six weeks, three days, and 13 hours.

that's how long kyungmi and i have been friends. today, she called my cellphone. i had picked up with shaky hands - she called me on monday; we never hang out on mondays. she would text me if she needed something, so a call was definitely new. lifting my cellphone to my cheek, i was met with an awkward silence.

"hey."

i paused. "yeah?"

there were a couple moments of suffocating silence, just us breathing into the receivers. i could almost imagine her impatiently tapping her foot on the floor, playing with her bottom lip between her teeth.

"um," she swallowed thickly, taking a deep breath, "are you free today?"

my mind swirled, unsure of what she was asking. is she about to ask me out?

cautiously, i inquired, "yeah. is everything okay, kyungmi?"

chuckling, i breathed a sigh of relief when her bubbly voice responded, bright and cheerful. "yep! everything's great. can you meet me at the starbucks near the library in thirty minutes? i wan't you to meet someone."

"yeah. definitely. see you there."

i felt myself deflate. i'm meeting someone. what if it's her boyfriend? what if it's someone she's potentially interested in?

my pride slowly emptied out, leaving me wondering what she was trying to do and whether i'd regret going to meet whoever this is.

usually she's not like this. she's direct, upfront, and gets to the point of whatever she's trying to say. why haven't i met this mystery person yet? what if i have? what if-

the chime of my phone broke me out of my endless sea of "what ifs" as i took a quick glance at the screen.

"i'm excited!!" was the message that lit up my screen, causing me to bite my lip so hard, that blood began pooling under my tooth.

why is she so anxious about this?

i grabbed my keys, slipped out the door, and locked it.

***

i got to the starbucks in a couple of minutes, parking my bicycle near against the building, locking it to a fence. i decided not to drive my car here, because it was only a couple of minutes away and there was just too much traffic.

before stepping inside, i took in the scent of freshly ground coffee beans and peered through the window; sure enough, kyungmi was there, with someone sitting in the booth across from her. she was smiling brightly, swaying side to side. her hair was left loose around her shoulders for once, and i only just noticed that it wasn't actually very long. it only came up to her chest.

she laughed, wiping a tear from her eye. she looked so content. who could make her so happy? surely a boyfriend.

i took a deep breath and slipped through the door, hearing kyungmi call out my name. people paused their actions and heads turned, causing me to shrink into the scarf i was wearing.

i shuffled over to her, finally getting a good look at who she was talking to.

as guessed, it was a boy. he had caramel hair that came swooping across his forehead, and yeah, i'd call the guy handsome.

no homo though.

i cringed internally. "hi. what's up?"

before she even spoke, she was scooting over so i could sit next to her, the dude peering at me from over his round glasses. "i've brought you here to introduce you to someone very special." she winked at the guy, causing my blood to boil slightly, although i couldn't help the weird feeling brewing in the pit of my stomach.

it almost felt like when i first met kyungmi - only a thousand times weirder.

"yifan, meet zitao."

yifan? this guy is chinese too?

"ayo wassuuup!" kris said, trying to act very nonchalant and cool.

i smiled at him, hoping it didn't look too fake. "nice to meet you. you're from china too?"

he nodded, before glancing at kyungmi, a pleading look in his eyes.

"oh! yes," she said, excitedly clapping her hands and patting her flushed face. "so, these past couple weeks, i've gotten to know zitao better." cue an awkward silence as we waited for her to continue. "zitao, sorry but i've kinda been profiling you for the past six weeks. my friend kris - i mean yifan, is looking for a boyfriend, so i decided to help him."

colour rushed to my face. she was profiling me the whole time? "o-oh," i choked out, nodding shakily, gesturing for her to continue.

she shrugged. "so i thought you were freaking amazing. for kris, that is." i assumed that "kris" was his nickname, since she used it interchangeably with "yifan."

i spared a glance in his direction, seeing him pretending to clean off his glasses with the hem of his shirt, giving me a sneak peek of his abs.

i have two words to say about them: god bless.

"so yeah, that's it. have fun, you lovebirds!"

she sped off, zooming out the door and turning the corner, back to the apartment building. i groaned. she's so dead when i see her next.

"uh, hi." kris waved cutely, offering to buy me a coffee and a cookie. i kinda blocked off the rest of what he said, a familiar pink colour dusting my cheeks.

forget what i said earlier.

full homo.

he's my homo homie.

this is it.