Jinyoung got off the bus and dragged his feet to his class with additional bags under his eyes beside the one slung on his shoulder this morning. He stayed up all night until dawn, feeling too restless to sleep after hearing Jaebum’s confession. He had been thinking hard, and the fact that he still didn’t have the answer he needed made him frustrated. He felt anxiousness crawling in, didn’t know how to face the boy today. That was why he was still fidgeting in front of the door to his classroom, too afraid to get in.
What should I do? What should I say to him? What kind of face I should wear? What if we become awkward with each other? What if…
“Hey, what are you doing here, blocking the door?”
The familiar voice made Jinyoung jump, startled. He turned around to see the source of his distress since the day before standing next to him, smiling.
“You’re not going in?”
“Y-yeah, I’m about to.” Jinyoung cursed himself inside for failing to hide his nervousness. But he never expected to hear a chuckle coming out from the other boy.
“You’re so amusing, Jinyoung,” Jaebum said with his usual lopsided smirk while ruffling the other’s hair, and his face did look like he was so amused it annoyed Jinyoung.
“Stop teasing me!” Jinyoung yelled. Jaebum’s smirk grew into a wide grin as he said, “Why? It’s cute.”
Jinyoung just stared at his best friend as he walked into their classroom, dumbfounded by his words. When what the boy had said finally sank in, blush started to creep into his cheeks. He ran to hit Jaebum before sitting on a vacant seat two rows from the back of the room. He could hear him laughed wholeheartedly, staining his cheeks with deeper shade of red than before. It didn’t stop even when Jaebum sat next to Jinyoung.
“Stop laughing!” Jinyoung said with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance, kicking the other’s chair.
“Sorry, sorry,” Jaebum rose his hands up with a mischievous grin. Jinyoung looked away, sulking.
He knew he was being childish, but he couldn’t help getting embarrassed by his own and mad by Jaebum’s indifference. How can he act like nothing happened while I can’t even get a proper sleep last night thanks to him? Does he really like me? I feel like a fool thinking hard about him.
“Here, don’t sulk, I’ll give you this.”
Jinyoung felt something plastic tapping his shoulder. When he turned to look at the object, his eyes widened and sparkled with astonishment, forgetting the anxiety he felt before. It was the newest album from his favorite singer. He had been waiting for it to be available on record store since its release a few days back.
“When did you get this? How?”
“I stopped by a record store on my way home yesterday, and saw the shopkeeper putting it on display. It reminded me of you, so I bought it. I’m so generous, don’t you think?” Jaebum said with a smug smile, looking so proud that he managed to amaze the other.
“Of course, you’re the best!” Jinyoung leaped from his chair to hug Jaebum without thinking.
“I know, I know,” Jaebum said, patting the excited boy on his back. “So do you like me now?”
Jinyoung stiffened at that. He quickly pulled himself back, only to find Jaebum wearing his mischievous smile. He was teasing him again.
“I hate you!” Jinyoung said, irritated. He sat back on his seat again with a pout. He could hear his so-called best friend laughing again. Jaebum knew the sulking boy would never hate him no matter how much he was teasing him, and it irked Jinyoung because it was true.
YOU ARE READING
Countdown (JJ Project)
Fanfiction"I think I'm starting to like you more than a friend, Jinyoung." Jinyoung was given three days to determine what Jaebum meant to him. Wrong answer, and he would regret it for life.
