The 1 Rule - haobin

won't leave

"We need to talk," I say. Cho looks at me, eyebrows furrowed

"Ok..?" she says, sitting back on her bed unsurely. I twirl around on her chair for a few seconds before composing my posture and turning back to her

"I'll be honest, and if you're mad at me, I can totally understand. Just promise that you'll listen to me until the end" I say carefully, and Cho tilts her head in confusion

"Oh my god, Hanbin, you're stressing me out! Just tell me" Cho says, eyes darting at me with a worried expression

"Promise me first"

"Ok, ok! I promise" she says in surrender. I huff, wondering where to start

"Ok. You know how we were talking in the morning?" I ask

"Yeah"

"And we were talking about Hao, right?"

"Yeah?"

"You know how I told you about him and Ricky being friends, and that's why I'm close to him, right?"

"Yeah...?"

"It's a lie. I mean, it's not a complete lie either. The truth is that Hao and I were friends with each other even before he and Hao met"

"Ok..." Cho says, obviously unsure of where this is going

"Remember the day that you and I talked about staying friends, and I told you that I liked someone?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that person is actually your brother" I say. I don't expect Cho to respond, but I watch her reaction. It doesn't change, her face lying expressionless, so I continue talking

"He and I primarily started talking when I liked you. He promised to help me with making you like me back. But in the process, I ended up liking him instead. That's why I wouldn't hang out with you; because I would be out with Hao instead. I never intended on ending up liking him, but I really couldn't help it. I know what you told me about him, and your feelings on losing people because of him. I understand, I really do, but I really like him as well. That doesn't mean that you and I will stop being friends, unless you want to, of course. I just thought that you deserved to know" I say. Cho doesn't react. She looks as if she's deep into thought, eyes on the ground, staying still. It makes my nerves build up, stress making my head throb painfully

"Cho...?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you please react? Shout at me all you want. Just tell me how you feel" I say. Cho seems to pinder on it for a while before speaking

"I already had suspicions, not gonna lie. Not to sound creepy, but I had seen you guys by the campfire last night. He fell asleep on your shoulders, and you looked comfortable," she takes a pause before letting out a shaky breath and continuing "of course it kinda sucks, and I will need a bit of time to get used to it, but I won't be angry at you. You can't control your feelings, and I get that. To be honest, it made me kind of happy seeing how much brighter Hao has been these past days. At first I thought that it was because summer vacations started, but I guess that wasn't really the reason. I will need a bit of time, but I respect you. As long as you treat Hao well, I'm fine with it"

When she finishes, I stare back at her blankly. I watch her in admiration. She expressed her feelings so well, and I respect her for it. I feel a wave of relief overtake me as I fully process what she has said. I feel a wave of emotions engulf me into thoughts of wonder, happiness, and most fo all, relief. 

"Cho... I'm so sorry about everything. You trusted me with your problems, but at the end, I became involved in that problem. But Cho, I just want you to know that just because someone ends up being friends with Hao, it doesn't mean that they have to stop being friends with you. The friends that you talked to me about that left you for him, I'm sorry to break it to you, but they were never real friends. Real friends would stick by your side, and that's what I'm set on doing. I'll always be here for you and for Hao. I will always treasure you as one of my closest friends, and I won't leave your side, ok?" I say, trying to catch my breath after talking. 

Cho smiles lightly, and I see her eyes sparkle. I realize a bit too late that the sparkle in here eyes are actually tears, that start to roll down her soft cheeks. I stand up and walk over to her bed, sitting beside her and wipe the tear off of her cheek. She looks at me and throws herself at me, only to wrap her arms around my shoulders. I return the light hug with a unconcious smile that appears on my face

"Are you seriously ok with this?" I ask in a whisper as she and I stop hugging, but she laughs lightly

"I am, but as I said, I will need some time to to get used to it. And anyways, even if I wouldn't be fine with it, that shouldn't stop you from dating somone that you like" she says, and I feel my heart go warm.

The tension that I felt before is now gone in a matter of seconds

"Cho, thank you so much. And seriously, I'm so sorry. You seriously deserve to date a great person, and I'm sorry that the person won't be me. I really hope you find someone that will be able to like you back, and will be able to treat you in the way that you deserve. And I promise that I'll be standing right there next to you through everything and anything. I won't leave you no matter what." I say, and I see the tears that had stopped streaming down her face come back, heavier than before

"I don't mind. As long as you don't leave me" she says between sobs, hugging me tightly again. I smile at the thought of being so comfortable to talk about this with my friend. It feels nice, thinking of her as a friend. I imagine us buying ice creams like before, running around the green park, and joking around. A new chapter, where I will value her as one of my closest friends, and where I'll be able to help her with any problems she could possibly have. I will trust her wiht my secrets, just like I do with Ricky.

And by then, I am set on dating Hao.

♡♡♡

GUYS the guy I like cut his hair into a buzzcut imma kms rq 😭 no but seriously tho it looks so bad like I don't get how he thought that it would be a good idea to cut it. But yk, I'll respect the decision cuz he's still hot 😌🖐️

also, I was wondering if you guys would be interested in a mystery ff. I'm not sure if I would do it about skz or zb1 tho. Just let me know if you guys would be interested and I'll plan it out and start releasing chapters in a few months when I finish the other ff that I'm currently working on.

(non k-pop related, but listen to 'slow down' by chase atlantic)