After Yuri finished dolling Taeyeon up in their apartment with the newly-bought clothes, Taeyeon headed off to the venue of her date with Jaejoong. Yuri stared at the door as Taeyeon left, watching it shut. Then, she picked up her phone to dial a number.

“Hello? We need to talk. I’ll go over.”

= = =

Junsu patted Jaejoong’s back after assuring him, for the umpteenth time, that his outfit looked fine. He was dressed to the nines in a suit, a little too overboard for the occasion as Junsu had pointed out, but Jaejoong wanted it to be special.

“Whatever you say, then, Jae. You look great. Get going now, yeah?”

Jaejoong smiled and nodded. He patted Junsu on the back too. “Thanks man, for the help you gave me. This is a great outfit.”

Junsu forced a smile out. Glancing at the clock, he ushered Jaejoong out the house. “Come on, hurry up.”

Jaejoong took a deep breath and headed out the door, waving goodbye to Junsu. The latter forced another smile out and sighed as the door shut. He turned back to head into his own room to rest and perhaps, stop thinking about the date Jaejoong was about to have with Taeyeon, but then a loud bang came from the door. Several bangs now.

Junsu jogged to the door, wondering who it could be. As he opened the door, the person outside barged in, almost knocking Junsu over in his—or her—journey in.

“I didn’t think you’d head over this soon, Yuri.”

“The boys’ dorm is just a block away from the girls’ dorm. No trouble with me getting here quick.”

“Yeah, but… What’s the rush? Why did you want to talk to me?”

Yuri waved her arms around him as if the question he just asked couldn’t have gotten more obvious. Well, it was right, in a way.

Junsu sighed and shrugged. “Look, they’re going on a date. It’s fine. If Taeyeon thinks that it’ll work between them, shouldn’t I be happy?”

“But… But Taeyeon likes you!”

“But she decided that it could work out for her and Jaejoong. I shouldn’t be upset at all.”

“But don’t you think that Taeyeon and you should have been the eventual ending? I mean, come on. You two like each other.”

“Jaejoong and Taeyeon, too.”

“Stop pulling Jaejoong into this!”

Junsu sighed again and headed into his room. Before he could shut the door, Yuri had already stepped in, shutting the door behind her along the way.

“Come on, Junsu. You know you like her. And you know you want to.”

“Want to what?”

“Confess to her!”

“No, I don’t. I have had this confidence problem since I was born…”

“Kim Junsu!”

“Kwon Yuri! I’m telling you… It’s fine. I should wish them well. Congratulate them. Hope they have a happy ending. It’s just some teenage love drama…”

“Except we’re no longer teenagers?”

“Well, yeah, that.”

“Junsu, you know you don’t want to see them end up together. You know you’re a better match for her. Jaejoong’s too immature and playful to be able to match up to her. She’s too mature for him. Vice versa. You’re equally as mature as her!”

“Jaejoong will mature eventually.”

“Ugh, seriously! You’re my friend, so is she, and so is Jaejoong. The better ending is so obvious to me and to you too. If you like Taeyeon, confess!”

“I may like her, but there’s no way I’m going to confess. Not now, especially. Jaejoong and Taeyeon are going on their first date tonight. Confessing now is just messed up. Come on, Yuri, you know this too. Now be a good girl and head back home.”

Yuri stood there, not budging, still staring at Junsu through narrowed eyes. Junsu took a deep breath, stood up from his bed and held Yuri by the shoulders, before ushering her out the door and to the front door.

Yuri was strong enough to try and resist his pushing, but he overpowered her in the end. As Junsu pushed her to the front door, he noticed something in his peripheral vision.

The gray trash bin, which was previously empty and perfectly gray just now, now contained a fresh bouquet of flowers. Situated perfectly in the middle was a bouquet of roses.

And Junsu knew where he had seen this earlier on. Just earlier today, while he was applying the final touches on his best friend’s suit, on the coffee table…

It was Jaejoong’s bouquet.

Since Junsu stopped in his tracks to stare at the bouquet, Yuri stopped as well. She stared at the bouquet as well, thinking of what could have been going on. Then she glanced at Junsu. And her mind clicked.

“Oh .”

“Oh , indeed. Come on, go back to your apartment.” Junsu continued to usher her out as he stared at Jaejoong’s room, which was, to no surprise at all, closed. It had been open when Jaejoong left.

“He heard us?”

“I guess.”

Yuri stopped outside the front door. Before Junsu closed it, she had to say one last thing.

“What’s going to happen?”

“If he knows… I’ll settle it.”

Junsu nodded his farewell as the door closed. Yuri stood outside for a moment or two, mentally cursing what could possibly transpire from this terrible situation, as if it hadn’t been terrible enough earlier on. Then she took her leave.

Junsu gulped as he stepped towards Jaejoong’s room. He took one more glance at the poor bouquet of roses that had been chucked into the trash bin.

He gave a few knocks on the door until he heard a grunt inside.

“Jae? You okay?”

“I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.”

“Jae, come on. Talk to me.”

“I’m going to sleep.”

Junsu remained silent after Jaejoong’s cold response. He’d known Jaejoong since they were both still too young to know better. And all these years, he witnessed Jaejoong grow, and vice versa. He knows Jaejoong well. And if Jaejoong says he won’t talk, he won’t.

Junsu glanced at the bouquet again. He felt messed up on the inside. Picking out his phone, he sent a text to Yuri.

Do me a favour. Please help me tell Jaejoong everything will work out with him and Taeyeon, but not now, like tomorrow or something. Don’t ask anything. Just do it. Thanks.

He sighed.

= = =

Yuri sat alone at home and stared at the clock. It ticked slowly, but soon, it had been half an hour past the time Jaejoong and Taeyeon should’ve met. The door burst open suddenly, and Taeyeon entered, holding a plastic bag with some takeaway.

Yuri stared at her and saw that she had on one of her worst expressions ever. She was angry, and it was obvious.

“Taeng?”

Taeyeon set the takeaway on the coffee table before settling into the space beside Yuri. She sighed and the angry expression disappeared.

“Are you angry?” Yuri asked, expecting the worst.

Taeyeon scoffed. “I was. But now I’ve chilled.”

“He was late?”

“Late, and barely contactable. He just left a text saying that he can’t come. No reason, no explanation, nothing. Just an early notice that he couldn’t come, fifteen minutes after the stipulated timing.”

“Oh.”

Taeyeon sighed. “But I should be understanding. He must’ve fell sick or something… Anyhoo, I bought dinner for myself, and for you if you haven’t eaten.”

“Oh… Thanks.”

“No problem. Eating’s the only way I can get this matter off my head. Or, at least, to cool my anger.”

“Right, right.”

Yuri tucked in to dinner with Taeyeon with a stoic poker face, the best she could manage after reading Junsu’s message just now. Jaejoong probably didn’t take this well enough…

= = =

Seulong trudged his way back to the apartment building, tired and exhausted after a day of work. Work had been piling up mountains by mountains as each day grew, and he wondered why it had become this hard. He also tried not to think about what happened with Yoona the previous night, because as much as he wanted to think about it to straighten things out and to deliver an apology, he couldn’t. He couldn’t help but to keep thinking about what happened in the past.

And then suddenly, he stopped short in his track when he saw somebody in front of him. He looked up and found somebody he didn’t expect.

“What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you. In the status of Yoona’s boyfriend. Please.”

Seulong coughed, trying to find a way to get back home without holding up a conversation with Yunho. “Did she get you to talk to me?”

“No, she doesn’t know I’m here. I came here on my own accord. I need to talk to you.”

Seulong sighed in frustration and shifted his weight, staring at Yunho. Yunho’s expression was guilty and troubled, a hint of tiredness lacing the sides. “Okay, talk then. Talk here.”

Yunho blinked several times and nodded. “I… I know what happened.”

Seulong’s head snapped up, unsure of what Yunho was referring to. It could have been the slap, but it could also have been…

“I know you slapped Yoona last night,” Yunho choked out with much difficulty. He didn’t know how to spell it out without possibly offending the guy.

Seulong felt choked up himself as he thought about what happened the previous night. He couldn’t give a proper response and waited for Yunho to continue.

“I just wanted to talk to you… About why you’re so angry… About why you object to this relationship… About why you object to me.”

Seulong folded his arms, trying to show his authority as an older man and the older brother of Yoona. “Listen up. Yoona’s my only sister. My only kin. Our parents died ages ago. I have a responsibility to take care of her, and make sure she isn’t hurt in the smallest way possible. I have to protect her. It’s a promise I made to our parents.”

Yunho nodded in understanding, but he wasn’t going to leave just yet. “I understand. If I were in your position, I’d do the same. But… I won’t hurt Yoona. She knows that. I hope you do too.”

Seulong shook his head. “I don’t know for sure. She doesn’t know for sure.”

“What can I do to prove it?”

“Nothing.”

“I don’t want Yoona to be this unhappy. I wanted our relationship to be a good one. A happy one…”

“Yoona’s too young to know true love from puppy love. She’s falling too deep and too hard into this. It’s best that she take some time off this thing to straighten her thoughts. Unfortunately, she refused to do it.”

“Is that why you slapped her?”

Seulong exhaled and shifted his eyes away. “She was being defiant.”

Yunho couldn’t find any proper response to this. He sighed and nodded. “I don’t know why you object this strongly to us dating, but if I need to prove that I will be a good man for Yoona, I will. Just… give me some time.”

“How much time?” Seulong spat out, clearly not in the least convinced.

“I don’t know. But it’ll happen someday. I promise.” Yunho’s expression was sincere now, pleading.

Seulong glanced at him once before nodding half-heartedly and continuing his way back to the apartment. The apartment was dark, lights having been turned out earlier on. Yoona was definitely in her room by now, sleeping or studying. Seulong stared at her closed door and felt a wave of emotions attack him.

That night, he had a nightmare.

= = =

Yoona was crying, sitting in the corner of a big white room with her knees pulled close to her chest. Her head was buried behind her knees as she bawled her eyes out.

Seulong approached her from the opposite corner, taking ginger steps as though he was afraid to approach too strongly. It hurt his heart to see his younger sister crying.

But halfway across the room, Seulong was blocked out by an opposite wall, one that was invulnerable. He tried to break down the wall, charge through it, kick it, but nothing would work. It just stood there, not budging.

Yoona continued to cry. She appeared thinner than ever, as though she’d stop eating for ages now.

Suddenly, the white walls crumbled to reveal a huge window, through which people were watching them – the poor sister who was crying post-heartbreak, and the poor brother who tried to get to her. People watched them like they would an animal display, but soon, the people disintegrated, leaving only one person – Yunho. He laughed at the two, Seulong still trying to break down the invisible wall and Yoona still crying. Seulong turned and realized that Yunho was standing right there, laughing. He got angry and charged for the window, but that too was invulnerable. Yunho smirked and watched Seulong try to charge through the window. He smirked again and again, before uttering one line for Seulong.

“You were right. How could I possibly pretend that nothing happened, and that Yoona was perfectly innocent? This is my revenge.” Then he broke into an evil laughter.

Seulong glanced at Yoona again, whose figure was gradually disappearing, becoming nothing but a shadow.

Then he awoke with a start, falling out of his bed.

= = =

When Yunho reached home that night, it was late. But his parents were still up, purposely waiting for the boy.

He stepped through the main door and saw his father first, then his stepmother. He failed to acknowledge them, still thinking about Seulong’s words. He was troubled and all that he wanted to do was go to sleep.

But his father held him back. “Yunho, stop.”

Yunho sighed as he slumped onto the couch in front of them. “What now? It’s late.”

“I’m glad you know that too,” his stepmom responded.

Yunho shuffled his legs as he dragged himself to the couch where they sat. Yunho’s dad looked up at him and shook his head. “We need to talk to you.”

“What is this about now? Yoona?” He responded, tiredness audible.

They were silent as they watched Yunho took a deep breath. “I know, you guys aren’t happy with the fact that I’m friends with Yoona. Guess what? I’m dating her now.”

Shock registered in their faces as Yunho’s father stood up, leveling himself with the boy. He glared at the younger one. “Are you serious, Yunho?”

Yunho stared back, emotionless in the eyes. “I like her. And I think she’s an amazing girl. I don’t know why you guys object to this. Is it because of her limp? Because if it is, there is no way I’ll be breaking up with her. No way.”

With that, Yunho stormed off, leaving a shell-shocked father and stepmom in the wake, emotions unexplainable with words.

“What… What now, Jung?”

Yunho’s father clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth, turning to another side. “He can’t find out.”