opposites attract | gotpink [new version]

. offers and promises .

Jisoo didn't surrender to the protests, earning a loud huff from Jinyoung as he leaned back against the chair, crossing his arms. She suppressed a laugh, eyes diverted back to find her notebook. She snatched the pen from his grip to draw on the blank sheet. A stick man in a weird UFO apparently traveled to a drawn house where another stick man waited a cap and a mustache lived on the creamy paper.

"Don't ever draw again."

"Noted. Now, Focus." Jisoo's laugh ruined her threatening glare. "Imagine you can travel with the speed of light through time. You traveled to meet your grandfather in front of the house. Once you meet him, you get two choices: letting him live or killing him. What would you choose?"

With no hesitance, he answered confidently. "Killing him,"

He took Jisoo off guard with his answer as she tried to explain it a bit more. "If you killed him, your parent won't get born, the same will happen to you. So theoretically you won't exist,"

"So, I will turn into ashes or get stuck there until I die. That's cool,"

"It rather sounded suicidal," she voiced out while scrabbling additional notes in the notebook.

"Maybe I'm," he shrugged it off with a naïve expression, making Jisoo drop the pen to look up at him, trying to read his mind through his light brown eyes with no avail.

"Jinyoung... You promised me that you won't do anything stupid, right?" Her puppy eyes contrasted with her stern, yet a calm tone as her hand unconsciously went over Jinyoung's, caressing his knuckles. He was back to his protective shell.

"I— Can you forget about that?" His voice came out as a whisper, and his eyes were lowered to their hands.

"Is it okay to say no?" She whispered back, her anxiety rose as she watched him bite his lips, afraid he would shut down or push her away.

It felt as if seconds passed like hours, so long without a simple answer. All she wanted to hear was "Promise," without solving the riddle, without further explanation or hesitation. It was not the time to break the scratched glass tank he was trapped in; instead, a promise to stay strong was the reassurance she was desperate to hear along with stealing the conflict he was fighting behind the fake mask he was trying to put on as self-defense again.

"I promise, Jisoo," Jinyoung said with a hesitant smile, his thumb caressing the side of her finger. "Promise me too. Always be okay for yourself, your loved ones, for me." He drawled out, sincerely, gently like a light breeze dancing with dandelions as Jisoo let a breath she was not aware she was holding with their locked gaze giving them the signal to let go and heal their broken emotions, and wish for new dreams to come true whether they were friends, rivals, or strangers.

Their pinky fingers interlaced, as their thumbs sealed their promises on a random afternoon at their library's spot between open books and unfinished coffee.

"Wrong timing?"

Jinyoung rolled his eyes, breaking their hold, both of them turning their attention to the unexpected presence. "What do you mean, idiot?" He said with a glare.

"You looked like two kids promising each other lollipops and sticking to being in each other's lives for the next 10 years." Yugyeom sassed, taking a seat next to Jisoo as BamBam and Lisa sat in front of them, holding hands tight with the girlfriend's head leaning against the young businessman.

"Hold on a second. Your date was with Lisa? Are you—."

"Together. Are you living under a rock?" BamBam cut him off with a smirk as he pecked Lisa's hand he was holding. Jinyoung faked a hurt expression, hand over his chest.

"Ouch. I feel betrayed anyways... Congratulations to you, idiots. It took you so damn long to realize that you are head over heels for each other." Jinyoung's words earned a slap and weird looks exchanged between the couple before they burst out laughing.

"He called you cute. My babies are not idiots; someone else is,' Jisoo corrected.

"I would say the two of you are definitely the dumbest nerds I have ever seen. But, before you punch me, I came here to thank you for helping me out, and BamBam and I sneaked your favorite Triamsu in." Yugyeom said playfully with his hand placing the dessert next to the half-drunken coffee.

"Thank you, Yugyeom-ah." Jisoo cooed excitedly.

"Wow. I help you with everything and you never thank me."

"You aren't my baby, Jinyoung."

"I can be yours, baby."

"Invalid input, sorry Jinyoung-ie."

"Before you fight, I have a job offer for Jisoo." Bambam calmed the storm and stealed its attention.

"What about me? I should look for new friends."

"I don't need your permission, You are already my employee to save you from the parties."

"What—-?"

BamBam ignored him and focused on Jisoo in his business model. "I have heard from Youngjae, you have helped your dad with his café back in the States and I need your experience in management to run my restaurant and café. I need you to be my vice, who covers me when I am not around. We will work hand in hand."

Jisoo bit her lips and was overwhelmed by the sudden responsibility offered. Unsure how to manage her time between her studies and managing a business, she failed to respond. Amid the anxious chaos of what-ifs, there was excitement in fighting to try something new.

"It's basically run by us, our squad side by side. I can give you some time to think—."

"We will do it together, but for a trial period." Jinyoung cut him off, throwing Jisoo a "Trust me to look," with a confident smile.

"When is the opening?" She asked.

"By the end of the month so 30th of November."

"Congratulations, Bam!" Jisoo beamed before stealing a glance at Jinyoung whose worst nightmare turned out to be true, Jinyoung's smile fell, face pale as he swiftly held his phone, scared eyes fixed on his lock screen.

Throughout the conversation, she could not help but notice the shift in Jinyoung's tone, or his fake act that conflicted with his clenched fists on his thighs as he disconnected himself slowly from the talk, and Jisoo hoped she was overthinking, or her fading hangover misled her observations because all she hoped for was for them to find peace without a hunting past.