Since I figured that no one benefited from my tantrums about the marriage, I decided to just try to forget about the whole shebang and carry on with my week as best as I could. From what I could tell, my plan worked; everyone left me alone, Wooyoung only spoke when necessary (that wasn’t exactly a change, since he pretty much did that already...), Nichkhun started talking to me more and more, and Junsu...well, if left to his own devices, Junsu could probably talk to a cactus and emerge with the conviction that he had just had a deep conversation (with a cactus).

However, towards the end of the week, I dropped by the restroom right after my Sociology class to touch up my make up, and noticed my expression. I know I joke around whenever I get defensive; you know, I think to myself, WOO NINJA MODE ACTIVATE and whatever. But wow. I really resembled my bodyguard...not that I had suddenly turned into a pretty boy sort of man, but rather...well, the surly Woo signature look was plastered all over my pretty face.

I actually looked surly. The world must be ending. No wonder everyone was avoiding me. I look...pissed off, but in that way where you don’t know what my reaction will be. Oh, man. I need to change that stat.

As I walked out of the bathroom, completely not expecting anything other than an empty hallway, I nearly crashed into Nichkhun. “Oops. Sorry about that.”

“No, no! The fault’s entirely mine.” For some odd reason, he glanced around us before draping an arm around my shoulders. “So how’s my favorite girl doing?” His mood had really brightened compared to last week. Well, he’s always been a happy fellow, but lately...there’s been a real spring in his step. Wonder why. When I told him I was fine, he threw his head back and laughed. “Good to hear! So listen, that coffee meet-up date thing we went on last week...think we can do it again? Like maybe, this Saturday or something?”

“I don’t know, I guess.” My mind was focused on lunch at the moment; Wooyoung had brought something from home, so I was really looking forward to this surprise.

“Hmm, not yes but not no. I will prevail!” he yelled triumphantly.

“Uh, right. Sure.” My eyes roamed the courtyard until they found Woo sitting alone at a round stone table; in front of him sat a quaint picnic basket. Aw! Bodyguards rule. “Hey, I see Woo...I’ll see you later, Nich-”

“I’ll eat lunch with you guys!” he practically roared in my ear. Whoa. He is way too happy for my current mood. Seriously wonder what awesome thing could have possibly happened to him. “HEY, WOO! BUDDY, OLD PAL!”

That comment had Wooyoung looking up with...oh, my God. He raised his eyebrow. Lordy be, the boy can show emotion! “Min Young, Nichkhun.” Well, he still sounded stuffy. Oh, well. Raised eyebrow!

“Heya, Woo!” Nichkhun reminded me of those anime shows (ah, reliving childhood...from one year ago) where a character is overacting the cheerful mood and is starting to look a bit psychotic. Seriously, his eyes were bugging out and his voice was about ten times the accepted level of casual conversation outside. “What’s shaking?!”

Two, count them, TWO raised eyebrows in ONE day! World record! I should write that down somewhere~

“Wooyoung, do you mind if he joins us for lunch today?” I asked in that tone of voice that clearly spelled out certain disaster for him if he refused me.

And of course, the only response I received from him was the simple shaking of his head, but I glared at him very subtly to show more respect, and once we made eye contact again, he spoke.

“Oh, no, not at all.”

Holy . I could actually tell him what to do.

“Thanks bro!”

And again, Wooyoung raised his eyebrow, staring at me, waiting for answers to randomly appear on my face. I merely shrugged, and that was enough of a message for him to just drop the matter. So, he sighed, and just faced away as Nichkhun and I took our seats across from him...though it slightly disturbed me how close Nichkhun had decided to scoot next to me... What in the world was going on with him anyway.

“So what’s been happening in the MinWoo land?”

...He did not just put our names together, though...Holy (again). Did Woo just grin? No. No, absolutely not. I blinked, and he had the same face as he always did: stoic, and void of emotion. Dear Lord, I wouldn’t be surprised if the dude was colorblind, where he sees everything as just gray and dull...like a dog.

“...Ugh, don’t remind me...” I grumbled, mentally stabbing my chopsticks in my imaginary food in front of me since Wooyoung had not served anything yet. I think he finally noticed my lack of food when I began boring holes into the table in front of me with my hands moving and acting in the same motion as if I were holding chopsticks, so I found a...GASP, A BENTO BOX. WITH SUSHI! I LOOOOOVEEE SUSHIIII~

I almost began hyperventilating in my excitement...how very sophisticated of me...

“Are you okay Min?” Nichkhun asked while rubbing his hand in a circular motion on the back of my shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m just fine.”

A set of chopsticks was placed in front of me as well. “Eat up, Min Young.” Woo said in the same tone as he mimicked my actions by digging into his food as well...just not as...passionately...as I dug into mine, as if I would discover buried treasure underneath the very deep (6 centimeter) pile of rice.

“So...what’s been happening?” Nichkhun repeated, though I merely answered with a muffled “nothing” and began chowing down some more. He sighed. “Wooyoung, can I talk to you?”

Since my eyes were currently trained on the little piece of heaven in a box in front of me, Nich’s question was met with a stony silence. More than likely, what had just happened: Wooyoung looked at him, then looked at me, stared at Nichkhun while trying to read his mind (my version of events is always more fun than what really takes place) before nodding and moving silently away from the table.

When I had decided that maybe some water would help wash the ambrosia from the gods, I looked up just in time to see Nichkhun’s beefy fist land cleanly on the side of Wooyoung’s jaw, knocking him backwards. Rice fell from my mouth as I gaped at the two men. “What have you been doing to her?” Nichkhun demanded in a growling voice. “She’s been dragging her feet everywhere around the damn school, looking like a kicked puppy. I just know you two are involved, so what the hell did you say or do to her that made her all depressed?!”

Whoa. Whoa. WHOA. Let’s reverse and check the rear and sideview mirrors. Since when were Woo and I considered a couple?! For Christ’s sakes, Junsu and I are much more believable than me and Jang Wooyoung! Granted, Junsu had the whole Jin thing going for him (a match made in science heaven if ever I saw one) but still! “Yah! You guys, cut it out!” I cried out.

Wooyoung touched the side of his face, looking a bit dazed. Maybe he was surprised at what had just happened, too. God knows I was. “Min Young, eat your lunch. I’ll handle this.”

“No! There’ll be no handling of anything!” I rose angrily and stood in front of Wooyoung, glaring at Nichkhun. “You have absolutely no right hitting him! We’re not dating, so your reaction was completely uncalled for! He’s my...” And here I paused. Don’t say what you were going to say, Min Young... “My very good friend, so you can’t just go around punching him! You have no idea why I’m upset! You know what? Just go away! Ugh!”

Funny how, even after I had said that, I leaned around Woo to pick up my bento and marched away to my next class...which wasn’t for another thirty minutes. Sometimes, I hate being early. Actually, I’m never early to begin with. Damn it, now I have to wait...well, might as well chow down on my half-eaten lunch. Stupid Nichkhun. Punching my bodyguard like that.

“WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT HIM SO MUCH ANYWAY?!” I heard him yell. I had to think for a bit before I could respond. I wasn’t exactly prepared for...AHA, I GOT IT!

“Nichkhun-sshi,” I stated with the emphasis on the sshi so he could see how DAMN PISSED OFF I was at him... “I’m sure you know very well that Wooyoung is a very good friend of mine, so in retrospect, my concern for him is fully justified. Now I suggest that you quit all your damn antics before my fist makes contact with a certain body part of yours. Oh, and I’ll give you a hint. It’s around the pelvic area.” Put that in your marzipan pie plate! Guess we’re not going on our coffee date! Too bad, so sad~

Despite me saying that badass line to the retard that dared to punch my bodyguard, I still ended up outside my classroom twenty minutes early. Well, hell’s bells. I glanced down at my bento box, which I had picked at along the way here. Hmm, one sushi roll and a few pinches of rice left. Guess I’ll just clean out the contents and then pay respect to the environment and recycle the damn thing. Hurray for being green! (Note the sarcasm hand raised. Thank you.)

“MIN! You’re...early. Freaky.” Le sigh. Junsu deposited his bulbous backpack next to me on the bench and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. “I freaking hate that class. It’s not enough that I don’t understand the freaking subject, but stupid Jin likes to show off her stupid laminated periodic table every five seconds! Who cares that the names of the families are written in perfect calligraphy above the columns?! Not me! You wanna know what’s on my periodic table?! Chicken grease stains from last year’s fundraiser, where the Kappa Jappa whoever’s decided to have that stupid barbeque in the quad! Ugh, just never again!”

I should also start keeping count of the many times a day I hear about “stupid things” from Junsu. For today, the count hovered somewhere between five and six (just because I haven’t mentioned these rants doesn’t mean they didn’t happen). Do I want to tune back into his rant? Maybe I should wait...nah, that would be mean. Here goes nothing.

“...completely over the top about labeling the stupid lab equipment! She had these stickers made for the glassware that would always hold volatile , and then she had other stickers made for flammable materials! What the hell? I think that nifty- square rectangle shape thing tells everyone, ‘Hey, look over here! I can freaking catch on freaking fire!’ Jin is just...oh, my God. There are no words for her. She gets on my nerves, Min! Like you wouldn’t believe!” Unbelievably (to a point; it is Junsu we’re talking about here), he snatched my sleeve and shook me violently. “LIKE YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE!”

I gave him my most disdainful look; he got the message and let go of my shirt. “Say, Junsu.”

“What?” His voice came out as a squeak. Good. I can still scare the crap out of this guy, at least.

“Have you ever thought that, I don’t know, you have...well, feelings for this Jin girl?”

He stared at me like giant purple dots had appeared on my face or something. “Say what?!”

“The way you act about her...how she gets you all riled up and whatnot...obvious signs that you’ve got it b-a-d for science girl.” I looked back at my empty bento box. “Hey, go recycle this for me. I never know which bin to put it in.”

Junsu still gawked at me. “I SO DO NOT LIKE JIN!”

“Pft, I dropped that subject like ten seconds ago. Recycle. Bento. Please.”

“HOW COULD YOU EVEN SAY THAT?! I MEAN, SHE’S SO FREAKING ANNOYING! WHO THE HELL COULD LIKE THAT NERD?!”

I think, whenever the subject of priority advising comes up, that I will suggest for him to change his major to something in the drama section, because he is seriously acting like a woman at this point.

“COME ON, MIN, USE YOUR BRAIN! SHE’S DAMN STUPID AND ANNOYING!”

“You know,” an unfamiliar voice had interjected, “Even for you, Junsu...that’s harsh.”

Junsu froze as his eyes turned out like those anime characters (what’s with me and anime?) with their eyes bulging out of their sockets...metaphorically, of course. He turned slowly in a stuttered motion towards the entrance of the lecture hall, seeing a rather petite, yet still very beautiful girl standing there with a very very scary expression on her face. I don’t know, it was in the middle of being emotionless, yet still seething anger.

“J-Jin...”

Oh. My. God. This was the Jin he was talking about?

She looked up at Junsu with very obvious indifference before ultimately turning her heel and walking away.

“JIN, WAIT!” he shouted as he ran off to catch up with her.

Classes for that day ended, and by default, I wanted to go home, so I headed towards Wooyoung’s car when I noticed the inevitable empty parking space that was once occupied.

...HE DID NOT JUST DITCH ME! No. I refused to believe that Jang Wooyoung actually had the nerve to ditch me. He would never do that. Firstly, he’d get fired, and I’m pretty damn sure he treasures the job. Secondly, although he may deny it internally and externally, he and I were somewhat friends; maybe close acquaintances worked better. Thirdly, I AM A GIRL AND HE IS A GUY AND A GENTLEMAN AND SUCH A GUY WOULDN’T DO THAT CRAP, ESPECIALLY NOT TO HIS EMPLOYER’S DAUGHTER, WHO WOULD CUT BOTH OF HIS EYEBROWS WITH HER PANDA’S NOSE SO HE’D HAVE A MATCHING PAIR, AND-

The slow crunch of gravel tore me out of my rage-induced fantasies that consisted of me beating Wooyoung with a shovel. Okay, a plastic one. That was purple. And had stickers on the handle. BUT A SHOVEL NONETHELESS. “Hey. You with the confused look on your face. Get in.” Junsu winked at me from behind the wheel of his beat-up Toyota Corolla (the paint on the side had been scratched to where it bore Jay’s initials. My cousin, ladies and gentlemen). “I’ll give you a ride home since your bestie seems to have ditched you.”

I pointed a finger into his face. “If I hear one word about little miss Jin-Jin or whatever you’re calling her now...”

He laughed loudly. “Don’t worry. No ranting from me.” My, wasn’t someone in a good mood? Maybe she finally slapped sense into his hollowed log of a head. I need to ask her about her tactics for the next time he annoyed me.

On the way home, true to his word, Junsu avoided the subject of Jin. Amazingly, he avoided the subject of science in general, which is like telling a priest not to talk about Catholicism or whatever. Weird, right? Instead, he rattled off all the things he wanted to do when we were finally let out on summer break. Something about the beach and hot senoritas (he really said that word...I’m astonished, really) and getting buzzed but not drunk because “getting wasted is so not y” (seriously. First senoritas, then using the phrase “so not y.” Where was Junsu? And who was this man? And why couldn’t he be my best friend?). He also mentioned about a big party where we could invite all our friends. As long as Chansung didn’t try to bite my hand off in order to reach a shrimp kebab, I was completely fine with a get-together on the beach.

“...so yeah, my aunt offered up that cute lil’ beach house down the road from the public beach, and we’d have access to the beach all damn day...think of the possibilities...” For some untold reason, he trailed off. I swore a red blush tinted his cheeks for all of two seconds before it disappeared and he grinned. “So are you and the Woo Master up for some motion of the ocean?”

“Hmmm...” My parents sent him with me on every school trip. If they even allowed me to go to this party thing, he would have no choice but to come along. Let me rephrase that. I would have no choice but to let him come along. And why not? As long as no one decided to place Claymores in the house or attempt to kidnap me, all would go smoothly. “Sure. Count us in.”

Finally, the pretty white gates of my community appeared in front of the windshield. Junsu rolled down his window and leaned over to punch the code in. The gates slowly swung inward. “Chick, tell your country club or whoever to change the damn code every now and then. I swear it’s been the same since before I got my driver’s license, and that’s been like millenia.” To be accurate, he qualified for his driver’s license a good five years ago, and in my book, five does not equal a thousand, but I let him dream. “Where’s your house again?”

“Like you haven’t taken me home before,” I .

“Right. Last house in that badass cul-de-sac. Remind me to call up some random skating gang and have them completely rip up the sidewalk.” Junsu translation: I’ll be contacting a group of skating youths so that they may use the pavement for recreational purposes.

“Just pull up next to the sidewalk. I’ll walk myself to the door.” In case Wooyoung had beaten me home (and if he had, he was in for a world of hurt) I didn’t want to risk him answering the door and completely giving away the fact that he’s my bodyguard.

“Pft. What in the world do you take me for, Min? I can be a gentleman if I want. Just tell me where you live.”

“I don’t think so,” I said while unbuckling my seat belt and opening the car door, only to have his hand pull me back.

“Yah, do you not trust me or anything?” I could feel the pout on his face.

“Oh hell no. I am SO not falling for that again. Now please, chingu, let me leave.”

“Hmph, fine.”

After he let go, I proceeded to lift myself up from the rather poorly elevated seating of the car and turn back towards him. “See you later, oppa.” I turned to leave.

“Oppa?”

...oh crap.

“What did you just say, Min?” His voice was definitely amused, and full of mischievous intentions. “Did you just call me oppa?”

“Pft. In your dreams, Junsu!” I began walking...ugh. Why in the world was he driving up next to me?

“I must have done something right for the ever so cold and distant Park Min Young to address me in such a lovable way.”

“Go. Away.”

He huffed where he sat in his stupid beat-up old car (which I had never wanted to beat silly with a metal bat until now). “Fine. I see how it is.” Even from this distance, I could see an evil glint in his eye. “Then I won’t tell you how things went with Jin today. That’s fine by me.” With a malevolent smile, he slowly pulled away from the curb, cackling as he did so.

“...Junsu...” I glared daggers through the back window, hoping tiny holes were being drilled into the back of his head. I’m sorry. Really, I am. But...that . HE KNOWS I LOVE TO HEAR GOSSIP, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT CONCERNS A GIRL AND A GUY

I hate him. Okay, maybe I don’t actually hate him, but at the moment, I hate him. Stupid boys. They make me so angry.

Speaking of boys...what was up with Nichkhun and Wooyoung? The way they were acting today...everything had really thrown me off. At first, I had thought Nich was being nice to Woo, but apparently all he’d wanted to do was land a punch on my bodyguard... Why though?

I finally made it to my...mansion (oh how I despise ever mentioning that to anyone. It made me seem so stuck up...well, more than I already was), and I made my way up to my room. However, just coincidentally, Wooyoung’s room was down that route as well, and his door was open, so being the person I was who valued personal space oh so dearly, I went in and looked around. Geez, for a guy, he sure was clean and organized. I dug through his drawers and ...OH MY GOD, HE WAS A BOXER DUDE... Ahem, I mean, I was very surprised at the fact that they were all neatly folded and separated by color...

It was three hours later... Where. The. Hell. Was. He. I demand to know, you almighty beings that I don’t necessarily believe in from above. Hmm...perhaps I should be more persuasive with my prayers. As far as I knew, they weren’t being answered...

“Young Miss?” I heard the voice I had been longing to hear accompanied by three knocks on my door. My prayers have been answered... Holy sh-

“Come in,” I said before I mentally cursed once more. I thought it would be best for the occasion that I didn’t curse as much for I would want more of my prayers to be answered in the near future.

The door opened to reveal a Wooyoung that, unlike most other times, was wearing the most casual clothing in the world that consisted of ripped jeans, slightly oil-stained, very thin white T-shirt, and a short sleeve jacket ed and placed right over that shirt.

Damn, he looked hot...WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING?!

“Young miss, are you okay?” Why oh why did he choose to sound legitimately concerned NOW of all times?

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine...” I stuttered, but regained composure, almost shouting at him in my frustration. “YAH, WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN MISTER?!” Wow, I sounded like his mother. “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG I WAITED, AND HOW WOR-”

I was cut off with his arms suddenly pulling me towards him, his lips placed against mine so delicately...and softly, almost in a possessive manner...

And his lips left mine just as quickly as they came. He backed away, looking me straight in the eye with the same void of emotion face he always carried.

“Good night, young miss.”