Pepper never meant to lose her best friend. Lucas never meant to fall in love.
Yet the aftermath of broken hearts leads them to blur the lines of their friendship forever. When Pepper is dumped by her boyfriend and Lucas is led on by his crush, they...
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FOUR MONTHS LATER ✧
MAN-SOO IS A HEAVING BULL when I hop into his car outside of Mr. Ambrose's office. I practically choke on his rage as I settle into my seat and strap in. "Pepper," he practically growls.
"Man-soo!" I beam at him before reaching over to turn the air up just a notch. "It's so hot today. Ambrose's air conditioner stopped working, so we had to use a fan; and the fan was so loud that I had to speak up and that was awkward."
"Pepper," he warns again.
"What?" I feign confusion. "Why aren't you driving?"
Man-soo reaches into the back seat and pulls out a pair of sneakers. He shoves them at me and glares hard enough to give me a stroke. With a gradual drag of my gaze, I witness his favorite pair of purple soccer cleats chewed and mangled.
I shrink into my seat and snicker. "D'ya get hungry?"
He narrows his eyes. "Your demon child literally ate my favorite pair of shoes! Do you realize how much these cost me?"
"Oops?"
"Oops?" he repeats incredulously. "Here I am being nice to your dog-"
"He's not a dog!" I declare. "He's our first child."
Man-soo barely bats an eye at my attempt to be cute. "I decided to let him go outside to use the restroom while I started lunch instead of listening to him whine in his kennel."
"Because you're so sweet," I chirp.
"Then I let him back inside, continued to cook lunch, and guess what?"
"It tastes amazing?" I squeak.
"That little jerk chewed up my shoes! And made me chase him around the house just to get one of the strings back!"
I pout. "Don't call him a jerk. He's our little angel. He's still a puppy, you know? He's going to do silly things."
"Well, you need to give him some behavior training or I am taking him back."
"You can't ungift me!"
"I will if he doesn't learn to behave himself." Man-soo tosses his sneakers into the backseat and pulls out of the parking lot and into the streets. "You owe me a new pair of shoes on top of the ones I'm redeeming for my birthday sticky note."
"I'll buy you a million pair of shoes if it'll make you happy!"
A miniature smile teases his red lips and he shrugs. "Okay. Yeah. Whatever. So, did you talk to him about that episode you had last Saturday?"
"Mhm." I bob my head.
"What did he say?"
"He said maybe I should try it in a more comfortable setting with someone I trust so I can gain a sense of control."
