⚊ chapter fifty
Seriously the amount of time I spend just imagining and re-imagining totally made up scenarios in my head has got to be unhealthy.
It's like a browser having many running tabs all at once, and I keep going, my brain might malfunction like a broken down system of a computer.
But no one can ever question when I was flooded by the deadlines before semestral break. I planned to finished it all before the last Monday of the month. Still, after my morning classes, I realized I was more behind than I wanted to be.
I thank my lack of focus for the now two weeks boyfriend of mine.
"How is your school projects coming along?", I asked Rei and sipped on my iced coffee, sagging in relief as the cool liquid enter my overheated system because of the weather.
The heat was unbearable today and a lot of students were out here in the coffee shop to leave the toasty cafeteria of the school. The chilly air from the air conditioned place such as this were all we needed today.
"I'm almost finished! Though I would love to tell you how I cried tears at first like the school works would do itself by the sacrificial of my soul into it", She pretended to cry in front of us and Chenle giggled, "Then finally after this suffering, Chenle here would give me an escape from everything!"
I relaxed against Dongpyo's shoulder as I leaned into him, "How is our junior year is almost over for another six month?"
"I don't know. How is the weeks going so fast? We will be seniors next year and that means I'm able then to get a part-time job soon", Dongpyo sighed dreamily, "I decided to be an intern for some fashion designer. If not, then I will stand at every entertainment company to discover me"
I chuckled at his dream, "It just feels like yesterday we were dragging you out of a bee onesie after having a dance show down with the dance club"
He covered his face and shook his head, "I don't remember that day and I'm glad I can forget it behind me"
We all fell into a fit of laughter and retold the story to Dongpyo for him to not forget about it. He did not seemed surprised by our behavior, being used to the three of us now. And Rei appeared more content than ever, which I couldn't be more thankful for, especially now that she had time out herself from any sort of love life.
After finishing our coffee and confirming our movie marathon over at Dongpyo's house for tommorow night, they let me leave for school to go visit Ni-ki before I go home to finish working on all my school projects.
When I finally arrived at the stands before the soccer field, I took a sit at the nearest before their resting benches and scoured the players for my boyfriend. I spotted him by the door, talking to their coach as he is the captain now.
His friends like Sunghoon, Jay, Heeseung and Jake had graduated from last year if I forgot to mention.
The sun was blinding and I doubted he could see me from here, but I waved anyway. I could only imagine how sweaty he would be under this heat.
He dragged his hand across his forehead and then jogged onto the field with the other players following after him. His white shirt clung onto his body as he kicked on the ball and passed it to the player near him.
When the sun began to set and they dispersed from the field, I texted Ni-ki, hoping he would come and see I had been waiting for an hour now for him to meet me up here.
[ Me : Did you see me waving from the stands, you fool, loathsome cockroach of a monkey? ]
It was time to head home any minute now, if he didn't meet me then it would be his lost and we would for sure argue about it for one day.
[ Monkey lover : Awh, I didn't but please get into my car instead. I have to show you something ]
Before leaving the stands, I took one last look at the field and then began to walk for the parking lot where I found my boyfriend leaning against his car, parked directly beside mine with folded arms as his bag were laying down beside his feet.
When he noticed me coming, he stood straight, "Hi babe"
"Hey monkey", I greeted, not ever giving up to call him that. It's my favorite cute animal, after all.
"I know you're busy with school projects. We can help each other later. For now, let's come to my place. Is that okay?"
I blurted out without thinking, "Okay"
I nodded. We walked side by side and our swinging hands brushed against each other but never connected. He opened my car door and then he tapped on my hood before telling me to drive safely.
I followed him out of the street, gripping the steering wheel and I said to myself, Shit Minji, you're letting yourself put him first before everything else.
Before stopping behind his car in the open garage where his motorcycle is there in the other spot, my eyes went automatically for the house across from his, the one Ni-ki had been teasing Jungwon about.
Coincidentally enough, the screen pet door opens up to let out a large white cat and the real human door swung open to a girl holding onto another kitten in her arm as she chased for what must be the mother of the baby.
Then she shouted, "Mingming! Maawa ka naman sakin, kanina pa ko habol ng habol sayong bwisit ka!"
It made me frown to not understand any word she was saying. Ni-ki's gossip is right. She really is a foreigner and she's shouting in another language right now, I think.
As if she felt eyes watching her, the girl in a much tanner skin than any people I've seen before is jolted out of her annoyance to her per. Her eyes were then making into contact with mine and it made me raised my hand towards her in greeting.
To my shock, she was soon picking up the older cat and runs back inside before closing the door.
I heard chuckles from behind me after that, "It looks like Jungwon hyung's crush is a skittish one", Ni-ki said as he stopped to stand next to me, "Exactly just his type I bet"
"Wait.. What?", I asked to him in shock over the statement.
"Just a guess from me. I mean, wouldn't you get suspicious that he spends a lot of his time visiting here every single day of the week?"
I nodded to him before smiling, "Seems ironic how he looks like a cat then the girl is a cat owner huh?"
"It sounds like a perfect match for me", he said before gesturing for us to finally enter inside.
For one last time, I cast one last glance to the girl's house and I caught a head peeking discreetly from the window before the curtains closed upon seeing me noticing, it earned a smile from my side after realizing something.
If this what Yang Jungwon would be after, he needed to take a different approach in order not to scare the girl away. But how?
Well, it's up to him how he will make a move since it's his story to make anyway.
The house were empty as always when Ni-ki and I entered. There was no music, no sign of friends visiting uninvited and no cars in the driveway.
It's only a matter of time though. Perhaps like me they were all too busy with their deadlines to chase before taking a breath to rest and laze all day in somebody else's house.
Ni-ki hooked his fingers on the belt loop of my jeans and I got the hint as I jumped into his arms and then let him take me up the stairs to his bedroom. I did not expect to end the day joining him in the bed, especially if I'm one seconds away from flunking down all my grades.
But there was something in the way he looked at me today.
Those intense eyes of his fixated on my face. His mouth was slightly ajar as he looked at me like I was entirely his. If I knew this would be the reaction everyday that I would receive for being his girlfriend, then I would've agreed a long time ago.
Except Nishimura Riki was worth the wait and always would be.
He left me in the bed for a few seconds before passing me the sketchbook I had seen him bring a lot before. Finally, after a long time ignoring it's existence, he let me see it in his own volition.
"Open it", he urged me, a gentle smile gracing his face.
When I opened it to the first page, my heart thrummed against my chest, stopped and restarted. It was not just a random sketch and I was staring at myself. My face, nose lips and cheeks along the very shape of my jaw.
It was me on the page and I traced the pencil indentations.
The date etched onto the bottom with his signature was marked by the very first night I slept here.
"I've been waiting for you to see it and I thought it's the right time today", he had his arms crossed against the headboard and a smile, my favorite kind of smile was on his face.
"Ni-ki, I didn't know you could draw this good. How long this takes you to complete?", I asked, my heart pouding violently against my ribs.
If he looked at me this way from even that time, then he had been admiring me longer than I thought.
Ni-ki stared at me deadpan. No hint of kidding in his voice, "Minji, you're beautiful and you might not see it, but the way I've drawn you is the way I see you. A masterpiece waiting to be discovered by this world"
I bit my tounge to stop myself from tearing up before I asked, "How long have you been attracted to me, Nishimura Riki? Be honest please"
His eyes searched my face honestly and he pulled me closer, pressing a lengthy kiss on my forehead. I closed my eyes. And just like that, all of the tears I was trying to hold was flowing out freely like a waterfall from my eyes.
I pried myself out of his arms and faced him, utterly overwhelmed, and cupped his face, "I'm so sorry for being like this. For giving you hard time since the start, but I promised you, I'm only yours, Ni-ki"
He laughed and opened his arms, signalling me to come closer. I obliged and come into his lap, "I can be annoying, weird and sometimes overly emotional, but I'm annoyingly yours, Park Minji"
He waited for a reply as he wiped some of my tears for me and a chaste smile appeared on my face, then on his before I answered, "Yes you will be annoyingly mine for as long as I wanted in this crazy life of ours"
His smile turned into a full blow grin. He lowered his mouth only to mess with me by touching noses. I looped my hand behind his neck, wanting him closer without kissing him yet.
I wanted for this moment to last.
At that moment, as I fell deeper and harder into the feeling of him, I realized there was no exact explanation to falling in love.
It did not come with the splashes and sprinkles from a cake or a magic from an overdramatic fairy godmothers. And it certainly wasn't as scripted as the influencers would like for us to believe in their unbelievable lives in the Internet.
But instead, it comes with the fact all you have to do is accept what the future may bring.
Regardless of my addition to memes and all the Internet could bring me, I discovered there was more to life than imagining things in my head.
And sure it was annoying, weird, and really not what I expected to get this year, but I was more than happy to grab the chance to be with him.
With my precious giant monkey named Nishimura Riki.
⚊ next chapter
and at last the epilogue later..
"mingming! have mercy on me, i have been chasing after you for a while now, you pesky cat!" - english of translation of what the girl said in my language. tagalog.
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