After four hours doing nothing at the airport and 30 hours in the plane, with a six-hour stop in Frankfurt and Zelo constantly complaining about his legs not having enough space, we finally arrived in Brazil.

   Before you ask, I understand Portuguese perfectly, but don't expect me to speak it. When I last came to Brazil I stayed here for three months, and, as a kid, it was easy to learn new things. Speaking would take longer, though. Besides, I stayed all the time with Hye Ji, my dad's friend's daughter, and she also knew how to speak Korean.

   We left the airport and headed to Hye Ji's house. I had talked to her dad beforehand and he said it was ok for us to stay at his place. There was one condition, though. Zelo would have to stay away from Hye Ji. I haven't told him that yet.

   "Rika!" Hye Ji's mom gave me a hug. "It's been so long since I last saw you!" She examined me from head to toe. "Look at you, you have grown so much!"

   "Yeah, right." Zelo mumbled behind me, chuckling, and I stepped on his foot.

   "And you look beautiful, as always." I smiled sweetly and she shot me an eye smile. I wasn't lying, she really is beautiful.

   "Come on in." She stepped aside, pulling me with her, and motioned Zelo and his family to come inside.

   We all got settled in different rooms. Zelo's parents would be on the first floor, I would stay at Hye Ji's room on the second floor and Zelo would be in a small room next to the living room on the ground floor, even though there were four more spare rooms. I don't think Hye Ji's dad likes Zelo whatsoever. But at least he didn't end up in the basement...

   "Where's Hye Ji ? She is not in her room." I asked her mom.

   "She went out with a guy. What was his name...? Se Hun? Shi Woo?"

   "Shi Hoo?" I corrected her.

   "Yes! That's the name! She said they would be back by 6."

   "They?" I frowned a little.

   "Yeah, she said she would bring a boy over, so that your friend wouldn't feel left out."

   "I don't think he would..."

   And I know that's not the real reason. Seriously, Hye Ji? Are you really planning to introduce him to me in front of everyone? It's 4:28 p.m. right now, I have one hour and a half to prepare myself mentally.

   I decided to take a shower to relax a little and, when I opened the door, I found Zelo waiting for me. I'm glad I always leave the bathroom fully dressed. He pulled me to a room and closed the door. I'm pretty sure my hair left a water trail on the corridor's carpet.

   "We have one hour until Hye Ji gets back. How do I look?"

   "Dumb."

   "I'm serious!" He looked a little offended, so I felt slightly bad.

    "Look, you're fine, stop worrying so much over material things!" I know why he is so worried. Hye Ji is also rich. Not as rich as Dae Hyun, but probably just as rich as me. "Yes, Hye Ji is kind of a material girl, just like I am, but she won't despise you just because you don't wear a new branded piece of clothing everyday."

   "Hm."

   "I already told you. She is a nice person. Don't worry, boy." I patted his head and left, giggling.

   At 5:09 I was ready. Not that I was dressing up, doing my hair and stuff, I just dried my hair. I was even wearing flip flops, if you want to know.

   I went to the kitchen to help Hye Ji's mom with the dinner, but Zelo's mom was already helping, so I got busy with the dessert. Zelo also came to the kitchen and offered a helping hand, but at the moment he started helping me, he dropped some chocolate on his shirt and jeans. He ran back to his room to change his clothes before Hye Ji arrived.

   Hye Ji and Shi Hoo arrived at around 5:40 p.m. I was still working on my cupcakes, when a screaming thing jumped on me. Yep. Hye Ji. We hugged each other and screamed a little more, just like ordinary teenage girls. We kept freaking out, until I looked behind her and, damn, that Shi Hoo guy was gorgeous. He could be an actor or an idol. No, a model. No, a god! A greek god. Well, at least a demigod.

   Hye Ji cleared and just then I realized I was staring too much.

   "Rika, this is Shi Hoo." She pulled him closer. "Shi Hoo, this is Rika, the girl we have been talking about."

   "You talked about me?" I whispered to her and she smiled naughtily, nodding. I blushed immediately.

   "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rika. I've heard a lot of nice things about you." He smiled, showing his perfect teeth and I was too amazed by his perfection to be able to say or do anything. Before I could reply, Zelo pulled me away.

   "What are you doing? Can you think about your single best friend? You have a boyfriend already, so stop drooling over random guys, I don't have a girlfriend, so help me get one." Zelo whispered a little too loud to be considered a whisper, but his voice was kind of muffled, so it was still a whisper. Anyway.

   "It's not going to be that easy to make her fall for you, teenage boy. And besides, her dad wants you away from her."

   "What? Did he say that?" He seemed worried and I found that really cute.

   "Yep. Why do you think you are sleeping on a sofa when there are four other rooms with beds available? He wants you as far as possible from Hye Ji. And, about drooling over random guys, that guy is not random and, come on, just look at him, I bet even you are drooling over him."

   Zelo totally ignored my last sentence. "Damn. Well, he doesn't have to know, you will be my alibi."

   "What?" But I decided to ignore him as well. "What do you think about Shi Hoo? If you think about looks, he is way better than Dae Hyun."

   "Yeah, that's it. When I go out with Hye Ji, you can tell her dad that you were with us, when you obviously weren't, because I don't want you disturbing my date. You will be my alibi."

   "His hair, his eyes, his smile..." I sighed.

   "I didn't even get to find out what is her favorite color. Will she like my shirt?"

   "What if Hye Ji told him too many good things about me, and when he actually gets to know the real me he gets disappointed?"

   "What is her favorite food?"

   "What if we are too different?"

   "What does she like to do?"

   "Well, they say that opposites do get attracted to each other, so it shouldn't be a problem."

   "Where should I take her in our first date?"

   "My looks are no match to his, though."

   "She's not tall at all, though. How am I supposed to kiss her?"

   "And he's too tall. How am I supposed to talk to him when we are standing?"

   "We have height issues." We said in unison after that ridiculous conversation.

   We stared at each other for some time. We hadn't listened to each other at all. At least I hadn't. But somehow we knew exactly what the other was talking about.

   "Don't think too much, Zelo. Hye Ji doesn't like it. Just let it come naturally."

   "Don't fall too easily for that guy, Rika. Remember you still have a boyfriend waiting for you back in Korea."

   We stayed in silence for a moment, until we finally decided to go back to the kitchen. I was planning to introduce Zelo to Hye Ji at that exact moment, but everyone was already there, sitting by the dining table, so it would have to wait.