***

Living the life (as she told Minseok she would do) doesn't include sulking all alone in her messy room. It's been a week when she moved out of Minseok's apartment, unplanned, and looking at the state of her room one can say that she's not being productive at all. Her things are scattered all over the place, she didn't have enough time to organize her things after going home from work. 

Another week and she had Minseoks's voice shouting on her ears. She finally decided that she's lonely enough to give him the promised call (and she knows the other is worrying for her) they couldn't talk to her since she changed her number. (to make it even more dramatic)

"Calm down or I'll drop the call." She threatens when Minseok won't stop bombarding her with questions. (Where are you? Are you eating 3 times a day? Do you still have  money to live by?)

Jinri smiles when she heard a defeated sigh. "I'm sorry for making you worry hyung. But I'm doing good." She says, like the good news would dissapoint the other.

"You're lonely aren't you? That's why you called?" Worry laces Minseok's voice and Jinri just wants to hug the other (how so) to give and seek comfort, like what she would always do.

"I'll be fine." She retorted, she have to be fine.

They talk for a couple of minutes, mostly with Minseok asking her again her whereabouts which of course, she didn't tell. That would ruin the drama that she's gotten herself into. 

~*~

A week later, she meets a friend in a form of a guy, amazingly taller than Chanyeol, with blond hair and piercings and tattoos.

Jinri was gazing into nothingness when someone appears in her line of vision, startling her, then sends her into a trance.

"Which manga are you from?" She blurts out without even thinking and much ogling. The guy is unbelievably handsome, he deserves those sparkling entrance from the shoujo mangas that she read. 

The guy stares at her in confusion. "Excuse me, What?"

Jinri chokes at the sight of perfection, (his voice is oh so perfect oh my gosh) ugly sobbing before (in a blink of an eye) she returns to her normal state. "I mean how may I help you gorgeous man?"

She laughs as the man bit his lip to prevent a smile that threatens to mar the perfection that is his face before saying "Thank you. Are you Jinri?"

She later learns, after their somehow awkward conversation (she just ogles too much) that the guy is named Yifan, he's from China, and he's the son of the owner of the shop, and (much to Jinri's delight) he'll be accompanying her from then on.

Yifan is great, after 2 days, Jinri finally get over him coming out from a manga and they developed close friendship with each other. 

"Maybe you should come with me to the cosplay. If you win, we'll split the cash."

"How about no."

Okay, friendship mixed with a lot of bickering. Yifan is a quiet guy armed with that poker face of his so you'd find him intimidating, but that's exactly the opposite, he's just cripplingly shy and Jinri teases him for that.

"Yifan. Why are you so handsome?" Jinri pretends to ask sounding casual (it's an everyday habit), she could already see Yifan smiling at the back of his hand.

"Cut it Jinri. I'll fire you." He says voice not even threatining.

"Woo. Scary. I'd like to see you try." She probes when she knows full well that the other isn't capable of doing that, he says it everyday. It's even kind of insane how they manage to put up this conversation every ing single day and never get tired.

"You should add hyung." Yifan scolds instead, already used to Jinri calling older guys hyung instead of oppa (it's too girly, she scowls.)

"Alright oppa!" Sulli mimics those irritating girls in those dramas and Wufan tries hard not to puke.

---

When she phones Minseok the next time, she's thankful enough that he didn't scream at her ears.

"How's your life little drama queen?" Jinri laughs at the nickname, that'd be the last thing that would describe her, had she not run away.

"Copacetic, full of rainbows and mangas?" She replied. "I have a friend, he's so gorgeous, I want to cry."

At the corner of her eyes, Jinri saw Yifan glaring daggers at her. It's entertaining. They talk about her life, or anything at all.

"Yixing says he misses you." Minseok muttered. It's the one thing that she's been avoiding and a tidal wave of emotions are back. Since she doesn't know what to say,she ended the call with a half-hearted goodbye. 

Yifan is fast to get to her side, noticing the sudden change of her emotion. 

"Something wrong?" Yifan gave her a worried look. 

She almost forgot about Yixing, he's already stored in a cupboard somewhere at the back of her mind. 

"Nothing." She replies forcing a smile and shaking her head.

She's moving on, living the life. She's ready to fall inlove with Yifan.

"It's that Yixing right?" Okay maybe not.

"How did you?"

"You doodled on one of the inventories, or maybe three."

Okay. She's not going to fall for Yifan. He's gorgeous and kind and everything but that's all.

She can't even force a smile anymore, it's been months and she misses them terribly, wonders if Minseok is telling the truth. Even before she moved away from Minseok's apartment, Yixing's messages turned into a stop that she forced herself into thinking that her bestfriend had already forgotten her. 

"C'mere Jinri." The blond coaxes and she's in a trance again, it's the anime effect that had her going to Yifan.

The ever so perfect blond who came out from a manga, just have to wrap his arms around her for comfort, and Jinri starts dry sobbing about Yifan's perfection she just can't (maybe she's also mourning because of Yixing).

Jinri sniffs, drowning in Yifan's scent. "I'm going to fall for you like this." 

"As if." Yifan retorts, hauling her into a headlock that had her shouting in protest, complaining about her hair. "Why are you wailing anyway?"

Good thing that they're already closing the shop so basically there's no one around to witness how insane the two of them are. 

***

Finally, after much coaxing from Minseok, Yixing finally had the balls to call Jinri. Well it's taken him 2 hours of wheedling.

He hasn't talk to Jinri for a couple of months already, both because of guilt and being with Minah (guilt again, cause his attention is on her 24/7). 

Yixing uses Minseok's phone, because he doesn't know Jinri's number and he's scared that Jinri wouldn't talk to him.

"Man, stop shaking, it's your bestfriend. If I didn't know you're dating Minah, I would have thought you have a stupid crush on Jinri." Minseok snaps as he dials Jinri's number. 

It starts ringing and Yixing could hear his own heartbeat, gawking at Minseok, asking for help. 

Ringring. (He's thinking of dropping the call.)

Ringring. (His throat constricts)

The ringing stop.

"Hello?" It wasn't Jinri who answered the call, it's a male's voice. 

"Yifan who's .. ah.. !! why did you pushed it?" There goes Jinri's voice in the background, followed by a series of groans (ugh. I'm not yet ready!) and Yixing knows he's turning red.

"It's your Minseok hyung." He heard the guy says, before he heard some shuffling.

"Hyung? What's up?" Yixing starts sweating, how is he going to answer her? "Wait. Yifan, It's bleeding." Jinri's breathless voice sounded on the receiver and a muffled whine was again heard.

"Hyung? Minseok?"

Yixing hungs up and looks at Minseok who's waiting for him to explain. It's embarassing. Is Jinri having some intimate time with some guy? As much as he wants to block those thoughts, he could still hear her clearly.

"Is it busy? Should we call again?" The older snatches the phone from his hand and starts dialling again before Yixing stops him.

"No hyung. She's busy."

"It's okay, it won't be long--"

"No. He's with a guy."

"Then? Couldn't she--"

"No. I mean, they might be doing you know."

Minseok looks perplexed, after a few minutes he finally undestands, mouth forming an oh. Yixing could only sigh thinking what happened to Jinri when they had made a pact. As ridiculous as it sounds, they made a vow that they would do IT when they're married, maybe she already forgot.

"""

Jinri stares at the phone in her hand, wondering why Minseok didn't even speak. Her ear is currently throbbing with bearable pain from new piercing. She coerced Yifan into doing it, she completely forgot how painful it was that it had her screaming. 

"How's it?" Yifan asks observing her ear as she was lying in his lap. They're in his room (no monkey business going on) now watching Vampire Knight Guilty, her pick. 

"Hurts like hell." Jinri hisses under her breath looking at Yifan who's giving her a what-did-i-told-you look. She flails her hand to tell him it's okay and took his hands urging him to pet her hair.

"Tell me about Yixing." Yifan says and like the obedient friend that she is to him. She did. It took her an hour or so, skipping small details and such.

 It's a good thing to have Yifan, he's a good listener, maybe because he didn't know Yixing, but nonetheless, it's rather comforting (although Yifan only had this pokerface and just keeps on nodding) than talking to Minseok or Chanyeol. 

"So you're inlove with your bestfriend?" Jinri groans as it was the third time that the blond asks the stupid question, with that nauseated expression on his face. 

"Ugh. Yifan, I didn't know why I even put up with you." She whines, Kris laughs because he clearly likes tormenting her.

"Because I'm handsome?" Yifan answers for her. Jinri pretends to gag over his conceited friend and smacks his forehead.

"Wrong! You're the son of the owner of the shop I'm working on. You're the one giving me my paycheck." She laughs at Yifan's revolted face. 

They settled on the bed again, the pain on her ear dissipating, Yifan resumes patting her hair. Lying comfortably there, as she stares into nothingness, having someone to comfort her, Jinri thinks that maybe this is what they call living the life. 

***

a:n. i have this urge to end it here. Apparently, i fell inlove with Kris' character, that i want Sulli to end up with him, and i'm trying hard not to. yeah. haha. it's obvious ikr. but Yixing would have to end up with Sulli or no one at  all. haha.

anyway. thank you dear readers. i'm happy that you're taking time to read this. :)