I started the engine of my red Volkswagen beetles car and started to drive to Seoul University which I study in.
I major in astrology. Why? Because I like it and it is what I am interested in.
I stopped at a red light before turning into the parking lot and slipped on a pair of sunglasses for the very bright morning light. I took a sip of my iced mocha, one of my favorite drinks.
My dad got me this red Volkswagen for my 18th birthday. I drive it often, well of course, since it's mine.
As a Taiwanese-American, I, Liu Yuxuan Zen was born under Liu Junxian and Yuan Ling. Friends call me Zen Zen or Zenny for short.
I didn't have any siblings; I'm an only child.
"Zenny!" a familiar face appeared by my car and knocked on my window just as I finished parking in front of the university.
Key, however, is my sibling at heart. Even though we weren't really brother and sister, we acted like siblings.
"Hi, Key!" I smiled and stepped out of my car with my bookbag and a bag of chips and iced mocha in my hands.
"Ooh, lays! Can I have some?" he didn't wait for me to answer and shoved his hand into the mini bag of Lay's chips, taking the rest of the bag for himself.
I laughed. "No, you can't. But since you already took the whole thing..."
Key grinned. "Gomawo~"
Key majors in fashion. Aside from being a diva most of the time, he was a really nice person.
"I have all of these ideas for class," he said, handing me a folder with his drawings in them. He held my iced mocha and books for me to look at the drawings properly.
"Cool," I nodded and looked through his drawings of the way he drew very stylish clothing.
We made our way into the large almost elegant looking Seoul university building.
Key and I chatted as I walked him to the arts building. My class wasn't too far from where his class was so I decided to take my time going to mine.
"Can I come over today?" Key asked. "Unless you're busy..."
I thought about it for a second then shook my head. "I don't think I'm doing anything all important,"
"Alright!" he smiled. "And we might stop by the fabric store... Is that alright, too?"
I nodded. "Of course, Kibum," I smiled when I said his real name.
"Aish... Just call me Key!" he chuckled and patted me on the shoulder. "We're close enough, Yuxuan Zen, to not use our real names towards each other!"
I laughed with him, squinting my eyes into an eye smile for a moment and accidentally bumped into someone in front of me.
"Oh, excuse you." the girl gasped.
I cocked my eyebrows with a frown and looked at whoever had an attitude that I bumped into, rolling my eyes immediately when I saw who it was.
"Hi, Jessica." I sighed and mumbled under my breath.
She drew in a sharp breath and exhaled deeply into my face.
I grimaced a little but did not comment on her strong minty breath.
She flipped her hair to the right and walked away quickly with her nose held high.
I pursed my lips and glazed at Key next to me.
He smirked and started to imitate her actions as well. "Oh, excuse you." he spoke in a high voice and walked ahead of me on his tiptoes with his head held up too high, nose pointed straight to the ceiling.
I laughed again and ran to catch up with him.
Key sure knows how to make a serious situation 'unserious.'
A few years ago, for the last year of high school which Jessica and I attended together unfortunately, there was a beauty pageant.
Surprisingly, I had won first place over her. It was obvious that Jessica was going to win for sure but...turning point?
That is why she hates me.
That is how our rivalry started.
She thinks she's better than everyone else, especially me.
I sighed. Not everyone is perfect, though... Why can't she just accept that?
"See you later, Zenny," Key winked and waved a little before entering his class.
I smiled and nodded, turning around to head towards my own class.
UPDATE#2
"Is it just me or is it really hot in here?" Key asked me when he sat in front of me at the lunch table with a few of his other friends, both genders, of the same major.
"It's just you, hot stuff." I laughed a little and placed my books and bookbag on an empty chair next to me, my jacket hanging from the back of it.
It's lunchtime, also known as break from class.
Key's friend Yoo fanned himself with papers he was holding in his hand. "It's actually really hot in here,"
"Did someone set fire to something?" the girl, Christina, asked sarcastically.
I shrugged. "Maybe the heater is turned up too high."
There was suddenly a commotion around a table not far from us, behind me. We looked over to meet with the glancing eyes of the people who were sitting there.
I recognized one of them and turned around, looking away quickly.
"What are they looking at?" Key grimaced and sipped on a juice box of orange juice.
Christina giggled a little. "Maybe it's so hot in here because of he that everyone is crowding around. Zenny, I don't understand why you even rejected him. He's so hot!"
I pursed my lips and felt the glares and stares of those people piercing into my back who stood around him, Choi Seunghyun, also know as TOP, the popular guy in the whole university.
"But why are they staring at us?" Yoo asked.
"They're hating," Key rolled his eyes and set his juice box down. "Probably on Zenny,"
"Well, thanks a lot, hot stuff," I laughed a little and rolled my eyes as well, sipping on a cup of noodles with a pair of chopsticks.
Choi Seunghyun, aka TOP, had asked me out not too long after I had won the beauty pageant against Jessica. Of course I rejected him, because I knew what kind of a player he was.
Plus, he was dating Jessica before the pageant and broke up with her because she lost against me.
That probably explains why his "clique" is staring at me right now, piercing death glares straight into my back.
"Speak of the devil," Key mumbled.
At that I heard footsteps behind me and cringed as they got closer.
"You," the person, a boy, tapped on my shoulder and I turned slowly to look up at them.
"Yes?" I put a fake smile on my face and asked. It was someone I didn't recognize, probably a part of TOP's group over there at his table.
"Are you really pregnant?" he asked.
I scrunched my face and looked up at him. "Umm, no."
"People are saying you are and you don't know who the father is." the guy shrugged. "I heard from TOP,"
Of course it would be from him.
I shook my head innocently, trying to hold my anger in. "I said I'm not."
He snickered. "Alright, I'm just asking." he walked away still laughing a little.
"What's so funny?" I shook my head and asked.
Key sighed. "Just ignore them. They are just words."
"Why does TOP even say stupid stuff about me?" I sighed and looked down at my food in front of me, losing my appetite. "Most of it aren't even true,"
"It's alright, Zenny," Key said. "Don't listen to that guy, he's just hating."
Christina nodded. "He's probably still mad that you rejected him,"
"The first to reject him," Yoo added.
I shrugged. "He wasn't my type."
"But his voice! His looks!" Christina sighed dreamily. "How could you not like him!"
"I mean, he has the looks," I shrugged. "But his personality is ugly."
"Anyway, who would get you pregnant, Zenny?" Yoo asked.
I made a face. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean, you wouldn't lose it that easily," he said. "You're too young."
Key shook his head. "At our age I don't think we're too young."
"But it's better not to since we're still in school," Yoo said.
"I agree," Christina nodded.
I sighed.
"Come on, Zen Zen!" Key poked my cheeks from across the lunch table. "Cheer up!"
I smiled a little and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess..."
"But yeah, it isn't Seunghyun's right to spread rumors about you like that," Yoo said.
Key suddenly grinned and punched a fist into the air above him. "Rock on!"
My ears perked at the word 'rock' and I began to air guitar where I was, no matter if it was in public with so many people all around. "Wooh WOOH!"
"Oh look, she's happy again," Christina giggled.
TOP's "clique" looked over at us when my random outburst occurred suddenly.
I noticed TOP's expression of a scoff and I smirked, pulling my air guitar behind me to strap over my back. Then I sat down and smiled happily.
"He's hating on our fun," Key shrugged and snickered. "Jealous~"
"You say that everyone hates on something, Key," I laughed.
Reality is so boring. Every day it's the same thing; driving to school, going to class, running into Jessica sometimes, eating lunch, seeing Choi Seunghyun, doing homework at the last minute, going to class again...
Can't something new in life happen in for once?
"Ow!" I flinched all of a sudden, pulling my hand away from the empty seat next to me which I had set my textbooks on. "Why is this seat so hot? Did someone put fire on this thing?"
Key shrugged. "Maybe the sun is shining in too close."
I looked around for a window to see if it was the sun.
But the only windows in our cafeteria were on the other side of the room and were nowhere near us.
I sighed and turned back to continue finishing my food, forgetting about the burning seat next to me.
UPDATE#3
That evening, after school was over, Key and I headed back to my parents' house to stay for the night.
Usually I would stay in the University's dormitories but I guess spending my weekend at my parents' house would be okay.
We stopped by the fabric store for Key to get some materials for his project of creating a new design.
"Pink or purple..." Key mumbled to himself, debating on which colors to choose.
"I think purple is pretty," I suggested.
"But pink is also pretty..." Key sighed. "I don't know what to choose..."
In the end, he bought both colors and then complained how much money he wasted.
I rolled my eyes and laughed at his diva attitude. "I mean, you couldn't decide on the colors,"
"Ah, oh well," Key shrugged, "I'll get paid next week,"
Key works at one of the clothing stores in the mall, his favorite one where he always shopped. We always went there, but I forgot the name of it.
"Let's go shopping real quick!" Key squealed excitedly and pulled me out of the fabric store and ran towards the mall across the street.
"Calm down, Kibum!!" I yelled over the loud honks, "There are cars driving through!"
He continued to pull me through the mall until we arrived at his favorite clothing store.
"You were just complaining about how much money you spent to buy that fabric..." I shook my head at Key. "Yet you're spending more?"
"It's okay, because I'm getting paid soon," he laughed carelessly. "And it's not just fabric, Zen Zen. They are beautiful cloths that can be turned into anything to make someone look pretty,"
I rolled my eyes and laughed.
After we did some shopping, both of us, yes, we finally started to head home.
"See, now you spent most of your money, too," Key laughed.
"Don't laugh at me," I stuck my tongue out at him. "I just saw some cool stuff, that's all,"
We passed by a store and looked up at its familiar name.
Key smirked. "Wanna shop Gucci too?"
I smacked him playfully with my free hand that didn't hold any shopping bags and laughed. "Come on, we're going home,"
"I was joking!" he giggled and pranced ahead of me, attracting attention from others.
"So embarrassing..." I mumbled under my breath and smiled.
But that's why I love him like a bro.
I ran to catch up with him, only to run into someone's chest. This person was just exiting the Gucci store.
I blinked quickly and gasped in surprise. "Sorry!!"
I thought my face had turned red because it was heating up like fire. But it didn't feel like it was coming from me.
I didn't look up to see who I had run into and slid around them to catch up to Key.
Key laughed. "You're so stupid, Zenny!"
"You're the one prancing around like a reindeer!!" I pouted and smacked him in the arm again. I rubbed my face softly and frowned in confusion.
"That guy was really tall," Key commented.
"And hot," I tilted my head.
Key made a face. "You didn't even see his face because you were looking down at the ground the whole time, and he towered over you like that very very tall building in Paris,"
"Their chest was burning like fire when I ran into them..." I thought out loud, ignoring Key's description of the person, "It was a guy?"
Key nodded. "Well, duh, you ran into a flat chest didn't you? Maybe he was just sweating,"
I made a face. "But someone's perspiration wouldn't feel like hot boiling water was splashed over them... Would it?"
He grimaced and laughed. "What are we talking about? Alright we're really going home now, Zenny."
"Yeah, yeah okay," I nodded and walked with Key out of the mall.
"Some women have flat chests, Key..." I recalled Key's comment from earlier about the person I had run into.
"It was a guy, okay, I saw." he laughed and stuck his tongue at me.
UPDATE#4
"Mocha!" I exclaimed as my toy poodle ran towards me barking excitedly when I opened the front door of my house.
"Yuxuan? Is that you?" I heard my mom's voice from the kitchen.
"It's me, Mum!" I called back, slipping my shoes off before stepping in. "Key is here, too,"
"Hi, Mommy!" Key called while petting the toy poodle who continuously jumped up and down his legs.
"Oh, hello Key!" Mum greeted him and then gave me a hug. "Yuxuan dear, it's nice to see you!"
"How have you and papa been?" I asked her.
"Your father and I have been great," she smiled. "Come on, get washed up! We're about to have dinner,"
"Do I hear ZenZen by the door?" my dad walked in.
"Hi, Papa," I greeted him with a hug. "Yes, it's me!"
"You both are just in time for dinner!" he grinned.
"Right! I'll go finish cooking that," Mum went back into the kitchen to finish cooking.
"So you went shopping?" dad asked, taking notice of our shopping bags.
"Stuff for college and other things," Key grinned innocently.
"We'll go put them up in my room," I laughed.
"Alright," dad made his way to the kitchen, "See you two at dinner!"
Key and I went upstairs and down the hall to my room. Mocha trailed close to our feet and ran ahead to jump onto my bed, yapping excitedly.
I started to unpack the things I bought and put them away in parts of my room.
"Do you have a sleeping bag I can borrow?" Key asked. "I forgot mine at the dorm."
"Yeah yeah," I went through my closet and pulled out wrapped blankets, tossing them onto the floor. "Make your own bed,"
Key was also staying at our house for the weekend. He's like a brother to me and a son to my parents so they don't mind.
He jumped on my bed next to Mocha who yelped in surprise. "Can't you do it for me, Zennyyyyy?"
I laughed. "Lazy bum! Fine, I will!"
"So what's for dinner?" Key scrunched his face.
I shrugged. "Why? Can you smell it or something?"
He sat up on my bed. "Well I can smell something burning..."
Just then the fire alarm went off and the hallway quickly filled with small layers of smoke.
I blinked and turned to run out of my room and downstairs, Key following behind and Mocha barking loudly at the commotion.
"Mum! Papa!" I yelled over the fire alarm and swatted my hands through the smoke in front of me as I made my way into the kitchen.
That's weird... I thought. Mum rarely burns the food while cooking...
I heard Key coughing and Mocha still barking behind me, but I couldn't hear my parents.
"Mum?? Papa!" I called again.
Then everything went still. Quiet, except for the crackling flames, as if time had stopped.
I turned to look for Key and Mocha, but they were still.
I poked Key in the shoulder and pulled at his nose. "Yah! Kim Kibum??"
I bent down to pick Mocha up. "Here Mocha! Mummy's here! Hello??"
What happened here?
I frowned and placed Mocha back on the floor, VERY confused.
Everything was frozen.
All except for the flame of burning food on top of the stove which no one was putting out.
I ran quickly to the pantry where the fire extinguisher was, unlocking and preparing to aim towards the fire.
But then the fire expanded quickly and formed a large figure in front of me.
The fire is spreading quickly! I thought. I hurried to extinguish it.
Out of the flames came a tall boy with golden handsome looking hair, thick eyebrows, and pretty brown eyes.
"Why hello," he smiled, almost creepily.
I froze in place and my eyes widened in horror at the figure. "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Kris, and you're my lover." he responded all out of the blue and out of nowhere.
Well, that was very straightforward.
I screamed, dropped the fire extinguisher, and turned to run for my life.
I ran to my room as fast as I could and dove into the bed under my covers.
Key and Mocha are still downstairs... I thought. My parents are still downstairs... The fire is still spreading...
I have to go help them... I started to pull the covers off when all of a sudden my head and my whole body start to heat up and my vision got blurry.
And everything went black.
UPDATE#5
"ZenZen! Wake up!" I heard Key's voice from a distance.
The covers were pulled off of me and I opened my eyes slowly to see morning light shining through the window.
I blinked, peering through sleepy eyes. "Is it--?"
"Yeah, it's morning!" Key pouted. "What happened? You crashed last night after we came home from shopping and didn't get to eat dinner!"
"What?" I made a face. "What?"
Whaaaaat?????
"What?" Key tilted his head. Mocha jumped onto my bed and started to my face.
Then... What exactly-- Didn't the fire--- wasn't there fire--- the food was burning--- there was a guy--- whaaaat?!
"What?" I asked again.
"What are you--? Stop that!" Key laughed. "Come on! You need to eat a big breakfast since you didn't eat anything last night!"
I rubbed my eyes and looked at my toy poodle who gazed back at me wonderingly. "Didn't Mum burn the food last night though? Wasn't there fire in the kitchen?"
Key blinked. "Maybe it was a dream. Mama rarely burns the food she cooks, remember?"
I furrowed my eyebrows. "That's right... It probably was a dream. But it all felt so real...."
"Alright time to go eat breakfast, ZenZen!" Key took my arm and pulled me out of bed and dragged me across the floor. "You must be starving!"
"I can walk by myself thank you very much!" I pouted and stood on my feet, brushing the dust off of my pajamas. "Let me change and get ready first!"
Key laughed. "Alright. Come on, Mocha! Let's go downstairs!"
Mocha barked and ran past my legs to catch up with Key. I made my way to the bathroom.
As I brushed my teeth and did my hair, I stood in front of the mirror and examined the faint burns on my arms.
I blinked. Maybe the dream felt a little too real...
The mirror in front of me started to form signs of water vapor, indicating that the room was heating up.
I furrowed my eyebrows and turned the water towards cold. "The water I'm using isn't that hot..."
I took a towel to wipe down the water vapor on the mirror so that I could see my reflection, but a new face behind me in the reflection caused me to jump back and almost scream.
"Holy---!!!" I turned quickly to see that there was no one behind me. I turned back to the mirror and the figure was gone.
The room was cooler than before and I stared at my reflection once more, hoping to see the same figure.
Something very weird is going on here.
I dressed quickly and headed downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast.
"What shall we do after breakfast?" I asked Key. The four of us were having breakfast and Mocha sat under the table patiently.
"Let's walk Mocha!" he suggested.
"Ah, and I need you to run some errands for me, Yuxuan," Mum said to me, "If that's alright."
I nodded. "Okay, we will stop by the market with Mocha later,
Key stuffed the last piece of his scrambled egg into his mouth, chugged down his milk, and placed his dishes in the sink. Then he ran into the other room to get Mocha's leash and prepare for a walk.
I laughed. "He even knows where we keep the leash..."
"Ah Kibum is like a son who lives under the same roof!" Mum sighed happily.
I smiled and agreed. "Like my brother,"
"Be careful out when you head out," dad warned me as I was leaving the kitchen after placing my dishes in the sink.
"You don't have to tell me," I laughed a little, "I know,"
"Have fun and see you later, Yuxuan!" Mum said. I waved to her and dad before heading out to catch up with Key and Mocha.
"Will Mocha be allowed in the store?" Key asked.
I nodded. "Just keep him away from the food and stuff,"
When we arrived at the grocery store, I pulled out the list that Mum gave me.
"I can help, too," Key peeked over my shoulder and said.
"You watch over Mocha, I can do this," I grabbed a bag of mangoes from a rack nearby and checked it off the list.
We headed down the meat aisle to search for what Mum listed.
"Isn't it usually cold in this area?" Key hugged himself while still grabbing onto Mocha's leash. "Why did it suddenly get warm?"
At the word 'warm' the image of the kitchen on fire appeared in my head. And then the image of the guy appearing out of flames appeared in my head as well.
I shook my head and shrugged. "I don't know,"
After checking out everything I purchased at the cashier, we headed back out.
I sighed. Recently I've been getting this feeling that something's following me around... Or someone.
Does it have something to do with that fire in my dream? I wondered.
"Boo," his voice whispered raspily into my ear.
I shrieked and turned to smack Key in the face.
"Ow!" he laughed and rubbed his face. "I'm not a murderer, ZenZen! Geez!"
"Don't scare me like that!" I rolled my eyes and let out a deep breath.
Key laughed again and put his arm around my shoulder. "Okay, I'm sorry. But what are you thinking about? You looked so blank and a little confused just now,"
"It's nothing," I shrugged and hugged the grocery bags close to my chest when I saw a small trace of flame disappear around the corner of an alley.
Mocha barked towards it but Key pulled him away. "Come on, Mocha! Time to go home!"
I pursed my lips and looked away from the alley to head home with Key and Mocha.
UPDATE#6
That night, I tossed and turned through my bedcovers. I couldn't sleep for some reason.
"Hey, Kibum," I whispered towards the floor where Key was sleeping.
"Hm?" he murmured. "I'm trying to sleep,"
"What are we doing tomorrow?" I asked.
"I don't know," he sighed and turned away from me on the other side of his body. "Go to bed,"
I petted my toy poodle who was fast asleep at the foot of my bed before laying back to stare at the ceiling.
I took a deep breath and sighed. Why can't I sleep?
A sudden glimpse of someone's face appeared in my head. I shut my eyes tightly and opened them again.
Maybe that's why.
I keep thinking about that guy I saw from my dream last night with the kitchen on fire and that...sudden statement.
It couldn't have been real.
If it was real, he wouldn't have said something like...what he said.
I shivered and shook my head. "What am I doing?" I sighed. I should get some sleep.
Maybe I'll see him in my dream again... I thought before my eyes fell and everything slowly went dark.
"Yuxuan~"
Someone was calling my name.
"Yuxuan,"
I looked around the dark room and saw someone standing before me.
"Hey," he said.
I looked up at him. "Hi,"
He smiled and began to turn away.
Uh.
"Where are you going?" I asked. "You don't just greet someone and leave them..."
"Just follow me," he said.
I blinked and started to follow him.
I glanced at where we were headed. It was a door which opened to suddenly reveal large flames coming out of it.
"Where are we going??" I asked.
He smirked, showing his pretty white teeth and turned back to me. Then he bent down towards me to whisper something.
I gazed at him, feeling a little dizzzy, and spoke back. "Kris?..."
And again, everything went black.
"Yuxuan~"
Someone's calling for me again...
"Yuxuan,"
His voice is getting closer...
"ZenZen Zenny! Wake uppppp! Wake upppp!!!!" Key squealed and jumped on my bed.
Wait!!! What did that guy whisper?? I want to know!
I groaned and peered through my sleepy eyes. "Huh? Why is it already morning..."
"Because there's light out and we're going to the beach today!" he smiled.
I yawned and stretched as I sat up on my bed. "Ah, alright. I'll go get ready,"
Mocha ran into my room and jumped up Key's tall legs.
"Mochaaa!" he laughed. "We're going to the beach today!"
Mocha began to yap excitedly.
I grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom. Key followed behind.
"Sooooo...." he spoke.
I turned to stare at him with puffy eyes. "What?"
He grinned sluggishly. "Who's Kris?"
"What??" I questioned quickly, my eyes wide awake. "How do you know Kris?"
"You were sleep talking about some guy named Kris," he said. "I heard you,"
I smacked myself in the head. "Way to talk in your sleep, Yuxuan." I mumbled to myself and sighed.
"So who is he?" Key asked.
"He's just a random guy in my dream," I shrugged and continued down the hall. "I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be down in a few,"
I made my way down the hallway towards the bathroom and washed up as fast as I could.
Thankfully, nothing weird (as in the mirror fogging up again) was happening so I changed and went back to my room.
Mocha ran upstairs and into my room in front of me. He started barking and I ran inside my room to see what was up.
"What is it?" I asked Mocha who was barking at the curtains.
"Mocha!" Key called from the stairway. "Come back downstairs!"
I stared at the curtains when I caught a shadow standing behind it.
Mocha started growling and continued to bark.
"Heel, boy!" Key ran in my room and picked him up. "What's wrong?" he glanced at me. "Zen?"
I shook my head and blinked. "I think Mocha saw something,"
Key glanced at the curtains and walked towards them.
"Wait, Key---!"
He pulled the curtains away from the windows which let the sunlight in to brighten my room.
"There's nothing here," Key shrugged and placed the toy poodle down on the floor. "It's alright, Mocha!"
Mocha still growled at the window, specifically the sunlight shining in onto the floor which felt a little too hot.
"Come on, silly dog." Key chuckled. "If there is a ghost, it would have possessed Zenny by now!"
"Who said there was a ghost around here?" I made a face and laughed nervously. "Let's go downstairs already."
Key laughed. "Alright,"
UPDATE#7
"What are you two up to for today?" Mum asked me and Key.
"Zenny and I are going to the beach!" Key grinned, stuffing pancakes into his mouth. "Mommy, this is so good! Thank you~~"
Mum laughed and ruffled Key's hair. "So cute!!"
I laughed as well. "Yeah, we're taking Mocha with us, too, since he's gonna love the cold water,"
"Yeah, it's really cold out today," Mum frowned and looked out the window. "It looks like its going to snow anytime soon,"
"Well, it's almost winter!" Key smiled. He finished up and placed his dishes in the sink. "Mocha! We're off to the park!"
"I thought the beach?" I asked.
"It's too early for that," Key pouted. "We'll walk around the park for a little bit!"
Key and I went upstairs to pack for the beach later.
Mocha ran ahead of us and started barking when he went into my room.
"I think there's a ghost in your room," Key snickered. We entered my room.
"Enough with ghosts!" I laughed. I looked away from him and glared around my room before getting a couple of bags out.
Key went to Mocha's corner where his dog toys were. I packed my swimsuit and sunscreen and went through Key's suitcase to get his swimsuit and sunglasses.
I packed a lot of towels as well, since the weather today was going to be very cold.
"Have fun, everyone! Mocha, behave yourself!" Mum waved as we placed our bags into the truck of Key's car.
Mocha barked back at her and panted excitedly from the opened car window.
"Off to the park!" Key cheered. "Then to the beach! Mocha, are you excited??"
Mocha barked again and jumped up into my face as I sat down in the front passenger seat.
"Haha! Yup!" I laughed. "He is happy!"
Key drive down to the park. I held Mocha in my arms carefully before stepping out of the car.
"Going to the beach even though it's still cold out," Key chuckled and stepped out, locking his car. "How's that for a weekend?"
I laughed. "It's great, I guess."
We strolled across the park where other dogs were and let Mocha run around with them without the leash. Key and I stood close to him and continued our way down the path towards the closest beach.
"Key, are you sure about that night?" I asked. "When we got home from shopping and I didn't have any dinner?
He blinked. "What about that night?"
"There really was no fire?"
"Of course not," he said. "Maybe the heater was up too high which made your dream feel real. There was fire, right?"
"I dunno..." I sighed, catching someone staring at us from nearby at the corner of my eye.
When I focused my eyes by the tree where they were standing, no one was there.
"I still find it funny how the winter season is about to start and we're going to the beach," Key laughed. "And for the summer, let's go skiing in the mountains!"
I glanced at him and at the spot by the tree where the figure was. "Yeah, sure. Mocha loves cold weather,"
Mocha ran up to us and started barking.
I blinked at him and turned my head just a little to see some very tall blonde haired guy following us.
I gasped and turned my head fully to get a good look at him, but again he was gone.
"Am I in a horror movie or something??" I asked out loud. Mocha continued to bark.
Key pouted. "I know I'm horrifyingly beautiful and all but why is my best friend scared of me?"
I sighed and laughed. "Not you, Kibum. Lately I've been seeing this figur--"
"It's that Kris guy!" he exclaimed.
"What! No!" I said quickly. "I mean-- I don't even know if that's his name... But I keep seeing him everywhere and when I look again he's not there."
"How creepy," Key furrowed his eyebrows. "Perhaps some guy is just trying to hit on you,"
"But following me around, appearing in weird places?" I sighed. "It's scaring me, he could be behind us right now."
"THERE!!!" Key shrieked suddenly and pointed behind me. I shrieked with him and jumped in surprise. Mocha yelped and jumped up into my arms.
"What is it?!" I asked, hugging Mocha to my chest.
"They finally released the new clothing designs from this fashion designer!" he squealed and ran to the magazine stand behind us.
I smacked myself in the head and felt my face flush with embarrassment as passerbys walked past us and stared.
"Kim Kibum..." I growled.
Mocha covered his eyes with his fluffy ears and whined.
He skipped ahead of me happily and tossed cash towards the cashier for the magazine.
I placed Mocha down in front of me and placed the leash on him, walking forward to catch up with Key.
I glanced behind me at him who had a smug smile on his face, standing next to a few other guys who were laughing their faces off. I glared at them and rolled my eyes, continuing back home with Mocha and Key.
UPDATE#8
We left the park when the cold wind stopped blowing for a while, and headed to the beach.
Mocha loves the cold, especially cold water.
Key parked the car and we got out, getting our bags out of the trunk.
Mocha barked excitedly and jumped around, heading straight to the water.
I laughed. "Wait up, Mocha!"
"It's not that cold out," Key said. "Is it just me or can you feel that heat?"
At the word 'heat' I immediately thought of that Kris guy again.
I shook my head. "Every time," I mumbled. That guy also appears in my head when sometimes fire-related is mentioned!!
Key blinked at me. "What?"
"Nothing," I said, helping him with the rest of the bags. We took our shoes off and left them in the car. Then we walked through sand with our bare feet.
Key and I settled in a spot where there were not a lot of people and the water was close to our feet.
I set up a large towel and sat on it, placing another towel on top of me.
"It's not that cold, Zenny!" Key laughed. He was setting up a towel next to mine and placed an umbrella next to it. He slid sunglasses on and popped a bunch of magazines out of his bag.
I scoffed and laughed a little. "You diva,"
He shrugged and sat down underneath the umbrella.
I popped in earphones and turned to my favorite playlist. The music played and I closed my eyes, relaxing and rocking my head softly to the beat.
Mocha barked happily and ran around into the water in front of us, once in a while running back to us to rest on our towels.
I looked up at the sky where the bright sun was, placing my hand above my eyes to shield the sun from blinding me.
It's sunny out but it's still cold.
All of a sudden, some girl runs by giggling and laughing, and these guys were following her.
Oh, would you look at that. I sighed and took my earphones out.
"Oh, hi Zen!" Jessica gasped and waved to me excitedly. "You look cold under those towels. Do you like my swimsuit?"
I blinked at her and studied her pink two-piece swimsuit. It was fluffy.
"It's...original?" I commented.
She looked back at another group of guys who were coming this way. "Well, I gotta run! Talk to you later~" she giggled and ran off.
Key scoffed. "What is that! She's wearing a two piece in this weather??"
"It's fluffy..." I shrugged. "I guess it keeps her warm."
"Yeah, her bikini line and s but that's it." Key scoffed again and went back to his magazines mumbling, "I should've thought of that idea before..."
I glanced at Key and scoffed. "A fluffy bikini? I wouldn't wear that..."
"Why are those guys even after her?" he mumbled and went back to reading his magazines. "They should get their own lives,"
I sighed and plugged my earphones back into my ears. I glanced at Jessica sitting nearby who was surrounded by a group of guys.
I sat up to see what was going on when I saw her crouching in front of someone.
Then I felt myself being pulled out of where I was sitting. The towel slid off of me.
"Ow! What the??" I looked down at myself and pulled my earphones out again. I placed the towel back on top of me and lay down.
I glanced at Jessica and the group of people.
Something, or someone in that crowd...was somehow suddenly attracting me towards them.
I stared at them to see if I could get a better view of who Jessica was trying to talk to.
When a couple of guys started to leave, I focused on a guy sitting casually on a towel with Jessica crouched in front of him. He obviously was not interested.
He glanced over at me and looked away quickly.
Hold up! I gasped. He looks just like the guy from my dream! With the fire and the flames and------
"I'm Kris, and you're my lover."
I shut my eyes and shook my head quickly, standing up from my seat.
Mocha started barking.
I looked down and picked him up.
I sighed. "It's probably not him..."
Then I turned to run into the cold water with Mocha in my arms. "Weeee~!!"
"Wait, Zenny you still have your clothes on!!" I heard Key yell.
But I had already hit the freezing waves.
Oops~
UPDATE#9
"You're so careless!" Key sighed, tossing my towel over my head. "You know you have your swimsuit underneath right??"
I sighed and pulled my wet shirt off, revealing the top of my two-piece swimsuit I had on underneath. .
"It's too cold to wear just my swimsuit!" I said, tossing my wet shirt into Key's face. "Let alone a two-piece like this!"
He shrieked and tossed it back to me. "Keep your dirty clothes to yourself! Aish!" he stomped back to his place under the umbrella. "I'm going to read my magazines!"
I laughed and Mocha next to me barked towards the group where that guy was again.
I glanced over at them and looked away quickly when we made eye contact.
I shivered, not because it was cold. "Is that really him?"
Mocha growled softly, but went running back into the cold waves.
"How creepy." I mumbled. "He finally appears in human form."
I wiped my hair dry and placed the towel around my back, hugging myself into it. I turned to glance again at the group where Jessica was trying to impress the long-legged blonde guy.
"Doesn't she get that he isn't interested?" I asked.
"Stop mumbling to yourself, ZenZen," Key said without looking up from his reading. He slid his sunglasses off a little and glanced over at the group.
"Why aren't those guys even leaving?" I made a face, "Jessica is interested in that one guy and they're all just...there."
I stared at the guy sitting on his towel. Again, we made eye contact and I looked away quickly.
"That guy is checking you out, Zenny," Key nudged me in the shoulder with his sandy feet. "Go talk to him,"
"No!" I whispered quickly and glanced at the guy who looked away with that familiar smirk on his face. I wiped my shoulder clean with my towel.
"Is it just me or have we seen him somewhere before?" Key asked. Mocha started growling and barking.
I looked at my toy poodle. "What's wrong, Mocha?"
"Mocha, calm down and be quiet!" Key said.
Then he barked even louder and ran towards the group.
"Oh no." I exchanged expressions with Key before standing up quickly and racing through the sand to catch Mocha. "Mocha, come back!!!"
Mocha continued to run towards the group and even scared the guys around Jessica away. Jessica had just stood up in front of the blonde-guy, not seeming to hear my dog barking loudly.
I ran towards them and tried to catch Mocha. "Here, boy! Come here!!"
Jessica made a face at me when she saw me coming closer. She extended her legs in front of the guy and smiled. "Don't you like my swimsuit? It's original!"
"Aren't you cold?" the guy asked her.
"Yes! I'm cold, but your warm atmosphere makes me want to stay close to you..." she cooed. "Is that alright?"
Mocha ran around them and through Jessica's legs, causing her to fall.
"Oh my! Catch me!" she gasped and fell back towards the guy.
He sighed and stood up from his place on the sand and walked off somewhere else, letting Jessica fall back into the sand.
I had finally caught Mocha in my arms and stood straight to see Jessica fall and then scream when she hit the sand. I couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh, you got him," Key ran up to me, catching his breath. "Well, I'm going to go back and read my magazines again... Why don't you go talk to---?"
I looked around for the familiar blonde guy.
"Huh, I guess Jessica scared him away," Key shrugged and ran back to where our place was with the umbrella.
I looked around again for any sign of him. Where did he go?
UPDATE#10
Jessica growled and stood up, brushing the sand off of her body and the fluffy two piece swimsuit. Then she walked away.
I sat down on my towel and wrapped Mocha in another. "That's enough running around for you today," I laughed and rubbed his fluffy wet head.
Mocha yelped and whined, rubbing into my chest.
"Why? Did you see something?" I asked him while drying his fur.
It seems as if Mocha can sense something strange nearby... I thought.
He barked and started to growl softly, his eyes on something on the other side of Key's umbrella.
I tilted my head in confusion and looked past it, seeing the blonde guy sitting back on his towel. Right next to where we were sitting.
I blinked. "Did he move closer?" I mumbled. I stood up and walked past Key's things and made my way to him.
Mocha barked and tried to run after me but Key caught and pulled him back with both of his legs without looking up from his magazine.
I sat down next to the guy, studying his long figure across the sand. His eyes were closed; he looked like he was just tanning.
Tanning in this cold weather??... I pouted in confusion.
I looked at his hair and recognized the same hair color from the guy in my dream.
"You know," I spoke. "You're freaking me out with all of your random appearances everywhere,"
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" he asked without opening his eyes and had a smirk on his face when he heard my voice.
I KNOW THAT SMIRK. I dropped my mouth and scoffed a little. It's him!!! I'm sure of it!
"Don't play dumb with me," I said.
"Nice to see you again, too," he chuckled. "Remember my name?"
Hah! It's him!
I paused. ".... It's Christopher or something, right?" I asked.
He laughed and sat up. "It's Kris, with a 'K'. What if you didn't depend on what you heard in your mind and think my name was really something else?"
I looked at him. "Huh?"
'Heard in my mind'? What does he mean by that?
"Did you go into my mind and possess me to know your name or something?" I asked him.
Kris fell back and started to laugh loudly.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
"You ask too many question." he chuckled, laying back on his towel. "So what are you up to?"
"Nothing," I said, continuing to stare at him. "Just chilling at the beach with my toy poodle and my best friend,"
"Your dog doesn't seem to like me very much," Kris frowned, peeking at me through an open eye.
"I wonder why is that?" I asked sarcastically. "Maybe you keep following me around and appearing out of random places."
He laughed again and closed his eyes, relaxing back on his towel. I watched him breathe in the cold air as the breeze hit his golden glowing body.
He opened his eyes again and stared me down. I blinked and stared back.
"Are you ever going to look away from me?" he asked and chuckled. Nice swimsuit, by the way."
I snapped out my mind and felt myself blushing, turning away from him. I hugged myself when I remembered that I still have a two-piece swimsuit on.
I could feel still feel his eyes on me as I looked away at the ocean waves.
"You're not cold?" Kris asked.
"No, I'm heating up because its almost winter," I pouted sarcastically.
Kris chuckled again and looked off at the ocean with me. He sat up again so we could be side by side.
"It's weird," I said, "You've been following me around for so long and now I finally talk to you here at the beach."
He shrugged. "I guess I was just having fun scaring you,"
I pouted. "Creepy much?"
"At least I'm good looking, right?" Kris smiled and put an arm over my bare shoulders.
I shivered at his warm temperature. Why is he so warm?? I rolled my eyes at him and smiled.
UPDATE#11
The next day Key drove us back to the university with all of our luggage and belongings.
I didn't want to leave my toy poodle for another week again, but I had to say a short goodbye to him and that I'll see him next weekend.
I always go home for the weekends anyway.
"This weekend was fun, wasn't it?" Key asked, taking his books and bag out of my trunk. "It was [really] interesting,"
I smiled and agreed with him. "Yup!"
"Especially with you and that guy~" he smirked and nudged me a little.
I laughed nervously and pushed him playfully. "We just met, nothing is going on between us!"
I grabbed my books and headed into the university with Key.
"So is he like some kind of ghost?" Key asked, not even weirded out that Kris was not an ordinary person.
"I don't even know," I said. "Like I said, we just met."
"He's appeared around you, sneaking around you, and he even appeared in your dream?" Key tilted his head in thought. "He sounds like a stalker, but not a human one,"
"What? Because he appeared in my dream?" I laughed a little. "Maybe it was just a coincidence,"
"But he even told you his name," he said, "And in reality it was his name..."
"When did I tell you that he told me his name in my dream..." I mumbled.
"You were talking in your sleep remember?" Key laughed. We walked into the entrance of the university.
The first thing that happens when I step into the building, though, has to be an unpleasant greeting from this jerk.
Choi Seunghyun, that player. What does he want now?
"Hey, Zenny~" he smiled, walking up to me. "How was your weekend?"
"It was great, thank you," Key replied flatly.
"I was asking Yuxuan, not you." he said.
"What Kibum said," I responded. "It was great,"
"Did you fool around with guys again?" one of his friends chuckled.
"So do you have a new guy now?" another asked.
"I've never had a guy..." I tried to say, but Seunghyun stepped forward and stopped his friends from speaking.
He bent forward and lifted my chin close to his face. "ZenZen, I apologize for my friends' behaviors. I'll make it up to you if you come with me for dinner tonight?"
I shrugged him away and made a face at him. "I'm busy later,"
"'Busy'?" he asked. "With what? More guys? Man, Yuxuan. You're a gold digger aren't you?"
"For your info, she's working on a project with me," Key said.
"What kind of project?" Seunghyun's friend asked.
"None of your business," I sighed. "Can I go now?"
"Fine, then," Seunghyun rolled his eyes and leaned towards me again. "Then come to a party this weekend. Weekends are always free for everyone right?" he smirked.
"Unless you've got something else ratchet planned out?" Seunghyun's friend snickered.
"We're busy this weekend, too," Key scoffed and started to snap, "Who are you calling ratchet you little ratchet son of a---?!"
"Back off, diva," Seunghyun said to him.
"We should go now," I whispered quickly to Key.
"Why don't you bother your ex-girlfriends or something?" Key said to Seunghyun. "Leave Zenny alone!"
"What about you?" he smirked. "Why don't you mess around with other girly guys like yourself?"
Key giggled and flipped his short hair. "I'm flattered, but I don't hang out with guys like you,"
"I'm talking about you, mother fu---!" Seunghyun suddenly raged and headed towards Key to hold a fist at his face.
I stepped in between them quickly, "Whoa whoa calm down here," I said.
"You," Seunghyun's fist suddenly pulled at my collar. "You're a pushover. Come to the party this weekend or else,"
"Let go of her!" Key shrieked and ruffled his hair out of place. "Aishh!! So stressful!"
"Or else what?" I challenged Seunghyun, pulling away from him as he moved closer to my face. "I don't need to be forced to go to a stupid par---!!"
I think he meant for a forced lip contact but suddenly there was a small flame of fire that came in between us to hit Seunghyun in the lips before he touched mine.
He jumped back in surprise, releasing my collar. "What the--?!"
I stepped back slowly to stare at the small flame of fire that flickered towards the ground and then formed an even larger flame of fire in front of us, around the same height as Seunghyun's.
Kris stepped out of the flames and looked Seunghyun straight into his eyes. Seunghyun and his friends stood where they were, all frozen in shock. He smirked, and disappeared back into the flames.
"What the hell was that?!?" many were whispering and mumbling to each other after the flames sparked and disappeared into the floor.
I stood there and blinked, exchanging expressions with Key next to me.
"You're crazy!!" Seunghyun exclaimed and pointed at me, catching his breath. "Both of you!!!"
"Was that witchcraft??" Seunghyun's friend asked. "What did you do over the weekend??"
"I bet she met some weird person and learned these curses!!" someone said. "Summoning a fire demon dragon or something!"
I tried not to laugh and Key next to me snorted a little.
We turned to head to our classes.
"Don't think I'll let you go that easy, Yuxuan!!" Seunghyun yelled.
I rolled my eyes and continued walking with Key. "Is it necessary to use my full first name?"
Key was stifling a loud laugh. "Oh. My. Goodness. What just happened??"
I laughed a little. "Kris made another appearance, I guess..."
"Man, that guy is cool," he sighed and grinned brightly. "ZenZen, it's almost as if he's supposed to be guarding you or something,"
I shrugged. "I dunno yet,"
We had to part ways to head for our different classes.
Later on in the evening, Key and I headed back to the dorms. He had my bags and luggage in his car.
"Do we really have a project to work on today?" I asked.
Key laughed and shook his head. "It was just an excuse. You didn't want to hang out with that jerk did you?"
I made a face and shook my head. "No way,"
"You better sleep well tonight," he said sarcastically and teasingly before parking and grabbing his bags and luggage, "I don't want you to have to call the fire department,"
I laughed. "Oh, be quiet,"
He laughed and turned to head for his dorms after locking his car. "Alright, see you tomorrow!"
"See you," I said. I grabbed my bags and luggage as well and turned to head towards mine.
I went up to the dormitory door and placed my bags down to turn the knob, only to see a dark shadow creeping up behind me.
I turned quickly and tried to scream.
I'm back!!! I'll try to update as much as I can and I'm sorry for late updates!!! D;
-to be continued!-
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