“Kai, am I done for today?” I take off my tuxedo and drop it into the laundry basket, changing into casual jeans and a long-sleeved tee, pulling the sleeves to my elbow as I always do.

“If I say no and manage to come up with things you have to do today, what happens?” He asks, folding his arms on his chest as I leave my closet.

“You die?” I raise an eyebrow at him and tap the floor impatiently with my foot.  “So?”

“Are you that itchy for a date?”

“Just answer my question, Kai,” I look at him and roll my eyes at his gestures.  “Please,”

He laughs, shrugging.  “Yeah, you’re done for today,”

I grin and leave the room, searching for that familiar way of walking, the familiar way she keeps her back straight when she walks, and all the familiar habits she does, to let me see her today.

But I don’t see her in the library, in the dining hall, or in the stables.  Or in the gardens.  I even ran back to my room to come upon nothing.

I wander again, dejected at the possibility of not being able to see her again today.  The workrooms were empty, the portrait hall was empty, and the green house was—

“Hey, you’re going to run into the door,”

I look back quickly and immediately smile as I see Hana tending to the plants. 

“What are you so happy for?” She says, not glancing at you.

I shrug, taking the pot she was reaching up for, leaning close to her face when I give it to her.

“Oh, you had a nice date, right?” She snatches the pot away from me and turns away, huffing.

A playful smirk colors my face and I keep on following her, searching for her face while she continuously avoids my eyes.  “Yeah, she was really pretty,”

“Uh-huh,”

“And she was funny,”

“Uh-huh,”

“And she’s going to send me flowers,”

“Uh-huh,”

When she sets her 4th pot down and stands up, I grab her shoulders and force her to look at me.  “Are you jealous?”

“Wha—“ She frowns and looks away.  “No,”

“Then look at my eyes and say that you’re not,”

She faces me but looks at my nose.  “No, I’m not jealous,”

“My eyes, Hana, where are my eyes,” I chuckle, keeping her in place.

“Stop teasing me,” She pouts irritatedly.

God, she’s cute when she’s jealous and angry.  “Only when you answer me while you look at me properly,”

She looks into my eyes then and quickly says, “Fine, I am,” And then fixes herself.  “A bit.  Just a teeny tiny bit,”

Before I could react, she lifts her hand up and flicks my forehead, which was bare, because I still had my hair swiped away from my face.

I put my hands on my forehead and a breath through my teeth, the spot where she flicked me stinging more than I imagined.  “Ow!”

“Suits you right,” She turns away and strides out the green house.

“Hey, Hana,” I come after her.  “Okay, okay, sorry,” I reach out to take her wrist.

She shakes her wrist out of my grip and her walk turns into a jog, and soon, we were chasing each other, unknowingly reaching the stables.  She enters an empty space and locks the door, but I jump over it, cornering her.

“I don’t even know why!” She steps away from me.  “I just feel weird and irritated and I can’t believe that made me look away from my book!” She steps towards me and opens and closes, no words coming out.  “Your.  Fault!” She pounds at my chest with each word, and I grab hold of her wrists before she could pull away. 

“Yeah,” I look at her face, breathing hard from the run we had. 

“You were all friendly-friendly and  smiley-smiley and your eyes went sparkle-sparkle and—“ She falters as I step towards her.  “W-what are you doing?” She steps back, but I advance forward until she finally has her back against the wall.  I hold her hand against it, leaving her defenseless.

“This,” I lean in and smile when I see her shut her eyes, drawing her chin in.  I quickly let go of one of her hands and flick her on the forehead.

Her eyes snap open and she glares at me.  “Ow! He—!”

Quickly, before she could hit me with her free hand, I press my lips onto her forehead, on the spot where I flicked her.

 “I’m sorry for teasing you,” I say, lifting my lips from her forehead and bending down to level my eyes with hers.

“Did you ju—“ She swallows quietly and sighs, still refusing to meet my eyes.

“Can you at least smile at me and tell me it’s okay?”

She looks at me but bites her lip instead of smiling, quietly letting the words out.  “No smile, but it’s okay,” Her arms come to fold on her chest and she looks away again.  “No more teasing, Kyungsoo,”

I chuckle and tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.  “Alright.  Then see you tomorrow,”

“Mm,”

I watch her stomp away, chuckling to myself when I see her stop in her tracks to put a hand to her forehead.

She really is cute, isn’t she?