CHAPTER 40: LATE NIGHT

"What the hell was that? Are you on fire?"

Olica burst back into the kitchen, the laundry basket dropped somewhere behind her. She looked from me to the stove and back again, her eyes wide. "Did you cut your finger off?"

"No," I managed to squeak out, my voice sounding like it belonged to a hamster. I couldn’t even form a real sentence, so I just shoved my phone at her. "Look. Just look."

She took the phone, her expression shifting from panicked to confused. She looked at the screen, and her eyebrows shot up into her hairline.

"Holy crap," she breathed, leaning closer to the phone. "That’s really him? That’s Kofi? The nerd?"

"Yeah," I said, my voice still a whisper.

My brain was still trying to reboot. It was Kofi. But it was like someone had taken the quiet, floppy-haired guy I knew and swapped him with the protagonist from some popular webtoon. The one who’s secretly a badass. His jawline... where did he get that jawline? And the way the hair was cut short on the sides just made his eyes look... more intense.

And he sent it to me. He got a haircut that made him look like a completely different, ridiculously hot person, and the first thing he did was send a picture to me.

My face was on fire. I knew I was bright red.

"’just friends’ my ass," Olica said, handing the phone back to me and giving me a grin that was way too smug. "You are so into him."

"Shut up! I am not," I said, the words coming out way too fast. I snatched my phone back, holding it to my chest like it was a state secret. "He’s just... he looks nice, that’s all. It’s a good haircut."

"Nina, you literally screamed," she pointed out, folding her arms. "People don’t scream over ’nice’ haircuts. People scream when the quiet nerd they have a crush on suddenly decides to look like a K-drama star."

"He does not look like a K-drama star," I mumbled, even though a tiny part of my brain was like, ’maybe a little.’

"Whatever you say," she said, her smirk not budging. "Just make sure you text him back before he thinks your scream was one of horror and not... whatever that was."

She winked, then turned and walked out of the kitchen, probably to go tell our mom everything.

I was left alone with my ridiculously hot phone and my even more ridiculously hot face. I looked at the picture again. Crap, he looked too good. The selfie was a little awkward, a little serious, but it didn’t matter. The glow-up was real.

My phone buzzed again, and my whole body jolted. His name flashed on the screen.

Kofi: so? does it look good?

My thumbs hovered over the keyboard, completely useless.

’Just type yeah. It’s one word. Y-E-A-H. Why is this so hard?’

My face felt like it was actually on fire. It was just a haircut so why was it so hard to just reply.

I finally managed to make my thumbs work. It took way, way too long. I typed the word, my heart hammering the whole time, and hit send.

Me: yeah

’That felt too vague, what if he gets upset?’

I tossed my phone onto the counter and pressed my cold hands to my burning cheeks, trying to cool down.

"So, did you tell him he’s the handsomest boy in all the land?"

I jumped and spun around. Olica was leaning in the doorway, that same stupid, all-knowing grin plastered on her face. She’d been watching the whole time.

"I hate you," I said, my voice coming out as a mortified squeak. "Get out."

"Nope," she said, popping the ’p’. She walked into the kitchen and snagged a piece of leftover pasta from the pan. "I’m emotionally invested now. Did he like your very enthusiastic, one-word reply?"

"It wasn’t enthusiastic, it was normal," I shot back, turning away so she couldn’t see my face, which was probably getting even redder. "We’re just friends."

"Right. Friends," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Is that why your entire head is the color of a fire truck?"

My phone buzzed again. I snatched it up before Olica could see, turning my back to her.

Kofi: ok cool. just wanted to make sure i didn’t look like an idiot lol

’An idiot? Does he have eyes? He looks the opposite of an idiot.’

Me: you don’t. it looks really good.

I typed it out fast, trying not to overthink it. It was honest. Too honest, maybe.

"What’d he say?" Olica asked, peering over my shoulder. I yelped and tried to hide my phone, but she’d already seen it.

"Aww," she cooed. "He’s nervous. That’s so cute. And you told him he looks ’really good’. Getting bold, little sister."

"It’s just a compliment," I mumbled, my face burning. "Friends compliment each other."

"Sure they do," she said, patting me on the head like I was a dog. "Well, don’t stay up all night sexting with your ’friend’. Mom wants us to watch a movie."

"We’re not going to be sexting!" I yelled at her retreating back, but she was already gone, her laughter echoing down the hall.

I slumped against the counter, letting out a long breath. I looked at the picture one more time. Crap, this was getting dangerous.

---

I was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, when my phone buzzed. It was almost eleven, and I’d been thinking about that haircut picture for way too long.

Kofi: you still up?

I typed back fast, trying not to seem too eager.

Me: yeah, can’t sleep

Kofi: same. weird day

I rolled over onto my stomach, hugging my pillow. The glow from my phone was the only light in my room, and something about texting in the dark made everything feel more honest. Like we were in our own little bubble.

Me: so... can I ask you something?

Kofi: shoot

My thumbs hovered over the keyboard. I wanted to know, but asking felt like crossing some invisible line. Why did he suddenly decide to get a haircut? And why did he send me the picture first?

Me: what made you decide to change your hair?

There was a longer pause this time. I watched the three dots appear and disappear a few times. He was typing, then stopping, then typing again.

Kofi: honestly?

Me: yeah

Kofi: i looked at myself in a barbershop window and realized i looked like a mess

Kofi: like someone who gave up trying

Me: you didn’t look like a mess

Kofi: nina come on. my hair looked like i stuck my finger in an electrical socket

I laughed out loud, then quickly covered my mouth so I wouldn’t wake anyone up.

Me: okay maybe a little

Kofi: thanks for the honesty lol

Me: but seriously, what changed? why now?

Another long pause. I could practically feel him thinking through the phone.

Kofi: i guess... someone started seeing me

Kofi: and i wanted to be worth seeing

My heart just stopped. I stared at the message, reading it over and over. Someone started seeing me. He meant me. He had to mean me, right? And he wanted to be worth seeing. For me.

I didn’t know what to say. My face was burning and I was smiling so hard my cheeks hurt, but I also felt like I might cry. When was the last time someone had ever made me feel like this? Like I mattered enough to change for?

Me: kofi...

Kofi: sorry that was weird to say

Kofi: forget i said that

Me: no don’t

Me: it wasn’t weird

Me: it was really sweet

I hit send before I could chicken out. My heart was hammering and I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff, but I needed him to know. I needed him to know that what he said mattered.

Kofi: you think so?

Me: yeah. and for the record, you were already worth seeing

Me: the haircut just makes it harder to miss

I buried my face in my pillow after sending that. God, was I being too obvious? Was I crossing the line from friends into something else? But I couldn’t take it back now, and honestly, I didn’t want to.

Kofi: nina

Me: yeah?

Kofi: thank you

Kofi: for everything. for being my friend and for not disappearing.

Kofi: i don’t think you know how much that means to me

I felt tears prick at my eyes.

Me: you don’t have to thank me for that

Me: i like being your friend

Kofi: good because you’re stuck with me now

Kofi: pillar contract is binding, remember?

I grinned into my pillow. There he was, making me laugh again.

Me: oh i remember. section D clearly states no returns or exchanges

Kofi: what’s section D?

Me: pillar must accept friend’s terrible jokes without complaint

Kofi: hey my jokes aren’t terrible

Me: you compared the cafeteria meatloaf to a dark souls boss

Kofi: because it was an accurate comparison

Kofi: that thing was designed to cause suffering

I was giggling now, trying to stay quiet. This was what I loved about talking to him. He could make me laugh about anything, even cafeteria food.