Aerri could still hear the laughter of the children playing nearby. The sun was shining, the weather was nice, and everybody seemed to be enjoying their time. But when Aerri turned around to see Seunghyun behind her, his cold stare which he aimed at Ri seemed to darken the surroundings.

"I asked you a question, Rogue. What are you doing here?" Seunghyun said again, still with the look of despise in his eyes.

But Seunghyun's cold glare didn't seem to affect the other boy at all. He boldly looked back at him with his signature smirk etched on his lips.

"Oh, Seunghyun.. haven't I told you that I don't like to be called Rogue?" Seungri said, dragging his words intentionally just to annoy the taller guy.

"I could call you something else but I prefer not to curse. Calling you 'trash' wouldn't be enough either."

"Now now.. I believe I'm a lot of things, but calling me trash is a bit too much, don't you think?"

Aerri stood there wide-eyed, not only surprised that the two Seunghyuns knew each other, but also taken aback by the way they taunt each other.

"Anyway, to answer your question, I'm just having a little chat with Aerri here." Seungri added.

"I told you to leave my friends alone." Seunghyun hissed his words.

"Well, you never followed my requests either. So I guess we can conclude that your attitude towards my request is the same as mine towards yours." Seungri chuckled. "Besides, you know it doesn't work that way. I gotta eat too, don't I? If I avoid all your friends, then what would that leave me with?" he added, still with that taunting grin on his lips.

"I mean it, Seungri. I'm not letting you get this one." Somehow Seunghyun's voice got even deeper, and sound even darker and more dangerous as he pulled Aerri's hand so that she moved away from Seungri. But Aerri didn't have the chance to feel flattered at all, cause all she can think of was Seunghyun's words. This one? That means there was another one? What the hell were they talking about?

"Aahh.. this is interesting." Seungri stared at Aerri who was looking at Seunghyun curiously. "What makes her so special that you protect her so much like this, Seunghyun?"

"She's not special and I'm not protecting her. She can protect herself just fine. I'm just sick of you and your tricks." Seunghyun lied and said what he said because he was afraid that Seungri would intentionally target Aerri if Seungri thought that Aerri was different for him. Too bad Seunghyun didn't see the slight flinch on Aerri's face when she heard his words.

Aerri suddenly had that urge to laugh out loud. With the obvious hate between the 2 boys in front of her and the fact that she knew nothing about the reason for their deep hate for each other, there was clearly nothing funny about the circumstances around her. But the sting she felt when she heard Seunghyun's words made her want to laugh at herself. She never considered herself as a close friend for Seunghyun. They spent some time together, they talk about random stuff with each other, and they had the same circle of friends. And despite the fact that Seunghyun seem to be hiding something from her, Aerri did feel like she had known him for years. But still, Aerri felt like she didn't have the right to call her relationship with Seunghyun to be close. They couldn't be called a close friend, let alone be called of having something special. So what Seunghyun said was right. She was not special to him. She'd be surprised if he said otherwise. The clench of her heart when he said those words was obviously unnecessary and laughable, because she had no reason to expect Seunghyun to see her as someone special. But the slight sadness she felt when she heard his words made her realize that she expected something more. But why would she expect anything? Where did that expectation come from? The expectations that she didn't know she had and how awful she felt was so bitterly funny.

"Would someone tell me what's going on?" Aerri asked, pulling her hand off of Seunghyun's.

"I bet he never told you what he actually is, huh?" Seunghyun asked Aerri.

Aerri remembered the day she first met Ri. She remembered that she instantly assumed that Seungri was a Reaper simply from the way he work as a Cupid. But when she asked him if he was a Reaper, Seungri didn't answer her question. So she just thought that her assumption was right.

"Why? What are you, Ri? You're not a Reaper?" she asked the boy, looking at him straight in the eye. The way he looked at her was different with how he looked at Seunghyun. Aerri could see the guilt that he felt when he looked at her.

"He used to be. But then he broke the rules and got banished from the dorm." Seunghyun answered when Seungri didn't say anything.

"You can be banished from the dorm?"

"It was just like your punishment the other day. But for him, he could never go back to the dorm."

"But.. But how would he eat? And rest?" Aerri asked in surprise.

"I couldn't." Seungri finally said something.

"What?" Aerri was shocked by his answer. She was only punished for a day, but the hunger and fatigue she felt was overwhelming, almost painful. She couldn't imagine how it would be like and how would she feel if she couldn't go back to the dorm again.

"But don't you feel the hunger? And the fatigue?" Aerri asked again.

"I gave in and agreed to become a Rogue, so I can eat." Ri said again.

"What's a Rogue?" Aerri asked again.

"A Cupid or Reaper who got banished from the dorm was supposed to stay on Earth until they disappear, like the lost ones who refused to be taken to the afterlife. But some of them made a deal. They will get food and a place to rest, but only if they could get more lost ones or other banished Cupids and Reapers to join them. They're also appreciated if they can make Cupids and Reapers broke the rules." Throughout Seunghyun's explanation, Aerri looked at Seungri in the eye, unable to look away. She wondered if Ri could see the disappointment she felt, just like she could see the guilt in his face.

"A deal with who?" Aerri asked. She knew that things never looked as simple as it seem at the dorm. But she never really expected this.

"Devil? Satan? God? Who knows? I never met anyone else but other Rogues." Seungri shrugged.

"Why didn't anybody tell me about this? Dae never told me anything about this when I first start as a Cupid." Aerri asked.

 

"He's not supposed to tell you. You are supposed to find out about them on your own when you met the Rogues personally, cause sooner or later you will meet them. Our bosses don't seem to mind the fact that there are Rogues meddling with our work. They said that it's part of our test." Seunghyun said, his words were once again filled with distaste.

"But if we fail, we would still get punished?"

"Of course. It's only a matter of choosing between right and wrong. You will be punished if you broke the rules." Seunghyun said.

"Or in some cases, you will be punished if you got lured by a Rogue." Seungri added, grinning mockingly at Seunghyun. Aerri noticed how Seunghyun slightly trembled, fist scrunched tight as if he was trying so hard not to punch the boy in front of him.

Seunghyun's struggle didn't go unnoticed by Seungri. He chuckled happily, satisfied that he got the reaction he wanted from Seunghyun. His laugh made Seunghyun even more furious.

"Let's go, Aerri." Seunghyun said as he grabbed Aerri's hand and dragged her away. After a few steps, they could still  hear Seungri shouting at Seunghyun, "Tell Ai I said 'Hi', Seunghyun."

There was something different in the way Seungri said his last sentence. The mocking tone in the way he spoke to Seunghyun was obvious. But that tone was gone when he said his last sentence. Instead, he sound sincere.. and a bit sad?

Aerri glanced at Seungri who was still standing by the park. He smiled sadly at her, giving her a small wave. Aerri didn't know how to respond to his sad smile, as she still felt a bit confused and slightly upset over the fact that Seungri lied to her. So she just looked away, turning her glance towards Seunghyun. He still looked upset as he walk quickly, taking long strides and dragging Aerri behind him.

Aerri pulled her hand off of Seunghyun's when she felt that flutter in her stomach again as she realized that he was still holding her hand. She hated how she still react that way to him, even after she heard him say that she was 'not special' to him. She needed to stop feeling like that.

Then Aerri remembered what Seungri said. Who is Ai? Why did Seungri act as if Seunghyun meet this 'Ai' often? Seungri wouldn't send his regards to the girl through Seunghyun unless he knew that Seunghyun often meet her, right?

Aerri wanted to ask Seunghyun about Ai. But as far as she knew, Seunghyun never mentioned about Ai before. Not to her or to their other 3 close
friends. So she felt that Seunghyun wouldn't answer her questions. If only she could hear what he was thinking, just like she could hear the living's thoughts.

Aerri quicken her steps, trying to keep up with Seunghyun's long strides. They both stayed silent, even after they reached the lush fields. When they almost reach the dorm, Seunghyun's deep voice broke the silence.

"You should stay away from Seungri, Aerri."

Aerri stayed silent. She was still trying to suppress her curiosity about Ai. But her effort was proven meaningless when she asked Seunghyun a few seconds later, "Who's Ai?"

Just