Business Matters

There were piles of bags and luggage that the boys had dropped in the living room as soon as they heard there was food ready in the kitchen. The large glass table was enough for everyone to squeeze in, as if the house had expected so many people while I was left guessing until the last moment. The trip was now plenty noisier than I had originally thought than if it were just three people. Minseok was calling dibs on the short ribs and someone’s kimchi flew across the room to slap Junmyeon in the face with Chanyeol’s loud laugh in the background.  

I could sense how Luhan was tense beside me because our brains were racking with the same dilemma. How could we even avoid the topic of our fake engagement?

“I’ve been meaning to come to Jeju,” Kyungsoo commented, ignoring Tao shoving against him to reach for more rice. “Sora, isn’t this where you met Luhan—?”

I coughed loudly, acting like I was trying to hack a whole fish out of my throat to hopefully distract Jessica from what Kyungsoo had said.

Luhan patted my back while Baekhyun slid a glass of water to my reach. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, not purposely finishing the whole glass in one go. Maybe I just got way into my choking character, or maybe out of nervousness, I didn’t know. Jessica thought that Luhan and I met at work, after all. Kyungsoo had thankfully dropped the topic and continued his attention on his plate. If Luhan and I were going to have to be on the tips of our toes during this break to avoid anything that would reveal the secret, then it wasn’t much of a vacation. More like a paranoia test.

“The bedrooms are mostly upstairs.” Jessica pointed toward the upper level when one of the boys had asked. “The rooms in the first floor are mostly storage. There aren’t any beds.”

“Where are you sleeping then?” I asked her, dabbing my mouth with a napkin.

Smiling, she shook her head. “I have a flight returning to Seoul in three hours. You didn’t think I was going to be here for a few weeks right?”

Luhan stared. “Really?” He meant to sound upset, but rather sounded more pleased at the news and I hoped Jessica didn’t notice that.

That had explained why she only brought a small shoulder bag. I was assuming the whole time that she had another plane following after ours with all her stuff. Sudden relief washed over me and I high-fived Luhan underneath the table. That saved us the trouble of having to keep his friends and Jessica apart (which seemed impossible because everyone was under the same roof for weeks).

In an attempt to keep conversation going and avoiding the topic of Jeju, I asked, “So what was... Luhan like in high school?”

Jongdae laughed at a thought. “He was dumb. Don’t get homework help from him.”

“I did pretty okay!” Luhan defended himself, angrily shoveling rice in his mouth.

Kris swallowed down his food before speaking. “There was this one time we were all taking a test in class, and this guy in front of him farted and only Luhan heard—”

“Let me guess. He laughed so hard that the teacher kicked him out of the classroom and he scored a zero,” I finished.

Kris’ eyes rounded and he looked to Luhan. “Did you already tell Sora that story?”

Luhan had eaten everything off his plate by then and leaned back on his chair to pat his stomach in satisfaction. “No way! That was embarrassing. I wouldn’t.”

“Then...?” Kris’ eyes flickered to me. “How’d you guess?”

“I don’t know. It’s something I’d imagine him doing.” I shrugged.

Chanyeol spoke through a mouthful. “C’mon, they’re engaged. They obviously just know each other really well.”

“Yeah…” I had been pushing around the rice in my plate awkwardly. In reality, Luhan had just been around me during work for years that I could guess what he’d do in every situation. Right then, he was most likely avoiding eye contact with anyone.

“Dude, can you chew before you talk?”

“Shut up!” Chanyeol barked. Sehun, who sat across from Chanyeol, flinched when a piece of rice from the older one’s mouth stuck to his cheek.

Yixing gulped at the sight of a mountain of dishes stacked on the kitchen’s stainless steel sink. “Who’s rinsing the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher?”

“Let’s decide on rock-paper-scissors!” Jongdae suggested, snapping his fingers.

Everyone had reacted like Jongdae had just spoken the truth about life and unlocked the secrets of the universe. The boys had gathered in a group to play the rather childish game that only decided one’s luck at the end. I hauled out Luhan from the crowd, pulling him by the arm. “Do you have a plan?” I whispered hurriedly when we were a few meters from the group.

Luhan glanced back at the group in dismay. “But I wanted to see Tao lose!”

“But we need a plan.”

He placed a hand on my head, acting as if he was talking to a five year old. “There’s no need for a plan. Just go ahead with how they think we’re engaged. Simple, right?”

I swatted his hand away. “This wou