[CONTENTID1] 06 whatifs [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2] Her eyes were blank and focused on my lips. The light coming from the TV was the only source of light that filled the room. Could she even tell who I was? Was she hallucinating right now? All of the questions I had were left unanswered as my eyes subconsciously moved to her own lips. I've never wanted to kiss her so much.

I mentally shook my head. No, this isn't right. She doesn't love you in that way... Before I knew it, tears were forming in my eyes. How did we end up like this? I thought to myself bitterly. I pushed her away, gasping simultaneously because of the wave of emotions that took me by surprise. My heartbeat failed to slow down. 

Silence filled the room. She was still here, sitting beside me... frozen in her spot.

"Seulgi..." Her voice came out as a faint whisper. I couldn't help myself anymore. I burst into tears and shook my head, "Joohyun, why?! Why do you keep playing with my heart?! If you don't like me in that way, just leave me alone! Be my friend, my companion, my classmate... but don't give me the false hope that you would feel the same!" I stood up before I could do anything else. My emotions were starting to control me and I knew that if I didn't leave, I could possibly hurt her more.

However, to my surprise, a pair of arms encircled my waist. I felt her head rest on my right shoulder. My whole world stopped. Only two words were on my mind. It was those two words that destroyed me over and over again.

What if.

"Please... don't be mad..." She was crying. Her voice sounded so weak. Her voice spoke a thousand words of her pain... her struggles... her lack of freedom... her broken silence. 

"I really do love you." She whispered, her voice cracking at the word love. What? Was I hearing everything correctly? My mind started to spin. Too many things were happening at once and I couldn't understand anything. But her voice... her voice was all I needed to hear to understand. She loves me.

And that's all that matters.

I turned around and cupped her face. Her face was wet, covered in tears. Then her lips were all I could see. I forgot everything I've said and thought. Our faces moved closer until our lips were only a centimeter away. I could feel her minty breath fog my mind. I was hazy, but that didn't mean I felt nothing. The adrenaline pumped through my veins and she did it. She pressed her lips against mine and all my questions, all my what-ifs disappeared. Nothing mattered. All I knew was that I loved her and she loved me.

Those two things were enough.

~~~

The next day at school, Joy was there again. This time, she was carrying a box of cupcakes. As I approached the table, I noticed each cupcake had a letter. I couldn't quite understand what it said because they were scrambled. It was a jumble of letters in one box. Four letters on two rows and on the 3rd one, there were only two. One of the letters wasn't even a letter.

My eyebrows met