"Class, you will be writing an essay on an artist you're inspired by. Remember, art and inspiration come in many different forms. The students with the most inspiring essays will be reading them at the showcase in two weeks. One student from each grade level will be chosen. I will be collecting these essays on Friday. One week should suffice, considering I am not assigning any other homework this week. Class dismissed."

She packed up slowly, wondering what she could write for her essay. It was obvious that her subject would be Ryeowook, but there was the dilemma of making her essay sound amazingly inspiring. There was no way she could write everything, especially the parts about her family. She sighed, knowing she had a very slim chance of getting chosen to speak at the showcase. She'd just have to settle with being in the audience this year.

"Young Mistress, if you don't hurry, we'll be late for our next class."

Ever since their big argument, Taeyang had been unwillingly dragged to hang-outs at Ki Kwang's house, and extra dance practices with Joon and her. He absolutely refused to play video games with them, later confiding in her that their virtual fights were botched up and unrealistic.

"There's no way you can freeze your enemy with a little chunk of ice in a real fight. And spraying someone with flaming curry is too unrealistic." Taeyang pointed an accusing finger at the disk case for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He then turned his attention to her laptop and his eyes were shooting daggers at the League of Legends login page. "Battling so easily in these environments is just atrocious. And your characters are in plain sight where anyone could kill them easily."

She sighed, rubbing her forehead in exasperation. "This is fake. The whole point of it being virtual is so we can do things that are impractical and foolish."

Taeyang let out a loud huff and crossed his arms over his chest. He turned to his own laptop and muttered, "I'm in a society filled with nutheads." He was promptly rewarded with a thwack on the head.

Although Ryeowook hadn't been too pleased with the sleeping arrangements, he relented on one condition: if anything suspicious seemed to be happening, he'd kick out the bodyguard and report him to Key. She couldn't believe Ryeowook thought the two of them would become emotionally attached like that. For one thing, Taeyang nagged too much.

"Young Mistress, you shouldn't dawdle so much! It won't look good to have another tardy on your permanent record."

And there he was again, yapping away like an incessant little puppy. "Don't worry. I'm ready." She heaved her backpack onto her shoulders and walked out of the classroom with Taeyang following closely behind her. They wove in and out of the masses of students crowding the hallways.

Ki Kwang passed her on the way and he called out, "No gaming today! Joon wants to practice for the showcase!"

She stuck her arm straight up like a flag and waved her hand, indicating that she had heard him. Soon after, the fake cousins reached their next class, Art History. Taking out a pencil and a blank sheet of paper, she put up the pretense of listening to the lecture. For the millionth time, she went over the choreography that Joon would be performing in two weeks. He had worked so many hours for this, aiming to be the next captain for the dance team. She knew he wanted to set a good example for Ki Kwang. Joon had taken it upon himself to make Ki Kwang his surrogate brother now that Taemin had changed for the worse.

That heartless jerk. Thinking about the player immediately turned her thoughts sour. And then realization dawned on her. Since Joon was performing, his entire family was sure to come and support him. Meaning Taemin would be there. Ki Kwang and his mother would most likely be sitting with Joon's family, since the adults believed Taemin and Ki Kwang were still friends.

She couldn't sit with them. She had to stay as far away from her ex as possible. Far, far away. Internally sighing, she looked up at the teacher who was facing the whiteboard and writing notes. Seeing that the coast was clear, she took out her cell phone to send a text message to the Lee cousins.

However, just as she started typed, a wadded up paper ball beaned her on the head and landed on her desk. Looking around, she spotted Taeyang, who was sitting four seats to her left, gesturing her to read the paper. She grimaced as she gingerly picked up the paper ball and smoothed it out.

I see that you're not paying attention! Put your phone away!

She scowled and crumpled the paper again before tucking her phone back into her pocket. Now that she wasn't able to text in class because of the nag, she'd have to tell them during dance practice after school. It'd detract them from their practice, but there was no other way around it. Not with Taeyang constantly block her. He seriously needed to—

Her thoughts were interrupted when another paper ball hit the top of her head. She glared at the object before reluctantly opening it up.

I can tell you're still not paying attention! You have your final exams coming up, remember?

Her scowl further deepened as she began copying down the notes from the whiteboard. She and Taeyang were going to have a serious chat tonight.

--

"Why the heck were you throwing notes at me?!"

"You weren't paying attention to the lecture," Taeyang answered calmly as he lifted weights.

"Well, neither were you!" she angrily retorted as she stared at him while sitting cross-legged on her bed.

"You have to pass your finals if you want to come back for the next school year. I don't."

"What do you mean?"

"After you complete your mission in August, I'm gone. Therefore, I don't have to pay attention like you do." Taeyang finished his workout and glanced at the digital clock in her room. It read 11:38PM. "It's late and we have school tomorrow. Good night," he said as he tucked himself into his makeshift bed.

"Good night..." she replied as she slowly turned off the light. Once Taeyang left, it'd be back to the new normal. Just her and Ryeowook. No one else to bring chaos back into her life.

--

"Let's go! We don't want to be late to the showcase!" Ryeowook cheerfully said as he appeared at the door of her room. A dart whizzed past the dance team captain's face, squarely hitting the doorframe underneath several other darts that had been thrown earlier. "I'd put those away now, Young Bae."

She closed her notebook and stood up from her seat. "I'm ready." She and Taeyang followed Ryeowook to the living room where they were met with a pleasant surprise. "Ki Kwang!"

"What are you doing here?" Taeyang asked as he walked over to the coat stand and grabbed his gray crewneck.

Ki Kwang jumped up from the couch he was sitting on and answered, "I asked Ryeowook if I could hitch a ride so I wouldn't have to go with that prat, Taemin." He walked over to her and hugged her, enveloping her in his arms.

"Don't you have a car?" Taeyang pointed out as he pulled on his crewneck.

"My mom doesn't like it when I drive at night."

"Well, enough chit-chat! Time to go!" Ryeowook ushered the three sophomores out of the apartment. As he locked the door, she poked his side. "What?"

Waving a booklet in front of him, she looked at him pointedly. "Anything you want to tell me?" He gave her a blank stare, not understanding what she was referring to. She flipped through the booklet until she found the page and jabbed a finger at the bold-printed words: Speech given by Kim Ryeowook and Ok Taecyeon, Dance Team Captains. "Maybe this?"

"Where did you get that program?"

She closed it and tucked it in her sweatshirt pocket before answering, "Im Yoona. She's in my Screen Printing class and she helped design the program. But how come you didn't tell?"

Ryeowook thought in panic as they walked out of the building, That was supposed to be a surprise. Seeing her expectant expression, he quickly replied, "Taecyeon told me about it a few days ago and we were so caught up with practicing for the showcase that I forgot." He silently prayed that she wouldn't ask any further.

"You still didn't—"

"Get in the car. We can't be late!" Ryeowook grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the car, where Ki Kwang and Taeyang were waiting. The senior unlocked the car and ushered everyone inside. After revving up the engine, he began playing the track he'd be dancing to later that night.

She didn't bother him about it anymore, knowing that he was mentally going over the dance routine and shouldn't be disturbed. Instead, she conversed with Ki Kwang about the new skins that League of Legends had released the previous week. Taeyang tilted his snapback forward as he laid back into his seat, seemingly asleep.

When they arrived at the school's parking lot, Ki Kwang was the first one out. "I have to find my mom now. Thanks for the ride, Ryeowook! See you all later!"

"C'mon. Young Bae and I have to be backstage now." Ryeowook tried hurrying the two sophomores, but she resisted.

"Why is Taeyang going with you?"

"He's been failing all of his tests and assignments. Since we can't let him get kicked out because of your mission, I made a deal with one of the deans to let him off in exchange for doing all of the grunt work tonight," Ryeowook explained with a sideways glance at the bodyguard. "And I'm giving you some time without him constantly hovering around you," he added in a low undertone.

As they walked to the auditorium, she cursed Taeyang in her mind. That nagging little prick. Preaching to her about not paying attention in class when he was failing. And now, she really was alone. Well, this was better. She hadn't had a chance to be by herself since joining the dance team. It was like a breath of fresh air.

Ryeowook and Taeyang parted ways with her at the door. Despite arriving early, the auditorium was packed. Families milled around, speaking to one another in loud voices as they stood by claimed seats. She kept her head down, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. Despite being at S.A.A. for almost half a year now and finding friends in the dance team, she was still uncomfortable socializing with people she barely knew. Keeping to herself was preferable to having to force conversation with strangers.

Soon, she found two empty seats at the left side of the middle section of the auditorium. She resolved to save the other seat for Ki Kwang, in case he was able to leave his family and find her. Sinking into the maroon velvet seats, she crossed her legs to make herself more comfortable.

"Is that seat taken?"

"Yes," she answered shortly without looking to see who it was. Coming off as rude didn't bother her at all.

"For Young Bae?"

The mention of the bodyguard prompted her to look up and her eyes landed on the smirking face of Jang Wooyoung. "No, not for Young Bae, but—"

"Then I'll take it." He smoothly stepped in and around her, before plopping into the empty seat. "So, sweetheart, where is Young Bae then? Isn't he your boyfriend?" he asked, casually propping his elbows on the arms of the seat.

"He's NOT my boyfriend," she informed Wooyoung crossly. Why he was here, she had no idea.

Wooyoung replied loftily, "Really. Yet he hangs around you all of the time and calls you Young Mistress. It's a cute pet name, by the way."

"Bug off. It's a nickname for something that happened when we were younger. And we're cousins, OK?" she lied as she angled her body away from him. "I thought you told me not to talk to you."

"In school," Wooyoung saucily reminded her. "School hours are over, so you're allowed to talk to me, honey."

"But I don't want to." She stood up and began scanning the crowded auditorium for an empty seat. Suddenly, his fingers encircled her wrist and he pulled her back down into her seat.

"Please be my girlfriend."

"WHAT?!"

People began staring at the two of them strangely, so Wooyoung clamped a hand over before hissing, "Not so loud! Let me explain somewhere else." He warily removed his hand and when she didn't make any further outbursts, he shrugged off his leather jacket. He pulled her up and draped his jacket over the now-vacant seats. His fingers were still wrapped around her wrist as he led her out of the west side double doors and into the adjoining hallway. The lights were dim, causing distorted shadows to be projected onto the walls. The sound of every step they took echoed loudly against the linoleum floor.

They finally stopped walking and she wrenched free from his grasp. "Are you crazy?! Me as your girlfriend?! You've been snubbing me and pretending I don't exist until today." She couldn't believe this prick. Who did he think he was, making such a request?

"I'm being forced into an arranged marriage," Wooyoung blurted out. "I told my older brother that I have a girlfriend and he promised to call off the marriage if he got to meet her. So I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend until after the meeting. Can you do that for me, doll?"

She certainly wasn't expecting that. And she didn't remember reading about an older brother. Key hadn't mentioned one either and such a crucial detail would never escape her crafty brother. "And why're you asking me to help you? I'm sure you know other girls who'd love to be your fake girlfriend."

"Nope. I don't know anyone. Just you, sweetie."

That was impossible! There were dozens of girls in this school. How could he not know one other girl? "Well, too bad. You're going to have to find someone else. I'm not doing it." Suddenly, she found herself trapped between his arms with her back against the cold wall. She didn't even know how she had gotten into this compromising position. It all happened so fast.

Wooyoung murmured in a low, husky voice, "Perhaps I can change your mind." He leaned closer, erasing the gap between them. She realized what he was about to do and quickly whipped out her hand to punch him in the gut. But to her surprise, Wooyoung's hand blocked her and his mouth was right by her ear in the next second. "You're a feisty one. This will be much more interesting that I anticipated."

She hated him so much right now. "You are so two-faced," she declared through gritted teeth. "And stop calling me all of those sappy, stupid pet names."

"I'm an actor, princess. I'm getting into character," Wooyoung answered, ignoring her second statement. "You need to start getting into character as well, if you're going to fool my brother."

She glared at Wooyoung as she responded, "I didn't even agree to this." She wrenched her hand from his, cursing him in her mind.

"Please. I really need your help."

There was a lengthy silence as she ruminated over this. Her anger ebbed away as she tried to think rationally for the sake of the mission. Acting as Wooyoung's girlfriend would give her a chance to learn more about him, check into his background, investigate this older brother, and possibly snag some extra information she could present to Key. The pros most definitely outweighed the cons. But it still seemed wrong. And she wasn't obligated to help him either.

"If you don't help me, no one will," Wooyoung murmured quietly as he stepped away from her, giving her space.

And then she realized how true his words were. If Wooyoung was turning to her, of all people, for help, he must be desperate. She couldn't be the one to condemn him to a future he didn't want, not when she was trying so hard to escape her own pre-determined future. "Fine. I'll help you," she grudgingly decided. "When do I meet your brother?"

Wooyoung's face broke into a smile and he answered, "Not for a couple of months, angel. He's in Europe for business." He then took out his cell phone to check the time and said, "The showcase is starting in a few minutes. Let's go, dear."

Stupid pet names.

They soon arrived at the auditorium and slipped into their seats just as the lights were slowly dimmed down and the curtains parted to reveal S.A.A.'s principal.

As soon as the principal began speaking, she tuned out the words. She was only interested in one group. However, as time passed and performances went on, she couldn't help but fidget in her seat. Every so often, Wooyoung would shift around and his elbow would just barely graze her arm.

And then it got worse. Wooyoung leaned back into his seat and angled his newly freed arm on the armrest so that it was parallel to hers. Only layers of clothing separated their bare arms from touching. She immediately moved away, but minutes later, his arm inched closer and closer until it was next to hers once again.

This cycle went on until Wooyoung began trailing his fingertips along her arm. She shrunk away, but the small seat made it impossible to escape entirely. She scrunched her eyes closed, fervently wishing for this tortu