OPERATION: BE MINE

A powerful gust of wind blows up the tree trunk, making it sway back and forth as it dances through the rhythm. Gray clouds start to form in the sky, portending that heavy rain is about to fall. As expected, after a short while, it started to drizzle and the rain instantly poured down. Heather strides her long legs and runs to the place of the nearest tree to use it as a temporary shelter. She uses her small pouch to cover her head, trying to block herself from the rain. A few curses and irritated voices could be heard from afar asking her to slow down. While Heather, on the other, keeps her footsteps, not even sparing them a single glance. "Hey girl, wait up!" One of her friends yelled while dragging a big and bulky luggage. Sweat drips down from his forehead down to his lips, making him spit it out because of the salty taste. "Pwe!¹ We shouldn't have agreed when she asked us to put our things together!" "That b***h! I know she's been plotting something since the beginning. She clearly knew that her backpack was the heaviest of all! f**k- you move your ass too!" Margaux pulled his short curly hair and urged him to lift the bags higher. "Ow! Damn it! I'm trying, I'm trying! But I can't lift anymore. My hands are sore!" Ethan pouted, while massaging his slender wrist that turned red because of the pressure. He has white porcelain skin and the redness on his skin looks terrifying. "Heartless bitch." He deliberately whispered quite loudly in order for Margaux to hear his words. "Oh? Is it really me or Heather?" Margaux crossed her arms and raised her right eyebrow at him. Ethan sneered, pointed his index finger at her and said mockingly, "of course, it's you." "You-" Margaux stepped forward and clung her right arm around Ethan. She reached for his left cheek and gently squeezed it. "Who's heartless, huh? Who?!" "Ouch! Let go! It's You! You you you you, you!" Margaux pinched his cheeks with a bit more force while Ethan continued his pleading, asking for mercy. The two kept bickering with each other and forgot about the bad weather for a while. "You two, stop messing around! The rain is getting crazier. We had better hurry up!" Cindy shouted at them while walking with big strides towards their location. She's also carrying two small bags with both hands. Cindy shakes her head when she sees the action of the two and a faint smile appears in her eyes. Suddenly, she stops moving and seems to realize something. She frowned and asked her two friends. "Where's Heather?" After her words fell, they heard a high pitched scream from the distance and they all looked up together in the direction of the voice. "Oh my gosh Heather!" "Heather!" "f**k!" Worried voices echoed one by one in the surrounding area. They saw how Heather lost her footing, resulting in her things being scattered on the ground. When she was about to fall, Heather felt a firm grip around her. Heather was caught by a pair of big and powerful hands. Fearing that she might hit her head once she dropped, she panicked and inadvertently clung to the man's clothes, and she heard a faint sound of a torn object. Her gaze immediately dropped from the man's ripped collar down to his chest. She stiffened and froze for a while, but her eyes remained staring at the man's abdominal muscles. 'OMG! Six packs abs!' Heather screamed in her mind. She was stunned yet still raised her right hand to poke and squeezed the man's muscular chest and abdominal muscles. "Wow! It's hard!" She exclaimed unconsciously and looked at it with her eyes full of admiration. "Not yet done looking?" The man's low, resounding voice brought Heather back to consciousness. She immediately pushed the man and stood up to stabilize herself. She scratched her left arm and looked down while her cheeks were blushing. Her eyes were shifting everywhere, yet she kept stealing glances at the man. "Um... Just now, thank you." The man coldly gave her a quick nod and didn't pay attention to her anymore. He turned his back to her, looking down left and right. Heather coughed and bent over to pick up her pouch. The corners of her mouth twitched once she saw her pouch was now entirely covered with mud. She glanced at the man's handsome side profile and suddenly her heart jumped for no apparent reason. 'What the f**k was that?' Heather slapped her face and proceeded to examine the man's face. He has light chestnut colored hair, which is now completely soaked from the rain that is slightly covering his eyebrows. His eyes are green, and they look so beautiful and mesmerizing. He has a tall pointed nose and red lips like cherry blossoms. His face is like the most perfect masterpiece of heaven. Heather couldn't help but blush and give him 10 points in her mind. She thought that this man was really good looking. From head to toe, he looks perfect. Unfortunately, his whole appearance contradicts his cold temperament. "Tsk, what a waste. Nevermind he's good looking anyway, that all matters." Heather whispered, giggled softly and slowly approached the man. "What are you looking for?" The man didn't respond and stepped far away from her. He continued rummaging through the lawn. Heather sighed because he seemed to dislike her, but she didn't lose her patience and chose to continue having a conversation with him. "What is it?" She asked, and brought her face close to the man. Because of her intimate action, the man felt uncomfortable and quickly averted his eyes. He answered faintly while looking down. "Necklace." 'Ah, I see, he actually gets easily embarrassed! So cute!' She feels overjoyed and gives him another 10 points in her mind. Then, she noticed a faint redness spreading in his ear. Heather's eyes instantly lit, she wanted to touch those ears! She subconsciously raised her hands but stopped halfway. Heather shakes her head. No. She has to control herself or else she might frighten away the guy. She can't afford to lose her new prey. Not now, soon. He'll be mine. "Oh. Then, what does it look like, hmm?" Heather asked affectionately and stuck closer to the man again. He coughed and moved himself to stand, pretending to pat away the non-existent dust on his pants. "A note, with a letter J engraved on the back." "I'll help you! I often lose my stuff and I'm good at searching!" Heather offered gladly while boasting to herself. The excitement and pridefulness were clearly written in her face. Which makes the man think she's kinda cute. "No. Stay here." Heather was taken aback and felt stupid because of his straightforward rejection. She didn't expect him to refuse, that made her mind stop working for a second. 'why?' To her surprise, the man suddenly raised his big hand and slightly pushed her under the tree. Heather didn't understand what he was trying to do. Several questions and random guesses popped out of her mind. 'Is he going to kiss me? So fast? I thought he was reserved? Did I get it wrong? Wait wait wait! Why is he taking off his clothes?! Oh my gosh! Are we going to do it here?! But we're outside! I admit that's kinda exciting, but what if someone sees us?!! But it's really exciting! Ahhh! What should I do?!!" Only a minute passed but Heather imagined countless unspeakable things in her mind. Her heart pounded loudly thinking of those dirty thoughts and her nerves were tense. She clenched her sweaty hands and closed her eyes tightly when she saw the guy closing his distance. 'f**k, that is it! Goodbye! 17 years of virginity is over! Goodbye, friends! Goodbye, world! I'll now ascend to heaven!' She curved her lips and waited for the soft, warm thing to touch her lips. She frowned when she felt it took too long. 'Is he hesitating? Did he change his mind? No! That's unfair! I can't let him leave me hanging!' Heather gritted her teeth and inhaled deeply, preparing to open his eyes and scold him right away. "You..." Before Heather could react, a strong smell of mint penetrated her nose. She couldn't help but hold the thing in her head and take a look. Suddenly, the sweater was snatched away and put back on her head again. "Be good." The man said, she confusedly looked at the man and ask him with a skeptical expression. "Wha— did you take off your clothes just to give me this?" The man nodded and looked at her blankly. She frowned after hearing the man's reply. 'So he didn't mean those things? Seriously? Then why did he take off his clothes right in front of me?! Are you for real? And where did this thing come from? I already tore his clothes, didn't I?.' Maybe her expression is evident on her face, so in the next moment, the man opened his mouth and explained the matter to her. "My clothes were ruined and completely drenched. As for that.." He said while pointing at the sweater in my hand. He raised his eyes and glanced at her. "It's clean." 'Urgh, forget it! This guy is a f*****g gentleman. What a nice piece of s**t!' Heather tried to restrain herself from rolling her eyes and almost blurted those words in her mind. "Wait, you.." The man whispered, looking puzzled. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide and he stared at her with disbelief. "You.. you..." "Shut up. If you don't want to die, shut.the.fuck.up." Heather glared at him and gritted her teeth. She didn't intend to hide her upset tone anymore and instantly put on his sweater. Nope. She cannot afford to spend more time with this man any longer and wants to escape as fast as she can. After hearing the threat, he pursued his lips and nodded his head obediently. Because of their different body sizes and physique, the sweater looks much bigger and loose on her. She now looks like a hamster wearing her master's clothes. "...." "...." They stare at each other for a while and both look away embarrassingly at the same. The man coughed, touching his nose habitually. Heather was fidgeting with her fingers, and didn't dare to steal glances at him anymore. She breathed a sigh of relief when she perceived that the man also didn't want to mention the previous incident. But Heather was really regrettable. 'How can a guy be innocent when he has this kind of look? Ugh, what a waste!' Afterwards, she saw the man spread his palm and Heather unconsciously followed his gesture. She discovered that the rain weakened a bit. She glanced at the man beside her and saw him moving his long, slender fingers, which made his firm muscles stand out. His skin is smooth and white, combined with his eye-catching appearance. "He's perfect" ,she muttered. Until she saw the thing on his wrist. A leather bracelet is unnaturally wrapped thrice on his wrist. He obviously tried to hide all of those minor cuts, yet it's simply too much to completely conceal all of it. Based on the surface, those are already old scars. But the most scary thing is how deep it is. 'What kind of tragic thing happened to make this guy think about ending his life?' As she was about to speak to ask him, she heard a few exaggerated coughs behind her. "Ehem!²" "Ehem! Ehem!" Heather jolted when she heard the familiar voices. She quickly glances over the back of the tree and gets startled when she finds her friends standing next to her. No one knows how and when they get there. "f**k! You f*****g scared me to death!" Heather cursed while holding her chest. Margaux just laughs in response while Heather turns her head back to check at the man if he is still there. "Since when did you guys get here?" She whispered anxiously. She was worried and at the same time embarrassed that her friends heard about their entire conversation before. Heather, for the first time, prayed again and again. Wishing that her friends didn't hear anything or else she might just really jump off the cliff. "Since you offered him your help. Ah, since when has Heather become so generous? What a f*****g saint! Girls, let's give her a round of applause!" Margaux clapped her hands and the other two immediately followed her motion, cheering and clapping their hands mockingly. This girl really holds grudges, Heather thought. "f**k off, go away!" She shouted, while dragging her friends away . "Um. Just now, t-thank you.." Margaux uttered using a loli voice, imitating her, causing the girls to laugh again. Heather could only put her hand on her forehead and let out a long sigh. "Geez, stop." Cindy and Ethan walk in front of her and start performing the scene where the man takes off his clothes and Heather thought that he'd do him. "Haha, I bet she's thinking about saying goodbye to earth and her virginity!" Margaux speaks those words in jest. Another burst of laughter set off again. Among them, Ethan was the loudest and now laughing hysterically while hitting the tree's torso. 'b***h, you look quite happy, huh? Did you forget that we attended this shitty program just to accompany you to forget your shitty ex-boyfriend?! And it's not only those words b***h, I also especially express my goodbye to you all fuckers!' Heather ranted and raised her middle finger on them in her mind. "Stop hitting the tree, retard." Heather said while pretending to be calm. But the redness on her face continued to deepen. "Pft! Don't change the subject. Hahaha, are you shy? Where did your thick face go?" "Since when did you become so bold, ah? Thinking about having s*x in public? Hahahaha" Ethan said while poking her waist. "Shut up! I did not! Not yet!" "Ohh. Not yet? So you have a plan? Tell me, I'm all ears. Hahaha" Cindy hung her arm around her shoulder and grinned at her widely. "Arrgghh! Stop it!" Heather pushed her arms away and used her hands to cover her face, making her friends laugh louder. She bet her face is so red right now and her heart is pounding hard, seems like it is beating faster every second. And it feels like there's a bomb ticking inside her heart and it will explode anytime without a warning. Unfortunately, she didn't hate the feeling. She clutched her chest and felt her strong heartbeat. 'Is this what they call love? Ridiculous' Nevermind, forget it. Cause' he's a f*****g eunuch! 'Wait, I almost forgot about him. I hope he's still there!' Heather shoved her friend right away when she saw the man had already taken a couple of steps away from them. "f**k! So fast! Why do you have such long legs?!" She quickly runs towards him and can only try to stop him from leaving by yelling her lungs out. "Hey wait! You! Hey stop! Stoooppp!!" Heather kept calling him but the man didn't look back. So she looked around and found a small stone on the ground. She picked it up and aimed it at him. "I said stop!" Finally, he turns his back, looking at her with a painful expression on his face. "Ow, What the hell? Why are you throwing something so big?" The man massaged his head that got grazed earlier and murmured, "what a crazy woman, thank God I didn't got hit" "I called you but you didn't stop. I thought you didn't hear me so..." "I'm wearing earphones!" The man said irritability while showing her the black earphones in his hand. "Oh. Sorry" "Psh. Do you have anything to say? If not, then get lost." He glared, looking at her impatiently. "Um. Did you find what you were looking for?" He frowned and uttered a short word, "No." "Oh. Then if.. If I manage to find your necklace, I can give it to you. Let's meet again, okay?" She was afraid of annoying the man again. That's why, while talking to him, she deliberately softens her tone. The man was taken aback for a minute and, to her surprise, she saw the corners of his eyes squint upwards and gave her a little nod. In that instant, blossoming flowers fill the spring breeze, and her heart flutters more. He also seems to say something, but Heather refuses to listen. Because now, the only thing she could think of was the man's upturned lips and shy smile. 'Oh no. Not again.' She smacked her head mentally when she noticed her heartbeat getting faster again for the second time. She didn't even realize that the man had already gone and just stared dumbly at the direction where his silhouette disappeared. "f**k. This is bad." Heather cussed. "Ah. So handsome!" "And sexy!" Cindy uttered with her eyes glittering. They all nodded and agreed in dazed. "Yeah" "So what's his name? C'mon, c'mon tell us!" Ethan asked, at the same time shaking her arms vigorously. Everyone is waiting for her answer eagerly. "f**k! f**k!" Heather suddenly cussed and her friends jolted in surprise. "f**k! What the f**k! What happened? What is it?! What, what?!" "I forgot to ask his name!! Huhuhu" Heather said with a tinge of remorse, she felt like crying. She messes her hair like crazy. "I'm so stupid. How did I even forget to ask his name?! Huhu" "Hahaha Serves you right!" "Ha! That's called karma! You dare to leave us behind just for a single guy? Do you know how heavy your backpack is, huh?! This old lady hasn't forgotten it yet, my fingers turned red because of you!!" Margaux ranted nonstop and playfully pinched her ear. "Ow ow! It hurts! Let me go! You nag more than my mother! Ow!" Heather complained while rubbing her ear. "Sadistic b***h!" "Oh. Wanna go for another round with your mother?" Margaux asked playfully, but Heather just shrugged her shoulders then looked up at the sky. "Hah! I don't care. I have a strong feeling that this won't be the last time we'll meet. Don't you know? My mom said that I was born lucky and my prediction is always right! Hehehehe" Heather said with a lot of confidence and laughed madly, sending shivers in their spines and making their scalps tingle. "Suddenly, I feel pity for the guy." Her two friends just shook their heads and did not contradict her words anymore. All of them know how unlucky Heather had been since childhood. She always ranks last in every exam. Even her friends who often skip class with her can get 75 out of 100. Only her was the exception. And every time she planned to eat in their school cafeteria, she always forgot to bring her wallet. If not, the food is already sold out. She was always called during recitation, always forgot to bring her textbook, always received punishments, and always dumped by men in various ways. During junior high, one of her classmates started calling her "Ms Always", which eventually became her nickname throughout the whole campus. The girls were recalling their past when Cindy opened her mouth and talked to herself subconsciously. "He seems familiar, I think...I've seen him somewhere before." ~ ~ ~ Her friends were walking their way down to the mountain, but Heather was still immersed in thinking about how to pursue the guy in the future. She was lost in thought when she accidentally felt something bulging in her pocket. Heather speaks doubly. "Uh guys. I think there's something poking in my pocket." She said but she got no reply. She curiously rummaged inside the sweater and took the thing that was in there. Her heart fluttered when she found a few cold medicines and a pain reliever in her palm. Her facial expression changed from confusion to overwhelmed. Grinning happily, she uttered. "Mom, I really want that guy!" _________