Last night, after the tutoring session, Yuri went home pretty early. She got a call from Taemin saying that he really needed her, and she left quickly. For a second, I kind of felt bad for the guy. He probably didn’t do well on the audition Yuri was talking about.

            It was now the next morning, but thankfully it was a Saturday. Minwoo was currently over, lying on my bed while I sat in the desk chair. I simply stared at my semi-idiotic friend while he rambled ideas that his mind suddenly conjured.

            “What if you kidnap this Taemin guy and-“

            “We are not kidnapping him,” I rolled my eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time today.

            “Well, smart guy, what are your ideas?” he pouted.

            “Wait until they break up?”

            “And if they don’t?”

            “Cry, buy a few cats and live alone?” I shrugged, laughing slightly at the stupidity of my idea. Minwoo, however, didn’t seem to find it as humorous.

            “Not funny. That could happen,” he scolded.

            “Fine. What other ideas do you have?”

            “We hire a hitman and-“

            “No!” I exclaimed, completely centered on the idea that Minwoo has now lost his mind.

            “What?”

            “We aren’t killing the guy.”

            “How about if we get a chemist to-“

            “Figure out a way to blow him up?” I guessed on how his sentence would end. He sat up from his spot and gave me a playful smile.

            “Yes,” he chuckle at the thought.

            “Hell no,” I shook my head.

            “Well, if we can’t kill the guy, can’t we at least knock him unconscious or something?” he pouted as he crossed his arms across his chest. When I shook my head again, he whined while slamming his fists repeatedly into the mattress. While he threw his little tantrum, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I flipped it open to see I got a text from Yuri.

From Yuri:

Are you busy?

            I glanced from my phone to Minwoo and then back.

To Yuri:

Nah, what’s up?

            “You are texting her, aren’t you?” Minwoo suddenly asked. My eyes widened when I saw that him with a serious expression, sitting with his legs and arms crossed. When did he stop complaining? Composing myself, I aloofly shrugged.

            “Yeah.”

            “About?”

            “She asked if I was busy.”

            “I’m guessing you said you weren’t,” he raised an eyebrow. I smiled awkwardly and guilty before nodding. “Jerk.”

From Yuri:

Are you going to be busy later?

            My brows knitted together as I gave the message a weird look. She ignored my question and asked me more. Minwoo noticed my confusion and called to me. I held up my index finger to tell him to wait before turning back to my phone.

To Yuri:

… no.

            “She’s just asking me random questions, not answering mine,” I finally explained to Minwoo.

            “Oh, well, steering away from her and onto the topic of her,” Minwoo began to ramble again. My mouth slightly opened as an eyebrow rose. What is wrong with him? “Plans on how to make her fall for you; any ideas?”

            “You know I’m bad at ideas.”

            “Well, you could confess.”

            “Get rejected and have her avoid me for the rest of her relationship; no thanks.”

            “Instead of kidnap Taemin, we kidnap her.”

            “No kidnapping means no kidnapping.”

            “If you are just going to shoot down all my ideas, then forget it!” Minwoo exclaimed as he threw his hands up in defeat. We sighed in unison, completely drained from our arguing.

From Yuri:

What about tomorrow? Or Sunday?

            Although I was frustrated, I tried my best to keep it in and away from Yuri. I took a deep breath and let my fingers glide across the keypad.

To Yuri:

Nope, and nope!

            For some reason, I was beginning to feel anxious. There must have been a reason for this interrogation. Perhaps she wanted to hang out again. Even though she just boasted about Taemin, it was still nice to just be able to be with her.

            “Alright! I’ve got it!” Minwoo yelled with excitement. He suddenly got another idea. Thinking it was brilliant, he was celebrating by himself by jumping up and down on my bed. Strange how he is so excited yet the idea is to help me and won’t benefit him in any way.

            “What is it this time? Remember, no kidnapping, killing, or knocking him unconscious,” I warned him, wagging my index finger towards his direction.

            “Jealousy,” he said the one word like it was self explanatory. Sure it made sense, but how do we do that?

            “Exactly how do we make her jealous?”

            “Look, since you are her best friend, she automatically expects you to have all the time in the world for her, right?” When I nodded, he continued with his rant. “If you were to suddenly have no time for her, it will make her jealous and hopefully make her realize how much she needs you.”

            “So far, I am liking this plan,” I smiled deviously which he immediately joined in on.

            “Here’s what you do; go date somebody!” he explained the plan to me.

From Yuri:

Why don’t you hang out with Taemin tomorrow then?

            My jaw dropped from both replies. What is this mischief? Hanging out with Taemin? Dating somebody that isn’t Yuri? Are these people crazy?

            “Excuse me?” I asked Minwoo as I also typed the response to Yuri. He laughed at my reaction, obviously finding joy in my disbelief.

            “Look, it could be fake date. Just find a girl you wouldn’t mind spending a lot of time with, and then ‘date’ her.”

            “But I don’t want to date anybody besides Yuri, even if it is an act,” I pouted to him with my arms crossed. Funny how the tables have turned.

            “Stop being a romantic and be practical,” he rolled my eyes. Seriously, what just happened? The situation has switched; I was the whine kid and Minwoo was the practical, mature one. I didn’t like this feeling.

            “Who and when?” I sighed in defeat.

            “Leave that to me,” Minwoo smiled mischievously.

-----

            I soon left Minwoo to go over to question Yuri about this idea of hanging out with Taemin. After much arguing, I was able to assure the younger that I would be back real soon. My knuckles pounded lightly against the wooden door. I shifted my weight back forth from my left to my right foot, waiting patiently for the girl to come.

            “Coming!” Yuri’s voice was muffled through the door. Soon after, I heard the rattling of the locks. The door handle flipped down, and I was greeted with Yuri’s smiling face.

            “Oh, I didn’t expect you to come over,” she laughed.

            “I thought I’d ask you about your message,” I explained as I pushed past her to enter the apartment. I was startled when I saw Taemin slouched comfortably in the couch, waving lazily to me with a similar smile.

            “Hey,” he greeted. I nodded and waved back. My lips pursued as I turned back around to face Yuri.

            “He’s here?”

            “Well, I was talking to him about the same thing I was talking to you about,” she explained to me in a gist.

            “Alright, now talk to me about it,” I sighed. She quickly grabbed my arm and led me to the kitchen, away from Taemin’s prying eyes.

            “I’ve been looking for a job because Taemin’s birthday is coming up. Since I have a bunch of job interviews lined up tomorrow, I was hoping you guys could hang out and become friends,” she quickly told me with her eyes shut. I looked down to see her fingers were crossed as if she was hoping I would agree.

            “Doesn’t he have work?”

            “He has a day off tomorrow. Please do this for me, Youngminnie!”

            “Yuri, I don’t feel comfortable-“

            “Please!” she begged. She gave me her puppy eyes and placed her hands together in a praying motion.

            “First off, only Minwoo’s puppy eyes work. Second off, does he even agree to this?”

            “We were just discussing it, and he says that he wouldn’t mind. See, even he is being cooperative,” she pouted with her arms crossed. I pursued my lips once again as I began to contemplate the idea. Why are there so many things to worry about? First, I need to go find somebody to date. Now, I have to hang out with my rival for love? She was staring intensely towards me until I finally sighed.

            “Fine, fine,” I waved her off. She cheered in excitement and pulled me into a hug. Being brave, I tried to raise my hands and deepen the hug. Just as I neared the small of her back, she began to pull away. Curses flew around in my mind. So close yet so far.

            “I’ll go tell Taemin!”

            “Wait until I leave. Minwoo is still waiting for me, so you can wait two seconds,” I instructed her. She quickly nodded, and I began to head out.

            “Oh, leaving so soon?” Taemin questioned me curiously, finally standing up.

            “Yeah, I got to go,” I told him as I rubbed the back of my neck. He nodded, understanding my situation.

            “Well, it was great to see you again,” he smiled warmly as he extended his hand. I hesitated at first, but took his hand in the end. I was shocked when Taemin shook it enthusiastically and decided to do so as well. We smiled kindly to each other as we stared awkwardly into each others’ eyes. It began to feel really creepy, so I tugged lightly on my hand.

            “I see you later,” I bowed slightly before taking off, not letting another awkward conversation immerge. Since I didn’t expect to take too long, my door to the apartment was unlocked. I just barged right in and headed back to my room. Minwoo was still on the bed, lying lazily. His mouth was wide open, and his hands were lightly slapping his cheeks, making a string of sounds.

            “Are you that bored?” I laughed as I took my seat back next to the desk. He sat up with a smile.

            “You are finally back!” he cheered.

            “I wasn’t gone that long.”

            “You left an hour ago,” he stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Quickly, I pulled my phone back out to check the time. Sure enough, I was actually gone for almost an hour.

            “Whatever,” I grumbled.

            “Oh, and while you were gone, I was thinking about girls at our school that could help you make Yuri jealous.”

            “Shoot,” I said as I spun around in my chair. My hand gripped the mouse and waved it slightly. The screen instantly lit up and revealed my desktop. I opened up a browser as Minwoo spoke.

            “Well, there are a few girls that came to mind.”

            “Continue,” I told him as I logged into Facebook. As he called names, I searched the girl’s name to remember who they were. In all honesty, I don’t know many people at the school. Minwoo thinks it’s weird because he says I am pretty popular, but I don’t get how that is possible.

            “Jessica?”

            “Jung? The really popular one?” I questioned as I stopped typing to look at the guy.

            “That’s the one!” he smiled cheekily at me.

            “There is no way she would go for a guy like me; I’m a loser,” I self consciously criticized myself. Minwoo looked at me like I was crazy.

            “Are you kidding? You are one of the most popular guys at school.”

            “What are you talking about?”

            “Is it because you are blinded by your love for Yuri? Dude, all the girls at school think you are super attractive and cool,” Minwoo explained to me, ending with an eye roll. My eyes widened slightly as my mouth opened.

            “You are kidding.”

            “No! Why do you think girls stare at you during class?”

            “They do that?” I asked, completely shocked. Minwoo slapped his hand over his face.

            “And you call me the idiot.”

            “Well, look, even if what you say is true, Jessica isn’t my type.”

            “Then choose any girl who is your type. I’m telling you, any girl will say yes if you ask,” Minwoo waved me off. I nodded eagerly like a good boy before turning back to my laptop. I searched for my school’s name and looked through the girls’ name. While looking, I felt a lump in my throat.

            “I don’t know any of these girls,” I gulped as I confessed to Minwoo.

            “Are you really that blinded by Yuri?” he shook his head in disapproval.

            “Just because the only girl I really converse with is Yuri, doesn’t mean – okay, I’m blinded,” I sighed in defeat. He nodded with a smile, happy that he actually won an argument. “Now what?”

            “Well, does it matter if you know the girl?”

            “How am I supposed to know if she is my type?”

            “Alright, how about I go talk to a few girls at school and see who you might like. Then, you speed date them to decide who will be your ‘girlfriend’?”

            “I’m impressed, Minwoo. That actually sounds like it’ll work,” I smiled in approval.

            “I am pretty awesome,” he laughed.

Author’s Note: Alright, so this chapter was a little boring. I tried to make it humorous, if that helps any. :p Sorry again. This was really just a lead in to the more drama and crazy parts... I think. I’ve completely abandoned my original plans and going with my guts. Hopefully that is okay with you guys. :D

Question of the Day: Who do you think Youngmin should fake date?

I really need help trying to figure out whom to pick. It would be really nice and helpful if you guys gave me suggestions in a comment. :) Thanks again, I hope you guys liked it! Until next chapter! :D