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Yuri’s POV:

“Anyeoung Yuri! How’s my girl?” 

“M-myungsoo-oppa?” I managed to croak when I heard the deep, mellow voice greet me from the other line. Don’t stutter…don’t stutter pabo…

“Wae? Why so surprised?” He asked, confusion and slight amusement in his tone.

“A-ani…why are you calling me so suddenly, oppa?”

It wasn’t rare for him to call me out of the blue but my heart couldn’t help but skip a beat at the sound of his voice nevertheless. I felt my cheeks warm up instantly and I wasn’t sure anymore if it was because of the fever.

“Well I just wanted to ask…will you go on a date with me tomorrow, Yuri-ah? Just you and me?” He asked, almost hesitantly while I struggled to input the impossible words inside my thick head.

Date…tomorrow…him…Yuri… Did he just put those four words in the same sentence?

“W-what…?” I said, hoarseness making my voice falter a little so I cleared my throat afterwards. I cleared my throat more when I felt a coughing fit about to break loose…I didn’t want anything spoiling this moment.

“I--…I mean, I know it’s out of the blue and all but if you’re not busy…plus, I wanted to tell you something really important and I feel like it can’t wait…” He explained, sounding concerned and a bit flustered all of a sudden. A pregnant silence followed his words while I gripped my cellphone tighter or it’ll fall off since for some reason, I felt weak all over all of a sudden.

Speak, Lee Yuri, don’t just gape and stare stupidly into space!I struggled to say something but no words would come out for some reason. I was torn whether to scream, cry, laugh like crazy or jump around like a madwoman but I opted for the safer choice which was to just shut up entirely in case I’d blurt out something ridiculously stupid.

“…Yuri? Still there?” Myungsoo-oppa’s warm, velvety voice snapped me out of my wayward thoughts and internal crisis, making my heart race even more if that was even possible.

“Deh!” I said loudly, hitting myself on the head silently right after for my apparent uncool-ness. You’re smarter and more composed than this Lee Yuri…why are you acting like a pabo now??

“So…is it okay? Do you want to?” He prompted, a hint of amusement in his tone which told me he was probably laughing secretly at my craziness on the other end of the line.

After 3 years of hiding an unrequited love, I’ve found that it’s impossible to act cool around the person who makes your heart race and makes every fiber of your being warm and all flustered. It’s impossible not to get tongue-tied and say inane things to the person who dominates your mind and makes it impossible for you to think about anything else but him. So if you’re wondering why I’m not cool right now, it’s because of you, oppa…

“I would love to...” I answered simply, afraid of saying anything more hence the crazy, stupid lovesick monster would come out and make say something idiotic again.

“Great! See you in front of the usual ice cream shop at 2 pm?”

“Deh…bye, oppa…” I replied, almost mechanically, before I turned off the call and put the phone down calm on my bed. Almost without thinking, I pinched both forearms with my opposite fingers and the pain that followed made me realize that this was actually reality and not my usual fantasies.

Somehow it took me a several seconds to realize what had just happened and when the words finally sunk in, for some reason, I felt like jumping and dancing around crazily.

Did that really--…

Did he just say--…

Did I just answer---…

OHMYGOSHMYUNGSOO-OPPAJUSTASKEDMEOUTONADATE!!

I buried my face in a pillow and screamed on the scream I’d been holding back for the past several minutes. I knew I probably looked like a crazy person, shouting incoherent words while stuffing my face in an oversized, Angry Bird cushion but I didn’t care…everything felt unimportant at that moment and all I could think about was my first date with Myungsoo-oppa.

How is it possible to be this happy about a phone call?? Aigoo…

It wasn’t the first time we were gonna hang out or go somewhere other than school and archery tournaments. We’ve got out for ice cream, movies or a lazy afternoon in the amusement park together with his little sister Minjoo before but it was never like this. He’s never used the word ‘date’ before and all the times we’d gone out together before had always felt like outings with siblings and not really dates.

Date…I mulled over the sweet-sounding word in my head, already anticipating tomorrow. …that means something, right?

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Woohyun’s POV:

I finally got those pabos out of the house and off my goddamned back…

I sighed, before turning the knob of Yuri’s door, prepared to face her wrath and the possible things that would come flying at my head the moment I get it. I knew I messed up this time but that only made things worse…knowing her, she won’t let me get off lightly after this. According to the deal, if one of us reveals about our marriage status to a third party, the other person would have the privilege of meting out the punishment and I knew I was at Yuri’s mercy now.

Should I beg…? Or use aegyo? Gah, this …

“Yah, do you like Yuri-ssi?” Hoya asked in a serious tone, causing all five of us to turn to him.

“B-bwoh?! What kind of stupid question is that??!”

“An important one, if we’re talking about your WIFE. Not a girl, not a girlfriend…your WIFE.”

“I just told you we were married for our parents’ convenience, didn’t I? Of course, I don’t like her!”

“…you sure about that?” Dongwoo added, sounding unconvinced by my answer, as was obvious in the other members' faces.

“….p-pretty much.”

I shook the memories of my friends’ voices and crazy questions from earlier and instead, focused on the task at hand. Negotiate, just like what appa has always told me…negotiate with Yuri and it’ll be fine… I squared my shoulders anyway, calculating the possibility of tackling the midget if she tries to hit me on the head with the frying pan again. Well here goes nothing…

“Look, Yuri, I---…” I started to say, already raising a hand a little in case she’d throw something the moment I walked in, but I was surprised instead but an entirely unexpected assault.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!” A thinly-clad, still-feverish Lee Yuri exclaimed with happiness after wrapping both of her slim arms around my neck in a tight hug.

I blinked several times before I could realize I was actually being embraced by Ms. No-Skinship herself…what’s more, she was screaming with happiness and gratitude, not anger and hatred. I hitched my breath, feeling my heart beating loudly and quickly all of a sudden for some reason and it made me want to push her away but at the same time it prevented me from doing so.

“W-w-w-w-w-wha---…” I stuttered, mentally kicking myself for doing so but unable to say anything else due to the shock when she suddenly let go and smiled up at me, all her apparent happiness and gratitude obvious in her expression.

“Nam Woohyun, sorry for doubting your superior knowledge…whatever it is you’re doing, please keep doing it ‘coz it’s working! I’m so happy I could die right now!” She exclaimed excitedly, before wrapping me in a bear hug and moving around while doing so.

Yuri…

My heart was still beating like mad, almost suffocating me, but I felt like smiling then. She reminded me of the old Yuri so much that I couldn’t help it. For some reason, when I saw her joy, I raised my hands to wrap around her waist and to return the hug but I put them down again after realizing something important.

“Yah, do you like Yuri-ssi?”

What am I doing…!? Was I actually gonna hug her back?! Pabo, pabo…I shook my head before grabbing both her shoulders instead and shoving her gently away from me. It felt really cold the moment I moved her away from me but I told myself it was probably because she was just warm from the fever and the room was pretty cold by itself.

“What are you talking about, crazy girl?” I said, raising an eyebrow at her while putting on my usual smirk. She’d usually get annoyed at this point but she kept the wide smile on her face and didn’t even bat an eyelash. She was looking at me like I’d just given her the world and if I wasn’t pinning her down by the shoulders with both hands, she’d probably hug me again.

Wait…why am I complaining anyway…? Don’t I usually welcome skinship…?

But if SHE does it, weird things happen to my chest…forget it!

“Aigoo, don’t pretend you didn’t know it was coming…” She said, rolling her eyes at me with an amused smile on her face. “…Myungsoo-oppa just asked me out on a date!”

Myungsoo…Yuri…date…

Oh okay…

Wait…WHAT?!

“You and…Kim Myungsoo?” I managed to croak, my eyes widening with surprise. For some reason, instead of the relief and happiness I was expecting, I felt something uncomfortable and weird rise inside my chest instead.

I thought about that dense pabo and wondered how he’d managed to ask Yuri out when he couldn’t even tell that she’d always liked him all this time. Then I thought about Yuri who was so happy and excited…too much that she’d even hug me, the person she hated most, and THANK me of all things. And all because Kim Myungsoo had finally gotten it through his thick head that this beautiful, naïve girl likes him and decided to pick up the phone and ask her out.

Why the hell is this pissing me off…?!

“Who else, pabo? Omo, I’m going on my first date eve----…” She said still all giddy and smile-y, when she suddenly bent over and covered with her hand, coughing repeatedly.

“Yah! You’re still sick, why aren’t you lying down?? Aish…” I scolded, somehow the sight her being sick pissing me off even more. Before she could react, I had her up in my arms and carried her back to her bed…before tucking her underneath the covers.

“Yah!” She yelled, finally annoyed, before sighing in a resigned manner and snuggling underneath the warmth of the blankets. I’d felt that she’d been shivering unknowingly when I carried her and in her excitement, she’d probably forgotten she was even sick.

Wait, if I think about it…isn’t she sick because she was depressed over that pabo?

Aish…these idiots…

“You dare talk about dating when you’re still feverish and coughing like crazy, stubborn midget?” I said, throwing a glare at her pouting figure, annoyed that she wasn’t looking out properly for herself.

“I’ll be fine, Howon-ssi brought some fever strips and medicine for me…” She replied, grabbing one of the said strips from a brown bag beside her and putting it on her head. “…that and I really need to get better by tomorrow so my stubbornness will cure me.” She finished, a wry smile on her face before moving the blanket up to cover her head completely.

I shook my head at her antics and turned towards the door, contemplating how the hell this ‘date’ with Kim Myungsoo could have happened when her voice suddenly broke into my thoughts, making me halt my steps.

“…thank you.”

She said the two simple words in a small voice, a little shy this time instead of enthusiastic. She’s so happy about Kim Myungsoo asking her out that she needs to thank me several times…? Aish…

“I know, I know…we had a deal didn’t w---…” I started to say, trying not to sound as annoyed as I felt when she suddenly cut in, surprising me.

“Not about that…it’s for---…for taking care of me. Thank you.” She said softly, sounding sincere and genuinely happy.

Weird, why did my heart stop for a second there…?

I didn’t expect her to thank me nor be happy about the fact that I took care of her, stubborn midget that she was…that was probably why I couldn’t speak due to the surprise for the several seconds which followed her softly-spoken confession.

I felt that suffocating feeling in my chest again, the one that I felt only when Lee Yuri was involved. It was really uncomfortable and I didn’t want to get used to it but I’ve been feeling it a lot these past few days for some reason. Why is this happening…?

“Yah, do you like Yuri-ssi?”

“B-bwoh?! What kind of stupid question is that??!”

“An important one, if we’re talking about your WIFE. Not a girl, not a girlfriend…your WIFE.”

Wait…why did that suddenly pop into my head again? I shook my head vigorously, trying to dispel the unruly thoughts and cleared my throat before speaking.

“It’s nothing, forget about it…” I said coolly, without turning around to look at her. For some reason, I was scared to see the expression she was wearing right now and when she was thanking me. I didn’t know why but I was scared of seeing it…scared of the suffocating feeling getting worse if I saw her face.

“Sorry, I was wrong about you…seems like the old Woohyun is still in there, somehow.” She said, her voice barely a whisper this time and sounding very hoarse. I heard her heavy breathing, throat-clearing and slightest movements…I felt like I’d never been more aware of Lee Yuri than I was at that very moment.

“I just told you we were married for our parents’ convenience, didn’t I? Of course, I don’t like her!”

“…you sure about that?”

What are you thinking, Nam Woohyun…?

I thought, pinching my hand to snap me out of my discomforting thoughts, before taking a deep, calming breath. I don’t really understand the fear and confusion I felt right now…my rule was to never let girls, or anyone for that matter, to affect me any more than I wanted them to.

See? Why are you scared of seeing her expression? Pabo…

I looked behind my shoulder and saw her smiling a small, shy smile…her blanket completely drawn up to her chin while she did. She looked like a little kid…a pretty kid whose large eyes held innocence, hope and a dark painful sadness in them at the same time. I never liked looking at her eyes because for some reason, they weren’t the eyes of the Yuri I used to know.

But nonetheless I looked at her and saw her, suddenly making me relieved I hadn’t gone out today and took care of her instead.

Weird, there it is again…am I sick? Why is my heart beating in a strange way?

“Aish….your fever’s making you delirious, midget. Stop spouting crap and sleep.” I finally said, unable to think of anything grand to say.

She stuck her tongue out at me and lay on her side, turning her back towards me. I saw her shoulders move upwards, as though she was taking a deep breath and this made me wonder if she felt that something was also wrong with this situation.

“…---of course, I don’t like her!”

“…you sure about that?”

“….p-pretty much.”

Pretty much…?

Why does that sound unsure to me…?

Stop thinking about that!

Aish…she’s going on a date tomorrow, she’ll finally make her love come true and I’ll be a free man by this time next year. Simple as that, arasso?

I closed the door behind me with a soft click, before heading to my room and changing quickly into a black shirt, a jacket and simple jeans. I felt like I needed to get out of the house and spend some time with my girlfriend at that very moment but I didn’t know why I felt like I ‘HAD’ to, instead of ‘WANT’ to.