Not-So-Loving Couple

Chapter 1

"I didn't hide the mayonnaise!"

Bam. The sound of the youngest of the [Surname] household hitting the floor was usually music to your ears, but right now it was the alarm that signaled your impending doom. You took it as a chance to drop the mop you were originally planning on setting down as quietly as possible.

"Hey, was that Taeho?" Suah, bless her dimwitted soul, tilted her head to the side and furrowed her brow. "Is he alri-"

"Stop talking and run!" you wrapped your arm around Suah's waist and dragged the lighter girl out your front door and into the hallway. If your brother's outburst had stirred your parents, then the slam of the front door woke them up immediately. Your arm throbbed a bit from use, since it was still broken(apparently fractures took two months to heal) but the pain was the last thing on your mind as you sped down the hallway. Your cast was intact, and that was all that mattered. Suah, being the lighter and track star of the two of you, sped ahead and was at the elevator ten paces before you.

You shook your head. "Stairs! The elevator's...too slow!" You wheezed, ignoring the screams of protest from your legs. The look of disbelief that Suah gave you nearly offended you. "Just go!" You took the stairs by two—occasionally jumping three—and leaving Suah behind, who had actually been raised with proper stairs etiquette and was stepping down one at a time.

By the time you had reached the first floor from the eighth, your phone was already buzzing up a storm in your pocket. It was a bit difficult retrieving your phone from the depths of your jacket pocket, since your arm was fatter than necessary with the cast, but you managed to fish it out, still buzzing. You were breathing too heavily to even see the screen clearly, so you just answered the call and hoped for the best. Please be Dad pleeeeease be anyone but Mom right now-

"You left the mop in the middle of the hallway."

Crap.

It was funny how fast your heart rate could drop when you were actually scared. Somehow you forgot how to breathe correctly and ended up choking on air. Suah finally appeared at the final set of stairs, attempting a small jump on the last two steps as you tried to calm yourself down.

"Hi Mom!" Fake enthusiasm. Come on, [Surname] [Name], you're a pro at this. Pretend like you didn't just run away from home in the middle of cleaning the floors while everyone else was taking a nap.

A loud yawn came from the end of the line. "Do you have your wallet?"

No. "Yeah." you lied. Was she too tired to care about you literally deserting your home and not saying anything about it? Or was she slyly giving you false hope and planning on beating your calves with her infamous wooden spoon when you got back home? Whichever it was, you were going to stall as much as you could before going back there. "Should I buy something?"

You ignored the look of suspicion your companion gave you. "[Name]," Suah cautiously said. "I didn't see you grab your wallet when we ran from your apartment."

That was because you didn't bring your wallet in the first place. Didn't she know you were a liar at this point in your friendship? You smiled as cheekily as you could and shook your head, confirming her suspicions. 'This is for a good cause,' you mouthed to Suah, who was glaring at you now. 'I'll pay you back, I promise.'

"I'll send you a list. And you better finish cleaning the floors when you come back home, alright?"

You couldn't stop a grin from stretching across your face. "Yep, yep. I will be back. It'll take a while since I'm walking to the store though." More lies. The disappointment oozing from Suah's expression and body language almost made you feel guilty, but you couldn't back down now. You had just scored a free day(it really was just an hour or two) to hang out with your best friend(and spent her money). Who would pass up on this opportunity?