, her face long and her eyes swollen. I was preparing myself for a gloomy Inada phase.

“The only reason I didn’t tell you was that I was unsure about the whole thing. From day one, we were disagreeing on everything, from food to get-togethers to what type of company we should have…Not a topic remained untouched.”

I pursed my lips and sighed. “Well then, the divorce was for the best, right?”

Kairi narrowed her eyes. “A divorce wasn’t needed. We hung onto each other because well, despite all the arguments, we were deeply committed and in love. And since we were married, we decided not to give up so early. But about a month after our wedding, a friend of Yoseob’s informed us that legally, we were still not married. That did it. We both hesitated to go to the registrar and after a formal farewell, we parted ways.”

“So…” I wrapped an arm around Kairi’s shoulder. “Do you regret that one month?”

Kairi didn’t reply. She stared at the ashwood door and sighed from time to time. I waited and finally, she said, “No. No matter how much I try to hate him, I cannot. He was good to me Saya. The fights we had….It was mainly because I was a spoilt brat. I know I’ve changed but it’s not because of all the work experience, it’s because of Yoseob. He knows about you but not once did I want to say anything to you about him. I was scared that if I was too happy with him, our relationship would get jinxed. It’s ironic how my constant anxiety moved him far away from me.”

“When I’m with Hoya,” she gave a small grin. “I’m happy most of the time, we hardly have much to fight about. He’s unpredictable and can get a little crazy at times but he’s cool-headed and rational. Maybe because we’re so different from each other? It’s funny, Yoseob and I are similar and I was not satisfied with anything he did or said. With Hoya, even the biggest of mistakes is forgiven. From my point of view, Yoseob had his selfish moments. Hoya on the other hand has no other flaw other than suffering from a manic type of ‘split personality’. But if I hadn’t met Yoseob, I would have never been able to make it so far with Hoya. That’s the truth, that’s the fact and I’m happy with it.”

She looked over at me and wiped away a teardrop. “What’s with your face?”

I sniffed and blinked back my tears. “You’ve grown up.” We both laughed and after a warm hug, I murmured, “I’m happy too.”

“I thought you’d be angry. That I didn’t tell you.”

I shook my head and pulled back. “No way, I completely understand where this is coming from. It’s okay. Right now, what’s most important is for Hoya to understand.”

“He already does.” The door opened and standing over us was none other than Hoya himself. Kairi gasped and stood up.

“I was going to tell you…”

Hoya smiled. “It’s alright. Don’t burden yourself. It’s not like you were actually married to him, right?” He then extended his arm, making Kairi grin and run into his arms. Hoya playfully hit her head.

“Smurf,” he muttered.

“Shin-chan,” Kairi retorted.

                                                *******************************

Yoseob stared at the couple hugging each other and sighed. Woohyun stood next to him and followed his gaze. He let out a humourless chuckle. Saya had jumped on top of them, squealing in delight.

“Your past? Kairi Inada?” Woohyun snorted but stopped at the look in Yoseob’s eyes. “Sorry.”

Yoseob cocked his head to the left and faced Woohyun. “What’s your blood type?”

“Me?” Woohyun shrugged. “B. Why?”

“I’m B too.” Yoseob narrowed his eyes and nodded. “I guess we both know how to deal with the situation, right?”

It was Woohyun’s turn to narrow his eyes. “DEAL. What dealing are you thinking of?”

Yoseob pouted his lips and patted his friend’s shoulder. “I’m not giving up on her.”

“She ain’t your girl anymore,” Woohyun chuckled.

“So that means you’re giving up too?”

Woohyun spun around and gritted his teeth. “That’s completely different—”

“I’m a B type,” Yoseob interrupted and walked back to their room. “I’m not backing down. Not until Kairi herself tells me to get lost. If you want to fly back to Seoul, you’re welcome to.”

Woohyun his lips and looked up at the sky, puffing his cheeks. “What the hell,” he murmured to himself. His glance fell on Saya’s smiling face.

“What other people think of you,” he murmured. “Is none of your business.” A smirk appeared on his face. “Sorry Jae Hyo, but I guess I don’t give a damn about what YOU think.”