“This is what you call a date? Buying ramen?” 

Kai and Ariel walked down the aisles, looking side to side of shelves fully stocked with a variety of ramen flavors. From cappuccino flavored to wasabi ramen, there isn’t one flavor that hasn’t been created in a ramen cup. 

Ariel crossed her arms and shuffled slowly down the aisle as Kai meticulously examined each flavor of ramen. Kai picked out a ramen cup which was bacon mac and cheese flavor. “What about this?”

Ariel glanced at Kai’s hand which held the ramen cup. She turned away and shook her head. “That sounds so gross.”

Kai looked at the ramen and nodded his head in agreement with her. “You’re right. But I’ll get this for Bacon.”

Ariel raised a brow, “Bacon? Is that your dog or something?”

Kai tossed the ramen into the basket. “No, Baekhyun. He’s not exactly a dog… More like a wolf.” He turned his face and made a paw gesture with his hand, “Growl.”

Ariel expressed no reaction to Kai’s lame comment. Her nose scrunched a tiny bit when she saw one interesting flavor. She approached the shelf, picked up the package and examined it. “Teriyaki steak.” She felt a shadow cast over her body, and glanced up to see Kai looking at the package in her hand. 

“Teriyaki steak?” He asked. “I haven’t tried that.”

Ariel shook her head and threw the package into the basket. “Says the guy who tried the chicken and waffles flavor.”

“Hey, don’t make me fun of me. I like trying new things.”

“Well, if you like trying new things.” Ariel took another package of teriyaki steak ramen and placed it into the basket. “You can try this with me.” 

Ariel continued walking forward and approached the drink section, with Kai shuffling behind her. He stopped walking when Ariel reached the cooler filled with chilled flavor drinks. She slightly leaned in towards the cooler to scan for a drink. Her eyes caught onto a pack of strawberry milk. She picked it up and held it out to Kai. “Buy it for me?”

Kai raised a brow at the drink and pushed it back from him. “I’m already buying you ramen.”

Ariel pouted her lips and blinked her eyes, asking Kai to buy her the strawberry milk. “Please?”

“If you do aegyo for me.”

Ariel dismissed Kai’s personal request, aegyo was something that Ariel wouldn’t do unless she was watching her baby cousins. Last time Ariel checked, Kai was 20, not 5. 

Ariel shook her head and held onto the strawberry milk. “I’ll get it myself.” She said and headed for the cash register. She paid for her strawberry milk and waited for Kai to pay for his items. After Kai purchased his items, they walked outside the store. Kai glanced at her and gestured his head to the right. “We’re going to my place to eat these.” He said, holding up the bag. 

“Why? There’s a table right there.” Ariel pointed towards the empty sets of tables and chairs in front of the store. 

Before Kai could even respond to her question, loud and approaching calls were heard from across the street. 

“Ariel! Kai! Are you guys on a date?!” A curious reporter shouted as he was jogging across the crosswalk. 

In a split second, Kai grabs a hold of Ariel’s hand and darts away from the reporter. They ran away from the busy intersections, and running around corners. Kai slowed his pace as the neighborhood became less crowded and came to a stop when the coast was clear. 

Ariel breathed heavily once they stopped running. She leaned her shoulder against a corner stone. “Okay one, don’t drag me along with your runs.” She panted loudly before continuing. “And two, I don’t run and jog. I do makeup.”

Kai bent down slightly to catch his breath. He lifted his body up when his breathing came to normal. “You sound like a couch potato.”

Ariel sent a death glare at Kai, “THATS BECAUSE I AM ONE.” She peeled her body off the cornerstone. “No wonder they called your song Wolf. You’re all freaking wolves.”

Kai scoffed, “I can say the same thing about your fanclub club. Mermaids? What are you? Ariel the Mermaid?”

Ariel motioned down to her shirt, which was a little mermaid shirt. “Are you blind? THE LITTLE MERMAID.” Ariel inhaled quietly. “You should know the story! You sang a song based on the story of the Little Mermaid!”

Kai tilted his head slightly to one side, and then to the other. As if he didn’t know what Ariel was talking about. 

Ariel was baffled at this point. 

Oh my good freaking eyeliner. 

Bless.

Someone bless this dancer who has a nice body and abs with holy water.

Please. 

Bless. 

Better yet, bless him with foam. 

Maybe he’ll know the story then. 

“Are you kidding me?” Ariel asked, astounded. She smacked her forehead lightly in amazement from Kai’s pure stupidity. “You danced to this song for your own teaser, but yet you have no idea what this song means.” 

“You know what, lets just go to your dorm to eat our noodles. Where is it?” Ariel asked, ignoring their past conversation. Kai motioned his head to the building behind them. 

Right, they live on the same hall as Uncle Jay.

Ariel released her hand away from Kai’s since they were busy running away earlier. She proceeded walking to the front of the building, leaving Kai trailing behind her. 

Kai jogged up beside her and intertwined his hand, with hers. 

Ariel glanced down at his hand, then to his eyes. “Do you not know how to walk either?”

“Your hand’s warm. I like it.”

“How are you Korean? You don’t even know how to make ramen noodles.” Kai huffed out in anger. “You put the flavor packet in first then the hot water.”

“Well, I put the hot water in first, let it set and then the flavor goes in. Whats the big difference? Noodles are noodles.” Ariel poured the small pot filled with piping hot water into the cup of her ramen noodles. 

“You’re messing up the directions!” Kai whined as he tried to take the pot out of Ariel’s hands, but Ariel wouldn’t let him. 

“Noodles Kai. Noodles. They’re just noodles. Let your hair down for once.” Ariel suggested, putting the pot back onto the stove. “You’re the guy who doesn’t even know what his own song means.” Ariel placed the cover over the cup of noodles and waited for it to be cooked as she sat down at their kitchen table. 

“Its a song. Most artists don’t even know what their own songs mean. What does it mean now for me?” Kai asked as he sat down next to Ariel with his cup of noodles placed next to her cup.

Ariel spun the fork on the table surface and shook her head at Kai. She held onto the fork and tapped it on her chin. “The little mermaid falls in love with a prince. So she asks the Sea Witch to give her legs in exchange for her tongue. Therefore, she couldn’t speak at all. She hopes the prince could marry her but fails. If she kills the prince with the knife, she will become a mermaid again. But when she stands in front of his bed, she couldn’t do it. She loves him too much. So when the sun rose, her body dissolved into foam.”