Fate was such a frightening concept when placed in the situation where two people had different visions and opinions. There was nothing she wanted more than to avoid her fate; to avoid Park Chan Yeol. But all her attempts were nullified when she had roommates who oh-so-casually tried ways to put them together.   “It’s game night today, and I have the perfect game for us!” Hyun Mi spoke as she carried a white box to the living room where everyone had gathered in a circle. It was no secret she was fond of games, had a large collection hidden somewhere in her room, and was fully taking advantage of the moment right now. Yes, they did game nights like these every once in a while during their weekly friday hangouts, but the choice of game was extremely questionable.   “Game of Life!”   “We have eight people though, isn’t this game for four?” Chan Yeol asked, looking around as he silently did a headcount.   “We can just pair up and have four players in total,” Woo Hyun said as if the idea was totally not pre-planned. He took a closer seat next to Hyun Mi whose idea it probably was.   They were so sly. Yerin glared at the others who were obviously paired together as couples, leaving her with no other choice than Park Chan Yeol. She could already see this go wrong in so many ways.   “How do we play?” The guy asked, seemingly having zero clues about their diabolical masterplan and being excited about the game itself.   “You can choose what you want to do in life by choosing an occupation card, and then decide to either study, work, get married, or take a vacation.You will get a situation card every turn that allows you to gain or reduce your happiness points and money. Those will be added together for the final score,” Hyun Mi explained as she took the electronic device out of the box since they were using the upgraded electronic banking version.   “You’ll get the hang of it once you play,” Maerin said with a smile, feeling sorry for the guy who looked so lost.   Yerin knew better; it wasn’t an expression of lost. It was just his default stupid expression.    “Where should we go to?” Tae Min asked, wrapping his arms tightly around Maerin who leaned her head against his shoulders like a puzzle piece seeing fit.   “This is really random, but recently I saw a lot of babies around me and they’re really cute. Makes me want to have one myself,” she answered shyly and giggled to herself.   “We’ll need to get married first then.” Tae Min planted a chaste kiss on her forehead.   “And then try for babies?” Maerin asked, in reference to the game where you would actually need to rely on fate to give you a child. Fate in this case being the electronic device that answered with 0, 1, or 2 kids.   “Boy or girl?” He asked with a smile.   “Doesn’t matter. Both are cute,” Maerin smiled back.   “Alright, my wife,” he called out so lovingly with her favorite term of endearment even Maerin had to blush.   Yerin watched the fluffy couple make up their mind to go down the love lane for the game. And the overly cheesy couple whom she thought would’ve gone there had an entirely different plan.   “We’re gonna study first and get a PhD so we can achieve the highest level of our occupation,” Hyun Mi spoke seriously as she pointed at the salary level of the occupation card in her hand. The scene resembled a tactician forming a battle strategy before going to war.   “Then we’ll keep working on getting a promotion twice,” Woo Hyun continued, perfectly in sync with her idea.   “Thrice,” she corrected him.   “Thrice,” he copied. “Invest all our money on the stock market, and buy only what we need.”   “Low-cost car, affordable house,” Hyun Mi nodded.   “And the family and fun comes afterwards,” Woo Hyun ended their plan as they both high fived at their common brilliance.   Yerin forgot for a second that aside from being cheesy, these two were one of the most frugal people she had known, which worked out well when they got together as a couple. It was amazing how much they wanted to save up even while playing a game.   “What are you guys gonna do?” She asked the third couple.   “Have fun of course!” Seul Yi and Myung Soo answered in perfect synchronization, fingers closely interlaced together.   “We have money, we need to spend it,” Myung Soo said.   “And when we’re out of money, we can start looking then. Life is all about happiness,” Seul Yi explained their logic.   “You’re not gonna study first?” Chan Yeol asked dumbfounded.   “No need. Nowadays you can work without going to college. We need to keep it realistic,” Seul Yi said extremely chill.   “Yeah, we’ll have fun first and suffer later,” Myung Soo said as he exchanged a suggestive smirk with Seul Yi. Who knows what they actually meant with ‘having fun.’   “What about you guys?” Woo Hyun now directed the question to the only non-couple. Everyone turned to look at them who had discussed absolutely nothing.   “Work!”   “Study!”   The two had a clashing opinion since the beginning, and they exchanged a frown with each other.   “We need to work first. Studying only spends money,” Yerin told him.   “Studying seems to make the most sense. You’ll get a promotion afterwards,” Chan Yeol defended his ideas based on his limited understanding of the game.   “You’ve never played this, so you should trust me,” Yerin insisted, taking the game pawn herself.   “Since I’ve never played it, let me experience it,” Chan Yeol argued back.   “You don’t know what you’re doing!”   “I can win this!”   “I’m your noona!”   “But I’m the male in the relationship.”   “What relationship? There is no relationship to begin with!”   Yerin stopped yelling when she realized her friends were watching them quarrel with a certain look of awe on their face. She has no idea how this bickering could be considered cute. It worked on her nerves instead.   “Fine, do what you want.” She gave up, giving the game pawn to him. She crossed her arms and watched him move the pawn to the marriage section of the game. “I thought you wanted to study?!”   “I changed my mind,” he simply answered, flashing her a goofy grin.   “Uughh! I can’t let you do this on your own.” Yerin took the pawn back in her hand as he was trying to keep it in place. The two were engaged in a friendly hand-to-hand touching combat filled with lots of skinship.   Since her focus was on the game, she paid no attention to her friends who were so ecstatic at the way things had developed. It didn’t matter to her. This was just another proof why she and Chan Yeol didn’t match; they never agreed on something and fought too much. This wouldn’t work out for a relationship.   But why was the red string of fate glowing ever so beautifully with no sense of harm or danger? They were fighting, but the light kept swirling in a calming motion.     It was a quiet afternoon when Yerin had a break in between her classes. She used this chance to do some of her freelance design work to earn extra cash. She was peacefully sitting at a table in the campus squad by herself. Most students had classes, creating a more deserted area. It was better this way. She enjoyed the calming windy breeze against her skin, the soulful birds chirping in the background, the sound her keyboard made when she typed something, the mouthwatering smell of french fries and hamburger...   Wait…   Yerin opened her eyes from the momentary trance she was in, coming face to face with the white paper bag design from McDonald's. It was so strategically placed in front of her nose to tempt her with its smell.   “For you.”   The girl looked up, seeing Chan Yeol casually take a seat next to her, shoving the paper bag closer to her direction.   “For what occasion do I owe this pleasure to?” Yerin asked, suppressing her happiness at the food.   “An apology for not listening to you,” Chan Yeol answered and rested his cheek against the palm of his hands. “I didn’t know we could end the game with a score below zero.”   “Neither did I. I played the game often, and that has never happened to me,” Yerin chuckled a little as she recalled the way they lost at the Game of Life. It was quite expected since they barely had any teamwork since the start. They argued for at least 5 minutes each turn, and she was sure her friends stopped shipping them by the time they were at the third round.   “Well, I’m sorry,” Chan Yeol said as he took out the french fries from its bag and began nibbling on it.   “I don’t think you’re supposed to consume reconciliation gifts when you’re the sender,” Yerin squinted her eyes at him, holding her grin back.   “I don’t think the receiver would really mind,” Chan Yeol grinned with zero fault and continued eating. “Besides, we fight all the time. I have a feeling I have to give you more peace offerings in the future.”   Yerin laughed at his reply, agreeing to it. She took some of the french fries, letting out a loud hum of satisfaction. “Next time, you should help me fix the air conditioner of our living room or something as a peace offering. It’s so cold I can’t do any of my work.”   “What makes you think I can do that?” That dumb look reappeared on his face.   “I don’t know. Learn how to control fire or something,” Yerin shrugged and laughed. She took out the burger this time, grinning to herself at his kind act. She would’ve lied if she said his actions did not touch her a single bit. Anyone who buys McDonald’s meal for her would always gain her favor.   “Thank you, Chan Yeol.”     Little by little, her friends’ plans to set her up with Chan Yeol didn’t seem to bother her anymore. It wasn’t because she had started to like the guy or anything - no, she still saw him as a baby. But she had just grown so accustomed to their methods everything started to seem like the status quo.   Either that, or maybe fate did find ways to continuously have them meet up.   “What are you doing?” Yerin asked as she stopped in front of their dormitory building. She twisted her eyebrows and gave the guy a weird look, wondering why he was squatting on the floor facing the fake plant next to the entrance. It looked like he was smuggling something. The pose itself made him look extremely suspicious.   “Oh, the presence of a human being!” Chan Yeol replied her a little dramatically, and she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. She barely had any idea what random nonsense he was splurting out most of the time anyway.   “What?” She asked, eyes still cynical.   “There was no one at home, or at your place, so I’ve been talking to this cat for the past 30 minutes,” Chan Yeol said, revealing the white Japanese bobtail cat with semi light brown fur at its ears and tail. He let out a slight fanboy squeal when presenting the cat, and she had to hold back her own squeals at the cute animal’s sight. There was a can of cat food in between them, and she took note his fingers pressed lightly on the can instead of petting the cat.   “You… Talk to cats?” Yerin asked, putting her bag sideways on the ground as she squatted down beside him.   “I call him Tonkatsu. At least, I think it’s a him. I couldn’t really check,” Chan Yeol said, shoving the can of cat food closer to the animal.   Yerin had unknowingly been staring at him as he talked about the animal with so much passion. And yet, there was a pained longing she couldn't translate.   “It’s not even your cat, silly boy,” she shook her head and laughed as she started petting the cat, seeing it ignore her affection as it continued eating.   “You know that feeling when you love something so much, but know you can’t have it?” He asked her.   “That’s how I feel towards money,” she spoke with no delays. He laughed, and she grinned.   “I love animals, especially cats. But I’m allergic to them.” He started pouting adorably in a way not reflecting his age. “I can’t even pet Tonkatsu. Do you know how sad that is? Sometimes I just come here to talk to him, luring him with the cat food, cause I’m sure he doesn’t like me as much as I like him.”   “Ahh, is this why you keep buying cat food?” Yerin wondered out loud, unconsciously having picked up his shopping pattern every time they went together. She had always noticed that random cat food in his basket and was relieved to know he used it on an actual cat.   “I’m sure Tonkatsu likes you though. He wouldn’t have come here to hang out with you if he didn’t like you. Plus you’re quite obnoxious at times, laugh for no apparent reason, basically a big baby. Spending time with you is exhausting, so it must be voluntary.”   Chan Yeol laughed at her insults which he took as a compliment instead. “You seem to like cats,” he remarked.   “Oh yeah, I suffer from intense OCD,” Yerin nodded, “Obsessive Cat Disorder.”   He began to laugh harder at her words - louder than usual. The laughter didn’t sound as obnoxious as it usually did to her. It was pleasing for once.   “Are you okay though? What is so mind-boggling you have to talk to Tonkatsu with?” She asked him, a bit softer this time. She tried to hide her worries towards him in case if it could be misunderstood as a form of affection.   “I don’t think I should tell you.” He stole a secret glance at her before focusing back to the white cat finishing its meal.   “Why? Of course you can tell me. I’m your noona, so I can demand you to tell me,” she insisted, though they both knew she wouldn’t actually use her authorities in such a way.   He laughed again, a sound she had grown to like. He got up from his squatted stance and took a seat on the bench. She followed suit.   “My parents are having a fight.”   Yerin felt her heart tighten. He was right, maybe it was better if she stayed away from people’s family problems, especially relationship problems. It would always remind her of her own wretched childhood - the memories she wanted to erase but couldn’t.   “W-why?” She couldn’t stop the trembling in her voice, and she was sure he picked it up by the way his eyebrows furrowed.   “Never mind, forget I said anything,” he quickly dismissed, knowing how the talk was only going to damage his friend. He quickly picked up his stuff and got ready to leave. But she stopped him.   “Please, you can talk to me.”   Chan Yeol knew it took a large effort on her behalf just to offer a listening ear. It was a traumatizing and frightening topic to her, and she could’ve easily avoided it. But knowing it was going to put his mind at ease eventually, she still went out of her comfort zone, went against her own preferences, and chose to put his needs above her own.   “My dad is working out of town a lot since he is the sound engineer of this band. So when the band goes on a tour, he has to go with them as the head of the sound system.” Chan Yeol carefully studied her expression, making sure the things he told her wouldn’t be too hard for her to handle. He’d stop whenever he saw her wince, but she seemed fine.   “My mom is now threatening their marriage if he doesn’t spend more time at home. But my dad loves music and his band. When he didn’t immediately agree on her request to quit his job, the problem escalated into something bigger.”   “Are they thinking of splitting up?” She asked, her voice as low as a whisper, her eyes blankly staring at him.   “I hope not,” he answered.   Yerin wildly shook her head, placing both hands to squeeze his hand. The move surprised him, but he enveloped his fingers around hers, feeling her hands tremble.   Memories of flashing red lights attacked her even in her mind. She had to shut her eyes close, but even the da