“So tell me, exactly whose birthday is it today?” Chanyeol had reminded me to dress up tonight, saying it was his friend’s big day today. According to my brother, his friend had rented out a yacht and we were to spend his birthday on the Han River.  

            “It’s Jongdae’s early birthday celebration.” Chanyeol brought up a box of bowties, bringing them up to his neck to see which one matched his skin tone better. He turned for me for my opinion, to which I pointed to a simple black one. It fit better with his blue shirt than the other bow tie, which was a pink one covered with flowers. At times like these, I questioned Chanyeol’s fashion taste. Pink and flowers. How lovely.

            “So when is his actual birthday?”

            “The 21st of September.” Chanyeol struggled with his bowtie.

            My eyes bulged out of my sockets in disbelief. “August barely started – you guys sure love partying.”

            “Okay, okay. It’s just that we want to celebrate yours and Kai’s engagement.” Hearing this, I glowered at Chanyeol. He immediately conceded, “Fine, our friends were just looking for some excuse to party alright? Besides, whether or not the engagement is real, it’s nonetheless a new beginning to your lives.”

            “Will Sehun be there?”

            Chanyeol managed to clip the bow tie around his neck. “I feel like you are enamored with Sehun – it makes me question who you’re really getting married to. But yes, he’s going to be there. It’ll be us twelve boys and you.”

            “I’m the only girl?” It wasn’t that I was complaining – okay, maybe I was. There were so many occasions where I was the only female. Unlike many girls, I felt uncomfortable to be constantly flocked by boys. All boys talked about were girls and games.

            “Nope, our cousins as well as Suho hyung’s will be there.”

            “Great, I can complain to Luna what a pain the you are.”

            “HEY!”

****

            “I told her to call off the marriage last night,” Krystal pushed her sunglasses higher.

            “I think that’s rather sudden – right when they announce the marriage you tear them down?”

            “That way, their relationship is easier to mess with.” Krystal adjusted her glasses for an umpteenth time. “Sehun, don’t tell me you don’t know what you’re doing.”

            “I do,” Sehun shook his head, “the best way is to attack them when they don’t see it coming.”

            “I’m still not on the same page as you.”

            “Instead of breaking them apart with outside sources – like us – why not break them apart internally?” Seeing Krystal’s deeply furrowed eyebrows, Sehun clarified, “If we have people like you interfering with their relationship, then it’ll look bad on our part. It’ll seem intended. But if we were to send Hana’s picture to Kai, vice versa – they’ll break apart their own relationship. We just need to get the ball rolling.”

            Her red head bobbed up and down – Krystal finally understood Sehun. “By sending your and Hana’s picture to Kai, won’t he hate you even more?”

            “He already does – I’m pushing him to his limit.” Sehun laughed.

            “Then let’s send the picture right away!”

            Sehun sipped on his mocha, “I’m already one step ahead of you, Krystal. Which makes me wonder – do you know what you’re doing?” He asked mockingly.

            “Of course I do.” Krystal defended herself.

****

            Throughout the night, I only spotted Sehun once. He was speaking with Luhan – I was planning to approach the two, but Luna had dragged me away so she could take pictures with me. Don’t get me wrong, I love my cousin, but she didn’t have the best timing either.

            “So have you decided where you’re going to buy your dress?” Taeyeon – Suho’s cousin – eagerly asked. Although her family was invested in vacation houses on Jeju Island, Taeyeon always loved wedding gowns. In her free time, she would meet up with her friends and they would fly to Paris to look at the dresses.

            “Not really – I’m planning to though.”

            “How about your honeymoon?” Hyoyeon – another one of Suho’s cousins – said. She was a professional dancer and occasionally choreographed top Korean idol groups’ dances.

            “Of course not,” Luna answered, “Hana and Kai haven’t even gotten their marriage planned out yet – you honestly think they would talk about the honeymoon?” From where I sat, I got a clear view of who was outside on the deck – coincidentally, it was Sehun. Just the person I was looking for. Just as Kai’s cousin – Hyuna was about to voice out her own opinion, I quickly excused myself.

            “I’m going to go outside – I’m going to take a breath of fresh air.”

            “Are you okay?” Taeyeon asked, concerned. “Do you want us to follow you out?”

            “No, I just feel a little bit sea sick, but it’ll be gone soon.” I then left to meet with Sehun.

****

            “Sehun, I couldn’t c