PRICELESS

Bang Chan

by luvknow
Love at first sight was a horrendous idea. The thought of falling for someone the second your eyes met was
absolutely terrifying. Of course this wasn’t exactly how it worked, but it sounded like sorcery, didn’t it? At
least to Chan it did. He asked his father one time what it meant to feel so enamored by someone simply from
the first encounter and he replied with,

“That’s just Hollywood mumbo-jumbo! Love takes time and it will come naturally, not right at the start. Love
is patient. Just look at me - I’m patient with your mother all the time!”

So instead of expecting a spark with every person he met, Chan didn’t bother and let his feelings develop
naturally. With every girlfriend he’s ever had, he let his heart take the lead and his mind, body, and soul
followed shortly after.

Then he met you. Everything he knew about falling love went out the window. With you, love was not patient,
nor was it kind, nor was it anything close to how it should ‘develop naturally’. It was a bullet train that hit
Chan without remorse, crumbling every word and memory about what he thought love was supposed to be.
It was unforgiving, with you two spending your entire college careers together as he watched you smile
whenever you got your food, witnessed the stars in your eyes on your weekend nights together, and took
note of the way your brows furrowed cutely when you were focused. The worst was when he had to sit there
and listen about the guy you went on a date with or took back to your place. Love was truly unfair, and yes,
he wasn’t so innocent on his side either, but how else was he supposed to distract himself from you? Surely
partly-meaningless but healthy relationships with other women was much healthier than drowning in alcohol
or whatever his inheritance-mooching friends did these days, wasn’t it?

Koi no yokan. It meant something along the lines of the type of feeling when you meet someone and you
know that one day, you’ll fall in love with them. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but it was
inevitable. Chan hoped that was the kind of feeling you had when you met him. He hoped - he even prayed!
- that the day you two met, you looked at him and thought, ‘he’s the type of man I could see myself falling
for endlessly one day. Absolutely, positively ardently.’

Even when everyone around him and his ancestors above knew that you two couldn’t possibly be together,
he’d find a way. Bang Chan always found a way.

After one thousand four hundred sixty days, multiple meaningless flings, and a couple of diplomas later,
Chan continued to wait for that day to come.

four years ago:

You met Chan through your classmate-turned-friend Felix. It all started with some stupid class that was some
elective you didn’t care about with a Professor who still believed in assigning partners for projects because
college students weren’t capable of doing work on their own. Lo and behold, you were paired up with Felix,
who wore an impossible amount of hyped-up designer brands, some of which you haven’t even heard of
before. Of course you thought you were stuck with some rich, snobby, stuck-up inheritance-hogging brat
who only went to college and majored in business so he could upstage all the other rich kids in his Daddy’s
social circle, making him look like he was better than the rest of them for earning his inheritance.
Surprisingly, that wasn’t all true. He was definitely trying to be The Top Heir, but he wasn’t a total dick. He
was actually pretty nice for someone with a zillion dollars. That was the start of a beautiful and dynamic
friendship.

“I can’t believe that’s what you really thought of me!” Felix gasped, clutching his heart at your insult. You
tried to shush him from the nosy customers in the coffee shop, but he didn’t care. “You can’t judge a book
by its cover, _____.”

“How can I not when you’ve rubbed your worth in my face since day one?” You took his Gucci x SUPREME
collab black wallet with the signature GG logo and a Kingsnake painted on it that held four of his very heavy
credit cards and shoved it in his face like he did with you and his entire existence.
“Yo, chill! The friction isn’t good for the credit cards!”

“I’m sure you have your emergency billion dollars stashed up in your penthouse suite just in case.”

“Yeah, but I hate carrying cash, so stop it,” he whined, snatching his wallet back. His phone vibrated on the
table. “Oh, he’s almost here.”

“Who?”

“One of my friends. He asked to borrow the Versace belt you love so much.”

“You have two dozen Versace belts,” you scoffed. “Which one?”

“The one with the Barocco print.”

“English, Felix, English.”

“The floral one.”

“Oh my God, he wants to borrow that six-hundred dollar color-clashing mess!? Shouldn’t you people with
money have some sort of fashion sense?”

“You are so mean. Stereotyping ‘my people’ is not cool, _____. Not cool! And my fashion sense is A-1!” he
scolded, poking you harshly with his embossed fountain pen. “Can you at least try to be nice to him when
he comes? You’re always so distant when you meet my friends.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Remember when you met Changbin?”

“Changbin told me he wanted to fly me to Paris to wine and dine me and rent a room in the Palace of Versailles
like a Diamond-Grade prostitute, of course I try to stay far away from him!”

“But isn’t that the nicest thing a guy has ever told you? Isn’t it tempting to want to say yes? If I were you, I
would’ve taken the offer.”

“Not surprised.”

It was then an impossibly handsome guy walked through the door. That had to be him because all of Felix’s
friends were hot, but it was hard to tell. He wasn’t wearing anything ostentatious that screamed he was born
into money (unlike your buddy Felix) nor did he wear anything that even resembled expensive brands. He
wore all black, and though some items were stamped SUPREME, you couldn’t tell or at least recognize any
other brands he wore. His fluffy, curly hair, cut jawline, kind eyes, and a warm million-dollar smile let you
know he wasn’t like Felix’s other friends at all.

“_____, this is Chan, a family friend of mine. Chan, this is _____, the sole reason I haven’t flunked school yet.”

Chan was raised to judge every person he met by their looks and what they wore - it was an old habit his
parents and grandparents embroidered in his brain, like silver thread on fine silk, that he was trying to get
rid of since he started college. You wore nothing that indicated you were either from old or new money,
nothing that said anything about your family name or bloodline, and no jewelry that looked like you inherited
your great-great grandmother’s jewels that were gifted to her by a Prince. You were ordinary - quite possibly
one of the only ordinary people he’s met thus far at this school.

Yes, you were nothing special material-wise, but you were pain-painstakingly stunning. How was that
possible? Maybe it was your cute nose, or your pink lips, or the adorable way your brow quirked that caught
his attention. Your curious eyes met his wide ones, sending his heart up to his throat, stopping him from
breathing. It took him a minute to realize you had your hand out, waiting for him to connect. Quickly and
awkwardly, he took your hand in his and felt his heart drop back into his chest cavity. But now he was
sweating.

The effect you had on him was dangerous.

“Nice to meet you,” you said politely for the sake of Felix’s plea. The boy only nodded silently, trying not to
look too affected by your infectious, beautiful smile. Great, another weirdo, you thought. Why were all the
rich kids in this school so fucking weird!? Maybe it was your fault for accepting a scholarship to one of the
country’s most expensive schools.

“Here’s the belt you requested.” Felix pulled out the belt a unicorn vomited on and handed it to Chan, who
had snapped out of his trance. Your disgusted look doesn’t go unnoticed by him and he’s afraid you’re
judging his choice in accessories. He wondered what kind of style you liked if you didn’t like this belt because
all the upperclassmen born into old money that had girls falling on their knees had this belt. He’d have to
ask Felix some other time.

“Thanks, dude. Mom said if I didn’t have Versace to wear at the charity event this weekend that she’d write
me out of her will.”

So dramatic, you thought. You didn’t want to listen to boys talk about what pieces of clothing they had that
cost more than tuition, so you sat back down and went back to studying.

“You owe me. Don’t get any champagne stains on it. And I better not see any wrinkles or stretches in the
leather.”

“Yes, Dad. I can’t believe you let me borrow this. What are you gonna wear then?”

“I don’t know, something vintage probably, but I’ll figure it out. Got a date?”

“That’s requirement number two in order to stay in Mom’s will. I’m bringing Sana. What about you?”

“I’d rather go stag than bring some clingy arm candy to a simple charity fashion show. Unless _____ wants to
be my date ~?”

“I’d rather die than be your arm candy,” you snorted.

To your dismay, Felix ruffled your hair playfully. “She hates it when I talk about this stuff. Don’t tell anyone
I’m not bringing a date or else I’ll get kicked out, they’ll figure it out once I get there.”

“Gotcha. I’ll see you then.” After their bro handshake, Chan mustered up the courage to say, “It was nice
meeting you, _____.”

“Nice meeting you,” you said in a sickly-sweet tone.

He saw right through you - you didn’t like him. He’s not sure why, when you barely talked to him for those
two minutes he was there. Was he being too weird when you shook hands? Maybe he was talking too much
about the show, since Felix mentioned you hated those kinds of talks, but why? Surely, you had to be used
to this kind of stuff, right? Really, it shouldn’t bother him so much to know you didn’t like him already, but
that famous Bang Pride coursed through his veins because everyone loved Bang Chan! It didn’t help that even
knowing he didn’t need your attention, he was still so intrigued by you. To have those feelings not be
reciprocated for the first time, to have you not eyeing him like you wanted him so badly, to you being
completely disinterested at the simple mention of a high-class charity event that everyone was attending…
It was exciting.

He accepted the challenge. He was going to win you over, whether you liked it or not.

“So what’d you think about Chan? He’s not so bad, right?” Felix asked before snatching up the last madeleine.

“He’s a little weird.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why, though…”

“You mean he’s not a space case all the time?”

“Not at all. If anything, he’s the one with the most confidence and focus out of our group of friends. Usually,
people become a space case because of HIS presence, never the other way around. Did you cast a spell on
him, or something?”

“I must have if I got one of your cocky millionaire friends to fall silent. I can feel the power in my veins.”

“Hey man, you better not flaunt that big ass head of yours. If word gets out that Chan was like that around
a lil ol’ ordinary Olivia like yourself, you could be in big trouble.”

“You never warned me like this when it was Changbin. What makes Chan different?”

“Chan’s wealth has a long history. Like, really long. Almost pre-1800s long. His great-great-great-
grandmother was one of the most well-regarded doctors in the country in her time. She was very well-off
with the money she made, lived happily on her own, did her duty as a citizen and helped heal the soldiers
during some war, and captured the heart of one of the most honored war heroes. Chan’s fortune began with
a doctor and a war hero who gave birth to some inventor guy who married a luxury hotel heiress, whose
history of wealth even I can’t trace back, and gave birth to the hotel heir that expanded its locations to
eighteen different countries who then married the founder of a children’s charity, much to everyone’s
surprise, and they gave birth to Chan’s grandmother, the sole heiress to the number one luxury hotel chain
in the world. His Mom, who is currently sits at the head of the charity organization, is next in line. Then Chan
gets to lead the organization until he inherits the hotels.”

Your brain struggled to wrap around Chan’s pedigree. “So he’s rich just like the rest of you.”

“Yeah, but he’s filthy rich. He’s been the Asia'’s most eligible bachelor under twenty-five twice in a row. What
I’m saying is Chan is probably the number one most sought after guy slash son-in-law right now, and if
anyone knows he’s taken even the slightest interest in you, they’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you two
don’t happen.”

Well, that was terrifying. “God, this sounds like Cinderella on steroids. You better make sure we don’t
happen!”

“I refuse to mess with fate, so this is all on you, babe.”

The F in Felix stood for Fake Friend.

Chan couldn’t find anything about you.

Google told him nothing, your social media showed him zilch, hell even his family private investigator only
got as far as your great-grandparents owned a restaurant together which your grandfather and then your
father happily took over. Really, he should have known from the start when he saw your clothes and lack of
jewels that you didn’t come from the same background as him or Felix. This only made you more interesting.

After his thorough research on your social media and accidentally hitting the ‘add friend’ button (to which
he shut his laptop and refused to look at the app for at least twenty-four hours out of pure embarrassment),
you added him back only a couple hours later and he couldn’t stop the goofy smile growing on his lips. He
felt like a little kid with a crush on his classmate! Your pictures were very silly, but you were still so pretty,
and your captions were goofy with a touch of your wit peaking through and God, Chan had never been so
struck by someone before, let alone by someone whose family history didn’t have their own Wikipedia page.

He needed to get to know you - to pick your brain, figure out your taste, and see that smile again. He needed
to.
Poor Felix had to deal with texts like this:

issa banger [11:03 am]: wyd

yung felix [11:05 am]: eating lunch, why?

issa banger [11:06 am]: is _____ with you?

yung felix [11:09 am]: ??????????? no, why??

issa banger [11:09 am]: Read at 11:09 am.

And this:

issa banger [9:23 pm]: is that _____ in your snapchat?

yung felix [9:26 pm]: yeah u creep, we’re studying.

issa banger [9:32 pm]: what a coincidence, me too! i’m coming over.

yung felix [9:55 pm]: oop, she just left.

issa banger [9:47 pm]: ………..…. well i’m already here, so open the door.

And most recently this:

issa banger [2:15 am]: she’z sooiioioo cute felix…………

yung felix [2:17 am]: oh my god can u shut the fuck up.

This was all within one week of meeting you! Felix had to end this. He had never seen such a sad, desperate,
puppy-loving side of Chan before, it was disgusting! What happened to the ‘I-don’t-care-about-love-I’ll-just-
fuck-around-for-now-because-I’ll-probably-be-arranged-to-be-married-and-have-a-mistress-on-the-side-
before-I’m-thirty’ Chan he knew since they were in diapers!? And like, no offense to you, but Chan was like
this because of you, of all people, who came from a working-class family. The Bangs were groomed to date
and marry only the best, so you two would never work out for even a day if it even got that far. But whatever,
if meeting you again was all it took for Chan to stop bothering him, then so be it. You might kill him later
for setting this up, but he’ll take the fall - anything to get his filthy rich and lonely friend to stop breathing
down his neck.

fungus [5:43 pm]: hey u at the coffee shop?

you [5:57 pm]: yeah why?

fungus [6:01 pm]: i told chan to drop off The Versace Barocco-Print Belt with u if that’s cool

you [6:02 pm]: uuuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh fine

fungus [6:05 pm]: thanks bro.

fungus [6:06 pm]: play nice ~ he’s a cool guy.

On cue, the ever-so handsome, front cover of GQ magazine, most eligible bachelor under twenty-five who
added you on social media at three in the morning last week walked through the door. Again, he didn’t wear
anything that stood out or any brands you didn’t recognize, so he didn’t necessarily look like he had any
type of money Felix had informed you the first time, but the way he walked made up for it. Back straight,
broad shoulders that swayed, chest out and peaking through the white satin button-up that was buttoned
too low, flexed jaw and pursed lips that said ‘move, bitch’, and his expensive dress shoes that clicked and
echoed on the floor, drawing the attention of everyone in the cafe. He may not have dressed to stand out,
but that didn’t matter because he drew everyone’s attention anyways.

He paid no mind to everyone else because all of his attention was on you. The second he laid eyes on you
was when his annoyed expression melted into a mix of something sweet and thankful.

“_____,” he greeted simply in his honey voice. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Hi,” you said casually. “Likewise. Do you have the world’s ugliest belt with you?”

He chuckled lightheartedly, which sounded more like a cute giggle. “Is it really that ugly?”

“Too avant garde, if you ask me.”

Chan invited himself to a seat next to you. When you didn’t object or look noticeably disgusted by his
presence, he took it as a sign that you welcomed his company. One foot through the door. “I’ll have you
know it was a hit last weekend.”

“I’m sure anything you wear is a hit, even if it is something so atrocious.”

“It’s called couture.”

“I suppose my taste isn’t as high-class compared to your couture.”

“What is your taste?”

“I don’t think the lack of zeros in my bank account qualify me to answer this question.”

Another silky laugh escaped his curled lips. _____, stop looking there! “You don’t need to have a lot of money
to know or have good taste.”

“There’s a whole world of clothing, food, and architecture that I didn’t know about before meeting Felix, so
the expanse of my knowledge when it comes to a taste of anything isn’t as vast as those who do have a butt-
load of money.”

“Even so, I happen to like your style.”

You did that cute little brow quirk he liked so much. “My t-shirt and jeans? You’re kidding, right?”

“What? I’m wearing a shirt and jeans, too.”

“Your shirt is made from the finest silk China could afford and mine is a mix of cotton and polyester.”

“Close enough. At least our jeans match.” Chan placed the belt free of champagne stains and leather wrinkles
on the table. “Here’s your favorite belt of art that’s been passed around our friend group like a blunt.”

“Ooh, I can’t wait to hold something that’s touched nine millionaires’ crotches.”

“I bet,” he teased. “You look busy, so I’ll leave you alone.”

Normally, you’d be more than happy to bid a man farewell, but something came over you. “Actually, I’m not.
Are you busy?”

“Me? No, why?”

“I’m kind of hungry. Would you like to join me for dinner?”

Chan had to stop his grin from growing. He couldn’t look too excited, or that would creep you out. And to
think he doubted himself about winning you over. You even beat him to asking you out! “I’d love to. I know
the perfect place.”

“I’m sure you know this by now from my impeccable style but please choose somewhere affordable.”

“This place is cheap, I promise.”

“Like two dollar signs on Yelp cheap?”

“One.”

“Now you’re talking my language, Mr. Chan.”

He’ll talk all your ‘languages’ - your food language, your money language, your love language - he’ll come
to know all of them like the back of his hand.

Despite picking a place to eat for the both of you to enjoy without denting your bank account, Chan ended
up paying for both of your meals with his black metal credit card.

“Hey, why’d you do that!?” you whined.

“I never let my friends pay when they’re with me.”

“Well, I’m not one of your money-hungry friends! I have pride and dignity! This means I owe you a meal next
time.”

“Ok, it’s a date.”

Chan was making his way towards the door before you could fully process the exchange. A date? Oh God,
was tonight’s dinner a date!? No way, right…? Out the door, you saw him chuckle at how confused your face
must have looked and he ushered you with his hand to hurry and follow.

Smooth move, Mr. Chan… I’ll let that one slide.

two years ago:

Falling for Chan was effortless. After dinner the night he returned Felix’s belt, spending time together
happened so frequently that you didn’t even notice how fast you were falling. You hate to sound cliche, but
Chan wasn’t like all the other rich kids within their massive social circle. He didn’t flaunt his worth, he didn’t
judge you for your lack thereof, nor was he some dumb ass kid going to school to just party and hook up
every other night.

Chan was kind. He’d always put your needs above his, like wanting to pay him back for all the food he’d buy,
but that got hard to keep up with real fast. He never wanted you to pay him back in the first place, but if
buying him a cup of coffee would make you happy, then so be it. He’d always walk you back to your dingy
apartment after dinner or drive you home in his blacked-out Ferarri after studying at the library so late
because he worried about you walking alone in the dark. You fell faster on the days you were sick and he’d
stop by with the best chicken soup in the city, packets of fragrant teas to chase the Nyquil, and the fancy
tissues with vapor rub and soothing lotion. But he must do these kinds of things with all of his friends,
because that’s the kind of person he was.

Chan was intelligent. He told you about his childhood spent in private schools with private tutors while
playing sports and instruments and learning multiple languages and if he didn’t rank in the top 5% every
year, he got his ass handed to him by his mother (fourth year of high school was rough). What amazed you
even more was how he retained all of the languages and talent.
“I took five years of Spanish and I can speak at a child’s level,” you pouted. “How the hell do you know seven
languages!?”

“Gotta learn the languages of where the hotels are located, y’know?”

“Of course…”

Chan was passionate. Not just about the charity work his family does, not just about the hotel business, but
every little thing that interested him sparked a little fire inside. Chan put his mind, body, and soul into all
his projects, his work, and everything he ever cared about. When he’s focused and has a goal in mind, he
won’t stop until he gets it done and the execution is perfect. You thought it was kind of hot - the way his
pupils dilated, the satisfied smirk after completing something, the dangerous little sparkle in his eyes… So
hot.

It was the little things that solidified his place in your heart. All the times he tucked your hair behind your
ears, when his hand was on the small of your back to guide you, and when his breath tickled your ear when
he leaned in close to whisper were all little catalysts to your already-aching heart that beats for him.

What were you to do? You, a simple woman growing up nowhere near his and Felix’s type of lifestyle. You
didn’t have diamond-encrusted pacifiers, or ten maids and nannies, or a yacht that you got on your
eighteenth birthday. You lived a simple teenage and young adult life that you wouldn’t change for the world,
yet you fell for someone who had everything served to him on silver platters and fine china. You thought
that there was no way you two could ever work even if he reciprocated your feelings.

But he didn’t see you as the simple woman you saw in the mirror. He saw the extraordinary, goofy, diligent,
beautiful you all the time. Your background or financial status didn’t matter to him. The way you smiled at
him mattered; the way your hand lingered on his arm a little longer after you hit him for something funny he
said mattered; the dreamy look in your eyes that you had whenever you looked at him mattered. Nothing
else mattered.

“Why do you always look at me like that?” he asked you one evening while hanging out on his massive
penthouse porch.

“Like what?”

“With your wide eyes and that soft little smile that breaks all the boys’ hearts,” he teased. “Did I do something?
Am I that sexy?”

“Shut up,” you blushed. “I’m just thinking about how it’s weird being friends with you.”

“Why weird?”

“I don’t know. I’m not used to being around all of this.” Your arms widened to showcase Chan’s apartment
that was at least ten times the size of yours.

“Ah, you mean my butt load of money. Even after two years of being The Dynamic Duo?”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. I just feel out of place, you know? I see the way some of your other
friends look at me. It shouldn’t bother me so much, but I can’t help it. I feel like I don’t have the prerequisites
to be your friend.”

“Who’s looking at you funny? Is it Bambam? I’ll kick his ass -”

“Stop, don’t kick your friends’ asses.”

“They just haven’t gotten to know the wonderful, thoughtful, dumb ass _____ yet.” Chan pulled you into a
tight bro-like hug and ruffled your hair like a little kid to mask his rapidly-beating heart. “Don’t pay attention
to them. You should know by now I don’t care about money.”
“But -”

“None of that about you matters to me, ok? Only you matter.”

You learned by now to not be affected by his poetic words, but tonight you fell back into your old habits.
Only you mattered to him - that felt good. Feeling defeated by your dumb feelings, but comforted at the
same time, you lazily wrapped your arms around Chan’s tiny waist as you lay your head on his shoulder.

“You’re so corny,” you muttered.

He ruffled your hair once more. “Only for you.”

It was then you thought to yourself that maybe this could work. Maybe falling for him wasn’t a mistake and
being together wasn’t so far-fetched and being loved was something obtainable. For the first time, you
thought having Chan by your side wasn’t as ridiculous as it seemed.

But of course, it wasn’t that simple. Nothing was simple when it came to Bang Chan. It was always out of the
ordinary. Extraordinary. The night you realized you and him would never be was the same night you
witnessed what life was like when you could drown in your own gold and jewels.

“Singapore?” you repeated to your two Aussie friends incredulously. “You’re going to Singapore just for the
weekend?”

“We’re going to Singapore,” Chan corrected.

Felix called you and said to come over immediately because it was an emergency, which was Felix talk for ‘I
have a trip in a couple of days and I need you to help me pick out my outfits.’ Really, you never actually
helped with the picking process, he just wanted you there to tell him he looked good. So as usual, you sat in
one of his oriental-style bright red cushioned chairs that were placed on both ends of the ten-by-ten foot
mirror in his massive walk-in closet and Chan stood next to you, wondering how you ever put up with Felix’s
outfit changes. Tonight wasn’t the usual packing agenda when they broke the news to you that yes, you were
definitely joining them on a weekend trip to Singapore for Choi San’s birthday this weekend.

“I can’t afford that!” you screeched. “I can’t just book a flight and a hotel like this on the spot!”

“Oh, _____, you’re so cute ~” Felix teased, adjusting the collar on his shirt. “Like hell am I going to let us fly
like the locals. We’re using my Dad’s private jet and staying in Chan’s private Black and White bungalow, of
course. And none of us have to pay a dime.”

“But I don’t even know San like that.”

“You will this weekend. C’mon, it’ll be so much fun! It’s going to be the party of the century! He always
throws the most extra parties.”

“Even if I did want to go, I don’t have the clothes for it. I don’t own anything high-end like you guys. I’ll stick
out like a sore thumb.”

“I already got that covered.” With his shirt half-buttoned, Felix ran to the other side of the closet to open a
door you had never seen before. Inside of his bedroom, which held a 500 square foot closet, held a smaller
300 square foot closet. A closet within a closet - closet-ception, if you will. You didn’t have to go inside to
see all the crystal-embroidered tulle gowns and the silkiest shirts that hung on black velvet hangers. “My
older sister keeps her clothes here sometimes so Dad doesn’t see it. Just borrow some of her stuff.”

“I can’t just take her clothes!”

“Actually, she already picked out the ones she thinks would look best on you,” Felix showed you her incoming
text messages as proof that one, you definitely had her permission to wear whatever you’d like and two, she
thought you looked best in Valentino.
“Ooh, Valentino ~ I agree,” Chan piped in.

“I don’t know…” you hesitated. You could handle Felix and Chan and their riches when it was just the two of
them, but to be surrounded by hundreds of people who had the same kinds of bank accounts? And you,
floating among them in clothing that wasn’t even yours, faking your way into the social circle? It sounded
like a suicide mission.

“You’ll have one of us by your side the whole time, we promise. We want you to meet our friends and show
you that not all rich people are assholes like our parents.” Chan stuck out his lower lip and clasped his hands
together like a kid begging for some ice cream. “Please come?”

Felix joined in with the begging and now you have two golden retriever puppies begging you to go on what
should be a multi-million dollar vacation for the weekend with them, dressed to the nines twenty-four seven.
You had to be crazy to not immediately scream yes, but the whole idea of this weekend was just terrifying.
But you’d be with Chan, vacationing in a beautiful country, with him by your side. You couldn’t pass this
opportunity up.

“Fine,” you sighed in defeat.

“Yes! Ooh, this weekend is going to be so much fun! Hey, we should all match for the party! _____, I know
exactly what you should wear -”

Chan snickered at the excited boy pulling out piles and piles of clothes to dress his new life-size doll. You
already deeply regretted your decision.

As Felix held up pastel-colored tulles and jewel-toned satins up to your body in front of the ridiculously-sized
mirror, Chan couldn’t help but fantasize about the weekend. He already had it all planned out - you would
take the front seat in his cherry-red convertible and breathe in the clean Singaporean air with the biggest
smile on your face as you all pulled up to his Black and White bungalow, your eyes would widen at the decor,
you’d claim the bedroom right next to his, you’d take tons of pictures and capture every moment together,
eat the foods he grew up with when he spent his summers here, and then party ‘til the sun rose. You’d look
so beautiful in whatever Felix chose, and you’d link arms with him like you two were together. Then you’d
dance, drink, and laugh the night away in his arms for hours. Felix would probably stray away to find some
poor soul to bother and that’s when it’d be just the two of you. When the party was too much to handle or
the alcohol was too strong, he’d walk you home. If you were stumbling over little bumps, he’d pick you up
and carry you the whole three blocks distance and you’d be so cute and giggly that he, too, couldn’t help
but laugh because the warmth of your blushing cheek pressed against his made his heart ecstatic. Once you
arrive home, he’d take you to the backyard and you two would stargaze or watch the sun rise, depending on
how late you came home. You’d start out with some space in between. Then he’d get closer. Then he’d brush
his hands against yours. Then he’d hold them, fingers laced loosely at first, hoping you’d squeeze back
tightly. Finally, he’d confess that after two years of knowing you, he’s fallen for you harder every single day
since he met you at the coffee shop. If you felt the same, then perfect, the night would end with a soft kiss.
If you didn’t, he’ll run to the pier and sail his yacht all the way back home and claim he was blackout drunk,
or something.

Yeah, that sounded like a solid plan. What could go wrong?

It was six in the morning when you were dragged out of bed and thrown into Chan’s Ferrari. Felix’s private
jet only had you, him, and Chan as passengers. You thought for something as big as a damn plane that
maybe the whole friend group would be tagging along, but apparently they insisted on flying on their own
and leaving a larger carbon footprint, but hey you weren’t surprised in the least. That just meant less arguing
over what to watch on the eighty-inch flat screen and more champagne for the three of you.

“Holy shit,” you muttered after taking the middle seat in front of the television.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Felix boasted, hopping on the seat to your left. “Have I not introduced you
to JASMINE before?”

“I think I’d remember if I’ve been on your private jet before.”

“Ah, maybe I’m remembering the time you went on my yacht, ROSEMARY.”

Chan joined in to your left with a handful of flute glasses filled with bubbly, golden champagne and a single
raspberry at the bottom for you and Felix. He raised his glass in celebration. “Cheers to the weekend.”

“It’s six thirty in the morning,” you groaned tiredly.

“It’s five o’clock somewhere.”

“You can’t keep using that excuse, Chan, your liver will fail you one day.”

“A wise man once said YOLO, my dearest _____, so let’s drink to that!”

“Ugh… cheers,” After taking a sip, your face twisted sourly. “Oh, that’s not good…”

“It’s terrible, but it gets the job done.”

“You’re both crazy, I love this stuff,” Felix said, chugging the whole glass. “Forget water, make sure only
champagne and 1738 course through my veins for the next two days.”

For the duration of the six hour flight, the three of you watched one horror movie (to which Felix cowered
under his fluffy monogrammed blanket) and one romantic comedy (to which Felix cried while holding his
Rilakkuma bear). Then after the smoothest plane landing you’ve ever experienced, you finally landed in the
beautiful country of Singapore. The skies were so blue, the skyline was gorgeous, hell even the airport was
voted the most beautiful airport in the world. A red convertible pulled up to the three of you waiting at the
arrivals section and the driver tossed Chan the car keys. As the driver put your luggage in the back of a
separate car, Chan opened the passenger seat open for you like a gentleman.

“Your chariot awaits, my darling,” he smiled cheekily. “Her name is Cherie.”

“Do all rich people name their motor vehicles?”

“Of course, it’s only right.”

The crisp afternoon air felt good flowing between your fingers. Chan caught glimpses of your smile and knew
then that inviting you to this weekend was the best decision he’s made concerning you. His plan was going
swimmingly thus far - now to survive the next couple days.

The Black and White house was quite literally a Black and White house, but it was nothing close to being
monotonous. It was a beautiful symmetrical white bungalow with black trimming and a tanned overhanging
roof. All of the shutter-style windows were wide open, allowing the same beautiful breeze to pass through
the house, wafting the smell of fresh scones and muffins as you walked through the door. The inside of the
house got more extravagant with every step you took. The walls were all white (porcelain white, not daisy,
of course), the tiles a glossy pearl, every corner filled with the greenest potted plants and too many antique
potteries to count, high ceilings with a crystal chandelier dropping in the living room, and a deep mahogany
wood door that led to the backyard that overlooked the entire city.

“You vacationed here in the summer!?” you gasped.

“Yup, every year.”

“It’s beautiful!”
“You should see Changbin’s bungalow,” Felix interjected. “He demanded the house to be repainted black
instead of the classic white.”

“My childhood summers were spent on my grandparent’s farm. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to wake up
every morning to freshly-made scones and fruit jam.”

Chan led you up the stairs to show you the bedrooms. You lost count of how many there were by the time
you got to his. His room was enormous, with a king-sized bed right in the middle covered in the fluffiest
white covers. He had his guitar and other music-related toys on one wall of the room with a soft yellow neon
sign that said ‘CB97’ mounted high on the wall with posters beside it. His room was decorated very Chan-
like, and you thought it was quite charming.

“I didn’t like being by my siblings, so I asked to get the one at the very end and the spares were used
whenever Felix and the guys came over. Felix’s is across the hall and your’s is the one next door.”

“Ah yes, Chan’s room - where all the magic happened,” Felix teased, jumping on the bed. “I’ve heard way too
many stories about the girls you’d take up here -”

“Ah ha ha ~! No need to relive that!” Chan blushed deeply.

“You’re suddenly shy about it now? You sure didn’t have any problem boasting about it every summer.”

“That was so long ago.”

“Please, two years was not that long ago. Didn’t you come her last year, too? God, who knows what happened
then.”

Your heart sunk. So he’s taken girls up here before. A lot of girls, according to Felix, and by the way Chan
blushed from embarrassment, he wasn’t denying it, either. It wasn’t right for you to feel jealous, you didn’t
even know him during those times, unless he had a fling last summer that no one knew about. No, it definitely
wasn’t right for you to feel jealous, but the burning in your chest was a little difficult to ignore at one in the
afternoon.

“Gross,” you say as light-heartedly as you could. You left sourly without another word to unpack your
belongings.

Fuck. Damn Felix and his big ass mouth! You probably thought he was a disgusting playboy now. This was
one of several things Chan was afraid of when you were introduced to this side of his life - that his scandalous,
rebellious past would come back to haunt him and hit you in the face and you’d be so turned off by it. Well,
that’s exactly what happened, not one hour on the island. He couldn’t help that he was a horny teenager
back then! Chan chucked one of the embroidered silk pillows at his cowering childhood friend before hastily
following you.

You held up a jewel-toned satin piece that Felix chose from his sister’s closet. It was different than the one
chosen a couple of nights ago (“_____, I change my mind, wear this one instead.” “Wha - Felix, we’re leaving
in ten minutes!” “Just trust me!”), but Chan thought this one suited you much better. The look on your face
said you thought otherwise.

“Not a fan of Valentino?” he teased.

“Quite the opposite. I think it’s beautiful, it’s just I don’t think it’ll look beautiful on me.”

“Nonsense. You look beautiful in anything.”

“There’s no need to lie.”

“Who’s lying? You look especially dashing in t-shirt and jeans.”

“My impeccable sense of style,” you giggled. “Is the party tonight really going to be this fancy? Isn’t it just a
house party?”

“My dear _____, it’s not just any house party, it’s the house party,” Chan corrected. “San owns the biggest
Black and White bungalow in the country. He decks it out to the max with unnecessary decorations, hires
Singapore’s multi-Michelin star restaurants to cater, ships in expensive wines and spirits, and hires those
exotic dancers that hang from the ceiling. San’s parties make international headlines, and this one’s extra
special because it’s his birthday, so yes, fancy is just an understatement.”

“Yeah, I really don’t belong here…”

“Don’t worry about it for now. What we need to worry about is lunch, ‘cuz I’m starving.”

“Hey, I’m gonna be with Jisung and Changbin until the party. I’ll just see you guys there,” Felix waved off
casually.

“Guess it’s just you and me.” Chan hoped he didn’t look too glad Felix was gone. “I want to take you to a
restaurant I always ate at in the summer.”

“How many dollar signs on Yelp?”

“Not telling ‘cuz I’m paying.”

“Chan, you ass, you said you’d make things even from now on!”

“A man just wants to fly his friend to a whole new country and treat her to his favorite restaurant, is that too
much to ask for!?”

You didn’t answer while following a happy-go-lucky, skippy Chan to his red convertible. You’ve never seen
him so happy before. He must have missed being on the soil that held his summer-y childhood memories.
Being in the hot sticky sun in the house he loved the most with the widest, dimple-iest smile on his cute lips
let you know that Chan was at home. Spending every moment with him for the next two days watching his
smile grow as he revisited memory lane would make it hard for your heart to stop fluttering.

It was no more than a ten minute drive from his house, but from where you parked, you couldn’t spot any
restaurants.

“It’s a bit of a hole in the wall. I hope you don’t mind walking a bit.”

“Not at all! The best places to eat are always hidden well.”

The surrounding area reminded you of the more crowded and space-efficient parts of home. The buildings
were all kind of squished together with tiny alleys in between and there was a ton of foot traffic, but it was
probably because it was the weekend. You almost lost track of Chan until he grabbed onto your hand and
guided you through the sea of locals.

“It’s a little overwhelming if you haven’t been here before,” he said apologetically. “It’s worth the journey, I
promise.”

“You used to come here a lot over the summer?”

“Almost every day. The woman who runs the place was like another grandmother to me. She is the sweetest
thing. Oh, there she is!”

Chan sharply turned the corner of the street and you were taken to a whole other dimension. It reminded
you of the beginning scene in Spirited Away when Chihiro and her parents stumbled upon the empty street
filled with different tents of food, only this time you couldn’t even see past the second tent. Even in the
daytime, a place like this seemed so magical that it was no wonder a kid wanted to come here everyday. The
different spices and aromas marinated in the air and it was so heavenly, you couldn’t wait to get a bite!
Somewhere in the middle, the tent that Chan had been dying to go to all year round was right where he left
it.

“Auntie!” Chan called from the back of the endless line.

“Eh?” A cute little woman with a floral bandanna and red apron squinted in your direction. The second she
saw Chan’s handsome face, her grumpy expression smoothed to that of a grandma seeing her grandson
grow so much in just a single year. “Channie! You’re back for the summer!?”

“Just for the weekend, auntie.”

She didn’t miss a single beat as she continued to serve her loyal customers. “Ah, you’re too busy to visit me
everyday now, huh?”

“Sadly, yes,” he pouted.

“You want the usual, Channie?”

“Yes, please! Can you make that two?”

“Eh?” Again, the little woman squinted in your direction. Chan had let go of your hand and placed them on
your shoulder, indicating that you were his guest of honor this afternoon. A teasing twinkle gleamed in her
youthful eyes. “Ah, I see ~”

Chan didn’t deny her teasing. He didn’t say, ’nah, it’s not like that’ or say ’she’s just a friend’. Instead, he
hung his head down embarrassingly, his grin not faltering, neither yours. You wondered what he was
thinking.

The line was long, but it moved quickly when Chan was by your side telling you stories of his childhood spent
with Felix and his other friends making a ruckus in the streets and buying up all the meat skewers until not
a single shop had any left.

“Jeez, growth spurt much?”

“Hey, a man’s gotta eat, ok?”

Finally, it was your turn in line, and the Queen of the shop already had two plates full of noodles slathered
in a dark, sweet-smelling sauce and two large styrofoam cups.

“Channie never ate anything else besides my kway teow noodles,” Auntie told you. “The first few years of
eating it as a little boy, he thought there were no vegetables, so I never told him there were any because it
was the only way he’d eat them - covered in my special sauce.”

"No need to relive my unhealthy childhood…” he muttered while you laughed.

“It’s fine now, since you’ve grown up to be so~o handsome!” she pinched his chubby cheek. “Finally, you
have yourself a girlfriend. ‘Bout time! Even San beat you! But that’s no surprise, the ladies love that bad boy.”

“O-Oh, we’re not…!” you stuttered nervously, unable to finish your sentence. She really was like an
embarrassing auntie…

“We’re not together like that,” Chan concluded. “She’s just a close friend.”

She scoffed incredulously. “Yeah, for now.”

“Auntie!”

She ignored her favorite customer’s whining and turned to you once more. “Watch out for this playboy, he’ll
be hard to tie down.”
“So I’ve heard.”

Chan needed to get you out of there before any more of his past was brought up. So much for his stellar,
fool-proof plan. He handed Auntie what looked to be a lot of money, but you’re not sure what the conversion
is to their dollar. A quick kiss on her cheek and he whisked you away. “Bye, Auntie! Love you!”

“Visit me more often, you stingy brat! And by, sweetheart, it was nice meeting you!” she called out sweetly.

Chan hastily grabbed one of the wooden benches just outside of the long street of vendors. He seemed quite
relieved to have left his favorite food stand before Auntie revealed too much of the past summers. Your
feelings clashed with a sense of jealousy and a bit of pride that she thought you were his girlfriend. Yet again
did you have to remind yourself that no, _____, you cannot be jealous, you dumb ass!

“Sorry about that,” Chan sighed. “She doesn’t have a filter.”

“I like her. She’s very spunky,” you laughed. “Does she do that to all the girls you bring to her?”

“No. Why would you think that?”

“It seems like she’s met a few of them.”

“I’ve told her stories, but I’ve never brought any of them to this place. Now that I think about it, you’re the
first girl I’ve brought to her. That’s probably why she thinks we’re serious.”

“Really? Why’s that?” You took your first bite of the savory-sweet noodles. It’s chewy, glutenous gold. “Holy
shit.”

“Crazy good, right? Auntie makes them the best. And you’re asking why I never brought anyone else here?”
You nodded silently, too preoccupied stuffing your face with Chan’s childhood favorite dish. “This place
holds a special part of my childhood. I can’t just bring anyone here.”

“What’s makes it so special?” You took a sip from the styrofoam cup. It’s sugarcane juice!

“When I was a kid, I didn’t come here to bask in the sunlight and play at the beach all day. I’d go to summer
school during the day where I was taught math and economics at least two grades ahead of me and attend
Mom’s business and charity meetings in the evening. I was always so tired, no matter what time of day it
was. One time, I was being so bratty and was crying so much from all the unwanted stress and my parents
didn’t like it because I’m supposed to be the Charity Chairman’s perfect son and the perfect heir to the hotel
franchise, you know? But I just wanted to be a kid. My family got so mad at me for being selfish that they
kicked me out of the house for the night without dinner and I couldn’t come back until the morning.”

“That’s crazy! Where did you sleep!?”

“The pool house behind the main house,” he stated obviously.

“Oh, of course. Silly me.”

He threw his crumpled-up napkin at you before continuing. “That’s when I met Auntie. I was crying and
wailing and sobbing like a baby on a Wednesday evening, so it wasn’t busy and no one really saw me. I sat
at this very bench with my head down crying until I could fall asleep because I really didn’t want to return
home. Then I felt someone nudge me awake. It was Auntie, and she gave me a bowl of curry with some
paratha and I thought, ‘an old lady wouldn’t try to poison me, right?’ So I inhaled that whole bowl and
chugged all of the chocolate Milo. I tried paying her with all the cash I had because I was so thankful, and
she couldn’t believe a young kid like me had so much in the first place, but she never took it. I came every
week to order from her and she remembered me every time. I tried everything on the menu by my tenth visit,
and the kway teow is my favorite. I’d come here after a rough day with my parents, after I failed an exam,
after I cried over some girl I had a crush on, after I found out my Dad had a mistress, you name it. Sometimes
I came for no reason at all - I just didn’t want to be home.”
A shaky sigh escaped Chan’s lips. His eyes were glossy and it broke your heart to see Chan on the brink of
tears, but he’s smiling. His upbringing was rough, but he’s smiling because he wouldn’t have survived his
childhood without the spunky woman behind the food stand in the middle of the street. You dared to reach
across the table and hold his hand, hoping he’d find some comfort in your touch. He does, and you know so
by the way he squeeze it back so tightly. There were no more tears in his eyes.

“This place was my secret hideout for a good chunk of my life. I can’t just bring anyone here.” Chan began
to trace little circles on the back of your hand.

“What am I if I’m not just anyone?”

“Special,” he replied. “To me, you’re special.”

The air was filled with your cute giggles and you took your hand back to cover your blushing, glowing face.
Chan always had a way with words. “You’re a cornball!”

“I’ll have you know that the ladies love cornballs!”

“Not this one.”

“Oh, hold still, you got a little of the dark sauce on your cheek.” Chan leaned over the table with a napkin in
his hand as you sat still. The very last second, he drops the napkin, scooped up a hefty dollop on his finger,
and smeared it on your cheek.

“EW!”

“That’s what you get!”

Your special man began running to the car with you on his tail laughing like two young lovers on their
honeymoon. Both of you failed to see someone taking pictures as they sent them to San’s entire guest list.

“Bro, you look hot.”

You jumped at Felix’s comment and chuck a pillow at his almost-shirtless torso. He had a weird habit of not
buttoning up his shirts until the last minute. One of his many idiosyncrasies.

“Chill, that’s a compliment! Didn’t I pick out a hot Valentino piece? Chef kiss, m’lady.”

“You’re so gross… But you do have taste, so thank you. You really didn’t have to ask your sister to let me
borrow this, though. I still feel terrible.”

“Shut up, you’re fine. She’s never going to wear that, I promise you. Besides, I can’t have
someone not wearing designer stand next to me, that’d be blasphemous.”

“Can you please button up your shirt?”

“Why? These Hawaiian Sweet Rolls too much for you to handle?” he teased, flexing his six-pack. You dry
heaved dramatically.

“You two are like siblings, it’s so funny - whoa,” Chan stopped mid-sentence, completely stunned by your
presence. Of course he’d love how you looked if you wore a hoodie and jeans because he never even imagined
you wearing something like this, but you blew him away.

“Good whoa or bad whoa?” you panicked.

“Definitely a good whoa… U-Uh, I mean, yeah. Yes.”

“Thank you,” you grinned. You eyed the man in the black and gold polka-dotted Muslin Yves Saint Laurent
button up (buttoned too low, as usual) tucked loosely in Yves Saint Laurent cuffed trousers. Certainly, Chan
was bound to be the center of attention at one point, regardless of whose birthday it was. Felix sported Louis
tonight and you thought to yourself that you three were quite a sexy trio. “You two don’t look too bad
yourselves.”

“Straight from the runway,” Felix boasted.

“Straight from my closet,” Chan shrugged.

“Can we get drunk before I cry about how much money I don’t have?”

Chan’s driver sported a white Rolls Royce to take you all there, despite it being only three blocks away (Felix
was more than happy because he didn’t want to scuff his shoes). You thought you were fashionably late, but
it turns out San was just showing off his cars and leaving them parked on the circular driveway. The size of
his house made the cars look so, so tiny, but his house was truly enormous, way bigger than Chan’s. Couples
among couples began to file in the house, making you feel nervous and very, very single.

“Do people usually bring a date to these parties?” you asked the boys.

“Yeah, for clout. Two shots later and suddenly everyone’s up for grabs,” Felix explained, walking up the
driveway without waiting. “I’ll see y’all back at home. Or not. Don’t wait up for me ~”

When Chan saw that what Felix said didn’t lessen your nerves one bit, he held his arm out for you. “Wanna
be my date for tonight?”

“You won’t ditch me after two shots?”

“Two, no. Five, maybe.”

How could you deny his dimpled grin? You couldn’t, so you slipped your arm through and walked into San’s
palace. You were taken to a whole new world; a whole new dimension of luxury and riches that you only
tapped into upon landing here. There was indeed dancers twirling on ribbons from the ceilings, loud music
from some famous DJ that headlined at EDC, and liquor of every shade of gold in crystal glasses. Everything
was so magnificent and expensive, it was like you couldn’t even afford to look at anything or even anyone.
Everyone who was anyone was here, and you recognized a lot of their faces from Chan and Felix’s social
media. You couldn’t even pronounce the brands they were wearing! Again, Chan sensed your anxiousness,
something he was so unbelievably good at, and slipped his arm down so that he could grab on to your hand.
He figured if you were able to let all his past worries go away by just holding his hand across the table that
he could do the same, only this time he was by your side like he always wanted to be. You always predicted
that his hand would fit so nicely in yours.

“CHAN! MI AMIGO!” San screamed into the mic from the dance floor. “Everyone, the sexiest bachelor of the
hour has arrived!”

“Oh, boy,” he sighed.

He was surprised to hear you giggle at his friend’s nickname. “Looks like we came a little late.”

San stumbled in front of you before falling into your arms for a tight hug. You weren’t used to such an
affectionate San - you shared multiple classes with him and you’re surprised he even remembered you, if you
were being honest.

“Happy birthday, San,” you struggled to say as you held the boy up.

“Hi, _____! Thank you! I’m so glad you’re here!” San’s foxy eyes widened at the sight of his questioning friend.
“Chan! I missed you!”
“Miss you, too, buddy,” he chuckled, hugging the sloppy man. “Happy birthday, bro. Making Mina work hard,
I see.”

“Why, do you see her!? Don’t tell her you saw me!” And that was the last time you saw San.

Chan shook his head at his childhood friend. Then he took your hand and lead you deeper into the party.
“Let’s go find people we actually know.”

As you slipped between the crowd, you felt eyes staring. A bunch of eyes, actually. A lot of them. The owners
were mostly girls, ones you recognized, and that’s when you knew it was because of Chan, the bachelor of
the century. They eyed you maliciously, switching between judging you from what you were wearing and
your hold onto Chan’s hand. Where was that handsome waiter with a tray full of shots? You needed that right
about now.

On cue, Chan handed you liquid gold. “Cheers to a fun night.”

“Right… Cheers.” Bottoms up! Oh God, that burned! But the warm finish was quite nice. “More, please.”

“Jeez, what for? You trying to leave me after two shots already?” he teased.

“No, I’m just trying to blind myself from all those… eyes…”

“Huh?” Chan caught a glimpse of what you meant when he caught the eyes of familiar flings and old friends.
His jaw clenched. “Don’t worry about them, ok?”

“I’m trying, but you’re holding me back if I can’t take at least one more shot.” Reluctantly, your handsome
date gave you what you wanted and he followed suit. “Bottoms up!”

Bottoms up indeed, several times too many, if Chan thought so himself. But you were loosening up and not
worrying about another thing he feared about this trip - that you would meet his exes, or worse, they would
do something to hurt you because that’s just what girls with tons of money do. He soon forgot about all his
worries when you dragged him on the dance floor and had your body pressed up against his. You were so
goofy and cute when you were drunk just by itself, singing to all the songs and taking silly selfies, but when
you were dancing? He could hardly keep his hands off of you.

Chan pulled away and you pouted, not wanting the warmth of his body to leave even for one second, but he
told you he had to go to the bathroom and that he’d be right back, so don’t you move! But your intoxicated
self didn’t listen and you found yourself wandering to the backyard where Hyunjin, Woojin, and a bunch of
people you were familiar with gathered around the open-pit fire and having a little party themselves.

“Did _____ get her Rich Bitch ID?” Hyunjin teased, looking at the label of your dress. “Shit, I guess she has.”

“It’s Felix’s sister’s, so no, it’s just a fake ID to last me the night.”

Woojin swung his arm around you boyishly. “You’re always welcome to OUR Rich Bitch club. No cover for
girls,” he winked.

“How generous of you.”

Chan didn’t take long in the bathroom. He made sure to come back to you as quickly as possible to pick up
where you left off, but after a couple of minutes searching the crowd, he couldn’t find you. He’s not surprised
you wandered off somewhere, he just wished you sent him a text, or something. He felt a tap on his shoulder,
thinking it was you, but it ended up being Sana, his old fling.

“Channie!” she squealed happily, throwing her arms around his neck. “I missed you ~!”

“Hey, I missed you, too,” he hugged back awkwardly. “Long time no see.”

“I’m glad the feeling’s mutual. Whatcha doing?”

“I’m just looking for someone…” he said, continuing to scan the crowd like she wasn’t there. He shouldn’t
have drank so much…

“You mean _____?”

How did she know your name? Not important. “Oh, yeah. Have you seen her?”

“She’s outside with Woojin.”

“With Woojin…?”

“Yup! Take a look.”

Sana took Chan by the hand and lead him to the back door. His tunnel vision, though quite blurry, found you
with your back facing the door and Woojin, his childhood rival, to your right, where he had his arm around
your shoulder. Oh, he was such a Kim! He always snatched whatever was his when he wasn’t looking, just
like that modelling contract! Normally, Chan would be the bigger person and not care, but this was you,
someone so important to him. He couldn’t let this go that easily. There’s this uncharacteristic rage and
jealousy that built up in his chest, making his heart hurt with every beat. You weren’t even doing anything,
but seeing you in someone else’s arms just as he left for the damn bathroom? After trying to make you his
for so long? It hurt. It really, really hurt…

Sana took the opportunity to pull him away from you. “Hey, let’s dance. Like we used to.”

Without hesitating, Chan took the lead and went to the dance floor.

Time passed like it meant nothing while you caught up with some good friends, but sobriety was kicking in
at three in the morning and you wondered how long Chan needed to go to the bathroom.

“I’m going to find my damn date,” you waved off to them.

Even at three in the morning, the house was still as crowded as ever, bumping music like the sun wasn’t
going to rise in a couple of hours. You searched every room, every face on the dance floor, near every waiter
that had a platter of liquor on it, and he was nowhere to be seen! Even the rooms that held couples making
out (and then some) luckily didn’t have him in it, but where could he be? You ended up in the front yard last,
perhaps he was looking at San’s cars, or something.

But that wasn’t where you saw him. At the end of the driveway, where it met the main street, you saw Chan
walking some girl dressed in diamonds and crystals on the way back to the house.

That was the moment you knew you and Chan could never be. Even when he was with you for ninety percent
of the night, he chose someone else. He was made to live his life in luxury, and that meant his love life was
meant for luxury, too. No matter what you did, no matter how much you thought he liked you, how much
you thought you were special to him, you could never live up to any of these other women at this party. You
were nothing compared to them because you had nothing. You should have known better than to think
otherwise.

“Hey,” you heard someone behind you. It was the ever-so handsome and dashing Woojin. Even in the dead
of night, he looked so handsome. “Did you find Chan?”

“Um…” your voice was shaking. “Yeah, I think I saw him go home.”

From the tears in your eyes, Woojin assumed he didn’t go home alone. Typical heart-breaker Chan, always
leaving girls behind to cry over him. Things never change. “Do you want me to walk you back?”

You nodded slowly. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

You and Woojin walked the three blocks in silence. There was a considerable amount of space in between as
Woojin figured you didn’t want any man to be near you at the moment. Of course he understood - he’s had
a fair share of his heart-breaking days. Those days were now over because he was getting tired of this
lifestyle. His liver didn’t function like when he was younger and he craved something deeper than just one
night stands. God, he sounded like a total douche.

The walk up Chan’s porch made you nervous and made Woojin nostalgic. He remembered coming here
everyday after summer school when he was a kid. He kind of missed it here. Woojin was about to knock on
the door but stopped when he realized you weren’t beside him. You stood by step, not wanting to go any
further.

“Everything ok?” Woojin asked.

“Yeah… No. Not really. I don’t want to go to bed.”

“Why not?”

“Our rooms are next to each other and I don’t know how thin the walls are.”

Woojin didn’t laugh nor try to convince you otherwise. Instead, he walked up to you and stopped so close
that you could smell his Gucci The Voice of the Snake cologne. Then, he smiled sweetly, a trait of his that
you always thought was so cute, and sat on the stairs.

He patted the seat next to him. “I’ll keep you company.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t want to go home and I really don’t want to go back to the party.” His bottom lip pouted. “Please let
me keep you company.”

You could use the distraction. “Even without trying, rich people get whatever they want.”

“Hey, we’re not all bad!”

“That’s what they all say,” you slurred, remembering that’s exactly what Chan said earlier.

“Yeah, you’re right. We’re pretty bad.”

“Maybe I should stop hanging around you guys and start hanging around my people.”

“But I like hanging out with you.”

“You know, before I met Felix and Chan and all your little yacht club friends who make fun of me for the
clothes I wear -”

“Hey, that’s just Hyunjin, don’t lump us together like that! I like you no matter what you’re wearing.”

“- my life was so much simpler! I lived a simple life without luxury, I ate foods without truffles and caviar, I
drank cheap soju like a regular poor delinquent instead of champagne and top-shelf liquor, and I didn’t like
boys whose yearly income were worth ten times as much as I’d make in ten years!” You cried out to the skies
above and buried your face in your hands. “Biggie was right… Mo Money Mo Problems…”

“There there…” Woojin comforted awkwardly.

“Woojin, can you be honest with me for a sec? Coming from a sad, average girl seeking advice from a rich
bitch like yourself?”

“Of course.”

“Was I stupid to think I was anything special to Chan?”

Again, the handsome man beside you wrapped his arm around your shoulder like a good friend. Woojin was
always a good friend to you. Outside of Felix and Chan, he was the only other man who was kind, despite
you not being like the rest of his social circle.

“You said I can be honest, right?” he asked nervously.

“Oh my God, I’m an idiot.”

“Hey, that’s not what I was going to say. I was thinking naive was more of an appropriate word choice.”

“I’m so dumb, I might as well drop out.”

Woojin’s grip around you tightened. “Stop, don’t say that. You’re the smartest person I know, did you know
that? Remember when you tutored all of us that one time? If you can tutor nine idiots in one session and we
all somehow passed the class, you’re not an idiot.”

“Being book smart and Rich Boy smart are on two totally different levels of intelligence! Why am I so dumb
in the latter!?”

“You aren’t. We’re the dumb ones. We let amazing people slip through our fingers because somehow this
lifestyle sucks us back in. Some of us are able to overcome it, but most succumb to it.”

“… You’re right, you guys are the dumb ones.”

You and Woojin sat on Chan’s summer Black and White bungalow for hours, talking about the most useless
things until the sun rose above the horizon and the light was almost blinding. It started out crying about
how boys were stupid and ended with laughing until you couldn’t breathe from the stories he told you about
his old flings.

“She said the mitochondria was the trap house of the cell,” Woojin tisked.

“She must have been kidding.”

“I can assure you she was not.”

“Wow,” you giggled. “You’ve dated a lot of… exciting people.”

“I wouldn’t say exciting…”

“Come to think of it, I can’t remember the last time I heard about some poor girl coming out of your place
from Felix. He likes to whine about how lucky you are. Has Woojin lost his touch?”

“I will never lose my touch, don’t get that twisted,” he warned. “Maybe I’m tired of hook-ups. Maybe I’m trying
to settle down.”

“Ha! Good one!”

“No, really!”

“Yeah, ok ~”

“Let me prove it. Let’s go on a date.”

Your laugh got caught in your throat. You’re stunned silent, looking at the man beside you like he was
delusional. He had to be talking nonsense - it was six in the morning and neither of you had any sleep or
anything to eat for several hours, he’s just talking crazy, right!? But the slight smirk on his lips told you that
no, he wasn’t joking. He was enjoying that you were probably thinking about it right at this moment - what
it’d be like to go on a date with Mr. Kim Woojin. He’s not wrong.
The front door to Chan’s house opened and startled you to death, but you’re so, so thankful that the girl
Chan took home stumbled in between you two and you could avoid Woojin’s proclamation for a little longer.
Both of you turned to see Chan in his pajamas bottoms and no shirt standing in the doorway, hair disheveled
with droopy eyes, looking like he didn’t get any sleep at all.

Woojin helped you to your feet before greeting his old friend. “Good morning, Chan.”

The sleepy boy’s jaw tightened. Why did he look so triumphant? If you two were here the whole night, it’s
not like you two did anything… right?

“Hey,” he greeted shortly.

Woojin turned to you. “Think about it. I’ll see you later?”

You nodded silently, still too stunned to move. Then, taking advantage of your frozen form, Woojin swooped
in for a quick kiss on the cheek.

Oh shit, this man was serious.

You’re completely sober and you really wished you weren’t because now you were going to reflect on
everything that happened yesterday, from the time you landed until just this very second. On top of that,
you were probably going to have to deal with Chan’s grumpy ass right now because when you walked right
past him to the kitchen to chug a whole bottle of water, he followed right on your tail.

“How was last night?” he asked bitterly.

“Not as good as yours apparently,” you replied, trying to stay light-hearted and calm. Don’t get jealous, _____.
You don’t have a right to.

“Nothing happened.”

“Oh?”

“She was puking all night. I barely had any sleep while taking care of her.”

“Did you bring her here just so she can puke in the comfort of your home, or was that just an inconvenient
coincidence?” The words made you sound jealous, but you were genuinely curious. He claimed that nothing
happened as if he knew you’d care if something did. Well, you didn’t!… you said, lying to yourself.

Chan stayed quiet. That was more than enough to answer your question.

“I’m tired,” you mumbled. “I’m going to bed.”

Chan wouldn’t let you. “What were you and Woojin doing?”

“Uh, talking?”

“On my porch?”

“Yeah? You left me at the party and I was all alone! So he was nice enough to walk me back here. I didn’t
want to go inside to my room because God knows what you and her were doing there -”

“Nothing happened,” he repeated.

“Yeah, now I know. But if she wasn’t puking, who knows what would have happened, and guess what, I didn’t
want to hear that or deal with it or even think about it, so we sat on your porch for hours until you opened
the door.”
“You were the one who left me first. I thought you and I were having a great time! I was having so much fun
with you and I wanted you back in my arms as soon as possible, but then I saw you in his. Do you know how
much that hurt? I have liked you since the day you took my breath away when we first met, and I thought I
could finally tell you that when you were back in my arms. But then I saw you in his and panicked. I swear to
you, nothing happened with me and Sana. Nothing was going to happen, not when all I could think about
was what you could possibly be doing with him. I thought you left me for him, and I got scared. I’m an idiot.
I’m so sorry, ok? Can we talk about this over breakfast?”

That was what Chan wanted to say. But he’s tired, and he’s hurt, and the tears in your eyes were too much
for him to handle. With his head down, he said,

“I hope you had fun.”

Chan brushed passed you to get to the coffee maker. He might as well stay up - what was the point in sleeping
now?

You rushed up stairs so he didn’t see the tears rolling down your face.

The day was silent. Everything seemed to stop, but that was the last thing you wanted. You wanted to pack
up, get in the damn cherry red convertible, and fly all the way home where you could forget about this whole
weekend and the people involved. Felix finally made it home around noon, chatting nonstop about the yacht
party that happened at four in the morning and all the girls he was talking to and thankful he couldn’t sense
the tension between you and Chan.

The drive to the airport was silent. The flight back home was silent. The drive to your apartment was silent
and the only noise you made that night was crying yourself to sleep.

Where did you go wrong? Was it when you wandered off to Woojin? Was it when you agreed to go on this
trip? Was it when you fell for someone so unattainable for someone in your social class? Was it when you
weren’t born with a billion dollars to your name?

Life was unfair and it had a funny way with playing with you and your heart.

You didn’t see Chan much after tonight.

A week after Singapore, after pouting in your room from sunrise to sunset, you called Woojin and cashed in
that offer for a date. You deserved to get out there and find the perfect guy, right? Who knows, maybe it’s
Woojin and maybe it’s not, but at least you’d find out. What was the use of wallowing inside after the man
of your dreams broke your heart? You weren’t just going to sulk like a loser! No, that’s not what _____ does!
You’re way better than that…! Kind of.

Needless to say, it was the best decision you’ve ever made thus far.

Woojin picked you up at your doorstep wearing a light jacket, a white shirt, blue jeans, and loafers. His shoes
were the only things that showed a brand name - everything else was plain, but regardless, he couldn’t have
looked more handsome in your eyes. His car was a black Audi R8 Spyder, which was definitely still luxurious,
but much more toned down than anything Chan or Felix drove. As your heartbeat sped up while pulling into
the parking lot of the restaurant, thinking it was going to be some expensive place you couldn’t afford, he
pulled up to the local all-you-can eat barbecue shop.

“You’re wearing white to a barbecue joint?” you teased him. “So risky.”

“Call me a daredevil,” he winked.

So off you go on your first date with the son of a CEO of a software company. What you feared the most after
agreeing to this was that Woojin would be a constant reminder of the worst weekend you’ve ever had in your
young life. Not only were you scared that you would be thinking of someone else while the perfect guy was
right across the table, but you were also scared that time would repeat itself. Kim Woojin was one of The
Elite, after all.

Maybe it was the endless plates of meat or the infinite bottles of soju or the way you couldn’t breathe from
laughing the entire date, but you weren’t reminded about any of your worries at all. The closest thing you
got to thinking about last weeks shenanigans was when you couldn’t believe how that horrendous trip
brought this beautiful, humble man to you. Was this what they called fate? Or rather the result of the best
mistake of your life? Maybe it was too soon to tell.

Dinner lasted until the restaurant had to kick you out because they were closing. You thought you were being
so sneaky when you ‘went to the bathroom’ so you could hand the waiter your credit card, but it turned out
Woojin beat you to it the second you both stepped through the door.

“I hate you,” you whined after you returned.

“I was the one who asked you out, so I should pay. Those are the rules, silly.”

“So if I ask you out on a second date, would you let me pay?”

The incredibly handsome man raised his brow and you couldn’t believe a gesture so simple was so sexy. “I
don’t know, are you asking me?”

“Kim Woojin, I am having an amazing night tonight and would love to go on a second date if you’ll have me.”

“I could never say no to you.”

“Then you’ll let me pay?”

“Are you crazy? Of course not!”

“You just said you couldn’t say no to me!”

“I am a complex man, _____.”

“… I hate you.”
Since neither of you were capable of driving, Woojin ordered two of his drivers to come pick the both of you
up. While one of them drove you and Woojin to your place, the other took his car to drive back home. The
back seat reminded you of a limousine. The car even had a partition to which Woojin rolled up so you two
could make-out for the entire twenty minutes back. Yes, it was kind of, uh, provocative to kiss someone on
the first date, but to be fair it’s not like he was a stranger! And it wasn’t your fault you thought he was so
hot or that his cologne was so intoxicating or that you tempted him with your lip biting! Yup, definitely all
his fault.

Unfortunately, you arrived home, and Woojin walked you to your door hand-in-hand. You turned to say your
goodbyes, giggling at how pink and plump his lips were from moments ago. Instead of ending the night with
a last kiss on your equally-plump lips, he pressed a sweet one to your forehead.

“I’ll be waiting for you to plan our second date,” he said.

“Text me when you’re home and I’ll get right to it.”

“So eager,” he chuckled cutely. “I like it.”

As soon as Woojin drove off and you safely locked the front door, you squealed like a little school girl and
immediately called up Felix to annoy him about how his friend that was like a brother was an amazing kisser.

Since you hopped off the plane until this very moment, this was the longest time in the entire week you
haven’t thought about Chan or the girl he was with. For those short hours, you never questioned what she
was to him or what you were to him and you felt so free and it felt so good. So if not seeing or talking or
texting Chan for a long time meant getting over him would be easier, then drastic times called for drastic
measures.

It’s not like he was calling or texting you, anyways. He only made it easier.

You saw Chan while the sun was setting on a Thursday evening. With the sky painted different shades of
pink and orange, this sour encounter made this beautiful scenery hideous.

You were on your way to meet with Woojin for a quick dinner before you had to hibernate at home and study
for your midterm. He wanted to take you to his favorite bakery close by because he kept on raving about
their crepe cake but had yet to take you, so he thought you could use something sweet before you felt
miserable while studying because he always had you in mind. Of course you said yes and sent a bunch of
heart emojis.

God, you were so, so lucky to have him.

During the busiest time of the night on the busiest street in the city, that’s when you saw them smiling and
giggling like no one else around them mattered.

Like in those dorky dramas Felix always binge watched, time ran in slow motion when you spotted the happy
couple. The warm breeze flowed through their matching gold locks and the sky painted their skin in a warm
glow. Any passerby could see how well they were meant for each other, especially when they matched wearing
Alexander Wang.

You thought to yourself how if the timing was just a bit better during that unfortunate weekend, that could
have been you on Chan’s arm instead. How weird would that be? There’s a sharp stab and a deep crack down
the middle of your heart that you thought was slowly being repaired, but all of that work came undone when
Chan looked up and saw you. Then, like all those dorky dramas, time had halted. No one else passing by
mattered.

His face dropped. His smile, his dimples, and his laugh all fell from shock. At this point, it’s been almost a
month since he last saw you. He wasn’t mad or upset, like how he left you, he was just surprised. What were
the chances he’d run into you while with Sana? But you thought his face twisted that way because you were
the last person he wanted to see.

Chan couldn’t read your expression at first. Your eyes shifted from him, to Sana, to his arm linked with hers,
and back at him again before you shook off any initial unknown feelings to plaster on your fake smile. It was
the same one you gave him the very first time he met you, when you couldn’t stand to be in his presence.

“Hey,” you breathed out nervously.

Chan cleared his throat. “Hi. Long time no see.”

“Yeah…”

The girl beside him also cleared her throat while clinging more tightly. You felt your cheeks burn darkly.
Finally, a proper introduction.

“O-Oh, right. _____, this is Sana. Sana, _____.”

She smiled and waved politely. Her blond hair, twinkling eyes, and chic clothes, though black to match Chan,
made her very pretty. She was gorgeous, like a model straight from a magazine or the catwalk. Sana was
everything you thought Chan wanted in a girl. Hell, even you were charmed by her looks. It was no wonder
why her and Chan were together.

They were perfect for each other.

“Nice to meet you,” you smiled back.

“Likewise.”

“Are you guys going out to dinner?”

“Trying to. We always have a hard time deciding between which Osteria to eat at.” Oster-what? “How about
you? Heading to the library?”

“Luckily, not tonight. I have some dinner plans, also.”

“Oh, with Felix? We just saw him.”

“No, not him.”

“_____!” someone yelled behind Chan and Sana.

All three of you turned to see Woojin waving to you across the street. Thank God, your knight in shining
armor was here to save you from any further embarrassment!

Of all people, Woojin was the one taking you out to dinner. Not Felix, not even some stranger that you were
going on a date with, but Woojin, someone you already had a connection with, someone you spent hours
until the sun rose on Chan’s foreign porch laughing until he interrupted. You were going out to dinner with
the man who got under Chan’s skin, the man who bested him in almost everything since he was five years
old. He remembered being upset whenever Woojin received a higher grade on an exam, he was pissed when
he was chosen captain of the basketball team, he was livid whenever his parents compared him to a lowly
CEO’s son, and now he was numb after Woojin stole that special spot in your heart that Chan thought was
made specifically for him.

When he turned back around, you were no longer awkward and acting like a stranger. In fact, you pretended
like he and Sana weren’t even there. You were too focused on waving and grinning at the man across the
street. It’s been a while since he last saw you like this, or saw you at all really, with cheeks burning his
favorite color, and now another man could claim to be the reason behind it. He used to be the reason, but
you didn’t choose him. If the timing was just a little better that unfortunate weekend, that could have been
him taking you out to dinner. It wasn’t fair.

Chan’s jaw hurt from clenching so hard.

“I’ll see you guys later,” you said quickly, not even bothering to look at them while you said it. But why would
you, when you only had eyes for Woojin?

You looked so happy - happier than you’ve ever been since Chan has known you, even while you two were
still friends. When he was with you, of course he knew you were happy, but only because he was a good
friend. But when the source of your happiness was coming from someone you had fallen for, someone you
wanted to be held and kissed by, someone who made you feel loved, it was nothing compared to how happy
Chan made you. He watched you run into Woojin’s arms as he swung you around, peppering little kisses all
over your giggling and blushing face. It was then when he turned away and lead Sana far away from there.
His chest was hurting.

Chan looked happy. He looked happy to be with someone he could finally relate to - someone who had the
same tastes and understood his expensive lifestyle. You two would have never worked out. But that’s ok,
because in the end, all you ever wanted for him was to be happy, even if it was without you. There was no
use dwelling on what could have been.

Things were better off this way.

Encounters with Chan or with Chan and Sana were becoming more frequent, but the frequency allowed for
numbing and now months later, you were able to look at them without your heart feeling like it would shatter
to pieces. For that, Felix was thankful because he didn’t have to pick and choose who he could hang out with
on certain days nor did he have to hear both sides whining about how weird it was for the other to be with
someone else. Of course, things were a little awkward at first, especially when you were left alone together,
but it got easier with time, as all things did. You hoped to reach the point where things were almost back to
how they used to be, but reaching that point would take a while.

Chan knew you were never good at hiding how awkward you are, so he knew the exact moment when you
could look at him normally without shifting your eyes half a second later. It was during Felix’s and Jisung’s
joint birthday party at Felix’s place. You offered to be the designated driver tonight so Woojin could have
fun with his little bros and Chan did the same because Sana always loved to party. While your two partners
were off either drinking some more or rubbing the backs of the puking birthday celebrants, you and Chan
caught up outside on the balcony.

“Usually they’re better with their liquor, but I guess no one’s safe on their birthday,” Chan said light-heartedly.

“They’ll regret it in the morning, but at least they’re having fun.”

“Yeah. How about you, though? Having fun?”

“Yeah,” you admitted genuinely. “I am. It’s been a while since we’ve all been together.”

“Last time was, uh, Singapore.”

Your face twisted with disgust. “Well, at least tonight’s a lot better.”

“Agreed.”

There’s a long pause of silence in between. You two didn’t face the city while on the balcony. Instead, you
faced inside, watching the chaos the birthday boys created and watching all of your friends having a good
time. A fond smile grew on both of your lips.
“I’m sorry,” he said suddenly, interrupting your people watching. “For that Sunday after. I shouldn’t have
been so mad at you for talking to Woojin.”

“It’s ok. If it weren’t for you, me and him would probably have never ended up together.” Yeah. If it weren’t
for him. “Why were you mad, anyways?”

Chan took a moment to think. How could he word this without sounding selfish? There wasn’t a way, but at
least he’d be honest. “I was mad because you came to San’s party with me but then left to be with him.” Chan
shook his head shamefully and even laughed a little. “It sounds silly now that I’m saying it aloud.”

Your lips flipped into a frown. “Yeah, it does. I didn’t leave you to be with him just like that. Do you know
how out-of-place I felt being at that party alone for those short minutes? Chan, all of your friends kept staring
at us the whole night, and they didn’t stop when you left the room! It was suffocating, so then I went to find
people who wouldn’t judge me for my net worth. Woojin and Hyunjin were the first people I saw.”

“I know that now. I’m sorry. I was just drunk and when I saw his arms around you, I was furious. That’s how
I ended up with Sana that night.”

“Furious? I didn’t think you were that mad…”

“I was because that should have been me you stayed up talking with until the sun rose, not Woojin. I keep
thinking about how I shouldn’t have left you alone to begin with.” He sighed tiredly, his lips curling into a
lazy smile. Admitting these feelings on Felix’s balcony while everyone in the apartment was dancing and
having the time of their life was a heavy subject for two poor sober souls, but Chan was happy with you
beside him. Even if you were just friends, he was happy you were here, with him. “Fate had a funny way of
playing with us that night. Don’t tell Sana I’m saying this though or she’ll kill me! I would have never
reconnected with her if it wasn’t for that night.”

Yes, fate did have a horrible way of playing with your love life.

“You and I…” You hesitated. You shouldn’t be saying this to him, but your heart wouldn’t listen to your mind
and empty confessions spilled out before you could stop them. “You and I wouldn’t have worked out anyways,
right?”

“You really think that?”

“You think otherwise?”

“I think you and I would have been something else.”

“That’s one way to put it…”

His honey chuckle made you smile, as it always did. Then he looked at you and smiled, too, as he always did.

“I think you and I would have been just fine.”

The idea of you and Chan together being just fine didn’t sound so bad. Maybe the two of you really would
have been just fine. Guess you’ll never know.

Chan figured you didn’t want to dwell on that night either, not while your significant others were inside
having the time of their lives, so he ushered you to follow him inside and both of you found your way to the
opposite side of the room in the arms of your person.

Chan’s reasons for being mad the last day of the Singapore trip would burn permanently into your memories,
but you did your best to cover them up because you deserved to be happy - you deserved to be happy with
Woojin.

You caught Chan’s gaze eight times that night.

Woojin broke up with you after one year of dating.

One year of dates, one year of kisses, one year of your first ‘I love yous’, and then suddenly it was all over.
No amount of life experience could have prepared you for this milestone. Heartbreak from a guy you weren’t
even dating was one thing, like it was inevitable to happen falling for someone like Chan, but a broken heart
caused by someone who once mended it back together hit you twice as hard.

Despite the resulting pain, Woojin ended it as politely as he could and no bitter tastes were left. It was the
simple reason of falling out of love and outgrowing each other’s presence. The spark was no longer there,
as he put it. If you were being honest, the feeling was mutual, but somehow you were left with holding
broken pieces of what was while he walked away freely and light-heartedly.

Woojin wouldn’t think much of it after that night. He might dwell on it if he sees you once in a while, but
he’ll be able to fill the void with someone else in no time. But what about you? What were you to do with the
broken pieces you were holding? Just throw them away like they meant nothing? Of course not! These were
precious memories mixed in with the pieces of your heart, you couldn’t just throw the whole mess away!
Your toxic attraction for any sort of feeling made you hold on to them to properly mourn like you were
holding the ashes of some dead childhood pet. Morbid, but hey, this was your way of getting over Woojin.

The first time someone shattered your heart, Woojin was the one to help glue the shards back together. Now
that he was the cause of the damage, you were left to deal with the puzzle alone, but that’s ok. It was like a
lesson on self-love and discovery, albeit a long, painful, and challenging one. Progress would be slow, but
it’d be noticeable.

All of it went down the drain on Chan’s birthday.

The night started off great; Felix dressed you up like a personal life-sized doll in designer clothing per usual
(tonight’s brand was Balmain), made his driver drop the both of you off at his holiday house (whatever that
meant), and you gave Chan the personalized neon red sign that said ‘BANGer’ he kept on planning to buy
but never got around to it. With the biggest grin on his handsome face and your ears deaf from his screaming,
he pulled you into the tightest hug - the type of hug you missed very much.

“Ah, _____! What the fuck, this is so dope!!” He screamed, jumping around like a little kid. “I’m gonna hang
it up in my studio, come help me!”

He was already halfway up the stairs before you could even think about declining, so you quickly joined him.
You’ve only seen his studio in the spare room at his apartment and the one in Singapore, both of which
already had the latest technology in everything music, but this studio? This studio had a recording booth! A
room in a room!

Chan was setting up the sign just above his triple monitors. You were too busy gawking at the details to help
him straighten out the sign.

“Does this look ok?” he asked.

“Uh-huh,” you hummed mindlessly.

“You’re not even looking!”

Finally, you looked up. A happy Chan smiled up at the cherry red sign. “I know it’s a little meh for a gift, but
I hope you like it.”

“Are you kidding!? This is the best gift I’ve ever received! It must have cost a lot to get it customized.”

“Don’t worry, it was only a couple of dollar signs on Yelp.”

“Thank you, _____. This means so much to me.”

Chan pulled you into a long, warm hug that made you forget about everything. His hugs always had that kind
of effect on you. If you had the option to never leave his arms and forget about the world around you forever,
you’d take that opportunity in a heartbeat.

Even after all these years, his cologne never changed.

“Now I’ll always think of you whenever I make songs here,” he said lightly as if those words didn’t hold much
weight. “Take a shot with the birthday boy?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Nope.”

Chan led you through the sea of people to the bar where he hired one of the bartenders from his favorite
bar. The shot the bartender poured was not some silver or gold liquid you were used to. This one was purple.

“I won’t die, will I?” you gulped nervously.

“You might, no promises. Bottoms up, Buttercup!” Chan downed that shot like it was nothing while you
hesitated, which was a mistake because you tasted the vodka and wanted to hurl, but the finish was a sweet,
creamy blackberry.

“Oh, that’s dangerous,” you giggled, enjoying the burn that was spreading.

“Just like me,” he winked. “Hey, thank you for coming, by the way. I didn’t think I’d see you tonight.”

“Why wouldn’t I be here?”

“I don’t know… Things are different, I guess.”

“Yeah. Different. But you’re still my friend, so your birthday means a lot to me.”

“Oh, don’t make me blush ~ My birthday isn’t special.”

“Really?” you dead panned as the loud bass, hundreds of party-goers, and the glare of the giant disco ball
made you believe that tonight was anything but ‘not special’.

“Don’t give me that look, this wasn’t my idea!”

“Sure it wasn’t. Are you at least happy on your not-so-special day?”

“Yeah. At least now I am,” he smiled genuinely. You wished he’d stop with those flirtatious answers. “How
about you? Are you happy?”

You didn’t answer right away, or rather couldn’t think of a proper way to explain what you were feeling. What
an odd question to be asked, even though you were the one to ask him first. Were you happy -
like really happy? Were you happy with life in general? No, at least not yet - that would still take some time.
Were you happy to be here with Chan? Absolutely, but you couldn’t say that.

While you were choked up on your answer, a worry-filled Chan looked like he was ready to ask you if
something was wrong, but then a swarm of his boys pulled him away and dragged him towards the bar on
the other side. He couldn’t help but look back at you still, worry still written, but your teasing smile and
thumbs up reassured him if only temporarily.

You wondered where Sana was. You hadn’t seen her at all yet.
Half of the night was spent as a wallflower and the other half was in the middle of the dance floor because
Felix was trying to help you get out of your funk. Though you protested every time, you hated to admit that
it was working, but it was dangerous. Being on the dance floor felt freeing which only led to easy persuasion
when offering you drinks, which only fueled your dancing energy and the whole ordeal was just an infinite
positive reinforcement of dancing and accepting questionable drinks from Felix.

This was definitely not part of your ‘101 Healthy Steps to Get Over Your Ex’ plan, but it filled the empty void
in your heart temporarily and you didn’t mind one bit. Tonight would be your cheat night, so you bottoms-
upped in this bitch until your vision was blurry and you somehow ended up in the backyard alone laying on
the grass trying to focus on the stars above. Even with a house filled to the brim with people, you still ended
up alone.

No matter what you did, the stars had written your fate to make sure you were brought to Chan no matter
what. You stopped talking to him and you even dated someone else, yet the stars were so cruel that they
made sure you returned to Chan as broken-hearted as you were when you left.

“What are you doing…?”

Chan hovered over you after he scooted over. It was your favorite person to forget who interrupted your
moment of existential crisis. “Eh? When did you get here?”

“_____, you goofball, I’ve been out here this whole time. You were the one who imposed on me.”

“Ah, I did? I didn’t even notice.” Hiccup. “Sorry ~”

“Drunk?”

“No ~… A little.”

He cracked a genuine smile for the second time that night. “Why aren’t you drunk inside?”

“Why aren’t you?”

The birthday boy shrugged. “Good question. I didn’t even want to have a party in the first place, but of course
Hyunjin said I had to. I kind of got tired of socializing, so now I’m here.”

“But you love socializing. You are Bang Chan.”

“I do, just not today. Now you tell me why you’re out here.”

You sat up and hugged your knees. You might have hesitated talking about this if you were sober, but you
weren’t, so your lips talked before you could stop them. “Woojin broke up with me last week.”

“What!?” he screeched incredulously.

“That’s not why I’m out here, I’m out here because the alcohol told me to get some air. Not sure why I even
shared that with you…”

“He broke up with you?” he repeated, still unable to believe it. “Unbelievable. What a fucking douche bag!
Whatever! You don’t need him! Men ain’t shit, I should know!!”

“You included?”

“Of course I am. I’m the King of Douche Bags.” He hoped to make you laugh, even just a little, but to no avail.
“Are you ok?”

You shook your head. “No.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“There’s not much to say. It was nothing bad, he didn’t cheat on me, or anything. This is what happens when
the feelings aren’t there anymore, right? I was upset at first, but you know what? I feel good.”

Chan involuntarily straightened his back. Why was he feeling happy? “Then why are you crying?”

Were you crying? You touched your cheek to check, and yup, you were definitely crying. You blamed the
alcohol. “I don’t know… I’m not so much sad because Woojin broke up with me rather than I’m all alone
again. Loneliness can only be comforting for so long until it’s suffocating.” A shaky sigh escaped your
trembling lips. “Chan, what if I don’t find that someone who was meant for me? What if that was it? That was
the only chance I had?”

“Hey.” The handsome boy grabbed you by the shoulders and gently shook your crying form like a silly child,
hoping maybe that would get you to smile. He leaned in close enough that you could see the stars reflect in
his big eyes. He saw the stars reflect in your pool of tears. “That special someone is out there, _____. They’re
just taking their sweet ass time because the timing isn’t right just yet. You know how time likes to play these
shitty games with us, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Then you just have to be patient. Time wants you to heal from this first before you meet him. You can’t
carry this heartbreak when you meet him, right?”

“No…”

“Exactly. Time wants you to be the beautiful, lovable, whole-hearted you before you meet The One. It’s only
right.”

“What makes you so sure he’s out there?”

“I know he’s out there because the world would be very cruel if it didn’t inhabit the lucky man who could
wipe your tears away and make everything better in a matter of seconds.” Chan plucked pieces of grass from
your hair before squishing your tear-stained cheeks together playfully. “I promise he’s out there, ok? The
luckiest man in the entire world is somewhere out there waiting to love you every second of the day.”

A week’s worth of healing patched up maybe two pieces of your heart together. There was so much more
lying on the ground and mixed in with the broken pieces of your relationship that you struggled to filter
through, but finding two pieces of your heart that fit was a small victory you were proud of. But all of it just
went down the drain. The two pieces you thought that were glued together by some unmalleable metal tore
apart so easily all because of Bang Chan. That was how weak you were for him, whether you already knew it
or not. You would dwell on this sometime later when you were sober and shutting yourself out in your room.
Who knew you could feel heartbreak worse than when Woojin broke up with you?

Looking at Chan as he let go of your face, you could only think about how Sana was the luckiest woman in
the entire world.

It was so hard holding back your urge to kiss him.

“Sana’s lucky to have you be that guy for her,” you admitted quietly.

A bitter chuckle, much different from his honey chuckle, left his lips before he dropped his hands to the
ground. “Actually, Sana and I broke up, too.”

“What!? Why?”

“The spark isn’t there anymore, either. What a coincidence, huh?”

“Are you ok?”

“Not yet, but I will be soon.”

“How do you know it’s soon?”

“I just have a feeling,” he nudged playfully.

You hugged your knees once more. “I hope I’ll be ok soon, too.”

“You will be. That I know for sure.” There was a short pause in between, allowing for his heavy words to settle
in the deep corners of your heart that would haunt you for a very long time. “Do you want to go inside?”

You shook your head. “No, I’m ok. I’ll stay here for a little longer.”

“Then I’ll stay with you.”

“Don’t stay with a downer like me, go have fun! It’s your damn birthday, for God’s sake.”

“Hey, I’m feeling down, too! You’re not the only one with a broken heart,” he pouted cutely.

“Fine, be my guest, birthday boy.”

“Gladly.”

You and Chan stayed up talking until the sun rose.

Falling for Chan the first time was messy. You were just two young kids in college sitting at a coffee shop
before you asked him out to dinner not ten minutes after he arrived. Yes, he was charming, kind, and the
result of putting together the ingredients for The Perfect Man, but you didn’t take into account his lavish
lifestyle and his equally-lavish friend group, the stark differences between you, or the lack of reciprocated
feelings while driving down the road of falling for Chan filled with potholes.

The first time didn’t work out so well. Clearly.

Falling for Chan the second time was almost too easy. Maybe it had to do with how nothing had changed at
all. He still lived his expensive lifestyle and shared it with the same friends, you shared close to nothing in
common, and you didn’t even want to think about what his feelings were towards you, but not thinking about
all of the above was what made it easy. This was how it was supposed to be the first time - easy, but most
importantly, natural.

It started out slow for the sake of you trying to put yourself back together after the break-up. You had relied
on Woojin when the first round with Chan didn’t work out, but you couldn’t give the same responsibility to
Chan or anyone else. This was yours to fix on your own without any help and you made sure to take your
sweet-ass time.

“This whole self-love thing is so hard,” you groaned to him while on the way to lunch. It was the weekend
and you had just rolled out of bed at noon without anything to eat yet and that’s when Chan took the liberty
of dragging you out for some lunch and sunshine because sleeping in was definitely not contributing to your
whole ‘piecing yourself back together’ plan.

“It’s supposed to be. Stuff like this isn’t easy, _____.”

“But why do you seem so put together? How come you’re not as miserable and conflicted as I am?”

“Time heals wounds differently for everybody. Besides, I wasn’t all that upset to begin with.”

“No offense, but she broke up with you on your birthday, how could you not be totally miserable right now?”

“Who said she broke up with me?” your handsome friend defended with a scoff. “Is that what everyone’s
saying!? God, I knew she was going to twist the story! I was the one who broke it off on my birthday!”
“Really? This whole time I thought otherwise.” Did that mean he was the one who lost that spark? “Can I ask
why?”

“Nope.”

“What, no fair! I talked about my whole break up to you!”

“_____, please, I… I’m still healing… I can’t talk about this… I’ll cry…” he snickered.

“What a load of crap!”

“I’ll tell you soon enough, I promise.”

“But when will that be?”

“When the reason for breaking up doesn’t matter anymore.”

“How can you be over her when the reason for the break up still matters?”

“I am a complex man.”

“Complex is an understatement.”

Chan roughly wrapped his arm and lightly crushed your neck between his bicep and forearm before messing
up your already birds nest tangle of hair like boys who used to bully you in kindergarten. A low whine came
from your lips before you shoved him away.

“I’m glad you always agree to go out with me whenever I come and bother you,” Chan admitted proudly.

“I can’t let you be the only one reborn from the ashes.”

“You’ll be reborn a much stronger phoenix, I know that for sure. I’m just saying I know the healing process
isn’t easy right now, but I promise you it gets better.”

“I know. It’s challenging, but…”

“But?”

“Having you with me makes it easier.”

The lips of the handsome blond beside you curled into a grin. “That so?”

“Yes… No need to get cocky.”

“I didn’t even say anything!”

“You didn’t have to.”

Chan sighed dramatically. “Well, just know I’ll always be a phone call away if some days are harder than
others.”

“I know. Thank you.”

“Anything for you.”

Some days were definitely much harder than others. Some days you’d stay in and shut yourself out from the
world while tucked under your covers reading a sad book or binging a bunch of sad movies - anything as
long as it made you cry because you believed this was the only way to get all the tears out. While you did
that during the day, the nights were spent switching between old memories with Woojin and newer ones with
Chan. Of course memories from both of those heart breakers were happy at one point, but now they just
reminded you of what used to be and what could never be. This was like the opposite of being stuck between
two lovers, but infinitely worse in every aspect possible.

On those days, you never put the burden on Chan even when he insisted it wasn’t a bother at all. If you did,
you’d be cycling back to your old ways of relying on someone else to heal you at your current state, and look
how that turned out the first time! For now, you enjoyed the re-development of a relationship between you
and an old friend with some space in between, slowly and naturally.

A few all-nighters, emotional breakdowns in front of Chan at the quiet section of the library, and seven boxes
of Thai noodles later, you somehow managed to make it to graduation with a full-time job lined up for you
to start a couple weeks later. College was a fucking mess if you had to dumb it down to a single sentence,
but as the saying goes, you wouldn’t have traded it for the world.

“Can you believe it?” he asked, shoveling the same Thai noodles into his mouth on your tiny balcony for what
might be the last time while still wearing your graduation gowns. “We made it!”

“Just barely…”

“Barely still means we made it, so it’s an accomplishment in my books.”

“Chan the optimist, as usual.”

“One of us has to be.”

You sighed contently. The air was warm, the food was hot, the company was much needed. Today was a
good day. “Got any plans now that we’re real adults in the real world with real problems?”

“You know them already - gotta run the charity organization while they polish me into the rightful heir of the
hotel chain. It’s what the prophecy had foretold.”

“Of course I know that, Mr. Bang Chan of the Bang’s Luxury Hotel chain,” you teased, dropping a saucy
broccoli into his box. “I mean like personal plans. Are you moving out? Getting a dog? Buying a new Ferrari?”

“I might move out. Four thousand square feet gets a little stuffy sometimes.” You gave him the dirtiest look
and he smiled innocently. “I just want to go with the flow while I can. Let things happen naturally, you know?”

“Naturally sounds nice.”

“Doesn’t it?”

“What about your partying days?”

“Oh, of course I’ll still go out. I’d go mad if I didn’t. Real business moguls black out when they do, you know.
My father knows that all too well. And you’ll accompany me, right?”

“Why would I ever agree to that?” you scoffed. The mere thought of seeing either Woojin or Sana - or worse,
both - at any of Chan’s fancy shmancy parties without any Margiela on made you want to choke on broccoli.

“Because it’s all part of the healing process, baby! What better way to forget about your ex than to wash the
memories away with alcohol!? A cleansing, if you will.”

“Chan, that was so long ago! I can’t even remember the last time I thought about Woojin.”

“Really?”

It was true, you honestly couldn’t remember. It helped that you almost never saw him, give or take someone’s
Snapchat story, but otherwise you were just fine. It also helped that seeing Chan’s face practically every other
damn day helped push your ex to the back corners of your mind, but that was a detail you could leave out.
“If I can look at a picture of him without crying, I think I’m pretty much over him.”

“Hey, that’s great! We should celebrate some time.”

“Celebrate that it only took, what, like six months for me to get over some guy I dated for a year?”

“Gotta celebrate the little victories, my dear.”

“Does this count as accompanying you to your lavish parties?”

“Nope. Speaking of which, I do have one planned, but it’s not for a while. Would you like to join me?”

You raised a suspicious brow. Ah yes, the very quirk that made his heart beat for you when you first met. It
still had the same effect. “Depends. What is it?”

“Oh, you’re gonna have a ball with this one. Ready?” You nodded eagerly. “It’s San and Mina’s wedding.”

“What!?” your shrill giggle echoed into the night.

“I know, right!?”

“When the hell did he even propose!?”

“While I was picking up the food, I got a Snapchat with the huge ass boulder on her finger saying ‘everyone’s
invited to the wedding!’ and when he means everyone, San means everyone. That man literally could not have
waited for a couple more months to use his damn salary money and not his father’s music industry money?
I suppose he has nothing to lose these days. I just hope they get a prenup.”

“Wait, hold on, this is a lot to take in - he proposed tonight? Like, an hour ago?”

“Mhm.”

“Oh, my God, they are both so stupid.”

“You’re telling me. I witnessed all that mess in real time.”

“Do they already have a wedding date?”

“No, but I wanted to ask if you’d like to come along anyways. San has taken quite a liking to you since the
Singapore trip, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you as my plus one.”

“You don’t know when the wedding is, but you’re already asking me to be your plus one?”

He looked at you with his shining eyes and dimpley smile as if you had already agreed to be his date. “I
wouldn’t want to ask anyone else.”

You shyly turned away but couldn’t deny a growing smile of your own. Chan and his way with words… How
were you ever supposed to deny him? “Fine, but if you find a girlfriend before the wedding, I’m still going no
matter what.”

“Hard to believe when you sounded so disgusted at the idea not too long ago.”

“That was before I knew it was a wedding. I’m a sucker for centerpieces.”

“Well, don’t worry about not being my plus one. You’re going no matter what.”
You were convinced time was a form of black magic. The six months it took you to get over Woojin felt like
a never ending cycle of slow death by self-depreciation, but the six months since you graduated up until now
flew by before you could blink. It was probably from all the first-job excitement, moving into a bigger
apartment, and always being around your two favorite blonds that made the transition into adulthood
enjoyable. Life was finally starting to go your way for once.

“The best man, huh?” Felix pondered.

In the kitchen, you were fixing Chan, Felix, and yourself three mugs of the richest hot chocolate you’ve ever
tasted imported from Mexico in Chan’s rustic white marble and dark chestnut kitchen in a small copper pot
over an induction stove top. Tonight, you and Felix thought you were celebrating your friend moving into his
new loft, but it turned out he needed company and reassurance as he was just given the ever-so honored
title of being San’s best man at his wedding, which was a week away, six months after he proposed to Mina
with a fat-ass VVS1-grade diamond with a band of tinier diamonds set in platinum. Seated on the Bradford
plum velvet sofa was a stressed Chan clutching his hair as he buried his head in his hands.

You settled the three mugs on top of the coffee table that looked like it once was part of the trunk of a young
redwood. “I didn’t know you and San were that close.”

“That’s the thing, we aren’t!” Chan cried out. “Sure, we went to the same summer school in Singapore every
year and then attended the same high school and university, but I see him like what, only every time we
party? That’s it! Hell, I don’t even see him in class! Yet he still chose me as his best man.”

“Why are you complaining? Being the best man is so dope!” Felix said.

“How?”

“For starters, you get a whole new designer tux with some jewel-encrusted cufflinks without having to buy
one ‘cuz San will probably pay for it, you’re next to the center of attention without any real commitment,
and you’ll be the most wanted bachelor at the closest thing Asia’s got to having a Royal Wedding!”

“San does like to call you the most eligible bachelor,” you teased a pouty Chan.

“That’s because he is the most eligible bachelor under twenty-five for the third year in a row.”

“The results came out already? Damn, I bet Minghao’s pissed.”

“Absolutely livid.”

“Guys, focus!” the eldest whined. “How am I gonna get out of this!?”

“Well, for starters, you aren’t.”

“Why not!?”

Chan was smart, but why was he so dumb when it came to women and parties? You could tell that Felix was
getting a bit frustrated. “Because you already said yes! And frankly, I don’t see what the big deal is!”

“_____, some help here?” Chan begged tiredly.

You took a moment to sip on the velvety chocolatey goodness. “I have to agree with Felix here. You already
said yes, and it’d be pretty shitty of you to call San up and be like ‘haha, never mind.’”

“I wouldn’t say ‘haha’…”

“Reiterate again why you don’t want to be the best man?”

“Does this not scare either of you? _____, we just graduated and people our age are already getting married!
Isn’t that terrifying!?”
“Well, yeah, but the important thing is I’m not getting married, so it’s not as frightening.”

“You don’t understand,” Felix began. “Our parents pressure kids like us - the high-class snobs, as you kindly
described - to get married soon after graduating college. Like, really soon. Something about wanting to be
grandparents at a young age… It’s a weird flex.”

“How come you’re not as stressed as Chan?”

“Do I look like a father-figure to you?” The newly-brunette boy scoffed. “I don’t care what my parents say, I’m
not getting married until I’m forty. Besides, I still have a couple more years in school.”

“Ok, so I can understand why you’re a little stressed… But come on, this should be something to celebrate!
You get to plan the bachelor party, say the best man speech, get first dibs at the bar and second dibs on
wedding cake, I mean what could go wrong?”

Chan chugged the rest of the hot chocolate. “The only thing that could go terribly wrong is that the bachelor
party is tomorrow… and I have yet to plan it…”

“Yikes…”

“Oh, I know the perfect strip club -”

“Felix!” you burned darkly.

“What!? A bachelor party isn’t complete without a strip club!”

You and Felix stayed at Chan’s place until three in the morning planning out San’s perfect bachelor party.
You knew Chan had a lot of money, but this was one of the few times you were reminded with how much
power he really had. The first thing that distinguished bachelor parties of the normal citizens like yourself
versus The Privileged like Chan and Felix was that theirs started at eight in the morning. The first stop was
to San’s favorite breakfast place that served their famous ricotta and jam on brioche and lobster benedict,
and of course bottomless mimosas and Sex on the Beaches. Next would be flying Chan’s private jet to island-
hop in the Philippines while swimming in different caves and drinking coconut juice straight from the shell.
Then it was back to the homeland for dinner where all the groomsmen were personally served heavy, salty
steaks at San’s home that would help soak up for what the night had in store for them. Finally, it was the
coup de grace, where the real party began after hours.

Chan didn’t think he could survive past 5:00 pm.

chan is the sexiest man alive [4:08 pm]: omg i can’t do this anymore.

When did he change his name on your phone?

you [4:10 pm]: it’s barely nighttime. you have at least 12 more hours to go, buddy.

chan is the sexiest man alive [4:14 pm]: kill me pls, i can’t take anymore of them showing me girls on
tinder and seeing who has the better abs.

you [4:15 pm]: just out of curiosity, who DOES have the better abs? you know, for science.

One second later, Chan sent you a Snapchat. It was a bit suspicious that he sent it so fast, but you figured
since they were all together that he took a quick pic of one of the guys, but it ended up being a mirror picture
of himself shirtless with the caption ‘me, of course ;)’ There was always a good amount of traffic around your
desk at work and you were ready to throw your phone against the wall in case anyone got a peek at you
looking at something so scandalous. You put your phone face-down and covered your burning face in your
hands, taking a few minutes to calm down before you responded.

you [4:27 pm]: omg i’m at work, don’t send me nudes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

chan is the sexiest man alive [4:30 pm]: how insulting! as if i’d ever take nudes in that lighting!

You avoided opening his Snaps until you were in the comfort of your home.

It was easy to say that your friendship with Chan had reached that point where it used to be before the
infamous Singapore trip, but something was different, as if it was beyond what it used to be. No longer did
you have a stiff back and watched what you said around him or cared too much about what or at what time
you were texting him, but you had it all backwards - you should have been over-analyzing Chan instead of
yourself the past few months. How was it possible that he was even more flirtatious than when you knew
him a few years ago? Could it be possible that he was, dare you say, trying something?

Well, it would make a little bit of sense, right? Both of you are single, you’re around each other a lot, you
practically know the ins and outs of each other by now after seeing every facet of each other every other day.
But for you to believe that Chan had any residual feelings left for you sounded insane and what was even
crazier to think that he was acting on it! It sounded stupid, right, like why would he want to restart the cycle
of what ended up becoming your relationship downfall?

Could you take another trip down that road again? Think about it, there were two possibilities; the happy,
calming ending made sure you two ended up together while the other ending restarted the downward spiral
to your descent as a woman. The fifty-fifty chance sounded worth it to risk it for the biscuit, but you had to
remind yourself every time you thought you were falling for Chan again that you weren’t a part of that
lifestyle, and you never would be.

After going over your two hours overtime limit, you came home exhausted and a little lonely. Fast food and
ice cream didn’t have the same comfort as it used to but you weren’t going to admit it was because you
missed Chan and was wondering what he was doing. Other than all the island hopping and stuffing their face
with edible gold, what do a bunch of guys in their mid-twenties do during a weekend-filled bachelor party?

Oh, my God, they were probably at the strip club! Were you missing a guy who was getting a lap dance right
now!? Stupid, _____, stupid -!

The doorbell tore you away from your anxiety. You weren’t expecting anyone or any food, so either you were
about to get a pleasant surprise or get murdered, either of which you were completely fine with.

On the other side of the door was a seemingly-sober Chan holding a plastic bag. Of course, you couldn’t get
the imagine of his naked torso out of your mind.

“Hey,” he greeted with a crooked smile. “Hungry?”

This was like the start of a terrible porn video.

You did your best to shove that imagine in a dark corner of your memory. “Shouldn’t you be out with the
guys taking shots on an unnamed island or in the club dancing with strangers?”

“Why do that when I can eat delicious Michelin-star leftovers on your couch? Also, San blacked out at 6:00,
so I had time to sneak out.”

Still confused, you let the strange man into your home who went straight to the kitchen to prepare you the
prettiest plate, even if it was just leftovers. He plated your meal as if he was the head chef - he did the spoon-
thing with a dollop of sauce, spread the veggies in a pretty manner, and then made the star of the meal stand
in the very center.

“Madam, your meal,” he said in a fake accent, placing it in front of you on your kitchen island. “Your kitchen
is way bigger than your old place.”

“Yeah, once I got an offer at my job, I wanted to upgrade a little, especially the kitchen. Do you like?”

“I really like! All the marble and stainless steel feels so luxurious.”
You squinted at your awestruck friend. “Don’t patronize me, Bang Chan.”

“I’m not even!”

“Your kitchen is the size of my whole apartment and you’re telling me my kitchen is luxurious?”

“Well, I didn’t say ‘compared to mine’,” he defended with a pout.

There’s some silence before you dig into your first bite of heaven with flavors you never thought could exist.
“Holy shit.”

“Good, huh? We ordered way too much, so everyone was able to bring home some food in case they needed
something to soak up the alcohol.”

“Speaking of which, you never properly answered my question; why are you here completely sober when you
should be wasted with the Groom-to-be?”

Chan shrugged before stretching his arm across the back of your chair. “Like I said, he passed out.”

“Yeah, but you and the others could have partied some more.”

“They were all too preoccupied, so I saw an opportunity to escape and I gladly took it. Did you know that
bachelor parties aren’t what they seem if you’re the Best Man? You would think the Best Man would be the
second person to black out after the Groom-to-be, but no~o, this title meant you were the babysitter! Do you
know how tiring it is making sure no one falls off the yacht or takes a piss on sacred island property!?”

“I can only imagine…”

“Right!? I got tired of it, so I came here instead.”

To think you were the first person and place in Chan’s mind to come to at this hour after a long day really
did a number on your fragile heart. Of all the things he could be doing, he chose to be here with you.

“Aren’t you tired? You shouldn’t have gone out of your way to come here and feed me.”

“I’m exhausted, but that’s ok.” The arm that was once on the back of your chair had now found its way
around your shoulders. He felt safe and warm. “I’d rather hang out with you instead, making up for lost
time.”

“You don’t think we’ve made that up already? We see each other like every other day.”

“It’s not enough,” he said genuinely, enjoying the blushing color of your cheeks. “You know during bachelor
parties, you’d think all the guys would talk about their days when they were single or be like, ‘ah San, you
better enjoy the single life while it lasts’.”

“Did they not say that?”

“No! Can you believe that? San called Mina like, five times today to tell her what was happening! Everyone
who had someone was talking about their significant others or how much they missed them the whole time!
I swear, I was the only actual bachelor there! But then when we were all on the beach, digging our toes in the
hot sand and drinking coconut juice, I got to thinking…”

In the midst of his storytelling, you were a bit preoccupied with finishing your food and thought he’d finish
his sentence with ease, but that wasn’t the case. When the silence was unbearable, you turned and hoped he
wasn’t about to pass out on you and gladly he didn’t, but instead he was looking at you with his intense gaze
that was somehow soft at the same time - like you were a precious jewel he had searched eons for but
happened to be ten feet away this whole time. It was different than any look he ever gave you before. It was
hard to read his face and you couldn’t even begin to predict what he was thinking about, but you didn’t miss
the way his eyes would shift to your lips and you could only assume from there. You returned the gaze with
a wide and nervous one of your own, making Chan break his suave character and let out a smooth chuckle.

“What were you thinking…?” you whispered.

Chan opened his mouth ready to say what was in his heart, but then stopped himself. No, he couldn’t confess
how much he wished you were with him earlier today or how he talked about you to the guys tonight or how
he wanted to try the whole dating thing just yet. What you two had right now was working and if something
were to happen then it’ll happen, slowly and naturally.

He shook his head. “Nothing. Just that all my friends are softies, I guess.”

You breathed a sigh of relief hoping that would help alleviate your racing heart. “Well, you’re not wrong.”

“They’ll be even softer next week for the wedding. I bet all of them will cry - I bet you will cry.”

“Oh, no doubt am I gonna stuff tissues in my dress just in case.”

“Don’t cry too much or I’ll feel bad as your date.”

“Don’t you have an assigned date already? Like someone from the bridal party you have to sit with at the
fancy table?”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does! Who will I sit with?”

“Felix, of course! He’s your replacement date until I’m free of all Best Man duties.”

“Ah, yes, a girl loves having a replacement date,” you pouted, popping the last pomegranate seed into your
mouth.

“I’ll be all yours when the dance floor opens, ok? You’ll dance with me, right?”

“Hm, I’ll see if I can fit you in after I dance with my replacement date, of course.”

Chan kissed his teeth and said, “You are so funny.” Then, he pulled you in a light headlock and teased your
hair. The air filled with both of your laughs.

“Fine! I think I can squeeze in one dance!”

“Promise?”

“Promise!”

“Good.” He finally released his hold on and helps fix your mess of hair. “Since I annoyed you all day talking
about this bachelor party, wanna tell me about your day?”

“You wanna hear my boring complaints about my co-workers and how they still treat me like a newbie?”

Chan cutely propped an elbow on the counter top and rested his chin on his palm. “Tell me all about it.”

“How much time do you have?”

“All night, baby.”

Another sunrise was spent with Chan. 6:00 am was a little sweeter with the sun by your side.
“Does this make my ass look nice?”

‘Tis the season for helping Felix shop for his outfit on a Saturday afternoon just hours before the ceremony
would begin. He’s tried on at least a dozen tuxedos, in different shades of black and burgundy, in every
fabric Dior had to offer. On a chair outside of the fitting room, you sat holding tiny bags that held different
cufflinks, tie clips, earrings, and watches. In front of you, Felix was wearing a classic black tux with a
collarless white shirt underneath unbuttoned at just the right length.

“Your ass always looks nice,” you muttered bitterly.

“But is it nice enough to bring home one of the bridesmaids?”

“Felix!”

“What else am I gonna do at the wedding!? I can’t just eat and drink all night! Now is this a yes or a no?”

“I don’t know, I kind of liked the navy one more.”

“I wear that kind of stuff to work. Did you like the Tailleur oblique style?”

“Hated it, you looked like you had a stick up your butt.”

“How about the one with the button placket detail?”

“Ooh, I actually did like that one -”

“Gotcha. You heard the lady, Mr. Kim, box it up! Wait, what color?”

“U-Uh, black?”

Before you could count to ten, you and Felix were already out the door with the entire outfit. How was
shopping with your best friend both the slowest and quickest thing?

“Do you want to borrow one of my sisters’ dresses tonight?” the overzealous boy asked.

“God, no, I’m never doing that again.”

“Why not? You look so good in them.”

“It makes me look like I want to fit in with your people and that is definitely not what I want to do, and you
should know that by now. I am perfectly fine with what I already have.”

Felix groaned dramatically as you both stepped into the back seat of his Rolls Royce. “We’re not dumb college
kids anymore, _____, we’re adults going to a wedding and I don’t think ‘my people’ would care if you’re
borrowing. I can’t stop them from asking who you’re wearing, though.”

“I’m fine, Felix. Let me enjoy my mediocrity with fake ignorance.”

“Kind of hard for you to do that with Chan around, isn’t it?” Felix nudged you playfully.

“What do you mean?”

“That the most eligible bachelor under twenty-five has taken quite a liking to you again. Ah, it makes me feel
young ~”

You felt your face and body burn. “Shut up, no he doesn’t.”

“Open your eyes, _____! He never wants to hang out with any of us this often, he didn’t even see Sana that
often!”
“We’re just… making up for lost time…?” Even to you, that sounded like a question.

“Lost time my ass, that time was made up twice as much by now.” The spoiled, but kind man beside you
shook his head at how oblivious some of his smartest friends were. “All I’m saying is tonight is a night for
love, so take advantage of it.”

That was all you could think of the entire time you and Felix were getting ready. Had you really missed all
the obvious signs that Chan liked you or were you purposefully not looking for even the slightest signs so
you wouldn’t fall down the rabbit hole again?

After lunch and setting aside a couple of hours to get ready, Felix finally entered his living room where you
patiently waited wearing a long gown.

“That’s what you’re wearing?” he tisked loudly. “No, you’re wearing one of my sister’s dresses.”

“Why!? I look fine!”

“Chan’s going to look like the finest marbled piece of Wagyu beef and you’re going to look like the discounted
cut compared to him. Do you want that to be the imagine of when you two confessed to each other?”

“First of all, rude, second of all, there’s no confessing!”

“Yeah, ok ~ Now come on, I have the perfect piece.”

You thought an Elie Saab Fall-Winter 2017 couture piece was way too over the top with all the beadings and
metallic details, but Felix insisted that you’d be on the muter side compared to all the other women attending
and you took his word for it. Luckily, he was right. As his driver pulled up to the venue in the other Rolls
Royce, you saw guests both familiar and unfamiliar piling in like a bunch of male peacocks trying to outdo
the person who entered the venue before them. You almost thought this was some haute couture fashion
show instead of a wedding by the way everyone was dressing like they came straight from the runway.

The venue was out of this world. It took you a moment to realize that it was the Contemporary Art Museum
you were walking up to. Instead of the exhibits of the season being hung up and displayed in all the rooms,
it was a display of San and Mina’s personal collections ranging from massive Asian scroll paintings to Takashi
Murakami flowers and from loose jewels to ones set in silver crowns. It was crazy what old money could buy,
especially if it went towards butlers dressed in all white handing out flutes of champagne and candied fruits
on silver platters.

“This is insane!” you gushed quietly, trying hard not to stand out.

“And unnecessary… Is this a wedding or an auction?” Felix groaned with disgust.

Red rose petals on the floor lead the party into the largest room in the museum where the entire ceiling was
open to let the setting sun rays spill in. Five people were hidden at the top with huge baskets full of petals
ready to be gently sprinkled whenever the cue was given. Everyone gathered to their respective side of the
wedding party and not-so-patiently waited for the whole affair to begin. All you and Felix could hear was
people either complaining about how plain the chairs were decorated or complementing the clever use of
organic decorations, both raw and dipped in gold.

While trying to take every detail in, Felix nudged you as everyone hushed quiet.

“Yo, your future groom is coming.”

“Shut up!” you hissed.

Eagerly, you and the rest of the guests turned around as the party silently walked in. Doesn’t music normally
play, or something? Second to last, just before San walked in, Chan made his way down the rose petaled-
aisle. His tux was clean and traditional, though even from far away, you could tell how expensive the material
was. He was so effortlessly handsome that you forgot how to breathe for a moment. Can you believe that?
That you were so affected by his mere presence? It was incredible. He spotted you as he approached the
front and shot you a quick wink before stepping up to where the live band was and picking up his guitar.

Chan cleared his throat. Then, he began to strum the chords to Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley.

As the slow hum of the guitar echoed throughout the venue, rose petals gently floated from above as the
bridal party walked in. Each bridesmaid dress was different from the last, catering to the tastes of each
woman and all in different shades of sage green that matched the organic style of the decorations. At the
first perfectly timed step onto the aisle from the first bridesmaid, Chan began to sing, and that’s when you
directed all of your attention to him.

While the entire room - the guests, the groomsmen, the officiant, and the groom himself - all looked at the
graceful bridesmaids and awaiting the bride, you were faced forward looking at Chan. He stared at no one
else but you, with his soft and loving eyes, as if he were singing this song just for you.

“Wise men say only fools rush in,” he sang gently. “But I can’t help falling in love with you.”

The world was cruel for allowing this moment to happen. You felt like all the repairs done to your fully-healed
heart were going to unravel at any second. Then what would you do? What would be left of you?

If listening to Chan’s beautiful voice as he looked at you like you were the center of his world meant all
progress would be lost, then so be it.

Somewhere near the last third of the song, Mina walked in, and everyone stood up to watch the beautiful
bride also wearing Elie Saab walk down the aisle. Even when you tried to focus on the star of the ceremony,
you couldn’t and found yourself back to Chan for the duration of the song.

He still had his eyes on you. ‘Only look at me.’

“Like a river flows surely to the sea, darling so it goes, some things are meant to be.” Slowly and naturally.
“Take my hand, take my whole life too, for I can’t help falling in love with you…”

As tears pooled in your eyes, Chan could only smile. That meant he was teasing - ‘Why are you crying, love?’
You reciprocated one that said, ‘I don’t know. Pathetic, right?’

His angelic voice drifted away and so did the music and the falling petals. Before you realized it, the moment
was over and he was standing next to San. No tears fell, but you had to avoid blinking or else the dam would
break and everything would flow freely.

From the officiant’s greetings up until just before the vows, you were able to finally calm down and get your
life back in order. But of course, like most weddings, it was the vows that brought the guests, yourself
included, to tears. When San referred to his fiance-to-be as the light of his life and Mina similarly addressed
her man as the sunshine after the rain, the familiar pang of jealousy hit your chest that finally made the tears
pour.

One day you’d find the sun to your moon. Chan hoped it was still him.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the officiant proclaimed. “You may now kiss the bride!”

Another cycle of rose petals (white this time) rained lightly on the parade of the exiting wedding party. You
watched in envy as San and Mina walked hand-in-hand, locking eyes and exchanging smiles. Chan passed
you once more with another heart-stopping wink. Thank God that was over - you seriously needed some
fresh air. Luckily, the reception was just outside in the garden of the museum. You hoped this moment away
from Chan would be long enough for you to forget the past hour.

By the time all eight hundred guests entered the massive garden, the sun had set and the sky was the perfect
gradient from indigo to marigold. It was like the sun refused to set on this glorious, blessed day, just for the
newly-wedded Mr. & Mrs. Choi. The transition from twilight to night was a slow burn but you and Felix passed
the time with hors d'oeuvres and more flutes filled with sparkling gold. Was this what rich people did in
purgatory before they descended into their personally-decorated hell lofts? You could get used to this.

Your’s and Felix’s table placements was presumably the cool people’s table, as he put it. Your names were
embossed in bronze on an acrylic rectangle with Table 9 underneath cursive letters. From Minho to Jeongin
and company, the whole gang was there on the runway-like. Sans Woojin, who was rumored to be in Italy
(thank God). You weren’t kidding about being excited about the centerpieces - they definitely didn’t
disappoint! You couldn’t name half of the blossoms a single color! You’d be sure to steal some later…

As soon as the sun was beneath the horizon, the glow of the floating lanterns on the center pond and the
twinkling lights gathered around the massive perimeter were the only sources of light, though your
surroundings weren’t dim at all. Then your moment of peace and easy-breathing was over too soon.

The wedding party had changed their attire completely. Now, the men wore grey and the women wore a
specific shade of pink you swear you’ve never seen before. They all walked in paired up, walking the same
amount of steps from the archway to their seats and you wondered how long that must have taken at
rehearsals. Chan was the last to walk in linking arms with Sana, the Maid of Honor.

Well, that was one way to take your attention off of him. Instead of ooh-ing and aw-ing with the crowd, you
counted the petals of the blossoms in the center of your table.

You avoided his gaze all throughout dinner, obviously too engaged in the discussion of whose private jet
was the most luxurious or who looked best on the Alexander Wang runway (the consensus was Hyunjin for
both). The sunset cocktails helped fuzz all sensation, including the way Chan burned holes in the side of
your head.

Why wouldn’t you look at him? Was it because he sang to you with his heart on his sleeve? Were you thinking
about Woojin? Was it the way Sana clung to him?

Chan stood up and clinked his flute with a salad fork.

“Speech! Speech ~!” the boys at your table cheered.

“Hello, everyone. For those that don’t know me, my name is Bang Chan and I am San’s best man.” An eruption
of cheers and whistles came from all the guests. “Oh boy, where do I start? Our time together began at the
party country of the world. We spent every summer at Singapore’s International Boys School and when we’ve
been going there since five years old, we sort of learned to think on the same wavelength. We have the same
tastes in food, we drink our body weight in liquor, we spend our parents’ money like there’s no tomorrow,
and…”

He paused, taking a quick glance to make sure you were looking. You were.

“And we wear our hearts on our sleeves. We love until our hearts hurt and feel like they’re going to burst.
Mina has had the lovely privilege of dealing with that all throughout college and now she’s been gifted with
the lifelong task of doing just that.” Laughter faded into the night. “Mina, you married a man who would talk
about you so much that there were moments when I thought that I was dating you! You’re the first person
on his mind when he wakes up and the last person he thinks of when he falls asleep and I know this because
I am both the first and last person he texts every day. There isn’t a day that goes by where he hasn’t
mentioned you. Regardless of the infinite gushy, cringey, nauseating talks, Mina, you married a man who
loves with his whole heart and he’s lucky he’s found someone who loves him the same. Without realizing it,
you two have taught me to be honest with my feelings and honest with how I love and for that, I thank you.
I should be as shameless with whom I love the same way San is so shameless with Mina. Truly, I envy you
both. You two complete each other - you have a love like no other and I hope my Mina will find me someday.
San, you’ll be the first to know.”

The rest of the ceremony feels numb after that. Voices and words didn’t register, the food didn’t taste like
anything, and you couldn’t even smell the blossoms anymore. You should have known coming to this
wedding was going to be a terrible idea! Nothing made sense anymore! When the dance floor opened and
the people scattered all over with the chairs in disarray, you hoped to use this opportunity to escape this
fishbowl.

Weaving through bejeweled people and marble statues, you tried to find your way out of the party, but
somehow you ended up in the opposite direction. Now you were facing the Grande fountain sculpted from
some alloy which was the piece located furthest from the museum. Now you had to turn around and weave
through all over again, but that could wait until after you caught your breath.

“Hey, beautiful. Are you lost?”

Chan had followed you in hopes of catching you before you could escape. He knew you well enough to predict
that something like this might happen, but he wasn’t going to let you go without a fight, or at least an
explanation. Luckily, you were directionally-impaired.

When you didn’t turn to face him, he continued. “The party’s back there, you know.”

“Yeah, I just needed some space,” you lied.

“Some space to escape perhaps?”

“Perhaps.”

“_____.”

You finally turned around with glistening tears in your eyes that reflected the stars. You’re tired - tired of
trying to keep up with your friends’ lifestyles, tired of trying to keep it together, and tired of falling apart all
because of the man in front of you who held out his hand.

“You promised me a dance,” he said. “Will you dance with me?”

You nodded silently - a promise is a promise. You thought he would drag you all the way back to the party
and take you to the middle of the dance floor, but you failed to remember how well Chan knew you. Instead,
he pulled you in close right there in the shadows of the garden, with one hand holding the one you gave him
and the other resting on the small of your back. You both danced to the quiet hum of the live band off in the
distance.

“Free of your Best Man duties?” you asked, breaking the tense silence.

“For now, at least until I have to babysit again. I think a few of the single groomsmen are feeling lonely, so
it’s my job to comfort them and tell them how they’ll all find their Mina someday.”

He managed to make you smile a little. “Such a good friend, you are.”

“I like to think so.” Chan let go of your hand and fixed a loose strand that fell in front of your face. “How do
you like the wedding so far?”

“How do you think I like it,” you deadpanned.

“Hard to tell. I can never tell if your tears are from happiness, or you’re sad, or just so full of emotion…?”

“How about all of the above?”

“I don’t like that answer.”

“What do you want me to say? That I’m happy to be in the same environment around the same people that
ruined us in the first place?” You took a step back, breaking his hold on you. “Chan, I can’t keep doing this.
I can’t keep feeling anxious around you and your friends and all your money anymore, I can’t keep
questioning whether I’m even worthy of being your friend, and I definitely can’t keep wondering whether the
way you look at me with those soft eyes and-and that small smile thing you do is anything other than that’s
just how you look at all of your friends!”

Chan did exactly that. He looked at you with those half-lidded eyes and wore a curly, cheeky smile that teased
you to no end.

“That’s it! That’s the look! The same one you gave me singing that sappy love song earlier!”

Lightly chuckling, he took the hand you pointed accusingly at him with and gently pulled you to him once
more. Even after you cried out about being unable to do whatever this was between you anymore, he pulled
you back in his arms like it was nothing.

“I don’t think I look at Felix like this,” Chan teased. “At least I definitely didn’t today.”

“Yeah, I know, because all you did was stare me down like a sniper shooter.”

“Did it really feel like that!? I’m sorry.”

“Why…”

“Why…?”

“Why do you look at me the way you do?”

He tucked another strand behind your ear. “Because you drive me crazy. There’s no one else I’d rather look
at. And maybe one day, you’ll be able to look at me the same way.”

“Like how…?”

“Like you love me.”

Boys were so stupid. “Do you think I would’ve gone through this personalized diamond-encrusted hell and
back if I didn’t love you?”

“I suppose not.”

“You make everything so hard, you know?” your voice cracked and the tears fell freely. “I tried to stay away
from you, I tried to cave in, I even dated someone else! And even after all of that, I could only ever look at
you. Chan, you drive me insane!”

His thumbs tried to brush away the tears. He hated seeing you cry, but he couldn’t help but laugh because
even if this was all because of him, you still loved him after everything you’ve been through.

“Good,” he said. “Through your tears of happiness or sadness or random bursts of emotion, only look at me.”

You nodded, still too embarrassed do just that at the man you were so in love with. But that’s ok, because
he enjoyed giving your forehead kisses. The first one made your face burn - his lips were so soft. The second
one made you wrap your arms around his waist. By the tenth one, you managed to look up at his cheeky,
grinning face.

“I want to try this,” he admitted confidently.

“Try what?” you asked innocently, and he knew you knew, but you wanted to hear him say it.

“Dating you. Loving you wholeheartedly. Wearing our hearts on our sleeves. All that jazz.”

“Don’t you want to be with someone who could actually afford to buy this dress?”
“No, I want someone who can make me the best damn Mexican hot chocolate in the world, someone to eat
cheap Thai food with, someone who will watch my spending habits, someone who will cuddle with me when
it’s raining, or watch the sun rise with me, or -”

“Ok, I get it! I like the sound of that.”

“Me, too.” Chan leaned in, the tips of your noses touching and his breath ghosting your lips. He stopped just
before your lips touched, that damn tease. “Can I kiss you?”

You responded with closing the gap in between and wrapping your hands around his neck. You felt a grin
grow on his soft lips before he dipped you like in those old romantic movies and even laughed in between
when you both took a breather. This felt so, so right, finally being wrapped in his arms and kissing those
lips you snuck glances at for years. A couple minutes later, the fountain turned on and lit up the area
completely, lightly sprinkling you and your lover with cold water. The story of you and Chan in each others’
arms kissing in front of a fully-operating modernly-sculpted fountain sounded like the perfect fairy tale.

“Ah, cold! What the hell!”

“Oh yeah, I slipped the security guards a few hundreds to turn it on,” Chan proudly admitted. “Cool, right?
Good thing you agreed to date me, otherwise this would have been very awkward.”

“You’re such a dork!”

“A dork for you only, love.”

In the middle of kissing your man, some of the guests found their way to the fountain. It was a small number,
and then a small dozen, and then it ended up being half of the guests that danced the night away with their
one and only. You almost asked to leave, as the number of people seeing you in the arms of the most eligible
bachelor under twenty-five was stressing you out, but when Chan’s hold on your waist tightened, you pushed
your worries away.

“I love you, you know that, right?” he asked desperately.

You kissed him again. “And you should know I love you, too.”

“Too bad I love you more.”

“Bang Chan, you always have to one-up me, huh?”

“I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t.”