Just like old times, Yunho and Yoona walked together down the pavement they always used to walk on. But they kept a distance between themselves.

They occasionally stole glances at each other, but often not at the same time. It was an awkward silence that covered them as they made their way down the pavement.

When they reached her apartment building, Yoona gave him a brief nod to thank him for sending her home. He did the same, then watched as she headed into the building. She disappeared into the compound, leaving Yunho standing outside the building, still staring.

After a few moments, he turned, only to find someone standing inches away behind him.

“Seulong…”

The man gave a stiff nod before giving a small smile. “I’m sorry.”

Yunho shook his head. “No, don’t be. It was all a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding or not, I’m sorry for causing so much trouble between you and Yoona.”

Yunho smiled, a lot easier than before. “Consider it a test for our relationship. So did we pass?”

Seulong gestured at the door through which Yoona entered earlier on. “You sent her all the way back here. I’m pretty sure you guys will pass with flying colors… Soon.”

“So you’re giving the green light for us?”

“I don’t know why I shouldn’t… My sister has gotten a perfect man as her boyfriend.”

Yunho heaved a sigh in relief and let his stiff muscles relax. He bowed, a little too formal for the occasion. “Thank you, Yoona’s brother.”

Seulong chuckled and patted him on the back. “Don’t need to be so formal, Yunho.”

Yunho smiled in response.

If Fate had played tricks on us, then we just played a trick on Fate.

= = =

The next day…

“Are you sure about this, Jaejoong?”

While heading off to school in the morning, Junsu recalled what Jaejoong had ordered him to do the previous night after they came clean on what was going on.

“I couldn’t have been more sure about this than about any other thing.” Jaejoong grinned and sighed. “You better do as I say.”

“It’s a little sudden, don’t you think? I mean, she’s only starting to like you now, and then I intercept and it’s just—“

Jaejoong stopped in his tracks and slapped his friend across the shoulder. “Come on. What was the rationale behind me telling you this yesterday?”

Junsu thought hard. “That… If your best friend could be happy, you didn’t see why you couldn’t make me do that…”

Jaejoong nodded. “Exactly. I would rather have the honor of making somebody happy than to make myself happy, and thereby making another person unhappy. Makes sense right?”

Junsu in some air and scrutinized Jaejoong from tip to toe. “Let’s not talk about me. Let’s talk about you. I’m honestly really keen to know who gave you that so-called life lesson yesterday.”

Jaejoong winked. “That’s for me to know and for you to find out.”

“That’s why I’m asking you, I’m finding out!”

“Well, I’m not going to tell you anything. But if you should know, the whole thing about having the honor to make my best friend happy was from her.”

“It can’t be Taeyeon, right?”

“No way, she’s still clueless about this.”

“Then who is it?”

“It’s… for me to know and for you to find out.” Then Jaejoong skipped away, leaving a confused and exasperated Junsu in his wake.

“Jaejoong has grown up… Kudos to that girl for being able to make him grow up!”

= = =

Dear Yunho’s mother,

I want to apologize for what has happened. Though your son has assured me a countless number of times that it wasn’t my fault, I can’t help but feel sorry about it. Do at least give me the honor of apologizing to you.

Yunho’s mother, you are a beautiful woman. Yunho has told me so and he has glorified you a lot in his words. While I have no recollection of ever meeting you face to face, I know for sure that you are a beautiful person. Your heart is what has made you beautiful.

Fate has allowed me and Yunho to meet, and fall in love. While I have no clue how long we will be together for, I promise that I will not hurt your son. Sometimes, I think you meant for this to happen to us… If it is your actions that allowed me to meet him, I thank you. Because nothing could have been better than this.

Thank you, Yunho’s mother. Thank you.

Sincerely, Yoona.

“What are you writing?” Seulong asked suddenly, scaring the living daylights out of the girl.

“Ah, oppa! You scared me!”

“Sorry about that. What are you writing, though? Shouldn’t you be heading for school?”

Yoona’s head snapped towards the clock, and she saw that she only had fifteen minutes to head to school. “Oh, damn! I need to get going, oppa! Bye!”

She grabbed the piece of paper and sped out the door, leaving a surprised Seulong behind. He stared at her and smiled. Im Yoona is back.

While Yoona had been zooming down the staircase and out the building, she almost ran into a figure outside, on his bicycle. “Shucks, sorry—“

The figure grabbed hold of her hand and stopped her from moving. She looked up, staring into his eyes instead. “Get on my bicycle,” he ordered, patting the seat behind him.

She stood there for a moment, unable to comprehend the sudden rush of events, until Yunho pushed her into the seat and started riding away. “You’re lucky you ran into me!”

She slowly settled back into reality and glanced at the broad back in front of her. Then she smiled and heaved a sigh of relief. “Yeah, I’m lucky I ran into you. I’m lucky I met you.”

Yunho cycled so fast that she could hear the wind swooshing by. Her arms had wrapped around his waist almost instinctively, not wanting to fall out of his bicycle. He gave a quick glance at her and turned back to the road. “What was that last part again?”

“Oh, nothing.”

In no time, they had reached the school compound, his bicycle giving a sharp screech as it came to a halt. They hopped off and he parked his bicycle in its rightful parking lot, before strolling in with her by his side, ten minutes to spare.

They still walked with a distance between each other. She didn’t seem to notice his constant stare at her, hands feeling around for the letter she had written earlier on. As she whipped it out of her pocket, she turned to his side, only to find him already staring at her with a smile.

“You look like a creepy stalker staring at me like that,” she commented.

“”If I didn’t stalk you, how would I have known that you haven’t left for school yet?”

She shrugged, then looked at the piece of paper in her hand. “After school, can you bring me somewhere?”

He glanced at the paper in her hand and tilted his head in confusion. “Where?”

“The columbarium.”

His eyes twinkled with understanding and he in some air, turning back to his side. “Didn’t know you were so eager to meet your mother-in-law,” he joked, flashing a playful grin at her.

She scoffed, whacking his hand. “I would never marry you!”

He laughed. “Isn’t that a letter for my mother? You want to seek her approval to be my wife, right?”

She hit him again, suppressing her laughter. “No! I’m writing to complain about you!”

“Hey, what’s there to complain about me?” he shot back, pouting as he did so.

“I need to tell her about your ego! It’s getting so big nowadays…”

“Can’t help it. I’ve got the perfect girlfriend. Surely my ego’s allowed to inflate?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I’m not allowing that. You should count yourself lucky for having a girlfriend like me. I’m keeping you in hand!”

He laughed again. Then he closed up the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her. “Yes, yes, I’m lucky for having a girlfriend like you.” Then he enclosed her in a hug and whispered something to her.

“I’m lucky to have fallen for you.”

= = =

Taeyeon and Yuri stumbled into school, having woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning. It wasn’t literal though. They just both felt weird when they woke up and ended up walking into each other in their own house.

“I still feel weird, Yul.”

“Maybe it’s the impact from just now. Don’t worry, if you fall, I’ll catch you.”

They continued to walk until, all the way from the opposite end, two boys locked their eyes on them and approached. The girls squinted and managed to make out the silhouettes of the boys…

Jaejoong and Junsu.

They glanced at each other before turning back to the boys. “Is this what that weird feeling is about, Yuri?”

The taller girl looked at her and shrugged. So they were on talking terms now? So what happened? Did her story get to him or what? Did he share the story with Junsu and started laughing at her and reconciled because of that? Oh no, Kim Jaejoong. If he did that, she’ll break him into two. Two or more. A million pieces, perhaps.

Yuri walked with Taeyeon now, a little defensive. Jaejoong smiled at her but Yuri merely stared back. He arched a brow and made a mental note to ask her what was wrong. Then he turned back to his best friend. “Go, Junsu. Don’t miss this chance.”

Junsu glanced back at his friend, still unwilling to do it. “Jaejoong, please… Not today. Tomorrow?”

Jaejoong shook his head. “Today. Or never.”

“Uh… Any other choices?”

Jaejoong sighed and pushed his friend forward, almost knocking into Taeyeon. The four of them stopped in the middle of the hallway. Jaejoong smiled at Taeyeon. “Taeyeon, Junsu has something to say to you.”

Then he turned to Yuri, who was slowly understanding the issue. “And I… have something to settle with Yuri.” With that, he didn’t even give her any time to respond. He grabbed her hand and broke into a calm walk, before breaking into a quick run that led them around the corner, successfully hiding them out of sight from Junsu and Taeyeon.

Yuri wrenched her hand out of Jaejoong’s, folding her arms and staring at him. “What was that for? We don’t have anything to settle!”

Jaejoong chuckled. “But… Those two do.” Then he jabbed a thumb at their direction and sighed, in relief. Then he leaned against the wall, followed by Yuri a moment later.

= = =

Junsu was left with Taeyeon the moment his best friend had fled with hers. He coughed nervously, trying not to look at the girl in front of her.

“Yes, Junsu? You said you had something to say to me…”

He coughed again. “Uh, yes, I have something to say to you.”

“Go ahead.”

He tousled his hair, but it was too short to be messed up. He stuck his hand into his pocket awkwardly, fidgeting around like an uneasy kid. Then Taeyeon put her hand on his arm. “Chill, Junsu. Just say what you want to say.”

He almost flinched and jumped away when the contact was made between her hand and his arm. He had to channel Jaejoong’s words from yesterday in order to do this. “Uh… I need to talk to you about… Me.”

“You?” Taeyeon arched a brow with a questioning look.

“Yes. I… I just need to tell you that… From the start… I’ve always… Liked you.”

Taeyeon’s hand slipped from his arm to her side. hung open in a tiny O. Junsu glanced at her expression and sighed in exasperation. “Shucks, I shouldn’t have said this, right? I’ll—I’ll just get going now—“

He took a few steps, wanting to get the hell out of this situation with her, but Taeyeon grabbed onto his arm. “No, wait, don’t go.”

Junsu flinched at this sudden action and turned back to her. Her expression was a mix of confusion and… happiness. “Repeat what you said, Junsu. It’s not a joke, is it?”

Junsu found himself tongue-tied. “Uh, of course not. I said I… I said I… I said I liked you.”

Taeyeon stared at him, eyes slowly widening. “Is this a joke, Junsu? Seriously, is it a joke?”

Junsu shook his head slowly, unsure of what to make of this response.

Taeyeon blinked a few times, then shook her head. “No, Junsu… Swear by it. Swear that you’re not joking!”

Junsu blinked back, a little confused. “I’m not joking, Taeyeon. I swear.”

Taeyeon looked away, still quiet and speechless. “Thank you Fate…” she murmured, outside of earshot. Junsu looked at her. “What was that? I couldn’t catch you.”

Taeyeon shook her head and looked up at him. “You know, you should’ve told me earlier…”

He nodded in disappointment. “I know, I just didn’t have the guts… I’m sorry.”

“No! If there’s anything you need to apologize for, it’s…” She broke into a smile. “It’s not realizing that I’ve liked you from the start, too.”

They stood there like that for a few moments, frozen in the moment. Then they laughed.

It was a beautiful laughter. Because at that moment, they both finally knew they had fallen for each other from the start.

= = =

They both panted, having ran a pretty far distance to get out of Junsu and Taeyeon’s line of sight.

Yuri’s heartbeat rate was so high she could almost see her heart bursting out of her chest. She looked at her hands and they were all pink. Why?

“By the way, I learned from you,” he suddenly said, breaking her train of thoughts. He winked when she looked up. “I told him to go for her.”

Yuri smirked. “Finally mature huh?”

Jaejoong smiled and straightened his back, stepping away from the wall. He stood right in front of her, staring straight into her eyes. “Well… Since I’m finally mature, I guess I do stand a chance with you, yes?”

Yuri was taken aback by his words, but she scoffed in response. She stood up, levellng herself with him. “You think your flirting’s funny, huh?”

Jaejoong shook his head at her response. “You don’t believe me? Here, feel my heartbeat rate for proof.” He grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest. She wrenched her arm out again, pointing an accusing finger at him. “Don’t touch me! And your heartbeat rate’s only this high because you just ran a far distance!”

Jaejoong’s eyes widened, then he rolled his eyes, shrugging a little. “Come on, Yuri! Look, it makes sense that we start dating now, you know.”

Yuri scoffed, louder than before. “In what way?” she exclaimed incredulously.

“So our best friends can be happy, and so you won’t be left out… And so I won’t be left out!”

Yuri shook her head. She was also trying to shake the increasing heartbeat rate away, but she wouldn’t reveal this. “You don’t actually think that I’ll agree to date you just because of those reasons right?”

Jaejoong shrugged. Then he stepped closer to her, only managing to increase her heartbeat rate again. Of course, his own heartbeat rate rose as well. “Well, we’re both mature now. In fact, you taught me to be mature. And we won’t feel left out once those two are together. So the third reason is that…” He took a deep breath, then reaching out to take her hand. She didn’t fight back, only letting him take her hand in his. She just stared, resisting staring into his eyes, but failing ultimately. She felt like melting when their eyes made contact, but she told herself she wouldn’t. Then again, how would words of her mind affect her if this time, her heart was the one controlling her? Her eyes just followed his every action. So he took a deep breath again, and the grip on her hand tightened a little. Then he stared at her again.

“So… as I was saying, the third reason is that… I think I’ve fallen for you.”

= = =

And so, at the end of the day, the six who fell in love got their own endings.

Their endings could have been very different, but one thing that’s for sure exists in all the endings is that…

They’ve all fallen for another, and if this isn’t love… They don’t know what is.

And that’s why love is like a stone people trip on. After tripping, you start falling… Into the arms of the other.

fin

 

= = =

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(only listing out who hasn’t been mentioned above yet)

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And finally, to those who haven’t subscribed or commented but still read and supported!

 

THANK YOU EVERYBODY. ;A; So much.

 

This story may not have been the best as far as I see it (so many awesome authors out there!) but all of you are. <3 :) Thank you guys so much for the support shown. It’s been a great time writing this and It’s all thanks to the support you guys have shown. <3 :)

 

And the ending… It may have unsatisfactory but I decided to leave it like that. Just short and simple and sweet. I figured I’d screw it up if I went on any further. The rest is up to your imagination!

 

Also, I apologize if this story had caused any unhappiness for you guys. :( I know, I’m pretty slow as a writer because I don’t update that frequently/finish my chapters on time. But I’m still thankful for all the support, y’know. <3 :)

 

Well… Now for a little Q&A. Which one was your favourite couple? :) Haha!

 

So… I guess that’s the end of the story. ;~; I’ll say bye here. And I’ll see you guys around. :)

 

Once again, THANK YOU ALL. I appreciate it. <3 Peace!