“I like you.”

Soojung freezes with her hand still in midair, grabbing for the seatbelt behind her. She turns to Jongin and he tears his gaze away from the front to focus on her. They’d just finished shooting a pictorial with Taemin earlier when Jongin suggested for the two of them to go catch up over dinner.

“Wait, what?”

“I like you,” Jongin repeats, his voice showing no signs of hesitation. “You didn’t know?”

She blinks and decides to put her hand down in her lap instead. It’s not that she didn’t know really, it’s just, she never thought they’d get any further than this gray area between friends and people who aren’t officially having a thing either. For years, it’s been this way so why was he confessing now?

“I knew,” she admits and he’s not even a tad bit surprised by her chic response. “But why are you suddenly bringing this up now?”

Jongin drops his hand from the steering wheel. “Cause,” he turns his body to face her. “Don’t you think we’ve played around long enough? It’s been over half a decade and we’re grown adults now, we’re not pubescent kids anymore.”

“Did you feel this way before or after you rested your head on my lap for nearly thirty minutes today?” Soojung teases and he gives her a small smirk.

“I mean,” he chuckles and his cheeks begin turning a bright shade of red. “It definitely created a reaction inside of  me.”

“Ew, you punk!” She throws a punch into his arm and the compact car is suddenly filled with laughter.

“Not in that way!” Jongin clarifies. “I’m a man, but not in that way. It wasn’t below the waistline, I assure you.”

She tosses her head back laughing and grabs a handful of hair in each hand to cover her heated cheeks with it. After the laughter dies down, she lowers her hand to reveal her eyes and a sigh comes from the driver side.

“So, what now?”

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