“Akanishi Jin?” you scoffed. “I have to act with him?”

“Yeah. He’s a great actor, you know.” You were sitting in your room with your friend Eriko. Eriko was working on writing a new song. You were wishing that you hadn’t tried out for the drama.

“I have the worst luck ever!”

“Why? What’s wrong with Akanishi-san?” Eriko asked.

“Oh, that’s right. You don’t know the whole story. Well, here’s how it goes. When I was little, I knew Jin. He always made fun of me about being a chubby kid. Then, when we got older and I wasn’t a little girl with fat cheeks, he kept flirting with me. He’s so shallow.”

“But aren’t all guys like that? Like they only care about looks? I know some aren’t, but they mostly judge on looks, I think.”

“So? Not every guy teased me then flirted with me. He’s such a player.”

“Come on, just get over it, ok?” Eriko asked. “And I’m sure that somewhere deep inside your heart you like him,” she added jokingly.

“I’m sure,” you answer sarcastically. “Oh, right. But that’s not the worst. When I didn’t go out with him, he went out with each one of my friends one by one. And he forced them to! He threatened them!”

“That’s mean,” Eriko agrees.

“No kidding.” You flip through the script for the first episode and growl. “I have to sing a duet with him. And look at this. It’s all romantic and crap,” you complain.

“Get over it. At least Akanishi-san’s hot. It would be worse if it was some super ugly guy. You know, like when you were acting in America for a while. And what’s his name… you had to act with that weird guy?”

“Oooh… you mean Robert Pattinson?”

“Yeah! Him!”

“Yup. So many girls talk about how hot he is but I don’t see it. He kinda looks like a homeless guy to me.”

“Agreed,” Eriko said. “Acting with Akanishi-san is better than Pattinson, right?”

“I dunno. Pattinson was kinda stuck-up. But he didn’t do to me what Jin did.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Anyways, if I said yes to you then wouldn’t that make me as bad as Jin?”

“Yeah. Either way, work on memorizing that script!”

“Right. I just have to it up and act.”

“Exactly,” Eriko said encouragingly. “Well, look at the time! I’ve gotta go. I have to get up early tomorrow for rehearsals.”

“’Kay. See ya.” Eriko gets up and waves on her way out of your room.

“Ugh. Well I’m not gonna let Jin ruin my performance,” you decide. You read through the first episode and cringe. “This starts really fast,” you mumble. “I mean, he falls in love with me in the first episode?!”

You glance up at the clock on your wall. It’s 10:30. “Ah, I’ve gotta get up early tomorrow,” you sigh. You change into your pajamas and crawl into bed. Less than two minutes later, you hear footsteps in your room.

“Keiko-chan?”

You don’t answer, you’re too scared to say anything.

“It’s just me,” comes the voice again.

“Jin?!”

“Yeah.”

“How’d you get into my house?!” you scream.

“The door was unlocked.”

“So you just came in?” you ask angrily.

“Yeah. Well, you know that we’re gonna be in that drama together, right?”

“I know,” you growl.

“So… I figured that since you hate me I should…”

“I don’t hate you,” you confess.

“Um, then why’d you-”

“Because I wanted to hate you. You were such a jerk and a player. But I couldn’t hate you because I’d known you for so long. I mean, when you’re childhood friends, it’s hard to hate someone,” you admit. “But now you’ve broken into my house…”

“Sorry about that,” Jin laughs, blushing a bit.

“It’s fine but… Just give me some warning next time, ok?

“Sure,” Jin promises. “Just stop trying to hate me.”

“Ok.” You nod and smile at him. “Well, we have to get up early tomorrow for rehearsals. So maybe you should leave,” you suggest.

“Nah, I’m crashing here tonight,” he says. The look of horror on your face makes Jin chuckles. “I was kidding,” he adds. Then he leans over and kisses you on the lips, leaving you stunned and sitting on your bed.

“Wh-what was that? Just ‘cuz I said I don’t hate you doesn’t mean I like you that much!”

“I just didn’t want our first kiss together to be acting,” Jin tells you. You roll your eyes and watch him leave your room.