With a small smile of her glossed lips she eyed L; “Ready?”

                L nodded stiffly, and then walked ahead of me as Krystal attached herself to his hip.

                They left Kai and me behind them. I looked at him, he looked back at me, and then the awkwardness was too much too bear and I faced forward, not noticing how Kai reacted. Kai opened the passenger side door of his sleek black car for me, and I mumbled a “Thanks.” He nodded in reply then went round the front, sliding into his seat and starting the car. He drove for a few minutes in silence, Krystal giggling behind us, when I was surprised by Kai’s voice.

                “You look nice,” he said softly, so I almost didn’t hear him. And when I did I was shocked by the words.

                “Oh!... Thaanks…you look good, too. I’ve never seen you in clothes other than the uniform and workout stuff.”

                “Correction; I’ve never seen you in clothes other than the uniform and workout stuff. Café Pristine’s included.”

                Huh, so he did remember. “Ahh…right. I almost forgot about that,” I murmured. “Chocolate frappaccino, red velvet cupcake. To go.” Oh , that’s incredibly creepy. I memorized his order?! I hadn’t even realized I did… “I mean! I didn’t memorize your order! I mean, well, yeah, obviously I did. But I memorize…um…everyone’s! Like some lady with a huge came in today and she got an iced coffee! And some lady with two kids got hot chocolate…er, no she got black coffee. Somebody got hot chocolate though! Who’s order I memorized! It was someone for sure that ordered hot chocolate...” Now I was just rambling. Kai smirked. Slightly. Enough to make me shut up and try to do damage control. “Actually, I was just kidding! Haha! Joke’s on you. The real reason I memorized yours was because I get the same thing. Yup, red velvet cupcakes are my favorite! With um…uh…the drink. A drink, that is the same as yours…” Oh me…now I couldn’t remember his order?! “You know what? Can you just drop me off at this street corner? I’ll find my way home…”

                Kai laughed and it startled me. How often had I heard this kid laugh? Once? Twice? Never? I don’t even know, not like I stalk the kid… “What?” he asked, looking at me.

                “You…never laugh,” I started slowly. “You’re a condescending douche to me; you’re totally whipped with Krystal…you almost seem like a nice kid when you laugh,” I mused.

                Kai stiffened. “That’s probably what everyone says about me, huh?” he asked softly, every word full of pain.

                Was that a rhetorical question? I honestly had no idea… “Probably not…everyone…”

                There he was, laughing again. It was seriously weirding me out…I mean, not that it was a bad laugh. In fact, it was pretty attractive. And that’s saying something. I’ve never found a laugh attractive. Never. But, moving on… I didn’t even notice Kai had pulled into a spot, until he turned the engine off and got out of the car. Startled, I undid my seatbelt and exited the car. I was curious where Kai had left to; until I saw him opening Krystal’s door. Seriously? Seriously? I wasn’t expecting him to open my door or anything, but opening her door while he’s on a date with another girl? That boy needs counseling…

                “It’s one of the best restaurants around,” Krystal was excitedly telling L; she hadn’t even acknowledged Kai. “Unni, I’m sure you’ll like it, too!” Yeah, sure, once I’m not competition for her hot boys (namely a certain Kim Myungsoo) I’m her best friend…

                “Ah….yeah,” I murmured distractedly. We stepped into a semi-formal restaurant and Krystal came to the front of the group.

                “Hi, Jung, please,” she gave the host a sweet smile and he nodded and led us back to a secluded table.

                “Wow…reservations…” L mused. “That’s…nice. It looks really nice in here.”

                Krstyal grinned. “My family is friends with the owner. The food here is fantastic,” she gushed.

                Wow. I bet… I faced Kai for a moment, and I saw him tensely drinking his water, his jaw taut. He looked even more awkward than usual, and this wasn’t the complete submissiveness I was used to seeing him like around Krystal…oh yay, another mystery to unravel with this boy…

                “So, L, you run? What events?” Krystal leaned towards him seductively, resting her chin on her wrist. The way the table was set up I was sitting next to Kai facing L with Krystal next to him.

                “Mm, yeah, I do. It changes; usually I do the 4 and 800, the 4x4 and hurdles.”

                “Wow! What an athlete,” Krystal gushed. I tried to ignore all the desperation in her voice and browsed the menu.

                “So, you been here before?” I asked dryly.

                Kai nodded, still looking uncomfortable. “A…few times.”

                “Cool. What’s good?”

                “Aren’t you just going to order a salad?” he responded like that would end the conversation.

                “Why the hell would I go out just to order some lettuce and croutons?” I responded back. “I’m thinking steak…or seafood…who’s paying anyways?” Oh... that was rude…

                “Well wasn’t that…blunt…” Kai replied with an amused look.

                Embarrassed I ran my hand through my hair. “Right. I’m just gonna keep looking…I don’t know why I said that. Just ignore that. Ignore me,” I murmured.

                I turned my attention back to the menu and perused through the items when I noticed a slender finger point to a dish listed. I looked up to see Kai pointing one of his long fingers at a steak dish. The pads were slighty callused and I wondered if he played guitar.

                “It’s delicious,” he told me simply before turning back to his own menu just as a waiter came to take our order. We all got our own dishes then turned back to taking casually.

                “So, Hyemin, L was just talking about his older brother, Sunggyu. I had no idea they were related!”

                “Ahh…right,” I replied unenthusiastically.

                Krystal didn’t seem phased. “So including those two how many cousins do you have?!” I was about to roll my eyes, she was most likely scoping out new hotties, when I saw L’s face contort into an expression of confusion. Oh …please tell me he remembered he was supposed to be my cousin…       “What do you mean, “including us two”?” he asked, obviously not receiving my fervent glances.

                Krystal smiled good-naturedly. “Oppa! I mean—“

                “That I have a lot of cousins! Krystal met some of them!” I blurted.

                Krystal gave me a confused look that was simultaneously so icy I shut up. “You two are cousins,” she told L, gesturing to myself and him. He was looking at Krystal with such a perplexed face he paid no attention to me.

                “We’re not cousins. Why would I confess to my cousin?”

                WHY IN THE HELL WOULD YOU BRING THAT UP?!  I exclaimed in my head, bugging my eyes out at L. What kind of an idiot was he?! I was in serious panic mode. “You…you what? To…her?” Krystal sputtered, rage building in her eyes.

                “No! It was a joke! Between cousins! Seriously, what kind of cousins would do that!?” I insisted.

                Krystal narrowed her eyes at me. “What the hell. You two faced .What? Were you gonna come on this date, lead Kai on, and then L once you got home?” First of all, lead Kai on? Who the hell had she been watching interact..? Second, oh no she did not go there…

                “Excuse me? I’m the ? Oh yeah, definitely, out of aalll the people here, I am obviously the iest one,” I snapped. “It’s not like I’m seriously bipolar, make Kai go out and buy me countless things, then go flirt with other guys right in front of him, try to get into L’s pants constantly and won’t stop ing touching him, because, news flash, that was my ing foot.” Krystal turned bright red when she realized her intentions weren’t towards the right person. Kai was looking on with what I guess was his concerned expression. L looked ready to explode; apologetic, guilty, pissed off, scared, all at the same time.

                “Yahh!” she sputtered. “Who do you think you are?! We were kind enough to invite you here when obviously you don’t deserve, or appreciate it!”

                A middle aged man dressed in a black tuxedo was walking swiftly towards our table.

                “You’re right. I don’t deserve it. Have fun, guys,” I commented, grabbing my clutch and leaving the table. “Don’t worry, I was just leaving,” I told the worker, who looked tempted to punch me.

                “Hyemin—wait,” I heard L, but before long I heard another voice cut him off.

                “Let her leave, Oppa.”

               I kept walking, refusing to turn around. “Krystal! What the hell! You can’t—“ but by now I was out of the restaurant. I couldn’t keep my controlled steps and started sprinting. When I stumbled on my heels I ripped them off, hardly slowing my stride and gripped them in my empty hand, heading towards the Han River. I needed something to cool me off. When I finally got there, I headed to my favorite secluded spot and stepped into the cool water. You weren’t supposed to, but I had never been caught before, and I needed some comforting.

                I set my shoes and clutch on the sidewalk and walked in the shallow water, letting its iciness rid me of my stress. Somewhere along the way tears had escaped, and now I wasn’t making an effort to stop them. God, how long had it been since I cried? Krystal was a ; I didn’t care, I had faced es before. So why was I crying so hard? I knew I didn’t deserve it; my life compared to others was pure heaven. I guess…everything just…got to me.

                “Hey! You’re not supposed to be in the water!” I heard a voice shout to me, and, stunned, I turned to face a smirking Hyunseung.

                “H-Hyunseung,” I gasped, too surprised to make a more intelligent remark. Then I instantly attempted to wipe my tears, probably smudging my make up a good deal in the process.

                “Hey, hey,” he cooed softly as he walked towards me, kicking off his shoes and stepping into the water with me. Gently, he spun me to face him and cupped my face in his large, warm hands. With an elegant swipe of his finger he rid my face of any unflattering tears. Without questioning anything, he pulled me into his chest, clasping his hands around my lower back.

                It felt good; being embraced by someone who cared, held in strong arms against a safe, secure body. But still, I put my hands up to his chest and curled my fingers, pushing off of his body lightly. “I’ll get your suit dirty…” I murmured. From the looks and feel, it was an expensive item of clothing.

                “A thousand suits worth ten times this still aren’t worth letting you cry alone,” he countered, pulling me towards him again, and I let myself be lead. I collapsed into his chest, his lapel in my hands, and the tears came back again. I don’t know how long we stood there, me just crying like that, but when I finally composed myself I wiped away any lingering tears.

                “Thank you,” I whispered into his suit jacket, and I felt him nod in return.

                “It’s my pleasure, Hyemin,” he replied. “So, where do you wanna go next?”

                “I’m fine, really, I just—“ hold up. He’s not asking me what’s wrong? How I was feeling? Well don’t I just seem like the most conceited person ever right now… “I-I mean…” I didn’t even know what he had asked! I squeezed my eyes shut; glad my face was still covered in his chest.

                He chuckled slightly. “Well, we could talk about you, too, if you prefer.”

                I was probably so pink right now… “I mean…no! Let’s just get out of here.” We separated slowly, and walked out of the river. I picked up my things, staying barefoot, and he slipped back into his shoes.

                “So, where to? You eaten yet? It’s not even 7:00…”

                My stomach clenched in hungry pain as I thought about that delicious steak I had ordered… “No, I haven’t eaten yet.”

                “Perfect, I know this little restaurant that serves the best noodles,” he grinned at me, and I smiled back. He tucked his hands into his pants pockets and I walked with him along the river. The sun was still out, but it was getting darker as it neared sunset. The silence was comfy as we walked; no words necessary. When we got to the tiny little place he opened the door for me and we settled down. It was a pretty empty place but smelled delicious.

                “Ahjumma two bowls please!” he called out.

                “Aish Hyunseung why are you here when you and your date are all dressed up?” the woman responded in a friendly manner.

                Awkwardly I exchanged glances with Hyunseung. Date? “Ah…Ahjumma, it’s not like that. It’s not a date!” he protested.

                She smiled and shook her head, chuckling. “Alright, alright…” she muttered as she left to get the food.

                “So, in your free time do you always abuse the Han River by dirtying it with your bare feet?” he smirked at me.

                I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Only sometimes…the other days I prefer to hit up the clubs,” I responded with a smile.

                A waiter brought out some side dishes and water for us, and Hyunseung comfortably greeted him, too.

                “So, I take it you come here often?” I asked, sipping some water.

                He nodded, contemplating. “Yeah…I guess. That ahjumma who’se cooking our noodles was the first to find out when I was accepted to Julliard.”

                I raised an eyebrow as I laughed slightly. “Really? So not a Momma’s boy?”

                “Just the opposite,” he murmured tensely.

                Obviously not the right thing to say… “So how was Julliard? That’s amazing, by the way,” I told him.

                He smiled. “Ah…good?” he let out a small, breathy laugh. “Well…obviously. Classes were tough but very good, and I guess I did like the life there. So much freedom, so many things to do. Of course that’s probably why I nearly failed my freshman year…”

                I laughed as my mouth dropped open. “You…failed freshman year?!” I gasped.

                He smiled and shrugged. “Well, not really. Turns out I skipped so many classes I missed a lot…but I came for the finals so was able to pull my F’s up to C’s.”

                “Wow…you did that well on finals while skipping that many classes?” I mused.

                He didn’t get a chance to answer before our food was brought to us. “Ah, thank you!” he greeted enthusiastically.

                “Ah, don’t worry about it,” she said, patting Hyunseung on the back affectionately. “Now, who is this?”

                Hyunseung split apart the wooden chopsticks perfectly in half; smoothed them out, then absentmindedly handed them to me and took my splintered, lopsided one as he answered. “Ah, this is Hyemin. She’s a…good friend of mine.”

                “Ahh, well your friend is very pretty,” the ahjumma said, smiling warmly at me.

                I smiled. “Ah, thank you,” I responded. Hyunseun chatted with her for a few more minutes then she headed back as more customers came.

                “You could have started,” Hyunseung told me when he noticed my untouched food.

                I shook my head. “No, its fine,” I responded, and he grinned.

                “Now come on, try it! It’s delicious!” I nodded and smiled at his cute enthusiasm, and we both dug in. True to his word, the food was incredible. After we were done Hyunseung paid, he insisted, and we headed out to get some dessert.

                “Ah! They have the best shaved ice here!” Hyunseung exclaimed as we passed a bright, bubbly little café. I nodded and followed him in and he ordered two large shaved ices.

                “Uh—make that 1, please!” I cut in and told the waiter. Hyunseung cocked his head at me. “I’m so full! I won’t be able to finish it. If you don’t mind!” I quickly added.

                He smiled and shook his head. “Yes, just one, then,” he told the guy, and then we went and sat down at one of the small tables near the window. I excused myself to go to the bathroom and headed there, going straight for the mirror. Surprisingly, my makeup wasn’t too badly smudged from my crying, but it still wasn’t perfect, and therefore not good enough for me. I reached into my clutch and took out a makeup remover, wiping off the last of my makeup, leaving me in my completely bare face. I sighed at the plain girl looking back at me but shrugged, not caring at the moment. I undid my prettily intricate hair and instead quickly fishtailed it to the side. Content, I left the bathroom to go back to the table; the giant bowl of sweets at the table. But there was someone already occupying my seat, multiple someones, actually.  When I got closer I noticed their flirtatious looks and giggles. I approached cautiously, standing awkwardly next to the table.

              “Hey, Hyemin,” Hyunseung greeted, smiling. “Guys, this is Hyemin. Hyemin, this is Minjung, Youngmin, and Juwon.”

                The girls all gave me slightly-tipsy smiles then turned back to Hyunseung. “So like we were saying, ohppa,” one of them started. “Want to come with us? Your…friend can come too, if she wants; but she might be a bit young.” All three of them burst into giggles at that. Without makeup, it’s true, I did look a good deal younger, but I was not in the mood to put up with these girls. I just waited patiently for them to leave.

                “Sorry girls, not tonight,” Hyunseung told them. “Sometime later, okay? Call me sometime.”

                They all pouted but eventually left the café. “Finee…byee oppa!” they called as they retreated, and I finally got my seat back.

                Hyunseung gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry, I think they did some pre-party drinking,” he sighed.

                I shrugged. “You’re fine. Can’t help it if you’re just soo popular,” I said, giving Hyunseung a playful look.

                He returned with a jokingly scandalous look then smiled and took my spoon from my side of the table. “Looks like I get all the shaved ice,” he said with a smug look, pulling the huge bowl closer to him.

                I laughed. “Oh come on, that was a freaking compliment!”

                Hyunseung turned his nose up at me. “I did not like your tone.”

                “Hey, you didn’t like it. Not my problem,” I said, shrugging.

                “Fine. Say “ahh”,” Hyunseung said, offering me a spoonful.

                I crinkled up my nose at him. “Seriously? Ew, no…”

                He shrugged and continued to eat contentedly. “Mm, this is so good,” he grinned at me.

                I rolled my eyes, but finally gave in. “Yah…give me my spoon back,” I told him. He dipped the spoon back into the treat and held it out to me to feed me, giving me an expecting look. “I said my spoon.”

                “Want a bite?” he asked with a teasing smile.

                I stuck my tongue out at him and got up, heading towards the counter to get a new spoon. Before I could get far, however, he grabbed my wrist lightly in his hand and tugged me back. I spun around to face him and was instantly greeted with a cold finger on my cheek. “Ah!” I yelped as the cold shaved ice was smeared on my face.

                Once I realized what he had done I faced him, trying to be mad, but ending up laughing like he already was. “Come here!” I grabbed the spoon from his hand and in one quick moment shoved it down his shirt. He cringed at the coldness then a malicious smirk came onto his face.

                “Yahh~” he said, and smeared some of the cream onto my forehead.

                I laughed as I dipped my whole palm into the sticky sweet liquid and smeared his face and hair. The scandalized look I received was enough to make me laugh even harder. Unfortunately, the good mood didn’t last long as we noticed all the eyes on us and an employee advancing towards us. He didn’t look quite as intimidating as the manager from the double date, what with his brightly colored apron and uniform and visor and slight potbelly, but we got the message and scrambled out of the café, laughing. Thank God he had already paid…

                “Look! You got me kicked out of the second restaurant of the night!” I complained lightly to Hyunseung, both of us still giggling.

                “Number two?” he asked with his eyebrow raised.

                My mouth opened in surprise, and then I looked up at the sky. “I didn’t get to eat any! Let’s go find an ice cream place,” I told him, tugging on his suit jacket. He laughed and let me pull him along. “Why are you so dressed up, anyways?” I asked as we fell into step alongside each other.

                “I was gonna go out to a friend’s party when I was distracted by a girl disobeying the laws,” he shrugged.

                “A party?! Hyunseung, you shouldn’t have come!” I instantly told him, my mouth agape.

                Hyunseung shrugged. “It’s fine. He always throws parties. There’ll be more. But you needed me tonight.”

                I hoped my blush wasn’t visible… “You make me sound so needy,” I scoffed as Hyunseung led us to yet another ice cream parlor.

                “Maybe you are,” he winked as we both headed to our respective bathroom to clean up. I grabbed another wipe from my clutch and wiped away the stick cream from my face and neck, even removing a bit from my hair. A few minutes later I exited the bathroom to see Hyunseung waiting by the door with two cones, receiving plenty of second glances from women.

                “Hey,” I greeted as he gave me one of the cones. “You know, I can pay for something.”

                He smiled. “Next time.”

                “Ahh but who says there’s gonna be a next time?” I asked him, taking of my cone.

                “Oh please, there’s gonna be a next time.” I laughed at his cocky personality, but he was the next one to speak again. “Did you take off your makeup?”

                “Eh?” I repeated, cocking my head. “I…yeah, I did. But back at the shaved ice place we got kicked out of.”

                He looked slightly surprised. “No wonder those girls thought you looked young…”

                I laughed awkwardly. “Haha…yeah…my bare face is kind of embarrassing. I look much older and prettier when I wear makeup…”

                “No, no, you actually look really good without makeup. Much prettier than I thought you would…” I laughed; there was a compliment somewhere in there… “Most girls at the clubs who look good with makeup take it off and you no longer want to be associated with them…”

                I laughed even harder. “Is that supposed to be an insult?”

                “What?! No!” Hyunseung disagreed immediately, looking panicked. “You’re not like them!” he reassured me with a small smile.

                I smiled. “Thanks, I’ll be sure to call you next time I need a pick-me-up.”

                We continued to walk for awhile, heading back to the Han River and around Seoul. Finally, we headed back to his car and he dropped me back off at the Café. He parked the car and I was opened the door, about to step out when he called my name. “Heymin! You…forgot something.” I turned around, the question nearly on my lips when I felt something else on them; Hyunseung’s. He gently rested his hand on my waist and I sat back down, pulling the door closed with my foot. I felt him smile into the kiss. “Hey, what was the need for that?” he asked playfully.

                “You’re right. There was no need,” I responded cheekily, about to leave again.

                He encircled his hand around my wrist with plenty of room to spare. I leaned back in and gave him one more short kiss. “I’ll see you around?” I asked quietly.

                “Of course,” he responded in a quiet, y voice. I smiled at him before leaving the car.

                I played it off like I didn’t get kicked out of the double date once I got home, successfully dodged most of the questions from those prying boys, and headed upstairs to my bedroom, going to sleep immediately. My phone lit up as I fell asleep, but I didn’t let it bother me, instead succumbing to the weak sleepiness I felt throughout my body.