Me, Myself & I (Catnipz)

Why don't you like me?

 I didn't make a sound. Was she really apologizing to me? Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her gaze fixed on the horizon.

"There's nothing worse than a forced apology," I said seriously, matching her gaze fixed on some invisible point on campus.

"When an apology isn't forced," she said ironically.

"When you truly mean it and not out of pity," I adjusted a stray strand of hair that had come loose. "But okay, I accept the 'apology'." I made air quotes with my fingers. "Can you leave me alone now?" I really wanted to be alone; I didn't feel like fighting, and with Minji there, that was all I could do.

"No, I can't," she turned to me. I sighed in annoyance and grabbed my bag to stand up. "No, no, and no," she repeated, grabbing my ankle to stop me from walking. "How does it feel when you want to be alone and someone is there not letting you be at peace?" She was referring to what I was doing to her.

"No..." I trailed off. "I was following you because I wanted to get to know you, and now you're doing it to annoy me," I said as I tried to free my ankle from her grip. The advantage was that I wouldn't leave half my shoe in the dirt.

"And now you're not interested?" She swiftly made me fall onto the grass.

"No, not at all," I lied.

"I don't believe you," she asserted.

"I don't care whether you believe me or not," I said seriously.

"Come on, take advantage before I change my mind," she smiled. I have to admit, this woman's smile is beautiful.

"Take advantage of what?" I replied, not understanding.

"I'll answer anything you want," she said, running her hand through her blonde hair, pushing it aside.

"Anything I want?"

"Well, just five questions," that was progress.

"Why only five?"

"Because the bell is about to ring, and I have to go to class. You have four left," she said, smiling.

"What?" I exclaimed, annoyed; that one didn't count.

"You only have four left," she repeated. "Now you have three left."

"No!" I shouted, somewhere between annoyed and laughing. "Okay..." I said, while I carefully thought about the questions I would ask her. "Why are you a year behind?" How stupid! Why did I ask that?

"I had to take care of Sihyun and Jongin, so I worked morning, afternoon, and night. I couldn't keep studying, so I took a year off to save as much money as possible and then come back."

"Why do you take care of Sihyun and Jongin?" She said she would answer everything.

"My parents passed away three years ago," my heart squeezed at her seriousness. "Since I was underage, an aunt took care of us," she laughed. "But she had a lot of problems and children to take care of to keep us three." She smiled. "We talked, and after a lot of insistence, she let us return home, and since then, I've been taking care of everything." My eyes were wide. "And the last question..."

"The last one," I said thoughtfully. I smiled and leaned closer to her, just inches apart. "Why don't you like me?" She laughed.

"That's easy," she said, amused, and my jaw almost hit the floor. "First of all... I hate pink. You're superficial; you think just because you wear expensive dresses and have pretty hair, you can have whatever you want." Now she leaned closer to me, and I felt my stomach twist. "But for some strange reason, my brothers adore you." She raised her hand and stroked my cheek. My God, what happened to the snarky Minji? "...And I think I'm starting to like you." The only thing I could do was close my eyes and wait for her soft lips to touch mine.