Me, Myself & I (Catnipz)

I adore you, Kang Haerin.

 "Do you remember Jake and Jimin?" she asked as we approached a group of four people, like the Kims, dressed in camouflage. Jake and Jimin were the blond and tall brunette I had seen at the record store on the first day I went to Minji's house.

"Yes, I remember them," I approached to greet them but only managed to do so with the blond one; Jimin turned away. "He's Dan," she pointed to a chestnut-haired guy I had seen before. "He's Jongin and Sihyun's nanny." Jake and another unknown guy chuckled mockingly.

"Haha, Minji, you're so funny!" he said sarcastically as he approached to greet me. "And he's Jungwon," tall, fair-skinned, and honey-eyed. "Supposedly works at the store," and now Dan burst into laughter.

"And... who's she?" Dan asked, giving me a peck on the cheek.

"She's Haerin," everyone was waiting for a "friend," "classmate," or "my girlfriend," I knew because I was expecting it too, but I could see the frustration on Minji's face as she didn't know what to say.

"And she's your..." Dan asked, and Minji looked at me.

"Friend," I replied.

"Yeah, sure, that's what they call it now," Dan said to Jake, incredulous, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Dan, do you want to lose your job?" everyone laughed.

"Well, if everyone's done celebrating your new girlfriend, are we playing or not?" Jimin said. Was it my imagination or did she not like me?

"She doesn't like me, does she?" I confirmed, laughing.

"Don't worry, that's just how she is," she said as if it really concerned me.

"I'm not worried," I said sincerely. "Anyway..." I sighed. "I'll wait for you in the car," I turned to leave, but she grabbed me around the waist.

"You're not going anywhere," she kissed my cheek. "Look, they'll lend you special pants and a jacket like the rest of us have," it seemed they played very often, as everyone had their own gear. Only I would be renting mine. "I promise it won't hurt, and you won't get paint on your clothes," she took my hands again, intertwining our fingers. I had no idea of the revolution that caused inside me. "Is that okay?"

"It's okay," I sighed.

"Perfect," she replied happily and led me to a huge counter where they had all the equipment.

"Under no circumstances should you take off your mask and vest unless you're off the field. The goal is to eliminate the entire opposing team. If you're shot from the waist up, you're out; if you run out of bullets, you're out; if you're shot in the mask, you're out, but you're still in if you're hit in the arms. There's no time out; the game continues as long as you're on the field," Minji explained quickly as she helped me with the vest. "Clear?"

"Yes, I think so," I replied unsure, and she handed me the heavy paintball gun.

"Good," we walked towards the others. "You, Dan, and I are the blue team. Jimin, Jake, and Jungwon are red," she pointed to each member.

"And Sihyun and Jongin?" I asked, not seeing them nearby.

"They're playing in another area," she gestured to the left. It was a sectioned-off part of the huge field but it had inflatables like forts to hide in, trampolines, piles of straw, metal barrels, and other things. There were Sihyun and Dan waiting with another group of kids.

"And us?"

"Over there," she pointed to the opposite side, and again I wanted to run back to the car. It was double or triple the size of the kids' area. There were huge trees, branches, areas with overgrown grass, dirt paths, mud and water puddles, cut logs. I could almost swear the sky darkened and I heard the typical thunder from a horror movie.

"Min, I don't feel like playing again," I said, backing away.

"It's just a game," she laughed and pinched my cheeks, her eyes scanning every inch of my face. I think I died at that moment.

"Just a friend, huh?" I turned and it was Dan who laughed. "Haerin, do you want to be my friend?" Jake asked, and Minji shot him a look.

"Calm down, Min," Dan patted Minji's back. "You'll get back at him in the game," he put on his mask and jumped over the mesh fence into the field.

"Let's go," she took my wrist to prevent me from escaping. 

We crossed the first fence and then the second, which was at least five meters higher than the first, surely to prevent stray bullets. The game started and everyone ran to hide, so did I. The first to fall was Jake, just as Dan had said, Minji got her revenge in the game. He left the field as if paint were falling from the sky. It looked like an abstract painting made with yellow, orange, pink, blue, and green that mixed and formed new colors.

"You'll lose!" Jungwon shouted as he ran through the branches, hiding. "With that little girl, they won't achieve anything." "Stupid!" Was she referring to me? I stood up, annoyed. I hid behind a log and peeked out, seeing Jimin's torso and Jungwon's back. They were only a few meters apart, whom to shoot first? I had to act fast before they changed positions. "She probably can't even load the gun, maybe she'll break a nail." I heard Jimin say, she was annoyed too. After that, I fired the gun five times. All five hit Jungwon, taking him out of the game.

"What the..." he shouted, looking around trying to figure out where the shots came from. "So fast?" he walked annoyed to the fence where Jake was watching the game. He arrived and sat next to him after going through the paint rain caused by Minji and Dan.

"Good one, Dan, I didn't even see it coming," I heard Minji from afar.

"It wasn't me," he replied laughing. "It was your girlfriend, what a shot."

"Thanks," I replied, hiding again. 

Now only Jimin was left, and I would make sure to use up my shots on her. The next to go was Jungwon, who with a careless move got hit in his mask with a green paintball. It had been about twenty minutes into the game, and only three of us were left. Minji ran across the field and just as she was about to pass a tree trunk, I got in her way, making her fall into the mud. More than ten paintballs hit her back, taking her out.

"Come on, Barbie, come out now," this was the last straw. I had been patient but no more. "Wow, you're not so..." I stood up and walked out, interrupting her.

"Stop right now," I dropped the gun to the ground. "I don't know who the hell you think you are to mess with me, but I have a limit," I spoke to thin air since she didn't come out.

"Haerin," Minji called me.

"Did you see?" I kept talking to no one. "The little flower of the field," I said, one of the other nicknames she had given me during the game. "Turns out she's got more guts than you. You keep talking but won't show your face," Minji put on her mask and entered, while from the other side I heard her drop the gun.

"Big talker but hollow inside, I'm going to knock those guts out of you," she walked quickly towards me, and I didn't move an inch.

"Keep her away from me if you don't want her face reconstructed," she turned around to walk towards the exit.

"Let go of me," I pushed Minji to the side, turned around, and crouched to pick up the gun. One, two, three, four, five shots. Three hit her back and two hit her mask.

"We won," I said as the brunette turned with her furious gaze. In the background, there was a victorious shout from Dan. Jimin surely ran for her gun just like Minji. Suddenly, it wasn't a team fight anymore; it was every person for themselves.

"I won, did you see?" I bragged, running my hands over her neck.

"You surprised me," she confessed, getting closer to me. Her face was all splattered, and I would probably be the same.

"You look cute in purple," I laughed.

"And you in green," she didn't let me say anything else and captured my lips in a perfect kiss, which despite the bitter taste of paint, was one of the best kisses of my life.

"I adore you, Kang Haerin, I adore you," she said between kisses, and that's when I felt like the worst person in the world.