Kai

The cafe was buzzing with noise. Yumi was sitting with her friends. She had just turned 18, and her childhood friend, Kai, was 21. They had grown up together. Kai had always been like an older brother to her: protecting her, caring for her, and treating her like gold. Yumi cherished this and had grown used to the fact that his attention belonged only to her.

The conversation at the table turned to boys. Suddenly, Lera, one of the friends, smiled dreamily:

"Girls, that Kai is so handsome... A real hottie. I wouldn't mind going out with him."

Everything inside Yumi flipped. She felt uneasy at the thought of Kai getting a girlfriend and forgetting their friendship. Unwilling to share her "brother" with anyone, she decided to smear him so that Lera would lose interest.

"You just don't know what he's really like,"

— Yumi interrupted sharply.

"He's a terrible person!"

"What do you mean? What did he do?"

— the girls gasped.

"He constantly insults me,"

— Yumi made up on the fly.

"And the other day, he actually hit me. I'm afraid of him!"

Her friends were horrified and began lamenting that one should stay far away from a guy like that. Yumi breathed a sigh of relief in her mind: the plan worked, Lera was spooked.

"Anyway, I'm going to the restroom,"

— Yumi said.

In the restroom, she walked up to the mirror. Her heart was pounding wildly from the lies. Suddenly, the stall door behind her creaked. Yumi looked up at the reflection and froze.
Standing behind her was Kai. He had been relaxing in the same cafe and had heard everything through the thin wall. A smirk played on his lips. He stepped closer and whispered softly in her ear with a smile:

"And just what did you tell your little friends about me?"