Page 38 of Lethal in Pink

But something did happen.

Her pen paused halfway through a sentence.

Her eyebrows pulled together.

And for half a second, she forgot to look annoyed with me.

It was probably some of the cutest shit I’ve ever seen and because of that, my brain has decided that half a second is worth studying.

What can I say? I’m a masochist.

I drop onto the couch.

The cushions smell like my deodorant and the garlic noodles I ordered last night, which is not a combination I recommend.

My phone is on the coffee table, screen-down, next to a crumpled protein bar wrapper.

I pick it up and see that I’ve gotten a text from Kiho.

I open our thread.

It's long.

Obscenely long.

Memes. A screenshot of a TikTok where a guy is aggressively eating a bowl of ramen while crying. A photo of a cat wearing a tiny hat. Photos of food we either loved or hated. A few games of smash or pass (before he went and got a girlfriend). Years of stupid arguments that somehow never turned into actual arguments because neither of us is capable of staying mad for more than ten minutes.

We’ve known each other since we were kids. He was an upcoming child actor who was staring in a kpop drama I despised until we became friends. Now, I watch it religiously.

I go to shoot him a text but Kiho has already beaten me to it.

Three messages already, actually.

[image: a screenshot of a ridiculous $18 iced latte receipt, captioned “LA math”]

[image: a guy asleep on a bench with a textbook over his face]

Kiho: Is this actually how you’re living lol

I type back.

Me: 두 번째 사진은 맞음. 존나 피곤해. (The second picture is accurate.)

I'm running on fumes. My vet med prof assigned a 400-page textbook reading for next week and I haven't even cracked the cover yet.

Three dots appear almost immediately.

Kiho's response comes back before I've even set the phone down.

[image: a man dramatically collapsing onto a bed]

I laugh under my breath.

Kiho: 왜 지체되는 거죠? (What’s the hold up?)

Me: 진짜로요? 윤리 수업 프로젝트 때 파트너가 된 법대생이 한 명 있거든요. Dead ass? There is this law student I got partnered with on a project for my Ethics class.

Kiho : 그리고? (And?)