A bet. It was such a simple and short word, yet the shortness of it brought so much trouble. Pain upon pain, inflicting the flesh of innocent children. Once you place in your bet, there’s no backing out – unless you deem yourself a coward. Men and their pride; their ego extends beyond your imagination.

The point is that once you forfeit your wager, you’re considered a “chicken”. Nobody wants to take back their words once it has been said. And it is no different in Nam Woohyun’s case.

He definitely placed himself in a difficult position.

“Guys, why don’t we have a bet?”

“Bring it on. What’re we gonna bet this time? It better not be something stupid like last time. went down when Sungjong got caught trying to flip Ms. Ko’s long skirt!” Dongwoo and Howon chuckled at the memory, followed by a shudder.

“Well, he did it anyway although he did have to serve three consecutive days in detention, with no other than Mr. Shin.” Sungyeol sympathized.

“Yeah and I won in the end. Who said I didn’t have the ‘manly’ guts to flip her skirt?” Sungjong smiled, recalling his six friend’s pathetic, priceless faces after witnessing his courageous act...

The six boys went quiet, pushing away the raw memory that happened not very long ago.

“So who’s still up for the new bet? This time it’s Woohyun’s turn!” The eldest, Sunggyu, shouted. Cheers followed along with one lonely groan from the young man, Nam Woohyun.

“I thought it was Myungsoo’s turn!”

“No, man. We all decided It would be your turn.” Woohyun opened his mouth to speak, “Hey you even agreed to it, right, buds?!” Sunggyu turned to the five heads that nodded furiously at his statement.

“When!?”

“When you passed out a week ago. We asked, you agreed. The bet is on!”

Woohyun stood in silence, speechless. He couldn’t continue complaining even though he has no recollection of his blabbering when he passed out. “Fine. What’s the bet about this time?”

Sunggyu smirked. “Befriend Yoon Daeun.”

Woohyun’s jaw dropped. “You mean… the Yoon Daeun?” His friends nodded.

“You only have one month.”

“But that’s insane! Nobody wants to–“

“I bet Nam Woohyun won’t be able to do it.” Howon was the first to cut him off.

“I bet he’d take longer than a month.”

Woohyun stared shockingly at his friends. Do they always underestimate his capabilities? “Who said I won’t be able to do it? Five hundred bucks that I can in only three weeks.”

“Loser has to treat us to dinner for an entire month. Deal?”

Woohyun contemplated a little. He can’t back out now. “Winner gets the money. We have a deal.”

He made his final decision. He hopes, badly, that he won’t end up with regrets.

The game has officially started.

Her most important wish came true; however, she knew it was too good to be true. After all, everything comes with a price. No matter how much she gives to the world, her rewards are limited. She played a game with fate; as long as her wish comes true, she will do anything to compensate the favour she received.

There was no such thing as give and take for Yoon Daeun.

“Mommy, why do people throw pennies into that fountain?” Six year old Yoon Daeun curiously dragged her mother in front of the park’s grand fountain.

Her mother smiled at her daughter’s curiosity. “Daeun, curiosity kills the cat.”

“Who is curiosity and why did he kill the cat?” Little Daeun frowned. “Cats are sweet and nice. Why are they dying?”

Daeun’s mother crouched down at Daeun, light chuckles erupting from her. “Oh my, my daughter has a lot of questions, doesn’t she?” Patting her head gently, Daeun nodded. She glanced up at her mother’s hand and then at the fountain once again.

“Mommy, look! There’s so many pennies in the water!” Little Daeun freed herself from her mother’s grasp and lightly jogged towards the bundle of pennies in the water. She observed the reflection of herself through the translucent liquid and then up at the families surrounding the fountain. The sound of water streaming and the clink-clank of pennies reaching the bottom of the hard surface excited her.

“Mommy, can I try it too?” She jumped up and down excitedly, gesturing for her mother to walk towards her.

Daeun’s mother smiled at her daughter in amusement before reaching into her purse for her pouch filled with change. She went in search for a penny and once she found what she was looking for, she showed it to her daughter.

Little Daeun held out her small palm as the touch of something cold landed on the middle of it. “This is my one and only penny, Daeun.” Her mother bent down until their eyes leveled each other’s before her daughter’s hair. It was thin and smooth as her fingers effortlessly ran down to the tip of her hair strand.

She turned her daughter around until little Daeun was facing the fountain. “Place this penny in your hands –like this- and close your eyes.” A grin didn’t leave little Daeun’s lips.

“Now what do I do, mommy? Can I throw it in already?” She was eager and her mother noticed.

“Not yet, sweetie. Close your eyes and make a wish in your head. When you’re done, quietly count to three and then open your eyes.” Little Daeun did exactly as her mother instructed.

“Can I throw it in now?”

Daeun’s mother chortled at her daughter’s impatience. “Did you make a wish?” Little Daeun’s head bobbled up and down as she smiled a million dollar watt. “Alright, you can throw the lucky penny into the water.”

And she did just that.

“But mommy, I still don’t get why people throw in pennies.”

“Sweetie, you made a wish and threw in the only lucky penny I have. Now you just have to wait for your wish to come true.”

“Will it really come true, mommy?”

Her mother didn’t respond. She only smiled down at her daughter, Yoon Daeun.

Nam Woohyun, like everyone else, didn’t pay any attention to Yoon Daeun’s presence. She was a loner, an outcast, a nobody – she is really no different than air. Air cannot be touched, does not have an odour, you cannot physically see air nor can you taste it. Yoon Daeun is a human with a heart. You can see her with your very own two eyes, feel her frail and small physique and you can definitely smell her personal fragrance. Really, Daeun is no different than all the other human beings on earth. But why is she so different?

Right. She was briefly introduced as a lonely girl.

Woohyun, on the other hand, is the complete opposite of a loner. He’s well known in both the school he’s attending and his neighbourhood. Along with six other handsome young men (they call themselves Infinite); Woohyun is known for his attractiveness and gentleman behaviours. Capturing the hearts of many young teenage girls (and a rare number of young adults and healthy elders), Infinite is just simply popular. Who wouldn’t know about Infinite? Heck, they even have their own fan club called Inspirits!

Now, not every single member of Infinite has a heart made out of cotton candy. They’re not all soft and colourful. In fact, out of the seven, Nam Woohyun is one of those softies – one that cannot bear to see someone in agony.

But that is all about to change.