Day 5 – Tuesday, December 19^th

Kyuhyun sat uncomfortably at the same damn table with the same damn people, except this time Victoria sat beside him and their parents eagerly gazed upon them from across the dinner. He glowered at the candle in the center of the table, avoiding their expectant eyes.

There was no doubt the woman’s parents were confident in her ability to catch the heart of a man.

There was also clear confidence on Mr. and Mrs. Cho’s faces. They had little fear that their son would defy them to the extent of marriage. It was just a power agreement. Why would Kyuhyun disagree with that?

All the while, both members of the arrangement were steadily falling for the same boy.

Earlier that Day…

“Ryeowook…”

“What is it, Mr. Cho?”

“It’s been two days,” Kyuhyun said softly, eyes filled with sensitive emotion, “I…I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.”

“I’m sure that’s the case. Please file this properly, Mr. Cho.” Ryeowook handed him an envelope of papers, turning towards the door.

He stood up, catching the boy’s arm. “Please give up this grudge,” he sighed, “being at home is already stressful. I don’t want work to be any more stressful. What I said that night,” Kyuhyun clenched his fists, embarrassment staining his voice, “I don’t like the idea of you talking to someone else familiarly. You’ve been only mine for so long. I don’t know how to deal with you making friends, especially with the woman who’s supposedly my future wife.”

Ryeowook exhaled, slowly shifting around to look at Kyuhyun. “…I think you have reason to worry.”

“What?” his eyes widened, jaw slackening.

“No, no, not like that…exactly,” Ryeowook dropped his head, color rushing up his neck. “She, uhm last night I was giving her advice on how to get a stain out of her shirt…and she made a move on me.”

Kyuhyun’s arm fell, a weight slumped his shoulders.

The Previous Evening…

“Are you two fighting?” Victoria inquired hesitantly. She was sitting at the kitchen table, scrubbing at a spot on a blouse.

Ryeowook supervised her work, a cup of tea in front of him. “Not particularly,” he shook his head, “when Kyuhyun throws tantrums, I wait for him to come and acknowledge what he did wrong, or just let it pass by because it’s not worth arguing over.”

“You know how to handle him so well,” she made a noise of appreciation, “Is there a class you took?”

He laughed, sipping the hot drink. “No, I’ve just lived with him for a long time. I’ve caught on to some things.”

Victoria looked down at her blouse and smiled brightly. “Oh look! It’s coming out!”

“Hmm? Really?” Ryeowook asked amused, leaning over to look at her handiwork.

As he did so, she leaned forward as well, coming too close to his face. They froze there, Ryeowook awkwardly chuckling and trying to pull away. Victoria stopped him though, closing the distance swiftly. Her lips touched his and he stayed rigidly in place.

It was a never ending moment. Well, it felt like that at least.

Ryeowook’s unblinking eyes gazed into nothingness as Victoria quickly fumbled to her feet. “I-I’m going to bed.” And then she was gone.

Kyuhyun stifled a snort, shooting the woman beside him a cold glare. Who did she think she was? How could she simply kiss Ryeowook like that? Rolling his eyes, he scooted his chair subtly away from her.

“So…how have things been going thus far? We know that you two still have a couple of days together, but we just wanted to check in,” Mrs. Song prompted.

“She has great potential as a wife,” Kyuhyun responded, seeing hope fill the four people across the table, “for someone else, not me.” They deflated. He hid a smirk. “I don’t enjoy her cooking, or behavior. I would most likely treat her terribly and I’m positive that as parents you wouldn’t wish that sort of pain on your daughter.”

Victoria nodded in agreement with him, but added, “He’s right. We aren’t compatible, but I feel that with more time, we could work things out.”

Kyuhyun shot her a warning look. She returned it.

“Oh, that’s good, that’s good,” Mrs. Song nodded in relief. “I knew you two would figure something out.”

“Uhm, no, not quite,” Kyuhyun interrupted tightly.

Victoria grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the table. The pair walked out of earshot and immediately glared at one another, harsh words hissing in the small space.

“How dare you attack my roommate like that!” Kyuhyun whisper-yelled.

“Look, these five days haven’t been that terrible. I know you aren’t actually that upset with my behavior and cooking,” she stated.

“That’s what you think,” he bit back childishly.

She rolled her eyes. “I won’t get in your way. If we let our parents think that we’re getting along, we can have a marriage for them. It doesn’t matter if we like each other or not. That way, you can do whatever it is your bachelors do, and I can keep on living with Ryeowook.” Victoria flushed.

Kyuhyun pushed her back against the wall with mere waves of anger. “You are not getting with Ryeowook.”

“What’s wrong with that?” she demanded, “I know that I can get through to him. I…I just need some time and then I’m sure he would accept me.”

“I’m already dating him,” Kyuhyun snapped, “That’s why you can’t have him.”

The air stilled.

Kyuhyun had a sinking feeling all of a sudden. What…the did I just say? He stared frantically at Victoria, dragging her further away from the restaurant’s bustling tables. “Listen to me, that’s not what I meant to say—”

“—that doesn’t make it any less true,” she cut in. Victoria wrenched her arm free. “You’re…you’re gay?”

He grimaced, “You make it sound like a disease. Don’t you know that Ryeowook is too, then?”

“That’s different,” she argued, “he’s so cute…and sweet. I’m sure that if I told him how I truly feel, he wouldn’t be against dating a girl.”

Kyuhyun suppressed a growl. “Your views are naïve and unrealistic.”

“Coming from the grown man who needs other people to take care of him,” Victoria shot back.

“I don’t need them to take care of me,” he quipped, “I enjoy being taken care of. There’s a difference. That’s beside the point though. You’re not getting anywhere near Ryeowook again.”

“You wanna bet?” Victoria smirked, shoving Kyuhyun back and rushing back into the restaurant.

“Dammit!” he stumbled after her, only managing to catch up by the time she was already back at the table.

Victoria leaned forward, smiling at the pair of confused parents. “I want to continue this trial. Since we aren’t married yet though, after these two days, I would like to move in next door to Kyuhyun. That way we can still spend time together while figuring out our compatibility levels.”

It was already too late for Kyuhyun to get a single word in. He stared at the group of people planning out his life and all he could feel was power slipping out of his fingers as the walls closed in around him.

“You know, I heard from Kyuhyun’s secretary that he’ll be travelling to Paris this Christmas,” Mrs. Cho remarked, “Victoria, you and your girlfriends could go meet up with him. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

Kyuhyun looked at his mother blankly. He said nothing though.

“Yes, that sounds great,” Victoria agreed, grinning happily. If the world really felt like Ryeowook and she weren’t meant to give each other a shot, why was everything falling into place for it?