"I'm bad at romantic scenes," he said. "But I want to get better..."

"I have a great idea. Why don't we try acting out a romantic scene together? We can just do a simple scene, like a confession scene. What do you say?"

"A confession scene?"

"Yeah, but we need to come up with the characters we're going to play. Hmmm... Oh! I've got an idea! You'll be the typical popular guy who fell in love with me, the unpopular, insecure, shy girl. Meanwhile, I'm secretly in love with you too, but I'm too cowardly to admit it! And then you'll confess it to me, and I'll be very surprised and can't believe it! How does that sound?"

"Hmm... well... There's one thing, though."

"What's that?"

"Why does my character have to be a popular guy? I can't just play someone I'm not. And I can't imagine you as a shy girl either. Although you keep your distance from others, you're the exact opposite of shy. And the description "insecure" doesn't fit you at all."

"Hey, are you for real? You can't just say that! Acting is all about imagination!"

"Well..."

"We're supposed to be actors," I said. "We have to step out of our comfort zone."

"I just really thought we'd start with something simple..."

"We are starting with something simple. The confession scene is the simplest scene imaginable. Stop whining."

He sighed.

"You're right...and I'm not whining. It's just that I'm really uncomfortable playing romantic scenes."

"Do you want to learn how to do romantic scenes or not?"

"I do," he replied firmly.

"Then stop whining. It's just like a game, okay?"

"You're right."

"Let's start then..."

"But we have to prepare the lines, right?" he asked.

"No. We'll improvise. Don't worry. I'll start first to make it easier."

I closed my eyes for a moment and imagined the person I was going to play...

I took off the rubber band and let my hair down.

I changed my pose, making it a little stiff and shy, my gaze naive, kind and soft... with my hands I began to nervously rub the ends of my hair.

He called me here saying he wanted to talk about something serious...

Does he...

No, it can't be.

I couldn't stop my heart from racing.

I looked at him with hope, anticipation and a little nervousness in my eyes... waiting to hear why he'd called me here.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked him, trying to look into his eyes, though it was difficult.

He lowered his gaze a little awkwardly...

I'm sure he's super uncomfortable playing this scene.

He takes it so seriously, gosh. He was supposed to play the popular guy... but he looked so awkward...

"Well... you know..." he began, avoiding looking me in the eye.

"Yeah?..." I said innocently in my soft and melodious voice, looking at him in anticipation.

But he remained silent, still not daring to look at me...

Is it really so hard for him to say those few words? It's not even a real confession. He just has to say that he loves me, that's all.

Still, I waited patiently.

Then, finally, he seemed to gather his courage and looked at me...

His lips moved and I was ready to hear his confession...

But I was totally unprepared for what he was about to say...

"I love you, babe," he said in a totally bizarre fake voice.

At that moment I just looked at him and he looked at me. In perfect silence...

It took a few moments before I burst out laughing.

"Ahahahahaha!"

Wait a minute... What did he say? Baby? He called me baby? And what kind of voice was that? I couldn't describe that voice! Why did he make that voice? Who was he trying to sound like? Who was he trying to imitate?

"Ahahahahaha!"

The room was filled with nothing but my loud laughter.

Unable to stop laughing, I grabbed my stomach and bent over.

It took me a while to finally calm down.

And in all that time, he hadn't made a sound.

Through my tears, I finally looked up at him to see why he had been silent and found that his face was all red with embarrassment.

"Pfft... hahahaha, your face! You should see your face!"

"Hey!" he finally said. "Stop laughing already!"

It was so unusual to see him like that. This always calm guy now looked like he was ready to just sink through the floor.

"Yeah... but you said baby! That's so funny. Do you always talk to girls like that? God… hahahaha!"

"Stop laughing. You're the one who told me to play the popular guy," he said, turning his red face away from me.

"Yeah... and you decided that calling me baby was the perfect way to portray a popular guy, hahaha?"

"..."

"Hahahahahaha. And why did you make your voice like that? Did you deliberately try to make it so deep?"

"Shut up."

"Pfft... okay okay... I won't torture you anymore. It was just awfully cringey."

"I know that myself. You don't have to say it."

"But don't worry. I'll teach you how to be more natural... hahaha."

"I'm sure you'll just keep making fun of me."

"I promise I won't, hahaha."

"But you keep laughing..."

"Cause it's funny… hahaha."

"Please stop..."

"Okay, okay, I'll stop."

"You're gonna laugh again, aren't you?"

"If you say something else as funny as that, of course I will."

"I knew it."

"I'm just being honest with you. Are you gonna be mad at me now? Don't act like a child."

He sighed.

"Okay... but rest assured, I will have my revenge on you. Got it?"

"Wow. Are you really going to get revenge on me for this? hahaha"

"Of course I am. Don't worry, revenge is a dish best served cold."

"Oh my God, oh my God! I'm so scared!" I said playfully.

Then I put my palms together in front of me and added in a pleading voice, "Have mercy on me, oh fearsome villain."

He just looked at me and grinned slightly. "All right... I'll spare you this time."

"Pfft... hahaha, how nice of you!"