"This guy is sick, probably a pervert," Ren mumbled to herself, giving Aemee an angry look before she walked out of the cafe and over to the tall man in the black coat leaning against a black car.

Apparently, her hunch was right. She was being followed by this guy, who was none other than Kai, the guy whose life she saved and the leader of the top K-pop group in the world, as her best friend pointed out. 

"Hey! Have you been following me?" Ren confronted Kai. "Are you out of your mind? I'm going to report you to the police."

"Ren", Kai answered. "I'm sorry, just please let me explain."

Hmm.. this scene reminds me of something, Ren said to herself. 

Then it came to her. 

It's that crucial moment in K-dramas where someone tries to explain and they go hysterical, never giving the other party a chance to say anything, and then they regret that decision for the rest of their lives. 

"Fine. I'm listening," Ren said to Kai, determined to do everything that's contrary to what she saw in K-dramas. Aemee would also probably kill me if I do anything to him, so it's probably best to hear him out. 

Kai was silent, taken aback for a moment, and then feeling relieved, smiled at her. "Thanks. I've been following you because I just wanted to thank you for saving me the other night." 

Kai paused, hesitating to continue. "Your neighbors also told me about what happened to you at work, but that wasn't your fault. It was because of me."

Ren cleared her throat and stopped Kai. "It's fine. I'm okay, really. I'll just find something new to work on. So these are some tickets, huh?" Ren asked, trying to change the subject and looking at the tickets Kai handed her. 

"Yes, they're VIP tickets so you can meet the whole group and the crew backstage." 

"Oh.. okay, thanks. I don't think I'll go but I can give these to my K-pop-obsessed friend Aemee," Ren said, pointing to her friend, who has been watching and frantically waving at them in front of the cafe.

"So, you're not going?" Kai asked, trying to hide the disappointment from his voice. "Your neighbors are coming, by the way."

"Yeah, well, K-pop isn't really my thing", Ren explained. "What is it that you do exactly? I heard from Aemee that you sing and dance or something?" 

"Yeah.. you're saying that you've never heard of the Korean group X? Or any of our songs before? Not even seen a single video of us on social media?" Kai grilled Ren, not believing that she hasn't heard of his group. 

"Well, not really. I don't listen to that kind of music, or any modern music, in general. I'm also not on social media, so, no."

"Really?" Kai asked, still not believing what he was hearing. "How about I show you a clip of what I do? Maybe that will change your mind," Kai told Ren, confident that he could impress her. 

"Hmm, you have a nice voice, but a voice coach can definitely help you out with the high notes," Ren remarked, after seeing a clip of him singing and dancing. 

Kai pretended not to be hurt by what Ren said. Looking intently at her, exasperated, he asked, "Well, since you saved my life, and you obviously don't care for these tickets that some people would actually pay thousands of dollars for.. is there anything, anything at all that I can give so I can finally thank you?" 

Not hearing the sarcasm in Kai's voice, Ren stared back at Kai. After pausing for a few minutes, she answered, "An airfryer."

Kai, dumbfounded, was silent for a moment and laughs. I can't believe this girl in front of me. She could have asked for anything, even a million dollars so she can build the house she's been saving up for. But she goes and asks for an airfryer? 

"I think I can give you something better than that," Kai told Ren, smiling.

---

"Why did you let him go without introducing me?" Aemee complained after Kai drove off and Ren came back to meet her. 

"Well, you don't have to worry. You'll see him soon enough," Ren said, smiling.

"Huh, why? What's going on?" Aemee asked, alarmed at seeing her friend, who rarely showed any emotion, grinning at her.

"Kai wanted to thank me for, you know, saving his life, so he's going to get me an airfryer," Ren said happily. 

"Really? You're showing me the most emotion I've seen in the three years we've been friends and it's over an airfryer?"

"Not just an airfryer. It's the Airfryer Max HD 9100." 

"Well, that explains everything."

"Oh, and he also offered me a job to work as an analyst for his group."

"He what?!"

"I'm starting Monday. Apparently, my neighbors told him about what happened and hinted later on that I might be able to help their group out, given what I do", Ren explained plainly. "I'll also be visiting for a few days on set at what he calls the iHouse or idol House, where his group is staying and doing some recordings. I guess that is the most effective way to get to know them and find out what I can do to help them be at their best."

"It's a pretty big change", Ren continued. "But this just means I can settle on a new routine soon. That's really what I'm looking forward to." Ren looked over at Aemee who just fainted from hearing her piece of news. 

"Seriously, why is everyone fainting these days?" Ren asked.