"Oh, come ooonn, Saraa.. Spend some time with meeee.." Aerri whined as she lay her head on a small table in Sara's room. She was whining desperately, though she was sure that her whining wouldn't get her what she wanted.
 

"I'm sorry, kitty." Sara said, calling Aerri with the nickname she gave her friend. Sara once said that Aerri rarely put out her aegyo. Aerri was more the type of person who would be amused of a girl who uses too much aegyo. But once in a while, quite rarely, Aerri let her aegyo out. And when that happened, Sara said that Aerri's aegyo was perching on the thin line between annoying and cute, that Aerri only remind Sara of a spoiled naughty little kitten. Hence the 'kitty' nickname.

At first, Aerri wasn't sure if she should be happy or creeped out of being called and treated like a kitten. But the way Sara called her 'kitty' made her feel loved, somehow. So most of the time, Aerri let her friend called her 'kitty'.

But this time, she was not buying it. "Don't 'kitty' me. Not this time. You said that we're going out today." Aerri pouted.

"But I suddenly have work to do. And.. Bae asked me out suddenly. And I haven't spent time with him for more than a week now." Sara said, feeling slightly guilty for ditching her friend for her boyfriend. Maybe she should cancel her date with Bae?

The annoyance in Aerri's face toned down a bit. She knew she shouldn't be so upset at Sara. Especially since she knew how much Sara complained of how the amount of her work and Bae's work had been keeping them off each other for a while. Reaper's and Cupid's work were not exactly 9 to 5. For the last couple of weeks, because of their schedule differences, Sara and Bae were having a bit of a problem to find some time together. Aerri knew she should've encouraged Sara for having a date with her boyfriend. But Aerri was eager for some fun, as work hadn't been kind to her lately.

Of course she could spend her day off in her room as usual. Or go around the dorm to finally see the place. But Aerri was trying to spend less time alone now. The more she spent time alone at the dorm, the louder and harder her mind seemed to think. The little 'story' Seunghyun told her the week before was still bothering her. Every time she was working, she had to fight the urge to try to find Seungri to ask him about what Seunghyun told her, to ask him if he really did trick Ai, his best friend, into banishment or not. But she was also not sure if she should meet him, a bit afraid of what the Rogue could do. Besides, if he was really evil, she doubted Seungri would admit any wrongdoing.

And to make things worse, Aerri was still fighting her familiarity with that rapper who realeased her song. His album seemed to be such a hit that she could hear his voice blasting from any music store or cafe almost every time she was on earth. Sometimes Aerri could even hear her song being hummed in people's mind. It really is hard to try to forget about something if it keeps popping up everywhere, isn't it?

And there was another familiarity that she was fighting: Seunghyun. Every time she met him, Aerri kept trying to remind herself that she recognized him only because he picked her up, and not because she knew him when she was alive. And even though there was a persistent voice in her that keep telling her otherwise, she didn't have the guts to listen to the voice, not wanting to get another disappointment.

Seunghyun was still being friendly with her, though. In fact, he was warmer and closer to her than he ever was. He greeted her cheerfully at the cafetaria and visited her in her room whenever he had time. They had dinner together almost every day since he told her about Ai last week. Aerri always enjoy the time they spent together, although she had to constantly remind herself that what Seunghyun did was merely a friendly gesture. She still remembered the way Seunghyun talked about Ai, and she still thought that there was something between them. Even though Ai was not around anymore, she was still afraid of how Seunghyun felt about Ai.

So, sometimes things could be a torture for Aerri. Jumping and playing her guitar which usually helped her ease her mind, now only reminded her of Seunghyun and that rapper. That was why she was relying on anything that would take her mind off things. So she was really excited to spend some times with Sara, especially since she finally got a day off. And when Sara cancelled her at the last minute, she couldn't help but feel upset.

But then she realized how guilty Sara must have felt. Aerri pulled her head off the table, sitting up straight as she glanced at her friend. From just a simple look at her best friend's face, Aerri could easily see that Sara felt awful for ditching her.

"Fine..Who am I to disturb you two lovebirds? After all, you're still on your honeymoon phase. You should enjoy it before you start hating on each other." Aerri said teasingly.

"Yah! I'm never going to hate Bae. We're going to be together even after heaven is falling down and earth explodes." Sara said exaggeratingly, while Aerri made a gagging motion.

Sara chuckled at her friend's attitude and said, "Why don't you look around the dorm? Bae told me the other day that Dae hasn't shown you around the dorm."

"Meh.. What if I got lost?" Aerri shrugged.

"Then who knows, you'd probably meet a hot Cupid or Reaper that will show you the way back to your room. Then you'll fall in love with each other, and you could have a double date with me and Bae." Sara grinned.

"Oh, what simple solution you have. So in order to forget this feeling of rejection you gave me, I only have to fall in love and go on a double date with you and Bae?"

"Yes!" Sara exclaimed, grinning teasingly at Aerri, while the latter laughed out loud.

"Oh suuree.. Love fixes everything, right? You really are a Cupid." Aerri laughed.

"Or forget about some random Cupid or Reaper you haven't met. How about Seunghyun?"

"What about Seunghyun?"

"You two seem close lately."

"So?"

"So.. is there something I should know?" Sara grinned.

"No."

"Or probably there's something I shouldn't know? Like a secret between you two or something?"

"Nope." Aerri chuckled. The only secret that she and Seunghyun kept together was about jumping. And Aerri doubted that Sara would be excited about that secret.

"You sure? I don't think I've ever seen Seunghyun this close to any girl before. He's a bit of a loner. I think there was a moment when he got a lot of girls trying to approach him, but he kept his distance. He's pretty known for that."

Aerri chuckled rather bitterly when she heard Sara's words. She figured that the only reason Sara hadn't seen Seunghyun being close to any girl was because Ai already got banished when Sara arrived at the dorm. As for why Seunghyun being a loner, he probably still hadn't got over Ai.

"He's probably nice to me because i'm the friend of his friend's girlfriend. He would have nothing to do with me if I wasn't your friend." Aeri shrugged.

Sara sighed and said, "But I'm so sure there's something between you two. My Cupid instinct is all tingling when you're together."

"Oh God.. Then I must be a really bad Cupid then, cause I sense nothing." Aerri laughed loudly.

"No, I mean it. If I didn't care for the punishment I'd get, I'd totally shoot my arrow to you or Seunghyun, cause you guys just need a lot of pushing to be together."

"As if Cupid's arrows would work on ourself." Aerri laughed.

"You never heard of it? It's like an urban legend, cause obviously no one heard it from the person who actually did it themselves. But I heard that Cupid's arrows also work on Cupids, Reapers, lost souls, etc. But we're only allowed to use it on our target, so we're definitely going to be punished harshly if we did it. I even heard that the punishment is to be banished from the dorm."

"Really? I've never heard of that."

Aerri thought about Ai who brought her brother back to life. Most Reapers probably also thought that what Ai did was only some sort of an urban legend. But she really did it, and got banished because of it.

"Aerri, are you ok?" Sara asked Aerri when she saw her sudden change of expression.

"Hm? Oh.. I'm fine. I just remembered something." Aerri answered.

Sara watched her friend who was still visibly deep in thought. She realized that lately Aerri would have that expression on her face, as if she was thinking about something.

"Aerri, if there's something you want to talk about, you can ask me, ok?"

"Oh.. sure.. But there's nothing important, really." Aerri smiled.

Sara nodded, although she knew that Aerri wasn't telling her the truth. But she couldn't possibly force Aerri to tell her everything, could she? So she just decided that probably Aerri just needed something to distract her mind.

"Anyway, I still feel bad for ditching you today. You could just tag along with me and Bae, you know."

"And be the third wheel? No thanks." Aerri chuckled.

"Come oonn it'll be fuunn. I'm cooking again for Bae tonight. I still at it. Bae said my cooking is fine, but it was obvious that he was lying. It's sweet of him to lie, though."

Aerri tried hard to stiffle her laugh when she remembered Bae's helpless face when Sara dragged him to the cafetaria's kitchen the week before.

"Umm.. yeah, I'd love to try your cooking, but still.. being the third wheel's never fun, Sara." Aerri grinned.

That moment, they could hear a knock on Sara's door. Sara got up from her spot and opened the door to see Bae standing in front of the door with Seunghyun.

"Hey, Bae." Sara smiled.

"Hey. I'm just stopping by for a while to ask if tonight's a go." Bae said.

"Of course! I feel bad for the awful cupcake I made you last week. I'm trying to make a batch again and maybe some dinner." Sara said.

"Oh.. you're cooking again! That's lovely.." Bae said. From where she was sitting, Aerri could see the nervous expression that was back on Bae's face. She scrunched her lips, trying so hard to stiffle her laugh again. Glancing at Seunghyun, she noticed that he was looking her way. Somehow she was sure that the expression on his face was quite similar with the one she had on hers, cause it was obvious that Seunghyun was also trying to stiffle his laugh. The situation was not that funny, but the fact that both of them react the same way made it even more hilarious than it was. His expression made the laugh inside her got even more unbearable. So she burst out in a silent laugh, trying so hard to not make any sound while wishing that Sara won't look her way. Seunghyun coughed, using the sound to hide his laugh.

Bae looked at his friend in annoyance, seeing clearly through Seunghyun's cough and knowing that Seunghyun was laughing at him. "Seunghyun wants to borrow the book that I borrowed you the other week. Are you done with it?"

"Yes I've read the book. Let me get it for a while. Come in." Sara said. Then she went to her small bookshelf at the other side of the room to find the book.

"Thanks, but I got work in a little while so I better stay outside." Bae said as he glared at Seunghyun who was joining Aerri in a fit of silent laugh as soon as Sara turned her back on them.

"I'm leaving for work too. Wanna go together? Oh and by the way, you wouldn't mind if Aerri join us tonight, right? I feel bad for ditching her." Sara said, still searching for the book on her shelf.

A wide cheeky grin appeared on Bae's face when he said, "Suuree..  i have no problem at all. Do join us, Aerri."

"Thanks, but no thanks, Bae. Being the third wheel ." Aerri said as she glared at Seunghyun who was then laughing at her.

"Oh but you don't have to be the third wheel. Seunghyun here could also join us, right Sara?" Bae said as he looked at a surprised Seunghyun.

"Um.. i'd love to. But.. Um.. we don't want to ruin your date night, Bae. Right, Aerri?" Seunghyun stuttered.

"Right!" Aerri answered quickly.

"No.. no.. We don't mind at all. Come on, Aerri. Please? I could use some help with my cooking. Who knows? Probably you're a good cook and you could help me." Sara said, putting out her best puppy eyes.

"But.."

"Besides.. you said it yourself.. you got nothing to do on your day off and you're bored. Please?" Sara added before Aerri could think of any other reason to politely reject her.

Aerri stared at her friend's desperate face and gave up. "Ok fine.." she sighed. "But if you two start acting lovey dovey in front of me I'm gonna ditch both of you faster than you can say 'let's get hitched'." Aerri added.

"Definitely!" Sara laughed. "How about you, Seunghyun? Are you joining us too?" Sara asked as she handed him the book he asked for.

"Ok. I can't possibly let Aerri suffer alone as the third wheel, can I?" Seunghyun said as he smiled at Aerri.

"Great! It's a double date, then." Sara said, grinning meaningfully at Aerri.

"Ok then. See you tonight, guys. I gotta go now. Coming with me, Sara?" Bae said.

"Yes." Sara said. So Aerri followed Sara out of her room. Before she left, Sara said to Aerri, "Just ask somebody to show you around the dorm, will you? It's unacceptable that any friend of mine hasn't seen around this wonderful place." Then she winked before she left with Bae, leaving Aerri standing in the hallway with Seunghyun.

Aerri just rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what Sara's intention was. Her grin and her tone and her wink were so obvious: Sara was trying to get Seunghyun to take Aerri around the dorm.

"Dae hasn't shown you around the dorm? But you've been here for a while now." Seunghyun said.

"Dae's busy, I guess. Or he forgot about it." Aerri shrugged.

"I can show you around if you want." he smiled.

"Thanks, Seunghyun. But I don't want to bother you."

"No bother at all."

"No, really. I'll ask Dae when he got time for it."

"So you prefer to bother Dae than to bother me?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Or are you busy today? But Sara said today's your day off."

"Yes, i don't have any plan today."

"So why don't you want me to show you around?"

Aerri opened , trying to think of a valid reason to refuse Seunghyun's offer without telling him that she was avoiding him. She always enjoyed her time with him. But fending off the flutters she felt every time she was with him could be tiring sometimes.

"You just don't want to spend time with me do you?" Seunghyun teasingly ask in a pretend pout. Little did he know that his teasing was on point, in a way.

"It's not that." Aerri chuckled.

"So what's the problem?"

Aerri looked at the boy in front of her. He was standing there with a kind smile stretched on his lips, dimples appearing on his cheeks, dark eyes looking back at her. And for a moment Aerri could swore that the voice in her head that had been telling her that he meant so much more than just a Reaper that picked her up was right.

"Ok, Seunghyun. If you don't mind, please show me around the dorm." she smiled, finally giving up to her heart again. She didn't think she could ever say no to his smile.

"That's great! Let me put this book in my room first, then I'll show you around. Come on. My room's this way." Seunghyun said excitedly, grabbing Aerri's arm and dragging the smiling girl towards the other side of the hallway. He took several turns, up a floor, and another turn before he finally slowed his steps down. He stopped and turn to look at Aerri, suddenly looking quite serious.

"Um.. I'd prefer you not seeing the state of my room right now. So, stay here for a while, ok?" he said.

"What? Why?" Aerri asked, surprised.

"My room's.. a mess. Really really messy. It's embarassing, really. Just stay here for a while, ok. I'm just going to put the book inside."

Then he opened a door not far from where they were standing. Aerri watched him curiously as he went inside his room and went out again after a few seconds. Judging from the condition of his apartment, Aerri thought that Seunghyun was a pretty organized person. His apartment was really neat and clean. So she was a bit surprised when Seunghyun said that his room was messy. But then again, everyone was entitled to be a little messy every once in a while, right?

So, she shrugged her thoughts away when she saw Seunghyun awkwardly smiling at her. She smiled back, welcoming the flutters that she felt when he grabbed her hand and whisk her away. In a way, Aerri was excited for the day.

---------------

Seunghyun went inside his room, put the book he got from Sara on his table, and quickly went out again. He awkwardly smiled at Aerri and grabbed her hand to take her towards the library.

He lied to Aerri when he said that his room was messy. He never liked to lie, but he couldn't think of any other way to prevent Aerri from looking inside his room and realizing that his room was exactly the same as hers. He was still not ready to tell her about that.

Since the week before, Seunghyun had been spending more time with Aerri. When he realized how relieved he was that Aerri was not banished when she made her mistake a few weeks before, he decided to seize the moment. He loved to be with her, so he wanted to be with her when he can. And he was simply happy.

"Hmm.. where should I take you first?" he wondered out loud, his hand still holding Aerri's. "How about the library?" he asked her. When Aerri nodded, he lead her towards the library.

Less than a minute later, they entered a double door room. Rows and rows of tables and chairs surrounded by even more rows of bookshelves are the first thing Aerri see. Then she noticed that it seemed that the room had no walls, cause all of the walls are covered by bookshelves.

"Well, I guess I never gonna have to worry of not having any reading material." Aerri chuckled. Then she added excitedly, "Ooh.. gadgets! Can we use them?" as she pointed on some computer on the tables on the other side of the room.

"Yeah sure. You can use it just like usual. Why?"

"The dorm has good internet connection?" she laughed.

"Well, I don't know what connection the dorm has, but you can go online just like on earth."

"I can go online here? I can open just any websites and other stuff