The Rules

“They’re doing it again,” Winter whines and points across the table. “Make them stop!”

A few other groans circle around,  but they’re nothing more than static to you. All you care about right now is how Karina is smiling at you, and how she’s leaning in until her nose presses yours.

Her smile mutes the rest of the complaints and even the supportive giggles. It could silence the rest of your world.

When it comes to Karina, nothing else matters.

She’s your obsession, and after a whole night of sharing from each other’s plates and casually brushing against each other’s thighs, you’re absolutely ready to make it official.

That is until you hear your name, louder than even Karina’s silencing hold on you.

“Ch-Chaewon?” you gasp, snapping your head towards the noise. “What are you doing here?”

“Who’s that?” Karina whispers into your ear, clutching your arm tightly against her chest.

“What I’m doing here doesn’t matter nearly as much as what you’re doing here,” Chaewon hisses, crossing her arms.

“It’s just a casual dinner with friends--”

“Friends?” Karina raises an eyebrow and lets go of your arm.

Chaewon starts tapping her foot, giving you that look. “Does this girl with her hands all over you know what you were doing last night?”

“No,” Karina says incredulously, glaring at you. “Maybe you should tell this girl with her hands all over you exactly what you were doing?”

“Karina, it’s not what you think--”

“Oh I assure you it’s exactly what she’s thinking,” Chaewon interjects.

Suddenly, the restaurant goes completely still and silent.

Not like the silence when Karina stares into your eyes, but true silence. You can hear your own heartbeat in your ears.

“Looks like you’re in a bit of a...” a woman’s voice appears from behind you. The source of the voice, a gorgeous redhead, leans over your shoulder and grabs a pickle off your plate “...pickle,” she finishes her sentence and takes a crunchy bite.

What is going on?

“Cat got your tongue? I’d assume you’re confused.”

“Maybe just a bit,” you nod.

“I’m one of those... what’s the term you guys like? Fairy? Genie? Angel? I don’t know, pick your favorite, none of them are particularly accurate,” the woman says. “I go by Yunjin, if that’s easier.”

“Seraph Yunjin, got it,” you nod again.

“Sure, I actually quite like the sound of that one,” Yunjin smiles and reaches for the olive in your martini. “You humans have such lovely tricks for your fruits and vegetables, always such a treat.”

“Here,” you reach onto your plate and hold a piece of pickled onion up for her. “You can have this if you tell me what’s going on.”

“Oh yummy! A bit greasy, but yummy!” she happily grabs the onion. “It’s simple, really, every now and then one of us Seraphs comes down to earth to punish a human.”

“Punish? For what?”

“For being an asshole,” Yunjin frowns, eyeing the salad on Karina’s plate. “Not just an asshole, but an asshole to a specific person.”

“Chaewon?”

“The fact that you have to ask shows just how much of an asshole you are,” Yunjin shakes her head in disappointment. “You think she’d mind if I…”

“Go ahead,” you push the plate towards her.

Yunjin smiles excitedly as she tries a piece of kale. “Kinda bitter… alright, let me explain,” she continues while picking at her next bite. “There are five of us Seraphs. At all times there must be at least one of us in Seraph form, so we take turns acting as humans just for fun.”

“Holy shit, I hooked up with a Seraph?”

“Technically, yes, but when she’s in human form she doesn’t know she’s a Seraph. That’s kind of the whole point.”

“Wow,” you mumble, glancing at Chaewon who’s still frozen in place.

“Don’t get too excited, asshole,” Yunjin grabs your chin and points your gaze back towards her. “Because you are an asshole, you’re getting a one week punishment. It’s a bit of an agreement amongst us Seraphs to look out for the others. Human form Chaewon obviously has no idea.”

“This is really confusing...”

“Then pay closer attention when I explain the punishment, because if you don’t...” she runs her thumb across her neck.

“She’s going to die?” you gasp.

“What? No, you idiot. You are.”

“I’m going to die?”

“Only if you fail the punishment.”

“What’s the punishment?”

“If you’d stop asking questions for a second, maybe I’d be able to tell you,” Yunjin scowls before reaching for a tomato out of the plate and turning all cheery again. “Alright, it’s actually pretty simple. Since you’re such an asshole and a whore, you must sleep with a new girl every day of this week.”

“I can’t do that! I got a nice thing going with Karina!”

“Alright, well, you should have thought about that before cheating on Chaewon,” Yunjin shakes her head.

“We were in a talking stage.”

“Since you love having multiple girls in the talking stage, you’re getting punished.”

“This is so unfair,” you whine.

“Oh suck it up,” Yunjin grabs a piece of squash. “Seven days, seven girls. Oh, and I’m adding another stipulation. At least one of the girls has to be a Seraph in their human form.”

“I have to figure out how to fix this thing with Chaewon now? That’s impossible–”

Yunjin flicks you on the forehead. “There are five of us, remember? Two of us are in Seraph form, the other three are human.”

“Oh...”

“And you’re very lucky that I’m the one punishing you,” Yunjin laughs. “If Eunchae was here... you don’t even wanna know, trust me.”

You bite your lower lip nervously.

“And since I’m so incredibly kind, I’m even going to take you to the other two Seraphs on any day of your choosing,” Yunjin smiles. “Just not on the first, I want to make sure you understand this is all real.”

“Oh, alright, I guess...”

“And now we’re going to poof out of here. When I snap my fingers, you’re going to wake up in your bed and day one will begin,” Yunjin holds up her hand.

“Wait! What happens here? You can’t just skip my whole night like that!”

“Oh trust me, you’ll be better off,” Yunjin lowers her hand again. “Basically, Chaewon’s going to storm off. Karina’s going to be heartbroken, and Winter’s going to toss her water at you.”

“Huh, that’s not as bad as I expected,” you stroke your chin slowly.

“Well fuck you then, now all three of them are also going to slap you,” Yunjin scoffs. “And don’t waste time when you wake up by hoping it was all a dream.”

In the next instant, Yunjin raises her hand, calls you an asshole again, and then snaps.

Birds are chirping, the sun is shining through your curtains, and your cheek is stinging.

Just like she promised, you’re in your bed. It feels like you’ve just been slapped in the face even though it happened hours ago – probably deserved.

Suddenly, you feel your heart drop into your stomach.

It’s all real.

You only have – you glance over at your phone – sixteen hours to find a girl. You quickly stumble out of your bed and scramble to get ready.

It’s desperate for sure, but there’s an option that you’ve had in your back pocket for years now. You’ve decided it’s your best bet for day one.