“Ge!” Tao greeted cheerfully as he opened the door for Kris. Kris only passed by the Chinese maknae coldly and went straight to his room. “What is wrong with him?” Tao asked incredulously and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

The other members only shrugged at him and carried on with their own activities. Tao followed Kris in his room and opened the door without even knocking. “AH! Tao I’m changing my clothes! Get out!” Kris screamed as he pulled up his pants and desperately covered his upper body with a shirt.

“As if you’ve got anything to hide, you’ve showered with me, pabo.” Tao snorted and sat on the bed.

Kris only rolled his eyes at him and threw a towel on Tao’s face. “Hey, what’s with the bad mood? And where’s my jacket? Also, my Gucci?” Tao extended his palm but Kris only slapped it.

“I had no time to get your jacket or buy your Gucci.” Kris replied as he put on a fresh set of clothes.

“Then where the hell did you go? I thought you’d go to ~~~’s dorm and fetch my jacket?” Tao raised a brow in inquisition.

“I was on my way when I bumped into her. And then I forgot all about your jacket.” Kris answered shortly and shoved Tao away from the bed so he could lay down on it.

“Yah, all this time I thought you cared for my jacket! It was only ~~~ whom you’re after.” Tao concluded with an offended tone. He kicked Kris’s bed in annoyance and threw the towel back to him.

“Well, isn’t it obvious?” Kris rolled his eyes yet again as he pulled the covers over him and threw the harassed towel on the floor.

Tao was about to retaliate when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He quickly fished it out and viewed who the text was from. Kris was passively watching him but then Tao’s sneer was replaced by a massive smile which made Kris raise a brow.

“Hey, who are you texting? And why the hell are you smiling like a freak?” Kris nudged.

“It’s none of your business and I am not smiling like a freak!” Tao defended as his fingers rapidly type a reply.

 Kris narrowed his eyes at Tao and jumped from his bed swiftly to grab the hand phone away from Tao. “Yah!” Tao protested as he snatched his phone in the air. Kris was holding it high as he read the text.

You’re the ugliest man I’ve ever seen.

Stop harassing me with your texts.

I won’t ever go on a date with you, you cripple-minded panda.

-Kwon Ji Eun

[Received at 9:26 p.m.]

“You’re texting Ji Eun?! And you’re asking her out?!” Kris bellowed in mix of disbelief and astonishment. Tao snatched the phone back and glared at Kris. “Yes, I am.” He answered with an irritated tone.

“But I thought you like ~~~?” Kris’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Well, you like her so I can’t like her anymore. Besides, I think I’m really drawn to this girl—the way she insulted me was so…attractive.” Tao said dreamily and the freaky smile started forming on his face again.

“You are such a creep. Get out of my room!” Kris pushed Tao through the door and locked it. Tao banged the door loudly and shouted from outside. “Yah, you dare tell anyone else about this, I swear I’ll be chasing you with my wushu stick!”

“Uh, Just go away!” Kris shouted back and slumped back on his bed. He heard Tao’s footsteps fainting and sighed in content. At least I’m one rival down. Kris thought positively as he recalls his conversation with you.

~

The deserted playground accommodated two adults in its swings. During the night, there is no sun to shine on its brightly polished rides but only the dim light provided by the roadside post lamp.

“Do you hate me now?” You asked Kris with a dry laugh as you kept your vision on your fingers.

You hoped you could see his face but you were afraid. He didn’t interrupt. He just kept quiet and listened. You were thinking that he is probably mad at you and would tell you you’re insane. But to your surprise, he reacted differently.

“No. Not at all…” Kris responded calmly. He reached for your hand and squeezed it gently. “It was not your fault. You wanted to stay out of his way in the first place.” Several thoughts actually ran in his head. Now that you’ve told him this, everything finally made sense. But what bugged him most was that he had to compete with someone for you.

 “You wouldn’t tell on me to the company?” You asked in a confused tone.

“Why would I? I’m not the type to add fuel to the fire. I’ll keep this is a secret and I promise I will guard it.” Kris held up his pinky finger. You smiled thankfully at him and sealed the promise.

~

You were just in time for dinner when you arrived at the apartment. After the meal, Hyojin invited you to watch the television with her. And you regretted as soon as she switched on the news channel.

“Tsk tsk tsk. That man’s one heck of a player.” Hyojin commented as she smirked.

“On second thought I think I’ll go to bed early. It was tiring to walk about in Myeongdong” You stood up from your seat. “Alright, have a good night’s sleep.” Hyojin greeted with her eyes still glued on the tv screen.

You quickly washed up after that and went inside the room you shared with Hyojin. Knowing that she won’t be going to bed in earlier than two hours from now, you took the freedom to fetch the brown envelope from your bag.

As you pulled out the files, a green paper fell out which you did not see before. Curious, you picked it up from the floor and unfolded it to see a letter handwritten by Jaejoong. They were 5 short words. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Last favor: please return