She stepped out of LAX and registered her new surroundings.

Loads of funky-looking people trying not to get lost.

Loads of security guards watching your every move.

Loads of cars honking/cursing each other.

So this was America?

Seoul was so much better.

She shook her head, “I don’t like it. I want to go home.”

Lee Teuk cupped her shoulder. “You’ll get used to it; I promise, Tae Hee.”



*



Stanford.

Nice campus.

Wonderful medical department.

Number 4 in the Top 10 U.S. Colleges.

But most importantly, the university Tablo [from Epik High] attended. XD



“Welcome to Stanford,” Lee Teuk announced.


“This is our childhood dream, about to be fulfilled...”

“We’re almost there... Time to go to the Registrar’s Office.” [A/N: So she’s basically applying to the school. She hasn’t gotten accepted yet.]

He grabbed her hand and ran with the wind.



*****


“I don’t get it. How can we NOT tell Tae Hee?” Seung Yeon slammed her fists on the table. “How can we keep such a big issue away from her? She’ll find out sooner or later. Might as well break it to her now!”

“Told you it was a bad idea,” Changmin reprimanded Junsu.

Junsu pouted and crossed his arms. “I couldn’t help it. This is Joongie we’re talking about. If we don’t tell them, he obviously won’t, knowing him.”

“He’s got a point,” Yoochun added.

Everybody nodded in consent.

“Now the problem is... how are we going to tell her? Face to face? And if so, who will?”

“Seul Gi,” Yunho volunteered.

“Huh? Who’s she?” Younha asked.

“Yunho’s fiancée who lives in the States---California. I really don’t get how their relationship can still last when she’s halfway around the world, but they make it happen,” Yoochun informed.

“Precisely. She’s perfect because if one of us go, Jaejoong will know something’s up when we go missing. And Tae Hee’s already met Seul Gi before, at their pool party, so it should be okay.”

“But... what if?” Seung Yeon fiddled with her drink’s straw.

“We won’t know if we don’t try. It’ll be okay,” Changmin assured her. “But we’re so screwed when Jaejoong finds out.”


*****


Tae Hee placed her luggage on the cream-colored carpet. “So this is your home?”

“Yes, this is my humble abode.” Lee Teuk walked over to the leather couch and plopped upon it. “I’ve been living here two years already.” His cell phone rang. “Oh, excuse me.” He entered his bedroom and slammed the door behind him.



The doorbell rang. Looking up from the medical magazine, Tae Hee answered the door to find a pretty Asian girl smiling at her.

“He---hello...?” Tae Hee greeted weakly in English.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” the guest replied in Korean.

Tae Hee stared at her.

“Aish, it’s me! Bae Seul Gi!”

She continued to stare.

“Yunho’s fiancée?”

No response.

“We met at Jaejoong’s pool party, remember?”

Tae Hee’s eyes brightened. “Oh yes! Sorry, I’m a bit slow. How’d you find me?”

“Yunho told me you were going to attend school here, right?”

“Yeah, I plan to take their pre-med courses.”

“Okay, enough of that. Where is this place anyway? A relative’s house?”

“It’s Lee Teuk’s....”

“Oh...so you’re living with him? Does that mean you guys are like... an item now?”

Tae Hee sighed and glanced over her shoulder at the closed door. “Let’s go somewhere, shall we?”

Seul Gi nodded.


*


“Hello?” Lee Teuk answered.

“It’s me.”

He cringed. It was that voice again, that computer altered voice. He hesitated. “Yes?”

“You’ve done well, Lee Teuk. Now that you have isolated her in America, it is time for the next step: get her to marry you.”

“But I already proposed to her and she accepted. So, in a sense, we’ve already gotten married.”

“That’s not good enough. I want to bind her to you, legally speaking. So in the future, if she wants to file a divorce, she can’t because you won’t sign the document.”

“...I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T WANT TO? How can you turn down such a good offer. I’ve paid for ALL your tuition AND you get to be with the one you love. And every month, you’ll still get paid. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”


“But the one I love, I’m afraid, might not love me anymore...”


“Pish posh! What nonsense! Who cares if they love you or not? It’s about you---not her.”

“I don’t---“

“That’s enough! You have a week.”

“A WEEK? How am I supposed to give her a dream wedding in a week? All that planning, crammed down into---“

“OMG. Shut up. Not every girl gets to be Cinderella on their wedding day. It’s her own fault. Just bring her to Las Vegas.”

“But---“

“$15,000. That should cover your wedding. Goodbye.”

The line went dead.

He banged his head against the wall. It had started off so well, but now, it had gone all haywire.

“Mianhae, Tae Hee...”


*


Seul Gi sipped her strawberry smoothie as she studied Tae Hee.

Was it time to tell her yet?

“Seul Gi... why are you and Yunho engaged?”

She choked on the drink. “Huh?”

“Do you guys love each other, or is it just an arranged marriage?”

“It’s sort of both, I guess. I mean, the guys and I have grown up together. Since the very beginning, I knew it was inevitable that I would marry one of them. So, it never really mattered to me if I loved them or not. We’re friends, simple as that. Sure we could try and see if there’s something more, but what’s the point in trying if we’re already content with where we are, right?”

“I guess so. But maybe the only reason why you’re content is because you’ve never loved before.”

Silence.

Seul Gi’s expression darkened. “You don’t know, Tae Hee. You don’t know how it’s like to see the one you love love somebody else.” Before Tae Hee could rebut, she continued, “Because Sung Hee doesn’t count. Ever since they met you...Lee Teuk has always loved you. Jaejoong has always loved you. And Yoochun...” she choked on her words, “...has always loved you.” She smiled weakly. “You’re one lucky girl, Tae Hee.”

She stared incredulously at Seul Gi. “You loved Yoochun oppa?”

She nodded.

“So...why aren’t you engaged to him then?”

“Because Yunho loved me.”

T_T “Funny, your problem sounds like mine.”

Seul Gi touched Tae Hee’s hand. “Don’t solve it the same way I did. The biggest mistake I ever made was to say yes when I should have said no. Sure I’ll be content, but will I ever be happy?”

Pause.

She continued, “You don’t love Lee Teuk anymore. Don’t push it.”

Was it time to tell her?

“Go on to become a neurologist, don’t let leaving Lee Teuk stop you from fulfilling your dream. You can still do it alone.”

“Thank you, unni.”

“Before you thank me... there’s one more thing...”