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Chapter 3: The Shattering of an Illusion – June 9, 2019

Eunji quickly knitted her hair into a braid, admiring her new swimsuit in the mirror.  She was excited to see Tae again.  Finally.  She hadn’t seen her best friend for a few weeks.  They’d both been swamped with college finals.  She suspected he’d been doing some work for his appa too. 

Tae had suddenly pulled away from her three weeks ago.  Her only contact with him since then had been through text messages.  And most often, his texts just communicated that he was really busy.  But today, she’d get to goof around with him like in the old days.  Except…

She knew Namjoon would probably want to hang out with her too.  How would she get to spend some time with just Tae? 

Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone chiming.  Tae had just texted her.

“You better be at least headed our way.  I can’t wait forever to throw you into this pool, you know.  >_>”

She laughed.  He used the strangest emoticons sometimes.  She quickly replied to him.

“I’ll push you in before you can throw me in!”

“I’d like to see you try to win against these abs.”

She snorted. “Those abs are newly formed.  They’re not very strong yet.”

“What did you say about my very manly abs?  How dare you?!  They will help me throw you into the pool later!”

She laughed.  This was exactly why she liked this boy; he was hysterically funny.

“Hmm, we’ll see about that,” she responded tauntingly.

She slipped into her shorts and T-shirt.  And acknowledged that today was the only circumstance under which she ever wore normal clothes outside of her house.  She put her phone in her pocket and quickly headed downstairs. 

She knew Tae was eagerly awaiting her arrival just so that he could push her into the pool.  She was determined to beat him to it, but how?  He was so much stronger than she was! 

She jumped into the limo and put her seatbelt on before the vehicle pulled away from the curb.  Then, on the ride over to his house, she considered her options for defeating Tae.  But, once again, she was reminded of Namjoon.  She wondered what he would think of her and Tae’s playful banter.  She supposed it might reveal her true self to him.  The girl who wasn’t at all poised and perfect. 

Would he reject her if he saw that she would be less than the ideal wife?  Not quite the perfect hostess?  Far from a fashion plate or a business genius?  And why did the probable answer to those questions bring her a hint of unease?

She soon arrived at their home and considered her strategy for defeating her childhood foe and best friend.  Her best course of action was to sneak in through the gate.  She was aware that all the guards knew her well enough to let her do that.  She slipped off her shorts and T-shirt and stuffed them into her bag just in case Tae got the upper hand.  She made sure her phone was safely stowed in the pocket of her bag too.  Afterward, she tiptoed through the open gate, hoping to catch Tae unawares.  But she was surprised to find the party smaller than she had expected. 

She looked around for Tae, easily discovering him conveniently standing close to the pool, probably pondering the best way to go about tossing her into it.  From where she stood, she had a spectacular view of his quite muscular back.  She spent a few seconds enjoying this beautiful scenery before throwing her belongings onto a beach chair, kicking off her sandals, and creeping towards him.  When she reached him, she wasted no time at all shoving him into the pool. 

“Ahhh!” he squeaked suddenly, letting out the highest pitched squeal she had ever heard him utter as he disappeared under those rippling waters. 

A second later, when he resurfaced, he shot her an irate glance. “I’m going to get you for this, you goof!”

He swam over to the edge and hauled himself out of the pool.  Eunji was momentarily distracted by his muscles, which rippled as he pushed himself up.  It was almost like time had slowed to a crawl as she watched him climb out of that shimmering pool.  The sun seemed to crown him with its goodness too.  But then she blinked and instantly realized the danger she was in.  She ran off, debating where she could shelter from those strong muscles.  Would Namjoon keep her safe from his little brother?

Where had that thought come from?

“Get back here, Eunji!” came Tae’s thunderous cry as she looked desperately for somewhere to hide.  Namjoon was nowhere to be seen.

Tae chased her around the yard, gaining on her a bit every second.  It wasn’t long before he caught up with her and scooped her up, carrying her back to the pool.  Kicking and screaming.  As they approached the pool’s edge, she clung to him valiantly, yet somehow he still managed to disentangle himself from her panicked arms before he tossed her in.

“I told you I’d get you!  My abs have not failed me today!” he laughed as she resurfaced.  “Thanks, fellas!” he cheerfully spoke to his abdominal muscles as he stood waiting for her to climb out of the pool.

“You’re lucky I can swim.  Unlike most girls in my position.”

“I suppose I would’ve had to save you if you couldn’t swim?” he queried lightly.

“If I couldn’t swim and you failed to save me, I would’ve persisted in trying to swim just so I could live to defeat you!” she tossed back up into his face.

A smirk appeared on that face, and he tried to hold in his laughter, but all his efforts were to no avail as he burst out laughing a second later. “Man, if you weren’t engaged to my brother, I’d take you just because of your ability to make me laugh!”

The smile died on her face for a moment.  But to cover her confusion and the blush that had just crept up her cheeks, she laughed along with him. “Ah, Tae, you’re so funny.”

She swam over to the ladder and climbed out of the pool. “You owe me your towel for throwing me in.”

“That means you owe me your towel as well,” he retorted with a grin.

Eunji pouted at him. “I’m cold.  Please?”  She stuck her lower lip out like a two-year-old.  “I’ll go get you mine if you give me yours.”  She was whining now.

“Aish, fine.”  He gave in to her.

He ran over to his beach chair and quickly returned with his towel, wrapping it around her when he reached her.  He kept his arms around her for a second longer than necessary as he relished the feel of her so close to him.  Then, he ran his hands up and down her arms as he tried to warm her with the friction his touch was creating. 

Finally, he pulled away from her and commanded her imperiously, “Go get yours for me now.”

She nodded and ran over to her beach chair to snag her own towel, returning a moment later and handing it to him.  He smiled and hugged it against his chest.

“I’m not giving this back,” he announce haughtily.

“Fine, I’m not giving yours back either.” Eunji pulled his towel protectively around herself.

Tae suddenly giggled. “How many times have we traded random items now?”

She shrugged. “Too many to keep count.”

Tears threatening to spill from his eyes, Namjoon stared out the glass door.  He watched as his little brother goofed around with Eunji.  He knew they were just friends, but there was something about the way they looked at each other…It didn’t sit well with him.  There was something more than friendly affection in their eyes as they locked.  Namjoon could now detect a sparkle in those eyes when they gazed at each other.  A glimmer he hadn’t noticed before.

It broke him.  It made him realize he was pulling them apart.  He hadn’t seen them together in over three years.  He’d had no idea they liked each other.  When had they fallen in love?  

When he’d left for college, his brother and Eunji had been just friends.  It had never occurred to Namjoon to speak with Tae before he’d approached his appa about marrying Eunji.  Things were now set in stone, however, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.  He and Eunji were already engaged to be married.  Their fathers were even now planning their engagement party.  Their appas were in talks to merge two of their companies.  A lot was riding on his relationship with Eunji.  It wasn’t just about him, her, and Tae.  People’s livelihoods were at stake.

Namjoon retreated to the snack table, piling more food on his plate than he could possibly ever eat. 

“Namjoon Oppa!”

He spun around, finding no one.  He then remembered he was usually quite a bit taller than everyone, so he looked down.  He was now nose-to-nose with Sulin, the girl who had been chasing him since first grade.  He let out a heavy sigh.  He knew she would be following him around for the rest of the night.  While his little brother enjoyed the company of his own fiancé.

“Are you going to eat all that food?” Sulin asked incredulously as she stared at his plate.

Namjoon peered down at it.  Wishing to bring this conversation to a swift end, he replied nonsensically, “Yes, of course.  How do you think I got so tall?   Men can eat much more than women.”

Sulin rolled her eyes. “That’s ridiculous!  My brother can’t eat even half of that.”

“I’m taller than he is, correct?”

“Yes, but–”

“There’s your answer then.”

Namjoon walked off, leaving Sulin to her own thoughts.  He had more important things to ponder than her affection for him.