LO$ER=LO♡ER

Chapter 34

Amara couldn't get that kiss out of her head. She kept replaying it over and over again, despite not wanting to. She would catch herself thinking about it, and then shake the image out of her head, until it came back later. She'd given up after the first several tries. Her head was clearly not going to let it go.

She was so distracted, that she wasn't paying attention to anything she'd been doing. Like taking the cake out of the oven. Her hand had touched the hot wall inside the oven, making her let out a pained cry. Thankfully, she didn't drop the cake. Amara put it on the counter, whimpering at the searing pain shooting through her hand.

Somebody ran into the kitchen, surprising her. "What happened? Are you okay? Are you in labor?" Riki's voice was panicked as he ran to her.

She laughed softly, "Riki, it's still way too early for me to go into labor. I'm fine, I just accidentally burnt my hand when I was taking out the cake," Amara tells him, smiling.

He sighed softly and walked over to her, gently taking her hand in his. It was slowly turning red around the area she'd burnt it. He brought her to the sink and turned on the faucet. He put her hand under the cold water. He looked down at her, seeing her wince softly. She watched the water run over the redness, making it fade a little.

"I could've done this myself, but thank you," she said softly.

When he didn't respond, she looked up at him, only to be met with him staring at her. Riki was looking into her eyes, as if he was searching for something. She didn't know what.

"Be more careful. Okay?" he said softly. She nodded, which made him smile some.

He let go of her hand and leaned down, kissing her head. She blinked a couple of times and watched him leave the kitchen.

Once the cake had been left to cool in the fridge for a while, Amara returned to the kitchen to start icing the cake. She was in the middle of making the icing, when arms went around her waist, startling her. She gasped softly, jumping a little.

She'd been lost in her thoughts again, so she was a bit more surprised than she usually might have been.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Sunghoon chuckled above her.

She relaxed and sighed softly. "It's alright. I was just in my own world," she said, smiling some.

"What were you thinking about?" he wondered, resting his chin on her shoulder.

She frowned and started making the icing again. "Nothing in particular, really. Just the usual, I guess," she mumbled,

She didn't want to bring up that kiss. She knew that if she did, it would just cause problems. But, she also knew if she didn't talk about it, she'd end up feeling guilty. She had technically took back her yes to their proposal. But, she still felt that if she said nothing, she'd feel like she was cheating. She sighed again, but a bit louder.

Sunghoon looked at her, noticing it seemed as if she was troubled. "Are you sure you're okay? You look like you're upset about something," he asked, becoming concerned.

Amara stopped what she was doing, staring down at the unfinished icing.

"Something happened when I went shopping today," she started.

He let go of her and stood next to her, so she could have his full attention. She began messing with her hands out of nervousness.

"It's okay, take your time finding the words," he said, gently rubbing her arm.

He was so sweet. He was always like that. Even though they hadn't been the closest. Out of all of them, he was the one she wasn't too close with. But, he still somehow managed to pick up on her emotions. After a minute or two, she finally got the courage to say it. She looked up at him, meeting his warm gaze.

"Kai kissed me."

"What?"

Sunghoon's yelling from the kitchen, startled everyone in the living room. They looked in that direction, just in time to see him storm out, followed by Amara.

"No, Sunghoon! It's not worth it, please!" she cried, grabbing his arm.

He pulled it out of her grip. "Not worth it? You're telling me that it's not worth it to go beat that little bastard's ass for kissing my girlfriend?" he shouted,

His words caught everyone by surprise. He never cursed.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you! If you do this, it will only cause more problems, and I don't want you guys getting in trouble. So please, just don't bother," she begged him, grabbing his hand again.

He growled and pulled it away from her. "I don't care if I get in trouble or not! He needs to learn not to go around kissing other people's girlfriends!" Sunghoon snapped.

The others came over quickly, to try and stop the argument.

"What's going on? Who kissed who?" Seonwoo asked, frowning.

"Kai kissed Aries today, when he chased off a man harassing her," Sunghoon growled, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"He what?" Heeseung said loudly. It was his turn to be angry.

"Exactly! And she's telling me not to go and hurt him! That it's not worth it!" Sunghoon scoffed.

"She's right, hyung. It isn't worth it. If you do that, you'll only get in trouble with the company. And you'll cause her more stress," Riki said, frowning as he sided with Amara.

Heeseung and Sunghoon looked at him in awe.

"So, we're going to let him get away with it?" Heeseung snapped,

"Enough!" Jay yelled, walking over.

Hearing him made everyone shut up,

"She doesn't want us to get involved. We, as her boyfriends, should respect that decision. And she is right; We can't afford to get in trouble with the company. If letting him get away with one small kiss means we won't be in trouble, then so be it," he said, his voice firm.

Sunghoon frowned and growled, looking away. He was angry, but he was defeated. Heeseung tsked and stormed off down the hall, slamming his bedroom door.

Amara stood in silence, feeling terrible for this.

"Hey, don't be upset. They'll get over it," Seonwoo said, caressing her cheek softly.

She nodded slightly, saying nothing. Him and the other two walked back into the living room. She returned to the kitchen, still feeling terrible.

What was Amara supposed to do? She was in a position that was making her feel hopeless.