Autumnal Equinox (JinJi)

Nine

"Who do you like?"

He stopped in his tracks. He raised his eyes to her slowly.

Jinyoung had known for a few years now that eventually, he was going to have to face the music and stop pretending he couldn't hear it. He didn't think that the moment would come this soon, however.

He definitely felt some sort of way toward Jisoo, he just couldn't figure out what it was. A part of him was afraid to even give it a label, as if giving it a name would make it true.

Of course, he'd also heard what the other kids in their class whispered about them. After Mark and Nayeon, he and Jisoo were the ones everyone was waiting for. He didn't like rumors, and he especially didn't like to indulge them, which was another reason why whenever the thought of dating Jisoo popped up, he would pick it up and moved it someplace else in his mind. A matter for another time. A bridge to cross later.

But here it was now.

Jinyoung stared and blinked at Jisoo for a long time, thinking of how to answer. He could say "no," but it would be a lie, and he never lied to Jisoo. Or he could say "yes," but she would want to know who it was and he didn't know if he had the courage to admit it yet, even to himself.

"Fine. Don't tell me," Jisoo said, rolling her eyes and sighing. He'd taken too long to answer. "Whatever. I mean, I'm just your best friend, why tell me, right?"

Jisoo turned and continued walking. Jinyoung couldn't bring himself to look at her, so he looked at the sky just above her head instead, watching as the clouds passed and the sunshine turned slightly orange.

Damn, he thought. The moment was over so quickly.

She was different the rest of the time they walked home. He did end up asking her what she thought of the latest "The Walking Dead" episode, but instead launching into a monologue about zombies, she gave quick and curt answers. Her arms remained crossed tight across her chest the rest of the way. He was confused.

She couldn't possibly be actually upset that he didn't answer her question, right? It's not as if she confided her secret crush's name to him, either.

He was about to ask, but before he even knew it, they were standing in front of his house.

"See you tomorrow," Jisoo said. Jinyoung said goodbye as stopped in front of his house while Jisoo walked on. He was about to walk up to the front door, but then he heard the muffled angry voices of his parents. Still fighting.

He hesitated. When he turned around, he saw that Jisoo had stopped walking and was standing at the edge of the lawn. Watching him, waiting for him to go inside. All it took was one look for Jisoo to realize that he wasn't going to go inside, not yet anyway. She beckoned him over with her hand.

"Come on," she said. "Let's take a lap around the block."

He didn't hesitate. He jogged over to where Jisoo was and the two of them took a lap around the block. They ended up wandering, however, into the grassy half mile gap between the last row of houses and the cluster of hanok homes where Jisoo lived. When they got tired, they just sat down in the grass.

"When did they start fighting like that?" Jisoo asked.

Jinyoung swallowed. If anyone other than her had asked him, he would have tried to dodge the question. But something about Jisoo's presence calmed him, made him want to open up. So he told her what happened, how his father discovered his mother's affair two weeks ago, how the fighting had started, how Boyoung threatened to run away. When all his thoughts and feelings had been spilled, he felt empty and light.