Younha sat in the food court, eating her pain away. Pretzels. Burgers. Fries. You name it, and she had it. It just wasn’t fair how so many guys were fighting over Tae Hee. Why didn’t anybody want Go Younha? I mean, she was just as pretty as the others, even smarter than the others. So that made her better, right? Then how come nobody wanted her? It wasn’t fair! She gobbled on the chicken drumstick. 

“Aren’t you Tae Hee noona’s friend?” a stranger asked. But Younha didn’t hear him, all she could sense was the wonderful aroma wafting from the cheesecake in his hands.

“Hmm... cheesecake!”

He poked her. “Um... so are you?”

“Oh! Huh? Yeah. Can I have some of your cheesecake?”

He looked at her warily. What the heck was with this girl? Somebody was food-obsessed. “Err...sure.”

Excitedly, she tore the cake from his hands and devoured it all in one bite. After she finished, for some unknown reason, she began bawling. People eyed the two oddly, giving him a scornful glance.

Hesitantly, he patted her on the back. “Um... you okay?”

“No...” she sobbed.

“...err..”

Suddenly, the crying stopped. She looked up with her puffy eyes. “Oh, it’s you. One of those guys.” She moved on to a bucket of ice cream.

“Uh, yeah. Shim Changmin.” 

“Go away.”

“I can’t.”

“Go away!”

“You owe me a cheesecake.”

She stared at the empty platter she had taken from him. “Oh. Whoops. My bad.”

“That was thirty bucks.”

“WTHCK? For a cheesecake?” The prices these days, she shook her head in disgust. But then again, it was a pretty good cheesecake. He knew his cheesecakes.

“Uh yeah.”

She grumbled as she dug into her purse. She gave him sixty dollars. “Here. And get me another one.”

He stared at her awkwardly. “Uh... I’m not your servant. And besides, you’re supposed to cut down on what you eat. I mean, eating is good for you, but even I, who loves food oh so very much, know that two WHOLE cheesecakes are a little too much.”

She glared at him, eyes boring into his body. “I said get it for me. If not, I’ll start crying again.” She began sniffling. The passersby stared at Changmin.

“Fine. Fine. Gosh, you’re so manipulative...?”

“Younha. Go Younha.”

He smiled. “Manipulative Younha. Interesting. I think I like that combo.”

She returned the smile as he headed back to the patisserie.



The dessert landed on the table as Changmin “gingerly” threw it onto the surface. “There. Enjoy. Goodbye now.”

“Hey wait. This cheesecake’s---“ she paused as she... threw up on the cake. Smiling weakly, she finished, “---for you.”

“Told you it was too much.” He pulled out a chair from under the table. “You know, other than the smell of your...err...barf..., I like you.”

And she beamed, feeling loved. Of course, it was too good to be true though, she told herself. Feeling much better, she asked, “Aren’t you supposed to be at that function thing Tae Hee’s going to?”

“Oh yeah. But it gets really boring after awhile. So I just ditched. ” 

“But it sounds so cool!”

“Psh. I’ll bring you one day.”

And her hopes soared even higher.


*****


As the last of the guests trickled out of the ballroom, Tae Hee yawned and sat on the ground as she kicked her stilettos off onto the floor. She stretched. “AHH!! Feels so good!”

“OMG Tae Hee. Get up. You’re ruining your dress. Like OMG,” Sung Hee pointed out, rolling her eyes. Typical Tae Hee, Sung Hee thought. What a loser.

Tae Hee frowned and wrinkled her eyebrows. She could tolerate her previous attitude towards her. She could tolerate (with some difficulty) her previous attitude towards Lee Teuk oppa. She could tolerate her previous attitude towards all the guests. BUT she could NOT tolerate the attitude that she was facing NOW. Sung Hee had already been quite cocky once Jaejoong accepted her as his girlfriend. And now Tae Hee regretted telling him to do so. Sung Hee had become even more cocky afterthat night. She had become a bit better after she realized she wasn’t the most important in Jaejoong’s life; in fact, she was third: after Tae Hee and Ri In. But now that Jaejoong had PUBLICLY announced the end of Ri In --- and the beginning of Sung Hee, her cockiness had multiplied by a thousand.

“Don’t be so mean, Sung Hee,” Lee Teuk answered quietly.

She flipped her hair. “Psh, who are you anyway? You’ve got no status here, so how dare you speak to me like that!” She scoffed, “Lowly citizen. I mean, he’s not even part of the family.”

Lowly citizen? What was she SMOKING. She was the one acting like the “lowly” one. How DARE she trample upon Teukie oppa like that! So that was how she wanted it. Fight fire with fire. So fight cockiness with cockiness, eh?

Tae Hee rolled her eyes angrily as she turned towards her ex-friend. She plastered on a smile. “So, Sung Hee, I heard some comments on your dress tonight.”

“Oh really?” she asked excitedly. “I bet they said it was beautiful and it hugged my body perfectly, right?”

Tae Hee smirked and faced Jaejoong. “How much was it anyway?”

“... I don’t know,” he replied, eying her warily as he tried to decipher what she was plotting.

“How much was my dress?”

He hesitated. “It’s quite a bargain considering it was custom made.”

Sung Hee’s mouth dropped. Custom made?

“Hmm... Jaejoong oppa. Why do you know my dress so clearly, but you don’t know your girlfriend’s?”

“I didn’t buy it for her...”

Tae Hee did a fake gasp. “REALLY? Interesting, huh? When we were dating, he always brought me shopping for a new dress for each function. Guess you’re special, Sung Hee.” She shrugged “cluelessly”.

Jaejoong shook his head, motioning for her to stop. She smirked; she was just warming up.

“Special, huh?” Sung Hee asked defiantly.

“Of course! You’re the only girl that I know of whose date doesn’t buy stuff for them.”

Jaejoong’s girlfriend grew red.

“Your dress is so beautiful though. But I think it’s missing something...” she pondered. “Oh yes! This.” Tae Hee outstretched her arm and slapped Sung Hee on the face, leaving a red handprint on her face. “Want to be bean pie? Not until you get through me first. And FYI, he’s Park Lee Teuk, MY boyfriend. And because I’m future CEO, he’s the future CEO’s boyfriend... which means...YOU’RE the lowest on the social status ladder between us four.” She looked at Sung Hee, daring her to object. “So, lowly citizen, what’ve you got to say?”

She kept quiet.

Jaejoong smirked, expressing his approval. Tae Hee was certainly Tae Hee. 

Lee Teuk was amazed, her BOYFRIEND? Did this mean she really did like him? Their feelings were mutual? 

Oh how he had dreamt of this day. 



He had found true love at last.


*****


“MISS KIM!” the teacher shouted. “Just because you’ve got a planned future ahead of you, doesn’t mean that you can slack off. Not on my watch.” The instructor threw an eraser at her.

Tae Hee shot straight up. “Oh huh?” 

Younha and Seung Yeon watched their friend worriedly. Tae Hee NEVER slept in class; she was too afraid it would affect her grade. What was with her?”



“HEY TAE HEE!” Seung Yeon shouted at her friend. Tae Hee stopped and seemingly awoke from a trance; if it hadn’t been for Seung Yeon’s greeting/warning, she would’ve crashed into a stucco wall. And those hurt... A LOT.

“You okay?” Younha asked.

“Oh yeah. Sure.”

“You seem a bit out of it,” Younha pointed out. “You know, food always helps. Let’s go to the cafeteria!”

They giggled.


*****


“Now Tae Hee, spill.”

She sighed and stared out at the bustling crowd in the cafeteria. “There’s nothing to say.”



*flashback*

They stood at the front of her home. “I’m so happy. I truly am.” Lee Teuk grinned and hugged her.

“Teukie oppa.”

“Saranghaeyo, Tae Hee.”


Although she had been loving him since forever, she couldn’t help but feel... a bit...guilty? “Saranghaeyo, oppa.” 

He kissed her on the forehead.


*****

Just before she entered her bedroom, Jaejoong emerged from the shadows of the wall. “Tae Hee...” His eyes were... filled with...Regret? Anger? Perhaps even... Jealousy?

“Hmph?”

“I forbid you to meet that Lee Teuk boy,” he ordered coldly.

“Huh? Why?”

She didn’t know why she even asked. She knew the answer. In fact, even before he ordered her not to, she had known what he was about to say. She had expected it. In their complicated relationship, no words were needed. They didn’t need to communicate verbally in order for them to understand the other. They just knew. So why did she want him to tell her... if she already knew?

“Just because.”

“Because what? You can’t just tell me not to see Teukie oppa. I mean, he IS my boyfriend now.” She threw a phony fit.

“Because.”

“OMG. If you don’t get to the point, I WILL leave.”

“Because I still want you.” 


A moment of silence.


That was why. The answer was quick. Short and simple. But it was what she wanted. She wanted to be assured. She wanted to know he still loved her. She wanted to be sure that his love was more than that of a sibling’s.

And then he pressed his lips against hers.

So she slapped him --- hard. The bruise on his cheek told of the pain. But why? It was already an established fact that she loved him. So why was she rejecting him now?

“GOSH, WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?” he yelled angrily. “You know and I know that you want me. So why do you stop yourself?”

“, Jaejoong,” she replied calmly.

“Is that your only excuse? this. that. . . . It’s all it’s been these past few days. Seriously, I thought you were different. I thought... I thought wrong.”

She hung her head low. He was right---just like Teukie oppa had been. Why did they have to be so alike? It only made it harder for her. “Because there really is .”

“I don’t care.”

“Unlike you, I do care. You know what means? It means that if we do ignore them and get together, our babies will have two heads. They’ll have five feet with seven toes each. Even worse, they could be hetero. It’ll be hard on them... and hard on us. So just stop it, Jaejoong.”

He eyed her with disgust. “You’re really selfish. I don’t know what I saw in you. You’re almost as bad as Sung Hee. Thank God I discovered your flaws before we got serious.” He walked down the hallway and slammed the door as he entered his own bedroom. 



Thank God I discovered your flaws before we got serious. BEFORE WE GOT SERIOUS.



The words constantly repeated themselves in her head. Before we got serious. Did that mean that he had never taken her seriously...at all? Had she been but a toy to him? She shook her head as tears started flowing. You’re not supposed to feel your heart break. There wasn’t supposed to be [mental] pain involved. She wasn’t supposed to love him more than required. Then why did she? Idiot.


She shouted at his door. “YOU’VE GOT SUNG HEE AND I’VE GOT LEE TEUK OPPA, LET’S JUST KEEP IT THAT WAY!”


*end flashback*



“Tae Hee...” Younha nudged her. “Is it about...?”

Suddenly, tears sprang from her eyes. She had been crying a lot lately, but she couldn’t help it.

“Tae Hee noona, don’t cry.”

She looked up, eyes glistening with wet crystals. “Junsu?”

“And Changmin too,” he added.

Changmin nodded as he wrapped his arms around Younha’s shoulders. Younha smiled.

“Me too! Me too, Junsu oppa!” Seung Yeon shouted, motioning for Junsu to do the same. And he did.

Tae Hee smiled at them as she wiped her tears away. As much as she was happy for them on the outside and inside, she couldn’t help but feel even more pain. She had been the first of all her friends (including the backstabber) to fall in love. She had been lucky; the guy was a perfect prince charming: loaded with money, was hot, and loved her. But now, she was also the first of all her friends to feel the hurt. But this time she wasn’t as lucky. She couldn’t be like other couples (either in real life or on TV). She couldn’t be friends with him...now that he was her brother. Other ex-couples could run away from the other if they couldn’t face them --- but she couldn’t. No matter what, she had to face him... She was linked to him permanently...


Because they were siblings.


“I see you’ve all got boyfriends now, eh?” she smiled at Younha and Seung Yeon. “Treat my friends well, Junsu, Changmin,” she warned them. “I’ll kill you guys if any one of them gets hurt.”

“I know. I know,” they both said simultaneously.

“But you know,” Changmin continued. “You’ve got a boyfriend too! And he’s being followed by Jiwoon and Yoochun right now...I bet they’re planning to murder him. LOL. Seriously, look at their faces.” He pointed to someone behind Tae Hee.

She turned in surprise. “Teukie?”

“What about us?” Yoochun and Jiwoon whined.

She laughed. “Oh yeah, my two oppas.”

“That’s better,” they nodded.

“So, what’s up, Teukie?”

Not wanting to kill a moment, Younha, Seung Yeon, Junsu, and Changmin left the lunch table as they dragged Yoochun and Jiwoon along.

“Hm... Tae Hee...Even though we’ve just gotten together... um... actually, I want you to know that I’ve liked you ever since we were in middle school,” he blurted quickly.

She grinned. “Me too.” Until I met Jaejoong.

“So will you marry me?” He knelt on the floor, holding up a diamond ring.

“What?” Tae Hee replied aghast; her face was pale. This was unexpected.

“SAY YES! SAY YES! SAY YES!” her friends chanted in the background.

“But we’ve just gotten together, like you said. And I’m still in high school. Isn’t this a bit too sudden?” she protested, desperately searching for an excuse.

“I know. I know it’s sudden. I know you’re still in school. In fact, I’m still in school, too. But I also know that if I don’t ask you now, I might not be able to in the future.”

She cocked her head in confusion. “Eh?”


“I’m leaving for the U.S. tonight... and I don’t think I’ll be back anytime soon. And as much as I love you and as much as you probably love me, I’m kinda scared. What if you fall in love with somebody while I’m gone? I don’t think I can handle the pain.”

Tae Hee smiled halfheartedly. Why’d he have to be so dead-on right? She had already fallen in love with somebody else. He...was just a shield. A prop. To make everything seem as if it was all okay---although it wasn’t.

She’d have to break it to him sooner or later. And she had decided---last night.



Jaejoong watched from a distance. And cursed his parents. If it weren’t for them, he would’ve been that guy proposing to her. 


“Lee Teuk oppa, I love you. I know that and you do too. But...”

He cringed. “There’s a but?”

She nodded. “But I don’t think you deserve me. You should seriously find someone better than me.”


Jaejoong cheered silently to himself.


“But I love you...” he objected quietly.

“I know. I love you too.”

“So you aren’t willing to say yes because you think you’ll disappoint me?”

She nodded.

He hugged her. “You won’t, Tae Hee. I promise you.”



Tell him.

Tell him the truth.

Answer him.

Yes or no?





“Yes,” she whispered into his ear. He embraced her even tighter.

Everybody cheered. What a sweet proposal.



Jaejoong’s mouth dropped. She gave him false hope. SHE GAVE HIM FALSE HOPE! When he felt so confident, she took away all the reasons as to why he should be confident. What a b*tch. If that Cheukie could pull one, so could he. He would pull an even greater one. Oh, they just wait. With augmenting anger, he treaded over to the office.


“WHY OH WHY, TAE HEE?” Jiwoon cried, sinking to the ground, hand outstretched towards the sky. Apparently, he and his friend had escaped Junsu and Changmin’s grasps. 

“I could’ve given you an even BIGGER diamond!” Yoochun whined.

“I could’ve given you an even BIGGER diamond too!” Jiwoon repeated and then thought. ”Oh wait... never mind. I can’t even afford a diamond for myself. LOL. But it’s the thought that counts, right Tae Hee?” He grinned.

“Don’t worry, guys. I still love you!” she giggled and hugged them.

Suddenly, Yoochun sobered. He looked into her eyes. “Tae Hee... there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Eh?” 

“As much as you love me, Tae Hee, I want you to know that I’ve moved on... to Jiwoon!” he declared.

Jiwoon crinkled his nose. “EW!”

“SERIOUSLY?” she questioned excitedly. She had sensed something was up when they finally became allies.

He laughed and waved his hand at the air. “Heck no! Do you really think I’d change my ual preference over this guy? Psh. The day I become gay is the day...um... is the day... oh whatever. It’ll never happen. LOL.”

“Does that mean you’ll be leaving Korea?” his friend questioned quietly.

She looked at the floor. “Yeah... I think so.”

“HOW CAN YOU!?” Seung Yeon cried aloud, obviously fuming. 

Oh great, Tae Hee thought. The whole crowd’s here.

“Calm down, Seung Yeon,” Junsu whispered.

Younha spoke up. “So you’re just leaving? Leaving us. Leaving your new-found family. Leaving your COMPANY?”


“Oh I KNOW! The day I turn gay is the day Changmin hyung stops eating!” Yoochun shouted, pointing his finger up at the sky (you know, the “smart” pose). Younha and Seung Yeon glared at him. They were just about to tell him off when the speaker overhead boomed with somebody’s voice. Jaejoong’s?



“Hello? Um, am I on?” Everybody froze and looked up. “Well, I probably am, right? Haha. Um, well since there’s been a love bug going around, I might as well spread it too. Hm... where to start? Well, I guess there’s a confession I have to make.” He paused. “Or maybe not. You know what? Let’s just cut to the chase. Kim Sung Hee, will you marry me?”



Everybody shrieked in excitement---except for Tae Hee and the people surrounding her. Who would’ve known Mr. “Cool” could be so irrational. 

“I think I feel a bit sick. I’m going home,” Tae Hee declared softly, turning towards the direction of her old house.