P.S. We need someone to cast Minho, any ideas? Let me know.
“What do you mean she looked at you?” Minho shoves a forkful of his favorite Greek salad in his mouth and Bin winces at the harshness. “Get one thing straight,” it was absolutely impossible to watch him try to much down the contents of the salad in his mouth while he talked but Bin put up with it; he was still his best friend. “Son Yejin doesn't fall in love with people like you and me—” he put a cube of feta cheese directly in his mouth as Bin closed his eyes in horror; things like these downright had him wishing to be relocated to another planet.
Somewhere people had manners, unlike Minho.
“This Greek salad,” he cupped the plastic container in his hands and pointed a finger at it. “This loves me and I love it. These cubes of feta and bellpeppers, they love me.” he pouted at his friend. “That woman—” he jutted his chin out ever so bravely at the table in the middle of the cafeteria, parallel to their own almost corner one. “She does not.” when Bin didn't speak anything and continued to play around with the soggy pasta in his plate, Minho found himself rubbing his eyes with the back of his sleeves as he attempted to push his hair away from his eyes. “To put it in your language; it's like you're trying to equate a balance sheet.” he weighed his hands in the air as if lifting invisible scales. “And no matter how much you try to equate your asset, i.e. your happiness against the liabilities and capital, again, that is, the likelihood of you two falling in love and having babies one day—”
At that, a furious blush overtook his cheeks.
“It just won't equate.” Minho was back to his salad in no time after ending his dreams like that. “And you know why it won't?” He didn't even wait for his answer, “Because you are a nerd and she's a, well...” stealing once glance at her laughing form parallel to them, he sighed. “A fucking goddess.”
“So stop embarrassing yourself. It hurts to see you like this.” Even though he could be brash at times, Bin still understood that his intentions towards him were always pure. No matter how blunt he could be at times around him, and only around him, he realized it was still nice to know that he had friend like him; it was like God had finally heard his cry for a brother whenever he prayed silently in his room while his parents were arguing.
Bin smiled for the first time in a week that day.
Minho knew his friend had been having problems back home again—his parents, were acting up again, being childish even when they were fully grown adults. Sometimes, it seemed like Bin was the only rational one in the family. Even though he was 23 himself, he still acted more mature than his parents; always handling everything calmly from reaching the root cause of their argument every time to completely making them silent post argument. While he knew he was and adult himself, he still had breaking points. When he was alone in his room, crying, Minho was the one who would come to his rescue. He'd leave him a message to come out of the window and both of them would leave for anywhere but here.
Because this wasn't home, it didn't feel like it, it never did.
The toxicity between his parents had given him hope to move out immediately after this last semester at the university.
It was only a matter of a few more months before he could move out. Had he risked searching for an apartment right now, Bin was confident he wouldn't be able to support himself given that he was not even a university graduate yet. If he wasn't a graduate, nobody was going to offer him a job either. Apart from that, even his mamkor savings would drain down the gutter for he knew that he couskmt pay for his fees with what he had saved.
It was only logical to wait.
After the rain, there was always a rainbow to await.
“But all I said was that she looked at me!” Bin reached for the water in his cup, emptying the last few drops over Minhoʼs head.
It felt warm to see him laugh.
It felt even warmer to laugh himself.
His eyes cut to where Yejin was sitting, a playful pout on her face as her friends continued to laugh at something on their phones. Her hair was down, framing her gorgeous face and her eye smile, something that wouldn't let Bin sleep at night from time to time, the brightest.
And that's when he realised.
It felt the absolute warmest to see her laugh.
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It's been a little over a week since then. I see her, she doesn't see me. Or maybe she does, who knows? It won't hurt to think she does so. Minho tells me not to dwell on her, but how can I not? When she is so beautiful? I wish I could talk to her, I wish I wasn't so cowardly. I wish I could march upto her and just kiss her in front of everyone. I wonder what her lips will feel like against mine. I wonder how it would feel to hold her hand under the desk as our we study in the library. I wonder how it would feel like to put my head on her shoulder and sleep for a few minutes. I wonder how our entwined hands would feel like— the euphoria, the adrenaline, all those things that they talk about in movies and books, she makes me wonder if they actually happen in real life.
A breath fanned the skin on his neck.
One, two, three.
Bin stood up so suddenly that he knocked over his books on the desk, dropping to the ground with a loud thud. Daring not to turn around and come face to face with embarrassment, he tried to busy himself with picking up the toppled over accounting books, whose period was yet to start.
Did he turn around? Did he say the journal wasn't his and that he was writing for a friend? Did he give Minhoʼs name to make the whole story more realistic? Did he just choke up on his own saliva and die?
“Lucky girl.” he heard an unfamiliar voice behind him.
Its okay, it's okay, calm down, you're fine. It's not her, it's not her—
He did a full 180 to meet the owner of the voice. When he saw who it was, his heart beat elevated to the absolute maximum. Bin was sure his hands were swearing right now. Where was Minho when you needed him? The bastard was always in sight when he was unneeded yet he couldn't show up when his best friend was hyperventilating and actually needed his help.
Park Ara smiled at him with bright eyes, she looked like an ant next to his tall frame yet, Bin was the one getting a panic attack.
He was doomed, this was it, his life was finally over.
“You write like it's poetry, honestly.” she was still talking and he was still standing on his feet. The last person he wanted (after Yejin, that is) to see his sacred journal was her best friend. “Any girl would be lucky to have that written about her.” she pointed at the book clutched tightly in his hands. “Though I am sorry to eavesdropping like that. I just couldn't help myself, it was too beautiful.”
And Bin was yet to speak a word.
Doing his utter best not to faint, he gave her a weak smile, unsure of what else to do.
While he stood there awkwardly clutching his notebook, waiting for death to finally come and take him, the bell ringing saved his sorry ass. Bin thanked the heavens silently, closing his eyes. “I'll see you around.” Ara waved at him once more and gave him a sweet smile before she walked several rows ahead to get herself a seat next to none other than Son Yejin herself. Bin had to steady himself at the sight of her by grabbing onto the nearest chair to keep his balance.
Truth was, Ara was a gorgeous young woman who could look good in even a trash bag over her body. Bin was a man after all, he couldn't ignore what a beauty she was. She had even caught his eyes every now and then in the university halls and the cafeteria, even once in some class they had shared together at some point. Her jet black waist length hair was always in a loose braid over her right shoulder with small tendrils framing her pink cheeks and striking ebony eyed. Now that he he thought about it, she was the only nice one out of her entire group. Even the boy in his heart wouldn't call Yejin a bully but his sane, rational self knew better. He had seen her talk down to the juniors in the institution as well as some batch mates, too. It was the one thing he felt guilty for; turning a blind eye on her in this matter. While the bullying wasn't too hurtful or physical, it was still something he despised.
Dear God, why did you land my heart on such a ruthless woman? Bin would often say to his elf.
Back to the subject at hand, Park Ara was the epitome of beauty and grace but there was one thing that just didn't do the trick for him.
She was no Son Yejin.
Now, as he looked at her sitting on her seat in one of the front rows, going through her notes as she pouted. Her hand was tucked under her chin while she lazily flipped through the pages. Something was extra special about her today; but then again, for Bin, she looked a little too beautiful everyday like she had for the past three years now.
While everyone scurried to their seats, a familiar face came up halfway to the steps to greet him. “Professor Kang, good afternoon.” he bowed his head, causing his hair to fall over his glasses and into his eyes.
I really need a haircut, he told himself.
“Ah! Bin! Hope you're well.” when Bin smiled at the pat on his shoulder, his professor smile, running his hands over his navy suit jacket. “There is something I need to discuss with you. Could you drop by my office after class? I assume it's your last for the day like it has been for the last three years.” Familiar with his student's shyness, the professor settled it with a nod from his side.
As class started and Professor Kang started writing on the board after exchanging pleasantries, the worry in his heart from earlier started to ease for he continued to look at her for the entire two hour session today.
He was going to fall behind in class if he kept this behavior up. Bin could not help but think as he made his way towards Professor Kangʼs office up on the third floor. Taking the stairs two at a time, he thanked the heavens no one was around to see him be so bold. He had already texted Minho to go home but the bastard had argued, and he quotes, “If I go, who will take you home, you whimp?”
However painful to ear, it was true. Thus, instead of leaving him behind, Minho had been waiting patiently (playing candy crush on his phone with a million other tabs open in the background and he wondered why did his battery die down so quick) for him in the designated parking lot for the university students.
Once Bin was outside the office, he smoothed his hair to the side and dusted his khaki jeans and matching sweater for invisible dust. Once he had adjusted his glasses, he knocked on the door, the glass window vibrating against his fingers.
“Come in.”
The scene that greeted him made his eyes wide.
Yejin was sitting in the chair opposite to their accounting professor and she was crying. Her hands were fisted into balls in her lap while she hung her head low, her long hair shielding her halfway from his sight.
Perplexed, Binʼs eyes fell on his teacher who gave him a modest smile.
“Please, have a seat. I think you already know what I'm going to ask of you.” he gestured to the girl crying in the seat opposite to where he was been asked to sit. Slowly, he made his way to the empty chair, eyes never leaving Yejin.
If this was what he thought he was, this was the one time he liked to see her cry for this meant she was going to be stuck with him.
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As you all know, my main focus is on WWGFH for now, but after I think it has reached another phase, I will focus more on this. Updates won't be as steady as my other story, nevertheless, still will be there. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have many twists awaiting you! Any guesses what's going to happen? Leave a vote and comment! Go Binjin!
Authornim loves you all.
BONUS
credits to the lovely binjindiary on Instagram. This is how they are.