Well.. That was super new. Like, really.
I stared at Junmyeon for a couple of seconds before finding myself giving a weak nod. Damn, everything about him was very distractingㅡ the eyes, the nose and that forehead. "Yes, we are best friends ever since we both had gum stuck on our hair together during the first year's ceremony."
I thought that incident was pretty funny but yet disastrous since it was only the first day of school. I was late for the opening ceremony; and then got dragged out by a bunch of third year students at the gate. I didn't remember what really happened in the process, but somehow the gum was on my hair and then tangled with Irene's hair who was sitting beside me.
"That's funny. How did you solve the problem?"
"We had to cut that part of our hair together. It was pretty dope!" I caught myself laughing loudly and then cleared my throat in embarrassment. "We clicked together fast since then."
"Good to hear that. In that case..you know everything about Irene right?" He raised one of his eyebrows. God damn, the more I looked at him at this kind of close distance, the more I wanted to choke myself over his perfection.
"..not bragging, but yes."
"Brilliant!" He grinned. "You know that Valentines day is coming right?"
I felt butterflies in my stomach. At the same time, I felt uneasy because he just mentioned the name of Valentine. How I wished for him to know that I wanted to confess my feelings to him on that day. "So what if Valentine is coming?" I tried to hide my excitement by acting nonchalant about it.
"It's really important for me. I really like this girl but I don't know how to approach her. I feel nervous and it feel like I'm turning into rock when I walk beside her," Junmyeon began to said.
I started to furrow my brows together. Urm, wait. Cue the red card immediately, please?
"When the first time I laid my eyes on Irene, she kept appearing in my dream."
Oh, wow! Nice oneㅡ whoah, hold up a minute. My brain started to became jammed with the sudden confession. Holy shit!
My best friend!
"I..like her, Chorong. Can you help me?" Hearing him calling my name was sure a heaven that could beat chicken nuggets; but then..how could I help him? When it was actually me who had feelings for him all along? Why wouldn't he see it?
If I choose to help him, it means that I would bring them together even if it meant to throw away my feelings. But if I chose to ignore his request, then I wouldn't help him and just confess my love normally, just like what I've had planned.
But in the end, somehow I could visualise the answer that I'd be getting from Junmyeon. Of course he'd reject me right on the spot when I decided to confess to him. Right?
"O..okay. I'll help you."
Best friend, it is.
"Thank you! You know, I was so scared to ask you at first because I thought you might refuse like what other girls would do."
I faked a chuckle to ease the atmosphere up. "I want Irene to be happy too. She must be excited to know the school's heartthrob has taken a crush on her." It was like poison rolling off from my tongue.
"I hope she will say yes to me."
I pressed my lips into a thin line. "D-don't worry. I will help you in everything I can do."
I felt my heart ripped into million pieces.
"In return for your help.. What can I do for you? Maybe introduce you to one of my friends? Anything. You name it," Junmyeon smiled.
He seemed more delighted than before. "No, i-it's fine. I don't want anything." If I were a shameless person, I'd be asking for his attention.. or should I ask for one million and run away from the country? Geesh.
"Really? Is it okay for you?" I shakily nodded at his question. Junmyeon was like a child getting treated with a candy. I couldn't help but to draw a small smile though my chest was still hurting. He then spread his arms; pulling me into his embrace out of blue.
I felt like my soul was going to voluntarily slipped out from my physical body. Heat creeped onto my cheeks and I almost slapped myself to stay conscious. Kim Junmyeon was hugging me! The usual smell of his cologne hit my senses. From this close, I could take it as an advantage to be a successful fan. "Smells so nice." I muttered under my breath, keeping it low just for myself.
"It's nice to have a friend like you, Chorong." Junmyeon's lips curved up when he broke the hug. It was a shy smile; perhaps he was embarrassed for suddenly catching me off guard with a tactic like that.
One certain word caught my attention. I raised my eyebrows together in confusion. "Friends? I haven't thought that far yet. We barely talked to each other this year, you know." Seriously, I could counted the number of conversation we had this year with fingers..and toes.
"Lesser conversation doesn't mean that I don't acknowledge people. You have a kind and distinct presence, so I still remember our first meeting. So, every one of my friends is important in the circle."
Wise words coming from the god himselfㅡ I could even bawl my eyes right now. It turned out he did acknowledged me more than a mere acquaintances. "Wow, thanks. You're the school's sweetheart, indeed." I looked at him. The first time we properly met face to face and talked verbally should be when I delivered Kyungsoo's documents to the Student Council office. It was a fuss back then when all of them knew I was his neighbour.
"That's an exaggeration, I'm not actually the school's sweetheart or heartthrob. I'm just a normal human."
Pff, as if! I was about to deny the statement when the sound of the engine coming from the bus caught my ears. Oh, no. What a bummer. I could use a few minutes more to get Junmyeon better. "Looks like my bus is here." We were barely warming up while I was trying so hard from exploding.
"Wait a minute. Let me get your number."
I blinked my eyes. "Y-you want my number?"
"Yeah." He took out his phone from his pocket along the way with a serious smile. "It's easier for us to contact each other in case there's something I need to know. You're uncomfortable with that?"
Uncomfortable? Heck no. "It's fine!" I clumsily searched for my phone in the bag and we quickly exchanged numbers. Wow, I couldn't believe I had gotten Kim Junmyeon's number.. Here I thought I needed to be reborn three times in the next life to achieve this step.
"My ride is here, as well." Junmyeon pointed at the black car that was driving behind the bus. "See you tomorrow, Chorong."
I stood up as I nodded at him. "Sure thing." I nervously waved him a goodbye before walking into the bus; while he strode down to head for the car. As I found myself a seat beside the window, I couldn't help but to let out a silent squeal to calm myself. Seriously, I wanted to talk more but I couldn't keep myself from almost being an exploding potato in front of him.
Was he really serious about contacting me? He should ask for Irene's number instead and started hitting her off via texts. That should be easier, right? Or perhaps he was just like meㅡ secretly planning a surprise confession for Irene.
I almost threw my phone when a notification popped out on the Kakaotalk app.
Junmyeon Richie
Your profile picture is cute!
Park Chorong
Thanks.
Was that too chic for a reply..? I obviously didn't expect for him to start texting and giving compliment on me right away, though.
Junmyeon Richie
Irene sure looks pretty in that couple sweatshirt
Oh, so it was about Irene. Silly me for thinking that he might had the guts to compliment other.
Park Chorong
We bought it together for her birthday.
Park Chorong
She really likes that brand. You should find something from that store for her ☉▵☉凸
Junmyeon Richie
That's good to know
Junmyeon Richie
Hey
Junmyeon Richie
We totally should talk and spend time together
Park Chorong
What makes you say that?
Junmyeon Richie
You can tell me all about Irene!
Junmyeon Richie
It will certainly help me ^^
Junmyeon Richie
I really appreciate your efforts. See you tomorrow.
There was this pang of pain beating inside my heart since earlier. I heaved a sigh as I clicked on my profile. The picture of Irene and me posing together with matching sweatshirts did looked cute at the first glance.
I didn't know what came into my mind as I changed my profile picture into a photo of a meme cat. Really, seeing Junmyeon being like that hurt my feelings. But I couldn't control other's feelings. He had the right to be happy tooㅡ even if it meant to be with my best friend.