Author's Note: I had too much fun with this chapter, You can tell because it's like 3896 words long. It's the longest chapter so far! Happy reading! 😀
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You woke up and blinked a few times before remembering what day it was. It was finally Valentine's Day, the day that made you feel so suffocated all the time. You got ready and took the hoodie with you. It didn't seem like Jinhwan was going to walk with you today since he wasn't usually where he was when he waited for you in the mornings. Your phone buzzed.
At least he texted this time...... you thought as you put your phone away. As usual, you met Ara on the way there.
"Did you get anything for Jinhwan?" Ara asked. You nodded.
"Ooh, really? What is it?" she asked.
"It's a hoodie." you said shortly.
"Cool! I got a watch for Chanwoo." she said, making you frown.
"Man, why do you have to make my present seem so much crappier now?" you asked.
"It's okay, (Y/N). He's gonna like it, I swear!" she said. You didn't respond to her. You thought about what she told you the day before.
"Ara, why'd you change your mind?" you asked.
"Huh?"
"You told me that I should confess to Jinhwan and then at the last moment you told me that I shouldn't." you said.
"Oh, um.......well, you see....like, do you want me to tell you the truth?" she asked. You nodded.
"Well, yesterday at lunch, Sooyoung was there again......" she said.
"And?" you said.
"Jay.....I saw how he acted towards Sooyoung.....it made me change my mind. And he never asked where you were." she said. You huffed. What were you expecting. That basically proves it all. Jinhwan liked Sooyoung. There really was no point in confessing.
"I see. Well, thanks for telling me, I guess." you said glumly. She pat your shoulder.
At P.E, Sooyoung was busy yacking about something to her friends.
"Did you get anything for Oppa?" her friend asked her.
"For your information, he's my Oppa, and of course I got him something. It's going to be really special, it'll be something he won't ever forget that I gave him." she said, flipping her hair.
"Ugh." you muttered under your breath. You didn't agree with the way she was describing her present, but the more you thought about it, Jinhwan would probably really like it anyways. You were planning to give him his present after school. You then sighed. Why were you even trying? Jinhwan would probably push away your present for hers. It was so painfully obvious that he liked her, but for some reason, you were still chasing after him. Probably by tomorrow, they would end up being a couple or something. You thought about the hoodie that you got him and closed your eyes.
God, please let him like the hoodie.
At lunch, you went back up to the roof. Someone came up shortly after. You were surprised when you saw that it was Ara.
"What are you doing up here?" you asked.
"Jay's office was locked today. I don't know why, but all the lights were off and nobody was inside." she said.
"Huh. That's weird. I wonder where he is." you said. Oh wait, he was probably preparing something for Sooyoung. That made some sense.
"Can I see the hoodie you got him?" Ara asked.
"Sure, but I don't want to see the watch you got for Chanwoo because I'm gonna feel like crap if I do." you said as you reached for your backpack. Ara laughed.
"Okay, okay, I won't show you." she said. You took out the hoodie and showed it to her, making her gasp.
"Omigod, it's so pretty!! Woah, oh my gosh!" she said as she touched it.
"Omigod, this would fit Jay really well!" Ara exclaimed.
"Really?" you asked. She nodded.
"Man, did I overdo it with that watch? I should've gotten Chanwoo something more casual....." she said.
"Nah, dude. Chanwoo would love anything you'd get him, he's just that kind of person." you said. She nodded.
"I feel like Jinhwan is going to push away my present for Sooyoung's." you sighed. Ara slapped your arm.
"Ow!"
"Don't think so poorly of Jinhwan! Sure, he might actually like her, but he wouldn't push away his friend's gift! Just because he might like Sooyoung doesn't mean you're going to stop being his friend!" she said.
"So, you do think that he likes Sooyoung." you said. Ara didn't say anything. You only turned your head somewhere else, beginning to feel dejected all over again.
~~time skip~~
School finally ended. You felt your heart racing and began to feel nervous. You met Ara at the gate again.
"You're going to give Jay your present now, right?" Ara asked. You nodded.
"Same. I'm going to go to Chanwoo right now." she said. You took the hoodie out of your backpack and folded it. Then, you turned around and started walking to Jinhwan's office.
"(Y/N)?" you heard Ara call from behind you. You turned around.
"Hwaiting!" she said. You nodded and then continued on your way. Taking a deep breath, you walked to where he would be. For some reason, all of your doubts started to flood your mind. What if he was with Sooyoung? What if he doesn't like your present? What if he accepts it, but throws it away later? What if he thinks you're weird for getting him a present on Valentine's Day? Your confidence slowly died away as you got closer and closer to his office. It's okay, (Y/N). You can do this without making anything awkward. Just walk up to him, give him his present, and then walk home with him like nothing ever happened. It'll be that easy.... You told yourself. You were telling yourself that Sooyoung probably wouldn't be there and that there was always that small percent of chance that he didn't like her, but by the time you took two steps through the doorway and into his room, you felt your heart drop and tears well up in your eyes.
Jinhwan was there standing at his desk with Sooyoung. The problem was that he was there with his lips on her's.
You clutched the hoodie tighter. For some reason you couldn't move. You felt your heart crumble and tried your best to hold in your tears. Then, you regretted standing there in the first place because Jinhwan saw you. His eyes widened and then you turned around and left as fast as you could. I knew it. I freaking knew it. What was I thinking. You thought as you walked down the hallways.
"(Y/N), wait!" you heard Jinhwan shout. Crap, is he chasing me?! You thought as you had no choice but to start running faster away from him. Tears blurred your vision, but you didn't care, you just didn't want to deal with Jinhwan. You still had that hoodie with you, and you headed for the roof. Once you arrived at the top, you curled up into a ball and leaned against the railing, finally letting your tears fall.
Not that. Anything but that. You just had to find out about your rejection after seeing the person you liked kiss the person you hated. You gasped and sobbed, the folded hoodie on the floor next to you. No, no, this is not what I wanted. This wasn't supposed to happen. You thought as you cried. Why was life so cruel to you? What did you ever do to deserve this? Before you could continue to think to yourself about how life was so unfair, you heard the door slam open and heard heavy panting. You looked up to see Jinhwan with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. When he spotted you, his eyes widened and he ran over to you. He crouched down and sat on his knees.
"(Y/N), I-I'm so sorry, just l-let me explain-"
"You don't need to explain anything, you did nothing wrong." you said with a shaky voice.
"B-But....y-you're crying." he said.
"I'm crying because of my own problems, you didn't do anything wrong!" you repeated as you raised your voice.
At this point, you were breaking down in front of him, but you didn't really give a crap about it.
"Look, I-I know that you saw me and Sooyoung-" he got cut off when your eyes widened and you rushed to cover his mouth.
"Please don't say anything, don't say it, please." you cried. Tears streamed down your face as you stared at him with a broken expression. You slowly took your hands back. He didn't say anything.
"I really.....I really liked you okay? I'm already wrecked from seeing you guys kissing earlier, and I don't want to hear you of all people remind me of what I saw." you said as more tears streamed down your face. Jinhwan's eyes widened and then his brows furrowed.
"I'm sorry, I just really really hate Sooyoung. To know that the person I like has feelings for the person that I hate is really heartbreaking." you said. You felt that you were going to start bawling again, so you hid your face into your knees.
"I-I've been liking you ever since I've met you, and I thought that everything was going well until you started to pay attention to Sooyoung. At first, I had your attention, so I was really happy, but you starting giving all of it away to that sorry excuse for a girl. You never talked with us anymore like you used to when we walked together, you never did anything with us, you were always on your phone, and she even somehow managed to catch your attention even if she wasn't there. I was so freaking jealous these past few weeks because of you, do you know how many times I had to call Ara for comfort whenever I thought about you liking Sooyoung?! I was actually excited about today at first, but after I saw how you acted towards Sooyoung, I never wanted this day to come, and I was right. I shouldn't have come to school today. I shouldn't have thought that I actually had a chance. I ended up seeing something that I never wanted to see in my entire life, and now I can't stop crying about it!" you shouted as your voice cracked.
You gently weeped while Jinhwan stared at you.
"I-I was scared to tell you. I asked Ara about it, she was so confident that you didn't like Sooyoung, but as time passed by and she also saw the way you changed, she actually changed her mind about me confessing to you. She told me that I should, and then she changed her mind. I was afraid that you wouldn't want to be friends if I told you. I was afraid that I would lose you. I was afraid that I would lose you to her." you said. Jinhwan was silent. Maybe because what you were saying was right.
"Did I really make you feel that way?" he asked quietly. You nodded slightly.
"You know that what you said isn't entirely true, right? I don't like Sooyoung...." he said.
"You don't have to lie to make me feel better." you said with an extremely shaky voice.
"I'm not lying. I don't like her." he said again. Now, you were getting annoyed. Did he think you were stupid? He kissed Sooyoung, but he's saying that he doesn't like her?
"Look, even Ara knows that you like her, stop saying that you don't." you muttered.
"You need to listen to me, (Y/N). I don't like her." he said.
"If it makes you feel better, Sooyoung likes you back so-"
"I don't freaking like Sooyoung, okay?!" he shouted, making you quiet. He sighed.
"....I like you."
You brought your head up and stared at him with wide eyes. Now you were confused.
"Believe me. Please believe me. There were lots of misunderstandings, just let me explain everything. I don't like Sooyoung, I like you, too. I've always had." he said. Your brows furrowed.
"B-But....the k-kiss...." you said.
"That was a one-sided kiss. I was in my office and then Sooyoung entered. She told me that she had a present for me and said that she was going to give it to me, so I waited. That's when she ran up to me and suddenly kissed me.....I was so shocked that I couldn't do anything. That's when I saw you. You started to walk away, so I pushed her off and ran after you....I swear that it wasn't supposed to happen. It was a one-sided kiss. I don't like her." he explained. You sniffed. So that was the present that Sooyoung was talking about during second period? You frowned and then hid your face in your knees again.
"(Y/N)? Look at me. Please? I want to see your face....." he said softly. You felt your face heating up. God, when was the last time that happened? You brought you face up slowly and looked him in the eye. His gaze was oddly comforting.....
"You believe me, right?" he asked. You sniffed and nodded.
"Then please stop crying. I figured out that I hate seeing you cry ever since yesterday." he said as he wiped your tears away with his thumb.
"What were you calling and texting Sooyoung so much for?" you asked.
"I'll have to admit, I wanted to get to know her at first, but I figured out that I really didn't like her. She wasn't my type, and she was kind of annoying." he said, surprising you.
"So what did you talk about all the time?" you asked.
"At first, it was just a normal conversation until she kept on talking about hanging out together. She acted like she was my girlfriend, it was actually really frustrating. She questioned me about all the girls I was friends with, especially you and Ara. It didn't seem like she was very fond of you, she always asked me why I talked or walked with you guys." he said.
"Wait, then how come you were paying attention to your phone so much in the morning?" you asked.
"She was....texting me things....that, um....let's just say that she was pissing me off, and I was always in a bad mood.... Was I really like that? I'm really sorry, that's not what I meant to do at all, I tried to block her, but she found out all of my social media accounts and wouldn't shut up no matter how hard I tried." he said. Something was fishy. There was no way that the entire time he was hating Sooyoung instead of liking her.
"When Sooyoung came to my office at lunch, I really didn't want to act badly around you guys....she really frustrated me. And you remember that time when we went to the park together? When she called me, I told her to stop bothering me.....I ended up arguing with her for too long and then you just left. " he said. You sniffed.
"Something isn't right. Even Ara thought you liked Sooyoung. Everyone thought you liked Sooyoung. You can't just say that you hate her all of a sudden and then tell me that you like me. It doesn't work like that!" You told him. He sighed.
He then seemed to unlock his phone. He then gave it to you. When you looked, it was opened to photo album.
"Did you really think that I was always talking to Sooyoung when I was on my phone?" He asked. You blinked.
"W-Wasn't that he case?" You asked. He stared at you and then gestured to the phone. Your eyes widened as you scrolled through his pictures. Half of them were all you. When did he take these?! And more importantly, did that mean that when you saw him smiling at his phone, he was staring at these pictures?! You blushed. Was this really what was happening all along? Jeez, I really am stupid. You thought. You were wrong the whole time. You couldn't believe that you actually thought Jinhwan would like someone like Sooyoung. He really was sweet and considerate. You were the real idiot in this situation.
"It was the same for me when we met. I fell in love as soon as I saw you. Everyday, I felt as if my heart was going to explode when we were together. When I found out that you lived right across from me, I was really happy. Then I noticed that you had started to avoid me......you didn't look at me, you didn't talk to me, you didn't even come to lunch anymore. You stopped calling me Oppa, too.....I really liked it when you called me Oppa. You know at first, I really thought that you liked me back. I was so sure that you did until you acted differently around me. I actually started to wonder if you didn't like me. I wanted to jump off a cliff whenever the thought crossed my mind, but now I realised that it was because of me the entire time. I'm really sorry....." he said.
"Wait, but what about that hangout?" you asked.
"You mean the one on Sunday? The one with Sooyoung?" he said. You nodded.
"I, um...I....canceled it. I never went." he said, making your eyes widen.
"What, why?" you asked.
"Sooyoung said that she would stop bothering me if I hung out with her, so I said yes. Eventually, I cancelled it because I needed to do something." he said.
"What did you need to do?" you asked. He stared at you.
"Do you....really want to know?" he asked. You nodded. He then reached into his pocket and took out something. When he opened his hand, you saw a silver ring on his palm. Your eyes widened.
"Look, I know the timing really wasn't great today, and I know that I might seem like a total idiot for causing you so much pain. I honestly don't even know if you like me anymore, but I still really like you, so....will you be my girlfriend?" he asked. You were silent.
You stared at that ring. You needed to make sure that you were going to do the right thing. You saw that his hand was starting to shake as you didn't say anything, but you ignored it and looked at him before taking it.
"Okay." you said quietly. His face lit up.
"R-Really?" He asked. You nodded.
"Are you sure?" He said, his face switching to a serious one. You gave him an Are-you-serious look before nodding again. He broke into a smile and then let out a sigh of relief.
"Omigod, I was beginning to worry for a second there." he said before bringing you into a tight hug.
"I promise this was supposed to happen in a happier way." he added. You were shocked, but in the end, you wrapped your arms around him.
"We have couple rings, now." he said.
"Huh?"
"Look at yours. I customized it so that we're matching." he said. You looked at your ring, and indeed, the word 'his' was etched into the material of the ring. He showed you his own ring that was tightly around his finger, and you saw that it said the word 'her's' on it. You smiled and then hugged him again.
"Aww.....when did you have the time to do that?" you asked.
"I, uh, it was on Sunday. I canceled the hangout to go to the jewelry store." he laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.
Your mouth dropped. Your face flushed and then your heart started to race again. This was why he didn't hang out with Sooyoung.
"You freaking idiot, why didn't you tell me! Do you know how jealous I was that day?!" You said as you hit his arm.
"Ow! Okay, I probably deserved that...." he said as he laughed.
"Yeah you did.......but I'm lucky that I have you now." you said as you hugged him tightly.
"I think that's something I should be saying." he said as he hugged you back. You thought for a moment and then hit him again.
"Hey, What was that for!" He whined.
"You and your stupid mixed feelings! One day you're making me blush uncontrollably, then you're making me feel like I'm pathetic, then you're quiet as frick and bring all introverted, then you're acting like you like another girl, and then you're telling me that you like me! CHOOSE ONE, YOU'RE CONFUSING THE CRAP OUTTA ME." You scolded. Jinhwan winced.
"My fault." He said. You scoffed.
"Humph." You said.
"So.....this entire time you were liking me?" You asked.
"Yeah, I did. I have never liked Sooyoung ever in that time period." He said. You smiled and then stared at your ring. You then remembered about the present that you got him and then reached to get it.
"Jinhwan, I know this really seems like nothing compared to what you got me, but I bought you this a couple days ago......man, I really feel like crap about getting you nothing but this." you said before handing him the hoodie. He looked at it and then his eyes widened.
"Omigosh, this is a really pretty hoodie!" He said. You sighed in relief.
"Holy crap, how did I miss this?? Where'd you-omigosh it's super soft!" He said. He smiled at you.
"I love this, (Y/N). Thank you so much, I really really love it, I'm so glad that you gave me this!" he said. He brought you into another hug.
"Are you sure that this is okay? I can get you something else if you want." you said.
"No, no. I'm really okay with this, this is perfect." he said. You sighed in relief.
"So....are we official?" you asked. He nodded.
"Does that mean I can call you Oppa again?" you said. He nodded frantically.
"Please do, you have no idea how much I miss hearing it from you." he said. You giggled.
"I promise that I'll treat you better from now on, okay? Happy Valentine's Day..." he said as he hugged you.
"You too, Oppa." you said. "You really don't like Sooyoung, right?"
"Of course not! I could never like someone liked her. Besides, half the school thinks she's a douche anyways." He said, making you choke.
"We're going to get along well." You said as you grinned at him. He chuckled as you then leaned your head against his shoulder. The two of you sighed simultaneously. For the first time In weeks, you were able to be in Jinhwan's hold and feel your heart at ease. You closed your eyes and calmed down to the sound and feeling of the wind before you remembered something. Your eyes widened and then you looked at Jinhwan with a loud gasp.
"What is it, what happened?" Jinhwan asked, concerned. You looked at him with a mortified expression.
"How are we going to tell Bobby?!"