Crush

You're working with Jinjin and as usual, you ask if he wants to hang out with you later.

You're caught off guard when he bluntly says no.

Implying that he knows you have a crush on him, you hear him mutter under his breath that it would be awkward.

Is this why they call it a crush, because your heart gets crushed?

You feel terribly sad, but you tell yourself you'll get over it... right?

...

When you get home, you look down at the silver butterfly bracelet that Jinjin gave you for your birthday.

You consider keeping it on as a way to cherish the memories of the time you spent together over the years. You loved hanging out during the breaks between Jinjin's schedule and yours, but after his cold reaction to you today, you take it off and leave it on your bedside.

...

That night, you have to attend a formal event. In front of a bunch of girls, a man handsomely dressed in a suit with his hair slicked back approaches you and asks to speak to you alone.

It's Cha Eunwoo, another idol that you work with at the company. You don't know him as well as Jinjin, so when he says your name, you suddenly feel nervous. What could Eunwoo want with you?

Eunwoo confidently looks you in the eyes and tells you that he's got something important to tell you.

"I've had a crush on you for a long time," he says with a sweet smile. "Do you feel anything for me?"

Well, your mind has been on someone else lately, but you suppose you could feel that way about him... He is stunningly handsome, polite, and as far as you know, he's incredibly smart too.

Eunwoo asks if you will let him take you out on a date so he can show you what a good boyfriend he'd be.

When you ask where he would take you, he excitedly describes a dinner at a high end restaurant with beautiful views and delicious food.

Wow, you like the fact that this man has a plan!

...

An hour before Eunwoo is supposed to pick you up for your date, you get a call from Jinjin. He tells you he's really sick. His members are out and there's no food in his house.

When he asks if you'll bring him some hot soup, you wonder why you were the one he called.

Nevertheless, you can't help but feel bad for him. After all, he's the one who normally cares for everybody else, including you. It's not a hard choice to delay your date by an hour so you can leave some food at his door.

...

You have the best date with Eunwoo. The restaurant may be extravagant and filled with intimidating people, but Eunwoo makes you feel at ease the whole time.

Time flies and at the end of the night, he looks over at you with a giddy smile. You can see how happy he is just being in your company.

Suddenly his eyes are focused on your lips. When he leans in close, you let him peck your lips but nothing more. He's not Jinjin, but he is lovely.

Over the next week, Eunwoo surprises you by sending a hand written note with flowers to your office. You smile as you sniff the flowers each time that you return to your desk, and read the note over and over again throughout the day.

...

You have a particularly horrible day at work. You make a terrible mistake and your boss yells at you. All you want to do is drive home and go to bed but you get a call from Eunwoo.

You're not sure if you're in the mood to talk to him. What would he think of you upon finding out that you'd done something so stupid?

You answer the call. Once you hear his soothing voice, you find yourself telling Eunwoo everything.

He sympathises with you and tells you that it'll do you good to go out tonight. He picks you up and takes you out to dinner, generously paying for your meal.

Afterwards, Eunwoo tells you that his friends are doing karaoke. He invites you to take your mind off things and go join them.

You sigh. You're feeling pretty wrecked right now, but wouldn't it be good to sing your worries away?

...

You get to the karaoke bar to see that Eunwoo's "friends" are Astro. You know what that means... Jinjin is here! As soon as you walk in the door, you lock eyes with him. His gaze drifts down to see your hand interlaced with Eunwoo's.

You wonder if Jinjin notices that you're no longer wearing your butterfly bracelet. Just the thought of the way he wounded your heart makes you grip Eunwoo's hand a little tighter.

The next few songs are sung by Jinjin. He's showing off - rapping, dancing, and acting the fool, making everyone laugh and clap - including you.

When he flashes you a big smile, you smile back. You just can't help it! He's just so talented, funny and cute!

Before you know it, Jinjin has selected a duet to sing and is tugging on your other hand.

"Sing with me?" he asks, his dark eyes gazing deeply into yours.

When you hesitate, he cutely bites his lip and says, "Pleaaaase?"

Even though you refuse, insisting that you'll sing with Eunwoo, you can see that Eunwoo is mad. His face is red and his fists are clenched.

You think he's getting up to sing but he grabs Jinjin by the collar and drags him out of the room.

You wonder what's going on. Would it be rude to follow them?

You step outside. Nervous to approach them, you hang back. But when you hear arguing, you move a little closer to hear what they're saying.

"You promised me you'd stay away from her!" you hear Eunwoo cry.

"But you lied! It's not fair, I only agreed to that because you said you were already dating her!" Jinjin replies.

"I had to, I knew you had a crush on her," admits Eunwoo.

You gasp and they notice you. Both call out your name.

You glance between them before setting your gaze upon Eunwoo.

"Wait!" Jinjin cries.

"I'm sorry, Jinjin. It's too late," you say.

The moment you take a step towards Eunwoo, he throws his arms around you, hugging you tight.

"My ex-girlfriend cheated on me with my best friend, okay?" he says with glassy eyes, "I don't trust any guy to come near my girl, even before I've had a chance to date her. I'm sorry for lying, but I'm not sorry that I made him back off."

You lean back and pinch his cheek, "There's no need to lie. You'll learn to trust me."

Eunwoo smiles and his shoulders relax.

He tilts his head to the side, "Do you really like me?"

You return his smile and nod. This time when he leans in to kiss your lips, you let him.

"I like you too," he says. "Do you want me to sing to you now?"

You agree, but you ask that he makes it a duet.

THE END.