Hi readers, 
Here's the long awaited Chapter 10. I had written most of this earlier on. But it was missing something so I managed to add it in today. 
Sorry for the long wait. I am currently overseas. It is my last night in South Korea. I have had many fun experiences (including some desperate changyoon moments where their mvs were played next to each other in the SM communication building.) I will share some of these as i post some drabbles of our lovely changyoon as we go along. 
Once again. Thank you all for your support, I am forever grateful you are taking the time to read my lacking stories. Thank you especially to those who voted and subscribed to my story. 
I hope you all have a wonderful happy new year! 

In a quiet restaurant in the midst of the bustling streets of cheongdam, Changmin and Yunho sit in a private room, undisturbed. For once, their drinks and side-dishes are left neglected as they focus on discussion instead. Changmin sums up his initial thoughts on the business model of SMweddings

“So in order to gain more efficiency, in order to effectively allocate money for the overseas expansion. We should probably outsource services such as venue decorating etc. What do you think?”

“I did consider it before, but the staff on hand …” YUnho begins tentatively.

“what I’m suggesting is not to cut staff, but redistribute them into other areas which we can focus on. Since they already know the company structure and procedures, we don’t need to spend too much time and effort retraining them.”

“Such as…”

“For example, currently, the function hall is supposedly for functions and events but currently it is only limited to weddings. When needed, there is no long term catering team and it is outsourced.”

“Not everyone chooses to use our venue though.”

“I realised, but if you analyse the statistics,” Changmin continues explaining and pulls out a folder underneath the documents they were reviewing. He opens up to a page with graphs and charts “Every year there is only about 19 receptions held at our function hall. That is less than10% of all wedding receptions projects.”

“I never looked into it too deeply.” Yunho says as he takes the folder and browses it intently. He nods in understanding. He looks up at Changmin, and he dons a knowing smile. His gaze lands on the pile of other folders, Changmin has next to him. “Looks like you have a proposal already?” Yunho asks expectantly.

Changmin ignores his hyung’s minor attempt at teasing him and carries on with the explanation.

“What I’m proposing is, why not focus on promoting and advertising these underused assets. Let everyone know we have a function hall available? Advertise it as a venue not just for weddings but available for hire for all functions.” Changmin says, flipping open yet another document.

“The budget…” Yunho starts, and Changmin flips to the correct page for him.

“it includes advertisement and hiring a permanent catering team, and promotion & design team just for the venue. That way it should take some weight of the wedding planners’ shoulders too.” 

“That would help, we are so short on planenrs at the moment. Especially with Lena on maternity leave.”

“that is why we chose the function hall for the upcoming promotional function.” Changmin justifies proudly

“That was a great idea, it’s a head start to the promotion.” Yunho agrees. 

 “Exactly.” Changmin says after a long gulp from his glass of water.

“Sounds like it’s all set. Let’s do it as you have already planned.” Yunho says with an impressed smile as he closes the folders.

“Great. It will be underway.” Changmin says as he rubs his hands together. Staring at the side-dishes.

“I knew I could count on you. I’m so glad you could come over to help me with running this business. I don’t know what to do without you.”

“Oh, come one hyung. You helped me when I needed help the most, it’s only the least I can do to help you out.” Changmin says with a grateful smile. He raises his glass of water to Yunho, who clinks his glass of wine.

“to better times.”

“Hungry?” Yunho says, as he catches Changmin, eating up the side-dishes. The door opens and reveals Boa.

“You missed the fun bit.” Yunho says, standing to walk over and pull Boa’s chair out for her. She thanks him and sits down comfortably next to Yunho. Changmin watches the exchange intrigued, but does not show it.

“You know I hate this technical stuff. I’ll let my business partner. Actually my two business partners run the show. Sorry I forgot our new CEO” She smiles at Changmin playfully.

“Noona, you just never change do you?” Changmin asks in a reciprocatingly playful way. 

“Nope.” She says, gulping down the glass of water Yunho just handed to her. “And don’t forget the dance classes we enrolled you in. starts next week.”

“Oh this should be fun to watch.” Yunho adds snidely.

Changmin plants his face in his palms. “You were serious?” he says in a muffled voice. 

“Can’t be any more serious than that.” YUnho says.

“But it’s not even my we-“

“it’s our important promotional event. Like you’ve been explaining to me…” yunho says and checks his watch “for the past 15 minutes.”

 “it was a good idea, let everyone think it’s a real wedding for the authenticity. But since you started the act, you follow through all the way.” Boa adds.

“oh dear.” Changmin gulps. 

“Oh Yes” Yunho and boa say together. They look at each other, smile and bump their fists together.

“I can never win when its always 2 vs 1. Can I?”

Just then Yeonhee arrives in time.

“Oh there’s your other 1?”

“Sorry I’m late. I got stuck in traffic.” She says as she makes his way across to the remaining empty seat at the table.

“that’s ok, you haven’t missed anything really.”

“Nope.” Boa says.

“Here you go Mr Shim.” Yeonhee passes a fresh document to Changmin. It is the final guest list for the promotion banquet including interested clients and past clients, partners etc. Changmin scans through it.

Yeonhee reaches into her bag and passes him a sketch of the map of seating arrangements.

“here’s the first plan Mr Shim.” Changmin nods as she passes him the other document. He looks up after hearing Boa and Yunho start cracking up in laughter. Yeonhee and Changmin exchange clueless expressions.

“What’s so funny?” Changmin almost snaps. 

 “You two. I can’t believe you can pull off an act as a couple.” Boa continues to laugh.

“Now you know what a shock I got when they first told me?” Yunho asks Boa tiredly. “I still remember that day in my office….

****

[a month earlier]

As Ara serves tea to both Changmin Yeonhee and Yunho, she leaves them to their own private conversation.

 Yunho takes his cup and is about to take a sip

“We’re getting married” Changmin starts as he settles in comfortably. Yunho chokes on his tea but luckily does not spit it out,

“who?” Yunho puts his tea down and sits up in his chair. 

“Us.” Changmin says with a blank expression and indicates to himself and Yeonhee. 

“ You two?! No way!” Yunho brushes them off with his hand waving around. Changmin is still sitting there staring at him with the blank expression of his. “you’re serious.”

Changmin merely blinks back at him.

“No, you can’t be.” Yunho starts a monologue to himself and laughs almost sarcastically. “I just asked you two to help me, I didn’t know you two to even…” he is unable to continue

“See?” Changmin looks at Yeon Hee beside him.  “If I pulled off this act out of the blue, with this reaction, nobody would believe it” Yeon hee is about to speak. But Yunho cuts in to clarify his confusion. 

“Wait what?”

“glad we didn’t.” Yeonhee agrees.

“You need to at least give me a warning.” Yunho retaliates.

“That’s why we, as new partner and new secretary came here to do today.”Changmin explains bluntly. “this is your warning.”   

“Oh come on, you have to be more plausible than that! Who would believe you when you say it with that expressionless face of yours… hang on a minute, why do you need to act anyway?”

“Well, to see how your company operates, and to fix the leaking holes in the ceiling”

“Hey, there aren’t any holes to fix.”Yunho says protectively.  

“From my experience in business management, there are always problems in the company. Maybe not the staff always, just structurally we can make it better. ”

“this isn’t a normal company. There really isn’t a need to do this. Trust me. ”

“hyung, you’re the one who asked me to come and help you. Let’s just say, we’ll do it this way and I could learn how everything works from a customer’s perspective. It’s just that end result isn’t an actual wedding but a promotional function which the staff prepared believing it was an actual wedding. So that the clients can see the actual work. ” Changmin raises his eyebrow and does not remove his stare from Yunho. Yunho considers it for a few minutes.

“Fine. Let’s do it that way. Are you sure you can pull off the act?”

“Yes.” Changmin says.”

YUnho reaches out for his phone to call customer relations.

“Tiffany, I have two special guests I need you to personally give a walkthrough with, please come up to my office.”

***

“So how is the organisation going so far for the event?” Boa asks after swallowing her bite of food.

“iT’s well underway.” Changmin replies with a nod.

Yunho raises an eyebrow curiously

“That doesn’t sound like you at all.” He comments, scrutinising Changmin’s serious expression.

Yeonhee pipes in and adds

“Yoona ssi and Sooyoung ssi have it well handled.”

Changmin merely smiles at the names mentioned.

*** 

Yuri and Yoona watch hesitantly from the the doorway of Sooyoung’s room as she opens the door, revealing a pale face, swollen eyes and puffy nose. They watch as she makes her way to sit back in front of her vanity where there are more facial tissues.  

They give each other concerned looks. Their worry has grown since she came home in tears from what could have been the most memorable night she was waiting for. According to sooyoung plan’s she is three years overdue for marriage and she thought the wait was finally over. All the girls were so happy for her and she was ecstatic. However, sometimes reality is harsher than anyone wishes it to be. And Sooyoung was left plummeting into the trenches of the pain. Her whole world has been shaken off its angle and even though she is trying her best to hide it. Her friends can see through.

Unlike her usual make up routine, her hands shake as she applies her foundation with the air cushion. Perhaps she is trying to mask her feelings and cover the desolate paleness after a whole night of crying.

Yuri points at her watch and shows yoona who nods silently. She whispers to yuri “Go and get the car ready unnie.”

Yuri obliges and checks one more time at the broken Sooyoung before she leaves uncertainly.

“Unnie…” Yoona starts, with a deep hesitant exhale

“Sorry I’m almost done.”

“No i didn’t mean to rush you. Are you sure you are right to go to work?”

Sooyoung stands up straight away, and forces a smile

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be alright?” Although Sooyoung tries to make her voice seem certain. Her gaze lacks gravity and the insecurity is exposed to Yoona.

“But…”

“I’ll be out in a second. I just need to grab a drink before I go” Sooyoung says, rushing past Yoona and into the direction of the kitchen. Yoona forwards into Sooyoung’s room and collects her bag, coat, keys as well as the blush pact from her table. She drops everything in her hands as the sound of breaking glass meets her ears and she runs as fast as she could towards the kitchen.

She finds Sooyoung crouching next to the broken glass, about to reach out for it.

“Unnie, I’ll do it.” She almost yells in concern. AS soon as she reaches next to her friend, she pulls her away from the broken glass and hugs her, patting her to soothe and settle her crying.

“Unnie, it’s alright. Everything will be alright.”

Sooyoung begins to sob harshly.

“He didn’t propose.” She wails. “He got promoted and wants to immigrate to Hong Kong.”

“You’re joking.” Yoona curses under her breath. She pulls sooyoung to stand upstraight and wipes her tears with her palms.

“So I broke up with him.” She says weakly as more tears flow out.

“Look Unnie, we don’t need him.” Yoona says. “We’ll make it through this.”She hugs Sooyoung tightly. “We don’t need him.”

****

Shin hye peeks over at the particular customer sitting near the window as she serves at the counter. He has been waiting for a while now. Like he has been doing for the past few weeks. She thinks she has picked up a pattern. But is still uncertain. She observed the way how he would come in earlier than yoona. He’d order a cup of Americano and sit, waiting patiently. Then at a certain time, he would leave the cafe. In this time frame, Yoona would usually turn up in her daily joyfulness. As Yoona leaves, he would come back inside to collect a message card from the pile and he would leave his own message.

But today Changmin seems to be left waiting. It is almost 10 minutes past the time Yoona usually arrives. She is still yet to be seen. Shin hye finds this strange as well. He is still sitting, checking the messages on his phone. After another two minutes he checks his watch again and decides to leave.

As he returns his coffee cup to the counter. He checks the message cards, seeming to look for a particular one, but as he had expected, he did not find what he wanted. In the end, he thanks Shin Hye and Geun Suk for the coffee (his manners seemed to start to appear only later in his patron) and leaves the cafe.

****

Later in the morning, Yeonhee and Changmin await their wedding planners patiently in the empty office room.

“You’re late.” Changmin says as he glances at his watch when Yoona walks into her office.

“Oh you, she was just 2 minutes late. Big deal!” Yeonhee slaps him. “Don’t mind him Y-“ She stops talking, looking at CHangmin’s concerned expression. Then she realises his concern.

“Yoona ssi, are you alright?” Yeonhee asks Yoona. Her face is discoloured and her lips are pale.

“Yes, sorry. There was a bit of a personal emergency I had to take of which was why I was late today.” She bows in apology.

“Oh Yoona ssi, he was just”

“I’m sorry for my joke,” Changmin says apologetically.

“I have to apologise on behalf of my partner Sooyoung. She urgently needs to be on leave due to personal reasons.”

“Is she alright?”

“Yes, she will be. So I will be taking care of your wedding plans from here on, until she is fit to return. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“There’s no need to apologise. These things do happen.” Changmin says, as a matter of fact. He clasps his hands together and looks over at Yoona, trying to ask if she is alright.

“Thank you for your understanding” She says to her clients with a weak smile. Finding his sudden empathy rare, she makes sure he receives her gratitude as well.