Would the cops believe me if I say that I accidentally strangled him to death?

                The thought flitted through Haneul’s mind briefly while she was trying to reign in her annoyance with a certain puppy-eyed man that was currently making her life hell.

“Breathe in,” she coaxed herself. “And out. In and out.”

“Haneul-ie! Where’s the popcorn?!”

                Screw this! Jackson better be prepared to meet my fists.

                With a bowl full of freshly popped popcorn and a mind filled with less-than-pleasant thoughts, Hanuel marched back into her living room, absolutely livid. Lying down on her comfy couch was her best friend, looking as if he belonged there. He was completely oblivious to the very angry woman coming at him while he scrolled through his phone.

                Then, without any warning, Hanuel dumped the entire bowl of popcorn over Jackson’s head. At the back of her head, she sent a mental apology to the delicious popcorn that got caught in the crossfire.

“What the –“ Jackson yelled, jumping up from the couch in surprise. The bowl (plastic, thank god) fell to the rug with a dull thud. “Haneul!”

“I should be the one saying that!” Haneul yelled back, staring up at him defiantly. “I got a text from Daniel saying that he was sorry because apparently someone had told him I was ‘already taken’, and that the date was off.”

“About that –“ her best friend tried to interrupt her. Haneul fixed her gaze on him and Jackson visibly shrunk back from her fiery glare, effectively shut up.

“Then I come home to you raiding my popcorn stash, acting as if you didn’t do anything wrong!” she continued. “What the hell, Jackson? This is the third time you’ve done this!”

                Now Jackson looked tired and ran a hand down his face. He sat back down on the couch and tugged at Haneul’s hand. “Can’t we talk about this some other time?” he asked desperately. “It’s Movie Night, so let’s just please enjoy watching those yellow little guys you love so much.”

                On any other day, she would’ve caved at the thought of watching another Minions movie with her best friend. But not today, she was too pissed to even consider it. Jackson saw this and immediately, his patience snapped and he rose to his feet. His eyes immediately darkened and a frown marred his handsome face.

“Why do you even want to go on a date with that scumbag?” he growled, staring her down. “You should be glad that I got you out of that situation before anything could happen!”

“I should be glad?” Haneul spat. “I can’t believe you! I’m an adult capable of choosing a man to date on my own. You had no right to make that decision for me! You don’t even know him!”

“I know that he’s a big flirt and dated half of the girls in my program.” Jackson rolled his eyes. “If you’re such an adult, how could you be stupid enough to agree to go on a date with that kind of guy?”

“Nonetheless, you had not right to go behind my back and lie to Daniel,” Haneul snarled, her eyes flashing angrily. “Now he probably thinks that I’m some cheating !”

                Jackson laughed out of contempt. “Oh, so now you care what he thinks?” He stared at his best friend with cold eyes. “What about what I think? Doesn’t it matter what I think of him?”

                Haneul rolled her eyes, not believing what she was hearing. “You can’t be kidding! We both know that’s not true! You’re my best friend, of course your opinion matters to me.”

She took a deep breath to calm herself. “Jackson, you can’t keep sabotaging my dates like that. Yes, you’re my best friend and you want what’s best for me but I’m the one who gets to decide what’s best for me. Or who’s best for me.”

“Am I not enough?”

                He said it so softly that Haneul wasn’t sure she heard him properly. Her brows furrowed in confusion, her stomach twisting uncomfortably. “What?” she whispered. Did she hear him correctly?

“Nothing.”

                She watched with bated breath as Jackson gathered his things and stepped closer to her. His eyes were downcast, shoulders slumped. Every ounce of his anger seemed to drain from his body, leaving him feeling hollow. Out of habit, he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. Haneul remained frozen from her spot.

                Stepping back, Jackson finally looked her in the eyes. What she saw nearly broke her. He looked so defeated, it was almost enough to make her forgive him that second. But, no, they were both too stubborn to back down. She shifted her gaze to a specific popcorn kernel on the rug, finding it more interesting all of a sudden. Haneul heard Jackson sigh and knew that he had once again ran a hand down his face without looking up.

“I’ll text you when I get home.”

                Not moving an inch, she stared at the ground and gnawed on her bottom lip. When she heard the front door close, she collapsed on the couch and promptly screamed into the throw pillows.

Jackson never did text her that night, nor did he try to contact her for the following week.

To some degree, he felt guilty knowing how frustrated Haneul already was about her love life, or lack thereof. But, seriously, how can he tell her that he just didn’t like the guys who asked her out? That he didn’t think they were worthy of his best friend. Now, that would just be asking to get beaten up! (And, boy, could she pack a punch…)

Not only is she a force to be reckoned with, she can also sniff out a lie a mile away. Which is why Jackson has been biding his time, trying to come up with a believable story as to why he’s sabotaged the last three potential dates she’s had for the past few months.

That’s where his other best friends Mark and Jinyoung come in.

“Do you think she’ll believe me if I say that his hairstyle rubbed me the wrong way?” Jackson looked at his friends over his bottle of beer. Mark scoffed.

“Do you want to die?” his friend countered. “That’s just plain stupid.”

                They were all in their shared apartment, holding their emergency meeting which Jackson had called so urgently in their cramped living room. Mark had just arrived from a particularly stressful day of class while Jinyoung only had to emerge from the comforts of his room since the lucky bastard didn’t have any class that day. All three of them were nursing their own bottles of their preferred beer, lounging on their cheap, lumpy couch.

“Just tell her the truth, man,” Jinyoung said imploringly.

“And what?” Jackson snorted. “Tell her, ‘I don’t think those guys were good enough, but maybe I am so go out on a date with me, pretty please’?”

“Well, no.” Jinyoung shook his head, smirking. “But somewhere along those lines would be great.”

                Jackson was not having it. “No thanks! I almost blew it than night but thankfully she didn’t hear me. If she knew the real reason, she’s going to hate me and I’ll proba