Chapter 11: I Must Confess

"Threatened you, huh?" Of course Luna wasn't surprised. After everything that's happened so far, she utterly couldn't be surprised anymore. It was like everything happened at once. She glanced at Minho and Onew eating their breakfast in the living room while watching television. She sighed and turned back to the matter at hand: her nails that were in desperate need of a manicure. "Not surprising."

"No, it's not," an annoyed Sulli responded over the phone, "but it annoyed the hell out of me. She even tried to blame me for Taemin and Minho's fight."

Luna snickered as she removed her old blue nail polish from her fingers. "What she say?"

"That ever since she became friends with me again I've been causing nothing but trouble." They both laughed. The idea was completely idiotic but people were willing to believe anything to feel right. "Ugh. They're just making it easier for me to love going to New York more."

"If you want to go, I'm not stopping you." Luna looked over her shoulder then, her cell phone sandwiched between her ear and shoulder. She sighed as she put her nail polish down and held the phone. "I can't say the same for Minho or Taemin."

Silence. "What're you talking about?" Luna said too much. Their feelings weren't clear or concise, at least not to the brunette. She shook her head.

"Ah, nothing." Suli sighed. "Do you want to go out for manicures and pedicures later?"

"Why? I just did my nails and toes."

"Then how about coming over to Minho's place to help me with this nail problem?"

Sulli chuckled. "Okay, I'll be there in thirty minutes."

"Make it twenty and I'll pay you."

He was a bit surprised to have seen the small brunette in his home, painting his sister's nails. Although she was here, he kind of felt like a slob: his black eye wasn't as bad anymore but it was still unsightly, and his clothes were messy. A shower would've done him some good but then again the guy sitting next to him looked identical to Minho, minus one black eye. Either way, he should've cleaned up. But Sulli didn't seem to mind. All she cared about was talking to Luna and focusing on not messing up on her sister's nails.

Onew tapped his shoulder. Minho leaned in a bit, just close enough to be within whispering range. "You should play that piece for Sulli." He grinned. "I'd think she would really like it."

"Later." Minho leaned back and sighed. Why did things have to be so complicated?

Luna glanced at her brother, at his lurking eyes. She glanced at Sulli with a smirk. "You know, I think brown eyes are really pretty." It was louder than necessary but only to get Minho's attention. He sent his devilish younger sister a glare before turning his attention to the movie on the television. Sulli rolled her eyes as she finished up Luna's nails.

"There. All done." The blonde smiled at the lovely shade of green on her nails: not too dark and not too light. Just perfect. She blew on them and began to fan her hands around while standing up. Sulli closed up the nail polish and the nail polish remover. "Where do I put this?"

"Follow me." The two girls went up Minho's stairs and into the hallway. Despite her nails being wet, Luna wrapped her fingers around Sulli's wrist and dragged her into a room. When her honey eyes took in the sight around her—the blue silk sheets, the white guitar case on the desk, the men's clothes all strewn across the room floor—Sulli wondered why Luna just dragged her into her brothers room.

"Why are we—"

"Minho and Taemin were fighting over you." She was skeptical at first. Minho was merely a friend, a fake-ex for an idiotic plan that wasn't going to work. And Taemin was married; the idea would've sounded lovely a while ago but now it was stupid. However, considering from the way Luna's brown eyes weren't leaving room for discussion, the possibility seemed...possible.

Sulli took a breath as she put the nail polish and the remover on the nightstand. She clapped her hands in front of her. "How do you know that?"

"He told me."

"And you're telling me because...?"

Luna threw her hands up into the air. Was she truly the only one who understood just what the hell was going on? Were her and Onew the only ones who were thinking of ways to make things happen? The blonde shook her head before giving her friend an intense stare. "Don't you see it? Why would a married guy and a guy who's just a friend suddenly fight over you?"

"You tell me."

"Because everything's changing!" Luna pressed her fingers to her temple for a second and took a deep breath. "Because their feelings for you are changing. They both want to be the ones who'll have all of your attention."

Now she was super skeptical. "That's crazy."

"Okay, so they fought over Krystal, too, but who wasn't expecting that? Whatever happened ignited stronger feelings for you—" Luna pointed fiercely at the petite girl "—and since you're going to be leaving soon, they have to make sure to get on your good side before the other."

"Taemin...he can't be...feeling that way about me."

Luna shrugged. "At this point, anything could happen." She smirked. "I'm actually looking forward to seeing what's going to happen over these last few weeks."

Time. Four weeks until the end of the semester. Four weeks until the end of her decision-making time. Four weeks until their feelings could be made clear, until she would leave, until everything would either stand tall or come crumbling down.

Luna and Onew went out, leaving Minho and Sulli alone. After he finished the last notes of his piece, he saw the way Sulli's eyes lit up. Although her expression read distracted, his piece seemed to clear her mind of all previous thoughts. Her expression became thoughtful, her eyes seemed brighter with something. Minho lowered his guitar and stared at the girl, hoping she was thinking something good about his piece.

And then she spoke, shattering the silence that Minho hated. "That was beautiful."

He grinned quickly before putting away the guitar. He didn't bother bringing the sheet music; the piece was already embedded in his head. "Thank you."

"It was really pretty." He watched Sulli stand and move over to his side. She stared at his guitar, stared at the brown polished wood. Minho found himself staring at the brown haired girl, wondering what was running through her mind. The scent of raspberries filled the air around them. He shook his head; there was no need for thoughts like that.

"Your guitar is pretty," she finally said. He chuckled as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, it is."

Sulli smiled and walked into his kitchen to get something to eat. Minho closed the case and sat on the couch, his eyes watching her walk around the kitchen. She came back out a moment later carrying a tray of cookies and chocolate milk. He laughed to himself before swiping a cookie off the tray and biting into it. "I guess you found my stash of cookies, hmm?"

"Nothing's impossible for me to find," the girl answered before biting into a cookie.

"I bet you want to make me fat so you can cook me," he told her then, a small smirk on his lips. When the girl didn't respond but instead take another cookie off the tray, he gave up on that joke. He settled for throwing his head back and staring up at the ceiling.

Suddenly she was patting away at his chest. He looked down and saw her swiping cookie crumbs off his shirt. When she was finished, she gave him a quick look. "Sorry. There were crumbs."

"I saw…" The girl stared at her lap, the cookie pressed to her lips. She was lost in thought. Is what Luna said true? Did Minho and Taemin have…feelings for her? If they did, then…then— "Something on your mind?"

Sulli sighed. "Nothing important."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Come on, tell me."

The girl glared at Minho. "No. You're an idiot."

"Why?"

"Because you had a stupid fight."

He sighed. "It was bound to happen." Sulli rolled her eyes before dusting off her hands and standing up. She swiped the last cookie off the tray, quickly ate it, and glugged down the chocolate milk. She left the tray and the empty glass on the table. "You're leaving?" He followed her to the front door, where she was slipping into her flats, and putting on her sweater. She removed her brown hair from inside the sweater before turning to Minho, a serious expression on her face. "Did I do something?"

She sighed. "Not…exactly." She groaned then and he raised his eyebrows. "I'm not really sure, but…can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

Her finger curled into fists in her pockets but Sulli knew it was better to get everything out in the open than to keep it inside and have it burst at the wrong moment. "Do you…Minho, I know that you and Taemin fought over me as well as Krystal and…"

"I kind of figured Luna said something," he said with a sigh following. Sulli's lips parted. "But…if you're thinking of what I think you are, then…yes."

That was it. She knew.

The girl nodded, quickly smiled, and left his apartment. Minho rubbed the back of his head before going into the living room and picking up the tray. As he washed the dirty dishes, he wondered if she felt the same way. He wondered if she saw him in the same light, too.

Taemin smiled to himself. In his hands were a bouquet of roses and a blue box tied with a gold ribbon; inside were a pair of heels Krystal was dying for. No doubt this would make her smile.

He was glad they were going to marriage counseling. It probably seemed a bit weird for the therapist to receive a couple as young as Krystal and Taemin, but she didn't seem to mind. It was helping repair their damaged relationship. His feelings for her were growing stronger. He couldn't wait to get home to give her the shoes and the roses and hopefully get a reward in return.

To break him from his blissful state, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Taemin stood inside the mailroom of his apartment and set the roses and box atop the bench. He reached into his pocket and quickly answered the phone. "Hello?"

"I'm not going to be here for long. I just wanted to share something with you," Onew started. Taemin raised his eyebrows. "Minho told Sulli how he feels."

Taemin wouldn't let that ruin this mood. In their apartment, Krystal would be waiting for him. "I don't care."

"Alright, alright. Just saying. But you and I both know you care for her…so are you okay with seeing her with Minho?" Taemin didn't even have the chance to respond. Onew was gone, leaving him to take in his words. Was he okay with seeing her with that dark-haired bastard?

He picked up the box and the roses and headed up the stairs to his apartment. No, he would be damned if Sulli got together with Minho. Because…because…

Because he loved her.

A/N: I know this is rather short and I didn't update in a while, but I got a lot on my plate, so bear with me.

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