Genuine | Park Jisung

35

Once Imina reached her group of friends, she greeted them like she always did, with a smile and a wave to whoever didn't want a hug and then a hug to the rest and a kiss on Jaemins cheek, who returned the affection back.

The routine was normal so she was thoroughly confused when saw Haechan give her a weird look and then, in private, ask her to confirm the feelings she didn't have for the bluette.

When Chenle asked her pretty much the same thing the last five minutes before lunch, she ruled it out as a prank or them being weird.

She always thought it was crystal clear she didn't have romantic feelings for Jaemin. Plus she liked someone and though, she tried to hide it, she thought that at least one of them would catch on.

At lunch, Imina joined the boys at their usual lunch table and sat there for five minutes before locking eyes with Jaemin and him asking, "Hey, Beautiful, can I talk to you?"

"Sure."

Imina followed him inside and to a deserted hallway that would give them privacy away from most of the students. She sat on the ground next to him and looked at him, awaiting what he had to say.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure."

"Do you like Jisung?"

The girl sighed, not even bothering to hide the truth as she answered, "Yeah."

"You don't seem too happy about it."

"It's not him, he's a fantastic person to have a crush on but I don't want our friendship getting ruined, that's more important to me and I'm not even sure he'd like me. I'm not tryna' be insecure-well I am but I'm not talking about that, but I'm probably not someone he even thinks about that much. He has his family and you guys and he does have me but it does not seem like he'd like me. I don't even know how comforting it is that he doesn't seem to like anyone but I'm sure he has great options."

He nudged her, gently. "You're a great option."

"Thanks, Angel."

Even though she said thank you, his arms didn't seem to resonate in the girls mind. The last thing Jaemin wanted was for one of his best friends to ever think lowly of themselves.

Imina was special to him and he wanted her to understand how she appeared in his eyes.

"Beautiful, listen to me. Do you know why I call you that?"

"Because you think I'm beautiful?"

"Yes. Inside and out. You are literally one of the most wonderful people I have ever met. You're so caring, thoughtful, smart, accepting, funny, kind, helpful, cute, lovable, pretty, gorgeous, hard-working, dedicated, adorable, loving, magnificent, fantastic, awesome, amazing, resplendent-"

"Okay, okay! I get it!" She exclaimed, a lightness to her tone, which made Jaemin happy.

"I could go on if you let me."

"It's okay."

"Imina, all that I said is true. We're all lucky to have you in our lives. It might not be Jisung but someone is going to see everything I see and they are going to show you how much they like you for it. I never want you to think you are not one of the best people to be in someones life. I don't care how many other good people there are, you need to count yourself too."

"Thank you, Angel." She gave him a small smile and pulled him in for a hug. When they break away, Jaemin kisses the top of her head and her nose.

The affection made her smile at him and kiss his cheek before resting her head on his shoulder.