*SMUT Alert. Swear words included.*
"Can you please help me?"
At the cafeteria, a man in his twenties is kneeling on the floor, facing a girl wearing a bookish spectacles and a worn out smile. He stares at her pleadingly, his face similar like a cat asking for its late dinner.
Her eyes stop reading the words written on the page as the love novel lays still on the coffee table. "Why? Just what is the reason you're doing this to me?" She asks, her eyebrow slanting.
Lay lets out a huge sigh. "There's this girl whom I really am interested in, but I don't know how to start talking to her. You're my best friend, surely you can help me out, can't you?" He bites his lips, looking anxious.
Rolling her eyes in annoyance, she huffs. "Alright, then. Just this one time around.
"Yay! I knew I could count on you!" He claims, his lips kissing her hands.
The moment he did this, something repulsive moves through her body. It was electrifying.
She pushes the swaying brown strand of hair behind her ears nervously. "Alright, so what's your plan?"
"Okay." He takes out his phone out of his jeans' pocket. His slender finger slides across the screen, before he shows it to her.
"Here. Her number." He says. "How can I text her telling to ask her out?" He lets out a sigh. "I am quite shy, so I don't know how to start the conversation." He puts on a hand on his neck, looking embarrassed.
"Shy?" She remarks. "That's new."
He shoots her a look. "That's because you're different than the other girls. I don't know. I just feel so comfortable talking to you."
She can't describe her feelings upon listening this.
Lay, oh Lay. Why can't you understand how I feel?
Still, her face becomes as red as a ripe tomato.
"Hey, are you alright?" He asks, concerned. "You are awfully silent today."
She bites the end of her lip. "I'm okay." Trying not to be distracted by his comment, she focuses on the screen while reading the number.
Kim Yoon Ah. That's the girl's name.
Wait. This can't be her, right?
She looks up to him, and asks. "Is this Yoon Ah, the architecture student from the next class?"
"Yes." He replies slowly. "Do you know her?"
"We used to be close." She bites back a negative remark. "After sometime, we seemed to be lost in contact."
The thing is, she didn't tell him that Yoon Ah once sabotaged her work, leaving her having to repeat the semester once again.
"I see." His face lits up. "So I guess it won't be a bad idea to have you talking to her."
"What?!" Her voice takes a higher pitch.
"Yes, cause you know her. And you used to be close with her. Surely there's nothing wrong with that, isn't it?" He suggests.
Being a person who doesn't like talking about the bad deed of others, she nods hesitantly. "Alright, I'll try. Would you mind sending her number to mine?"
"With pleasure." He politely takes back his phone, and opens the WhatsApp messenger before sharing the contact information. "There, I just did."
She takes out her phone from her bag. A WhatsApp notification from him pops up. "Yeah, I got it."
"Thanks, love!" He says. Looking at his watch, he grimaces. "Oh, I got to go. The Anthropology lecturer is so gonna bust me up if I am late to his class again." He sighs. "Anyway, thank you again!" Grabbing his bag, he nonchalantly rubs her head, like how a brother treats a sister.
"Bye." Deep in her heart, she hopes he really knows how she feels about him.
***
"Hello? Is this Yoon Ah?"
A soft voice is heard on the other line. "Yes, speaking. Who is this?"
Her heart beats loudly, now that the person who used to be close to her is actually talking to her again. "It's me, Kyra."
"Kyra?"
A plausible silence. She hears nothing but the sharp breath.
"Oh dear, it's been a while, isn't it?"
Fiddling with her hair, her feet
start to feel numb. It has been really quite a while. Not to let awkwardness takes control of the situation, she decides to break the silence.
"About three years, wasn't it? How are you doing now?"
A small laugh echoes. "Not much. Just the usual stuff, like eating, sleeping and studying."
You mean copying? Her heart asks, but these words don't come out of her mouth. Thank God, or else she'd be smashing his chance to go out with this girl right then.
"Ah. I see. Cool." Now she's literally has nothing more to say. How is she supposed to tell her enemy that her own crush is secretly admiring her? That's like receiving double slaps on one's face.
Mustering all her courage, she quickly suggests, "Shall we hang out then?"
"That'd be great! We can catch up with our stories. You must have a lot going on with your life."
Yeah, which includes you.
"Sure. By the way, there's someone I'd like you to meet."
"Really? My, who is it?"
It aches her to even say his name. "You'll know when you see him later."
"A surprise then, huh? Alright. So where shall we meet at?"
"How about at the subway after 5pm on tomorrow? Are you free?"
"5pm, isn't it? Yeah, I am. See you soon."
"See you."
She flips the phone and throws it across the bed. A soft sigh escapes her lips.
***
"Is he going to come, after all?" Yoon Ah curiously asks, twirling with her curly hair dyed in dark purple.
"I think he's going to. Well, he promised." She gulps down a large amount of saliva down her throat. "By the way, you look nice with that haircolour."
"Thanks." Yoon Ah responds with a curt reply, giving her a smile.
Now that she has nothing more to say, it feels like the situation is getting more and more awkward. Both of them are now looking around at the place. At the same time, Kyra jumps on her feet to spot Lay among these busy looking people. Some guy who is passing by winks at Yoon Ah, which is shortly replied by a smile.
Sometimes she wonders, how did Yoon Ah manage to cope with her life like this? Throughout ten years they've been friends ever since they were small, Yoon Ah was the kind of girl to easily catch guys' attention. She's the life of the party, while Kyra is the silent type, who'd ever mutter a cynical remark under her breath.
The only thing she doesn't like about her is that her used to be friend likes to take credit for everything. In fact, too much of everything. Whenever they work together, Yoon Ah would sometimes claim that the majority of the work is done by her. This makes Kyra feel unappreciated. Abandoned. It's like all her effort put into the work just went down the drain.
Lowering her eyes and gazing into Kyra's, Yoon Ah squats down beside her, her voice sounding serious. "Actually, I want to apologize for copying your work the other day. I know it's been a long while, but still, I'm sorry. I know, I often neglected you, but now that I'm seeing you again, it's better for us to bury the hatchet and just move on."
Her eyes widen. "Do you really mean it?"
"I promise." She looks at her, holding her pinky finger.
A soft smile is etched across her face, at the promise of a new beginning for the relationship.
"Hey, guys! Sorry to keep you waiting!" He comes over, panting.
"Where have you been, Lay? We waited for like almost an hour for you!" Kyra shouts at him, going hands on hips.
"Sorry, got some detention. Caught red handed falling asleep in Anthropology, again." He chuckles. "Guess I should've worn a sunglass."
"Yeah, right. Still, I highly doubt they won't hear your loud snoring."
He winks. "Yeah, that's another factor I should consider too..." He put his thumb under his chin, pretending to think.
"Anyway, who is this beautiful face sitting right next to us?" He asks, acting all ignorant all of the sudden.
She is barely able to resist the strong urge to smack him in the head. How dare of him! He was the one asking for her help to go out with Yoon Ah. Now, it seems like she's the one playing the matchmaker in the game.
"This is Yoon Ah. She's my childhood friend."
"Ah. I didn't know you have such a beautiful friend when you were a child. If I were you, I wish time would stop during our childhood years, so I'll be blessed playing house with you, watching your pretty face all day long." He says, intentionally directing all these towards her. Crap, even the pickup line sucks.
"Thank you." She mutters shyly. What's your name by the way, handsome?"
His face lits upon the compliment. "Lay, but you can call me oppa."
She squints, flashing her so famous toothpaste ad smile. "Nae, oppa."
Smooth.
Kyra coughs on purpose, trying not to look way too much like a spare tyre joining the lovebirds' date.
"So, yeah... Where should we go now?" She asks, looking at both of them.
"Should we go for the movies?" He suggested.
"Yeah, sure. What movie would you like to watch?" She looks at him, her hand slowly holding his arm.
Flattered, he shakes his head sweetly. "No, you decide."
"I don't know."
She face palms. How on earth is this melodrama going to end, she doesn't know.
Letting out a sigh, she tried to put a stop in the indecisiveness. "What about horrors? Any movie of that genre sounds great for me."
Warily, he looks into Yoon Ah's eyes.
She smiles. "Okay, sure. Good suggestion, Kyra."
"I agree." He mutters.
Kyra mentally rolls her eyes. Lay is always the type to go for the action when it comes to movies. Never at once, he concedes to her plead of having a go at watching the horrors.
But now that Yoon Ah is with him, things start to change. Something twitches inside her.
So they settle for the movie, the one with the entity coming out of the wardrobe. Not enough with one, it seems to struggle having to fight with other two as well.
Kyra munches on the caramel popcorn, her eyes focused on the wide screen. Now the epic battle has begun.
"Ah!"
A loud scream is heard from her side. Turning to look at who the culprit was, she could now see Yoon Ah snuggling into Lay, looking terrified. Her nails dug into his underarms, her face a thousand frowns.
Lay, on the other hand, seems to really enjoy the whole "horrifying" experience. Anyone would think that he's watching a fairytale with a happy little ending at the end with that clearly serene smile on his smug face.
Out of the cinema, Kyra follows both Lay and Yoon Ah closely from behind, idly playing with her phone. Not that she doesn't want to talk with them. It's just that things are starting to get a bit cheesy between them, and apparently it really looks like they are out on a real date.
"I think I should go now. Got some assignments to hand in next week." She smoothly excuses herself.
Lay grunts. "Alright, Kyra, see you later at class." He says, not even looking up at her.
Both seem to be engrossed with a pair of couple rings currently on sale by the highly persuasive street vendor.
She lets a sigh, her face crestfallen. "Alright, I'll see you later. Bye."
Walking away, her stomach twists. She has the feeling that the relationship between her and Lay won't ever be the same again, after this.
***
"Why won't you answer the freaking damn phone?" She asks Lay, going hands on hips.
"Sorry, I got distracted. Was on Skype with her.
"Every night, everyday?" She asks, still getting angry. "You know that we have a group presentation coming right up this Friday, don't you?"
"Ah." Biting his lips, he looks taken aback. "Sorry, I forgot." He carefully says.
"Don't mind it. I've already got it covered. Thank God, the helper guy came in at the right time to the rescue." She says, looking entirely relieved. "He saw me struggling to do the slides at the library, so he dropped by and helped. Later I'll email you the notes."
"Who's that guy, anyway? Do I know him?" He says, cocking his eyebrow.
"It's a student from the next class, Kang Jun. Yoon Ah would probably know him."
"I see. I'm so glad that I have you." He remarks. "Mind if I treat you to a full course dinner tomorrow? Just as a token of appreciation for what you did."
A soft smile slowly forms on her face. "That would be great! So, when do I see you?"
"At nine, the Ross'." He briefly states. "Or mind if I pick you up with my bike?" He asks, looking at her.
"Nevermind." Kyra says. "As long as dinner is on you, I'll be fine with going on my own."
"Alright, then. I'll see you there." He says excitedly, winking at her.
***
She glances at her watch. It's 9.30. "What's taking him so long? He's never this late." Worry starts to overwhelm her. Her fingers quickly take out the silver phone from the purple slingback to check up on him.
The door chimes and someone enters. She looks up to see who that is. Her eyes widen when she saw him.
It looks like they've got a company.
She gives him a quick "What?" gesture as the girl wearing the long red dress take her seat right next to the window.
"Sorry." He gestures back.
Perhaps knowing how awkward things are with her unexpected presence, Yoon Ah opens her mouth to start the conversation. "Sorry, Kyra. I thought that I'd miss Lay baby when he's out having dinner with you." She says, cheekily wrapping her arm around his neck.
Not that that helps making things less awkward.
Kyra rolls her eyes mentally. In her opinion, it looks exactly like a phyton trying to suffocate its soon-to-be meal before, you know, actually eating it.
Though she doesn't really say it, her facial expression make it obvious that she clearly feels invaded with the sudden intrusion. "Never mind. Let's order some food. I'm hungry."
"Waiter!" Lay orders, clicking his fingers.
***
They walk out of the restaurant about two hours later, when Yoon Ah can't seem to stop putting her hands on him, and Kyra, being so sleepy, almost dangerously slams her face right onto the half finished shirloin steak on the table.
How great more can the evening get?
He hastily talks to Kyra, when they were about to reach the curb of the road. "I need to get going first, Kyra. Cause I have to send her home. You can manage on your own, right?"
Fighting back a sinister remark, she lets out a bitter smile. "Yeah, I can. Be safe."
It looks like someone's getting laid tonight.
He nods at her, his eyes glimmering a twinkle of relief. "Thanks, you too."
Kyra stares at them as the red bike goes away from her sight. She feels so small. How did she end up loving him?
Walking by a dead bar, she looks at the sign. 24 hours. She's an adult now, why not? Her feet entering into the store, she immediately hurries to the counter.
"Please bring me the strongest one you have here."
The first mistake.
She gulps down all of it, in one shot. Her head grows dizzy. It feels so real, as if mocking at her world which seems to be collapsing.
"Hey, Kyra. What are you doing here?" A male voice greets her.
Squinting, her brain starts rummaging through every memory folder to recognise who that is.
"It's me, Kang Jun." He says.
"Ah." She nods. "Kang Jun ah, let's have a drink!" Her words come out slurry, as she flungs her arm against him. "I'll treat you to that, for helping me out the other day." She turns to face the bartender. "Ahjussi, one more over here!"
He politely refuses. "No, I don't want to, Kyra. Let's get back home."
"I don't want to!" All of a sudden, her eyes well up. She wants to forget everything right now. About the crappy feelings she has for Lay, about how shitty she feels about herself now. She ends up crying bitterly on the cold wooden table.
"I know you're upset because of Lay, right?" Kang Jun says, gazing into her eyes. "Let me be him. Let me be the one you love."
Her eyes wide open, she is stunned by his sudden grasp of her hand. Moving closer, he gazes into her eyes and briefly kisses her. She can't even fight back to react.
After that, everything seems to fade out into utter darkness.
***
A soft sound of snoring and the subtle movement of blanket being pulled over greets her.
Her fingers massage the temple, trying to chase away the pain that comes throbbing through her head. It feels like cracking into pieces.
She's afraid of opening her eyes, but the sound of the ringing right next to her ear beat her to it.
"Hello?" She lazily picks up, not even looking at the person right next to her.
"Kyra, where the hell are you? The presentation's about to start in another few minutes." The voice of an angry Lay bombs over the line, totally waking her up.
"Oh shit, I think I'm gonna be late- Ouch!" She falls back into a sitting position, her headache is really getting worse.
"Hello, Kyra? Are you alright?" His low voice tone speaks for his concern on her.
The phone is snatched, and a male voice interjects, replying to the question. "She's not feeling well. Maybe she won't make it today. Sorry."
And the reply is no more.
She looks up to see the familiar face. "Kang Jun? What are you doing here?"
"Well, I should be asking you that. What are you doing here in my bedroom?"
And the realisation hits her. Her eyes wander, looking at how alien the room seems to be looking. As compared to hers, the room is
"Your room is... Nice."
He lets out a soft chuckle. "Is that all you got to say after puking on me yesterday?"
A loud gasp escapes her mouth. "I did?" Her face scrunches hard at the attemp of gathering the bits of last night's memories, however, to no avail.
Her voice finally creaks. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, I don't think you're sober just yet. Would you like to have some mushroom soup?"
Her face lightens up at the suggestion. "Sounds great!"
***
Who was the guy talking on the phone?
Lay, being his overly friendly self, quickly strides to her as she has just finished lining up for the food. Eyes focused on looking for an empty spot to have her meal in peace, it seems like she's quite busy to answer his seemingly irrelevant question.
"Are you purposely avoiding me?" He asks, sounding irritated.
"No." She scoffs, landing her bottoms on the bench. "It was Kang Jun. Why?"
"Ah. So it was that 'helper' guy." A sinister tone is visible in his voice. "Did you sleep together?" He bluntly asks.
The sudden question is like a blunt knife stabbing through her heart, leaving a jagged wound behind. "Is that how low you thought of me, Lay?"
He didn't manage to answer. His face going crimson red, his lips seem to be glued to the roots.
"BTW, the presentation is on next Monday. The lecturer decided to be lenient, seeing how you never skipped a day in her class."
It was a slip of the tongue, she supposes. But still, words uttered in the heat of the moment often speak the truth.
"Thank you for everything." She spats, before standing up to leave.
"What about lunch?" He asks, guilt flashing across his face.
"Lost my appetite." She says, walking away.
***
She walks by the beach, holding hands with Kang Jun.
Updates? She did the presentation well, together with Lay. And they become best friends, living happily ever after.
The end.
Ha. You wish.
The presentation went fine, but the lecturer decided that Lay was a bit off during it. It seemed like he was unable to focus, his mind thinking heavily about something. And everytime their eyes meet, he'd immediately look away.
She lets out a silent, long sigh. It's not as if she didn't try to help him prepare. She had even given him the notes and prepared him the slides. Why can't he just get the presenting part right?
For the past few days, they'd no longer contacted each other, so she never hears anything from him again, even though they're classmates.
It's just that sometimes she'd see him eating together with Yoon Ah after the class, and sometimes study together at the library. Meanwhile, she would go on her own, and sometimes would be joined by the sweet Kang Jun.
And oh, they're sort of in a relationship now.
Their relationship is never made known to the public, but at random times he'd hold her hand unexpectedly, and kiss her breathlessly on their way back after the class, or even on weekend outings. The way he treats her, his gentle touch, remind Kyra of what she wishes Lay would do for her.
It was painfully sweet.
Still, she feels it was unfair for Kang Jun too, as he's also involved in the romance.
Manning herself up, wanting to see him at his house, Kyra practices what she'd do for him, in order to apologize. Flowers in her hand, and a serious thought of finally letting her unrequited affection for Lay make her wonder if she'd ever give everything to him that night. All she ever did was talk, eat and laugh with him. She'd never actually considered sleeping with him.
Walking towards the door, she wonders how he'd react when he sees her in that figure hugging black dress. With her makeup done ever so beautifully, her face accentuates the primary features of her jawline and her eyes, making her look irresistible.
Maybe she's dressed to kill.
Just when she's about to knock on the piece of wooden door, she hears the sound of a woman talking loudly.
"Bet she'll be head over heels for you and forgotten about Lay already." A high pitched laughter and an ugly snort following after seems to remind her of a particularly dislikeable someone.
"Sounds just right. She's almost falling for me, after all these years of having a crush on her. Thanks Yoon Ah. You're really great."
"Don't mention it, Kang Jun. I want Lay so badly, that I don't ever want to see them together. Maybe she had something for him, but I don't care. Lay is mine and mine alone. Though he does seem distracted whenever he's with me, perhaps thinking about that 'lil b... girl."
Kang Jun remarks, offended. "Mind your language, Yoon Ah. Though you hate her, I do love her."
"Oops, sorry." She says coolly, with no apology sensed in her tone, not even the slightest.
"Maybe you should get going, I want to ask her out tonight. She'd be surprised about the birthday present I've gotten for her." He says, sounding excited.
"Aww, such a sweet doting boyfriend, aren't you? Lay doesn't seem to care. All the time he's only talking about her and her alone. I'm sick of this." From her faked condescending tone, Kyra can tell that she is pouting her small full lips.
She's almost walking away, when suddenly the door opens.
A flabbergasted look is portrayed on his face, while Yoon Ah pretends to look excited that she's there.
"Oh look who's here? You coming to see your sweet boyfriend, darling? Come on in. I'm almost done with him, anyway." She says, slinging her handbag across her shoulder, before walking away.
Before the purple haired girl almost left, her feet stop their walking right next to Kyra. "Seems like tonight is the night. Have fun!" She snickers, before striding away.
Her face flushed with both shame and angst, she looks up at him. "How could you?"
Smashing the bouquet of red roses onto the floor, she stomps away, her eyes now are the mix of regrets, and the smudge of dark brown mascara.
So much for the "dressed-to-kill" look.
"Wait, Kyra! Let me explain to you first, love!" He exclaims, running behind her.
"Love?" She asks threateningly, turning to face him. "From now onwards, we're totally finished."
***
She runs into the bathroom. Feeling devastated, her hand immediately reaches for the sleeping pills right next to the counter. She needs to forget everything that happens tonight, as soon as possible.
Little did she know that the dosage is going to send her straight to heaven.
Just as she's about to swallow the handful of the white pills, her phone rings.
It was Lay.
"Where are you now?" The frantic voice on the other line is almost yelling.
"..." Only faint sobs are heard. She falls on her knees onto the floor, when her mind could no longer decipher what's going on at the moment.
"Don't do anything stupid. I'll be there in a minute."
As if bewitched, she sits there for a few minutes, staring at the clump of medicine which seems to be staring right back at her, waiting to be consumed.
The door seems to be bust open, revealing a frantic looking Lay. He immediately storms into the bathroom. Snatching the pills off her hand before throwing them into the bin, he shouts at her. "Are you tryna get yourself killed?"
"..." She looks down onto the floor, unable to say anything.
"Just answer the question, damn it!"
"I... I need to sleep through the night. I've had enough of this."
"I miss you."
"... What?"
"I love you. And I always have."
"... Sorry?"
"Do you feel the electricity jolting to the veins everytime we touch? Do you notice the rapid heartbeat everytime our eyes meet?" He asks, barely even breathing.
"What are you talking about? What about Yoon Ah then?"
"I was just trying to make you jealous."
Asshole.
"Then I figured you're already with Kang Jun. That's why I stopped. Then he called me earlier, telling how things turn out to be. How he literally fucked up."
A soft smile escapes her lips. Dang, Lay rarely uses any swear words. That's sweet.
"So, I thought maybe I could give 'us' another chance."
"Oh, Lay, why didn't you tell me before?"
"I thought you won't believe me."
"Even when the world is collapsing and everyone turns into a flesh-eating monster, I'll still believe in you."
"I don't know why that sounds
sickly disgusting and endearing at the same time. Oh, come here, will you?"
"What for? To slap your face for causing me this much hurt?"
"Touché." He grimaces. "No, I mean, this." Leaning forward, he locks his lips with hers.
Wrapping her body closer with his muscular arms, he can feel her fingers playing with his hair, enjoying the electrocuting sensation they feel every second their lips, tongue, nose, and skin touch.
Whispering through the breathless kisses, he nibbles on her ear playfully. "I could literally take you out on this tub."
"Just like you did to her?" She whispers.
"No. I've only loved you." He admits sternly. "What about you?"
"Same. It has always been you." She says. An unsure expression then flashes across her face. "Take me to the room instead. Here's cold and stuffy. You'll get hurt."
"Nah, maybe YOU will."
Her face goes red.
"Aww, that's cute." Carrying her in a bridal pose, his face remain glued to hers as their lips endlessly meet each other, hungrily seeking for the warmth of the partner.
Upon entering the room painted sky blue with the silver stars, he pushes the door close with his back, gently lowering her onto the queen sized bed.
"It's my first time in your room, isn't it?"
She bites her lips. Okay, now she's getting nervous.
"Yes." She replies, staring up at him.
His eyes examine her body, inch by inch, as if indulging in his meal. "You look so beautiful."
A soft chuckle escapes her lips. "You sure about that? I think the smudged mascara makes me look like a bride left on the altar."
"Can't disagree wholeheartedly on that." He jokes. "I guess this is where we complete the Love 101 lessons."
Her eyes are wide open, smiling at how he still remembers that.
As they share another breathless kiss, his body moves along with her, carefully unzipping her dress while her fingers undo his buttons.
The night is then quiet, safe for the sound of the moans of pleasure and the rustling of sheets behind the closed door.
P/S:
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