Woohyun and Maeri rushed to the hospital as fast as they could. Maeri drove them there because after receiving the news about his father, Woohyun was paralyzed with fear, his mind overwhelmed by the situation and his emotions. Maeri had to literally drag him into the car. She felt like crying just by looking at him, but she bit her tongue and blinked the tears away. She needed to be strong for him. And mostly because she was driving. Tears and cars don’t mix. She learned that from all the dramas and movies she watched.

 The drive there was silent. Woohyun rested his head against the window with his eyes closed, trying hard to calm the chaos within his heart. All Maeri could do, besides drive the car, was to hold his hand, proving that she was still by his side. It was all she could think to do.

After they parked, Woohyun jolted out of the car and ran into the hospital’s lobby, with Maeri trailing a few steps behind. “Ahjumma!” Woohyun shouted, running towards Maeri’s mother. “Where is he? Where’s everybody?”

“Woohyun! Maeri! You’re finally here. Come on. I’ll take you were the others are,” she spoke while she hugged the both of them suffocatingly tight. She navigated down the white halls at a brisk  pace, but it still wasn’t fast enough for Woohyun. He was practically stepping on her heels with impatience. The longer he didn’t see his father, the more his mind became occupied with thinking of the worst possible outcome.

“This is it,” her mother announced, when they reached the room. “He’s…” she started to tell Woohyun, but he already barged inside the room. “Asleep.” Maeri was about to follow after him, but her mother tugged on her arm, pulling her away from the doorway.

Maeri furrowed her eyebrows, looking at her mother as if she was a lunatic. “Why can’t I go in?” she asked roughly.

Her mother smirked and pointed towards her daughter’s shirt. Maeri looked down, and immediately felt heat rush to her cheeks. In her rush to get dressed again after her and Woohyun’s intimate misadventure, she apparently had skipped several buttons while putting her shirt on, causing the whole shirt to be askew, exposing bits of her stomach and bra with its awkward gaps. “Fix that first,” her mother gently chided.

“I meant to do this,” Maeri lied. “It’s the hot new trend.”

“Uh huh,” her mother responded with an amused smile. “Also, get Woohyun to fix his hair. Jonghyun’s in there for crying out loud. He’s only 12! But it’s nice to see that you two are healthy.” With that, she left her daughter stunned and walked into the hospital room.

There’s no way she knows that we were… Maeri thought as she re-buttoned her shirt, but as soon as she walked into the room, she saw what her mother had been referring to. There was Woohyun, sitting by his mother at his father’s bed-side, holding his hand, and his hair was messy, sticking out at random angles where Maeri had pulled it earlier. He had hair, in a hospital. Maeri immediately shuffled over to his side after acknowledging her brother, father, and Woohyun’s mother. Standing next to him, she tried to nonchalantly (and under the guise of comforting) smooth his hair back into place. Woohyun, not knowing what she was actually doing, leaned into her side, accepting her petting.

“How is he? What’s going to happen now?” he asked, the back of his father’s hand.

His mother sighed. “He’s not good. A coronary artery is completely clogged. He’ll be staying here for a few days, and then he’ll undergo bypass surgery.” She brought a damp, crumpled tissue to her eyes to wipe the tears spilling out of them. Woohyun let go of his father’s hand, moved away from Maeri, and put his arm around his mother, making her lean onto him.

“When’s Boohyun-hyung going to be here?” Jonghyun asked with a great yawn. He shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable.

Mrs. Nam frowned and looked at her phone. “He texted me back saying that he wouldn’t be able to make it until tomorrow. But he’s taken the rest of the week off to stay with us.”

Woohyun bit his lower lip while he nodded.  “So how long will he be here for?”

“Depends on how well he does,” his mother said with a shaky voice.

Mr. Yoo spoke up from the other side of the room, “He’s a strong, resilient man. He’ll be out soon enough.”

“I hope so,” Mrs. Nam remarked bringing a hand to .

Woohyun patted her shoulder. “I’m sure he will,” he reassured her, at the same time praying to God that his words would be true. Then he looked up at Maeri, who was still standing, unusually silent. Her eyes her fixated on Mr. Nam’s face with an unreadable expression. He tugged at the bottom of her shirt. She turned to him. Her eyes were dry, annoyingly dry. He himself was having a hard time holding back his tears, but she didn’t look like she was having a hard time at all. She tilted her head as to ask what he had wanted. After he hadn’t said anything, she looked back at his father while resuming to pet Woohyun’s head. Woohyun didn’t know what he had expected. Maeri had always at this, comforting others. She never knew what do to, so she normally ended up just doing one thing over and over again. Today, it was petting him like a dog. Well, it was better than the time when she only patted him on the back for an hour straight after he broke up with his girlfriend. He had little, red Maeri handprints all over his back. It hurt more than his broken heart did at that time.

“Ahjumma, have you eaten?” Maeri finally spoke up. “Have any of you eaten?” The elders shook their heads. “I’ll go get you guys something,” she announced as she began to take her leave.

“Maeri-ah, you don’t need to. I’m not even hungry,” Mrs. Nam admitted.

Maeri shook her head. “I’ll get you something just in case. You should still eat,” she explained. Besides, I don’t think I can be in here any longer. She walked up to her brother slightly drowsy. She slapped him on his knee. “Hey kiddo, do you want to come?”

Jonghyun rubbed his eyes. “Yea. Hyung, are you coming?” he asked Woohyun expectantly.

Woohyun smiled sadly and shook his head. “I’ll stick around here,” he answered. And we just got here. Can’t she just stay a little longer? I didn’t mind the petting. He watched Jonghyun jump out of his chair and walk with Maeri out of the room, waving to everybody before disappearing.  He smiled sadly and turned to his mother. “It’s going to be okay.” But staring down at his father's sleeping face, it was obvious that the man was in pain, even in his unconscious state. He also looked so small and fragile. He didn't look like Woohyun's dad at all.

The next week dragged on so slowly. Woohyun felt as if he was in a time warp or an alternate universe. He and Maeri decided it would be better if they both moved back into their parents' house. That way they could look after Woohyun's parents and the house. They would cook dinners and keep the house clean in their spare time whenever they weren't at work or the hospital. Woohyun hated those visits to the hospital. All they would do is sit around his father's bed either idly chatting or watching him sleep. He felt stagnant, helpless. Everything felt so out of his control. He would have all this nervous energy built up because he felt compelled to do something. And usually after he paced the hospital room for an hour (receiving glares from his mother and brother), he would excuse himself and announce that he would make dinner for everyone back at the house.

Maeri would join him, and the two would pass the evening cooking and cleaning...in absolute silence. At first, Woohyun wouldn't talk because he was too upset, but then he kept his lips tightly sealed, wondering if Maeri would ever start the conversation. She never did. She would hardly mutter a word to him. But that wasn't the thing that was bothering him the most. What was bothering him was her face, which was stoic, with a small smile permanently afixed on her annoying lips. What was there to be happy about? One time, Woohyun even heard her humming a jaunty tune. Whereas he hadn't genuinely smiled in days, or even slept. Woohyun couldn't sleep at all, even after his father's surgery was successful and he was released from the hospital. Woohyun's mind was still plagued with worries about his dad, mom, everything. His dark circles were so large that he looked like a skinny panda bear. And whenever Woohyun closed his heavy eyes, he was bombarded with images of his father's failing health and his mom's tearstained face. This was due to the fact that all of his worries he kept bottled up inside. He didn't want to add to the worries of his mother or Boohyun. And then Maeri was avoiding him, even at night. Whenever it was time for them to go to bed, she went across the street to her parents' house and slept there. Maeri said that it would be awkward for them to share a bed when his mom was right across the hall (Mrs. Nam didn't mind. In fact, she encouraged it, but Maeri insisted). Woohyun didn't realize how he was so use to sleeping by her side. His bed felt cold, big, and empty without her. He missed being her little spoon (which Maeri had allowed him to be more than she would care to admit).

Even though Maeri was notoriously bad at comforting people, she was never this bad before, and Woohyun never wanted her by his side so badly before either. He had never felt so alone.

His stress was starting to take a toll not only on his health, but also his work. And after falling asleep for the second time during a meeting at work, his boss sent him home to "get some much needed rest." But Woohyun didn't want to go home quite yet. What did he have waiting for him there? An empty bed where he would just toss and turn over and over again. To have his parents worry over him for being sent home from work like a kid sent home from school for having the flu. No, he wasn't willing to go through any of that. Instead he brought himself to the only place he could think of.

The library was an odd choice for Woohyun at the moment because he wanted to do nothing more than to obliterate silence in his life. But the library was different. It was supposed to be quiet, so it wasn't jarring. He walked down the aisle, not really looking for any book in particular. As he was pulling off a book from the shelf, something on the other side of the shelf caught his eye, or more specifically someone. On the other side was Hani, restocking the shelves with the books which were returned. Woohyun smiled. She was completely focused on her work and didn't notice Woohyun staring at her. He leaned his back against the bookshelf and side-stepped to the end of the aisle. He peered down the other side, about to jump out and surprise Hani, but he couldn't see her anywhere. All that was in the aisle was her book cart. Woohyun stepped out from his hiding place and cocked his head. Then all of the sudden, he felt something grab his ankle. "Got ya!" Hani yelled. She was crouching down on the floor, right next to Woohyun.

"Aaaaaaah!" Woohyun yelped as he slumped onto the floor. His hand flew to the chest. He could feel his heart racing against his palm. "You scared me."

"Sorry," Hani said as she got up and helped Woohyun up as well. "I would say that I didn't mean to, but that would be a lie."

"How did you know I was here?" he asked.

"I could hear you giggling on the other side," she answered with a smile. "It was kind of a dead give away."

Woohyun pouted as he kicked his foot against the carpet. "I must be out of it," he said with a yawn.

Hani studied him as his mouth opened larger than she thought humanly possible. "Yea, you look out of it," she mumbled. Then she looked around, making sure none of her superiors were around. "Follow me," she ushered him. She led him to behind the check-out desk, to the break room. Hani then sat him down at a table and began to pour him a cup of coffee.

"Am I supposed to even be back here?" he asked as he looked around the break room which was covered with promotional posters for books. "You just break all of the rules for me, don't you?"

Hani scoffed as she handed him the cup. "I'm just taking care of my hoobae," she defended with a smirk. Then she looked at the clock on the wall and sighed. "I'd like to stick and chat, but I have to go do story time for the kids."

"Can I do it?"

Moments later, Woohyun found himself in Hani's story-time chair on the circle rug, completely surrounded by a large herd of children looking at him eagerly. Most of them crowded around Hani, either sitting in her lap or leaning against her. It was obvious that the kids genuinely liked her. He was reading a story about a barber who was hired by king who never took off his large crown. It turned out that the crown was so big so that it could cover his elephant like ears. The king threatened the barber not to tell anyone or else he would be killed. But this funny secret was eating the barber alive. He had to just tell someone, so he went deep into the forest and told a tree. Woohyun couldn't help but to relate to the barber. All he wanted to do was talk to someone and share his worries. Maybe I should go to a park and talk to a tree? No, that's stupid, Woohyun. There must be a human you can talk to. Think, Woohyun, think.

Then it came to him. The perfect person to talk to. So after he finished the story (the tree ended up being used to build instruments which were played at the king's wedding, and they played a song exposing the king's secret) Woohyun said a quick word of thanks to Hani for the coffee, and he ran out the door.

Shortly, Woohyun was standing in front of the apartment that he used to live in and  knocked impatiently on the door, hoping that he was home from work. After hovering at the door for a few moments and not hearing a sound from inside the apartment, Woohyun turned around and was about to leave, but the door suddenly opened.

"Oh, Woohyun it's you...Dongwoo's not home right now,"  Sungkyu said, confused that Woohyun had suddenly appeared at his door.

Woohyun rubbed the back of his neck with his hands. "That's okay. I was actually looking for you."

Sungkyu's small eyes widened, and he pointed to himself. "Me?"

Woohyun nodded. "Eung. Can I come in?" he asked. Instead of responding with words, Sungkyu just opened the door and ushered him inside. Woohyun immediately stepped inside and walked over to the fishbowl, teasing the red betta fish with his finger. "Hey little me! How's it going?" he cooed. He then looked up at Sungkyu who was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, eyeing the intruder suspiciously. Woohyun forced a smile onto his face, trying to put the man at ease, but Sungkyu ended up looking even more confused.

"So, Woohyun," Sungkyu finally began, walking over to the fishbowl and dropping some fish food into the water. "Why did you want to see me?"

Woohyun coughed awkwardly, not knowing how to approach the topic. "Maeri told me about what happened to you…to your parents," he gently said, watching Sungkyu carefully, gaging his reaction.

"Oh, she did?" Sungkyu responded slightly surprised. His eyes watched the fish swim to the surface and munch on the flakes.

Woohyun then grew impatient and decided to stop beating around the bush. He asked the questions that had been floating around his mind for days. "Gyu-ah, how did you do it? How did you deal with all of that? My dad didn’t even…and I can’t seem to move on," his voice began to crack near the end, trying to choke back his emotions.

Sungkyu pursed his lips. Woohyun began to wonder if he breached a difficult topic too early and tactlessly. After all, he and Sungkyu barely knew each other, and now Woohyun was dredging up a painful subject. He was about to apologize, but then Sungkyu suddenly turned towards him. "I didn’t," he confessed with a sad smile. His eyes now glued to the floor. "I didn’t deal with it. I ran away. I sold their house. I sold mostly everything and moved here. I even left my noona behind." He looked up at Woohyun, who was speechless. "I couldn't stay there any longer. Everything there reminded me of them. And instead of confronting it and dealing with it like a man, I ran away like a little kid."

After his confession, a silence grew in between them. Woohyun had not expected Sungkyu to say so much or be that honest. Sungkyu's eyes were still fixated on the floor, and his arms were crossed across his chest. For the first time since they met, Sungkyu looked human, someone Woohyun could actually relate to. Woohyun wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Sungkyu looked up at him, and Woohyun gave him a warm smile. "Well, you fooled me. You seem to be holding it together pretty well."

"Really?" Sungkyu asked, raising his eyebrows in shock.  "It’s all acting, I guess, not wanting to seem weak. But to be honest, I’m not doing too well." Then he walked over to the couch and sat down. Woohyun joined him. Then Sungkyu suddenly broke out into a chuckle. "It’s funny."

"What?"

"Well, not funny, but strange," Sungkyu clarified, tilting his head. "You know that your parents are human. Hell, they make mistakes and are far from perfect. But you forget, just like all humans, they die. And you’re completely shocked when they do."

"I know what you mean," Woohyun agreed with a nod. "My dad’s a tough guy, a really strong, tough guy. Whenever we went camping, he would dive into the ice-cold river and stay there until he caught a fish bare-handed. And there was that one time he scared off a bear. He just went right up to it and RAWR!" Woohyun suddenly roared causing Sungkyu to jump. Woohyun laughed and continued, "And it ran away like a puppy with its tail in between his legs. But then…now he’ll never be the same. I used to think he was superman, but now I realize that he’s just Clark Kent. It’s stupid, right?" he asked gnawing on his lower lip. Now he was worried that he divulged too much.

"No, it isn’t," Sungkyu answered and then shared, "My dad didn’t fight bears, but he was cool. He was a defense lawyer. Because he had already inherited a lot of money from his grandfather, he took up a lot of pro bono cases, helping out those in need. And for all of his life, he was this sharp-witted, healthy guy. But then he developed a brain tumor. It was weird, watching him change, becoming more and more sick. I hated it, seeing him like that. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy."

"Death…," Woohyun ended not being able to think of anything else better to say.

"Yea," Sungkyu muttered in response. Then he turned to Woohyun. "Do you want to drink?"

Woohyun smiled. "I thought that you would never ask."

"Huh, that's weird. He's not answering his phone," Maeri pouted, blinking at her phone. She was calling Woohyun, seeing if he wanted to ride with her to his house, and maybe they could stop by for some food, like a quick date. But now he wasn't answering his phone. It was weird. He hardly ever ignored her phone calls. She chewed on her lips, staring at her phone's blank surface. He was mad. She couldn't blame him. She would be mad too, if the situation was reversed. She screwed up, royally.

Her phone suddenly vibrated in her hands. She had received a text from him:

I'm busy now. I'll call you when I'm done.

It was short and curt, void of all emoticons and emotions in general. What had she done? Nothing. That was it. She had done nothing. Woohyun had obviously been hurting this entire week and was incredibly stressed out. And she had done nothing to help him. Sure she had helped out with Mr. and Mrs. Nam, acting like a good future daughter-in-law, but as a girlfriend,  she .

Her phone vibrated again, and she looked at it, expecting it to be Woohyun possibly with a friendlier text. It wasn't.

Maeri-ah! It's Hani. Do you want to eat dinner with me? I'm hungry and lonely. Please say yes.

"Hahaha!" Woohyun and Sungkyu were laughing hysterically on the couch, facing each other with their backs leaning against the armrests. The floor was littered with empty beer cans. They were exchanging stories from their childhood and about their families. "I can't believe you did that!" Woohyun wheezed as he clenched his side, gasping for air.

"It's my noona's fault!" Sungkyu tried to defend himself. "She told me that if I ate it, I'd get smarter."

"Pabo!" Woohyun teased as he nudged the other with his foot. "How could eating glue make you smarter?"

"I don't know. It was something about making words stick in your brain," Sungkyu muttered. Woohyun renewed his peal of laughter. "Yah! I was only four!" Sungkyu then laughed along with him, recalling the ridiculous situation and his innocence back then.

"What happened next?" Woohyun asked after his laughter abided.

"My mom flipped out, of course, when she came home. I had little bits of paper glued all around my mouth. She had to peel them off one by one, and it hurt like hell," he finished and took a swig from his beer. 

"Why did you have paper stuck to your mouth? I thought you only ate glue?"

Sungkyu answered shyly, "My sister said that I needed to eat books too. You know, because you glued paper to things. I don't know it made sense back then."

Woohyun leaned forward and poked Sungkyu in the cheek. "You're cute," he said. Sungkyu swatted his hand away and then shot him a serious glance. Woohyun immediately retracted his hand. "What's wrong?"

"Woohyun, take care of your mother," Sungkyu warned, darkening the jovial atmosphere. "I didn't. I only paid attention to my dad when he was sick and myself. I didn't see my mom suffering too. She died because of it." He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his chin on his knees.

Woohyun crawled over and wrapped his arms around him, bringing the other into a hug. He froze for a second, wandering whether this level of skinship was too sudden, but then he felt Sungkyu reciprocate the hug. Woohyun sighed, "Gyu-ah, don't blame yourself. I'm sure it wasn't your fault. Sometimes these things just happen. There are things that are just out of our control. And it ." Even though he was trying to comfort his new friend, just like the story he told the kids, his words rang true for him as well. It's okay not to be in control. He was human. There was only so much that he can do. He shouldn't be making himself sick with worry for being inactive against things more powerful than himself. It was okay to admit defeat. He was okay. He pulled away and flashed a smile to Sungkyu, who smiled weakly back. "We got very serious and deep all the sudden," he said with a chuckle.

"Sorry," Sungkyu apologized. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and sheepishly explained, "I think it's because I feel like I can tell you anything. I trust you."

"You! You're making me blush," Woohyun joked, wiggling his shoulders, bringing his hands cutely to his cheeks (which were red, but it was more from the alcohol than Sungkyu's words). "I trust you too," he responded. And the funny thing was, he wasn't just returning the compliment. There was something about Sungkyu, something earnest. Woohyun felt himself gravitating towards the man naturally. Maybe it was fate that they met. "It's nice having someone to talk with."

"What about Maeri?"

"Maeri is a...poopyhead."

Sungkyu snorted causing some of the beer he was currently drinking to spray out into the air. Some of the droplets fell on Woohyun's face, but he wasn't mad and wiped his face while laughing along with his friend. "Poopyhead?" Sungkyu sputtered in between laughs. "How so?"

"She's my best friend, but as a girlfriend she suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks," Woohyun whined as he threw back his head. 

Sungkyu pouted cocking his head. "But you guys seem so good together. She called you her soul mate," he ended draining the rest of his beer and then opened another.

Woohyun laughed, making the other even more confused. "Do you want to know a secret?" Woohyun whispered loudly. Sungkyu nodded emphatically and scooched in closer. "Maeri and I are engaged because of a promise we made when we were 18 to get married if we were both single when we turned 30. Welp, we turned 30 and were single. So maybe we are soul mates. But the real secret is..." he leaned in closer to Sungkyu who widened his eyes in anticipation. "Maeri can act so much like a guy sometimes that I think that I should marry Dongwoo instead, who's a whole lot gentler."

Sungkyu nodded in agreement. "He would make a good wife. He's very cuddly."

Woohyun sighed. "I miss Dongwoo cuddle-time."

"Unnie!" Maeri exclaimed as she practically skipped over to the table at the restaurant where Hani was sitting. "I'm so glad that we could do this," she said as she sat down.

Hani leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. "Me too," she confessed. "I already ordered what we used to get here. You still like it right?" Maeri nodded happily. "Good! Because I've been craving it. I haven't been here since I returned home. But it wouldn't be the same without you," the older ended with a smile. She scanned her surroundings. "Man, this place hasn't changed at all."

"That's not true," Maeri began. "They got new chairs. That light fixture over there is new...And the cute waiter who used to work here is gone."

Hani pouted. "I was kinda hoping that we would run into him. I was curious to see how he would turn out." She ended bursting into giggles, and Maeri joined her. She felt as if she was in high school again, especially with them giggling about a boy that they both used to fangirl over.

"Unnie, are you still single?" Maeri asked, wanting to gossip about boys like they used to. 

Hani put down her glass after drinking from it, wiping . "Is it obvious?"

Maeri shook her head, worried that she offended her old friend. "No no. I was just wondering. Actually, I'm surprised." Maeri then put her head in her hands. "I always imagined you marrying some prince in England and live happily ever after."

"Maeri, I'll let you in on a little secret about foreign boys," the older said gesturing with her finger for Maeri to lean in closer. Hani brought her hand up to and whispered, "Guys in England are...exactly like guys in Korea." She pulled away, and Maeri pouted, having been robbed of juicy gossip. Hani giggled and shrugged. "They aren't all princes, unlike what the movies tell you. They're quite plain."

Maeri sipped on her drink loudly. She was sad to hear that. Hani was everything that she had wanted to be: smart, beautiful, charismatic. Guys used to fawn all over her in high school. Maeri somewhat worshipped her too, not in a creepy way, but like a younger sister idolizes her older sister, like Jonghyun looked up to Woohyun. She had really hoped that Hani had achieved her fairy tale ending in England, especially after what happened during her senior year. She deserved it. Looking at her now, Hani seemed like Cinderella after midnight dressed in rags, sitting on a pumpkin. Maeri knew that her prince was coming with a glass slipper at any moment. 

"Oh yea, I saw Woohyun today at the library," Hani admitted playing with the straw in her glass. "He looked really tired."

A lump formed in the back of Maeri's throat. She was well aware of Woohyun deteriorating state, and she was embarrassed to see that someone else had noticed it too. Maeri coughed, trying to clear . "Actually...things haven't been going to well. His dad had a heart attack, and we've been trying to help out as much as we can," she explained with a shaky voice.

Hani took up Maeri's hand in her own. "Maeri-ah, I'm so sorry." Then she narrowed her eyes and scanned Maeri's face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm..." Maeri began but another lump formed in the back of . She coughed and tried again. "I'm..." Then she heard it. At that moment, on the radio that was playing in the background, the d.j. had decided to play "A Chance Encounter," her and Woohyun's song. Woohyun who was so mad at her that he wasn't returning her calls. Woohyun who needed her but she ran away because...she was scared. She was scared less. Mr. Nam was like her uncle, like family. It had killed her to see him like that. She couldn't stay in that hospital room with him for that long, and waited desperately to hear Woohyun say that they were leaving. But worse than seeing Mr. Nam in that hospital bed (after all he had been recovering well), was seeing Woohyun's perpetually worried, uncharacteristically sad face. He looked like he aged 10 years over the week. Maeri had never seen him like that before. She tried to smile, hoping that he would return it, but his frown just grew deeper. For the first time, she felt uncomfortable at his side because she did not know what to do, how to comfort and care for him in this state. All she could think was, I have to be strong for him. So she choked back the tears that were threatening to spill over on many occasions. She also felt like she had no right to cry over Mr. Nam in front of Woohyun. He wasn't her father. But now, Maeri couldn't hold them back anymore, and she broke down right then and there in front of a very confused Hani.

Unlike Maeri, Hani was a pro at consoling people. Immediately she dragged her chair over to Maeri's side and took the hysterically crying girl in her arms. Hani rested her chin on Maeri's head, and gently patted her back. "It's going to be okay," Hani cooed. "It's all going to be okay."

"No, it's not," Maeri sputtered. Her tears drenching Hani's coat. "Woohyun hates...me! I'm...I'm an awful friend. I did nothing. Nothing! I tried to be strong for him. I really tried."

Hani laughed as she Maeri's hair. "Silly girl, the guy is supposed to be strong. Not the girl," she joked. "And he doesn't hate you, but he does need you."

Maeri pulled away from her unnie's embrace. She sniffed and looked up at her with swollen, red eyes, "Do...do you think he still likes me?"

Hani smiled warmly as she pulled down her sleeve so that she could use it to wipe Maeri's tears. "That boy will always like you. You guys were tied to the hip in high school, and now he wants to marry you. People don't want to marry people they hate."

"But...I've been a really bad friend," Maeri said more clearly, slowly recovering from her outburst. 

Hani shrugged, "So be a better one...starting now."

Maeri was about to say something in response, but then she felt a vibration in her pocket. She pulled out her cellphone from her pocket. It was Woohyun, finally calling her back. Maybe Hani was right. Maybe she didn't ruin everything yet. Maeri stood up straight and wiped her face. "It's Woohyun."

"Go to him."

"But..." Maeri began to object but Hani cut her off with a wave of her hand.

"Go. I'll be fine. Listen to me. I'm your unnie," Hani said with such a soft yet stern expression that it reminded Maeri of a determined puppy.

Maeri quickly stood up and answered her phone, waving good bye to Hani. Once she was outside of the restaurant, she began to speak, spilling out her heart which she had kept locked up for the past week, "Sweetie, I’m glad you called. Before you say anything, I’m sorry, if I’ve been a bit distant lately. It’s just that…I’m scared. I’m scared less. And I really don’t know what I can do. Everything seems so out of my control. So I kind of gave up and shut down. What I trying to say is I’m so so so SO sorry that I’m such a butthead. Will you forgive me?" The other side of the line was dead silent. Maeri waited for a few more seconds, but she could still hear nothing. She looked at the phone, seeing that the call hadn't dropped yet. "...Sweetie? Woohyun are you there?"

"This is Sungkyu," he announced as if he was a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Maeri felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. "Oh my God! Sungkyu-ah! Why did you let me go on for so long? Wait, why do you have Woohyun’s phone? Did he lose it? Where is he?" she shot rapid fire questions. 

"Hehe I didn’t get any of that," he chuckled. "You talk fast."

"Gyu-ah!" she yelled and slowly pronounced, "Nam Woohyun…where is he?"

"Hyunnie?" he asked with his voice slightly cracking. Hyunnie? That's new. "Oh, he’s sleeping. Yah! Namu! You can’t sleep here," Sungkyu angrily yelled at the boy supposedly next to him.

"Five more minutes, mommy," Woohyun whined. Maeri let out a sigh of relief after hearing his voice.

"I’m not your mom, or your pillow. Get off me!" Sungkyu argued.

"Sh! Pillows don’t talk," Maeri could faintly hear Woohyun chide the man. "Hmmmm you’re so soft."

As much as Maeri was glad to at least hear the two somewhat getting along, she was growing frustrated. Apparently Sungkyu had forgotten that he was still on the phone with her. "Yah!" she spat, interrupting their bromantic quarrel.

"Maeri-ah," Sungkyu whined, "he’s drooling on me."

"I don’t drool," Woohun argued sleepily. "My mouth is…thirsty for your love." Maeri groaned. She was very familiar with that tone of Woohyun's voice and his incoherent aegyo.

"Aish! This kid." Sungkyu cursed.

"Sungkyu-ah, are you guys drunk?" Maeri asked, already knowing the answer.

"No…pft!" he tried to deny, but his snorting betrayed him.

"Uh huh," Maeri responded sarcastically.

"Maybe a little."

"A little?" Maeri asked with a laugh. "Do you want me to pick you up?"

"Eung."

"Where are you?"

"A restaurant," he simply answered. Wise-, Maeri thought rolling her eyes with a smile forming on her face.

"Can you be more specific?" she asked.

"There’s food and red walls," he tried to give her more information. Dear god, they don't even know where they are!

"Very helpful." she retorted. 

"Ahjumma, where are we?"

After talking to the very patient owner of the drinking tent, Maeri finally learned about the drunken duo's whereabouts. Before picking them up, she had enlisted Dongwoo's help. She could barely handle a tipsy Woohyun on her own. She had no idea what Sungkyu would be like. Or worse, what they would be like together. After they arrived at the location, Maeri and Dongwoo saw the two, sitting at a patio set with soju bottles encircling them. Woohyun, unlike Sungkyu had lead on, was completely awake and alert. He perked up after noticing them and shook Sungkyu excitedly.

"Oh Gyu-ah! Look! Our wives!" he announced excitedly, pointing at Maeri and Dongwoo.

"Yah!" Dongwoo yelled, complaining. "I’m no one’s wife. I’m a man!"

Sungkyu either didn't hear or chose to ignore him. "Yeobo! Take me home!" he begged stretching out his arms to his roommate.

Dongwoo immediately rushed over and cooed. "Aw! Is that my Gyugee gee? How are you feeling? Sleepy? Puke-y?" Sunkgyu had nodded cutely at every question. Dongwoo giggled and patted him on the head. "Let’s get you home."

While Dongwoo was caring for his roommate, Maeri strode to Woohyun's side and knelt down, gripping onto the armrest of his chair. Her face was leveled with his. She smiled while brushing stray bangs from his eyes. "Look who rallied. Sungkyu made it sound like you passed out."

"Just a little nappy nap," he sheepishly admitted.

"Good," Maeri declared. "because now I don’t have to drag you out of here. Now let’s get you up. Can you stand?"

Woohyun nodded emphatically. "For you," he said while tapping the tip of her nose. "I’d stand on the tallest mountain, on a boat in the middle of the sea. I’d stand on the moon!"

"Oooookay, I’ll take that as a yes," Maeri spoke. Whenever Woohyun got tipsy, his words grew cheesier, but they also didn't make sense. While Maeri was still puzzling over his aegyo, Woohyun suddenly stood up, but his legs weren't exactly cooperating causing him to stumble. Maeri immediately took him into her arms. Woohyun smiled and put both of his arms on her shoulders, using her to keep his balance. Maeri gasped slightly. They hadn't been this close to each other in days (which was mostly her fault). She felt her cheeks grow hot. She averted her gaze and turned to Dongwoo. "Dongwoo-ah, how’s it going with Sungkyu?"

"I’d be fine, if he’d actually tried to stand," Dongwoo slightly complained. He was struggling to hold up his roommate who was completely slumped him his arms. It looked as if Dongwoo was struggling with a large buttery noodle that kept slipping from his grasp.

Sungkyu looked over to Maeri with large, worried eyes. "My legs don’t work," he explained.

"Oh no, honey! He can’t walk!" Woohyun exclaimed, genuinely concerned for his drinking buddy. "Gyu-ah are you parapa…parapa….crippled?" he sputtered.

Maeri rolled her eyes and tried to bring some semblance of reason back into the situation. "No someone’s just being lazy. See look," she declared and tried to demonstrate it by kicking Sungkyu in his shin. 

"Ow! Your wife is mean," he whined pointing accussingly at Woohyun. Then he turned to Dongwoo and smiled warmly, "Mine is nicer." Maeri frowned and looked at Woohyun, expecting him to object but saw him nodding in agreement. Maeri tsked and ruffled his hair in annoyance. 

"Hehe I make a better wife than you," Dongwoo teased while sticking out his tongue to Maeri. Then he turned his attention back to his roommate. "Don’t worry. I’ll carry you," he gently spoke as he lifted Sungkyu onto his back and left the tent.  

Maeri looked at Woohyun who was now smiling at her cheekily. She could read his little drunken mind. "Nope don’t even think about it," she warned him, but he didn't heed it and turned into jelly into her arms, acting like Sungkyu did just moments before.

"Honey! Carry me!" he begged with Maeri barely lifting him up from the floor.

"Nope. No way. Come on stand up," she urged him, trying to desperately prop him back onto his feet, but Woohyun was adamant.

His eyes grew sad and he looked down at the ground. "I knew that I should’ve married Dongwoo instead," he softly confessed.

Guilt racked her heart. His sad expression was once again unbearable for her to see. And so she gave in and turned around, "Fine. Get on my back."

Woohyun's "weak" legs found enough strength to jump on her back. "Yay! Giddy up!" he commanded as his heels dug into her side, goading her as if she was a horse. Maeri laughed, happy to see his playful side emerge once again. She could feel the vibrations from his chuckles on her back and his smiling cheeks brush against his ear. She wanted to keep him this happy, forever. So she neighed and galloped outside of the tent.

Once outside, they saw Dongwoo and Sungkyu make their way to Dongwoo's car. "Bye! Be safe!" Maeri wished them.

"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Kim!" Woohyun shouted from her back. He waved at them.

"Hey! I thought that we were going to take my last name," Dongwoo complained to his roommate.

Sungkyu shook his head. "Nope. Kim is better than Jang."

Dongwoo finally reached his car and opened up the passanger side door. "But Jang is more unique. Everybody is a Kim," he argued.

Sungkyu crawled into the seat. "Including you now! Kim Dongwoo!" he teased. Dongwoo just laughed and shook his head as he closed the door. And with a final wave to Woohyun and Maeri, he climbed into the driver's seat and drove off.

Maeri then began to walk over to her car. She could feel Woohyun's hot breath tickle her ear. "Maeri-ah! Honey! Wife-y!" he called out.

"Hm?"

"You’re my best friend," he confessed and tightened his hold on her neck, still being careful not to choke her. He pressed his cheek against hers.

Maeri gasped in mock shock, "Now do you like me more than Dongwoo?"

"I can’t do this with Dongwoo," he said giving her a sloppy kiss on her cheek. 

"Well, I hope you don’t. Or else I’d have to get a new husband," she joked. Woohyun giggled like a little school girl and buried his face in the crook of her neck. "What?" Maeri curiously asked.

"You called me your husband," he said quietly. For the first time since the engagement, and after the several times that he referred to her as his wife, she finally called him her husband. To Woohyun, it felt good to hear it. It warmed his heart in a way he didn't expect. He wanted to hear her say it again and again, but from the embarrassed look on her face, she wasn't going to anytime soon.

"Well, aren’t you basically?" she tried to dismiss it. They finally reached the car, and he fished the car keys from her coat and unlocked the vehicle.

"Eung. And you’re my wife," he said cutely as Maeri put him into the car and buckled him in. Woohyun looked at a stranger who was getting into the car next to him. He pointed to Maeri who was still struggling with the buckle (it would have been  easier if Woohyun stopped squirming like a toddler). "She’s my wife!" he loudly bragged to the stranger.

"Buzz off!" he angrily responded with a slam of his car door.

"He wasn’t very nice," Woohyun said to Maeri, slightly hurt.

Maeri smiled. "He’s just jealous," she guessed. Then she gently shut the passenger door, walked over to the other side, and slid into the driver's seat.

Woohyun nodded and made a popping noise with his lips. Then he fell into a rant, :"Right because I’m married, and he’s a sad, lonely man. With no one to love. All alone in his house. Everybody else he knows is married with kids. But not him! Nope, he’s allllllllllllll alone. I bet he has cats, 20 of them, and they’re all female. And they’re names are like: Buttercup, Jolie, Miranda Kerr, Crab Ragoon,Suzy, Naeun, Bomi, Eunji, Chorong…"

"Okay now you’re just naming Apink members," Maeri joked, shooting him a glance glance before turning her attention back onto the road.

Woohyun leaned his head back against to headrest and rolled over onto his side, staring at Maeri. He smiled sheepishly and softly giggled, "I forgot what I was talking about."

"I did too." she admitted. Maeri looked over at Woohyun again. He was still staring at her. His smile had fallen off of his face again. Maeri looked back at the road and gulped, trying to fight against the lump forming in . "Hyunnie, I’m really really sorry."

"Maeri-ah, don’t…don’t leave me alone again," he pleaded looking at her with shining eyes. 

"I’m sorry that I made you feel alone in the first place," her voice softly spoke. "I love you." She should have told him more often.

"I love…" he began, but his voice drifted off.

"Hm?"

"Cake," he finished.

Maeri furrowed her brows in confusion, and she looked over at Woohyun, who had closed his eyes, and his breathing became more shallow. "Aish! Hey! Don’t fall asleep. Don’t you dare fall asleep, Nam Woohyun. I’m not carrying you up those stairs," she demanded, shaking his shoulder, trying to stir him out of his slumber.

But it was all for naught. Woohyun was dead asleep. Maeri grumbled as she pulled into their apartment complex (she had decided earlier not to return back to his parents' house, like they had been down, thinking his mom would not appreciate seeing a sloppy drunk son). She knew what she had to do, and she already could feel her back aching already. Once again, she pulled Woohyun onto her back and climbed the two flights of stairs to their apartment (while taking short breaks in between to catch her breath and to gather her strength). Once she entered the apartment, she gently laid him onto the bed. She looked at him, panting and satisfied with the feat of strength he just had accomplished. But then she frowned, realizing she was not yet finished. She knelt at the foot of the bed where his feet were hanging over. She carefully untied his shoes and took them off. Then with a grimace, she took off his stinky and sweaty socks and threw them over her shoulder, not caring where they landed.

Then she got up and walked over to the bathroom. She returned to his side with a damp washcloth. She carefully dabbed the sweat and grime from the day off from his face. He began to stir and Maeri was afraid that she woke him up. But he just smacked his lips and turned over onto his side. Maeri sighed in relief and stood up. She stared at his sleeping form, and a smile crept on her face. Then she froze. Woohyun was still in his work clothes. Maeri was now faced with a dilemma. Does she change him out of his clothes and suffer him inevitably calling her a ert in the morning? Or does she watch him sleep uncomfortably with a belt digging into his side and a tie almost strangling his neck? Maeri groaned as she crawled onto the bed. She was going to get an earful from him the next morning.

Undressing an unconscious Woohyun was like undressing a rag doll, easier than she had expected. But she still felt as if she was crossing some boundary that she shouldn't have. At one point in time, she caught a glance of herself in the mirror. Her face was as red as a cherry. After taking off his button down shirt, the last article of clothing, Maeri rolled him onto his back. She sighed and laid down next to him

"Hmmm. Cute," she hummed as she looked at his peaceful face. She bit her lower lip, feeling a pang of guilt again. She should have been taking care of him like this all of the time, and when he was conscious so that he could witness how much she did care for him. "I’m sorry," she whispered her confession. "I was a very bad friend. I promise to be better. Good night." She ended by delivering a soft kiss on his lips.

She should have stopped there, but she was always so curious why dramas had those scenes of a girl laying by the side of her sleeping lover, and she would trace the features of his face with the tips of her fingers. Maeri could finally act it out and see what all the fuss was about. She started by moving his long bangs from his eyes, then her fingers traced the bridge of his sharp nose. As her thumb brushed against his plump lower lip, his eyes snapped wide open, and he opened his mouth and bit her thumb with a growl.

"Aaaah!" Maeri screamed as she fell off of the bed. Then her head suddenly popped up over the edge of the bed, and she pointed at him. "You! You were awake this whole time."

"Yep,' he admitted proudly. "And you just can't keep your hands off of me, can you?" Maeri buried her face in the sheets. "You think I'm cute!" he teased.

"So what?" she mumbled into the sheets. "You're cute and you know it."

Woohyun could barely believe his ears. Maeri had basically admitted that she thought he was cute. He chuckled and opened his arms. "Come over here," he politely commanded. Maeri slowly climbed back onto the bed and scooted into Woohyun's arms. As she got closer, he pulled her in the rest of the way. "I forgive you." he said as she nuzzled into his chest.

"Really?" she mumbled against his chest. He could feel her voice vibrating against his skin. 

"Well," he said. Maeri pulled back and stared at him curiously. "If you do something for me."

"I'll do anything," she began and then looked at him sternly, "within reason."           

"Let's play the game."

Maeri winced. His request was within reason, but she had promised herself to never play the game ever again, especially how things turned out last time. But as she looked up at her friend who was now pleading at her with large puppy dog eyes, she realized that she owed this to him. "Okay."

"Aaand," Woohyun began, shimming his shoulders. He knew that he was pushing his luck, but he decided to go for it anyway.

"And?"

 "Can I be the little spoon?" he asked.

"Fine," Maeri gave in for what seemed to be the thousandth time for her tonight.

Woohyun immediately flipped around, and Maeri placed her arm underneath his neck. He nuzzeled against it. Maeri brought her chest flush against his back. Woohyun hummed, "I missed this."

Maeri hid her smile in his black hair. "I did too."