When Suzy had finally stopped crying, she gently pushed herself away from Myungsoo and quickly looked away, her hair in a great mess and her face stained with tears.

“I’m really sorry!” She mumbled, and then got up swiftly, turning in the other direction.

“Suzy!” Myungsoo called loudly as he stood up. Suzy halted abruptly in her quick steps.

“Let’s talk.” Myungsoo said gently, in a tone so sincere that Suzy knew he was serious.

She turned around slowly to look at him. He looked at her in the eyes, and gave a firm nod of assurance.

“Why did you cry? Are you okay now?”

“Those are rhetorical questions right?”

“Fine, if you don’t want to answer me.” Myungsoo shrugged and sighed, “My concern and good intentions are always misplaced.”

Suzy smiled. She really smiled. It wasn’t forced or awkward; it was the beautiful smile Myungsoo had missed so dearly.

“Yah, Kim Myungsoo, are you finally back?”

“What? Can you not make me out to be like such a nutcase?”

“Then can you not act like one?”

Myungsoo looked up and smirked, a light laughter escaping his lips. Suzy too chuckled lightly.

An air of comfortable silence shrouded the two for a few moments and Suzy began to start tracing random shapes on the wooden table with a finger.

“I-I’m sorry… for the past few days… I told myself I was doing it for you.”

Suzy looked up at Myungsoo and let slip a light murmur, “Hmm.”

“I was also dying inside okay?” Myungsoo protested even though Suzy didn’t say a thing, “I had to fight back this urge to tease you whenever I see your face.”

Suzy’s eyes rounded as she raised a fist up in front of Myungsoo.

“You can say that again.”

Myungsoo gently pushed Suzy’s fist down with a palm and said, “Whoa, okay, let’s talk in peace. We can always fight after this.”

“Not like you’re going to win anyway.” He added in a soft mutter.

“I heard that.” Suzy sang.

“Whatever, let’s get back on topic. So, that’s what I told myself, but deep inside I knew that that wasn’t what you wanted. I knew you too well not to know. But I guess it was because my pride was hurt that I wanted to get back at you somehow, to let you feel how it was like to be neglected, to be treated ordinarily like everyone else, especially since you couldn’t stop complaining about how I treated other girls better. But still, I’m sorry. I think I carried it too far.”

Suzy smiled, “I don’t blame you at all. I learnt something really important from that. And I know I shouldn’t have neglected you guys and grumbled so much about your attitude towards other girls. I’m sorry that I hurt you without even knowing.”

“Hmm, so… we’re at quits then? No hard feelings? Still best friends?” Myungsoo said, holding out a hand.

Suzy took his hand and shook it.

She smiled slyly, “Of course, I never gave you permission to stop being my best friend, you know.”

“Wow, the arrogance.” Myungsoo laughed, “You never fail to amaze me, Suzy. Your ego is growing larger and larger by the days.”

“Well, what do they say? Friends influence each other. Best friends especially. It’s no wonder then, since I have an acclaimed narcissist as a best friend.”

“Acclaimed. That sounds nice.” Myungsoo commented, “Oh yeah, by the way, what was the something important that you learnt?”

“Ah, you’ll know.” Suzy chuckled as she packed up her things and prepared to leave for the next class.

Myungsoo was speechless for a moment, and then spouted, “What the – You know how much I hate ambiguous answers!”

Suzy just continued to smile mysteriously, her lips sealed tight. She got up slowly and Myungsoo hurriedly packed his bag, his head bobbing up and down to check if she’s leaving. Just as Suzy was about to walk away from the table, Myungsoo ran up to her and exclaimed, “Wait, Suzy!”

“What is it now?” Suzy said, rolling her eyes.

Myungsoo surveyed the surroundings quickly, and then cleared his throat and said (more like stammered) softly beside her ear, “Erm, even though you are a burden, will you be my burden? Just mine?”

Suzy couldn’t help smiling.

She spun around and said with a little grin, “Don’t you regret it.”

Then, she walked away swiftly, leaving Myungsoo who stood rooted to the ground, smiling to himself as he watched her go.

After a few moments, he returned to his senses, shook his head vigorously and blinked hard a few times.

Gosh, Kim Myungsoo, you must have looked like a fool smiling like that.

Suzy took her time to replay the scene in her head as she walked to the venue of her math class and even throughout the class. While it wasn’t the most romantic thing ever, she felt surprised and elated all the same.

She thought to herself as she stared blankly at the equations on the board, not processing them at all, “I learnt just how much I cherished you, Kim Myungsoo, and how much I actually liked you chiding me, because I know that is the real you, and you don’t show it to just anyone. I learnt… that I liked you, that much.”

Myungsoo, Suzy and Sungjong ended up going to the same university as well, and things were pretty much the same, except that they grew a little taller, a little more knowledgable and a little more mature. Yet on a second thought, mature may not be the best word to describe Myungsoo and Suzy’s interactions. After all, who still snatches their friend’s apple while they’re eating it and chase each other around the mini garden (making the scene look uncannily alike a hilarious Bollywood movie) just for that one pathetic apple?

Yes, Myungsoo and Suzy still haven’t changed their antics, even though they had become fifteen years older since they first met, even though it was already five years since they got together. Sometimes, Sungjong even forgot that they were a couple, since they never acted any differently from the way they were as best friends. He figured that that was something between them which was unlikely to change, ever (or maybe they will finally stop one day they feel too old for those, but until then, he’d have to stick with it; not that he minded of course).

In a blink of an eye, they had completed their final year at the university. Just a few days after they left the campus, Suzy received an email asking her to return on a Saturday for some campus awards ceremony.

As Suzy walked into the lecture hall, she wondered for the umpteenth time since she received the email, “When since did our school ever have these campus awards?”

Quite a crowd was gathered there in the lecture hall, although it wasn’t entirely filled.

She’d called both Myungsoo and Sungjong, asking them if they knew of such a thing, but both of them were not invited, which just made Suzy ponder even more: how on earth did she get invited?

She sat herself down and looked around. She saw some familiar faces and waved to them, but she observed something strange, that everyone seemed to stifling their laughter. She wondered what the joke was.

Soon, the ceremony commenced, and after a short introduction of the new campus awards ceremony, they began presenting the first award.

“Our first award is the most clumsily adorable student. This award goes to… Bae Suzy from the faculty of arts and design media! Congratulations!”

Suzy jerked up upon hearing her name.

Wait, what? Clumsily adorable? What on earth?

Suzy smiled awkwardly as she walked to the stage, wondering what she ever did to receive such attention, considering how low-profile she was.

“Wait a minute, Miss Bae, we have a video to play before presenting this award, so you may take a seat first.” The emcee announced and gestured towards her seat, making Suzy stop in the middle of her tracks and turn around on her heels, smiling embarrassedly the whole way.

The video began to play as she sat back down. She took a deep breath to compose herself first before slowly looking up at the video.

Her eyes widened and she covered with both hands in shock.

"Ch-childhood photos? How in the world did the school staff get their hands on them? Which idiot at home betrayed me?" Suzy thought, flustered.

The video showed photos from her childhood up until then, all sorts of them, but mostly embarrassing photos of her making funny faces or doing silly things.

Suzy covered her face and buried it in the table. She felt her cheeks burn.

“What kind of embarrassing awards ceremony is this?” She grimaced.

She looked up again, and began to recognize the later photos. She finally got an idea of who could be behind it.

A simple line was displayed at the end of the video: Bae Suzy’s clumsiness is undoubtedly one of her most natural charms.

She tugged on her hair and felt like hiding in a rabbit hole instantly.

“Bae Suzy, you may make your way to the stage to receive the award now.”

She exhaled slowly and walked towards the stage.

“We will now invite the guest-of-honour to present the award to Miss Bae.”

The crowd applauded and a man in black suit walked up towards her while her vision was still stagnated at the floor. She then looked up with a smile and held out her hand –

“What the heck? Kim Myungsoo, what are you doing here?” She exclaimed loudly, and then covered and smiled apologetically to the crowd as she remembered where she was.

“What is this?” She asked again in a whisper, her voice clearly revealing her anxiousness.

Myungsoo turned to the crowd, gave a little bow, and then said, “Thank you, guys. The award ceremony has reached an end.”

“What are you talking about –” Suzy mumbled and then said in late realization as she turned to the crowd, “Wait. This is all a ploy? None of this is real?”

“What do you mean none of this is real?” Myungsoo repeated after her and then said with a smug smile, “It is. I organized it.”

Suzy rolled her eyes, “Oh my gosh, Myungsoo, I can’t believe you went to this extent just to prank me.”

“This is not an ordinary prank okay.” Myungsoo said, looking a little disappointed, “The ceremony has not ended for you and I.”

“What –”

“You have to pass one last test before receiving the award.”

Suzy narrowed her eyes at him and folded her arms.

“Okay, what is it?”

Myungsoo cleared his throat and began speaking through the microphone.

“Bae Suzy is the number 1 fool. Kim Myungsoo is the number 2 fool. Bae Suzy and Kim Myungsoo should get married now so that they can rule the world of fools together –”

Suzy facepalmed.

“Now, which primary school essay did you plug that out from? No, actually it sounds more like pre-school.”

“Shh, the question has not ended yet.” Myungsoo put a finger to his lip and said with a straight face.

“ – and give birth to cute baby fools. This is a multiple choice question. Please choose the correct answer from the following choices.” Myungsoo completed the announcement and gestured to the screen.

Suzy shook her head while she smiled at the childishness of it all, before finally looking up at the screen.

A.     True, because Suzy has fallen head over heels in love with Myungsoo.

B.     True, because Suzy and Myungsoo cannot leave each other.

C.     True, because Myungsoo will not let Suzy go.

Suzy glared at Myungsoo, half-smiling.

“What is this? Your choices are screwed! There’s no option for false!”

Myungsoo smiled widely with his eyes in crescent slits and nodded.

“Because I’m not giving you that choice. At the most, you can give up the question, which I suggest you not to, because the consequences are dire.”

“Hmm.” Suzy tapped her chin as she stared at the options, seemingly in deep thought.

“What about… all of the above?”

“Oh!” Myungsoo made an expression of utter amazement, “Wow, you got the answer right!”

Suzy rolled her eyes again, but then she played along and gave a smug look. Some people Myungsoo got to help him out in the plan were still seated in the lecture hall, enjoying the show, and they gave a loud round of applause.

“What’s next then? My award?” Suzy said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, of course.” Myungsoo said, digging something out of his pocket.

His hands emerged with a little black box, which he handed to Suzy.

Suzy opened the box to see a diamond ring and laughed lightly as she turned to Myungsoo, “Oh my gosh, how come I’ve never imagined you doing this? This just doesn’t fit in your image.”

Myungsoo scratched his head and looked a little embarrassed.

He cleared his throat yet again and said softly, slurring his last few words, “So, uh, willyoumarryme?”

“What?”

He looked at her again and said with a slightly annoyed tone, “Ah, why do you have to make me repeat it? Okay, I’ll say it properly. Bae Suzy, will you marry me?”

Suzy nodded her head lightly a few times.

Myungsoo smiled and clasped his hands together in glee.

He took a few steps towards Suzy, closing the distance between them.

“Suzy, listen up, because I don’t think I’ll say this very often, but I think I should, at least once in a while.”

Suzy looked into his eyes, clearly seeing her own reflection in his brown orbs.

“Well, um, I love you.”

Suzy had to stifle her laughter at his awkwardness saying the three words.

“Yah, stop laughing. Do you know how much courage it takes to say them?”

Suzy nodded a few times, but she didn’t stop laughing.

Abruptly, Myungsoo held her face with his hands and placed his lips firmly onto hers.

Suzy’s eyes widened, but in the next moment, she returned the kiss, both of them forgetting that they were in a lecture hall and that they weren’t alone.

After they let go of each other, Suzy smiled, “You know, now you’re stuck with me forever. It’s a path of no return.”

Myungsoo sighed, “I know right. But well, I chose this path, so I won’t regret a thing.”

“Me neither. Me neither.” Suzy mused.

“Come on, let’s leave this place, it’s getting embarrassing.” Myungsoo commented, as he grabbed Suzy’s wrist and dragged her off the stage.

“Now you know. It’s about time huh?” Suzy smirked.

“Yeah, about time to grab some nice lunch! Say, where do you want to go?” Myungsoo asked as they stepped out of the lecture hall.

Sungjong peeked out from the curtain as he watched them leave and heard them discuss about lunch.

“I shouldn’t have agreed to help Myungsoo,” Sungjong thought, “That ingrate, he couldn’t even bother to say bye. And now I have to pack up for him. Great, just great.”