Taeyeon stared at her friend, who had returned from her Saturday class in a mood that’s less-than-happy, and stormed through the main door of their shared apartment, almost knocking it down.

“What’s wrong, Yuri?”

Yuri sulked and sighed. “Jaejoong got me in trouble with Mrs Oh.”

“What did that nincompoop do?”

“He barged into my class, thinking he was charming enough to sweep the old hag off her feet, and dragged me out.”

“On a Saturday? What could be so urgent?”

Yuri glared at her, questioning whether she could really be that clueless. Taeyeon stared back in puzzlement before realizing what it was about. formed an O-shape and she narrowed her eyes.

“Oh no he didn’t.”

“Oh yes he did. It was about you.”

“I’m sorry.” Taeyeon pouted.

“You don’t need to apologize,” Yuri replied, sighing her frustration away. “I have detention every Saturday now, after class. If Jaejoong does something bad to me again, I’ll kill him, dismember him, and throw him into a rubbish chute. Mrs Oh made me clean up all the art classrooms!”

“I’d get revenge for you, but I’m trying to keep my distance. Are you really going to help him woo me?”

“Of course not. Why would I like my best friend date an idiot like him? If I had to throw you to somebody, I’d rather it be Yunho. He’s rich, he’s hot, he’s smart, he’s nice… But he’s in love with Yoona.”

“How do you know he was in love with Yoona?!”

“I see it in his eyes.”

“Bull, Yuri, you see a lot of things in people’s eyes!”

“Hey, can’t blame me for that.”

“Anyway, even if I had to be thrown to somebody, I’d want Junsu.”

Yuri stared at her with a stoic expression, recalling the conversation she had with Junsu the other day. “Let’s hope he likes you back,” she responded.

“I don’t think he does.”

Yuri shrugged. “You don’t know.” But I know.

= = =

“Mr Jung, you have a phone call.”

“Who is it from?”

“Your wife.”

“Put her on.”

…

“Hello?”

“Yes?”

“I think we need to talk. About Yunho. Are you free during lunch?”

= = =

When Seulong stormed off that afternoon, he regretted his outburst immediately. He wished he had kept his cool to explain everything to Yoona properly, but no.

He wasn’t angry. He was just scared. But who could he tell this to? He only had Yoona, and his job was to protect her, not worry her.

And he was scared… Because Yoona could be walking right into the hands of danger.

= = =

Seulong’s outburst kept Yoona thinking all day and all night long. She thought deep and thought hard, wondering what could have possibly led to that outburst.

Who is Yunho to him? Why did he get angry? Why did he get so uptight? Does he know Yunho? Does he hate Yunho?

And then she went off to sleep, the question marks tugging down on her brain like anchors on a ship. After all, she’d been educated to keep her questions to herself, because one day, someday, the answer will occur to her naturally.

That night, she slept soundly, a rare but sweet dream invading her mind. It involved her going on a date with Yunho, receiving flowers, buying couple rings, watching the sunset, watching the stars, everything that could possibly happen… with Yunho.

She woke up realizing that maybe, just maybe, Yunho could’ve meant a lot more to her than she thought he did.

= = =

“…”

“…”

“About Yunho…”

“Yes?”

“He’s making friends in his new school.”

“Did he run into trouble?”

“No. But amongst the new friends he’s made, one of them is…”

“Is…?”

“Im Yoona.”

“Im… Yoona?! Isn’t she—“

“Yes, it’s her.”

“How did you know about this…”

“I’ve been trying to make a little effort to make sure that Yunho never meets her again. But I overlooked this new school he’s going to, and now look, he’s friends with her. What’s more worrying than this is…”

“Is…? Don’t leave me hanging!”

“Yunho could be in love with her.”

“With Im Yoona!? No! This is disastrous! Aye, this is a catastrophe! This must not happen! We don’t know what Yunho is getting himself into—“

“That’s exactly my point, Jung. But we can’t just tell him why.”

“I’ll try and talk to him tonight, then. Does the girl seem like she could harm him?”

“On the outside, she’s a simple girl, nothing sinister about her image. But if she wants to harm Yunho, she has a perfectly good reason to.”

“Why?”

“She has a limp.”

“From the accident…?”

“Yes.”

“Aye, this is atrocious… Yunho cannot find out about the truth. It’s his mother we’re talking about.”

= = =

Yuri sat by her table, a piece of white paper right in front of her. There were a few sketches, but no solid drawings. She twisted her pencil between her fingers, and nearly dropped it when her phone rang with a shrill.

“Hello?”

“Beautiful Yuri! It’s me.”

“… Jaejoong. What do you want? I’m doing homework.”

“You promised to help me with Taeyeon!”

“Well, I will, but I’m busy right now!”

“I’m just asking one question,” he pleaded, a pout audible as Yuri stifled her laughter at Jaejoong’s aegyo-laced voice.

“Be quick.”

“Okay. Does Taeyeon like me?”

“I’m pretty sure you know the answer to that.”

“… Okay, fine. Then… Does Taeyeon like anybody else?”

Yuri glanced at the door of the bedroom, which, once opened, would lead to the living room where Taeyeon was. She stared at the door, trying to access Taeyeon’s thoughts through layers of wood and air. But what for, when she already knew the answer?

“Nope, not that I know of any,” she lied.

“Are you sure? Then why doesn’t she like me?”

“Just so you know, I don’t like you too.”

“But why?! I called you beautiful—“

“You don’t mean it—“

“I do mean it—“

“You’re just saying it because I’m helping you!”

“I—I—Okay fine.”

“Awesome. Bye!”

“Wait! So you’re sure that she doesn’t like anybody else?”

Duh, obviously she likes somebody else, and that’s your best friend, you moron. “Yeah, I’m sure she doesn’t like anybody else.”

“Cool. Then I still stand a chance! Thanks, Yuri! Goodnight!”

Yuri sighed as she stared at her phone. There wasn’t going to be a happy ending for this whole debacle.All the best.