Black Soda Drink [exo]

V

The next morning, I woke up extra early. I had ideas flowing in my head all night and I could barely sleep, not when Kris was the hero of my imagination. I needed to take a quick shower so I could spend the entire day typing. I wanted Kris to have a look at the script before the deadline.

The minute I turned the water on though, I realized I had forgotten my soap again. I could use his, I thought as I eyed his shampoo bottles, but that would be weird. Besides, he shouldn’t be up yet so running to the bedroom wouldn't be a problem.

I wrapped a towel around myself and looked into the hallway. The coast was clear. I scurried to the bedroom and pulled out my bottles of soap and shampoo before rushing back into the empty hall.

But just as I turned to step into the bathroom, Kris walked out. “Ack!” My feet slipped from underneath me and my nose made contact with his chest. I was preparing for the embarrassing fall when I suddenly felt an arm go around my waist.

“Careful.”

I opened my eyes and Kris’s sleepy face was so close to mine, I could barely breathe. “Sorry, I just got s-surprised.” My face must be so red right now, I thought as I clutched the towel to my body.

His arm didn’t let me go as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. “I was just wondering why the shower was on but nobody was in there.” He made sure I was steady on my feet before pulling his arm away but my knees still felt wobbly as he walked out of the bathroom. “And don’t be so embarrassed, okay? We’re roommates now. These things are bound to happen.”

“Okay,” I muttered back. But seriously, how did he just expect me to act like it was nothing? I closed the door and turned to the mirror, glaring at it. How could Kris not react at all? Was I not attractive to him? Not even one bit?

Maybe he had a girlfriend.

I frowned at my reflection. But even if he did, no guy would be so nonchalant when there was a near-naked girl in front of him.

I sighed and stepped back into the shower. I was still his best friend’s little sister after all. I was practically his sister.

I was out of bounds.

-

That afternoon, when I had nearly ripped my hair out at how the script was going, I decided I needed something to keep my hands busy. After Kris’s reaction this morning, my whole perspective had changed and the script morphed into something totally different.

I looked into the fridge, finding only cans of soda and beer, along with leftover pizza. I should make him some dinner, but what did he like?

The menu for Chinese food had a picture of dumplings and I knew how to make those. I made it a few times at home and I remembered when Yixing proudly told Kris that the dumplings in the soup were handmade by me.

I doubted he really cared but I wanted to take some time off of worrying about everything.

I headed to the market and came back with all the ingredients I needed. It was a bit more expensive to live on this side of the city, I found, but I had enough money saved up. And if my next script worked, I would have a lot more money.

In the middle of wrapping dumplings, my phone vibrated and I set it to speaker.

“Xiao Yuan?”

“Hey Gura, what’s up?”

“I have news!” my friend squealed as I placed another finished dumpling on the tray. “A producer just called me and said that he heard you were preparing a script for the movie. He sounded like he was super interested because he had watched that short film we did in third year.”

I was a little embarrassed because that work was a complete joke compared to what we were working on now. “He actually liked that thing?”

“Hey, it wasn’t bad. Maybe if we had better actors, it would’ve been a lot nicer but your script made it work.”

“Don’t forget you’re the one that directed it.”

She giggled and then asked, “What are you doing right now? I want to celebrate.”

I hadn’t told any of my friends that I had moved, and I really didn’t want to tell anybody that I was living with a guy now. “I’m actually pretty busy right now. We can celebrate another time, though. Next Saturday?”

“Right before your birthday? Sure!”

Just as we said goodbye to each other, the front door opened.

“What are you making?” Kris asked as he took off his shoes.

I blinked. “Good evening to you, too.”

“We’re having dumplings for dinner?” He completely ignored my greeting but his excited smile made my hands fumble.

“Yeah. You didn’t have any other food at home. Do you usually order out?”

“Yup,” he said and went over to the kitchen. I held my breath as he opened the door to the fridge. “Um, Yuan? Do you know where my box of Coke went?”

“I put it away,” I replied meekly.

“What?” He poked his head out from the kitchen.

“But I made a drink for you on the counter!”

There was shuffling in the kitchen and then silence. I held my breath. “Is this a homemade green tea frappuccino?”

I walked to the kitchen and smiled nervously. “My brother loved the frapps at Starbucks but they were really expensive so I tried making them for him at home. Try it.”

He took a sip from the straw and his eyebrows rose as he flashed a smile. “It’s good.”

My face felt warm as he ruffled my hair. I turned to the sink and washed my hands to keep from looking straight into those dreamy eyes of his.

Oh jeez, I just called his eyes dreamy.

“I put a lot less sugar and cream in there, and there’s also more matcha. I think it’s a lot better than all those Colas that you drink.”

“You know you’re going to have to make this for me everyday from now on, right?”

I nodded without even comprehending what he was saying. If I could make him happy with a single drink, I wouldn’t mind doing it for the rest of my life.

“Haha, good.” He pinched my cheek and took another sip. “I’ll go set the table.”