You hadn't thought about this ever since you met Yeonjun as your roommate but the night in Gangnam has now got you thinking. Yeonjun's a decent guy. Even perfect. Was he always that caring? Why is he all the sudden appearing in your eyes as this cool guy? Do you.. Like him? I mean.. Of course you do. You always have. Just never noticed..
This next upcoming weekend, you were planning to go to Itaewon. It was kind of strange how you had gotten all crazy like back in Gangnam. You have never passed out like that when you drank. You were able to control yourself but being with Yeonjun sort of gave you assurance. Like you depended on him. Sooah was coming over in a few minutes and Yeonjun seemed to be getting ready for something as well.
"Going somewhere?" You ask as he looks up.
"Uh.. The boys said they're coming over right now. You okay with that?"
"Yeah sure. Why not? We could have a small get together. I think we still have soda bottles in the fridge.", You walked over to the fridge, finding a whole box of them. "Yeah. We do."
"Great.."
"Wait. By the boys.. Do you mean my broth-"
"Stray Kids Everywhere All Around The World!" You hear a loud yell say as the door opens. Question answered. You see eight boys strutting their way in chaotically.
"Hey sis." Changbin says, walking up to you and ruffling your hair. You were excited for the other four boys to come, making Stray Kids seem like midgets. That was their group name since some majored in dance and others rap or vocal. You were taller than your brother and that already embarrassed him but to be the shortest of everyone who's about to gather... Pfft..
No longer than ten minutes, everyone was here. Sooah was last to arrive and was surprised to see all these guys.
"Um.. Am I missing out on something?", You chuckle, scooting over. Sooah walks over, sitting next to you before looking around. "Hi.." Everyone greets her as they normally do before you stand up, passing around sodas.
"So.. What are we doing?" Minho states as you chuckled.
"I thought you guys had a plan. Were you just going to come and lay around?", You looked around as you got no answer. "Seriously?"
"Well... Yeah." Felix replies so you look over to Sooah.
"How about truth or dare?" Jisung offers. Everyone looks around, nodding their heads.
"Okay. Let me bring a water bottle and we can use that to spin.", You say, standing. Yeonjun follows you, confusing you. "What's up?" He smiles as you rummage through the fridge.
"Just thought you would need help." You chuckle, looking up at him.
"For carrying one bottle? And you couldn't help me before when I had to carry fifteen?" You said sarcastically. Yeonjun laughs as he walks up to find a bottle for you. You move out of the way, allowing him to find one. He closes the door and walks back to you as the others catch up with each other.
"Hey.. You know when I asked if you liked anyone and you said you still didn't know whether you actually liked him or not?", You nod your head as you look up at him. "Well.. Is he here? Like right now?" You bit your lip. You didn't want to tell him yet cause like you had told him, you weren't sure of your own feelings. But you also didn't want to lie. Also, there are fifteen people here. There is no way he'd be able to guess.
"Yeah.. He is in this room." You said honestly. You swore you saw his smile drop a bit when you said so but he tried his best to fake it.
"Ooh.. I mean. Go get him." He says to you a bit weakly as you smile awkwardly.
"Hey. Stop flirting and come back. It's literally just a bottle." Taehyun says as you glance over to the group. You look back to Yeonjun, taking in a breath before walking over. Sitting back down, Sooah sends you a glance. Of course she knew who it was. You told her everything.
"Okay. Let's start. Who wants to spin first?"
"Ooh! Me!" Hyunjin and Beomgyu speak in unison. You smile at the both of them, staring at Hyunjin who seemed like he wasn't giving up anytime soon. Yeonjun watched as you did so. Hyunjin?
"Fine. You go, hyung." Beomgyu gives up due to his manners but Hyunjin found it embarrassing to be the older one who doesn't give up.
"No. You go." Beomgyu's lips perk up into a smile before grabbing the bottle. He spins it which slowly lands on Seungmin. You all look around, seeing who would ask. Basically, if it's truth, three people get to ask questions to whichever the bottle lands on. If it's dare, the same but dares.
"I'll pick truth please.."
"Okay. I'll go first.", Soobin says. "Do you like anyone right now?"
"Hmm.. As of right now. No."
"Wait what? What about that one girl that works at the cafe?" Jeongin interrupts. Seungmin blushes and smiles.
"Are you making that a question?", Jeongin looks around before nodding. "Turns out she has a boyfriend." You pouted, feeling bad. Over the time you've known him, you've learned that he was quite shy and cute. It was sad that the girl wasn't able to feel the same way. Sooah nudged your shoulder as you straightened your back.
"Uh.. Okay. Do you think you'll pass all your finals?" Felix asked a simple question since he didn't want to make him feel worse.
"I mean.. Yeah. I can at least pass the class. Everything other than health class, I'm fine." Seungmin says, making everyone chuckle. You all know how he never pays attention in that class cause he refuses to listen to people teaching him how to have sex.
"Alright. Next person. Let's go clockwise." Huening says so it's fair. The next person to spin it was Jisung and his landed on Changbin.
"Alright. Bring it on. I choose dare." Changbin says with a smile.
"Oh wait! I have one!", Minho says, scaring Changbin. He may look all buff and scary on the outside but Changbin was literally a baby on the inside. "Do a handstand against the wall for the next two rounds." Changbin pouts and nods.
"Fine. I'll do it after the next two dares.."
"Using only your chin, I dare you to send a random message to your ex. Just type something and you have to send it." You said. Yeonjun smiles at your dare, ruffling your hair.
"Ayy.. Good one." You nod before looking at Changbin. He sighs, taking out his phone.
"I have a pointy chin for a reason. Please let it be useful.", He says, causing everyone to laugh. He clicks on the contact slowly, allowing his past messages to show up on the screen. He takes a deep breath before using his chin and tapping a few buttons here and there. "There." He showed it to all of you, instant laughter spreading throughout the room.
how habe yoi bren?
You were sure he meant 'how have you been?' but seeing that he had texted that, it made it even funnier. You wipe the tears that formed at the corner of your eye from laughing before looking at Changbin who still had another dare to do.
"Okay okay.. We don't want him to hate us so enough of that..", Chan says before looking over to Changbin with a smile. "Do an impression of one of us and you have to continue doing it until we guess it right. But we can't just guess. It should have a reason for it." Changbin smiles as that's pretty easy to do. He looks around, figuring out who to mimic. He slowly stands up and runs a hand through his hair and sticks out his tongue seductively. He winks at all of you with a smirk before shaking his body with a few dancing moves.
"Okay. That is so me." Hyunjin says, raising his hands. Changbin chuckled, nodding his head.
"Alright. Go do your handstand." Minho says, not planning on showing any sympathy. He does as he's told anyway and stands upside down against the wall while Chan spins the bottle. A few more minutes of Changbin's face getting a bit red, you felt bad. But a game was a game. Chan's bottle eventually landed on Minho, causing him to call all his ex and his crush now which apparently they are dating now? But he won't even tell you guys who that girl is so there was no point. Next, Soobin spun it. Chan answered with truth so everyone tried to get something juicy out of him but he was just too much of an honest person, there wasn't much there. Finally, Changbin came back after the two rounds when Felix spun the bottle. Yeonjun stared at the bottle that was now pointed to him.
"Truth or dare, Yeonjun hyung?" Felix's deep voice rang through your ear as you gulped.
"Let's go with dare.." Everyone began to ponder their ideas while you remained quiet. Suddenly, you hear Jisung giggle.
"Give Y/N a hickey." Your eyes and face lift up at your name being called. Along with the word hickey in the same sentence. You gulp, looking over to Yeonjun. But from the conversation earlier, Yeonjun has been thinking about how there's no way you would like him. A hickey would be worse and you'd never want it. Or so he assumed.
"Dude. She's my roommate. Just friends. Okay?" Your heart felt like it shattered when you heard his words so you looked away, fiddling with your fingers. Sooah slowly grabs your hand, trying not to make it noticeable. Tears couldn't help but appear in your eyes as blood rose up your cheek from the embarrassment. You stood up, looking away from Yeonjun and biting your lip.
"Umm.. Hey. How about some snacks? I think I'm gonna go get some for us at the store across the street." You said, quickly grabbing your phone and your wallet that was left on top of your drawer. Nobody notices the disappointed look on your face except for Hyunjin. Sooah wanted to stand up but she didn't want to bring attention to you. Before she could debate on it any longer, Hyunjin stands up and walks over to you, taking your hand.
"I'll go with you. There will probably be a lot to carry. We'll be right back." He pulls you out the door as soon as he says so, leaving Yeonjun guilty. He was starting to think of what he said and how that might've hurt you. You guys were just friends but.. Something about your reaction made him regret him saying so. The game went on as normal as Yeonjun was made to do just simple dares. All he could have of was Hyunjin immediately volunteering to go with you.
On the other hand, you were knelt down in the hallway after you had ran out. You couldn't keep up with Hyunjin who was pulling you outside and eventually you tug at his hand and take a deep breath. You looked down as Hyunjin continued to hold your hand.
"Just.. Just give me a sec." You panted as you tried to calm down your breathing from all the running. You weren't even sure of your own feelings and he already shut you down like that. He could have left it at roommates but he had to go as far as justifying the relationship between you two as just friends. Meaning nothing more.
"You okay?" You looked up at Hyunjin who seemed oddly understanding of this situation.
"W-What do you mean?"
"You like Yeonjun.. Don't you?", Your eyes widen before looking up at him. He smiles at your reaction and lets go of your hand. "You ran out the door as soon as he said that. It was pretty obvious. Or.. At least to me. Come on. Let's at least get those snacks we promised or else, we will have thirteen angry men coming at us. I think Sooah would understand but.. Well.. You get what I mean." You chuckle at him trying to comfort you before standing up.
"I'm sorry. I know this all seems dramat-"
"I am the drama queen, okay sweetie? I got you.." You have never seen Hyunjin this friendly to you. It felt quite nice.
"Thanks.." You let out a breath before the both of you made your way over to the market as you said. Luckily, the store just restocked on their snacks so you were able to get a lot of them. You knew the boys ate a lot so you thought, the more the better. About half an hour later, you and Hyunjin headed back to the dorms and right as you opened the door, everyone smiled at the sight of the bags in both of your hands. You drop them in the middle of the circle, causing everyone to grab their favorite snacks. You were actually glad Hyunjin tagged along. He knew everyone's favorites. You did too but he was more updated, you could say.
"Thanks guys!" You hear everyone murmur as they open the bags. You slowly sat down back in your spot from before, keeping a bit of a distance from Yeonjun and a little closer to Sooah instead. The day continued on with more games and fortunately for you, you had Sooah who tagged along when you needed a partner. Or sometimes, Hyunjin or Changbin would ask you, knowing you were good at games. That little brat.. Changbin. Not Hyunjin.
The day of Itaewon quickly followed. You didn't know if you should be happy or be sad. You were a bit in between the both as you had mixed feelings about the trip now. Why did Yeonjun even offer to come with you? Shouldn't he be focusing on his career or a future with a girl? Or a guy. Who knows at this point? You had almost ignored him for the past week, talking to him once when he asked you if you wanted to go eat out with him. You declined which gave Yeonjun the hint that you were mad or annoyed by him. Since then, he hasn't bothered to make an effort to converse with you. You couldn't even rant to him or yell at him because you were the one avoiding him in the first place. It was starting to frustrate you.
You woke up pretty early like always but Yeonjun was awake as well, in the bathroom. It was unusual. You wondered if he was still going to Itaewon with you as you continued to find an outfit for the day. You already rented a hotel room for tonight so you just needed to get going. You stood up from your desk with a sigh.
Just friends.
It still rang in your ear like a spell. You placed your phone in your purse and hung it around your body before Yeonjun came walking with his hair dried up with a towel.
"Oh. Hey. Where are you going? Wait.", He stops at his steps and looks at you. "You didn't plan on going without me. Did you?" Your grip on your purse tightened as you gulp softly.
"W-What are you talking about?"
"Itaewon. Were you actually just going to go?" You didn't know how to answer but you didn't want to make this such a big deal.
"Oh. I was just.. I thought I could stop by the ATM and get some money. I wanted to get something from Itaewon so.." You made up a quick excuse and smiled awkwardly. Yeonjun clears his throat and walks over to you. You hesitated by biting your lip and fidgeting around until he reached towards you.
"If this is about a few days ag-"
"No. I.. I just thought you know.. Um. Maybe it'd be better if I went alone. That's all.." You said with a smile. Yeonjun was kind of startled at your words. He didn't mean to be so hurt from your words but it bothered him that you thought to just leave on your own.
"And you want? To go alone?" You look down at the ground in shame as you didn't want him to know you were just embarrassed. Of course you wanted him to come along. You just hoped for more than that and with the things he said last night, you now know that that'll never happen.
"Do you still want to go?" Luckily, you said it without any stutters and although Yeonjun was a bit unsure of what to do, he smiled and placed the towel on top of his drawer. He looked back at you with a small cough.
"Yeah! Are you kidding? It's Itaewon. I wouldn't miss it for the world.", He says, shoving his belongings into his pocket. He grabbed the keys as well and walked out the door. "Aren't you coming? We can stop by the ATM in Itaewon. Plus. You still get a free ride. You wouldn't want to go on your own, do you?" You smiled at his playful behavior before nodding. Taking your things, you closed the door after you, locking it.
"Alright. Let's go then.." You said without any other words. You decided to just leave behind the memories from yesterday and not let it get in the way of your fun. He was right. It was Itaewon. What were you thinking?
It only took about ten minutes when you two arrived at one of the parking lots there. It was a three day weekend and you had a chance to stay in a hotel. Oh my god. Speaking of hotels. You only rented one room. You look over to Yeonjun with your eyes widened.
"What?" He asks, noticing your shocked face.
"I.. I only rented one room."
"You mean like a hotel?", You nodded your head as he seemed quite hesitant too. "And there's only one bed." He looks over to you for conformation which again, you nodded.
"It's king sized but still.." You said, a little flustered. Sure. You guys have slept in the same bed before. Drunk or just because you were tired but not from the intentions of sleeping together from the very beginning. But to your surprise, Yeonjun smiles and nods his head.
"Whatever. It's not like we're spending all our time there anyway. It's just a place for sleeping. And plus, you can be my cuddle buddy." You knew it was a joke cause why would he '1ever want to cuddle with you? So you just smiled.
"Okay.." You agreed softly to his words as you grabbed onto your purse tightly. While you were distracted, Yeonjun spots a store with cute stuffed animals on display. Even better. It was an arcade. He smiled, thinking you would like it. He grabbed your hand and pulled you over as you tried to keep up with him. "Yeonjun. Where are we going?" He smiles as your eyebrows furrow.
"You'll see." He says before stepping in front of the store. You smile as you see the games in the store.
"Jun.." You said, too happy to notice the nickname you had stated for him. Yeonjun, on the other hand, noticed and blushed. It was a common nickname that even his friends called him by but you've never bothered to call him by a nickname. He liked it but he also knew that you just said it subconsciously and it slipped out.
"You like it?", You immediately nodded your head at his question as your eyes glistened. You haven't been to an arcade since last semester's final. You guess there wasn't much you stressed over and that was why you didn't go. But the fact that Yeonjun even bothered to look and check. Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he just spotted it. But whatever the reason, it made you smile. "Well? You going in or what?" You look up at him and nod.
"Yeah. Let's go." You said as you walked in, ringing a bell throughout the main lobby. That small sound excites you.
"Welcome. You must be here for the couple challenge." The lady at the counter speaks. You look up at her and chuckle as you notice she was talking to you and Yeonjun.
"Oh. N-"
"Yeah. Where would that be?" Yeonjun interrupted you. You look back at him with a confused look. Now he's saying you are a couple? What the heck.
"Go straight into the arcade. Turn a right and walk over to the main store. They'll give you tickets and lead you to your challenge." She says. It sounded fun but as a couple? Sure. Maybe he was doing this just to have fun but it meant completely different to you. You knew it would feel like a date and that would give you an idea that won't actually happen.
"You wanna play?" Yeonjun asks as if you'd be able to play without acting like a couple. Which technically, you two already did but feelings mattered. At least it did to you. You slowly shook your head even though there were a few cute stuffed animals displayed in the ticket store. He could tell you wanted to play but you were never not honest with him so he just nodded, understanding that you had your own reason you didn't want to say.
"Let's just go to someplace else.", Being with him was the best thing to ever happen to you throughout university. Yet, ever since that day, you couldn't even spare a glance towards him. You looked at his figure for a split second before walking out the store. It would have been nice to release some of that confusion by playing arcade games but you figured it would be harder if you had done a couples event with him. You didn't even realize that you were speeding up as you walked further down the hill until you felt a hand stop you. Yeonjun swiftly spins you around and faces you towards him, eyes inches apart. "Wha-"
"Did I do something wrong? Why are you so distant towards me?" Yeonjun says, finally breaking. He didn't know why you were acting up. Why you kept trying to avoid every conversation with him and why you wanted to escape every situation. He wanted to know. He wanted to know why suddenly you didn't want to talk to him or face him in any way possible when literally a few days ago, you two were jamming around in your dorm room with music playing while you washed the dishes.
"What are you talking about?" You wanted to act dumb. You wanted to drag on this topic as much as you could. He lets out a quiet scoff but continues to hold onto your wrist.
"You know what I'm talking about. Why won't you laugh along to my jokes like you used to? Why won't you reply with a smile on your face and your eyes glisten like diamonds?", The more he talked, the more louder his voice got with each sentence. "Why won't you just talk to me?!" You flinched at his last sentence, causing him to notice how he's in the middle of the street of Itaewon, yelling. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"Yeonjun..", He was too embarrassed to talk to you anymore. He was confused and anxious, that his feelings got the best of him. "I.. I don't know what to say.."
"You don't have to say anything. I..", He slowly let go of your hand. "I'm sorry. I said too much." He hesitates on what to do next before taking a step back and away from you. You let him walk past you as you didn't want to tell him anything anyway.
"Hey. You wanna.. Um.. Go to the cafe. I heard there's a cute aesthetic one just across the street." You said, changing the subject. Yeonjun gave you a faint smile and followed after you as you walked down the street. A few seconds later, you both walked into the cafe. There were a few workers behind the counter and some serving the food.
"Welcome!" You hear as you were greeted by a man who was serving customers.
"Hi. How may I help you guys? Is it your first time here?", He says as he hands you a small menu. You smile at him which didn't go unnoticed by Yeonjun. "Let me know when you're ready, Just call my name. I'm Songhyun. I'll get you situated to this booth for now.", He slowly led you to an empty and clean table as you and Yeonjun took your places in the seats. "Take your time."
"Thank you..", You gave him another soft smile before taking a peek of the cafe. You took out your camera and took a flash of the decorations hung on the wall until you felt a stare on the right side of your face. You look over to see Yeonjun's eyes fixed onto your figure. "What?" Flustered, he looks away.
"Oh. Nothing.." He says, biting his lip. You sighed and continued to take photos and even ordered your drinks up until this whole situation just bothered you too much.
"Okay. You know what." Yeonjun looks up at you.
"What?" He was kind of shocked at you suddenly speaking so his eyes glued onto your nervous features. Why were you nervous? So did you decide? Did you like him? Or did you not?
You....