"Hi Aemi!" I greet with a wide smile as I enter her apartment.

"Hey Saera," she smiles sweetly. "Where's Rani?"

"Here!" Rani races in, panting.

"Did you run all the way here?" I ask as I eye her heaving form. "Why?"

"Didn't...wanna be...late..."

"You never care about being late when we have plans." I frown.

Rani shrugs and straightens. "Aemi's special."

I bare my teeth at her as we walk into Aemi's kitchen where she's preparing ingredients. Aemi is teaching us how to cook!

She shows us how to make a simple boxed lunch with kimchi fried rice, rolled egg omelets, and green tea mochi.

"I hope Joon likes it," Rani frets.

"He will because you made it," Aemi reassures her.

I sneak a bite of Aemi's rolled eggs. "Mm, you should forget Seungho and make lunch for me every day! That idiot doesn't deserve you."

Aemi blushes. "Oh stop, Saera, we're just friends."

"Still not admitting it?" Rani teases, nudging Aemi with her elbow.

"It's true! He doesn't think of me that way."

Rani and I exchange exasperated looks.

"He's pretty much in live with you," I deadpan. "And you're in love with him too. Everyone sees it."

Rani hums her agreement.

Aemi is redder than a fire truck. "Stop it, you two!"

I roll my eyes. Clueless.

We continue working in companionable silence, until suddenly Aemi asks in confusion, "Saera, why are you grinding bitter melon?"

I look down to the veggie powder on the counter. "Oh, uh, I heard it's really healthy."

"And bitter?" Rani scrunches her face in disgust. "You hate bitter."

"My tastes have changed." I shrug nonchalantly and keep going.

They look understandingly dubious given my intense hatred of all things bitter but let it go.

When we finish we pack the lunches in cute boxes and pack them. Lucky for me, they look identical. I offer to carry them until lunch and they give me their boxes gratefully before waving and going off to class.

I snicker as I think about my plan. It'll be hilarious if I pull it off.

Hilarious for me, at least.

Lunch finally arrives and I eagerly go to our lunch spot where Joon, Seungho, Rani, and Aemi are waiting. I smile as I hand out the lunch boxes.

We all dig in, chatting about homework and weekend plans. Rani is cooing and feeding Joon, who gladly accepts her coddling and Aemi laughs at something Seungho says.

Honestly, they're perfect for each other. Both Joon and Rani are drop-dead gorgeous and can be super y, but they choose to go the cute route--which should be odd paired with their looks, but they make it work. Aemi and Seungho are the classic "opposites attract" case; she's tall and sweet and beautiful, and he's sarcastic and charismatic and handsome.

And then there's me. The fifth wheel.

But instead of sulking in my spinsterness, I focus on the plan at hand.

It's been about two weeks since my threat and I haven't made a move yet. He's probably forgotten all about it.

I watch as Seungho picks up a mochi ball and shoves it readily into his mouth.

This will definitely jog his memory.

He promptly spits it all back out, coughing.

Aemi immediately pats his back and asks in concern, "Are you okay?"

He nods, still coughing, and croaks out, "I was just surprised because I expected it to be sweet."

Aemi frowned. "It isn't?"

"It's bitter."

Her eyes flit over to me, where I'm unsuccessfully holding in my laughter, and sighs disapprovingly.

Seungho notices and follows her gaze, narrowing his eyes when he sees me. "Saera," he growls menacingly.

"Yes?" I reply innocently but with a telltale grin on my face.

He lunges and I shriek and run away.

"Gotta go, catch you later! Or not!" I yell and sprint off.

Unfortunately, I must have really pissed him off because I hear him pounding after me.

Uh-oh. Time to panic.

Seungho used to be on the track team so he's fast. And I am...not.

Major panic.

I skid around a corner and glance behind me, just in time to run into someone.

"Whoa!"

We tumble down and my face knocks into his. I think our lips even touch. When I pull away, I groan.

"You again?"

Mir smiles sheepishly up at me. "Hey Saera. Did you just kiss me?"

"No!" I say hotly. "I ran into you and your face happened to be in the way of my face!"

"Saera! Get back here so I can kill you!" Seungho shouts from disturbingly close behind me.

"Oh crap!" I frantically push past Mir and enter a random door. "If Seungho asks, you never saw me!"

His face is confused as I shut the door and squish into a dark corner.

When Seungho gets here, I hear his angry voice questioning Mir.

Please, please don't rat me out, I pray silently.

And he doesn't.

"If I see her, you'll be the first to know," Mir lies and sends Seungho on his un-merry way.

I sigh in relief. Thank God.

The door creaks open and Mir walks in. "So what was that all about?"

"None of your--" I cut myself off before I say "business," because technically it is his business. He's part of the reason I'm taking revenge on Seungho. So I sigh and explain.

He raises an eyebrow. How come everyone raise one eyebrow except me? What's wrong with my eyebrow muscles, goddammit?

"So you basically poisoned his food because he dared me to kiss you?" he clarifies.

I nod. "Yeah, pretty much."

Chuckling, Mir shakes his head and sits down next to me. "You sure are something."

"How observant of you to notice that I'm not nothing," I say dryly, rolling my eyes.

He smiles shyly. "It's not hard to notice you, believe me."

Suddenly I feel awkward tension. Oh man. What do you say to someone who stole your first kiss because of a dare? Oh hey, ever since you kissed me, I can't stop thinking about your soft lips and gentle hands?

Uh, no.

Dammit! This is why I didn't want a stranger to be my first kiss. I knew I'd end up fantasizing about him. And everyone knows reality can never measure up to fantasy.

I notice his camera and desperately latch onto a new topic. "Uh, what's that for?"

He glances down before meeting my eyes in amusement. "Taking pictures?"

I roll my eyes. "Well duh. Pictures of what for what?"

He shrugs. "Of anything. For fun." He eyes me and suddenly I know what's coming.

I shake my head instantly. "Oh no. No no no. You keep that thing pointed far away from me."

"Why? I want to take pictures of you."

"No! I am not even a little photogenic."

He looks at me dryly though I don't know why. "Yes you are."

I frown. "No, I'm not. I take horrible pictures and if you use your camera on me, I will not hesitate to break it. Why do you want pictures of me anyway?"

He chuckles. "If you let me take pictures of you, you'll find out why."

I pout at him. What happened to the shy boy to was scared of me? I'm not sure I like this side of him. He has too much control.

"Fine," I sigh, surrendering to my curiosity and hoping it doesn't destroy me like it did the proverbial cat. "But if I find a derpy photo of me, I'll break your camera."

He has the nerve to laugh at my threat. Does he think I won't do it? He should know better after I just told him about my revenge on Seungho.

Okay, so it was a little lame as revenge goes, but that was just the start!

"So to commemorate this momentous occasion," he grins and throws his arm over my shoulder. Before I can react, he raises his camera and takes a picture of our faces, his happy, mine surprised.

Then he pulls away and bounds out of the room.

I shake off my shock and run after him. "Hey! That totally counts as a derpy picture! I'm gonna kill you!"

His laughter trails behind him like a taunt.

That little sneak! He fooled me into thinking he was submissive. He better be prepared for some major karma.

updating cuz pre-written

will finish next chapter when I' not sick as crap

© Copyright 2014 by skyblaze208