It was not part of his plans to get himself into hot water, even more revealing the whole secret of Katrina to Taeyong. Yuta knew that Johnny could help him with something, and now the quietest one of the group falling into the story like that would complicate everything. They hadn't talked with each other for so many days that, for a moment, Yuta wanted to throw himself of his apartment's window. He didn't know what to do and Johnny didn't return his calls. The only thing he could think of at that moment was how he was going to kill his tallest friend in college. Yuta knew that it wasn't Johnny's fault, yet who filled his head with all that bullshit was the american boy; and now he also had to deal with Taeyong on the other side of campus in the Photography building, that he had no idea where it was.

Trying to hide the whole situation from Katrina was a difficult task, so much so that he chose to avoid her in the most relaxed way possible; clearly, she realized what he was doing and Yuta knew that. Those were the four most difficult hours of his entire life, especially for spending most of their time doing exercises in pairs. It was obvious that Katrina was looking at Yuta in a try to figure out why he was acting so strangely, but luckily, he managed to have his tallest friend as his duo to organize his plans.

"Okay, let me get this straight. You chased her with the car, but then you gave up on the stalking thing and aborted the ridiculous mission. But in the end, you discovered everything about her having a daughter. You felt bad and on the spur of the moment you got desperate, as usual. Then you called me, I didn't answer, so you decided to send a message, which was sent to Taeyong, and told him everything by mistake" Johnny took a breath while helping Yuta with the exercise "Is that it?

"Do not forget it's your fault."

"My fault?" he yanked Yuta's shoulders back, receiving a furious glare from him "You who're paranoid. I gave you my point of view, I didn't tell you to chase after a woman with a child."

"If you hadn't started with that, I wouldn't have been curious about it. I wasn't even thinking about that in the first place."

"But now you know and that proves that I'm a genius who ought to be respected, thank you very much."

"You mean that should be murdered here and now, right?"

"Now, instead of making drama because you discovered her secret, that she would hate to know you know, you should be worried about Taeyong also knowing everything. Yuta, I knew you were kind of a slowpoke, but you're dumb too, man.

"What do we do now?"

Johnny stared at him while he nervously pouted.

"First, no pouting. I think it's going to end well, Taeyong does his course in the back of beyond, everything will work out, and more, they don't even know each other" he laughed "I think our situation is not so bad after all!"

With those words, Yuta could feel a huge weight coming off his shoulders, even smiled openly. It was just the moment of distress to end, that time ran faster. The lunch break was even more calm and Yuta was able to face Katrina without revealing that he was hiding something, however he stayed a little further from her than usual, which definitely annoyed the girl.

The week was going by as usual and the much-acclaimed day of Jaehyun's girlfriend's surprise birthday party, that Yuta didn't want to arrive, was just two days away. His mind was stuck in this as he left the campus when Johnny went to him desperately, as if he were being chased and needed help. Yuta barely had time to get scared.

"YUTA!"

"What's your problem?" hand was on his chest, trying to get calm after the fright he get.

"Katrina doesn't know we know her secret!"

"Oh, really Captain Obvious?"

"But Taeyong knows" he gripped his friend's shoulders.

"I'm starting to get worried, Johnny, are you on drugs" he cast a narrow glance toward the tallest.

"YUTA, IT'S TAEYONG!"

He pointed, but Yuta blew him off for not understanding what was happening.

"What about him" he got rid of Johnny's hands on his shoulders.

"JESUS CHRIST MAN!"

Turning Yuta's head with his left-hander, Johnny forced his friend to see Katrina helping Taeyong collect his photographs that had been scattered on the floor.

[in japanese]
"SHIT!"
[in japanese]

"Cursing in Japanese won't help here if that's what you're thinking."

"What is he doing here?!" Doesn't he study in the other building?!"

"As if I knew! That one can even kill someone and we'll never know!"

"GET HIM, JOHNNY!"

It was not necessary for Yuta to speak twice so that the former high school football player at Chicago would grab Taeyong by the waist and throw himself, with the weight of his body, behind the large, well-trimmed bush, from the courtyard garden in the blink of an eye.

"Oh my God" Katrina's eyes widened and she ran over there to see if everything was alright.

In a comic struggle between what seemed to be David and Goliath fidgeting on the lawn, Taeyong looked frightened as well as irritated trying to escape from Johnny's bear hug.

"Are you ok?!" Why did you do that?" Katrina still looked surprised by what just happened "Yuta, what's going on?"

"It's just that..."

He hadn't thought about what to say before asking Johnny to attack the other one. Yuta rubbed his head moistening his lips to try to think of something.

"Friend" Johnny took the initiative to make the excuse "How I missed you my friend" stroked Taeyong's hair "You stay home for so long without saying anything that we don't even know how you're doing!"

Every time Taeyong tried to say something, Johnny managed to cover his lips covertly.

"What's going on..." she still was not convinced.

"Ah, Taeyong, our friend" Yuta entered the show "We were missing him so much!" This is how we show our affection, isn't it beautiful?" he clasped his hands together with a well-played angelic smile on his face "Johnny couldn't help himself when he saw our little Taeyong" helping the taller one stand up still preventing the other of commenting, Yuta whispered to Johnny "...take him to my car."

"Is he alright?"

Johnny was already dragging Taeyong with him without even looking back as Katrina tried to understand everything.

"Sure, of course" he laughed nervously "But, do you know each other?"

"Actually, I bumped into him and the pictures fell, I was just helping him get them" she glared at the boy in front of her.

"Oh, it makes sense..."

"But why you want to know?"

"I d-don't know, just curious I think...!" Korea has been so small lately, if you get what I mean.

Katrina didn't notice, but he was already sweating with nervousness.

"If you're saying" she folded her arms "Now, can I ask you something?

"Yes...?"

"Why have you been avoiding me all week?"

Definitely if Yuta had a history of heart disease in his family, he would no longer be among us.

"Avoiding you? What, I wasn't doing that!"

Of course, she didn't swallow that.

"Ok, I'll admit. I'm sorry, I may not look, but I'm shy" bullshit, but Katrina seemed impressed.

"But why? We're friends, aren't we?"

"My friends invited me to a party on Sunday, and I wanted to take you with me, just didn't know how to ask you" Yuta surprised himself by thinking so quickly of a solution "Thank you for making me say it aloud" he wasn't going to deny that he was indeed nervous, but that wasn't the real reason.

"I can't believe it's because of that" she laughed, but her eyes were different, they looked full of a certain brightness and Yuta found that adorable "Of course I would like to go with you!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it's going to be fun" she smiled openly, though seemed to have remembered something "But..."

"You can take Charlotte with us if you want" he didn't want her to notice that he knew about her secret "It won't be a problem, my friend has a little brother almost her age, a little younger, I guess."

"Great! So, what time could you pick me up?"

Yuta didn't know that smile until then.

"I'll come by at seven."

They ended up smiling at each other without saying anything else until a motorcycle horn woke the two of that trance.

"So... Text you later, ok?"

"Ok, see you then..." they said goodbye and each one went to one side.

Even if it was something totally improvised, Yuta felt something strange in his chest, thought it was butterflies in his stomach for a moment, but then denied that it was indeed what he was feeling. So, the japanese boy ran to his car, even confused he still needed to solve the problem with Taeyong; maybe they overdone it a little bit. He entered the car sitting in the driver's seat and glanced at the backseat where he found a Taeyong with his arms folded, staring at Johnny with an indignant look.

"Taeyong" Yuta said.

"Unbelievable."

"We despaired, what you wanted me to do?" Johnny went on.

"How about: "Taeyong, hi!" Can we talk"?" he raised his eyebrow looking furious while shaking his head "I could sue you. This too is kidnapping, you know right?"

"Calm down, calm down, let's not get angrier" Yuta resumed his speech "Please forgive us, we just couldn't let you talk to her."

"Because...?"

"Because she would find out we know about her secret."

"What secret?"

"Taeyong, the message I sent wrong, hello?"

"Oh, that text about the daughter of a girl I don't even know who is?"

Both Johnny and Yuta got silent.

"How would I say something to her if you didn't even say the girl's name in the message?!"

Johnny wanted to laugh, but held the laughter not to be beaten up by Taeyong.

"God help me I'm surrounded by idiots, and besides that, they're aggressive type" he took his right hand against his face, sighing not to utter a curse "Just let me out of here before I commit a double homicide."

"Forgive us, Taeyong" Johnny whispered.

"We love you" Yuta completed as soon as the other got out of the car.

"Screw you both" Taeyong was laughing, but that didn't mean he wasn't still irritated.

As soon as the two friends remained in the car, a fit of laughter crises washed over the vehicle, a laugh of pure relief. What were they thinking to do something like that?

After watching a movie that was playing on TV, Yuta finished cleaning the dishes he left in the living room by storing the leftover pizza he had bought, in his laziness for cooking, in the refrigerator. Definitely wouldn't want to have to clean that apartment again in case he didn't arrange things beforehand. While getting ready for bed, he found himself laughing alone as he remembered that when he slept, he would have just one more day separating him from his first date with Katrina; even if it was a birthday party for his first love, and that it would probably be hard for them to be alone, Yuta preferred to believe that it was going to be a date just not to have an unnecessary headache, such as facing Gayeon and Jaehyun together in front of him. It had been a crazy day, but Yuta was sure he came out winning.