Aeyoung and Kris stood at the exit of the grocery store after paying for the groceries  when then, they felt little drizzles pouring at the tip of their head. Aeyoung stretched her arms and opened her palms to confirm if whether the rain is really coming which proved her that it soon will be in no time.

Just then when she would about to step back, Kris abruptly covered her head with his hand and grappled her other hand then ran into other direction. Aeyoung then gazed back at him whilst they were on their journey of running.

“Kris! You’ll get soak!”

“Milady, it is my obligation to take care of you.” He casually and flatly said before spotting a spot wherein they could hide.

“One more thing, you’ll get sick. It’s alright for me to get sick but you’re not, many people will worry about you.” He said his eyes straight at the said spot. Aeyoung just nodded.

“Alright, thanks.” But Kris wasn’t able to hear due to the loud sound of the rain.

“Milady, in the count of 3! 1… 2… 3!” They both ran unto the hiding spot.

After finally reaching the spot, they occupied their selves on wiping and drying their clothes. “We should have brought a car, Kris.”

“But if we brought a car, don’t you think it’s more fun just commuting? And one more thing milady, it’s just alright for us not to bring a car for you to learn.”

“But you didn’t able to teach me how to commute!” She retorted, hugging herself just so to warm her body from the coldness she felt.

“You insisted, milady. I was the one who kept on pushing you to commute.”

“Fine.” She conceded, rolling her eyes.

“Milady, are you cold?”

Aeyoung nodded. Kris then rubbed her hands until it had made a friction and until it heated up. He put his hands on her cheeks, making Aeyoung startled. It was normal for Kris to be like this. Since he had many siblings, we would often do that to them when they are cold and Aeyoung wasn’t any other person to him.

“Kris, what are you doing?!” Aeyoung vociferated, taking his hands away from her cheeks but Kris was persistent and wouldn't let her go.

"Didn't I told you that it is my obligation to take care of you, milady?"

Aeyoung then stupefied like her brain just wouldn't function properly. For a matter of seconds, she just stood there, gazing at him with this bewildered feeling, only it wasn't evident since she held a blank face. For a few while, it was awkward and only the sound of crickets chirping can only be heard. 

Kris then took off his hands away from her face, cutting off the awkward silence and adverted his gaze on the direction of the rain, listening to the sound of it as the randrops slowly plopped against the ground. Aeyoung then followed the direction of his gaze. In a blink of an eye, memories started to flash.

"You know, I always hated rain."

Kris turned to her and asked, "Why milady?"

Aeyoung fell silent for awhile and it took her some time to speak as if she refused to tell, "Because... it was rain when my mom left me."

Kris then snapped and realized that he doesn't see her mother on the mansion. Now he will know the answer from her.

"Milady, I'm sorry to hear that."

"N-no, no! It's ok!" Though she reassured, it was still prominent that her voice was shaking because she was hurt. Just then, small tears start to roll down her cheeks as it streams down on the direction of her cheeks.

"Milady, you are not ok. Don't force yourself, anymore. I know it hurts."

Though he constructed her from talking anymore, it had only provoke Aeyoung to speak more. "Why she must have been left when we were already happy?! Why must they took her away from me?!" She bit her lips, supressing her tears but it just drought seamlessly.

Though the sound of the rain dominated the sound of the atmosphere, Aeyoung's weeps can still be heard. And it was just too grievious to watch. 

"Milady, I'm sorry..." His hands ran down on her back, consoling her.

"No, I'm already got used to this..." Her stare were on the ground and her feet tapped the ground, doesn't want Kris to see her this weak. She then stared at the rain when the rain did just got worsier.

Kris pondered on what he should do to make her atleast feel better even only a tiny bit. He's not really good at this kind of things. Until, he had came into the oddest idea he could ever think off, as childish as the idea sounds.

"Bbuing bbuing!" He closed her fist and rolled it on the apple of his cheeks, trying to do aegyo. Aeyoung shifted her gaze to him, "What was that, Kris?!" She can't bit back her smile, though her face were still fresh with tears and her eyes were still puffy red.

Kris repeated what he did awhile ago, this time his eyes wore a resemblance of a puppy dog, making Aeyoung to chuckle weakly. "Thanks Kris."

"I just don't want to see you cry, milady. You don't deserve it."

Aeyoung's lips pressed into a smile. Having Kris on her side as a friend really is a soothing feeling.

 

***

 

When the mansion was no more illuminated with light and engulped with darkness and when no one was up for the night, Aeyoung came into the picture, snickering on the kitchen in the most clandestine way. Her footsteps are stealthy and surreptitious, careful not to arouse any possible person near on the proximity of the area.

Once assuring that no one's crept up on the kitchen, she flickered open the lights with ease and have nothing to worry about. She opened the fridge and one by one took away the ingredients that Kris had put inside and settled it gingerly on the island. She skimmed her crumpled list and her dried and slightly chapped lips.

She sauntered forward on the sink and turn on the faucet before a flowing current of water sloped down the sink. She let her hands immersed on the coldness of the water before twisting the faucet off once more. 

She then proceeded on the stove and the switch without having to realize that she had twisted it on the highest point and got herself startled and jumped on her position when a flame started to appear on the burner of the stove. She clutched on her chest and shook her head, "Goodness!"

She doesn't really have knowledge on baking neither cooking, so it had always left her flabbergasted whenever an encounter caught her red-handed. "Ottokhae?!" She was on a current state of a chaos, being tied down in a string of a situation that she doesn't know how to untie.

She took the bottle of vinegar and poured it down the flame in a very panicked and hastily manner and only to be found that the flame had just got worst. She once more jumped on her current position, her eyes  wandering around the kitchen in panick. She seized the small thin rug hanging on the kitchen cabinet and rapidly threw it on the flame before both the rug and the flame had gone into the depths of oblivion.

Because the rug has thin quality, the cloth had burnt together with the flame. Either way, she sighed in relief. *Why is cooking so hard?!* She desperately thought. She huffed an air between her cheeks and sighed to continue. She once red the crumpled paper with it's list of ingredients and with it's steps on how to bake a cake.

First step is that she has to grease the pan with a butter. Aeyoung took a deep breath before slowly turning on the switch, this time with a right amount of range. She shut her eyes and expected for a second series of flame but then when she opened her eyes, there was no big flame and only a small one. She sighed in content.

She then took the butter and tore it's cover. She then cut a small piece of it before fizzle it by a spatula on the pan and it was immediately followed by sizzling sounds and splashing of some of the oil of butter, making her jumped on her position as she made squeaking and squealing sounds. She closed her eyes and stepped a little back, distancing herself away from the splashing. "Uggh, this is so hard!" She growled.

When she was done, she proceeded on the kitchen island and laid the red bowl she found inside the cabinet. She gathered the butter, eggs, vanilla extract, sugar and buttermilk on one corner. Since she doesn't know how to beat eggs, she has to accumulate flinders and fragments of memories she had saw whenever a servant beats eggs.

If she's not mistaken and as long as her memory restored, she has to beat it with a fork so she immediately took a fork from the utensil dispenser. She thought once more on how to beat an egg. She swallowed the limp formed on when she placed the fork on the egg, her other hand supported the weight of the egg. She mentally counted before striking the fork on the egg ever so quickly due to the nervousness she had felt. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the subsequent events unraveled before her eyes.

She opened her eyes and only to be found that the egg's shell was beaten into pieces and was mixed inside the yolk together with the fork, confirming she had failed on her task. She made a shrill sound and growled in annoyance. She stomped on her foot childishly.

Just then when she attempted for a second attempt, footsteps suddenly interrogated her. She spun around and sneaked on the entrance, seeing Kris' lazy figure walking across her. Panick immediately washed her inside and she was on a quick adrenaline rush, her chest pumping loudly due to nervousness. 

While she was plotting for a plan on how she would hide this mess from him, she had bumped into... Kris' chest.

*Oh crap!* She thought, bitting her lower lip.

"Milady, what are you doing here?" Kris' voice was clouded with sleep, slightly sounding husky. Her eyes were drooping down but then he peered on her back. Aeyoung blocked his view, making Kris' eyebrows to narrow and meet on the center. 

"Milady, are you hiding something from me?" He then successfully walked past behind her back as his eyes widened.

"Milady? What is this?" He incredulously asked, eyeing the beaten shell of eggs looking so drastic at the sea of egg yolk. 

"W-well, that's the new way of beating eggs!" As soon as she realized what she just said, she regretted saying it and realized how stupid the alibi was. Kris grasped and caressed his stomach as if dying with too much laughter. His eyes creased for awhile, creating a line and his eyes wasn't visible for awhile. 

"Seriously, milady?" Kris' tone was compounded with a mockery matched with disbelief. Aeyoung slapped his stomach and glarred to him.

"Ok, ok! I know, I know! I'm dumb!" She took a breath exasperately.

Kris wiped the small tear formed from his laughter and faced her, "Milady, you could have said it to me so I can help!" 

She rolled her eyes and mumbled some few words. Kris wasn't able to get it but then cleared his throat.

Aeyoung pursed her lips and adverted her gaze to him, "Just help me, ok?"

Kris then snatched the paper from her and red what was written on it. 

 

***

 

"Kris!! Hurry up! The cake's burning!" Aeyoung signalled for him to come in by her hands that was wrapped on a pink gloves. Kris was on the island, fixing the remaining ingredients and was about to put it inside the fridge.

Kris strode rushly to his milady and scrutinized the oven. His eyes widened as he just saw what was happening.

"Milady! You just didn't!"

"I did, Kris!"

"I told you to look for it!"

"A friend called me so I wasn't able to look for it!"

"Milady! I can't believe you!" Kris huffed an air in aggravation, irked by her irresponsible behavior. Aeyoung didn't mind him since her concentration was inclined on the oven.

"Hurry up Kris! O-oh!" She yelped in pain when she felt a hot surface on her hands when she removed the cake from the oven.

"Milady, I really can't believe you!" Kris snapped, turned off the switched and snatched the cake from her grouchily. Kris shook his head when he saw the burnt cake on his hands. He just felt all the drained-energy and effort was put into waste.

"So it was my fault, then? You could just have look for it the moment you heard me having phone call with someone!"

"Can't you look for it while looking for the cake?" Kris rolled his eyes in scoff. Aeyoung taken aback on his sudden unexpected behavior.

"Ok! I admit it! I was the one on fault! Now happy?" She took the cake from him.

"Milady..."

"Don't call me milady, I didn't even requested for you to call me that!" She sternly said, still examining the burnt cake, still having hopes on fixing it. Kris sighed.

"Ok ok, milady. I'm sorry. We'll just make a new one. Now can you forgive me?"

Aeyoung glanced back at him and contemplated for awhile if she could just give in. Though she still felt the same resentment left from awhile ago, there was no visible alternative options so she then agreedeven if it was against her will.

"Fine." She crankily said and started to grasp the ingredients one by one once more. Good thing she bought more than the amount she needed so it wasn't much of a problem even if it takes her numbers of mistakes.

 

***

 

"Kris! I said I'm going to mix it!" Aeyoung retorted, reaching for the bowl that Kris had snatched away from her.

"Milady, you won't. You already ruined the first cake, I'm not letting you ruin the second one." Kris was stubborn and wouldn't let her touch the bowl. Aeyoung then continued to reach for it as it had fell on Kris' grip. Aeyoung then eyed the ingredients on the floor and glarred unto him.

"It's all your fault!" She stomped on her foot.

"I'm sorry, milady." Kris sadly said.

Aeyoung then wiped the mess, Kris rushed on her helping her but Aeyoung had pushed him away. "Go away." It wasn't late when Kris noticed that her voice were shaky and that a drop of a tear fell on the ground.

"Milady, are you crying?"

Before she could even answer, Aeyoung stormed off the kitchen. She was aware how childish and irrational her current behavior is, crying for a very small and senseless matter. But for her, it wasn't a small matter. These were for her bestfriends. All the effort and sacrifices and endurance were for her bestfriend. But Kris had ruined it all.

She then covered her whole body with her plain white blanket, crying herself into sleep.

Not a long after, when she felt a weight bouncing on her fluffy bed. Someone then touched her head gently.

"Milady, are you still mad at me?"

It was evident. The voice was evident. It was evident the voice was from Kris.

"Go away." She pushed him by her feet that was still covered with sheets.

"Milady, listen..." His deep voice ringing inside her ears.

"I don't want to!" She muffled inside her sheets. Kris gently removed the sheets off her face, revealing a puffy red eyes of Aeyoung. Kris immediately felt remorse eating him up until the last bit of his skin. He caressed her hair soothingly. He had made her cry two times in just a day. Just the thought of it makes him want to have a good punch of himself.

"Milady, I'm sorry. I really am. I was stupid not to trust you."

She just gazed up on him with an expressionless on her face, couldn't comprehend what right feeling she should convey... whether she'll remain angry or would just be submissive.

Her eyes were glinting on the streaks of light, making her big eyes as if it were crystals, actually making her adorable. Kris was lost on her eyes for a second, gazing at the lucid shimmer on her eyes. He didn't know Aeyoung's eyes had this effect on him that it had made him lost and trapped for awhile. He snapped back, realizing what he has been doing.

Though Kris still doesn't know if she already forgive him or not, he still had the effort to ask, "Milady, are you sleepy? Rest now, you'll be late for school." He said with a tone of genuine concern before tucking her on her sheets then exited her room.

Aeyoung watched as his figure diminished on her sight. She starred where he had gone to before tucking herself into sleep.

Without her knowing, Kris has been planning to make a cake once more for her.

 

---

 

Author's note:

Thanks for reading, everyone!~~