Toward the Walk of Shame

21 {Suzy}

"Don't worry. I don't blame you for ditching me. Every month I asked myself why I put myself through this torture." He scratched his neck and shook his head. "But now that you're here, do you mind looking over this article? I don't know if it should go before or after the prep-rally recap."

"Yeah, sure." I sat on a desk a few feet away. My feet tapped against the metal rungs.

Minho handed me the articles, but he didn't let go when I grabbed them. Instead, he gave me a funny look. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Still figuring me out, Minho leaned back against the table, not even caring that several pieces of paper were sliding off. He crossed his arms. "Come on, tell me what's wrong."

I shifted at his intense gaze. "I just have something on my mind, that's all."

"Something or someone?"

Trust Minho to always know exactly what I was thinking, unlike a certain surfer. "Someone." It was kind of weird to talk about this with Minho. Not only because we'd never talked about relationships before - or my lack of relationships - but also because the other night in his car, when we had almost kissed, was still fresh in my head.

Or at least I thought we almost had. It certainly felt like we were about to, but the next day, Minho had acted like nothing was wrong. He was so normal that I almost thought that I had imagined that entire evening.

"I guess Sehun's giving you some trouble, huh? What happened?"

My foot kicked the desk as I stared at the floor. "We just had a fight. He said some things. I said some things. Maybe it was my fault. I was kind of harsh."

Minho laughed. "That's just who you are, though. Blunt, hard-core, heart-crushing honest."

"Wow, thanks a lot. You make me sound like some type of wrecking ball."

"The good kind." He kicked his long legs against the metal rungs of my desk, letting the low, hollow ringing vibrate through the room for a minute or two. "So, do you think you'll work it out?"

"I don't know." An image of Seulgi snuggled against Sehun flash through my head, and I let out an sigh. I slid off the desk and bend down to pick up the papers scattered on the floor. "I have a feeling we won't be together much longer."

"Good." To my surprise, he reached down for my hand and pulled me up. "Because I've been meaning to talk to you about something. About us . . ." His voice trailed off, and it was his turn to stare at the floor.

'Us?"

Minho let out a deep breath and massaged the back his neck. "You know that I've always admired you despite how crazy you are. And I don't knock why it's taken me so long to say this, but . . . I like you." He shook his head. His eyes were bright as he tightened his grip on me. "Like really like you. I always have."

"Huh? You have?" I cringed at myself. Omo, that had to be the worst response to a confession ever. EVER. "I - when?"

"Since my first day of school, when you came up to me to find out my IQ score. Even after you snapped at me when you found out my score was five points higher than yours." There were crinkles in the corners of his eyes as he laughed. His hand rested on the nook of his neck and shoulder. "I never had a chance."

The papers in my hand crumpled. "Minho . . . I" I didn't know what to say. What could I say?

If this were a romance novel, this would be the scene when I could declare my love, too, and fall into his arms to live happily ever after. I mean, this was Minho. Minho. The guy who bought over my homework assignments when I was out with the flu for nearly a week. The one who stayed up late helping me cram for my physics exam even though he didn't take physics. And he was still good at it. The one who fit all of my plans perfectly. The logical choice. Maybe the right choice.

I couldn't have found someone better if I spent the next hundred years trying. He was a great guy. Is a great guy. We made sense.

So why did I feel like running to the nearest exit.

My head spun with all my questions until I was dizzy.

His hand tightened on my arm as though he were trying to bring me back to reality. "It's all right if you don't feel the same way. We could forget this ever happened. Like I didn't open my big mouth."

The resigned expression on his face ate away at me. Especially since I was the reason. "No, it's not like that. It's just . . . so sudden. I don't really know how I - I never really thought about it." That was a lie. I'd thought about us being together before. But that was all before Sehun.

Minho's eyes softened with hope, and his hand drifted up to the cup the back of my neck. "Why don't you think about it, then?" And just like that, without another word, he came closer and closer. He paused for a few seconds right before the kiss, in case I wanted to pull away.

I didn't.

It shouldn't have surprised me that Minho's kiss would be perfect, like him. It was sweet. Gentle and soft. Like the kiss that the prince would give the princess at the end of the story, right before they rode off into the sunset toward their happily ever after.

Being with Minho was so effortless. He knew who I was and loved me. We had the same goals. The same views on life and our future. Hopefully we'd both be in Seoul next year. Maybe this was how things were supposed to be. Maybe things were starting to fall into place again. Like he said, things fit for a reason.

His other hand slid up my shoulder and accidentally pulled on my necklace beneath my shirt. Sehun's necklace. Sehun's face flashed into my head, and I pulled away from Minho like he electrocuted me.

My hand flew to my mouth. "I - I can't do this. I'm sorry, but Sehun -"

A flicker of realization flashed across Minho's face. "Do you love him?"

"No,of course I don't." I shook my head. "I mean, I don't . . . know."

His face displayed all the hurt and confusion that was in his voice, making it crack. "He'll hurt you in the end. You know that. We all know what he's like. He's a player who's never serious about anyone. He's only out to get as many girls as he can."

A flicker of anger stroked me, searing through my confused thoughts. "You're wrong. You don't know him at all."

"Suzy . . ." His hand reached out to grab me, but I moved out of reach. "I'm sorry. That was stupid. I don't know why I -"

I held up my hand, and he immediately froze. "No. Just stop talking." I grabbed my bag from the floor and turned away from him. I paused at the door, but I couldn't bring myself to turn around and look at him. "I'm sorry."