Dedicated to someone who thinks my writing is better than actually is. Thanks for the encouragement, mon ami! (my friend)

"BOO!"

"You're late," commented Olivia as she smeared Chapstick on her dry lips. Honestly, the cold winter weather seem to be getting to them sooner than she predicted.

"I thought you might be spooked...", muttered Dan, stuffing his hands into his trousers as the wind blasted their sides.

"Sure," she replied. Pursing her lips sideways, she eyed his casual outfit. Impressed he had remembered about their outing at all. (She had promised to treat him to smoothies after her last save.) After all, not many people think drinking smoothies in the winter is such a great idea, crushed ice and all.

"Hey, what if the place we go to also has bubble tea..."

"Not today, Dan," she said, looking inside her purse for her wallet. Checking it was still there, she sighed with relief at not having misplaced it yet again.

It's not like she could run over and grab it as she had sneaked out of Steven's house once more.

He would totally freak when he found out, she mused. Good thing he was probably chatting with the business partner at the tutoring company right about now; a wise investment that was probably paying off his mortgage.

Most knew him as a chess champion, and current chess coach, but the tutoring company was started with some of his seed money, so his college friend had made him a co-founder.

"Where's my Korean word?", he asked, opening his hands like a sunflower exposed to light.

"Nice try, don't you have a class you can't be late to?"

Glancing at his watch, he bristled. "Aigoo. I guess the formalities can be skipped. Let's go straight for the smoothies, shall we?"

"Of course."

Suddenly, her purse fell off her shoulder, sprawling all its contents onto the pavement.

"Ew," she said, picking up the items gently while wiping them cleanly with spare towel wipes.

"Let me help," he offered. Immediately, grabbing her daily journal, wind blowing so intensely that it opened to one of the earliest entries.

"New To-do Bucket List...", he read aloud. Instantly, she snatched it from him, slapping his hand away in the process. Honestly, she had no idea why this friend of hers was so nosy.

Wait, could she call him a friend yet? Was it too soon? Furrowing her eyebrows, she glanced at him with befuddlement in her spearmint eyes.

Taking it as she was mad at him, he apologized in Korean. They quickly moved on, strolling through the arts district in silence, finding several smoothie places on the way. However, they were searching for one in particular. Chewing mint gum, he skipped past the cracks in the sidewalk, making Olivia laugh at his antics. 

"So...", he started, licking his lips as he gathered the courage to ask a personal question.

"You want to know what the bucket list is for, right?", she remarked.

"How did you know?", he marveled.

"I wasn't born yesterday."

"Really? Cuz you look like it," he teased. She lightly tapped his shoulder, and he responded back, "Hey, how can you do that to your senior?"

"One, we're not in Korea so I'm not your junior. Two, you asked for it. Now, do you want the answer or not?"

"Yes," he answered.

"After we met the first time...I encountered a tough time. Some advice I got was to develop a bucket list of the things I wanted to do."

"And they are?"

"The usual you know. 1. Travel to a foreign country I've never been before. 2. Attend a party 3. Sing at a karaoke bar. 4. Finish a sudoku puzzle. 5. Go to a music festival. 6. Swim at the beach...."

"Do you know how to swim?"

"No."

"Aww, that's the problem," he remarked.

"No, the problem is...the last item on the bucket list," she reluctantly related.

"What?"

She stayed silent for a moment so once again, he took the journal away from her yet again and digested its contents.

"HAVE A BOYFRIEND!", he yelled. Gasping at his outburst, he looked around and saw many onlookers and passerby staring at him like he had just grown horns.

"While I was...someplace, I got a bit envious of couples doing romantic-couple stuff together so..."

"And you want your friends to help you with this list?", he asked.

"NO! Of course not. This was something to do on my own time..."

"Couldn't you just get a friend to do the couple stuff with you?", he asked, only then realizing how he could use this opportunity to his advantage.

"It wouldn't be the same though."

He burrowed his fingers deep in his trousers, and huffed. "Fine. Let's fake date," he offered.

"A fake relationship?", she asked.

"It's what fulfills that wish on your bucket list," he mused, tipping his head and pouting his lips while he was at it.

If there was anything k-dramas had taught him, it's that this would most definitely work.

Right?

"Don't you have a girlfriend?", she blurted out.

"My only girlfriend is work-and I am too faithful for her to leave," he joked.

"Stop it. I'm serious."

"And don't call me Shirley," he quoted. Watching old comedy movies in English helped him out on his diction when he came to the States.

She didn't get the joke, but continued, "Are you sure you want this? Don't you have someone you actually want..."

He interrupted, "Anyways, a hundred days should be enough, right?"

"Won't our friendship suffer from this...farce?" Eyeing his calm expression, she wondered if he might still be teasing her.

"That way-you can claim you had a boyfriend and do the couple stuff."

"Are there any ground rules to this?", she asked, still thinking he might be off his rockers.

"Of course! Let's treat this like a Korean dating relationship."

"What?"

"No PDA in public. At most, holding hands. Definitely no...funny business."

"Men. That's the only thing that interests you," she muttered, rolling her eyes. Sighing, she replied, "Fine. I have rules of my mine."

"Go ahead."

"After this is over, we pretend it never happened and don't bring it up ever again."

"Deal. Is that all?" He reached out his hand, ready to shake on it.

"My cousin, Steven, can never find out. (Because he would kill me.) If he does, all bets are off."

"Nice working with you, Olivia," he answered, grinning internally.

Pursuing her now would be a piece of cake!

____________________________________

Author's note: Learn to distinguish fiction from reality, Dan! Also, Wow. How is he so confident [arrogant]? *rolls eyes*