TWENTY TWO

“What happened?” Bom asked as soon as she entered the newly wed’s house. Jae Joong and Min Hwan were lifting the couch, their lips pursed in concentration but she could tell that something was bothering her brother in law. Changmin was opening the boxes while stealing glances at their precious maknae (which made Bom’s eyebrow shot up) who was staring with worry at the closed bedroom door. While Dara and Chaerin were inside the bedroom, in deep conversation and the cameras were not rolling. The room was filled with tension. “What happened?” She asked again as she placed the grocery bags on top of the counter.

“Oh hi noona.” Changmin was first to notice her presence. 

“What happened?”

He hesitated. After all it was not good news to share. He elbowed his hyung after the older guy finally placed the couch near the window. Jae Joong wiped his sweat with the back of his hand. He flashed Bom a small smile. “Something happened at the shopping mall noona.”

Her confusion was instantly replaced with worry. She made a move to enter the bedroom but suddenly stopped midway. “Is Ssantoki okay?” She looked at the younger eye straight in the eye but everyone kept quiet. “Ya! Answer me!” She hissed.

“I honestly don’t know noona. She refused to tell me anything. She just sat in a corner, staring blankly ahead.” Jae Joong’s brows furrowed. He was nervous and worried and almost at his wits end. And it showed on his face. It was the only thing that was stopping Bom from beating him into a pulp. “When we went to buy the other things they were already fans around the place.” He paused and locked his gaze on the floor. “A fan was able to run across the yard and she almost yanked Dara noona’s hair.” He sighed just as Minzy let out a gasp. 

“Ssantoki.” Her voice was laced with worry. She turned towards MInzy whose eyes were already glistening with tears. “Don’t cry Minky, I’m sure your unni is fine. She’s just shocked. Come here.” 

Minzy was beside Bom in a flash. She hugged her tight. “Unnie let’s go see Dara unni. I’m sure we can cheer her up.”

Bom smiled. “Of course we can. After all I’m a rare comedian born every one hundred years.” She proudly declared making the maknae smile.

They were already in front of the door when Jae Joong talked. His words address towards Bom. “Noona I really am sorry for what happened. But can you please talk to her and convince her not to drop WGM? I really am happy to do this with her.” 

Bom held his eyes, trying to look for any trace of lie, and then her face broke into a wide smile. She nodded before following their maknae inside.

And it was enough to make Jae Joong release the breath he did not realize he was holding. The three men huddled closer to him. It was Changmin who broke the silence. “Hyung, you lost the bet didn’t you?”

Jae Joong stilled for a second, his heart ready to jump out of his chest. When he saw how his fan wanted to hurt Dara he felt a sharp pang inside his chest. But he decided that it was normal for him to worry for a friend. But when they finally reached their newlywed house and when Dara asked for time to think over the possibility of ending their marriage his heart rate doubled until he found it difficult to breath. And that was when he finally realized that he wanted to spend more time with her, off and on cam. And the frightening realization struck him in the face. He, Kim Jae Joong was in love with his pretend wife.

“What are you scared of Dara?” Bom gently squeezed her hand. She looked at the younger girl while trying to keep a smile off her face. She already had a hunch on why Dara suddenly wanted to drop WGM. Dara will never back out from anything unless it involves her heart.

Dara let out a sigh. She was grateful for her friends’ support and understanding but Bom’s sharp intuition was making her nervous. There are things that she kept on trying to ignore and one of them was the fluttering of her heart every time her pretend husband was around. Maybe having him even as her pretend husband was too much that was why a fan girl had to make a desperate move to bring her back to earth. “I’m just scared Bommie.”

“Of? His f