Saturday, almost a week after Sulli had first encountered the creepy waiter at the Exotic Café, the exact problem she had been dreading all week loomed at her right in her face. Krystal was staying after school for a private vocal lesson and couldn’t walk home with her. She had apologized to Sulli a thousand times, but there was no way Krystal could get out of her lesson, and Sulli was doomed. Krystal did offer though, in place of her being unable to walk home with Sulli, a solution she had thought up that she claimed could get rid of the creepy waiter from stalking them, for good. Sulli, with no choice but to try out Krystal’s solution, was heading through the school cafeteria toward the friend who had potentially started this mess and could end it: Kim Jongin.

“Kim Jongin!” Sulli shouted, as she plopped into a seat right next to the exact friend who had introduced her to the Exotic Café and Bubble Tea.

“Huh? Yah, quit screaming, and one of my friends is going to sit there, so you should move,” Jongin said, tossing Sulli a careless glance before turning his attention back to his lunch. That was the type of personality Jongin had; one that always made Sulli wonder how she’d managed to become such close friends with him in the first place.

“I need your help!” Sulli wailed, ignoring Jongin’s look of disinterest. She began to explain her and Krystal’s encounters with the creepy waiter named Heechul, and how she was going to have to walk home alone and run into the waiter all by herself, if she didn’t find some solution soon. She then relayed to Jongin the solution that Krystal had come up with: Sulli had to be seen with a boyfriend in front of the waiter, so that like Krystal, he would lose interest in Sulli and leave them alone.

When Sulli finished telling her story, Jongin raised a questioning eyebrow at his friend, trying to take in all that had just been thrown at him. “So, what you’re saying is, you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend, so that creeper can stop trying to kidnap you every time you walk home from school,” said Jongin. Sulli nodded vigorously. Jongin his chin for a moment, then remarked, “Why can’t you just tell him you have a boyfriend? Did your friend Krystal have her boyfriend with her?”

Sulli blinked at Jongin, dumbfounded for a moment. “Well, no… but what if the creep tries to kidnap me before I can tell him?? The point is, I need to have someone covering me today, and then once he loses interest in me, then I’ll be safe to go home alone,” she argued. 

Without a reply, Jongin kept scratching his chin.

“Hhmmm??? Come on Jongin-ah, I’m serious, if I go home alone today, then you might never see me again! And it’s going to be all your fault! Do you want me to be kidnapped??” half begged, half threatened Sulli, wagging her shoulders. Jongin was beginning to worry that all of Sulli’s high-pitched yelling was going to get him into trouble.

With a sigh, he finally said, “Well see, the thing is, I have a dance lesson with Mr. Hwang this afternoon too.”

Sulli’s normally slim eyes grew larger and larger until Jongin thought they were going to pop. She then burst out, “WHAT!?”

“I know! I know! I get it, you really can’t go home by yourself. But I can’t, not today!” Jongin explained, shrugging his shoulders defensively. Sulli began to sulk in her seat, the imminent failure of Krystal’s plan unfolding before her eyes.

“Maybe I should just stay at school and wait for Krystal…” Sulli murmured to herself.

“Wait,” Jongin interrupted, pointing his chopsticks in the air, “How about I ask Sehun? I’m sure he’ll be willing to, even if he doesn’t know you that well. That’ll be the same thing, right?”

Sulli’s head shot back up at Jongin. “Really? That friend you’re always talking about? Will he be willing to?” she asked.

Jongin nodded. “I’m sure. He’s nicer than me, so he’ll probably think this situation is actually as serious as you try to make it sound.”

“Yah!” cried Sulli, punching Jongin in the arm. “Well where is he? Ask him nicely, okay?”

“Yeah yeah,” Jongin scoffed with a smirk, “He’s supposed to be sitting right where you’re sitting, you know.” Sulli glared at him threateningly one last time before leaving the guy at his table.

Sulli tapped her foot nervously in front of the entrance to the Seoul Arts High School’s studio complex. Jongin had texted her, after their conversation at lunch, that the friend who was replacing him was going to meet her after school at the spot. Sulli had heard of Jongin’s friend a billion times, but had never really gotten to know him, despite him being in her grade, and despite him being a close friend of Jongin’s. Making acquaintances was one of the last things on her mind at the moment; Sulli was nervous to death at the thought of the guy not showing up, and her having to walk into Heechul’s lair all by herself.

“Uhh, you’re Choi Sulli, right?” called a voice, interrupting Sulli’s thoughts. She had been so zoned out that she hadn’t seen the tall, bony guy approaching her. With a few blinks, Sulli took a good look at the guy whom she recognized as Oh Sehun, Jongin’s friend. He was very tall, as tall as Jongin, but much paler and skinnier, with neat, straight, brownish hair covering his forehead. Small, crescent eyes, small lips, and even small ears characterized the guy’s facial features, but his overall bodily appearance was surprisingly sturdy and reliable.

“Yes,” Sulli replied, “I’ve heard so much about you from Jongin! Thanks so much for coming and helping me. Did Jongin explain to you what you’re helping me with?”

Sehun nodded, the smallest hint of a smile revealed in the way his eyes curved. “There’s a creepy waiter stalking you at that café across the street from here, and I’m pretending to be your boyfriend to get him to back off.” he said.

“Exactly!” Sulli confirmed. She noticed that the guy had a slight lisp when he talked. She hoped Heechul wouldn’t notice. It wasn’t exactly intimidating.

“Okay, so, uhh… are you ready to go?” asked Sehun. Sulli in a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. Was she really about to jump into the lion’s den with some guy she just met? “Um,… Sehun-ah,” she called, feeling the urge to ask before they actually started off, “Are you sure you’re okay with helping me with this? It might seem kind of stupid…”

Sehun surprised Sulli by giving a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. You seem like you really need help chasing this guy off, and Jongin told me I’d better help you, or else. Now let’s go show this creep up, so you can walk home peacefully from now on, huh?” he said, with his unfailing lisp, but also with confidence and assertion that made Sulli feel much better.  

“Okay,” Sulli replied, and she found herself blushing thankfully. They started walking, across the school’s wide soccer field, to get to the street outside campus. On the way, Sulli retold Sehun the whole story of how she had met the creepy waiter, and how he tried to stalk her every day when she tried to walk home. Sehun was a much better listener than Jongin, and never mocked anything Sulli said, even when she complained about how she could never have Bubble Tea again if the creep didn’t stop stalking her.

“You like Bubble Tea that much?” Sehun asked with a chuckle.

“Yes!! It’s like, enlightenment in a cup!” Sulli exclaimed. Sehun laughed, but not in a mocking way. In a friendly way that made Sulli think to herself, that she should have asked Jongin to introduce her to Sehun a long time ago.

They then laid out their plan of action, exactly as Krystal had concocted. Sulli was both surprised and impressed that Sehun was so willing to lie about being her boyfriend for her, since they were practically strangers.

“You’re so nice for doing this! Why haven’t we talked much before?” Sulli asked out of the blue, during a pause in their plans.

Sehun thought for a moment, before answering, “You hang out with a pretty popular crowd at school, don’t you? You have a lot of different friends from every little group, even people like Jongin, who barely has a handful of close friends. I guess we’re just opposites; I really don’t get around much, except when I’m with Jongin.”

Sulli gave a slow nod. She was definitely glad that she had finally gotten the chance to meet the friend Jongin always talked about.  “To tell you the truth,” she said, “You’re much nicer and more entertaining to talk to than Jongin. He’s too much of a blood type-A. What’s your blood type?”

“I’m O,” Sehun replied.

“Me too! We should get along so well! Now that I know you better, and plus I owe you a debt for helping me, I think I’ll ditch Jongin and hang out with you more!”

Sehun laughed again, turning his eyes into little crescents. It made Sulli think of how people had always told her that her eyes did the same thing when she laughed genuinely, too. She liked that; that she and Sehun had so much in common.

When they got to the edge of the school grounds, right next to the busy street of the city and the blaring traffic of various vehicles, Sulli didn’t feel like making jokes anymore. The nerves were inching up her skin, and she was beginning to doubt Krystal’s plan. “I don’t know about this…” she muttered.

“Don’t worry! It’ll be fine! Just act as natural as possible,” consoled Sehun.

Whether Sulli liked it or not, she was going to have to carry out this plan of Krystal’s. She took a deep breath of air. She tried to reassure herself, that if everything went well, then she wouldn’t have to worry about the creep anymore, and she could go buy Bubble tea at the café any time she wanted.

“Okay then, this is where we should start the plan,” Sehun said, holding out his right hand toward Sulli. She stared at it for a moment, confused, then remembered that they were pretending to be in a relationship. “Oh, right!” she exclaimed, and slid her left hand into the right one extended to her. It was unexpectedly large and firm, for a hand belonging to such a bony boy.

The fake couple began to walk toward the Exotic Café, swinging their clasped hands. From the way they walked side by side, a stranger would never expect that the two had just met, approximately ten to fifteen minutes ago.

Sehun could feel Sulli holding her breath as he led her in through the door. Her already pallid skin tone was much paler, and she genuinely seemed nervous of what they were about to do. He squeezed her hand tight to send her some reassurance, as they had fully entered the café.

“Pretty Sulli!!” A man in a white buttoned shirt and black apron came scrambling toward them. Without even asking, Sehun knew that this man was the creepy waiter named Heechul. The way the man’s large, bright eyes smiled way too extravagantly at Sulli, and then shifted directions toward Sehun, instantly losing the cheerfulness as they did so, spoke it all.

“Pretty Sulli,” the waiter said, iciness dripping from his completely different tone of voice, “Who is this?”

Sehun reacted right away, answering, “I’m Sehun. I’m Sulli’s boyfriend.” It sort of shocked Sehun for a brief second that he had managed to lie so flawlessly, but he didn’t let any of that show on his face. He wouldn’t forgive himself if their plan failed because of him.

“Oh,” the man muttered, glaring at Sehun with his very black eyes. Sehun definitely understood why Sulli was so creeped out by this man. His eyes had the tendency to scrutinize a person to an incredibly uncomfortable degree.

 Sehun turned toward Sulli casually. “Sulli-yah, do you wanna go sit at a table?” he asked.

“Huh? Oh, okay,” she answered. The waiter, his creepy, cold eyes gawking at Sehun, followed them.

“Sulli-yah, I don’t remember you telling me you had a boyfriend. I thought it was your friend… what was her name? Krystal? Who had the boyfriend, not you,” the waiter remarked as he came and stood at the edge of Sehun and Sulli’s table.

“Oh, um, Krystal and I both have boyfriends,” Sulli responded, glancing up at the waiter a moment, but quickly turning her gaze away. Sehun observed the waiter’s actions toward Sulli carefully. The man stared at her as if he wanted to eat her. It was definitely creepy to watch. He decided to interrupt, saying, “Um, can we order please?”

The waiter, Heechul, slowly turned his head toward Sehun. This time, he didn’t really seem to want to eat Sehun with his stare, more along the lines of, claw his face out. “Of course, sir. What can I get you?”

“Sulli-yah, do you want to order first?” Sehun asked Sulli casually, trying his hardest to sound natural. They had already planned out how and what they were going to order, so Sulli immediately nodded and said, “An Almond Bubble Tea, please.”

“I’ll have the same,” Sehun added.

“Mm Hmm,” The waiter voiced, his tone clearly implying annoyance. Still, he took out his notepad and scribbled down the orders.

“Alright, I’ll be right back Pretty Sulli~” said the waiter, specifically addressing Sulli and not even giving Sehun as much as a glance before walking away.

While they waited, Sehun and Sulli talked about school and the classes they had together. Sulli seemed unable to shake away her nerves, so he tried to make jokes to lighten her up. Every time he made Sulli laugh, he was caught off guard by how pretty she was, and how cheerful her laugh was. He faintly remembered some time ago when Jongin had told him that Sulli laughed too much. Now that he was having a first-hand experience, he begged to differ.

“Here are your drinks!!” a voice screeched at them, practically right beside Sehun’s ear. “What the..?” Sehun remarked instinctively. He hadn’t noticed the waiter coming their way at all. Sehun was definitely starting to get the creeps about the guy.

“Enjoy your drink Sulli-yah~!!” The waiter cooed, holding out the Bubble Tea in front of Sulli until she was basically forced to take it from him. Heechul then slammed down Sehun’s drink right onto the table, splashing Sehun with drops of water melting off the Bubble Tea cup. Afterward, he asked in a loud voice, “Pretty Sulli? Is this guy really your boyfriend?”

Both Sehun’s and Sulli’s eyes shot up toward the waiter. “What kind of question is that? Of course I’m Sulli’s boyfriend!” Sehun snapped, frowning.

“I’m asking Sulli,” the waiter said, placing a hand on his hip and throwing Sehun a chilling glance, before turning back to Sulli. “So Sulli-yah, tell me, is this guy really your boyfriend? Can you prove to me that he is?”

Sulli seemed panicked, though she managed to stammer out, “Y… yes, He’s really my boyfriend… we’ve been dating for…uhh… 3 months…”

“Really? How did you two meet?” the waiter jabbed back immediately.

Sehun’s mind was racing. The waiter was cornering Sulli; he had to think of a way to help her out. If they simply got up and left, then Sulli would have to face the waiter again eventually. He had to show this creep once and for all that Sulli was off-limits.

“Look, you want proof, I’ll give you proof,” Sehun said, getting up from his seat. He quickly circled the table and brought Sulli up as well, locking eyes with her and hoping that she could read the message in his eyes: he needed her to trust him with this.

There was a moment of hesitation, before Sehun kissed Sulli, full in the mouth. He half expected Sulli to scream and shove him away, but when their lips met, a wave of deliciousness flooded Sehun. And it wasn’t just him, he was sure that Sulli was feeling it too. For a moment, Sehun wondered if they were tasting the flavor of the Almond Bubble Tea in their mouths. However, neither Sehun nor Sulli had touched their drinks since Heechul brought them out, only a few minutes ago. The sugary taste confused Sehun, until intuitively, his lips detached from Sulli’s, needing to breath. Then, as he stood there looking at Sulli’s astonished expression, he was reminded of his primary task: get rid of the waiter.

Sehun quickly turned to Heechul, who gaped at the false couple with his jaw hanging wide open. “Was that proof enough for you?” Sehun spat, rather aggressively. He almost also added something along the lines of ‘Stay away from my girlfriend’, but caught himself just in time, realizing that the waiter needed to be restrained from Sulli, not angered. If he got too angry at the two of them, and continued to work at the café, they would probably never be able to come here comfortably again.

The waiter’s mouth remained gaping open for a few more seconds, until out of the blue, he asked Sehun, “Can I talk to you in private?” It was Sehun’s turn to drop his jaw.  

Heechul and Sehun walked off into a corner near the employees’ counter of the café, leaving a nervous-looking Sulli at the table by herself. Sehun gulped, bracing himself for the worst.

“Do you really like Sulli?” the waiter said. Sulli was too far away to hear what they were saying.

“How many times do I have to tell you? Sulli is my girlfriend, and I really, in all honesty, like her a lot,” Sehun replied. He was again amazed at himself, almost to the point where he was beginning to question whether he really was lying or not. He hadn’t known he was this good at lying.

“Oh,” said Heechul. Sehun had no idea what the blank expression on the waiter’s face meant. “Well… then you are one super lucky dude!!”

“What?” Sehun blurted, confused.

“Aww, man, I’m telling you, you are so lucky! She is such a gem! See, I’ve been trying for the past week to see if Sulli would be interested in meeting my little brother, but I had no idea she was already taken!”

“Your little brother??”

Heechul wore a sheepish grin on his face as he shrugged. “I have this little brother. His name is Changmin, and all he ever does is sit around in his room or at the library studying! I thought maybe setting him up with a girl might loosen him up, so I’ve been asking around and stuff… I thought Sulli was perfect… Sorry Sehun, I didn’t know she already had you, man,” He explained.

It took a moment for it all to register in Sehun’s head, but slowly, he began to let out a laugh. “All you wanted was to set Sulli up with your little brother…” he mumbled, shaking his head. He looked over at Sulli, who was tapping her fingers on the table, still waiting for him and the waiter. “It’s alright, I hope you find another girl for your brother,” he said to Heechul.

“Well, maybe he’s just going to be stuck like the bookworm he is for the rest of his life! Why should I even care!!” the waiter remarked sarcastically, and with a wink, he disappeared behind the employees’ counter, leaving Sehun to walk back to Sulli alone, grinning.

“What happened??” Sulli practically shouted, seeing Sehun grinning.

“Let’s go Sulli-yah,” he said, “I’ll walk you home. Is it okay if I tell you on the way?” Sulli nodded quizzically, and the false couple exited the Exotic Café, leaving money for their Almond Bubble Teas on the table.