Shinkyu stared at the notebook lying across her table. Once or twice, she would looked up at the teacher, who was grumbling on and on, not even noticing that none of the students were actually paying attention. Not even Ga-eul.

“Shinkyu! Don’t yawn like that!” she said to Shinkyu when the princess was stretching open.

Sometimes, she was just fed up with her best friend. She just wouldn’t stay out of anything! Very impatiently and mimicking the teacher’s tone, Shinkyu said, “I like it!”

“By the way, I have good news!” The teacher announced. Everybody groaned. What could be so nice about Music History? It was pretty obvious no one was listening, but he went on anyway. “We will be having a musical soon. And I know they are some potential musicians and theatre actors and actresses in this class. So…”

Shinkyu perked up instantly. She didn’t want to miss anything about a musical.

“Auditions will be held two days later at 3.30pm. So, those who are interested, please feel free to come. And be on time!”

“Jiyong hyung, you heard that?” Daesung mused. “A musical! Let’s join!”

“Erh, musicals are not my type!” Jiyong scoffed.

But then Seunghyun said something that literally changed his point of view. “I heard Kyuhyun’s getting involved--”

“WHAT? Not him again!” Jiyong covered his face in his palms.

“He told the head teacher that it would be a good chance for him to settle in properly. I heard that as well,” Youngbae added.

“So, are you joining, hyung?” It was Seungri’s turn to ask.

Jiyong was still uncertain. When he saw Kyuhyun walking over to Shinkyu’s desk, however, he felt rage and wanted to pull him away.

“Hey, Shinkyu,” Kyuhyun said softly.

Shinkyu looked up into his eyes.

“It’s good to have you back at the school,” he continued.

“Thank you. It’s better here than being at home anyhow,” she replied with a smile.

“So, are you joining the musical?”

“I’m not sure. Ga-eul?” Shinkyu turned to her best friend, who was clearing up her desk. “Are you going for the musical audition?”

Shinkyu and Kyuhyun both watched as Ga-eul’s face brightened up more than ever. “Oh! Shinkyu, I’ve been waiting for you to say that! Let’s join together!” Then, Ga-eul glanced over at Jiyong’s gang. “Do you wanna ask Jiyong as well?”

“Jiyong?” the princess looked in her husband’s direction. Ignoring him, she turned back to Kyuhyun. “Why don’t you join with us, Kyuhyun? You’re great at singing and acting ever since we were young. The theatre would love to have you as one of the leads, I’m sure.”

Ga-eul scrunched up her petite nose and gently poked Shinkyu’s elbow. Shinkyu looked at her angrily and she just mouthed back, “Why Kyuhyun, and not Jiyong?”

“I don’t think Jiyong hyung wants me to be there, Shinnie,” Kyuhyun retreated humbly. Shinkyu totally loved how he called Jiyong as his ‘hyung’ when he was actually older than the latter by 6 months.

“Musicals are for low class people!” Jiyong announced at the top of his voice, so loud that everyone in the class heard him.

“Well, Jiyong doesn’t want to join,” Shinkyu stated sharply. However, Jiyong heard her and immediately rushed to her side.

“Of course I want to!” he exclaimed with a foolish grin. “Who said I don’t?”

“You just did. Or are you actually saying that you’re one of those low class people?” Kyuhyun reminded him.

“Huh! So what if I am? Shinkyu, I want to join the musical, and I want to join it with you,” Jiyong said in a sugary sweet tone.

“Count us in!” Seungri said, bringing the gang together. “We’re kind of like a package deal. You want one of us, you get all of us.”

Shinkyu shook her head at their childish behaviour. “I don’t know what else to say to you…”

“So then it’s a yes?” Ga-eul concluded happily. “Yay! Let’s all get ready then! We have two days!”

Jiyong smiled at Shinkyu as he held her hand in his own. Even though Shinkyu usually shook him off, she just pretended not to care this time. Kyuhyun, who was supposed to be ‘jealous’, just looked on. At the corner of his lips, was the tiniest private smile.

~.~.~.~.~.~
~.~.~.~.~.~

“Hey, Jiyong?” Shinkyu said forcefully as she approached her husband. Jiyong stared at her quizzically, for he was not accustomed to his wife speaking to him in such a polite manner. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, go on,” Jiyong said.

“I was wondering, can the limo fit another person?” 
Jiyong’s stare on Shinkyu intensified. He cleared his throat loudly. “Why? Is Kyuhyun going to come with us to school tomorrow?”

“No, why is it that every time I talk to you or ask you something you just have to bring up his name?!” Shinkyu snapped.

“Because he’s the only one on your mind, isn’t it? Just like 15 years ago!” Jiyong retorted defensively.

“What are you saying?”

“Doesn’t matter! I’m not going to let him ride in our limo, and that’s final. You better listen to me, Shinkyu. I am your rightful husband now. At least respect me like a wife!” said Jiyong. He didn’t even know why he showed a sudden outburst. He knew he hated Kyuhyun, and Shinkyu mentioning about him would just boil his blood, but she hadn’t even said anything yet about that person, right?

“I don’t even know why I bothered!” Shinkyu shouted. “If it wasn’t because Sohee had to come along tomorrow I wouldn’t have asked you, anyhow!”

Jiyong wiped away all the stray thoughts. “Sohee? Your maid?”

“She’s not exactly my maid, but… yeah,” said Shinkyu.

“She’s coming along with us to school?” Jiyong asked again to conform. Shinkyu nodded. “Like, how can she tag along when we’re in class?”

“It’s not so hard when she’s going to be in classes as well, right?” Shinkyu could swear Jiyong’s eyeballs were almost falling out from their sockets.

“What?! How? When? Who?”

“Sohee.”

“What?! How? When?”

“Tomorrow.”

“What?! How?”

“Her application was accepted.”

“Wh--”

“Jiyong, I think we both know WHAT!” Shinkyu yelled, putting a stop to Jiyong’s chain questions.

The prince took deep breaths as he calmed himself. Then, he pulled Shinkyu over to the sofa and both of them sat down. “Sohee applied for entrance to the university?”

“Yes,” Shinkyu sighed.

“On what condition did she get herself in?”

“Sohee can play the piano and clarinet pretty well. And as I heard, she can sing pretty well too. So, that makes her a potential student at Kyunghee University of Graduate in Music and Art.”

“But she’s working!” Jiyong protested. “When did she apply?”

Shinkyu shook her head, indicating that she didn’t know. “I guess she didn’t tell me EVERYTHING! Dad just found out about it yesterday when she showed him the letter of acceptance. He was kind of unsure at first, but well, obviously Sohee convinced him. And he let her study and work at the same time!”

“Oh great!” Jiyong exclaimed sarcastically. “You don’t have to be sad or devastated, right? I mean, you two are such good friends! Eh, wait! Will Ga-eul get jealous?”

“I’m not worried about Ga-eul. She won’t get jealous because she’s not possessive like you!” Shinkyu pointed out.

“Huh!” Jiyong threw his arms in the air, as if he gave up. “I guess we have no choice but to bring her along, yeah?” Meekly, Shinkyu nodded. “Hey! What about the musical audition? Is she coming as well?” he wanted to know.

“I haven’t tell her about it, but I’m sure the teachers will when she get to the school,” Shinkyu said.

“What if she wanted to join?”

“Then just let her!” the princess snapped. “What is wrong with you, Jiyong? No matter how much of a good singer she is, you have nothing to be worried about! Unless you’re aiming for the female lead?”

~.~.~.~.~.~
~.~.~.~.~.~

“Students, we have another new student today: Ahn Sohee!” the head teacher announced proudly during class. “Wow, 2010’s going to be quite good year, huh?”

No one answered him.

“So, Jiyong?” As the head teacher called his name, heads turned to look at the prince. “You will be taking care of Sohee until she settles in, got it?”

“Yah! Why me, sir?” Jiyong protested. “Why not Shinkyu? It would be easier because they’re both girls!”

“Nonsense! You’ll get along well with each other because you’re of the opposite ! Why else would you fall for a girl, Jiyong?” the head said.

“That’s different!”

The very cool Seunghyun couldn’t stand the head teacher’s insensitivity towards the married couple. In a very cold tone, he said, “Give him a break, sir. Jiyong and Shinkyu are married.”

Shinkyu blushed and buried her face in her palms, not wanting to look up and face reality.

The head teacher didn’t seem to care about that. “I wouldn’t be worried about that. Unless the two don’t trust each other?”

Bull’s eye!

Shinkyu couldn’t help but feel jealous and left out. The head teacher gave Sohee a signal to enter the class. “You shall sit over there, next to Jiyong. He will be taking care of your orientation for a few days until you feel more comfortable mixing with the other students.”

“Miss Shinkyu, you don’t mind, right?” Sohee asked.

‘Yes, I do, A LOT!’ That was what Shinkyu really wanted to say. But she didn’t, of course. She knew Jiyong and Ga-eul, as well as the rest, were looking at her, probably hoping for her to detest. How could she? Instead, she smiled. “No, not at all. I trust you,” she said, and then she added, “You work for me, after all.”

~.~.~.~.~.~
~.~.~.~.~.~

“Shinkyu,” Kyuhyun began. “Are you okay?” The princess hadn’t talk ever since the head’s visit to their class earlier that day, followed by the annoying Sohee tagging along Jiyong everywhere he went. He didn’t seem to mind though. Like, what the heck? Of course Kwon Jiyong wouldn’t care. Wasn’t he the same Kwon Jiyong who dated thousands of girls and survived on the worshipping from his admirers?

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Shinkyu said. That was totally a lie; they both knew it.

“Shinnie, cheer up, okay? The audition is tomorrow. And we must excel in it!” Ga-eul said encouragingly.

“I know, Ga-eul. Thanks, you two,” Shinkyu replied with a faint smile. As she watched her two friends disappeared from her view, she saw a familiar figure walking towards her. “Why are you still here?”

Seungri grinned widely. “Let’s go home together!”

“Hah?” Shinkyu stared at him.

“Come on, it’s getting really late now!” he emphasized on the word late and pulled Shinkyu out of the class and down the hallway, straight towards her limo. While they were on their way home, Seungri suddenly spoke up, “Oh, one more thing, jesu. Jiyong hyung asked me to tell you ‘bye bye’.”