make it count | vseul

it

After her excitement had passed, she took a seat beside him and began clicking her tongue, ultimately teasing him: "Eighteen years old, and you still act like when we were younger."

"Losing brings out the child in me," he mumbles under his breath, but oh, she heard it.

She pointed a finger at him, catching his admittance to being a loser. "Ha, so you finally agree that I'm the better player? Say it, you know you want to."

"I really don't, Seul."

"Fine, then on that note, I'm not going to the exhibition with you or tag along for anything else you have prepared."

Taehyung's frown deepened and returned her gaze. Her smirk grew, only knowing that would work. "Yah, don't be so ridiculous, will you?"

She bit her lower lip, suppressing the giggle that would come out.

"Come on, Tae," she leaned forward, nudging his bicep with her elbow. All she wanted to hear was the simple phrase.

"You're a better player than me," he mumbled so quickly that it could've been cursive.

"Huh? I'm sorry, I can't hear you."

He huffed, scooting away from his best friend. Louder, he repeated: "You're a better player than me, do you hear me now?"

She smiled at the obvious attitude in his tone. "Yah, don't be so mad, Taehyung."

He puffed out his lower lip and continued to sulk at his loss. "No."

Subconsciously, and purely out of temptation, Seulgi reached over and pinched his cheeks, knowing that'd make him smile or laugh. She had been known to do it often, vice-versa, ever since they were kids. Perhaps, the action would annoy him more, but she didn't care all that much about the outcome.

His reaction was a mixture of laughter and slight irritation, but his joyful side outbalanced the other. The more that Seulgi giggled, her smile growing into its final form, as beautiful as it is, he couldn't be annoyed by her actions. Seeing her happiness washed all that away, it seems. He attempted to scoot away from her grasp, but it only caused her to climb on top of him.

He proceeded to tell her to stop stretching his cheeks, the scene playing out as if they were two children fighting foolishly:

"Seul, it hurts!" He laughed with joy, despite his plea.

"You deserve it. Now, stop pouting."

"I have stopped pouting," he responded, taking this chance to fight back with tickling her sides. Almost instantly, she recoiled and laughed, trying to push him away as he continued to do so. Of course, it was only to get her back for squishing his cheeks and stretching them in all sorts of directions. He enjoyed these moments--he found her adorability too much to handle.

"Enough, Taehyung! I stopped, you ass!" She grabbed his hands and halted his movements, but he didn't completely let go, holding onto one of them. Between them, holding hands was nothing out of the ordinary, after all. The pair grinned at each other with the same energy, slightly panting at their little play-fight.

"You wouldn't have stopped if I didn't tickle you," she smiled, ignoring, since it was true. At her seated-position, he took his chance and laid his head on her lap, looking up at her. "You're annoying, Seul."

She peered down at him, "feelings mutual."

"Ah, but you love me."

"Don't make me start, again. I don't mind bothering the hell out of you."

"Do you ever?" Seulgi shook her head, and with her free hand, she plunged her fingers to rake through his hair. She often played with his hair as an aid to help him go to sleep. He'd return the favor, too. With all the supposed plans that they have today, helping him drift off into a nap wasn't her goal, but since it all became a habit, she did it anyways.

It wasn't a shock to find that he did, indeed, close his eyes at her hypnotic touch. Unbeknownst to her, her heart picked up speed when she felt his hold tighten around her hand. For a few seconds, she studied his features, as sleepy and exhausted as he appeared. She didn't bother to lull him out of his sleepy state as he looked so peaceful doing so. She continued to play with his hair, until he peeked one eye open to find her staring down at him.

"I can feel your eyes on me as I try to sleep," he mumbled. "It's a little creepy, don't you think?"

She wiggled her hand away from his grasp and flicked his forehead, in which he winced. "Shut up, Taehyung. I hadn't gotten the memo that it was naptime, either."

He chuckled at her snappiness, ignored her response, and interlocked his fingers with hers once again.

"We'll be able to go to the exhibition if I nap for twenty minutes, right?"

"Yeah, of course. I think we have another hour and fifteen minutes before then."

"Perfect, wake me up when it's time to go."

"Fine, I have to go home and change, anyways. I'll be back in however amount of time it takes to get ready, okay?" Taehyung nodded, but as she tried to get up from the couch, he didn't let her go, nor did he move a muscle.

"Please, stay for a little while longer, Seul," he pleaded, his eyes completely shut in an effort to go to sleep. It was difficult to decline him, so she sighed and remained in her position. Plus, he was being cute, and whenever he was acting this way, her heart would soften and her mind would turn to mush.

Lasting until he had fallen asleep, which was a quick process, Seulgi's hand ran through his hair whilst the other had been plastered to his. She hadn't minded, because not only were they used to this, but a hidden part of her liked this. She liked--no, loved--being with him, laughing with him, fighting with him, and sharing precious moments like these with him. Often, she'd look at him and wonder how she was blessed to have someone like him in her life--someone so caring, so sweet, so funny, and so playful. Someone like her. Though, it's times like these where her thoughts metamorphize into a bunch of craziness and absurdity, or at least that's what she thinks whenever she mulls over the slight idea of being with him, romantically.

In actuality, that was something that had crossed her mind ever since she knew what crushes were, and especially when they were close enough to feel those type of things. Her pondering wouldn't get far once she acknowledged that best friends was all they ever were and all they ever been, no matter how quick her heart beats when he holds her hand or how her stomach fills with butterflies when he smiles.