"Is this okay?" You ask as you turn your computer over to Karina, so she can let you know if it is fine or not.
Karina diverts her attention from her laptop to yours, "That looks like it, thank you." She turned her attention back to her own laptop and continued on her portion. The goal for the day was to finish the hardest section of the project, so your next couple of classes will be a lot easier. Judging by how much work was left, the two of you were probably going to end up meeting up over the weekend to work more on the project, since it was due next week on Thursday.
"You know, some of the residents were asking for you when I visited a few days ago?" You watch as she picks up her notebook. Her eyes scanned over the neatly organized notebook, you watched as she started to lean forward in her seat, causing it to lift off the ground as you subconsciously placed your hand on the back of the chair, so she didn't fall forward.
"Really?" her face lights up, "I enjoyed their company, too."
You reply, "Yeah, really. I guess you made a really good impression on them." Then you make a witty, lighthearted comment, "Unlike you did on me."
She laughs and looks down, "The feeling's mutual."
Out of interest, you let this burning question leave your lips, "Why didn't you ever retaliate?" Then you shake your head, "I mean, I understand why, but I wanna hear your side of the story."
She took a seat back in her chair, so the chair was now back on the ground, "It's just now how I was raised... Even though there were times I really wanted to give you a piece of my mind, but my parents always told me to kill them with kindness and that's just what I did, you were still mean to me even after the fact that I apologized, I never understood what I did wrong to make you treat me that way."
"In fairness, it was before eight AM, and that shit was hot," You defend, "But you're right. I could've handled it better." You don't even remember why you blew up that morning or why you never liked her. But you do remember a feeling of remorse the moment you arrived in class and were able to reflect on what you just did (despite you still continuing to mistreat her).
"And that one time when I took Donghyucks's drink," she facepalms because she doesn't know how she even managed to do that, "You didn't even say thank you when I gave you the drink when I could've taken it. Especially since it was you who had gone up to me."
Your face heats up. You were really an entire asshole to Karina. "I was in a hurry. But I could've handled that better, too." You pause and drop your head to look at your feet, "I think my apologies are long overdue. But I really am sorry for both of those times and the times following. I don't know... they were sorta both in the heat of the moment... but if I could go back, I'd treat you better. Maybe we could've became friends faster."
"You're forgiven," she replies seriously, swinging her legs, "Besides, it's not like we haven't made any progress." She looks at the progress of your project and remembers how her relationship with you had been when you both started it. It was almost the complete opposite. "I think I owe you an apology, too. Because I must've done something to make you dislike me so much."
You turn to go back to your work, "You don't even need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong, I just wanted a reason to dislike you, and that morning you gave me one."
"Still," She starts typing once again, so she can make more progress on the project.
"It's fine." You look over at Karina, "But I forgive you even though you didn't do anything wrong."
She doesn't say anything else. Instead, she playfully rolls her eyes. Despite her reaction, she's actually glad that you and her were finally at that point where she could joke about the past. Being able to openly share how you both felt, and just conversing about it proves that her relationship with you has shifted. It's relieving.
"Hey, Karina?"
She look over towards your side and finds you staring up at her. His hair is falling back, fringe brushing past the corners of his eyes. He looks pretty. "Yeah?"
"It's getting late," you say, "Want to wrap up and get something to eat?"
She's compelled to make a 'like a date?' comment, but she holds back. You and she just made complete amends. She can't be that bold just yet, "Sure. Where to?"
- - -
A handful of bites and sips of soda later, you and Karina are walking back from the closest fast-food restaurant on campus. The topic of conversation had been jumping from one to another, keeping the atmosphere comfortable and busy. Currently, it was about the pet peeves that came along with your roommates despite still loving them with all your heart.
"Sometimes," You sigh, "Donghyuck, he literally doesn't wash the bottom of the cups cause he thinks that only water rinsing it is enough. He only scrubs the rim of the cup. Once, I was filling my cup with water, and I saw remnants of dried-out coke floating from the bottom."
Karina gasps and makes a face, shaking her head, "That's disgusting! Imagine if you didn't see that. You'd just be ingesting dried coke."
"He learned from that," you shrug, "Cause even he experienced it. He always scrubs the bottom of the cups first now."
"Good," she retorts, "Because I was going to tell you to remind me never to drink from a cup when I go over to your guys' dorm." You laugh, but he can't help but interpret your comment in a way that could be considered overthinking. "For me, Aeri used to wash her clothes without putting them with like colors."
"How is her wardrobe not fucked up?" You send Karina a look, "Especially her white clothing."
She shrugs, "Beats me. But that one time I caught her, I felt like her mom teaching her right from wrong. I have no idea how she's never been told off in all her years of life."
"I don't know what's worse, that, or Donghyuck's old habit." She shakes her head and looks down. She wonders if Aeri has any pet peeves about her. What would they even be? She didn't feel like she did anything pet peeve-worthy. But then again, Aeri didn't see anything wrong with mixing her clothing up.
When she sees her dorm building growing in her field of vision, her eyes widen, and she turns to you, "We missed your building!" She stops in her tracks and tries to do a one-eighty to go back to your building. The two of you were so caught up in conversation that she had missed it.
"No, I did it on purpose," You shake your head, "I wanted to walk you back." A tickling sensation subtly appears and disappears in her stomach.
"You really didn't have to!" she says, shaking her hands as a way to deny your kind action, "The campus is safe anyways! I could have walked on my-"
"I know it is, but I wanted to," you shrug, "There's a difference." Your right. There is a difference. Because it's one thing to walk her home with some worry that she'd get into some form of accident, she knows, to ensure her safety (which she understood as basic human decency), but it's another to want to walk her home. Even with the knowledge that she'd be safe because there were other students probably walking the same way, you wanted to walk her home, and it was probably because you wanted to spend more time with her.
She doesn't know how to react to that implication.
You start walking towards her building, hands stuffed into your sweater's pockets. When you sense that she isn't following, you turn back, "What are you doing?"
"Sorry," she sighs, "I zoned out."
She sped up to reach your side, trying to process whether or not she was overthinking or not. Before she knows it, she's at the doors of her building, and she's fishing for her keys out of her pocket, "Thanks for walking me here, I guess."
"You guess?" You laugh softly.
"I mean, like, it was unexp-"
"I'm joking," You roll your eyes playfully, "I wanted to." There it is again.
"Anyways, I'll head in now," Karina says, avoiding any awkward silences, "Goodnight."
You grin, and she swears she sees your eyes twinkle, "Goodnight."
When she reaches her dorms, Aeri's standing at the entryway, arms crossed with a smirk, "I saw Mr. Y/N drop you off... care to explain?"
"What are you even doing staring out the window?" she glares at her roommate and kicks her shoes off. Walking past her, she tugs her bag off her arm and plops it beside the couch, "And explain what? He just wanted to drop me off."
"Key word is 'wanted,'" Aeri walks up to Karina and digs her index finger into her shoulder, "I'm getting this psychic-genetic sense that he's starting to harbor feelings for you." Karina wanted to laugh because Y/N? Feelings? For her? It's laugh-worthy. "No way. We just made up."
"Yeah, but you both were all chill before today," she rolls her eyes, "He's probably starting to like you as you like him."
"What are you even talking about?" Karina is ready to escape this conversation. Mentally, she's in a position that runners take when they're about to begin a race, but in front of Aeri, she's stiff as a rock, grounded, and with eyes wide as she reacts to what her friend just said. "Nothing," she shrugs, "You didn't deny it, though." Aeri cackles and makes her own great escape, sprinting into her room before shutting the door.
When you finally get home, you are greeted with a bear hug from your own roommate.
"I thought you died or something!" Donghyuck yells, "Why are you home so late?"
"I had dinner with Karina and walked her home?" Your confused. You lean forward and notice tears in Donghyuck's eyes. You don't know whether you should laugh or feel bad because you have never seen your best friend in such a state, "Are you actually crying? Look, I'm sorry, I actually forgot to update you."
"Yes! I'm crying," Donghyuck glares at you, "It's not like I splashed my face with water or anything." Donghyuck wipes his 'tears' away and 'sniffles,' "If I knew you had a date, I wouldn't have sobbed my eyes out waiting for you to get home."
"It wasn't a date," You hurriedly deny, "It was just a friendly dinner."
"Yeah, yeah," Donghyuck waves off, "Friendly dinner, my ass."
"It was!" You are ready to jump, Donghyuck, "We worked for a long time today, and we also formally apologized to each other. It was fitting."
"You know what?"
"No, I don't know what."
Donghuck clicks his tongue against his teeth, "You like her."
"What even makes you say that?" There are a bazillion things running through your head, but none of those things were coming to a single conclusion that made sense with the conversation you were having with Donghyuck.
Donghyuck rolls his eyes, "The past few days when you walk through that door from class or just being with Karina, you have this sickening-but cute?-I don't know... love-struck? Charmed?-Whatever you'd call it-look on your face, and it's painfully obvious that you're starting to have feelings for her."
You gulp. You are at a loss for words only because you have never heard or seen Hyuck say something so serious in his life, "You're lying."
"No. I'm not. I can't believe you haven't realized it yourself when you're usually more emotionally intelligent than me."
Stunned, you think it through.
Sure, the word 'love-struck' doesn't really describe what you feel for Karina, only because you know it hasn't gone that far. He thinks back to the day it suddenly rained, when you both watched Grave of the Fireflies, and you let yourself be vulnerable in front of her. Then to the day at the retirement home and seeing her interactions with the older adults. Those few times she was too immersed in the project to comprehend what was happening around her... Hell, you even think back to the time she had gotten him that damn bubble drink and food despite how horrible you treated her that day.
What did all these days have in common? Sure, all these days involved you and her, and the progression of the relationship between the two of you. But the thing that persisted was how your chest warmed up in a way that was almost entirely unfamiliar to you. Shit, it has happened so many times that it has become familiar.
You sigh, and you look at Donghyuck with a defeated look, "I think you're right."
"About?"
You are getting deja vu. You remember the conversation you had long ago with Donghyuck and Renjun about your attitude toward her. Never would you have thought that it would get this far.
"My feelings for Karina."
___________________
Aw, Y/N has a crush on Karina how cute, he has also apologized to her. Took him long enough. I know I don't mention Jaemin and Renjun a lot, but they'll be back soon.
Song: seventeen (세븐틴) - 247