My heart was racing. Was he here? Is that him outside right now? I knew my mom was already downstairs cooking up dinner, so I waited for the sound of her opening our front door.

“Oh, you’re Y/N’s friend, right? Come on in! I’ll get her for you.” I heard her say. The sound of footsteps nearing my room sounded from behind my door. Knock knock. “Y/N, one of your friends is here.” If this was Jaehyun, she wouldn’t have been so calm. I wondered for a second before calling out.

“Which friend?”

“Your only white friend. I can’t remember his name for some reason, what was it again?”

“Chase Jameson Kyle Derek Williamson. You sound racist, mom. He’s not my ONLY white friend!”

“Then how did you know it was ‘Chase Jameson Kyle Derek Williamson’?” my mom laughed.

I breathed a sigh of disappointment. Secretly, I had hoped it was Jaehyun who knocked. I decided to go out anyway since I didn’t want my personal feelings to affect one of my friendships. When I got downstairs, my friend immediately smiled.

“Hey, Y/N. Ready to go to the beach?” he said excitedly. I smiled back, finally remembering that I actually did make plans with him. Oops. He was extremely cute; I always felt like an older sister when he was around. “We’re not swimming, right? I didn’t bring any swimming clothes, but I did bring sunscreen! Want some?”

“When we get there, obviously.” I laughed. I was ready to spend some quality stress-free time. It’s been months since I’ve gone to the beach anyway. I was already wearing a t-shirt and shorts, so I could leave immediately. Quickly grabbing my bag and phone, both me and Chase were out the door within a minute.

It was around six or seven, the sun still shining brightly over the horizon. Thankfully it wasn’t one of those extremely hot and humid days, though the approaching night made it cooler. I put my arms out to feel the breeze, taking in the fresh air. The sound of the waves calmed me down. Then I felt something wet hit my leg.

“Y/N! Come feel the water! It feels so cool!” he laughed. I giggled as well, playfully splashing the water back at him. At this time, I was surprised that nobody was around. Either way, I was happy because I appreciated the privacy. As I stood by the water and enjoyed the waves, I felt someone grab my hand. I turned around to talk to Chase, but...you're not Chase. What? Standing right in front of me was..Jaehyun? I stood there, speechless. Out of my peripheral, I saw the actual Chase running towards us.

“Let’s go.” Jaehyun said gruffly. He tugged on my arm. I pulled back and looked at him.

“No. Why should I go? This is my time.” I didn't know why Jaehyun was here, but I'm not leaving my friend just because he was here. HE was the one who left me, anyway. He responded by pulling me harder. I was surprised by his strength; all those dancing practices must have made him stronger. Chase looked confused and even a little scared.

“Uh, no it’s fine, Y/N. I need to get back anyway! Bye!” Chase nervously said as he backed up. Even though Jaehyun was not talking to me, I could still feel the icy glare he gave to my friend.

“What the is wrong with you, Jaehyun?” I yelled at him. He gritted his teeth, still gripping my hand. “Let me go, jackass!” I pulled back again, but he only tightened his grip. He just stood there and stared at me intensely.

“I'm sorry.” Jaehyun said after a long time. Although he was still holding my hand, he loosened it a little bit.

“You still owe me an explanation.”

“I want you to answer me first. Why did you reject me that day? Was I not good enough for you?”

“What do you mean? When did I reject you?” I said, surprised. “You have always been my best friend, why would I suddenly push you out of my life? That makes no sense at all.”

“I...I confessed to you.” he replied, looking sullen. He completely let go of my hand and looked down. I stared at him, even more confused than I already was. “I like you, Y/N. A lot. I never stopped thinking about you, even on they day we fought. I’m sorry. I was upset when you didn’t like me back. When you came to our concert, I acted like that because I thought you pushed me away ever since then. I didn’t mean to hurt you like that.”

By this point, I was in complete shock. When did he ever say that he liked me? I went through the conversation again in my head, trying to remember every line.

“Hey, you’re not dating anyone, right Y/N?”

“No,” I laughed. “Of course not. Even if I did get one, you’d be the first to know of course.”

“Can I be your boyfriend then?”

“Pfft, what? In your dreams, Jung Jaehyun.”

Oh my god. I thought he was kidding. I didn’t actually think he liked me that way. He even said it in a playful manner...or did he?

“Jaehyun, was it when you asked if I had a boyfriend and then if you could be mine?” I asked cautiously. He finally lifted his head, though he still looked insecure.

“Yes. When I saw you splashing with, uh..”

“Chase.”

“Yeah, him, I got angrier. I look so stupid now, haha. You have a boyfriend and everything, too.” he started fidgeting a little bit, and bit his lip. He let go of my hand. “Y-you guys look good together.” his voice was cracking and it seemed as if every word broke his heart a little inside. My own heart broke a little when I saw that in his eyes.

“I thought you were joking, Jay. I didn’t know you actually meant it. And Chase isn’t my boyfriend, we’re just really close friends. We’re like siblings when we hang out.” I said softly, trying not to break him even more. I didn’t even know I made felt like this, I feel so guilty right now.

“Oh. So you don’t like me that way?” Jaehyun asked carefully, but I still saw some hope in his face. He was anticipating my answer. I stayed silent for a while, staring into the sand and rethinking of all the times I had spent with him. I really did have fun, and it felt like I never wanted to leave those moments behind. I remember wishing every single time that I could hang out with him a little longer, and whenever my parents came to pick me up, I felt disappointed. I also can’t forget that whenever Jaehyun and I held my hand or hugged me, I would feel my heartbeat race a little faster.

“I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that, I’m sorry. I understand now.” he turned around and started to leave. Before he could go further, though, I grabbed his hand.

“Wait, Jaehyun!” I don’t know why I felt the urge to do that, but everything started to make sense. I never really wanted to leave his side. Even when we were all at the airport, waving goodbye to him. I smiled as he walked through the gate, but I started to feel more and more lonely with every step he took. I had always looked forward to our voice calling sessions, eager to hear about his life in South Korea, but mostly his voice. He turned around slowly with a look of defeat on his face.

“I like you, too.” I blurted out. I had never seen anyone’s eyes go so wide before. I didn’t realize that I was carrying such a heavy burden; being able to say it makes me feel so much better. It took me a long time, but I understand now. I do feel the same way. I shyly looked at the ground, becoming a little bit embarrassed. As I looked back up to try to read his face, he wrapped his arm around me so tightly I could almost feel his heartbeat.

“Do you really mean that?” he asked, excitedly. “This isn’t a dream right? You actually said that?” All I could do was laugh and hug him back.

“Mhm. I do mean it. You’re making me suffocate, though.” I spoke into his chest. He loosened up a bit and looked down at me.

“Sorry.” he smiled brightly at me. “I’m just really, really happy. I wish we could stay like this together, but it’s getting dark. I need to thank your mom, too!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wah, Jaehyunnie? What are you doing here in America?” my mom asked in shock.

“Hello, Mrs. Y/L/N. I have a schedule here so I decided to drop by!” Jaehyun’s voice was loud and clear.

“You’ve grown so much! Have you been eating well? That reminds me, you should join us for dinner!” she smiled until she looked down. “Why are you holding hands?” Simultaneously, both Jaehyun and I looked down and quickly pulled our hands back. I felt a blush creep to my cheeks and looked over to him.

“I--uh--we--” he started to speak, but was cut off by my mother’s exaggerated gasp.

“Are you a couple now?”

“Uh, yes.” Immediately after I confirmed it, she moved towards the telephone at a lightning speed and started dialling a number.

“You owe me $5 now.” she said before she hung up. We stared at her in confusion, but continued on. Dinner was starting in about an hour and both my family and Jaehyun’s started to fill the house. News spread like wildfire and everyone started to ask about our relationship. It was as if this was a dinner party to celebrate us. Eventually, we went to my room to get some privacy. It had been a long day and I felt exhausted, so I plopped onto my bed and sighed.

“Who knew my mom was such a gossiper? I’m actually pretty impressed.” I said.

“Yeah, I didn’t either,” Jaehyun replied as he laid next to me. “So far, though, this has been the best day of my life.” he to his side. I turned as well to look closer at him. He moved closer to me and held my cheek. He leaned in to peck me on the forehead as he played with my hair.

“Me too,” I said before I pecked him on the lips. “Me too.”

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I enjoyed writing this even though I didn't have that much time. I would also like to thank Sharia (she writes amazing fics, check her out!) for helping me out in this particular chapter. Have a great day! Or night!