But it doesn't turn out that way. When we get to the arcade the following afternoon, Tiffany seizes control immediately. She's waiting by the front entrance wearing the least arcade-appropiate outfit imaginable—a tiny purple skirt that's barely bigger than a napkin, topped off with a black halter top. On her feet are a pair of tall black heels. She must have gone to change while I was in the newsroom and Chanhee was doing homework in the library. Tiffany looks like she's ready to go out clubbing. How is she going to play video games in that?

Tiffany swoops down on Chanhee the instant we arrive.

"Hey, hon," she says, linking her arm through his. "Want to beat me at skee-ball?" She's completely ignoring me. It's like I'm not even there.

"Heejoon and I came here to play air hockey," Chanhee explains.

Tiffany doesn't quit. "You've got plenty of time for that. Skee-ball will get your arm warmed up." She rubs his biceps for emphasis.

Chanhee gives her a polite smile. "Thanks, but Heejoon and I have a big air hockey tournament all planned out."

Tiffany finally acknowledges me. "You don't mind if I spend a few minutes alone with your cousin, do you, Joonie?"

"We kinda had this planned." I study an invisible spot on my shoe. I don't want her to see how disappointed I am. Logically, there's no reason for me to be so territorial about my cousin. And I can't tell if Chanhee genuinely wants to hang out with me, or if he's just being polite.

"I'm not going to ditch Heejoon," Chanhee says firmly. "We came here together."

"Sungyeol can hang out with her," Tiffany says.

Sungyeol? What? I look up just in time to see Lee Sungyeol making his way over toward us. He's carrying a small cardboard tray with four drinks on it. "What are you doing here?" I blurt out.

"Tiffany invited me." He hands me a paper cup of Sprite, then continues passing the drinks around.

"I though this was a day out with 'the girls.' Where are Sooyoung and Yoona?" I ask.

Tiffany sips her drink. "Oh, they canceled at the last minute, so I called Sungyeol."

"How's your plumbing piece going?" Sungyeol asks, turning to face me. "I'm having hell with the chess team."

Seeing her opening, Tiffany links arms with Chanhee again. "While you guys talk work, Chunji and I are going over here to play."

Chanhee shoots me a "I hope this is all right" look. "It's okay," I tell him, a funny feeling forming in the pit of my stomach. "We can have our air hockey game later."

"I'll be back in a few minutes," he promises, following Tiffany over to the skee-ball machines. As I watch them go, I'm racked with confusion. Why do i feel so glum? I'm alone with Lee Sungyeol. I'm practically on a double date with him! This is the moment I've dreamed about for nearly two years. Why am I not more excited?

"So, how's that story coming?" Sungyeol asks again, leaning against the side of Whack-a-mole machine.

"Pretty good. Those tips you gave me really helped."

"I'm glad," he says. "You're a fantastic writer, Heejoon. Your work shows real promise."

"Thanks." I drink a little more of my Sprite. "That means a lot coming from you."

Sungyeol pats me a lightly on the arm. "Anytime." We talk about work for a few minutes, and then he pauses and looks around. "So, what do you want to do?"

I steal a sideways glance at Chanhee and Tiffany. They're playing foosball and laughing and talking like old friends. He seems really happy to be with Tiffany—like he doesn't miss me at all. "How about air hockey?" I ask. That'll show Chanhee. Plus, the air hockey tables are right next to foosball.

"No offense, but air hockey is kind of lame," Sungyeol says. "Arcades are kind of lame," he adds, making a face. "Are you hungry?" he asks.

I blush. "Uh, yeah. I could go for some food."

"Come on, let's get something decent for lunch." He leads the way to Chanhee and Tiffany. "Chunji, Tiffany, you guys want to grab some lunch? There's a phenomenal pizza place down the street."

Tiffany stops playing mid-foosball. "Yeah, that sounds fabulous. What do you say, Chunnie?

Chunnie? Oh, God. It looks like Dad's lame nickname is starting to stick.

"What about air hockey?" Chanhee asks. "You and I have only been playing for about ten minutes. And Heejoon and I still haven't gotten to play."

"We can come back here after lunch," Sungyeol suggests. "Let's just go get some food."

"I guess I could go for a bite," Chanhee says. "That okay with you, Heejoon?"

I nod. A few minutes later we all pile into Sungyeol's Jeep—Tiffany and Chanhee in the backseat, me and Sungyeol up front—and cruise down to Pike's Pizza. We snag a big booth in the back of the restaurant. I slide into the far seat and Chanhee clibs behind me, cutting Sungyeol off.

"Don't you want to sit by me, Chunnie?" Tiffany purrs.

"Oh, sure!" Chanhee says, hopping up. "Sungyeol, you take this seat and I'll sit by Tiffany."

We settle into the booth. Despite my frustration with Tiffany, I am ecstatic. I cannot believe I'm sitting next to Lee Sungyeol! My heart is beating about a million times a second.

"So, what kind of pizza do y'all want to get?" Chanhee asks.

"Y'all!" Tiffany exclaims, grazing Chanhee's hand with hers. "That's soooo cute! I love your Georgia-boy accent. It's so y."

"Uh, thanks." Chanhee moves his hand away from hers and picks up the menu."How about pepperoni and mushrooms?"

"Great," I tell him. We decide to split two medium pizzas and get a pitcher of Coke.

"Did I tell you guys Yoona and I are going to Cancun over spring break?" Tiffany asks. "It's gonna rock. You guys should come."

"Can't. I'm going to Panama City with my younger bro," Sungyeol says.

"What about you, Chunnie?"

"Gee, thanks, Tiffany," he says. "But that's not really my scene."

"Not much of a traveler?" Sungyeol says knowingly. "I used to be that way, too. But then we started flying first class. So much better. You ought to try it, Chunji. It beats the hell out of flying couch."

Chanhee laughs. 'Well, considering our family has a private plane, that's not a big worry." As soon as the words leave his mouth, he realizes what he's done.

"You have a private plane?!" Tiffany practically screams. "Wow, so you can go to Paris for the weekend if you want. How did your family afford that? Heejoon, your parents aren't rich!"

Chanhee doesn't say anything. He's pale as a ghost.

"It's only worth a hundred dollars," I say, covering fast. "But the sentimental value is huge."

"Huh?" Tiffany asks.

I stir my Coke with a straw, trying to look nonchalant. "Chunji's just messing with you. Our family does own a private plane. A private model plane. It's been passed down through generations. My great-great-grandfather got it at some special World War II auction. It's kind of an inside joke."

Tiffany scrunches up her face. "That's weird."

"That's our family." Chanhee looks relieved.

"Private plane," Sungyeol laughs, slapping Chanhee on the arm. "Dream big, buddy. Maybe someday it'll come true."

"Right you are," Chanhee says, smiling.

I motion for Sungyeol to let me out of the booth. I'm going to wash my hands before the food gets here."

"Me too." Chanhee slides out of the booth and I follow him over to the bathrooms. "Whew, that was a close call," he says. "Thanks for helping me out. You were awesome."

I glow at the unexpected compliment. "Back at ya."

Chanhee walks into the men's restroom and I'm about to go into the women's when I hear someone call my name.

"Heejoon?" I turn around to find Inyoung and Byunghun standing next to the gumball machine.

"Hey, you guys!" I lean in to give her a hug and she pulls away.

Inyoung stares at me, a hurt expression clouding her face. "I can't believe you're here with Tiffany. When you told me you've been making lots of plans with your cousin, I didn't think that involved hanging out with the enemy."

I shift nervously from one foot to another. "It was sort of an accident."

"An accident? Oh, please. So this is why you didn't want to spend the night at my house last weeked. It had nothing to do with your dad making you stay home," she says. "You made that up because you'd rather hang out with Tiffany. Is she your new best friend?"

"Of course not!" I say hotly.

"And what about him?" She points toward our booth where Sungyeol and Tiffany are sitting. "How'd you swing that? Did you sell your soul to Tiffany for a date with Lee Sungyeol?"

"No, it's not like that," I insist, but she cuts me off.

"Save it," she says, storming out the door.

- - -

We never make it back to the arcade. I'm not feeling much like playing air hockey, so Sungyeol drops us off at my house after lunch.

"I had a stellar time," Tiffany says, hopping out of the car and giving Chanhee a good-bye hug. "Call me. 'Kay?"

"Okay," Chanhee says.

"I was thinking maybe you and I..." Tiffany begins. I trudge up the front steps and into the house. I don't want to hear the rest of her sentence. I don't want to stand by and watch her throw herself at Chanhee anymore. It's been a crappy afternoon and I feel like being alone. I debate calling Inyoung, but she's probably still out with Byunghun. Besides, she probably wouldn't talk to me if I did call.

I do my algebra homework and then read the next chapter in my history book. Neither of these does much to lift my moom. I'm bummed about Tiffany and Chanhee, and I feel awful about my fight with Inyoung.

The only bright side of the day has been Lee Sungyeol. He actually gave me a hug when he dropped us off. Other than that, I'm feeling downright depressed.

Plus, I've been majorly slacking on my spy training. Oh, sure, I handled the private plane snafu pretty well, but that doesn't mean I'll be prepared next time.

I have to start taking this spy thing more seriously and I have to start now. I shut my history book, put Inyoung's Alias DVD in the machine, and hit play. Given the situation, it seems like the only appropriate thing to do.

- - -

This should be the third update for new year, but I went out at the last minute before I get to finish it. And yesterday, I didn't get to update 'cause my brother was hogging the laptop for one whole day. I only used it last night, around 11pm. (_ _') Sorry. Anyway, I'm going to push away my embarrassment for a while.

You see. This fic is going to end soon. Only 9 chapters left and it'll end. In these 14 chapters, I have 21 subscribers but not more than 10 users actually comment. I admit, I feel sad. But, each update, you comment on it and that raise my hope to update and finish this fic.

My point here is that can you promote this fic to your friends? Gosh. No shame advertising. But I'm desperate! I know I should be patient but 9 chapters left. I only need 9 subscribers more to have 30 subscribers. That's my goal. I have over 500 views but only 21 subscribers. I'm thankful to all of you that subscribed but can you leave comments? Comments really help to motivate authors to update more.

I should end this right here. I know. No shame on advertising. I won't do this again in the future. Hehe. If you really did promote this, I'll update again. I promise you.

Goodbye and enjoy this chapter. And remember. Don't forget to leave comments! ^^

Oh my gosh. Two maknaes! <3