“What the hell, Kai?!” Sehun winced  in pain as his fingers drifted over his bruised eye. He sourly glanced at Kai but made no effort to throw back a punch. It would be a futile attempt on Sehun’s part. Knowing Kai could easily overpower him, Sehun decided to fight back with words. “What’s wrong with you?!”

            Kai’s bottom lip quivered in anger. “What’s wrong with me? The correct question is: what’s wrong with you? How could you almost kiss Hana! She’s my girlfriend – not yours!” It took all of Kai’s will power to not punch Sehun. As much as he wanted to pummel his friend to the ground, he didn't. Kai mentally reminded himself that violence was not the answer. 

            “I was just following through with the choreography! I was practicing for a dance that I’m not going to even perform! Where were you, Mr. I’m-so-protective-of-my-girlfriend? Aren’t you supposed to be practicing with Hana? Of all people, you have no right to tell me what to do.” Sehun angrily spat back.

            Ignoring Sehun's scolding words, Kai defended himself, “You have no right to be kissing Hana – you could easily skip over the ending.” With much required effort, Kai kept his cool. Breathe in, breathe out. 

            “And you do?” Sehun mocked as an ugly sneer lined his lips.

            “I’M HER FREAKING BOYFRIEND. OF COURSE I DO.” Kai was feeling spiteful – Sehun’s words were just too much to handle. Not only were they harsh, but they were also accusing. Kai never hated Sehun so much in his life. So much for being childhood friends.

            “Then act like it – don’t put things before your girlfriend. The least you can do is tell her beforehand, so she doesn’t have to dumbly sit around for your stupid a.ss to show up,” Sehun said before taking his cue to leave the backyard. As he made his way back to the house, he roughly and purposely bumped shoulders with Kai. While passing by, Sehun added, “If you don’t know how to treat her properly, the next thing you know, she'll be gone. With her real Prince Charming.”

            Fury pulsed through Kai’s veins.

            Sehun had no right to go bossing Kai around – telling him what to do.

            Kai kicked a nearby stone out of anger. “F.uck him – f.uck them all.”

****

            “So explain why we should endorse you.” The blonde model instantly demanded an elucidation. Because of his pressing tone, he resembled a diva – I hated divas. But I constantly reminded myself to be courteous and professional about this meeting. After all, I had brought this upon myself. I couldn't back out now, even when the situation was trying. 

            “Parks’ is one of the most-well known chain of malls in Korea,” I answered with much confidence, “Not only would we be honored to have you two as endorsements, but you will gain international fame as well. It's a win-win deal.”

            “Well, we already have international fame,” the blonde model drawled on, “Isn’t that right, Jonghyun?” He nudged his male counterpart with the sharp point of his elbow. The second model shrugged upon being called on.

            “It’s debatable, Kibum.” Jonghyun then turned to face me. “Miss Park, I hope you don’t mind me asking – of the entire male model population, why would you choose us to endorse your mall? Many companies drop us after discovering that we’re both gay. Which is why sometimes, we have to model separately. This is a first.”  

            “Jonghyun, don’t be so blunt!” Kibum lightly whacked his partner before sheepishly smiling at me. “What he means is that we have the international fame but -" 

            “Kibum, save it," Jonghyun interjected. He too seemed aggravated about Kibum's failed attempt to save his pride.

            "People need to become aware that it’s okay to have gays in our society – there have been many disputes over same marriage. This is an endorsement project that I have been keeping in mind for the past month. I need to bring awareness to the citizens that gays have potential in doing things too. People treat gays special, am I right?” I explained as an image of a sobbing Yunho screened in my mind. 

            “I guess, but how is this benefiting your company?” Jonghyun asked.

            “It isn’t – like I said before, I want to raise awareness,” I gently smiled. When I had first sent the project proposal to my father, he was outraged. He was the kind of man who was draconian on man-woman marriages. But after meeting up with Yunho, who was a gay himself, it made me see the world in an entirely different filter. After days and days of goading my father, he finally succumbed to my words. Besides, it wasn’t all about the capital we would be getting from this endorsement. Rather, it was the fame we would be gaining for employing a gay couple.

            “We’ll think about i