When it was time again for him to see you, not knowing it would be the last, Niki found himself with a little trepidation walking into the rooftop. It was strange that something small as the girl waiting for him in the wooden bench could have such a major impact inside him.
And as he finally approached your direction, his eyes settled onto your figure and he couldn't help but wonder why is he suddenly getting nervous. As he walked closer, he realized that you were twiddling with the sleeves of your shirt - a habit he had noticed as a sign that you were anxious as well.
Just like that, just recognizing the single gesture, had the tension fleeing from his spine and when he settled into the space beside you, it was without any tension.
Niki's eyes settled on you and then, a grin that spelt trouble took centre stage on his face. Even if he was already so close, he still had the guts to call out far too loudly, "I am here, Noona!"
You jumped slightly at the volume of his voice before placing both of your palms against yours ears. As you lowered your rapidly reddening face to hide your features, you tried not to glare at him. But honestly, you thought he was perceptive enough to realize that you were sensitive to loud voices now. Unless he didn't care.
"Why are you not looking so happy to see me?", Niki questioned and you felt your eyebrows rise only before eyeing him weirdly, "Is it because you miss me or something?"
You leaned in close to him and found yourself scanning his features closely - something was off but you didn't know what it was, "There's something different you, I guess", you pointed out.
Niki, for his part, drew away from you slightly before saying, "I've changed my hair back to black"
It took you only a little longer to realize that he was right and because of the dark, you didn't see it right away. The moment you studied his face, he straightened out in his seat and looked cautiously towards you, clearly having something that he wanted to say to you. But he remained uncharacteristically silent.
You paid no attention to him and instead looked over his features once again, trying to figure out what it was that made him look different. And you found it when he hesitantly smiled - satisfied to see that he looked more younger, maybe even cuter in black hair than the other colors he had tried.
"You can trust me, you know", he insisted as he lowered his head to whisper at you, "I promise I'll keep it a secret if you become my girlfriend right now. Just tell me and I'll handle the rest of the boys"
Barely restraining yourself from sighing aloud, you shifted in the bench to face him and arched a single eyebrow, "Didn't you heard what Jungwon say earlier?"
He held your eyes and put on his most sincere expression, "You don't need to feel shy about it", he continued and you narrowed your eyes on him, "Take me and I'll take the lead from here on out"
"Niki", you started quietly and he nodded eagerly, as if you will going to say what he wanted to hear, "I can't because I'm already with someone else"
He frowned - no, pouted and looked like he was going to whine, like a kid, really, "Noona -"
You cut him off before he could say another word, "Why are you being like this, Niki? You're usually more blunt on my face"
Apparently this was an enough sign for him to be just himself, you could clock the exact moment his eyes wore it's usual hint of naughtiness and you just knew by the way his posture straightened out, you just knew this boy was in a confrontational mood.
He knew the signs just as well, and he grumbled under his breath, "I went here to visit you in hopes of acting normal to each other. But maybe let's just talk without starting any arguments?"
"I never start it", you shot back, ignoring the incredelous scoffs he gave at the words, "If you don't say anything offending, then I won't either"
"I just don't understand it", Niki insisted with a smirk as he drew his leg closer to yours, "What is it about me that riles you up like that? Normally, you would be shy like a cowering turtle to her shell with the likes of Jake or is it because you liked that personality of mine?"
"You just answered your own question, Niki", you pointed out happily as you finally admitted to him for the first time, that one of his charms is being too direct with his kind words.
He tried to convince himself to carry on, not acting in the way you liked him to be and yet, his ego won over his sense of rational thinking.
"What else could someone expect from you? With your lack of intelligence", he said when it seemed like you had manage to develop some resistance to his bluntness, "Seeing as you're not contesting it, it must be true"
"You're speaking like you forgot you liked me this way", you spoke slowly, eyes locked onto his, smiling, "And no matter what you said, it wouldn't irritate me anymore"
"Are you thinking about me often, Noona?", he asked quietly, his voice turning hopeful.
"You're cute and all, Niki, and I admire you for your attitude", you trailed off, turning away quickly to avoid his eyes, "but maybe just let's accept it that we'll not happen?"
You almost expected him to say something to you, he always did because he wanted to have the last word. But this time, he didn't. And maybe he didn't say anything because the moment you looked back at him, his head was up, leaning against the back of the bench, his eyes were closed.
"No need to be sad about it when we know there could be someone else waiting out there for you", you said, and even though you didn't want to, you noticed the way your words had made the briefest of smile appear at the corner of his mouth, "I meant it, Niki"
Once his mind is at peace with his options, he dropped his hands quickly to his side, using it to rub the back of his neck awkwardly, "I think I wanted to talk to you to clear some things out between us"
"What is it then? Why is it getting you this awkward?", you asks, more than pleased that your voice remained neutral with no signs of surprise.
Although, perhaps you were surprised at his sudden change of tactic, so different from that boy who had the most bashful crush on you, and tonight, he couldn't seem to hold your eyes for far too long.
"Because I've got something to confess to you", he said, then shook his head, making you raised your eyebrows in askance. "I can't stay -"
You cut him off before he could recount the exact same line of the other boys, so you said, "You didn't need to apologize to me, Niki. I've already heard it all night"
"It's not that. I'm actually moving somewhere else since my parents wanted to build another branch of their dance business - teaching lessons", he said, and you hesitated a moment then let out a short laugh. But when you saw that he wasn't kidding, your mouth snapped back into straight line.
"Seriously?", you asked with a shake of your head, and couldn't believe it at first, "But where?"
He nodded, "U.K or U.S? I still don't know about their full plans", Niki simply said, eyes lingering then narrowing when your own looked at him once more, "What?"
"Sorry", you admitted, not really prepared to hear one of the boys would be experiencing the same as you. Moving into another different country with his family. The world would be too big now for the two of you to meet again as it seems.
He shrugged slowly, and you held back from informing him that you'll be in England once the weekend came because it wasn't necessary. "Will you miss me once I leave Seoul to wherever the plane might bring me?"
"Of course", you assured him instantly, patting him gently in the arm, "I will miss a Nishimura Riki in my life"
He smiled then, soft at the corner of his mouth. But in the next instant, his smile curled up further and if you didn't know any better, you'd assumed it was a smirk. Was it a smirk?
No matter how many times you had been the end receiving of it, you couldn't get quite used to that smirk. Finally, he asked, "Shouldn't this be the time for you to be kissing me goodbye?"
"Well, I was planning now to get back to my bed", you watched as he nodded to himself, already accepting that he'll not be receiving any of his wishes any time soon.
Surely for you - no crush lasted this long and sooner or later, he'll learn to forget about it. Especially when his crush would be on the other side of the earth. And you couldn't, surely, you couldn't have wanted him to keeping looking at you the way he was doing at this moment.
Niki watched you for a moment, waiting for you to tell him otherwise, "Then why don't you go tell me who was that boy?"
"Now why do I get the idea that you would have a word with him?"
"Because I am", he replied too boldy for your own taste, and you weren't too sure how you would imagine a grown-up Niki in the future, a future where you would be in Europe.
Possibly, you'll be a different person by then just like everyone else when touched by the thing they called time, "You're still young to tell off Jay then. He's my lucky guy"
"Young, yes", he said, shrugging easily, "but like I've already told you, I can't do anything being two years younger than you. Besides, it's not like I'll scare him. I'll just tell him to take care since I'll be gone soon, anyway"
He grinned at the way you were smiling up to his statement. And then, when he moved to approach you, you simply eyed his approach, watching as he outstretched his hand to cradle your face.
Breathing out shakily, you complained, "I have no idea how to deal with you anymore"
Niki spoke quickly to fill your silence, "Is this the part where I confess that I've never known how to deal with my crush for you? I am going to miss you so much, Noona"
"I am going to miss you too", you said softly, hesitating for a moment before taking him in a hug. His hands remained uncertainly hanging around his side before he just settled his head on your neck, and feel it, wishing that it would last.
He was resting his head against your neck that you could tell when he began to cry silently. Ignoring the voice in the back of your head that told you it was a bad idea, you lifted up his head making you saw his eyes fill with tears once again. He paid no attention to the way you were looking at him ruefully, not even looking up to see what your reaction was as he sniffled back his tears.
"You should let them fall", you advised to him gently, not even sure if he could hear your voice at all, "Bottling your tears up will make it harder for you to move on"
Either he knew he was shaking and was acting strong or he had long since stopped noticing that he was crying intensely. You didn't know which was worse.
Letting out a breath, you leaned your head on his and reached out to rub a soothing hand on his back, to comfort him. 12 was now approaching and dread bloomed in the pit of your stomach at the closing time for you to stay at Seoul any longer. But even as you sat there, leaning against Niki's shoulder as he propped himself up later on, you felt content in a way that you hadn't felt since you woked up from that short coma.
You had no problem with spending the last moment to his side before you would cry to Jay soon.
Eventually, Niki glanced to the time and sighed, preparing to rise at his feet, "We should make a move now to return you back to your room. Unless that Jay thinks I am now working to kidnap you, I didn't even have a car to do that even if I want to"
"We should before my brother assumed something else", you admitted with a sigh, accepting his hand to help you up to your feet.
Niki looked at you for a long moment, thinking of something to do with you. After a few seconds, he approached you with a slow smile and you watched hesitantly, as he crouched down with his back to you.
"What are you even suggesting to do?!", you panicked at what he was just wanted to do.
He rolled his eyes at your resistance, then said, "Just get on"
When you still refused, he remained insistently in front of you. You waited for him to stand but he wouldn't, not even when you forced him to physically get him up. Finally, you complied with a sigh, wrapping your arms around his neck. Then he easily rose to his feet, arms coming around to support your legs. He gave you a moment to adjust before heading for the exit.
"One day", you started slowly, propping your chin in his shoulder, "you're going to make a girl very happy to have you as her boyfriend"
You heard him swallow thickly, and for a moment, you thought he would say nothing. But he did. Niki turned his head slightly towards you before looking forward once more, "I'm only looking to be a boyfriend to this dumb older girl in particular"
"You're too much of a good guy to stick on someone like me. Especially when you're already leaving"
Sighing, he grumbled, "This is not the last conversation I want to be having with you"
Falling silently, you simply tightened your arms around his neck as he walked. Comfortable as you are in his back, you let your eyes fall shut to enjoy the wind running slowly through your hair tonight. With a content sigh, you wondered just how long it would be before you met someone like him again. If there would be someone else out there like him.
Slowly and softly into the wind, you admitted quietly, "If things were different, if I could become something other than your stupid Noona, then I would let myself love you. Like you should be loved"
You felt, rather than hear, his sharp intake of breath but you fell silence once more, unwilling to speak another word. No matter how much he coaxed, no matter how much he tried to get you to repeat your words once more, you didn't.
Saying it once is already enough for him to hear. To repeat it once more would ruin the specialness of those confession.
💌 _____________________________ 💌
Did you notice how this once had gone longer than Jungwon's moment with her? My god, that was not the plan, but my love for Niki at this time is showing.
I am just appreciating the comments about him from my author's notes and it honestly convince me to make him stay.
Now, the question is, who do you think is confirmed now for the book 2?
This pic will be on the introduction of the Book 2.
Don't forget to Comment & Vote!