“26%.”

“What?” Myungsoo stared at his love counselor in disbelief. “Are you being serious?”

“Yup, her interest in you has gone up a lot,” Sarang replied with a nod. “See, I told you that fighting that doll and getting punched in the face was worth it.”

Myungsoo reached up to touch the bruise on his lip after being reminded that he got punched the other day, but to his surprise he couldn’t feel the bruise anymore. He didn’t even feel that stinging sensation when he added a little bit more pressure to it.

“Wait a minute, why doesn’t this hurt anymore?” He continued pressing onto the area with his finger, expecting for him to feel pain at any time.

“Because it isn’t there anymore,” she answered while pulling out a mirror from her bag to show him.

He stopped what he was doing and stared into the mirror. To be honest, he had never been in a single fight in his life before until yesterday. Yesterday was the first time that he had ever been in one or even got punched in the face, but he was pretty sure that an injury like that wouldn’t go away over night.

“Surprised?” Sarang questioned.

He nodded. “How did it go away that fast? There’s not even a single trace of it…” He reached up and lightly brushed his fingertips over the place where his bruise was supposed to be.

“You were hit by a doll, not a person.” She brought the mirror down a little so that it wasn’t hiding her face. “The bruise wasn’t exactly real. It was just an illusion to make the fight scene look a little bit more realistic.” She then breathed out a sigh of relief. “Now I think that I can live without feeling as guilty anymore since your bruise is gone,” she said

“Then what about the stinging pain I felt yesterday, was that also not real?”

“Nope, it was all just an illusion,” she said, stretching the word ‘illusion’ a bit while wiggling her fingers in front of her.

He turned out to be not impressed, and she brought her hands down at the look of his face. “No?” she questioned with a shake of the head.

“No,” he replied.

He wasn’t exactly mad at her or anything, but at the same time he was quite annoyed that it wasn’t real since he felt actual pain. What was the point of him being in pain anyway if the bruise was just an illusion and wasn’t actually there? The answer—in his opinion—was no, there was no point.

“By the way, there was a point, whether you believe it or not,” she said, contradicting his thoughts.

“You’re really bad at acting and I bet all of my 9 cat lives, which I supposedly have, that you acting like you’re in pain would look something like a vampire getting burned to ashes by the sun, so it does have a point. It makes the scene more realistic.”

He widened his eyes at her, surprised since it was like she had read his mind. And now that he thought about it, she was completely right about the latter. Him acting like he was punched would involve him howling in exaggerated pain while lying on the ground, squirming and rolling around like he was dying in pure agony—which was too over-the-top for a mere punch in the face.

“So do you have any more complaints involving this?” she questioned him.

He finished imagining himself acting, shivered at what could have been a horrible and embarrassing performance, and shook his head.

She then put the mirror away and stood up, happy to see that he no longer had any complaints involving what they had just talked about. They were on the rooftop, and it was a nice day with a cool breeze blowing through.

The sky was clear with some very white, fluffy-looking clouds, and one of them kind of looked like a ravenous duck breathing fire out of its mouth. It seemed out of place in the peaceful setting, but the cloud did make a more entertaining cloud-watching experience for cloud watchers in the area.

“It’s a really nice day today,” she said.

She gave him a smile, and he saw something in her eyes. Something like a glint could be seen in them that looked rather mischievous, which most likely meant that she had a new plan to get Seolhyun to fall for him.

“Don’t you think that it’s a nice day to stay in a bathroom?” she continued.

Myungsoo furrowed his eyebrows. He had no idea why she was suddenly talking about staying in a bathroom on a nice day like this, and how was staying in a bathroom related to the day being nice? He was extremely confused, and it was expected of him to feel that way.

“You’ll figure it out when we’re at work in about… now.” She pulled him up and towards the door that lead them back down the building of their apartment complex.

He was still confused, but he didn’t want to think too much of it. He just had to trust her and hope that this time, it wouldn’t involve him getting punched again.

“Are you crazy?”

“No I’m not. I’m a love counselor. I know what I’m doing.”

“This is insane!”

Sarang ignored the male sitting next to her and proceeded to pick up a cup on the table, pour the water inside of it into a nearby plant, and replacing the water with the glowing pink liquid from her water bottle. The pink glow was only something that she could see, letting her be able to differentiate between the rather, normal looking water bottle from other water bottles that were truly normal.

Myungsoo sat next to her, not knowing if her doing this was illegal or not. They were on a lunch break at some restaurant—waiting for Sunwoong and Seolhyun to come—and while the other two were not yet there, Sarang took the opportunity to swap out the cup that Sunwoong was supposed to drink with water that would send him running to the bathroom.

Yes, it’s what you think it is; laxatives. The drink was filled with it, and according to what Sarang said to him before, the water bottle of doom came with the laxatives already in it and was supposedly an item that was provided to her—and every other CAIL out there—by the CAIL association.

Myungsoo thought that the association was ruthless for providing such an item. This wasn’t even the only bottle that was provided for her. The true amount of laxative-filled, water bottles of doom that she had was ten. Ten! Why did they provide so many of these bottles of water? Didn’t they know what a horrible experience it was to have explosive diarrhea?

“They provide ten of these bottles to us because sometimes we have plans that require more than one of these. For the most part, it depends on the CAIL and their favorite method to complete their mission,” she said, answering his question even though he never asked it out loud.

“How did you know that I was thinking that?” The expression on his face had a mixture of amazement, shock, and a hint of fear—the last part making her laugh.

“Do you think that the CAIL association is evil or something that you’re now afraid of me?” she asked back, not being able to hide her amusement.

He widened his eyes at her. “H-How did you know…”

“Oh c’mon Myungsoo, there’s no need to be afraid. We’re genuinely a very good association with a clean reputation. Sure, humans have no idea about us until we choose them as our clients, but when they do get to know us and work with us to achieve their relationship goals, they usually comment that we were quite nice to work with.”

“But what if the CAIL was bad? What if the CAIL turned out to be genuinely evil and tried to destroy everything good about humanity?!” He gasped at his own question, face suddenly pale at the thought.

“Then the CAIL hunters will get them,” she calmly replied.

“C-CAIL hunters?”

“Yeah, they’re like police but for CAILS.” She shivered all of a sudden. “They’re the ones who are ruthless. You break one rule and you’re pretty much dead to them, unless the one that was sent after you is a kind one. If you’re lucky then they’ll let you go, but if you’re not…”

She shivered once more and rapidly shook her head. “I don’t even want to talk about them. They’re the worst.”

She didn’t finish her previous sentence, and it made Myungsoo quite curious. He wanted to ask about CAIL hunters some more, and maybe get the answer about what happens when a CAIL hunter doesn’t let a CAIL go off the hook. He wasn’t able to ask, though, since Sunwoong and Seolhyun arrived before he could say another word.

“Oh, over here!” Sarang called out to them and waved.

They came up to the table looking exhausted before both collapsed into the empty seats across from Myungsoo and Sarang. “What in the world happened to you guys?” Sarang asked when she saw them.

“Dog… wanted… pet … vicious… chased…”  Sunwoong didn’t bother speaking in full sentences as he leaned into his chair and tried to catch his breath.

“You wanted to pet a dog, but it was vicious and didn’t like it so it chased you?” Sarang pieced together.

He weakly nodded, continuing to stare absentmindedly at the ceiling. “And you were with him, so it also chased you?” Sarang questioned Seolhyun.

Seolhyun nodded and glared at Sunwoong. “I told you that you shouldn’t have gotten close to it! I told you that shouldn’t pet it! But you wouldn’t listen!” Seolhyun shouted, not caring if other people were staring at them in the restaurant.

She then breathed in and said, “I’m parched. I need water.”

“I’ll get you som—No!”

Sarang stared at Seolhyun with agape, her hand still clutching onto the normal cup of water she had planned to give Seolhyun, but Seolhyun had already gulped down the first thing she saw in front of her until there was nothing left in the cup.

Myungsoo had on the same expression as Sarang, not believing that Seolhyun had drank the whole thing. “The… laxa—“

Sarang immediately covered Myungsoo’s mouth and shook her head to indicate that he shouldn’t finish his sentence. Seolhyun then slammed the cup down onto the table when she was done drinking, and let out a relieved sigh. “I ran so fast thinking that I would die if the dog caught up to us,” she said.

Sarang and Myungsoo continued to stare at her with their mouths agape, but Sarang was the first one to snap out of it and speak up. “You don’t feel… weird… or anything?” she questioned.

Seolhyun shook her head. “No, just thirsty,” she replied. “But I feel a lot better now that I got something to drink.”

“Well… you won’t for long…” Sarang murmured to herself.

Myungsoo’s head spun around and his eyes landed on her. “Sarang, I need to talk to you about something,” he said.

He didn’t wait for her to answer as he pulled her up and out of her chair, and went towards the hall where the bathrooms were. He then pushed her into a singular bathroom, that was meant for having one person in there at a time and was for both genders, and locked the door behind them.

“Sarang…” He ran both of his hands through his hair in frustration. “What did you do?!” he said in a loud whisper, not taking any chances of someone passing by the door and hearing their conversation.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know that she would drink it!” she said back in the same slightly loud, but mostly airy whisper.

“But what are we going to do now? Sunwoong was supposed to drink it, not Seolhyun!”

“Yeah, I know. I guess we failed this time at carrying out the plan to get you and Seolhyun alone, so I think we have to delay it a bit.”

“The plan getting delayed is not important right now! What’s important is that the wrong person drank the water of doom!”

She in a breath at the realization. “Oh right… Seolhyun is going to get explosive diarrhea,” she said, just now registering the fact. “See, this is another reason why the CAIL association provides ten of these water bottl—“

“Waters of doom,” he corrected while crossing his arms.

“Okay, waters of doom,” she rephrased. “They provide a lot because sometimes, the wrong person drinks it.”

He scoffed at her statement. “You think?” he said sarcastically.

She frowned at him. “Since when did you know how to scoff? What happened to the cute, smiley, not knowing how to scoff or smirk, Kim Myungsoo that I know and love?”

“Well, he’s not here right now since you gave the love of his life explosive diarrhea!” He instantly widened his eyes at his loud voice echoing through the bathroom and covered his mouth with his own hand, hoping that no one had heard him shout.

“See! You’re not even blushing anymore even though I called you cute and mentioned that I love you! You used to be so easily embarrassed. I take it back now. You’re not cute anymore.” She blew a raspberry at him before turning her head away.

“Well mayb—Wait a minute… did you just say that you love me?”

“No, I said that I love the cute, yet easily embarrassed one,” she said. She then pretended to wipe away a tear and started looking around her. “Myungsoo-ah… where are you?”

She headed towards the door while searching for the lost Kim Myungsoo that she missed, ignoring the one in front of her who was staring at her like she was crazy. Myungsoo stood there not knowing what had happened, but when everything registered in his brain, he became even more confused.

“What kind of confusing day is this?” he said to himself in exasperation. “Sarang, wh—“

He didn’t get to finish his sentence as he was harshly pushed back into the room, and nearly fell onto the bathroom floor. Luckily he caught himself before he could fall face first, but not without stumbling and flailing around a lot like he was trying—and failing—to do some interpretive dance.

“Why did you suddenly push me? I nearly fel—“

“Shh! Seolhyun is outside!” Sarang said, one hand shot up and clamped around his mouth.

He widened his eyes when he heard the news, and continued to ask questions despite being told not to. “What do you mean Seolhy—“

“Shh!” She shushed him once more and he finally stayed silent this time.

There was then a sound of someone trying to open the door, and a frantic knock that came after. “Is anyone in here?”

It was Seolhyun’s voice. Myungsoo panicked thinking that they got caught going into the bathroom together or even worse, she might have found out about them trying to give Sunwoong laxative-laced, evil CAIL water. Sarang shook her head at him, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

“She doesn’t know that we’re in here,” she said quietly to assure him that they weren’t caught. She then cleared before talking in a high pitched voice. “Occupied!”

“Oh, sorry!” Seolhyun said. “But do you mind if I ask you when you’re coming out? I’m having an emergency right now and I really need to go to the bathroom, but they’re all occupied!”

“Sorry, but I’m taking a #2 right now. Please, go away,” Sarang said firmly, even though she was talking in a few octaves higher than normal.

Myungsoo nearly burst out into laughter despite knowing the situation they were in. He just found her sentence rather funny, especially her unnaturally high pitched voice and annoyed politeness.

“Sorry. I’m sorry, but I really need to go really badly!” Seolhyun continued and kept knocking nonstop on the door.

Sarang sighed in annoyance, but gritted her teeth and forced the irritation out of her voice. “Have you checked the other bathrooms again? Maybe someone left already.”

“Yes, I checked, bu—Oh! Someone came out!” Seolhyun shouted, clearly elated.

Footsteps were heard again, and the two waited a few minutes before slowly opening the door and poking their heads out. “Is she gone?” Myungsoo asked, standing behind her.

“Yeah, she’s gone.”

Myungsoo dropped his tense shoulders and relief flooded his face. “And sorry about that,” Sarang said. “I only wanted to give Sunwoong the drink since I wanted you to have a meal alone with Seolhyun, with him nowhere to be seen. That would have been easier if Sunwoong didn’t stick to Seolhyun so much.”

“It’s okay, I would’ve failed at talking to her by myself anyway,” he pointed out. “But on the bright side, I saw a new side of Seolhyun and you that I’ve never seen before.”

He looked at her and smiled before continuing. “The frantic, desperate bathroom seeking Seolhyun and my personal favorite, the annoyed, but still trying to sound polite, #2 lying you.”

She remembered the lie that she had told Seolhyun about going #2 and nearly burst out into laughter. “Yeah, it was really funny wasn’t it? Seeing me saying that and all,” she said in a sarcastic manner.

“Sure, it was funny, but the best part was your voice. It sounded like an annoying fairy.”

Her jaw fell agape at his comparison of her voice. “No it did not!”

He laughed and shook his head. “I was just kidding,” he said. “But I still can’t get over it.”

“Get over what?” she asked.

“You, giving my goddess diarrhea,” he replied. “I’m not exactly sure of how I feel about it, but there’s one thing that I’m definitely sure of.”

She was about to ask him about what he was sure of, but didn’t have to after seeing his face. “You want me to buy you something from the convenience store, don’t you?”

He smiled at her and eagerly nodded. She sighed. “Alright, fine. But just to let you know that I’m nearly broke.”

“We’re getting our paychecks soon, and you’re still doing your love-themed fortune telling thing, right? You’ll get your money back in no time.”

“Yeah, but only if I work for it,” she grunted.

“Sarang, that’s just life. You have to deal with it. If you make a mistake, you have to pay for it. If you end up needing money, you have to work for it,” he said with a hand placed on her shoulder. “Also, I want to buy 5 items this time. No price limit.”

She looked at him in disbelief. “Bu—“

He in air between his teeth with a firm expression on his face. “You gave my goddess diarrhea. That’s the least you could do for me after doing something like that.”

“But—“

“No buts! 5 items, no price limit. Just be happy that I didn’t ask for 10.”

She frowned. “Where did my innocent and naïve Myungsoo go? The Myungsoo I knew didn’t force me to buy stuff for him.”

She pouted and called out towards the door, “Myungsoo-ah!” before exiting the bathroom. She was still searching for her innocent and naïve Myungsoo even after leaving the bathroom, and was ignoring the Myungsoo that was standing in front of her as if to say that she didn’t acknowledge him as the real Myungsoo.

Myungsoo held back a laugh as he watched her from behind before going back towards the front of the restaurant, tailing behind her.

Well, I guess this chapter showcases their first failure. But don’t you guys worry! They’ll succeed at their future plans soon… hopefully.

Also sorry for anyone who might have felt disturbed with the whole “explosive diarrhea” thing. I actually got that idea from the drama, and I added it in since it thought that it might be funny. But I sincerely apologize to anyone who was eating something while reading this.^^;

But that you guys for continuing to read this despite the slow updates, and remember to have a happy happy weekend!!!^^