"H-Hey." Han calls Hyunjin immediately after she finishes her call with Jisung, not even waiting for him to message her as what he has promised before in the café.
The male seems surprised at the sudden call, and takes his time to compose himself before replying from the other line, "You called..."
"Yeah." She clears her throat, for some reason, feeling 10 times even more nervous than usual. "I've...got something to tell you. But I was wondering if we can meet somewhere?"
"At this time?"
"Do you mind?"
"I don't. But it's not safe for you to leave your house this late."
Her heart skips a beat upon hearing his words. It's not the first time he has shown his caring side to her, yet she still couldn't get used to it—in a good way.
"Sis?"
Han jerks her head towards the door and finds Felix peeking through with a sneaky smile on his face, "I'm gonna stay over at my friend's tonight."
"So sudden?!" She raises her brows and whispers to Hyunjin that she'll be holding the call. The older one walks towards the boy and examines his outdoor wear, one of his arms carrying a medium-sized bag. "Why didn't you notify me beforehand?"
"You were out the whole day sis..." Felix sighs, "And as soon as you get home, you locked yourself away. I wanted to inform you earlier, but you seemed to be having a serious conversation with whoever that is on your phone."
"Then again, it is a sudden sleepover anyway. We planned it just this afternoon so I can't blame you either." Her younger brother shrugs his shoulders, "But now you know."
"How are you gonna get there though? Public transport is probably no longer available at this hour." She looks at the clock, showing 9 P.M. Felix smirks at her, patting her shoulder twice, "Don't worry. He's picking me up."
Han flashes him a worried look but sends him off to the door anyway. "Have fun. I hope you won't do anything stupid."
"Why would I be?" Felix rolls his eyes and bids goodbye to his sister. Han goes back to her room and resumes her call with Hyunjin, "Sorry, I was sending my brother off. He suddenly has to go to someone else's house for a sleepover."
"Don't worry about it." He replies in a soft voice. "So, where do you want to meet?"
Oh right. Han bites her lips, groaning while she stares at the continuously ticking clock. Should she just talk about it some other time? But she feels highly determined today for some reason—maybe because of her soulmate's encouragement earlier in the phone call.
"Hanseol?"
"S-Sorry, I was thinking." She apologises, "I honestly have no idea..."
"We can just talk about it some other time if it's not urgent."
"But it is an important matter." Han emphasizes, and she swears she may have heard a faint gasp from the other line. Before she could hear Hyunjin's reply, a light bulb appears in her mind.
"What about my apartment? My brother has just left, so we have the right space to talk about it." She says, highlighting the privacy that they both have.
"Y-Y-YOUR APARTMENT?"
Han flinches at his shrieking from the other line, also, doesn't understand why he'd react such a way. "What's the matter?"
"I—Uhh—"
"Hm?"
She hears him sigh.
"Nevermind. Can you give me your address?"
"Of course! It's at XXX, building XXX, room XXX." She gladly replies.
"You should be thankful that you're inviting someone like me." He sounds depressed and worried for some reason, but Han doesn't know why. "You can't randomly invite guys into your place this late, especially when you're alone."
"But I trust you, Hyunjin."
A silence then engulfs the conversation, though Han doesn't find it awkward. She thinks Hyunjin's still in deep thought, but little did she know that the guy feels like exploding any moment.
"I-I'll be there soon..."
"Alright. I'll see you soon." She smiles uncontrollably and turns off the phone. A few minutes ago, Han was contemplating if she should confess to Hyunjin while she clears things up. But after remembering her soulmate's words, she is definitely not going to turn away tonight.
>>>
The phone room rings. Han hurriedly runs to pick it up and hears Hyunjin talking while panting at the same time, "I...I'm here."
"Did you run?" Han chuckles and presses the button to enable Hyunjin to use the elevator. "Not really." He replies before he goes up to her floor, reaching her room. The girl enthusiastically opens the door when the doorbell rings, but a very surprising view greets her.
"What?" Hyunjin's clueless-self asks, not noticing how Han is blushing from the way he dresses up. She is wearing her what you would say, a 'chill' attire. Meanwhile, the boy puts more effort for some reason, it is almost as if he's going for a date.
He looks good... Han averts her gaze away and lets the boy in, "Welcome to my tiny apartment." She chuckles awkwardly, still not being able to get over how good Hyunjin looks.
"Excuse me..." The tall one enters, amazed at how simple and minimalistic the place is. His roommate and he could never—
"Please take a seat, I'll make us some tea." She says and runs to the kitchen to get herself busy. The view is too hot for her to handle, she needs a distraction, instantly.
Hyunjin sits on the living room and sees some console and controllers lying around, probably her brother's. He keeps on playing with his fingers, nervous upon what she is about to tell him. Sometimes his eyes would glance at her, admiring her from afar. It's surprising that he finally finds someone he's interested in, but that seems like good progress.
"Here you go." Han places two mugs on the coffee table, with Hyunjin smiling at her as a sign of thanks. "I'm sorry if I'm being too formal about this, but there's something I need to discuss with you." She starts, grabbing her mug and takes a sip before starting.
Hyunjin only nods at her statement and sips on his tea too, ready to hear anything she is going to say.
Han lets out a nervous chuckle, and meets Hyunjin's eyes, "I...lied about dating Jisung."
The male's eyes turn larger, followed by his tilting head, "Sorry...?"
"I'm not dating Jisung. I said that because I was feeling conflicted with some stuff, but in truth, we're really just soulmates." She speaks in a very fast speed, both startling and confusing Hyunjin. He places his mug back on the coffee table and scratches his nape, "What are you trying to say...?"
"Huh?"
Hyunjin gives her a stare, "What's the point of you telling me this?"
Han flinches at his sudden reaction, and her eyes start to look everywhere else but Hyunjin. "Uh...I just had to clear the misunderstanding—yeah, I mean it's bad to lie to someone? I wouldn't be able to live my life peacefully." She sounds very unsure, but she knows that she shouldn't be responding with such a vague sentence.
Hyunjin is clearly trying to dig more, his stare is showing how much he wants her to clarify her statement.
Where did all the courage go?! Han feels like slapping herself real hard after backing away from her crush. She was so sure that she could confess without difficulties, but here she is, jumbling up her sentences.
"It's bad to lie. indeed." Hyunjin goes closer to her, making her back away from him until she leans against the edge of the sofa. Han gulps, not sure if he's agreeing with her words, or pointing her out for lying about the reason she told him all this.
"H-Hyun?" She squeaks, taken back by the fact that their faces are mere centimetres apart. Since when did Hyunjin get this bold?! Numerous scenarios start playing her head.
But this boy here is Hyunjin... Han thinks she shouldn't hope too much—he was once someone who never showed interest in love.
And she was right.
As if the Satan in him disappears, Hyunjin hurriedly backs away from the girl with a startled expression after a few seconds of intense staring contest. "I-I'm sorry." He places his palm on his head, thinking what the hell he has just done.
"It's okay...!" Han waves her hands repeatedly to assure him when in reality, she has died long ago. Of course, she couldn't handle the boldness, and charisma of the guy she likes.
"I don't know what's gotten into me." Hyunjin ruffles his hair, looking away from her in embarrassment. "I was rude. I'm sorry."
She violently shakes her head, and slaps her cheeks for real this time, surprising the boy. When he is about to check on her poor cheeks, Han cuts his action short by giving him the look of determination.
"I might not be experienced in love, but I'm confident that I have feelings for you." She says, then, instantly regretting how lame and weird it sounded.
"...?" Hyunjin's surprised look still remains, except that his mouth turns slightly ajar.
"What I'm trying to say is...!" She blushes so hard, but still keeping her gaze on him, "I like you as a person. I would like to learn even more about you, go on dates with you, and spend my days with you." She spills all of her feelings out, her heart beating so fast that it would burst at any given time.
It wasn't the best confession, but Han is certain that she has gotten her feelings across. Hyunjin, on the other hand, blinks multiple times, trying to process the sudden event.
"You...like me? You like someone like me? Genuinely?" For some reason, he sounds as if he couldn't believe what the girl has just told him.
"What's wrong with someone like you? And of course, I'm genuine about this." Han flashes a bright smile this time, feeling her eyes getting watery when she sees the male in front of her grinning non-stop. Hyunjin shakes his head lightly and beams back at her, "I never thought that this day would come. Because all the girls that were into me were just there for my appearance..."
He smiles uncontrollably, sending that warm feeling into her heart. She rarely sees Hyunjin smile as long as she could remember during her journey with the time loop, so she makes sure to record the view and keep it in her head forever.
"You are the first person that made me feel this way. I'm not entirely sure why." Hyunjin says, a small pout visible on his face this time.
"But one thing that I'm certain of, is that I want to be by your side." It soon turns into a bright smile as he places his hand on top of hers, gently squeezing it.
"Even though we haven't known each other for so long..." He trails off for a moment, slowly closing the gap once again and touches her nose with his,
"Thank you for coming into my life."
Han's eyes turn into crescents, caught herself in euphoria after hearing Hyunjin sharing the same feelings. Out of everyone else, she has met; Hyunjin is the least expected person to catch her attention. It is all because of the time loop that made her initiate and pursue after the boy for the longest time ever. Even though he ended up not being her soulmate, Han doesn't mind at all.
Because if it weren't for the time loop and the misconception to escape, Han wouldn't have tried her best to win Hyunjin over, discover a different side of him, or even, fall for him. It might have been an emotional roller coaster, but Han knows that this incident will remain as one of her most precious memories.
- END -