Sehun really meant what he said about not speaking on the way. This left me with very little to do other than glance around the interior and exterior of the car, trying not to feel awkward or state his way too much. It was in this state of trying to distract myself that my eyes drifted to the dashboard where a small clock was lodged. It was almost eight o’clock, but it felt like it should have been much later than that. But there was something about that time that didn’t quite seem right to me.

“Oh my god!” I exclaimed, suddenly feeling like an idiot and earning a surprised glance from Sehun. “The interview!” That stupid interview was today, and unless I was very much mistaken, it was supposed to begin in three minutes.

I turned to Sehun, my mouth gushing before I could stop it, “I know I’ve asked you for a lot today, and I know it’s Saturday and you probably have plans, and that you-”

“Just say it,” Sehun said with a little groan.

I pursed my lips for a moment, wondering if I actually should. “Well, the thing is, Luhan and I have to do an interview and photoshoot today, and it sort of starts in three minutes. Can you take me there instead?”

Letting out a resigned sigh, Sehun asked where to take me and turned the car around.

“I think you’re asking too much from me,” Sehun rightly said as we sped along the freeway.

“I think I am too,” I agreed sheepishly, glancing to him to see if he looked mad. He didn’t; at least not much.

“What’s the interview for anyway?” His question surprised me a little.

I hesitated before answering though. “It’s an engagement thing, I only found out about it last night.” Mind you, I only found out about the engagement last night too.

Sehun went silent then, and I allowed my eyes to fall to my lap, ready for more silence. Suddenly becoming aware of my attire, I let out a snort of unexpected amusement. Sehun side-eyed me curiously but didn’t question it.

“It’s funny,” I explained with another snort. “The very last thing my father said to me last night was that I should make an effort with my appearance.” I pointed to a particularly large rip in the jeans. “I hope he appreciates my effort.”

Sehun’s lip might have – might have – twitched a little. “You don’t seem overly-fond of him,” he commented.

I shifted a little in my seat. “Well, he really makes it hard to get along with him sometimes. We seem to fight a lot these days.”

“Why ‘these days’?”

Because I’m angry with him about what he did to you – to us. “I don’t know. Guess it just happened that way.”

I don’t think I could have been more thankful when Sehun managed to get me to the studio only twenty minutes late.

“You’re seriously a life-saver,” I told him as I clambered a little haphazardly out of the car.

“This doesn’t change anything,” he said with a hard gaze. “We’re still not friends.”

Although disappointed, I brushed it off with a little shrug, “If you’re willing to talk to me, then that’s enough.”

Luhan seemed to be hit with two waves of emotion as soon as he saw me; the first being relief that I had actually turned up, and the second being shock when he saw what I was wearing.

“Eh, Mira?” he timidly said, pointing to my attire. It couldn’t have matched any worse with his own. He was wearing some form of corduroy jacket with a pink jumper underneath and a white shirt beneath than. He looked like a gentleman dressed for a nice tea morning; I looked like someone who had just escaped prison and was trying to keep a low profile.

“I was running late,” I told him rather abashedly.

He just continued to blink at me like he wasn’t sure if I was kidding or not. It was at that point that a rather bald photographer came over to us, clearly alerted to my sudden appearance.

“Thank goodness you’re here and- oh my god, what are you wearing?”

Scratching my arm nervously, I offered him an innocent shrug.

Luhan stepped forward, clearly trying to deflect some of the anger the photographer was about to shoot at me from the way he kept looking me up and down disbelievingly.

“It’s ok,” Luhan reasoned. “She can just change really quickly and-”

“No!” the photographer barked, holding a hand up to silence Luhan. “It’s you who needs to change.” Both Luhan and I stared at the man dumbly for a moment for he elaborated. “This look,” he motioned to my clothes, “says it all: young, carefree, only the other one in your sights. It’s perfect!”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or check if Luhan was breathing alright.

“Jihae! Change the boy’s outfit now. Go to my car boot and get my gym bag to get clothes for him!”

This time I knew it was Luhan that I would have to ensure was alright.

“Sir,” I tapped the photographer on the shoulder. “I think what Luhan’s wearing is best.”

The photographer looked at me like he thought I was mad. “My dear, I have been hit with inspiration. And I never curb my inspiration!”

I cringed at his sudden enthusiasm. Watching as he grabbed a stylist who was walking by, I heard him telling her to make Luhan look as tired and ruffled as I did. I wasn’t sure how to take that comment, but since I had been up all night and had visited the hospital, I suppose there were worse things to be called.

When the shell-shocked Luhan returned, he was wearing what can only be described as a questionable football jersey and a pair of jeans very similar to my own. His hair had also been dishevelled to resemble a bedhead.

He was still grumbled away to himself about the whole thing as we made our way through to the studio where a large couch sat.

“Ok, kids!” the photographer called to us when he saw us approaching. “Just act as naturally as you can.”

Sitting down on the couch, Luhan and I sat there with straight posture and hands clasps neatly onto our laps, earning a disgusted expression from the photographer.

“What is this?” he shrieked, almost throwing his camera away. “Just act like you do when the two of you are alone together.”

To this, Luhan let out a little chuckle and leaned close to me to whisper, “How do we tell him this is how we act when we’re alone?”

I smiled a little; he had a point.

“Yes!” the photographer shrieked, clicking away madly. “That was perfect. Keep going.”

It’s fair to say that the rest of the morning was completely exhausting. Between not getting any sleep, having to deal with all this, and being pushed and prodded into random positions for photos, I was pretty fed-up by the time it came for the interview. Thankfully, Luhan seemed to come into his own here and managed to answer the vast majority of the questions without needing anything from me other than the odd nod or smile. That was until the last few questions though.

“Now, tell me, Mira,” the woman began, looking straight at me and leaving very little room for Luhan to save me. “Dating – and now being the fiancé of – Luhan must be a very unique feeling. Tell us, how did you feel when he first asked you?”

The story we were running with was one about how we had been dating for several years, and had been friends for even longer, and that it hadn’t been an arranged marriage but one we had decided upon ourselves. It was oh-so tempting to tell this snoopy woman the truth.

“Shocked,” I honestly replied, earning a little chuckle from both her and Luhan – who was playing his role flawlessly.

“Yes, I imagine so,” she giggled. “And how did he ask you?”

Shooting Luhan a desperate glance, I saw that he was also waiting to hear what I would say. “He just asked if I wanted to marry him,” I floundered.

Once again, the woman giggled. “Oh, Mira, you are too precious! I meant the setting, the ambiance, the significance of it all.”

“Oh.” That. That was something that I was even less clued up on. “Well, it was really simple actually,” I made up. “We were just eating together at home, and he brought it up, and I agreed.”

Barely concealing a chuckle, the woman nodded at my answer. “I certainly feel that there is more to the story, but perhaps it is too personal.”

I nodded along encouragingly, hoping she would leave me alone.

“And you must be planning the celebration already. Is there anything in particular we should look out for at the wedding?”

Frowning, I had almost forgotten that there would be an actual wedding with actual vows at the end of all this. Then it would just be the rest of our lives . . .

Quickly racking my brain for something that weddings had, I finally came up with, “The priest.”

The woman clutched her side like I was making a joke. I wasn’t. The priest is important at a wedding, I was sure of it. “Oh, you really are unique, Mira. Luhan, you’re a lucky man.”

Despite how early the whole thing had started, the two of us didn’t escape until just after five in the afternoon.

“That was horrendous,” I told Luhan as we exited the building. The effects of my lack of sleep were really draining me now.

He groaned, looking at his still-casual attire that he hadn’t been able to change from. “I know. I thought it was never going to end.” He began towards his car, then noticed that mine wasn’t parked along with it. “How did you get here?”

Ah. That. “Actually,” I tentatively began. “I sort of got a lift from Sehun.”

Luhan’s eyes widened almost melodramatically. “Sehun? Oh Sehun?”

I nodded, looking away. “I was running late.”

“Why didn’t you just go with your driver since you were . . .” he trailed off, suddenly thinking. “How did you get home last night?” He sounded suspicious now.

Gnawing my lip for a moment, I decided it was better to just tell the truth, “I-I didn’t go home last night.”

“Then where were you? Does your father know?”

I shook my head, “I doubt it.”

“Where were you?” he pressed.

“Well, after you left the gala my father left as well. Then I ate some walnuts by mistake and had to go to the hospital and it was Sehun that took me there and we only got out this morning and then he took me here.” I said the whole thing in one quick breath so it took Luhan a moment to understand it all.

“Are you alright? You’ve never had to go to the hospital before because of your allergies.”

“I’m fine,” I told him as we headed towards his car, both seemingly deciding that I was going to ride home with him

“You were with Sehun all night?”

I guiltily nodded, “Sort of.”

Luhan let out a little sigh. “You really should distance yourself from him.”

I pursed my lips for a moment. “I don’t want to,” I admitted.

Glancing at my face for a moment, Luhan looked back to the ground. “I think you should gradually try to cut yourself of from him. It really is for the best.”

“But I don’t think that-”

“I know it might be hard,” Luhan interrupted as he got