She sighed as she sat him in the chair. "Gimme your key and I'll put you to bed." She said and he shook his head, cradling his arm. She tried to remember how far she had bent it. Nothing had cracked, she thought.

"I'm already here." He said and she laughed at him. He must have lost his mind.

"Your dirty is not climbing in my clean bed." She said and he shrugged, using his good arm to start pulling off his shirt. He gasped when he tried to lift his shoulder and she was by his side. She cussed him in irritated Korean, hating how much she worried about him.

She got his shirt off and touched his shoulder. She was nursing it gently when she looked up at him. "Does this hurt?" She asked gently and he nodded. She looked down again and he gripped her jaw gently in his good hand.

She paused, her hand still on his shoulder as he looked at him. "It'll be fine in a bit." He said and she rolled her eyes. She smacked away his hand and stood up, stretching.

"Good, then go to your own room." She said, forcing herself to turn away. He needed a heating pad and she had a nice one that would fit the length of his back. His arm needed ice and a sling. She forced herself not to go get them.

She picked out her clothes and looked in the top of the closet and frowned. It was all right there. It would do no harm to give them to him. She hated her weakness. As she reached for them and flung them at him. They hit the table and she turned to the bathroom.

When she came out, he was sitting on her bed, in his boxers, his arm in the sling. His eye were closed as he leaned with the heating pad between him and the wall. She took him in for a moment before turning away. "Come here, you evil witch." He said and she ignored him.

"I'll grab you some clothes when I get dinner." She said, escaping through the door. She went to his room and went to the fridge first. She pulled out a soup, something that wouldn’t take too long to make before going into his closet. She just yanked out a pair of shorts and a shirt before heading out. She didn’t want to linger too long in a room that still smelled like the last girl he had been with. She assumed it was his clothes that smelled like her. It upset her even more than it hurt her to know she had caused him pain. She slammed his door and locked it before going back into her own.

She put the clothes on the bed next to him and turned away. “Get dressed, quickly.” She said and heard him moving. she microwaved the soup and side dishes and set the table, slamming things down. He groaned a little and she glared over at him. He was trying to get his busted shoulder through his shirt. She huffed and rolled her eyes, sitting down at the table.

“What’s wrong?” He asked as she ate her dinner and she didn’t respond. “Soo Yoon?” He asked, as he heard him getting off the bed. He made a painful sound, but she continued to ignore him. Maybe if she treated him like he didn’t exist, he would just go away. She could ignore him until she felt nothing for him and he disappeared. He touched her shoulder and she looked up at him. He sighed and walked over to the other side of the table and sat down. “I did what you told me to.” He said and she rolled her eyes.

“I know that, . Your clothes still stink like .” She said and he winced. “I’m glad you had fun.”

“I didn’t have fun.” He said, sounding annoyed and she looked up. “You have ruined me. I hope you’re happy.” He said and she hesitated. He sounded annoyed that he liked her, like it was her fault.

“No one told you to like me. No one told you to even come over here. I told you that I never wanted to get involved with you. you’re the one that decided to involve yourself in my life.” She said, looking down at her food. “I told you all the time I wouldn’t sleep with you.”

He slammed his spoon on the table and she looked up. “I don’t just want to sleep with you.” He shouted and her eyebrows went up. “I want to BE with you. I want all of you. What about that is so effing hard to understand?” He asked, sounding irritated.

She looked at him, genuinely confused. she collected herself and forced herself to remember he was a player. He would say whatever it took to get what he wanted. Words like ‘I love you’  were disposable to him. “That is a vicious way to try and get what you want. Don’t pretend that you want a relationship with me. Don’t pretend that you want anything other than to use me.” She looked down, into her food, suddenly using her appetite.

“If I wanted to use you, I would have kissed you again.” He said, sighing heavily. She looked at him baldly. “You and I both know we were all of one kiss away from falling in bed together.” She looked away and didn’t respond. She knew he was right. She hated how well he knew her. “I stopped because I wanted you to choose me. I don’t want to play you. You're not a toy.” he said and she started eating, just for something to do with her hands. Her mother’s delicious food tasted bitter in .

“You're lying.” She said, softly, remembering the last time she had trusted someone like him. She kept eating, until her rice was done and her bowl was empty.

“Who bothers to lie to their best friend?” He asked as she stood up to wash her dishes. “You know I’m not a good person. You know I’ve used women like toys. When we met, you disliked me on principle. I wasn’t even mad about it because I knew you were right. I’m a ty person and you’re my friend anyway. I tell you about every girl and even though you complain, you listen.” He said and she rolled her eyes. “You and I both know I could make more friends. I could be friends with ty people like myself, like I was before. Sometimes I hang out with them, but it makes me feel disgusting, so I chose you. I chose someone who plays and fights with me. I chose a woman who runs away when I call her name and laughs when I get blown off. I chose someone too smart to be played,  who doesn’t fit in my life.”

He sounded sad, so she looked at him. His bowl was still full. She bit her lip and turned back to the sink. “Eat up. Mom won’t forgive me if I let you starve.” She said quietly and heard him pick up his spoon. He had sounded honest, like when he had told her that she was his only friend. It had been a confession. He had laid all his cards on the table and left the choice to her. She wanted to believe him. Soo Yoon wanted nothing more than to run into his arms and kiss him and hold him while he got better. She rubbed her arms and stared at the clean dishes, set neatly in the drying rack. They were like everything in her life; neatly organized and compartmentalized. He was screwing with her. He had to be. Otherwise, she would have to admit people could change their fundamental features. She’d have to pull him out of the little box marked “Player”  and put him in the box marked “Person”, possibly into the empty one marked “Lover”.

“You don’t exactly fit in my life either.” She admitted as he ate. “You’re messy and confusing and I don’t know what to do with you. You’re loud and obnoxious, but you get along with my parents.  Our friendship doesn’t make sense. I don’t go out and party and play and have fun. My entire world is very neatly organized and everything has a spot. All I ever do is study and you only do it when you’re harassing me."

"Why does it need to make sense?" He asked, putting his dish in the sink around her.  "Why can't we like each other?" He asked and she didn't answer. She looked for a reason as he put his good arm on her waist. He felt natural against her. He felt good. She shut her eyes and straightening, realizing she had relaxed into him.

"You're a player. You're just like Zach." She said, pulling away from him.

She climbed into her bed and laid down. She was just tired. That was all. When she woke up, things would make sense. She closed her eyes and t